2019 Theme Index

peter11435

Well-Known Member
They blocked CM passed because they thought the park would be packed.

They changed sidewalks, curbs and planters in the park because they thought the park would be packed (Project Stardust)
Think about how many people they blocked, and yet attendance did not go down. Most of the people blocked pay nothing or very little to get in the park.

Also the fact that the expansion was really not fully completed until late 2019/early 2020 make the 2019 numbers not entirely accurate to gauge its success and the current pandemic make 2020 even less accurate.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Think about how many people they blocked, and yet attendance did not go down. Most of the people blocked pay nothing or very little to get in the park.

Also the fact that the expansion was really not fully completed until late 2019/early 2020 make the 2019 numbers not entirely accurate to gauge its success and the current pandemic make 2020 even less accurate.

0% is 0%. It's not good by any metric. If we were debating +5% vs a (projected 12%) or something that would be a different discussion.

Note DHS did have an increase despite opening later in the year, with the same circumstances of RotR opening after the rest of the land.

I should clarify that I never would have guessed 0% change in attendance for DL. If someone had suggested "flat year-over-year" I would have taken that as a slight exaggeration and guessed +2-5%. 0% was a shock to see.
 
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HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
They made the infrastructure changes and, in particular, raised ticket prices because they EXPECTED larger crowds from the start. The fact that the signature attraction wasn’t open when the land opened pretty much sealed the deal on park attendance at DL. Not surprised to see DHS get a slight bump.

I’m thinking Disney sees this as a successful year, at least stateside, to no one’s surprise I’m sure.
 

el_super

Well-Known Member
Disneyland raised prices, opened Star Tours, and attendance shot up.

Then they raised prices again in 1988 and it went right back down.
For decades, Disneyland's attendance hovered around 10 million guests per year, and yet they kept adding attractions. Even if your goal is to maintain an existing attendance level, you still have to add attractions to counteract attrition.


They made the infrastructure changes and, in particular, raised ticket prices because they EXPECTED larger crowds from the start.

But if the increased attendance was the only factor in deciding to improve the park's traffic flow, wouldn't they have stopped all those projects once the crush never materialized?

And couldn't they have saved the money for the improvements, by just limiting the number of people they let in?
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Then they raised prices again in 1988 and it went right back down.
For decades, Disneyland's attendance hovered around 10 million guests per year, and yet they kept adding attractions. Even if your goal is to maintain an existing attendance level, you still have to add attractions to counteract attrition.




But if the increased attendance was the only factor in deciding to improve the park's traffic flow, wouldn't they have stopped all those projects once the crush never materialized?

And couldn't they have saved the money for the improvements, by just limiting the number of people they let in?
Trust me I’m not for raising prices.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
0% is 0%. It's not good by any metric. If we were debating +5% vs a (projected 12%) or something that would be a different discussion.

Note DHS did have an increase despite opening later in the year, with the same circumstances of RotR opening after the rest of the land.

I should clarify that I never would have guessed 0% change in attendance for DL. If someone had suggested "flat year-over-year" I would have taken that as a slight exaggeration and guessed +2-5%. 0% was a shock to see.
Except 0% doesn’t always mean what you think it means. And this is a case where 0% doesn’t mean 0%.

And again the land was never fully open in 2019.
 

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Premium Member
Well, for DHS, they took away capacity to construct SW:GE, they barely added it back. You can't fit more people than before in there.
DHS has more ride capacity now than it had before they closed TGMR and the Backlot tour. But even if it didn't, the previous ride/show capacity they eliminated was not being fully utilized much of the year, so it looked great on paper but in the park everyone did RnR & ToT and then took the boat to World Showcase.
 

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Premium Member
I marvel at the Columbus Zoo's water park making the US Water parks list.

Ahead of the water parks for Cedar Point, Dollywood, and several Six Flags parks.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
AECOM presumably uses a particular strategy and methdology for estimating attendance for those parks that don't advertise it.

So, if their methodology underestimates a parks attendance by, say, 10%, then they will likely do the same to all the other parks, and make the same 10% underestimation year after year.

So, while the absolute value may be off, the trend line would be accurate.


Also, if AECOM were to incorrectly show a park losing guests year after year and that wasn't really the case, you can be sure that that park would dispute those numbers publicly.
 

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