Attendance climbs with Disney offerings
Susan Strother Clarke
BUSINESS COMMENTARY
December 30, 2005
Looking at the theme-park attendance stats that came out this week, one thing is clear: Disney left mouse tracks on the competition.
The company opened new attractions or shows at its four local parks and pumped millions of dollars into marketing the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.
The result? Disney's attendance in Orlando climbed between 5 percent and 6.5 percent at each park this year, according to Amusement Business magazine.
Meanwhile, attendance at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure declined 8.5 percent. That took Universal Studios to its lowest level in at least six years, according to stats from the trade publication.
Universal's declines came in the same year that it went light on the new stuff. There was a new Fear Factor show, but no new mega-attraction opened at either of its Orlando parks.
True, Universal's 2005 numbers came against difficult comparisons. Attendance spiked a year ago with the opening of the big Mummy ride. And, even in the best of circumstances, it would have been hard to keep pace with Disney's gangbuster year.
Still, SeaWorld, Disney's other big competitor in Orlando, didn't lose attendance, according to AB.
Industry observers tell me that General Electric, Universal's parent, didn't spend big at its parks -- and there's ongoing talk that the attractions are for sale. (I've heard an asking price of $3 billion.)
"Nothing happened very exciting at Universal this year," an analyst said. The company failed to "create additional reasons for coming to the park."
But that needs to happen in a mature theme-park market. Parks are no longer a novelty. Abe Pizam, chief of the hospitality school at UCF, said a key market for theme parks is repeat visitors -- and they may not come back if there's nothing fresh to get them through the gates.
Nationally, attendance at the 50 largest parks in the U.S. and Canada grew a little more than 4 percent in 2005, according to Amusement Business.
Considering the year's high gas prices and hurricanes, that's not a bad number.
But it wasn't long ago that attendance grew by double-digit percentages. The '80s and early '90s were a if-you-build-it-they-will-come period that saw enormous growth -- sometimes 10 percent to 15 percent a year.
Those days are over.
"We've basically reached saturation," said Dennis Spiegel, one of the industry's best-known consultants.
For Central Florida attractions, that means give people something new -- or look for them to go elsewhere.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-clarke3005dec30,0,5087555.column?coll=orl-business-headlines
Susan Strother Clarke
BUSINESS COMMENTARY
December 30, 2005
Looking at the theme-park attendance stats that came out this week, one thing is clear: Disney left mouse tracks on the competition.
The company opened new attractions or shows at its four local parks and pumped millions of dollars into marketing the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.
The result? Disney's attendance in Orlando climbed between 5 percent and 6.5 percent at each park this year, according to Amusement Business magazine.
Meanwhile, attendance at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure declined 8.5 percent. That took Universal Studios to its lowest level in at least six years, according to stats from the trade publication.
Universal's declines came in the same year that it went light on the new stuff. There was a new Fear Factor show, but no new mega-attraction opened at either of its Orlando parks.
True, Universal's 2005 numbers came against difficult comparisons. Attendance spiked a year ago with the opening of the big Mummy ride. And, even in the best of circumstances, it would have been hard to keep pace with Disney's gangbuster year.
Still, SeaWorld, Disney's other big competitor in Orlando, didn't lose attendance, according to AB.
Industry observers tell me that General Electric, Universal's parent, didn't spend big at its parks -- and there's ongoing talk that the attractions are for sale. (I've heard an asking price of $3 billion.)
"Nothing happened very exciting at Universal this year," an analyst said. The company failed to "create additional reasons for coming to the park."
But that needs to happen in a mature theme-park market. Parks are no longer a novelty. Abe Pizam, chief of the hospitality school at UCF, said a key market for theme parks is repeat visitors -- and they may not come back if there's nothing fresh to get them through the gates.
Nationally, attendance at the 50 largest parks in the U.S. and Canada grew a little more than 4 percent in 2005, according to Amusement Business.
Considering the year's high gas prices and hurricanes, that's not a bad number.
But it wasn't long ago that attendance grew by double-digit percentages. The '80s and early '90s were a if-you-build-it-they-will-come period that saw enormous growth -- sometimes 10 percent to 15 percent a year.
Those days are over.
"We've basically reached saturation," said Dennis Spiegel, one of the industry's best-known consultants.
For Central Florida attractions, that means give people something new -- or look for them to go elsewhere.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-clarke3005dec30,0,5087555.column?coll=orl-business-headlines