"With VIP perks, theme parks are melting pots no more" by Brooks Barnes | New York Times, June 10, 2013
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Theme parks have traditionally been the ultimate melting pots. Tourists, retirees, hormonal teenagers, families, and fathers who would rather be golfing are all thrown together in an egalitarian experience in which the line for one is the line for all, and cotton candy is the food of the masses.
Not anymore.
As stratification becomes more pronounced in all corners of America, from air travel to Broadway shows to health care, theme parks in recent years have been adopting a similarly tiered model, with special access and perks for those willing to pay.
Or able to pay. That's about 7% of the society.
Universal Studios Hollywood has pushed the practice to a new level....
Who can afford a vacation anymore?
Others see it differently. While there is no “Occupy Universal” movement blossoming, some customers contend that the park has created a conspicuous class system that threatens to overshadow the fun....
People who recoil at crowds but enjoy theme parks used to come in the off season. But relentless advertising, new attractions, and an improving economy now keep attendance high year-round. Universal’s parks in the United States attracted roughly 20 million people last year, a 19 percent increase from 2010, analysts estimate. The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World recently recorded the single busiest day in its history.
The amusement park industry urgently wants to expand profits without introducing costly new rides every summer. NBCUniversal, which recorded $953 million in profit from its parks in 2012, has no major new attractions planned for Universal Studios Hollywood until next year; the VIP Experience, in the meantime, is a relatively low-cost way to generate revenue and send a message of bigger and better into the marketplace....
Meaning they really don't care about you cattle roaming around the park.
As for worries about creating a sense of class warfare, Xiomara Wiley, senior vice president for marketing and sales at Universal Studios Hollywood, said Universal had none....
Translation: the elite don't care what you think anymore, average citizen.
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Sunday Globe Special: Arrogant Australian A$$hole
It's becoming that kind of $ociety, yeah.
