2012 Themed Entertainment Association park attendance figures show increase over 2011

[The Empress Lilly]

I was simply showing the 1 year pre-potter to today.

No, you spend a lot of time on a fascinating post for which I thanked you!


I thought it fun to explore the subject further with another year.

* wish I would have six decades of TEA numbers in a spreadsheet *

 

[wdwfan4ver]

I wasn't shocked about Disney's numbers except for DCA, but a the percent increase DCA got was huge. I expect DCA attendance to be at 8 to 9 million in 2013 though.

Universal Hollywood increase isn't all on DCA because of how popular the Transformers franchise is for a long time. Transformers as a franchise actually got their first convention in 1994 and there has been Transformers conventions since. That meant there is a strong enough fanbase since conventions for Transformers still exist to this day.

I think Universal actually expected a good size attendance increase from Transformers for Universal Hollywood based on 2 facts.

1)Transformers Franchise has been around since 1984 starting as a toyline.
2.) All 3 Michael Bay Transformers movies have been box office hits.

 

[OFTeric]

No, you spend a lot of time on a fascinating post for which I thanked you!


I thought it fun to explore the subject further with another year.

* wish I would have six decades of TEA numbers in a spreadsheet *

Oh I agree with you. What would be fun is to plot every major E-Ticket at WDW and look at the park from that date to current, to see if they enjoy the same sustainable bumps like Potter has delievered.

My thing with WDW and the blanket 2.2% increase is that you look at the 200k+ bump and what I see is not 1,million people (200k X 3park + MKs 300k) what I see are the same 200k people just being shuffled around.

Just like people could argue the 150k people who bumped USF were just people with Multiday tickets who went to IOA for Potter and USF on the next day

But 2012 was a good year for UO with the re-animated spiderman, Despicable ME, Super Star Parade, and Cincespectacular all debuting at the resort.

I think 2013 will be an interesting year to watch the Orlando Parks because you will have:
1. Full year of New Fantasyland at MK
2. Re-imagined Test Track at Epcot
3. Antarctica at SeaWorld
4. Transformers at USF
5. Full year of daily fireworks and parades at USF
6. No marketable changes at IOA
7. No marketable changes at DAK
8. No marketable changes at DHS

So come year end, we will have a great look at what these additions did for the individual parks, and the parks they are directly connected to.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

My thing with WDW and the blanket 2.2% increase is that you look at the 200k+ bump and what I see is not 1,million people (200k X 3park + MKs 300k) what I see are the same 200k people just being shuffled around.

Aye. That is a problem if it are just parkhoppers. But if they are the same people who visit all four Disney parks over the course of four days, then it doesn't make a difference. They still add their business to each park.

I think 2013 will be an interesting year to watch the Orlando Parks because you will have:
1. Full year of New Fantasyland at MK
2. Re-imagined Test Track at Epcot
3. Antarctica at SeaWorld
4. Transformers at USF
5. Full year of daily fireworks and parades at USF
6. No marketable changes at IOA
7. No marketable changes at DAK
8. No marketable changes at DHS

So come year end, we will have a great look at what these additions did for the individual parks, and the parks they are directly connected to.

Looking forward to it! In fact, I think the coming years will be very interesting in Orlando! SEA has responded to UNI - will it turn out to have been sufficient? And the Empire is set to strike back too. I think we are in for some very large investments in WDW parks in the coming years. UNI for its part is bullishly going forward with all guns blazing, still drunk with euphoria from Potter I.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

If thats the case, then why erode the brand? Single day ticket price is the yardstick that the mass media always picks up on.

? I don't understand what you're saying. The news story is that "tickets for Disney" have gone up in price, as far as the average person is concerned. Disney doesn't want it publicized that they are raising prices.

 

[lazyboy97o]

* wish I would have six decades of TEA numbers in a spreadsheet *

Depending on how much research you are willing to do, you may be able to find numbers going back some time. Just note that the TEA has only been doing these reports for a few years. They took up the mantle after Amusement Business was shuttered in 2006 after over a century of being in print.

