According to The Wall Street Journal, the new Holy Land Experience theme park has benefitted greatly from the controversy surrounding the Orlando, FL park's opening in February. According to founder, Rev. Marvin Rosenthal, "The storm of publicity has done more for us than millions of dollars in advertising...It's a miracle of sorts."

Only three protestors actually showed up on opening day, but their threat brought police, journalists and lots of paying customers. On a recent Saturday, some 480 cars were refused admission because the 260 car parking lot was full.

Holy Land Experience has no thrill rides to compete with local heavyweights like DisneyWorld and Universal Studios, but is the only one of the three to have a six-story, half-scale replica of the front of Herod's temple and a 17 minute film called "The Seeds of Promise." At the end of the film, as a cloud rises up around Jesus and his people, another cloud rises around the audience.

Business has been so good, that Rosenthal has to double his staff to 150 workers, drawing from an already tight job market. He said he will not hire any Charismatic Christians for the positions. [03/11/2001]

November 26, 2009