The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 42

COVER STORY Poimdernimg a jpostt-paiiida ffuntaire Busch Gardens seeks new attraction Florida's top five directions By MICKIE VALENTE Tribune Business Writer 1C2 Disney World Sea World Busch Gardens' The Dark Continent. Spaceport USA Cypress Gardens 5,000 developed acres Size On acres) TAMPA ecember is Inventory 1 time at the country's 1 1 1 theme parks. JJ It's the time when workers tally up atten 111111 i i i 'i i i 100 200 300 400 10,000 30,000 manager of the 300-acre park. "This will be a record year for us." Although none of the state's attractions have released their 1988 figures, spokesmen for many of the biggest theme parks, including the top two Walt Disney WorldEpcot Center and Sea World in Orlando have said they expect attendance to be down from last year. None, however, said they would be surprised if Busch bucks the trend.

Busch Gardens will beat its 1987 record of 3.1 million visitors for one reason: pandas. Busch officials pulled off a major coup in November 1987 when it beat out several zoos and contracted to rent two giant pandas Ling Ling and Yong Yong from the People's Republic of China. Although the pandas were expected to stay only three months, the park was able to keep them for six months, and Ling Ling, the male panda, stayed for almost a year before leaving the park Oct' 2. Fincher had predicted their stay could boost the park's attendance by as much as SO percent If his prediction holds true, Busch could establish a record for percentage increase for itself and for all theme parks in Florida. Although Busch does not release its earnings, with more than 3.1 million people entering the gate at a price of $19.95 a person, the park could turn a hefty profit this year.

Double-digit attendance In Disney World Sea World Busch Gardens dance sheets to determine which parks set records and which one leads the nation in attendance. And for the second year in a row it's the time of year that management at Busch Gardens The Dark Continent eagerly awaits. "We know that of the major attractions (in Florida) we were the only one up in said Joseph Fincher, general 4.S Attendance 2.5 1 (in millions) 1.3 1 I 1 i i i i i i i i i 0 1 2 3 4 5 10 15 20 25 31 The Dark Continent Spaceport USA Cypress Gardens Tribune graphic by WARREN HUSKEY -II i 1 creases are not a yearly occurrence in the amusement park business. Spaceport USA, the park adjacent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, is the state's only other park anticipating a double figure hike this year. It expects to surpass last year's 2.4 million attendance by 17 percent Such a showing may make it tempting for Busch officials to revel in the panda afterglow.

But they know tourists have little patience with attractions that maintain the status quo. Coming attractions So the obvious question for Busch now is: What's next? That question has several possible answers, Fincher said. Currently, three white Bengal tigers born at Busch Gardens in -April have taken up residence in the multimillion-dollar exhibit built for the pandas. The park has also considered setting up an Australian exhibit which might feature native animals such as kangaroos or bringing in rare animals such as gorillas to pull the visitors in. None of these Ideas has reached the drawing-board stage, Fincher said.

But that's not to say that there will be nothing new at Busch next year, he said. "We're going to be putting in a major boat ride," Fincher said. Fincher would not describe the new ride except to say It would be similar to the park's log flume ride and each compartment will hold a group, rather than Just a few people. And a new show is being developed for the Moroccan Palace theater, which has featured "Kaleidoscope," a Broadway-style song-and-dance revue, since it opened in the summer of 1986. "You must turn over shows about every two years because a lot of visitors will repeat their visits about every two years," Fincher said.

4 4 Busch Gardens is never going to hurt. It's never going to be in danger of going out of business. 99 Tim O'Brien editor, Amusement Business Also In the works for next year, according to Fincher, Is the reopening of the Swiss House, a combination family and fine-dining restaurant that closed In 1982. Fincher said the new facility will be strictly for family dining and will offer a more varied menu. Busch Gardens also is conducting a $700,000 renovation on Its Zagora eating pavilion and soon will reopen It with an expanded menu.

But Busch is not the only park creating new offerings for Its patrons. Within the next year, the Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center which, combined, rank as the most popular attraction in the world will be joined by a Dls-ney-MGM studio tour; Typhoon Lagoon, a water park attraction; and Pleasure Island, a nighttime adult entertainment complex. Meanwhile, in the next few weeks, Spaceport USA plans to open its Satellites and You exhibit which will allow visitors to experience simulated space flight. Although Busch may continue to update shows and rides and add new animals to its list of 3,000, it is hampered by one constraint that most of its competitors do hot have: It's landlocked. Bordered by Busch Boulevard, 30th Street 40th Street and East Bougainvillea Avenue, the park and the adjoining Anheuser Busch brewery have used almost all their available space.

To add attractions, Busch must either replace an attraction the new boat ride will replace the former African Queen jungle boat ride or revamp a current exhibit as It is doing with the Moroccan Palace theater show. The land crunch is easily explained: Anheuser Busch the parent company of Busch Gardens, never expected the park to become this popular. When It opened almost 30 years ago, Busch Gardens was little more than a public-relations gesture by the St. Louis-based beer giant When Anheuser-Busch opened the $20 million brewery, it was part of Tampa's first industrial park. Along with that endeavor, August A.

Busch Jr. dedicated a 15-acre parcel for a lush garden to complement the public brewery tour the company operated. Busch Gardens contained lav- Mond 1 .1 LA Tribune photograph by GARY RINGS Visitors to Busch Gardens stroll through the Moroccan Village with its array of cafes and shops. 14-D The Tampa Tribune.