2015 Attendance

[squidward]

List came out today. Sorry I don't have a link. As usual Magic Kingdom was #1 in the country. Biggest news to me was that Universal Studios was only 100,000 shy of Disney Studios. That's not even 300 people per day. Both the Universal parks had the biggest increases again. It's almost a guarantee that when next years figures come out, Universal will beat out the DHS (and possibly Animal Kingdom).

Clearly, this doesn't mean anything to any of us, but this has GOT to be slightly embarrassing, or at least ego-bruising to Disney. They can say competition is good and they wanted to reduce attendance all they want, but the truth is, Disney NEVER expected to lose an attendance battle in Florida. 5 Years ago, I never thought I'd see the day.

 

[danlb_2000]

List came out today. Sorry I don't have a link. As usual Magic Kingdom was #1 in the country. Biggest news to me was that Universal Studios was only 100,000 shy of Disney Studios. That's not even 300 people per day. Both the Universal parks had the biggest increases again. It's almost a guarantee that when next years figures come out, Universal will beat out the Studios (and possibly Animal Kingdom).

Clearly, this doesn't mean anything to any of us, but this has GOT to be slightly embarrassing, or at least ego-bruising to Disney. They can say competition is good and they wanted to reduce attendance all they want, but the truth is, Disney NEVER expected to lose an attendance battle in Florida.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/2015-theme-park-attendance.913552/

 

[Goofyernmost]

List came out today. Sorry I don't have a link. As usual Magic Kingdom was #1 in the country. Biggest news to me was that Universal Studios was only 100,000 shy of Disney Studios. That's not even 300 people per day. Both the Universal parks had the biggest increases again. It's almost a guarantee that when next years figures come out, Universal will beat out the DHS (and possibly Animal Kingdom).

Clearly, this doesn't mean anything to any of us, but this has GOT to be slightly embarrassing, or at least ego-bruising to Disney. They can say competition is good and they wanted to reduce attendance all they want, but the truth is, Disney NEVER expected to lose an attendance battle in Florida. 5 Years ago, I never thought I'd see the day.

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you are trying to say. If Universal is generating less then a half closed Disney Studio shouldn't it be Universal that is embarrassed that it can't even beat a dead park with a full one. What scares me is that Disney will once again think that that have no need to worry. Just continue business as usual.

 

[Siren]

List came out today. Sorry I don't have a link. As usual Magic Kingdom was #1 in the country. Biggest news to me was that Universal Studios was only 100,000 shy of Disney Studios. That's not even 300 people per day. Both the Universal parks had the biggest increases again. It's almost a guarantee that when next years figures come out, Universal will beat out the DHS (and possibly Animal Kingdom).

Clearly, this doesn't mean anything to any of us, but this has GOT to be slightly embarrassing, or at least ego-bruising to Disney. They can say competition is good and they wanted to reduce attendance all they want, but the truth is, Disney NEVER expected to lose an attendance battle in Florida. 5 Years ago, I never thought I'd see the day.

I totally disagree with this.

 

[PhotoDave219]

List came out today. Sorry I don't have a link. As usual Magic Kingdom was #1 in the country. Biggest news to me was that Universal Studios was only 100,000 shy of Disney Studios. That's not even 300 people per day. Both the Universal parks had the biggest increases again. It's almost a guarantee that when next years figures come out, Universal will beat out the DHS (and possibly Animal Kingdom).

Clearly, this doesn't mean anything to any of us, but this has GOT to be slightly embarrassing, or at least ego-bruising to Disney. They can say competition is good and they wanted to reduce attendance all they want, but the truth is, Disney NEVER expected to lose an attendance battle in Florida. 5 Years ago, I never thought I'd see the day.

Ongoing discussion here..... http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/2015-theme-park-attendance.913552/

 

[squidward]

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you are trying to say. If Universal is generating less then a half closed Disney Studio shouldn't it be Universal that is embarrassed that it can't even beat a dead park with a full one. What scares me is that Disney will once again think that that have no need to worry. Just continue business as usual.

The park being half empty has little to do with the numbers. They have been stagnant at the other 3 parks for the past few years. Universal's attendance rose 16%. Last year, Universal trailed by 2 million guests. This year by just 100,000. They no doubt will surpass DHS, but it's possible they may surpass Animal Kingdom as well. Epcot is probably safe since they're opening the new Frozen ride this summer.

