2016 TEA Themed Entertainment Attendance Report

[jt04]

So the top 4 parks in Orlando are all Disney owned. With Pandora now open and TSL and SWL opening over the next couple years, Mickey will remain the top dog. I mean mouse. Forever.

 

[bhg469]

Great post, but I actually think that Universal is starting to slip just a tad in terms of creativity. The 2 HP lands are world class, but since Diagon Alley, Kong is just okay, Fallon is meh and Volcano Bay (which is a water park, no matter how they try to spin it) is off to a rocky start with it's Tapu Tapu fiasco and unfinished construction.. I also was surprised by the areas that could use some TLC in both parks in March.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with your post, but with Pandora (and even RoL and HEA), and what Disney has announced, and the unannounced that we expect at Epcot and MK in the next 5 years, Uni better not rely on just HP and continuing to add mostly weak or mediocre screen attractions.
Essentially, I agree 100% with a quote that @WDW1974 stated when he was talking about some Uni exec..."And his decisions on too many screen-based attractions and too much repetition have kept Creative from upping Disney overall. Sure, anything Potter is among the best creative product out there ... but after that the level drops quite a bit. WDI may spend like our defense department, but overall their product is still better."

I'm disappointed with fallon because he's terrible and the ride is underwhelming and fast and furious looks like it is a guaranteed fail. Having said that, Nintendo is on the horizon. Nintendo stands to be a huge opportunity and hopefully we get that potter level treatment.

My hopes are very high for star wars but the immersion in Pandora and potter are because the source material is very much regulated by two very creative people. Disney will take advice from Lucas but I doubt they will be as critical of themselves.

 

[raven]

Great post, but I actually think that Universal is starting to slip just a tad in terms of creativity. The 2 HP lands are world class, but since Diagon Alley, Kong is just okay, Fallon is meh and Volcano Bay (which is a water park, no matter how they try to spin it) is off to a rocky start with it's Tapu Tapu fiasco and unfinished construction...

How did Disneyland's first day of operation go? Oh that's right, it was a disaster! But mistakes were made and learned upon. Volcano Bay is the first waterpark that Universal ever built so mistakes will be made and learned upon.

Sure, anything Potter is among the best creative product out there ... but after that the level drops quite a bit. WDI may spend like our defense department, but overall their product is still better."

Uh yeah. Journey Into Imagination 2 & 3 were such amazing products to come out of WDI. Same could be said for Stitch, eh? What about Circle of Life? WDI still produces "hit-or-miss" attractions.

I'm not saying Universal is any better but they are at least making the most of the confined space they have. Meanwhile over at Epcot there are a number of empty, abandoned areas that leave the park a mere shell of what it used to be. Yes, there are plans down the road but they always turn out to be WAY down the road.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Disney will take advice from Lucas but I doubt they will be as critical of themselves.

I agree that with Cameron and Rowling keeping an eye, those lands had to be spectacular, but I think that Disney wants Star Wars Land to have the impact that Potter did at Uni, so I believe they will go all out on this 'Potter Swatter', as some call it (although the term is rather silly, because we can have great things 'cross town at both places). I hope that's the case at least. And, I'm encouraged by Pandora

 

[JoeCamel]

So the top 4 parks in Orlando are all Disney owned. With Pandora now open and TSL and SWL opening over the next couple years, Mickey will remain the top dog. I mean mouse. Forever.

So I guess you hang your hat on TEA's numbers? OK

 

[The_Bellringer]

Okay I might have forgotten that backlot tour closed a year before everything else. But Streets of America was never really an attraction. At animation the only thing missing are the drawing classes, most of the other meet and greets have moved elsewhere and there is all the new Star Wars Launch Bay stuff.
Star Wars weekends are basically now permanently on with the new stage show and fireworks.
So yes if you count backlot tour, lights motors action and the honey I shrunk playground then the park has lost three attractions, but I doubt any of them are something that people were going especially for.

Why would they get rid of the animation classes though? At DCA there's always a line of people waiting to get into the next class, so it seems pretty popular.

 

[Nubs70]

Simplistically, Disney wants to drive away local annual pass holders who visit often but spend comparatively little each visit.

In current business thinking, total revenue is less important than margin. In recent years, Disney Parks & Resorts operating margin has increased at about twice the rate of revenue.

However, the margin strategy limits levers to price increases and reduction in COGS. Once OEE approaches 90%, incremental improvement is difficult to achieve. Therefore, the time will come when price increases will become the only remaining lever. This leaves DIS P&R highly susceptible to impact of recession.Margin uber alles creates a very fragile foundation.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I think the slide at Disney is people rescheduling their visits to this year because of all the new stuff this year as compared to last year.

