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January 12, 2001

Theme parks break $50-a-ticket barrier

  • News you can use after 5 p.m.

    • ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and SeaWorld Orlando have become the first theme parks to charge more than $50 per ticket, making them the costliest in the world to visit.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on Wednesday upped the price to $51.18 for adults and $41.57 for children between ages 3 and 9, an increase of $2.27 for adults and $2.21 for children. The price includes taxes.

    SeaWorld Orlando raised the price per ticket $1.95 to $50.83 for adults and $41.29 for children.

    "As long as we continue to deliver in the form of new attractions and new shows, I think the consumers will continue to respond," said Fred Jacobs, a spokesman for Busch Entertainment Corp.

    Spokesman at Disney and Universal Orlando wouldn't say whether price increases are planned.

    Raising ticket prices doesn't seem to deter visitors, said Tim O'Brien, an editor at Amusement Business, a trade publication.

    "When the $30-barrier was broken, when the $40-barrier was broken, everybody said 'Oh my God, it's not going to go anywhere,' but attendance keeps setting records," O'Brien said.




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