I love WDW, but whether it's intentional or not, they are losing ground. Given the pace at which Disney builds, it will be another 5 years before DHS is complete. No clue about Avatar, but not sure that will make a tremendous difference anyhow. Universal has the new water park opening next year, reopening a redone Hulk this summer, opening the King Kong attraction this summer, as well as the new Resort. Next summer will be Fast and Furious.

I said this about 6 years ago when we started splitting our vacations between the 2. It was right after WWoHP opened and about the same time Epcot butchered the ride in Mexico. Then a couple years later with the Little Mermaid ride - Disney has not only been cost cutting at the resorts and the parks in terms of hours and entertainment. They're getting cheap with the new rides as well. It was only a matter of time before Universal closed the gap. Like them or not, Universal is no longer a diversion or a day trip in Orlando. It's become a destination in itself.

 

[squidward]

I totally disagree with this.

Which part? The numbers are what they are. Two of Disney's parks are barely outpacing the Universal parks.

Or do you disagree that Disney won't be at all embarrassed or regretful if Universal does pass them?

 

[Goofyernmost]

The park being half empty has little to do with the numbers. They have been stagnant at the other 3 parks for the past few years. Universal's attendance rose 16%. Last year, Universal trailed by 2 million guests. This year by just 100,000. They no doubt will surpass DHS, but it's possible they may surpass Animal Kingdom as well. Epcot is probably safe since they're opening the new Frozen ride this summer.

I love WDW, but whether it's intentional or not, they are losing ground. Given the pace at which Disney builds, it will be another 5 years before DHS is complete. No clue about Avatar, but not sure that will make a tremendous difference anyhow. Universal has the new water park opening next year, reopening a redone Hulk this summer, opening the King Kong attraction this summer, as well as the new Resort. Next summer will be Fast and Furious.

I said this about 6 years ago when we started splitting our vacations between the 2. It was right after WWoHP opened and about the same time Epcot butchered the ride in Mexico. Then a couple years later with the Little Mermaid ride - Disney has not only been cost cutting at the resorts and the parks in terms of hours and entertainment. They're getting cheap with the new rides as well. It was only a matter of time before Universal closed the gap. Like them or not, Universal is no longer a diversion or a day trip in Orlando. It's become a destination in itself.

I understand that, but, I still have a problem understanding how not even meeting the numbers for a dead park can be considered a victory no matter how much was gained. By rights they should be slaughtering DHS. Universal should not only have closed the gap they should have left it in the dust. Even I, a fan of Disney (well, both actually) cannot understand what the appeal of DHS has been for the past year, at least. Even if you left out IOA from Universal, it still has more to do, better stuff to see and quality that outshines Disney by a mile. To still be behind with DHS at it's absolute worse, is cause for thought. To me it means that once Star Wars (even a mediocre Star Wars) is in place, Uni. might as well hang up their hat. If their anchor park cannot exceed the numbers of the worst park in the group at Disney, they have major problems. They will still do well and that is good. Disney needs a rival, but, they can never reach the numbers that Disney can. Even if they could... where would they put all those people. They have no where near the space available to handle it.

 

[Siren]

Which part? The numbers are what they are. Two of Disney's parks are barely outpacing the Universal parks.

Or do you disagree that Disney won't be at all embarrassed or regretful if Universal does pass them?

All of it. You have already demonstrated your extreme bias toward anything Disney does, especially in your I hate Avatar thread. LOL.

Two of Disney Parks are not barely outpacing, they *are* successfully outpacing Universal. DHS is a half day park (not for me) and AK closes before dusk -- both parks have not had new attractions for years.

Universal opened Harry Potter in 2010 and Diagon Alley in 2014 -- they have had more than enough time to surpass Disney's weakest and least visited parks.

I love Universal -- they blew me away with Harry Potter one and two. Universal has proven that they are a World Class destination instead of Disney's sidekick. They can create amazing and immersive lands just like Disney or better.

Universal finally cracked the formula but what do they do? They go back to their old habit of throwing up all these random 3D/4D screen box rides instead of sticking with creating lands and building on the larger concepts.

Also, Universal needs more entertainment linked with huge 'events' or 'parties' connected to their IP's to draw people in and keep them put by giving them something to look forward to. It's a despised concept but it works.

I think Nintendoland can help Universal to pass DHS or AK. I know Universal likes to keep their edge but they need make Nintendoland beautiful and fun -- not just focus on Bowser and his castle. I can see them doing that. LOL.

I just think you're celebrating prematurely. Universal has a lot of work to do.