 

[stini228]

That occupancy number is unreal. They have what, 25,000 hotel rooms? Wowza.

 

[monothingie]

However, the margin strategy limits levers to price increases and reduction in COGS. Once OEE approaches 90%, incremental improvement is difficult to achieve. Therefore, the time will come when price increases will become the only remaining lever. This leaves DIS P&R highly susceptible to impact of recession.Margin uber alles creates a very fragile foundation.

This happens all the time and Yousee Disney react by offering freebies such as dining and resort discounts. But this is only to satisfy the lower income customer. The higher ends and higher margin customer are less likely to be affected fluctuations in the economy. I would counter argue that by aggressively targeting the higher end they are insulting themselves from pitfalls of recessions.

 

[Jon81uk]

Why would they get rid of the animation classes though? At DCA there's always a line of people waiting to get into the next class, so it seems pretty popular.

Star Wars took over the space. I was hoping they would move the classes to the old Sounds Dangerous theatre, but that's got Star Wars in it too.

 

[ParentsOf4]

However, the margin strategy limits levers to price increases and reduction in COGS. Once OEE approaches 90%, incremental improvement is difficult to achieve. Therefore, the time will come when price increases will become the only remaining lever. This leaves DIS P&R highly susceptible to impact of recession.Margin uber alles creates a very fragile foundation.

Historically, Disney's theme parks have always been susceptible to recessions. This was true even when the Disney brothers were calling the shots.

Disney's leverage is in subcontracting as much as possible and then incrementally squeezing suppliers. Suppliers willingly complete with each other to win Disney's volume of business, even if it means sacrificing their margins.

Corporate loyalty means little in today's business world. If your current supplier can't meet your cost objectives, put the work out for competitive bid and watch suppliers bend over backwards to win your business.

It's a common tactic employed by large companies; squeeze The Little Guys who are desperate for business.

Returning to the the topic of this thread, it means Disney is willing to sacrifice some attendance if it means increased operating margin. You are not a "Guest"; you are a source of profit.

 

[danlb_2000]

That occupancy number is unreal. They have what, 25,000 hotel rooms? Wowza.

I think it's closer to 30,000.

 

[montyz81]

Interesting article in Fox Business about this. This one statement says it all. "Stagnancy slays in the theme park industry: You need bar-raising rides and experiences to keep guests coming back." Pandora sounds like it was a move to do what Disney does best when they were always attempting to push the boundaries of technology to better the experience.
If I look at the rest of the parks, attention to detail on new stuff is below typical Disney norms and existing experiences are lacking significant or no updates to bring back attendees. Read on for more details. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/06/02/3-ways-disney-world-top-rival-keeps-closing-gap.html

 

[jt04]

So I guess you hang your hat on TEA's numbers? OK

At least to support I was making. Are those numbers in dispute?

 

[JoeCamel]

At least to support I was making. Are those numbers in dispute?

Yes

 

[UpAllNight]

Great post, but I actually think that Universal is starting to slip just a tad in terms of creativity. The 2 HP lands are world class, but since Diagon Alley, Kong is just okay, Fallon is meh and Volcano Bay (which is a water park, no matter how they try to spin it) is off to a rocky start with it's Tapu Tapu fiasco and unfinished construction.. I also was surprised by the areas that could use some TLC in both parks in March.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with your post, but with Pandora (and even RoL and HEA), and what Disney has announced, and the unannounced that we expect at Epcot and MK in the next 5 years, Uni better not rely on just HP and continuing to add mostly weak or mediocre screen attractions.
Essentially, I agree 100% with a quote that @WDW1974 stated when he was talking about some Uni exec..."And his decisions on too many screen-based attractions and too much repetition have kept Creative from upping Disney overall. Sure, anything Potter is among the best creative product out there ... but after that the level drops quite a bit. WDI may spend like our defense department, but overall their product is still better."
Edit: And as @bhg469 reminded me below, that Fast and Furious screen thing is coming too. Yawn.

Spot on and I feel the same.

I regard Universal Studios as a bit of a mess with individually good rides but collectively a mess of a park. The entire entrance area is screen city and the back half beyond MIB is a complete waste. Islands hosts some of the best rides of the planet but Marvel, Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park have barely changed since 2000 and are looking jaded. Suess Landing needs either another dark ride or a coaster to bulk it out too. Overall Universal can't compete on shows either...These bulk out the day and give you an opportunity for a rest. That Toon Lagoon theatre throughout its history has either hosted rubbish or nothing. Sinbad is poor. The nighttime show at Universal Studios is worse than Disneys weaker efforts.

