Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

Yesterday Walt Disney World announced that they saw slight declines in park attendance over the past few months. Theme park attendance at the company’s domestic parks fell 3 percent overall in the three months ending on July 3, the Walt Disney Company said as it announced third quarter financial results. Walt Disney World attendance dropped 2 percent while Disneyland saw a 4 percent decrease in visitors.

Disney said the fall in park attendance was in part due to a shift in timing of the Easter holiday in relation to the company’s financial reporting periods. Disney estimated that park attendance only fell one percent from year-to-year after the holiday period is taken into account.Park guests did spend 5 percent more in Q3, which the company attributed to higher average ticket prices.Revenue from Disney’s parks and resorts increased 3 percent to $2.8 billion in the quarter, while operating income decreased 8 percent to $477 million.

Over the past few months, Disney has attempted to scale back promotional offers for theme park visitors, a strategy the company reiterated during Tuesday’s earnings conference call. Jay Rasulo, Disney’s chief financial officer, said the company expected to see fewer visitors as discounts were scaled back.In May, Rasulo pointed to more guest spending in exchange for lower attendance.

In the second quarter, Disney said occupancy rates at the company’s hotels fell 8 percent, but both guest and room spending increased by the same amount. Rasulo said the company expected to be back at “normalized” pricing by 2011.One year ago, Disney reported that occupancy at its Orlando hotels was 91 percent, which it attributed in part to promotional discounts. In the past two quarters, occupancy has been 81 percent.Walt Disney World saw a slight increase in hotel occupancy in the most recent three months, to 83 percent.

Overall, Disney’s revenue grew 16 percent from last year to $10 billion.Disney credited its success in large part to the success of film releases “Toy Story 3”, “Iron Man 2” and “Alice in Wonderland”. Studio entertainment revenue grew 30 percent from year-to-year in the third quarter.Disney’s largest segment of growth was interactive media, which grew 74 percent from a year ago.

So, now would appear to be the right time to make a trip to Orlando and Disney World. The parks will be more enjoyable as lines are less and Disney are still offering some promotional offers. There hotel figures are interesting and maybe it’s a sign that people don’t want to stay at overpriced hotels, no matter how convenient, when there’s a better option just 5 to 10 minutes from the parks in the form of a vacation home?

Disney & Universal Orlando have both announced their theme park ticket prices are rising a few dollars. Disney announced their price increase first and two days later Universal followed suit. A one day, one park ticket has now gone from $79 to $82, a 3.8 percent raise.

Annual ticket price increases have been a normal occurrence for all the theme parks in Central Florida during the last several years. Traditionally Disney is usually the first to announce increases and they are then followed by Universal and SeaWorld, although both claim their ticket increases aren’t tied to what Disney does. Yeah right!

When asked the reason for increased gate prices, Disney gives the same answer each time, “We continuously monitor the marketplace to ensure pricing that reflects a strong entertainment value.” They also say that nearly 9 out of 10 guests rate the value of the Disney parks as good, very good, or excellent.

Theme parks generally also raise their rates this time of year to ensure next year’s guidebooks and travel companies have the correct information.

Here’s a breakdown of the Disney price increases:
One day: $79 to $82
Two day: $156 to $162
Three day: $219 to $224
Four day: $225 to $232
Five day: $228 to $237
Six day: $231 to $242
Seven day: $234 to $247
Park hopper option: $52 to $54
Premium Annual Pass: $619 to $629
Regular Annual Pass: $489 to $499
Premium Annual Pass, Florida resident: $489 to $499
Regular Annual Pass, Florida resident: $369 to $379
Seasonal Annual Pass, Florida resident: $249 to $259

Universal Orlando announced most of their ticket prices are also going up today, Aug. 7, 2010. A one day, one park ticket is going from $79 to $82, the same as at Disney.

Similar to what a Disney spokesperson said, Universal spokesman Tom Schroder was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel saying 94 percent of their guests tell them they deliver good to excellent value for their dollar.

