With all of the growth of the Orlando theme parks not only do the guests benefit from the new hotels and attractions but so does the local Orlando job market and economy. This is welcoming news since the area was so hard when the economy collapsed in 2008 and theme parks had to lay off workers.
From the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, to the new Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom, to an upcoming new Antarctica Region at Sea World these projects are reversing once dismal trends and adding new jobs to the local Orlando economy.
And it’s not just he local theme parks major attractions doing all the work. When Disney launched their newest cruise ship Fantasy at Port Canaveral it created an estimated 500 jobs both directly and indirectly in the region. On the resort hotel front Disney’s $350 million Art of Animation Resort added 2,000 rooms and will support around 750 full-time jobs. Down the street Universal is building the 1,800 room “Cabana Bay Beach Resort” which it expects to open in 2014 creating current construction jobs as well as full-time staff jobs down the road.
Speaking of down the road…the better news is that the construction and additions are not stopping anytime soon. When the final additions to Disney’s Fantasyland expansion are complete in 2014 a total of 800 new positions will be filled. Universal is not done either. They are currently in the middle of building a new attraction (rumored to be a Transformer Themed thrill ride) as well as a second phase to their wildly successful Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed land that should open in 2014-15.
Both major theme parks are up in employees. Disney now employs 66,700 castmembers (a 4% rise from last year) and Universal now employs 16,500 employees – that is a whopping 27% up from the year 2009 (the year Harry Potter debuted). Seaworld Parks & Employees is just now showing signs of recovering from the recession. They now have 6,022 employees which is up 1.2% from 2008.
What do you think about the economic growth with the Orlando theme parks – will it last? Let us know!
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My recent trip tells me that the parks are still doing great and will only continue their growth.