 

[OFTeric]

Depending on how much research you are willing to do, you may be able to find numbers going back some time. Just note that the TEA has only been doing these reports for a few years. They took up the mantle after Amusement Business was shuttered in 2006 after over a century of being in print.

Does anyone want to create a public Google Doc with all the raw data in it for everyone to manipulate?

 

[breakin2]

No.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Be Our Guest, Enchanted Tales w/Belle, Princess FairyTale Hall, and Mermaid, will pull in some guests in 2013, and when 7DMT opens, it is likely that MK can sustain its attendance level, and WDW is benefitting from Potterland. Almost anyway you look at it, when Potterland 2.0 opens it will bring in more tourists to Orlando, and WDW will get a percentage of these.

I get that WDW has had maintenance problems, though happily they did a good job on refurbing Splash, but while the fan in me wants to see DHS get a new ride/land, and/or Backlot upgraded into something new (maybe a fictional 1930's backlot), the realist in me knows that if DHS's attendance goes up 2.2% then there is no urgency to "fix" something which isn't broken and which is pulling in more guests.

Superficially, some folks look at DHS and figure that the park needs a Carsland, and has space for a full-sized Carsland (I doubt Lasseter would go with half a Carsland). DHS pulled in 9.9 million . . . Carsland added about 1.5 million guests, so in half a year it bumped DCA attendance from 6.3 to about 7.8 million . . . so maybe for 2013 DCA's attendance will be 9.3 million, which would still be less than DHS!

DHS has this Hollywood vibe, and despite fans wanting something new/more, there are logistical issues at DHS. Despite fans dislike of LMA, Backlot . . . they are sorely needed attractions for this park, especially with the attendance growth, though I think Backlot should be totally remade. If they do Carsland at WDW, I could see them doing it at a fifth park, the current four parks are already bursting at the seams.

The Magic Kingdom is benefiting from Potter land because the majority of people planning a trip to Central Florida to visit Potter will also hit up MK. The same isn't as true for the other parks.

 

[ParentsOf4]

The Magic Kingdom is benefiting from Potter land because the majority of people planning a trip to Central Florida to visit Potter will also hit up MK. The same isn't as true for the other parks.

IMHO, the biggest theme park attendance story in Orlando in 2012 was not any attraction but the rise of the international tourist.

Orlando tourism was up 2.2%. The 4 WDW theme parks were up by essentially the same percentage.

At several financial conference calls, Iger and Rasulo mentioned domestic attendance at WDW was relatively flat. Instead, growth at WDW was determined by international attendance, with Iger and Rasulo quite pleased with the growth from Brazil in particular. Economic conditions in Brazil are strong, with low unemployment and easy credit. As a result, Brazil has a growing middle class with disposable income, many for the first time in their lives. IMHO, this is what drove most attendance gains in Orlando in 2012.

IOA was up 4%, outpacing all other Orlando theme parks, so WWOHP continues to be a bit of a draw. However, like all theme park attractions, they lose their "newness" appeal over time and growth flattens. It's happening at WWOHP; it will happen at Carsland in a few years.

I was surprised Uni's numbers were up a larger percentage than WDW. I was expecting Uni to be flat, the excitement of WWOHP having waned. However, after thinking about it a bit, I have a theory as to what might be happening.

In terms of absolute numbers, WDW gained 1M visits, Uni 450K. Obviously it’s partially because WDW is larger but, I suspect, most gains were from international visitors. These tourists were drawn towards WDW, with Uni benefiting from WDW’s gains. As a result, it looks like WDW and Uni were back in their traditional roles in 2012, with WDW helping Uni, at least until WWOHP2.

This also could explain why DHS and DAK numbers were up. WDW is “new” to international visitors and they want to experience all 4 WDW theme parks equally.

