It was reported this morning that InBev, the new owner of Anheuser-Busch, is selling the Busch theme park properties to the hedge fund Blackstone Group for $2.3 billion. Busch Entertainment, legal owner of the amusements, consists of Busch Gardens (Tampa, FL and Williamsburg, VA) and SeaWorld in San Diego, CA.
Getting beyond the fact that Shamu is now owned by a hedge fund, the question arises, "how did a beer company get into theme parks in the first place?" I think I have the answer.
There is an old story that was circulating years ago about how Walt Disney came to choose Orlando as the site for Walt Disney World. According to the tale, Disney's first choice was St. Louis because of its central location and ease of travel - a TWA hub as well as interstate highways - for the entire country. Disney went to meet with the city fathers and business potentates, which naturally included August "Gussie" Anheuser Busch, Jr., the man who built an empire out of beer.
It seems that Disney was absolutely adamant - there would be no alcohol sales on Disney properties, and certainly not within any Magic Kingdom. Apparently, Gussie took offense at this position and said something to the effect, "any man that doesn't serve Budweiser beer in his theme park is an idiot."
The story goes that on the plane back to California, Disney, recognizing the potential problems that Busch could create for him in St. Louis, told his assistants to, "make it Orlando," which was the second choice.
It would seem that Gussie's ego got the better of him and he decided to launch his own brand of theme parks, family-fun places where Budweiser beer would be flowing profusely. He would go mano-a-mano with Disney, and in the end, Disney did begin serving alcohol at Walt Disney World because prohibition just doesn't work in America.
This could be a case of unrelated diversification engaged in solely because of a single conversation, a slight against a beer man's product, in St. Louis so many years ago.
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