Here’s a breakdown of Universal’s price increases:
One Park Tickets
One day: $79 to $82
Two day: $119.99 to $124.99
Three day: $134.99 to $139.99
Four day: $144.99 to $149.99

Park to Park Tickets
1-day: $109 to $112
2-day: $149.99 (unchanged)
3-day: $149.99 to $154.99
4-day: $154.99 to $159.99

Annual Pass ticket prices stayed the same. These are at the gate ticket prices. Universal offers special deals for most tickets if you order online. All of the major theme parks in Central Florida also offer special deals to Florida residents.

The question is, how long can the annual increases continue before attendance significantly drops? At this rate it won’t be too much longer before guests are asked to pay more than $100 per day for a day of fun.

I was just reading an article about foreign buyers literally invading the US to buy homes and I thought you’d like to see it if you haven’t already. It’s written by Steve Cook of Real Estate Economy Watch:

The number of American homes bought by foreign nationals has nearly doubled in the past year as falling property values and record numbers of distress sales encouraged immigrants and foreign investors to take advantage of affordable prices. With home purchases by American citizens plummeting in the wake of the tax credit, foreigners are now poised to gain an even larger ownership share of US properties.

Foreign purchases accounted for about four and a half percent of all USA sales between April 2009 and April 2010, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors. For the twelve months ending April 2010, foreign purchases of U.S. residences totaled $64 billion. This is almost twice the $36 billion in foreign transactions that took place during the twelve months ending April 2009. The percent of dollar volume represented by foreign transactions increased from 4.3% in 2009 to 7.1% in 2010.

About half of foreign bought properties were purchased as primary residences, and the rest as vacation homes and investment properties.  Most bought properties in suburban locales and cities. Only 14 percent of foreign buyers bought in resort areas. Two factors important to international clients when purchasing property in the U.S. are proximity to their home country and the convenience of air transportation. Florida typically attracts European, Canadian and South American buyers while the East Coast draws Europeans. The West Coast brings Asian buyers and the Southwest attracts Mexicans.

The link to the original article is here.

It’s an interesting read and while it somewhat reflects what is happening here in Central Florida, the availability of money for loans and mortgages remains grim. Cash buyers are scoring some great deals at the moment and I expect that trend to continue for quite a while yet.

In my book “What You Must Know About Buying Your Vacation Home” I talk about why vacation properties are still great investments and it’s absolutely true about residential property still being a good way to build wealth providing you buy right.

The one thing I find  interesting is that most lenders have stopped lending to foreign nationals yet they still continue to buy in some volume. Imagine what might happen if one or two of lenders decided to lend again to foreigners instead of retreating into their Government sponsored safe hole. Maybe, just maybe, we’d see more distressed real estate purchased and that would then help values go up and the economy to recover faster? Just a thought.

As I write today’s blog I feel like a two tennis players that have played an epic 5 sets…the Isner / Mahut match finally ended when Isner hit a backhand up the line to win the last of the match’s 980 points by the way! In doing so the longest match, by some distance, ended as Isner defeated Mahut in the fifth set by an amazing 70 games to 68!

This first round marathon took 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days and lasted so long that play had to be suspended two nights in a row due to darkness. Play resumed yesterday at 59 games all and and took just over an hour to finish as the players battled out a further 20 games.

So here are the records that the match set:

Longest match, 11 hours, 5 minutes.

Longest set, 8 hours 11 minutes

Most games in a match, 183

Longest games in a set, 138

Most points in a match, 980

Most points in a set, 711

Most aces by both players, 215 (Isner 112, Mahut 103) and by one player, Isner

Most service games held by both players, 180 of 183

Most consecutive service games held by both players, 168 and by one player, 84 each.

And one final record…longest final set … 8 hours 11 minutes which was almost two hours longer than the previous longest match of 6 hours 33 minutes!

So why do I feel almost as tired as these two guys…simple…I’m doing College tours as my youngest daughter prepares for next year! Anyone who’s ever walked around campus after campus will tell you it’s exhausting and here in North Carolina where the heat is touching 95 degrees, it’s no exception.

