Co-owner of Universal Orlando in talks to purchase Busch parks

[Snoopy]

This hasn't been mentioned yet, but apparently Merlin Entertainment has purchased Cypress Gardens with the goal of turning it into a Legoland. Merlin Entertainment is owned by the Blacksone Group, owner of the SeaWorld/Busch parks and co-owner of Universal Studios Orlando.

When it opens, Blacksone will practically hold a monopoly over the theme park industry in the Orlando area; Universal Studios Orlando, Wet 'n Wild Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando/Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Adventure Island, and Legoland Florida all under the same umbrella. To be honest, I'm not sure whether this will be a good thing for Disney or not.

[1FoolishMortal]

And people are worried about Disney having access to Universal's bookkeeping? I don't know about you, but if I were the government, I'd be eyeballing this whole Blackstone business. This to me seems a LOT bigger of an issue.

[dlfreak]

Actually, to me that sounds like a legitimate competition force to Disney. Disney World and Merlin World.

That to me honestly sounds like about even competition just not as nicely centralized and localized like Disney World is. Look at those offerings...

Five major theme parks (two to three of them on the very minor side of "major") and two water parks. Throw in City Walk to compare with Downtown Disney... sounds about even with a little healthy competition for Disney should Merlin actually decide to organize and offer perks like Magical Express and easy transportation between various resorts.

[Snoopy]

Originally Posted by dlfreak

Actually, to me that sounds like a legitimate competition force to Disney. Disney World and Merlin World.

That to me honestly sounds like about even competition just not as nicely centralized and localized like Disney World is. Look at those offerings...

Five major theme parks (two to three of them on the very minor side of "major") and two water parks. Throw in City Walk to compare with Downtown Disney... sounds about even with a little healthy competition for Disney should Merlin actually decide to organize and offer perks like Magical Express and easy transportation between various resorts.

That's exactly what I'm saying. If Blackstone played their cards right (and you know they will, with the recent aquisitions of SeaWorld/Busch Gardens and Cypress Gardens) then they'd have an Orlando theme park powerhouse that could rival Disney the way none of the theme parks independently could. In fact, let's break it down:

Theme Parks
-Universal Studios Orlando
-Islands of Adventure
-SeaWorld Orlando
-Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
-Legoland Florida

Water Parks
-Wet 'n Wild Orlando
-Aquatica
-Adventure Island
-Splash Island Waterpark

Other Venues
-Universal CityWalk
-Discovery Cove

Hotels
-Loews Royal Pacific Hotel
-The Hard Rock Hotel
-Loews Portofino Bay Hotel

That's quite a lineup. If they could find a way to integrate the venues, and maybe even add a couple more (Gatorland and Old Town Orlando come to mind), then they could practically OWN the area. If I was Disney, I'd be pretty nervous at the prospect of them pulling something like this off. It's no longer the case of one or two of the competing parks joining forces to run cross-promotions; it's now the case of all of the competing parks joining forces to run you out of business. Heck, all that's missing are a Cedar Fair park and a Six Flags park and Blackstone would be all set.

This is all assuming, of course, that Blackstone can make it work. For all we know, in a few years they could go bankrupt and be forced to sell all of their venues off. But as of now, it's not looking too good for Disney. It's looking good for us, obviously, becuase now Disney actually has to try harder to get our dollar, but from a corporate point of view this could be an absolute nightmare.

Originally Posted by 1FoolishMortal

And people are worried about Disney having access to Universal's bookkeeping? I don't know about you, but if I were the government, I'd be eyeballing this whole Blackstone business. This to me seems a LOT bigger of an issue.

I'm going to agree with 1FM, I'm surprised the anti-trust regulators haven't been all over this. Or maybe they are, and we just don't know it yet.