I question their recent direction...I think they'll always wow new visitors as the rides are sublime and technologically cutting edge. We noticed problems on this visit which we overlooked when we visited in 2015 (for the first time in ages). Once the initial wow factor disappears, we found certain areas of Universal aged faster than Disney.

A big difference actually in our shift of perceptions in this trip compared to last is because we started appreciating the diversity and depth in the Disney experience. I find a lot of their rides a lot more reridable, and the shows/nighttime shows are leagues above. They too have issues with dated areas....and it feels severely underbuilt for the crowds attracted.

 

[montyz81]

Honestly, this type of quarterly report is what every Disney diehard fan should hope for - Disney market share down and Uni market share up...significantly.

I always imagine what the Orlando parks would be like right now if UNI had never purchased theme park rights to Harry Potter. Pandora might never have been built, meaning Harambe would not have been as significantly expanded. Changes to DTD might still have happened, but I would question whether Toy Story Land would be happening as well as the apparently LEGIT Star Wars Land we are now getting. Who knows, maybe Staggs would still be here.

I think that Disney sees what the competition is bringing now, and man is UNI swinging - rights, lefts, upper cuts. More rides, better theming, a competitive water park (when it is actually finished and running properly), most likely more Potter...and Nintendo Land hasn't even begun. And that addition will be interesting as I am wondering if they will be having a castle now as the icon for that land...maybe giving them the opportunity for a nighttime fireworks show that actually doesn't suck. Oh, and many more resorts with nice amenities, great service, with lots and lots of rooms to fill.

Disney needed this for their flagship resort in Orlando. Complacency makes a person far too comfortable. I have to think that if this keeps happening, TWDC will keep pushing for growth in Orlando - meaning more rooms, better infrastructure (hello gondolas), better attractions (hello Pandora, Toy Story Land, Star Wars Land, and whatever is happening with Epcot), and even more for MK. They want to market themselves as the masters of themed entertainment? Well, the past 2 to 3 years have been a nice start. And for me, having been a fan only since 2009, Pandora has been the first demonstration for me of what Disney can do when the gloves come off. The money and creativity put into that expansion, coupled with marketing that actually didn't stink, produced a number of incredible new experiences for DAK. I know that a lot of people don't include Disney Springs in any of this, but I feel like they have vastly improved that part of the larger resort with fabulous dining, more live entertainment and shopping. DHS is starting to transform now, with quite possibly the most impressive land (and E-Ticket) ever produced in a theme park (and no, I am not talking about Toy Story Land). And Epcot has been just waiting in the shadows.

I say thank you Comcast, for dumping tons of money into the Orlando parks. And don't let up any time soon.

Fair enough, but the unfortunate part of this is it seems like Disney are trying to out do Universal as oppose to the other way around. That to me means Disney is basing their decisions on what the other park is doing rather than trying to push the boundaries and be creative in their own right. Pandora rides are a mixture of been there done that but with video screens and let's do something a little better then what Uni is doing with simulation rides. The land itself is amazing, but they didn't carry it through to the rides completely. Why not try to go even further with the AAs? Make an AA animal walk rather then a video screen animal walk. From my perspective, (haven't been on the rides yet so this just a viewpoint from afar) the budget appears to have run dry after pouring it into the one AA. If this were done in Walt's time, he'd likely try to push the limits beyond just one AA. It honestly seems like Disney uses the phrase "good enough" too much these days. "Good enough to compete with Uni" "Good enough to keep investors happy". So the quality of the product that we all have come to know and love is in serious jeopardy. They use to have a wide gap in terms of quality of product over Uni. That gap is closing up fast.

 

[jt04]

Yes

Sorry but since this place has an infestation of those who are terminally cynical I would like it if they actually proved such claims. Not holding my breath. However, I am confident that every park at WDW out drew every park at Uni. Just based on the scale of each resort but also reported wait times. I would only question the narrowness of the margins. I suspect if anything they underestimated WDW's numbers.

 

[donsullivan]

I'm still working on the combined data set but here is another chart that compares market share of the 4 players in the Orlando marketplace in water parks. I don't have data back as far for water parks as I do for theme parks but this will be interesting to track going forward with Wet 'n Wild dropping off for 2017 and Volcano Bay getting added.

One thing that surprised me is how much of a chunk of the marketplace Sea World was able to grab very quickly with the opening of Aquatica.