Queen Mary Ship Closed To Tourists To Get ‘Critical Repairs’

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The historic ocean liner Queen Mary, which has been a Southern California tourist attraction and hotel for decades, is being prepared for “critical repairs,” according to officials in the city of Long Beach, which owns the ship.

The ship will remain closed, except for film location work, until the $5 million worth of repairs are completed, a city statement said Thursday.

“One of the most critical repairs identified in the engineering reports was the removal of deteriorated lifeboats. The lifeboats exert stress on the side shell of the ship which has created severe cracks in the support system,” the statement said.

Two of the original lifeboats will be retained and 13 will be stored while the city gauges interest from museums and other organizations in preserving them.

Repair work will also include installation of new permanent bilge pumps and improvements to a water intrusion warning system, among other items.

The city, which regained control of the ship last year, said the needed repairs are a result of decades of deferred maintenance by the ship’s previous operators.

The city has already done electrical work to re-illuminate one of the ship’s funnels, which are a distinctive nighttime focal point.

The Queen Mary was launched in 1934 and arrived in Long Beach harbor at the end of its final voyage in 1967.

Travelore News: Disney Hikes Ticket Prices At US theme Parks

Visiting Mickey and Minnie just got more expensive.

The Walt Disney Co. raised ticket prices to attend Disneyland, Walt Disney World and the rest of its U.S. theme parks, effective Sunday.

A one-day ticket for either Disneyland or California Adventure in Anaheim, California, is now $99 for anyone 10 or older, the company said. That's up from $96.

Single-day tickets for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, are now $105, up from $99.

Disney has continued to see strong attendance growth at its theme parks and resorts.

For the quarter ended Dec. 27, revenue for the segment rose 9 percent to $3.9 billion, as attendance at the company's California and Florida parks climbed 7 percent, with Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort each setting all-time quarterly attendance records.

A measles outbreak linked to Disney's Southern California theme parks hasn't hurt attendance.

Earlier this month, CEO Bob Iger said in an interview with CNBC that the company was seeing no discernible impact on attendance or bookings from the outbreak, which was revealed last month.

More than 70 people in California, including six Disneyland employees, and about two dozen others in six states, Mexico and Canada have been sickened in the outbreak.

Among other price changes that took effect Sunday: A one-day ticket to Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom now is $97, up from $94.

Disney also bumped up ticket prices for children ages 3 to 9.

Kids in that age bracket will be charged $93 for a single-day ticket at Disneyland. That's up from $90. For the Magic Kingdom, that ticket is now $99, up from $93. For the other theme parks it's now $91, up from $88.

Disney typically raises ticket prices at its U.S. theme parks annually, said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.

"We continually add new experiences, and many of our guests select multiday tickets or annual passes, which provide a great value and additional savings," she said.

Contributed by ALEX VEIGA, AP

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