Of course, thousands of students and parents are making these trips this Summer and it seems this is one area of the economy that seems recession proof. Yesterday I made three visit to colleges in the North Carolina area and it was an interesting study in how the college business attracts its customers.

An early morning flight from Orlando saw us touch down in Greensborough at around 8.30am and from there we drove straight to Elon. Elon University is an historic 575 acre campus which has been designated a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains and lakes. It’s a hugely impressive place of study not to mention steeped in history.

In 1889, the North Carolina legislature issued a charter for Elon College. William S. Long was the founder and the first president. The original student body consisted of 76 students. In 1923, a fire destroyed most of the campus, including school records, classrooms, the library and the chapel. The Board of Trustees voted to rebuild immediately. Many of the buildings that were erected in the years following the disastrous fire still stand today and make up the bedrock of Elon’s campus.

Many prominent figures have visited and spoken at Elon, including Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton along with  former U.S. Secretaries of State General Colin L. Powell and Madeleine Albright.  British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,  Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel and astronaut John Glenn have also visited.

From there, we then went to the remarkable High Point University run by an even more remarkable man, Dr. Nido Qubein. Qubein came to the United States, with just $50 in his pocket, when he was just 18 years old and attended Mount Olive College and High Point University. At the time he spoke very little English and learned the language by writing down 50 words a day on a card and by memorizing those words.  Nido then went onto start a bank in 1986 and now serves on the board and executive committee of a Fortune 500 financial corporation with $135 billion in assets and 35,000 employees. He is chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company with 218 stores in 42 states and serves on the board of BB&T and La-Z-Boy Corporation, one of the world’s most recognized furniture brands. He is also a superb speaker and if you ever get the chance to hear him, you should grasp it with both hands.

The transformation at High Point since Qubein became its President has been amazing. From a respected but rather sleepy University town, High Point is now much talked about all over America. Since taking over as President in 2005, Qubein has largely been responsible for raising over $350 million that has been invested in the campus and facilities.

Several new residential and educational buildings have been added and these additions include the notable Norton Hall, the Blessing Residential Hall, The Village Residential Complex, the Slane Student Life and Wellness Center, and the Jerry and Kitty Steele Sports Center. A large number of fountains have also been installed throughout the university commons with plans to add even more. In 2009 several new buildings opened that included the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, the Plato S. Wilson Family School of Commerce, and the crown jewel of student life, the $50 million University Center (formerly called the Multiplex). The University Center houses 600 students in 300 upscale apartment-like facilities, a virtual bowling alley, fully-functional movie theater, a steakhouse, a sandwich shop, and a two story gaming-and-restaurant concept. It’s simply amazing!

With the campus renovations at High Point University breaching $300 million in August 2009, President Nido Qubein wasn’t finished there. He then announced several other additions to the campus and these include a new dormitory parallel to the University Center, and a Greek Village. The Greek Village will consist of roughly 14 houses aimed at housing 200 total students. The $10 million Greek Village is scheduled for a fall 2011 completion.

Overall, it’s an amazing place and the student experience is pretty much unparalleled. More later…

My second book of the year is now out on Amazon.com and at other leading book stores. It’s called “Florida Vacation Home Owners – 5 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Selecting A Property Management Company” and it’s targeted at those folks who own a vacation home in Florida.

The vacation rental management business in Central Florida is a $4.1 Billion business that hardly anyone has heard of but once found, vacation rentals are THE only way to go when staying in Orlando. Unfortunately, as in all industries, there are a few bad eggs and the quickest way for a vacation to go wrong is when a home owner appoints the wrong property manager.

When that happens, guests are usually left to fend for themselves and that’s why I wrote this short book, so that owners have more information when selecting a new property manager. It’s full of hints and tips as a result of over 15 years of experience I have within this industry.

When you consider that most property managers leave or go out of business within three years, then it’s important for owners to know their property is being properly looked after and that their guests are enjoying the vacation of a lifetime.  The book is deliberately priced at a very affordable $9.95 because I wanted to ensure as many homeowners took advantage of it as possible.

My first book of the year was released in April and has been doing well. It’s called “What You Must Know About Buying Your Vacation Home” and is available at Amazon .com for $12.95.

