EVENT PLANNING
old fashioned Easter Parade with antique cars and bicycles decorated with flowers, turn-of-the-century style costumed dancers, barbershop quartets and, of course, the Easter Bunny.
OBSCURE OCCASIONS From time to time we also picked obscure occasions for special events. At the Biosphere2 science research facility in Arizona we brought in leading chefs to create dishes made with food found in a space station. At PortAventura theme park in Spain, we presented a festival of Gigantes y Cabezudos (giants and big heads) by collecting costumed figures several metres high. Carried over a person’s body as they perform, these are popular at parades and events elsewhere in Spain.
Special events are often included in
the park’s regular admission price. Sometimes, however, a major event can require an additional admission. These are called “hard ticket” events. At Knott’s, the biggest annual event is the famous Halloween season, known as Knott’s Scary Farm. It is considered the godfather of Halloween events. Many parks now replicate the successful elements of this
popular “haunt”. Even Disneyland, after many years of ignoring the holiday, offers an alternative in the form of a softer, family-friendly event that features the infamous villains of Disney films, designed primarily for the younger crowd.
TOP TIPS There are several elements that need to be considered when planning an event at a theme or amusement park: 1) Create an annual calendar of events, mixing the obvious periods such as Christmas and Halloween with different types of events in the traditional slow periods. The latter boosts annual attendance and profitability.
2) Consider if an event should be included as part of the normal park entrance fee or become a hard ticket event. Knott’s Scary Farm, and other Halloween events like it, perform well because the park is closed at the normal hour then reopened later in the evening as a ticketed event. The event also utilises the drama of the night to create atmosphere. One advantage of hard ticket events is that the additional revenue from the event’s ticket sales
allows for bigger budgets for production.
3) Make sure the event lives up to the hype. It takes a good deal of production, and costs, to add enough of the elements necessary to provide a different experience to your guests. If it is going to be a event, make it special!
4) Good events have multiple, but related, elements. Special elements including street entertainment, shows, parades and concerts all must relate to the theme. Even the merchandise, food and beverages for sale provide an opportunity to relate fun elements to the theme of the event.
5) Target your event to a specific audience. This not only helps to get media attention, but brings in an audience that might not typically come to your park.
6) Evaluate the event afterwards to determine what worked and what didn’t. This helps everyone to decide which aspects are worth doing again. By repeating successful events and keeping all the materials to use in successive years, you can amortize the costs, making it easier to restage the next year.
Mardi Gras at Universal Studios Florida PARK WORLD Handbook & Buyers Guide 2017
Christmas celebrations at Legoland Florida 27
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