 

[OFTeric]

In terms of absolute numbers, WDW gained 1M visits, Uni 450K. Obviously it’s partially because WDW is larger but, I suspect, most gains were from international visitors. These tourists were drawn towards WDW, with Uni benefiting from WDW’s gains. As a result, it looks like WDW and Uni were back in their traditional roles in 2012, with WDW helping Uni, at least until WWOHP2.

This also could explain why DHS and DAK numbers were up. WDW is “new” to international visitors and they want to experience all 4 WDW theme parks equally.

Do not confuse visits, with individual persons. 1 Million additional visits does not equal = 1 million extra persons

200k difference per park a vast majority of them are the exact same people just with multiday tickets.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Do not confuse visits, with individual persons. 1 Million additional visits does not equal = 1 million extra persons

200k difference per park a vast majority of them are the exact same people just with multiday tickets.

Yes, which is why I wrote "1M visits", not visitors.

 

[OFTeric]

Yes, which is why I wrote "1M visits", not visitors.

That is why you cannot look at the absolute numbers. Without having more Data, all you can do is take each park from each resort with the highest attendance (in this case IOA and USF) and make the broad assumption that most of those additional visits are unique persons.

So in this case we could say that
WDW added 394,000
UO added 307,000

Again these are rough because we don't have any other data to compare it against.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Got it! Sorta.

Geek out, all you nerds.

 

[coolbeans14]

Ok... What?!

 

[cheezbat]

Got it! Sorta.

Geek out, all you nerds.

Seeing that if all those numbers are accurate....it really becomes obvious to me that all the talk of when WDW built Animal Kingdom that it took the guests away from the other 3 parks is pure BS.

As far as I'm concerned, WDW could build fifth and sixth gates and attendance at the original four would most likely just slightly decrease...as long as the other 4 were built up and kept up.

 

[danlb_2000]

Got it! Sorta.

Geek out, all you nerds.

What happened between 1991 and 1992 that caused MK and Epcot to drop so dramatically?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Seeing that if all those numbers are accurate....it really becomes obvious to me that all the talk of when WDW built Animal Kingdom that it took the guests away from the other 3 parks is pure BS.

As far as I'm concerned, WDW could build fifth and sixth gates and attendance at the original four would most likely just slightly decrease...as long as the other 4 were built up and kept up.

Um...according to this chart in 1998 MK dropped 1.4 million, Epcot dropped 1.2 million and DHS dropped .9 million. Then in 1999, MK dropped 400K Epcot dropped 500K, and DHS dropped 800K. That's substantial.

Having said that, the total guests in the resort increased, and the opening of DAK was botched a bit. In deference to when they opened MGM, they didn't have the major attraction additions at the other parks at that time. Test Track was delayed, David Copperfield's Magic Underground didn't happen, nor did any MK additions. Comparatively, around the time MGM opened, Wonders of Life, Norway, and Mickey's Birthdayland were all added.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

What happened between 1991 and 1992 that caused MK and Epcot to drop so dramatically?

Yes, that is the most striking event of the entire graph! What on earth happened there?

UNI opened in 1990. MGM in 1989. Still, their taking away visitors seems to fall way short as an explanation. They would have had an impact, decrease attendance at MK and EPCOT, but this large? And with such peculiar timing from 91 to 92? Besides, the addition of both parks to the Orlando roster would've increased total visitors too.

Maybe a different way of counting visitors? Perhaps park hoppers were previously counted twice, and from 1991 only at the first park? DL and Tokyo were still single park resorts, so their numbers would remain unaffected.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Seeing that if all those numbers are accurate....it really becomes obvious to me that all the talk of when WDW built Animal Kingdom that it took the guests away from the other 3 parks is pure BS.

As far as I'm concerned, WDW could build fifth and sixth gates and attendance at the original four would most likely just slightly decrease...as long as the other 4 were built up and kept up.

If one takes 1997 as the starting date, then DAK seems to have had a major impact. Far less so if 1998 is taken as the starting year.

I'm not sure about the interpretation of the 97-98-99 numbers. Puzzling, isn't it!?