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ParkWord February 2011


Disney has been doing for years, and so too have those smaller attractions with on-site camping, caravan parks or any other sort of guest accommodation: providing somewhere for families to stay overnight, usually in the hope they will return the next day. Yet in the last five to 10 years there has been an explosion of new theme park hotels, often of a very high standard, as operators aim to transform a park into a “resort.” In the UK alone, there will be at least three new park hotels opening over the next 18 months, including the first ever hotel for the Gulliver's chain, at its park in Warrington, Hotel Legoland in Windsor and the Drayton Manor Park Hotel, which opens this summer.


The latter two, located close to Heathrow Airport and the NEC (National Exhibition Centre), will be able to balance family visits at the weekend with business guests in the week. It will be interesting to see how many travelling salesman choose to sleep in one of Drayton's Thomas the Tank Engine themed rooms! By making a two-day visit to the park a reality, Drayton Manor managing director Colin Bryan is hoping to widen the park's reach: “I believe the hotel will help enhance the appeal of Drayton Manor to families who live in far off parts of the UK,” he says, highlighting Scotland and Northern Ireland. As is noted in our hotels feature on page 34, on-site stays encourage greater spending and more return visits, which in turn should translate to more investment back into the park itself. Yet one supplier I spoke to recently had his doubts: “Theme park hotels are bad news for manufacturers of amusement equipment,” he said. “Parks are building hotels instead of investing in new rides and attractions.” Fortunately, Drayton Manor isn't holding back on new attractions this season and will open a Ben 10 themed coaster as part of a new Cartoon Network area. Arguably other parks will need new attractions too if they are to encourage hotel guests to return in years to come. Let's hope for ride manufacturers everywhere that is true.


Owen Ralph - Editor


Editor Owen Ralph (+44 161 438 2934) parkworld@btopenworld.com


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Contributors this issue Dennis Speigel, Manuel Vimenet, Mark Wijman, Gary Kyriazi


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