I was on ESPN Orlando being interviewed about my new book “What You Must Know About Buying Your Vacation Home” yesterday. It’s always fun trying to work out what questions you’ll be asked and I’m always happy to let folks know my feelings on topics close to my heart. As you can see from the video I’m pretty candid about who should buy a vacation home and why…

If you’re thinking or have been thinking for a while about buying your own vacation home in Florida, make sure you read this book. It’s full of tips and hints and will help you make the right decision for you and your family. You can get a copy from Amazon.com

2011 promises to be a great year for Central Florida as we are about to add a new member to our theme-park club: Legoland.

Merlin Entertainments Group, the British amusement operator that bought Cypress Gardens for $22.3 million , has announced plans to convert the old Polk County attraction into a theme park based on Lego toy-building blocks.

Legoland is one of about a dozen brands owned by Merlin, whose other holdings include Madame Tussauds wax museums, Alton Towers Resort and the London Eye. The company is the second-busiest amusement-park operator in the world, behind the Walt Disney Co., with combined attendance of about 35 million people.

Merlin is owned by the Blackstone Group, the private-equity giant that bought Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment last fall for about $2.5 billion. Blackstone also co-owns Universal Orlando alongside NBC Universal.

The new park promises to be a full day, year round theme park experience geared towards families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. The focus at Legoland will be on engaging children in interactive things and will essentially mirror the concept at the four other successful Legoland Parks in Denmark, Germany, UK and California.

It’s going to be a welcome addition and if it mirrors the success of the California park in particular, recently voted the country’s best children’s theme park for the sixth consecutive time by “Amusement Today”, then we have a treat in store for all kids and their parents.

Legoland Florida will be the biggest Legoland Park ever opened and will offer a mix of more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, including large Lego models and other interactive elements. We’re not sure of an actual opening date just yet but we’re led to believe it will be towards the end of 2011. Check back regularly for updates… bring it on!

Under pressure from Congress and space boosters from across the country, President Barack Obama  is visiting Kennedy Space Center today and in a huge about turn he is expected to announce  that he plans to revive part of the Constellation moon program, start a new heavy-rocket development project and create a $40 million initiative to help Kennedy Space Center  workers find jobs after the space shuttle is retired later this year.

Obama is scheduled to deliver remarks at KSC’s Operations and Checkout Building and afterwards, a conference of space experts will discuss how to make the new plan work.

Up to 9,000 KSC workers are set to lose their jobs when the shuttle era ends. But the White House says Obama’s plans for KSC — including nearly $2 billion for a five-year modernization program that had been previously announced — would add 2,500 jobs “as compared to the prior path” that included the Constellation moon-rocket program.

Earlier this year the President stated that he intended to cancel the Ares rockets, Orion crew capsule and Altair  lunar lander that made up the Constellation program that was slated to replace the space shuttle and return astronauts to the moon by 2020.

Obama’s plan ran into fierce opposition from members of Congress with NASA districts, even though Constellation was over budget and years behind schedule. They complained that Obama has not laid out details of when — or how — NASA would return to the business of exploring the cosmos.

Now, according to administration officials, Obama is expected to say that he plans to revive Constellation’s Orion capsule, reconfiguring it to fly aboard a commercial rocket to the space station, where it would serve as an emergency lifeboat for the six-member crew. That would mean as many as 400 jobs at Kennedy Space Center to assemble and integrate the Apollo-like spacecraft before flight.

We’ll see… looks and sounds to me that no-one really has a plan and that it’s all political pressure driving this as the economy is in a mess and it’s not going to look good throwing more people out of work. I read a sign yesterday that said “The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”… mmmmm.

Good news for all our British visitors as Virgin Atlantic has partnered with The Walt Disney Company to bring three Disney channels (Disney Channel, Playhouse Disney & Disney XD) to the airlines television channels.

So that now means the 8 to 9 hour journey over the pond will more pleasurable as the kids watch shows like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Phineas & Ferb, Handy Manny and Zeke and Luther.