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"The central Florida market is very sophisticated," said Rosenthal. So, when he decided the time was right to build the attraction on land adjoining the Zion's Hope headquarters, Rosenthal went to a professional theme-park design firm, ITEC Entertainment Corp., which has worked for the major theme parks and for the Kennedy Space Center. One of ITEC's latest projects is Universal's new park, Islands of Adventure.

"The Holy Land Experience has proven to be one of the most unique and creatively demanding jobs we've ever undertaken," said Bill Coan, CEO of ITEC. "The challenge of compressing literally thousands of years of biblical history down to an entertaining and inspiring three-to-five-hour guest experience has driven our design team to come up with some of our most inventive ideas and approaches ever."

Coan, speaking above the noise of Interstate 4, told a press conference that his goal was "not to compete but to be comparable" to the other rides and attractions he has worked on. To some degree he has succeeded. Late last year Disney requested and received a tour of Holy Land for some of its attraction-designing "imagineers" from California and Orlando.

Holy Land's two centerpiece shows are a film shot on location in Israel, called The Seed of Promise, and a sound-and-light presentation called The Wilderness Tabernacle. Christians may find both inspiring, but jaded theme-park denizens may find they do not hold a roman candle to the multimillion-dollar special effects of Universal's Terminator or Back to the Future presentations, or even to Disney's Muppets Show. In the brutally competitive world of central Florida attractions, Holy Land ranks in the second-tier tourist attractions, along with comparably-priced venues like Gatorland, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and Splendid China.

The admission price, $17 for adults and $12 for children, is "the bare minimum to cover our costs," Rosenthal said. There is an outstanding mortgage of about $2 million, according to the tax-exempt ministry. In order to break even, Rosenthal said, Holy Land needs to draw 180,000 to 200,000 visitors each year, and it hopes to draw these from central Florida and the 43 million tourists who visit Orlando each year.

Rosenthal, who built Holy Land with the aid of large donations from supporters, said he believed that "God has breathed on this project," and he makes a persuasive case. Before construction on the park began, the city of Orlando decided to put a new interstate exit across the property. The sale enabled Zion's Hope to recoup the cost of the entire 15 acres, and now funnels traffic to Holy Land's front gate. And several weeks before the opening, all the major theme parks announced they were bumping their one-day, adult admission cost to more than $50, making Holy Land seem like even more of a bargain.

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March 5 2001, Vol. 45, No. 4