raffy
Oct 2, 01, 6:39 pm
Reflecting continued troubles at Walt Disney Co.'s California Adventure, two premier businesses operating in the park -- Wolfgang Puck and Robert Mondavi -- have sharply reduced their investments.
Disney spokesman Ray Gomez confirmed that Wolfgang Puck Food Co.'s upscale seafood restaurant, Avalon Cove, was closing yesterday because it did not meet the expectations of either Disney or Puck.
Also as of yesterday, Robert Mondavi Corp. said it no longer was operating the park's Golden Vine Winery attraction and high-end restaurant, instead limiting its role to that of a sponsor.
"We want to eliminate further financial exposure," said Nancy Light, a spokeswoman at Mondavi. The Oakville winery said it will record a charge of $12 million to $13 million related to its investment in the Anaheim theme park.
Mondavi and Puck represented Disney's bid to attract affluent tourists to the Disneyland Resort. California Adventure opened in February next to Disneyland, but the new park has struggled with sluggish attendance from the start. And the Sept. 11 terrorist attack has made matters worse, thinning attendance even more at the $1.4 billion park and retail district known as Downtown Disney.
Gomez said he was unaware of any other tenants in California Adventure seeking to withdraw or revise their contractual agreements with Disney. Other outside businesses operating attractions and selling food in the park include the sourdough bread factory Andre-Boudin Bakeries. The bakery said yesterday it was doing fine in the park.
California Adventure was expected to attract about 7 million visitors annually, or 19,000 a day. But in the week before the terrorist attack, the park had been drawing an average of about 4,500 per day, according to a Disney official who asked not to be identified.
Source: LA Times
Disney spokesman Ray Gomez confirmed that Wolfgang Puck Food Co.'s upscale seafood restaurant, Avalon Cove, was closing yesterday because it did not meet the expectations of either Disney or Puck.
Also as of yesterday, Robert Mondavi Corp. said it no longer was operating the park's Golden Vine Winery attraction and high-end restaurant, instead limiting its role to that of a sponsor.
"We want to eliminate further financial exposure," said Nancy Light, a spokeswoman at Mondavi. The Oakville winery said it will record a charge of $12 million to $13 million related to its investment in the Anaheim theme park.
Mondavi and Puck represented Disney's bid to attract affluent tourists to the Disneyland Resort. California Adventure opened in February next to Disneyland, but the new park has struggled with sluggish attendance from the start. And the Sept. 11 terrorist attack has made matters worse, thinning attendance even more at the $1.4 billion park and retail district known as Downtown Disney.
Gomez said he was unaware of any other tenants in California Adventure seeking to withdraw or revise their contractual agreements with Disney. Other outside businesses operating attractions and selling food in the park include the sourdough bread factory Andre-Boudin Bakeries. The bakery said yesterday it was doing fine in the park.
California Adventure was expected to attract about 7 million visitors annually, or 19,000 a day. But in the week before the terrorist attack, the park had been drawing an average of about 4,500 per day, according to a Disney official who asked not to be identified.
Source: LA Times