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NYT: "Universal....Takes Aim at Disney"
- Thread starter mgf
- Start date
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
That was definitely a rumor a while ago.
I've seen the layout too, it's pretty basic - it's more or less a straight shot from the back of the Dragon Challenge/Sindbad area to Jaws.
HenryMystic
Well-Known Member
disney fan 13
Well-Known Member
^WDI isn't involved... 
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Well, that was magical.
An E-ticket surprise?
Thanks, Universal!
An E-ticket surprise?
Thanks, Universal!
disney fan 13
Well-Known Member
AUTOBOTS, TRANSFORM!!!
Jedeye80
Active Member
I hope uni does build tranformers, hope potter part 2 is stunning, all this competition will either spur Disney into doing something at least or sitting back and doing nothing, the only winners will be us! I love Disney but they need to get with the times, spend it to make it but I fear that until uni open a 3rd park TDO will be happy with a .1 increase in attendance and do nothing unless told.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWOHP) opened in June 2010. 2009 was the last full year without WWOHP, 2011 was the first. Comparing the 2009 vs. 2011 Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) attendance numbers is revealing:
WWOHP opened with great expectations and has completely delivered; it’s been a huge hit for UO. There’s a reason we’re getting more HP in USF!
Despite the amazing increase, IOA still had 2M fewer visitors than WDW’s worst performing theme park, DHS (7.674M vs. 9.699M).
WDW is still, by far, the primary destination for most Orlando tourists. If the 47.400M and 54.500M numbers are to be believed (and I have some doubts, see below), best case is that over 75% of Orlando tourists still don’t spend a single day at UO. All other Orlando destinations remain secondary to WDW.
WWOHP hurt SWO more than WDW. WDW’s attendance was relatively flat for several years before the opening of WWOHP and remained flat despite a major recession and the opening of WWOHP. WDW was fortunate to have made it through these 2 challenges unscathed but hasn’t done anything to draw in new guests either. (I’m intentionally avoiding the whole “declining quality” debate!) WWOHP shows what happens when a theme park “gets it right”. Disney might be trying to counter with FLE and Avatarland but I reserve my judgment until I walk through the completed lands. A great ad campaign or major studio hits for Avatar 2 & 3 could turn these into big winners for WDW. They also could be duds. I just don’t know about these two. (WWHOP sounded like a winner from the moment I first read about it.)
Busch Gardens Tampa seems to have been distant enough from the fray to be unaffected by WWOHP.
The 7.1M Orlando tourists gained from 2009 to 2011 went somewhere. Clearly UO received the lion’s share. But there’s at least another 3.5M unaccounted for. Where did they go? Not to WDW (flat attendance), SWO (declining attendance), or Orlando’s several water parks (total attendance was down slightly, mostly down at Aquatica). Are they, amazingly, visiting Orlando and not going to any major theme park?
Based on my own extremely limited discussions with other tourists, more people than ever are splitting their vacations between WDW and UO, spending a day or two at UO and the rest of their vacations at WDW or elsewhere. I continue to run into people who are “doing Disney” only vacations but still not too many “doing Universal” only vacations.
Disney’s price increase earlier this year almost seems to intentionally push people away from visiting WDW for more than 4 days. It was only a few years ago that adding days 5 through 10 to a WDW ticket cost $4/day. Now these cost $10/day, an increase of 250%. Is Disney conceding that it no longer can keep many guests captive for an entire week, deciding instead that the way to make up the lost revenue is to gouge those people who do remain loyal to WDW for more than 4 days at a time? (See AP price increase discussions as well for more cannon fodder on Disney’s treatment of its loyal customers.)
- Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT) attendance increased from 4.100M to 4.284M, up 4.5%
- SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) attendance fell from 5.800M to 5.202M, down 10.3%
- Total WDW attendance remained flat, 47.513M compared with 47.449M, down 0.1%
- Total UO attendance increased from 10.157M to 13.718M, up 35.1%
- USF attendance increased from 5.550M to 6.044M, up 9.3%
- IOA attendance increased from 4.627M to 7.674M, up 65.9%
- The overall number of tourists visiting Orlando increased from 47.4M to 54.5M, up 14.6%
WWOHP opened with great expectations and has completely delivered; it’s been a huge hit for UO. There’s a reason we’re getting more HP in USF!
Despite the amazing increase, IOA still had 2M fewer visitors than WDW’s worst performing theme park, DHS (7.674M vs. 9.699M).
WDW is still, by far, the primary destination for most Orlando tourists. If the 47.400M and 54.500M numbers are to be believed (and I have some doubts, see below), best case is that over 75% of Orlando tourists still don’t spend a single day at UO. All other Orlando destinations remain secondary to WDW.
WWOHP hurt SWO more than WDW. WDW’s attendance was relatively flat for several years before the opening of WWOHP and remained flat despite a major recession and the opening of WWOHP. WDW was fortunate to have made it through these 2 challenges unscathed but hasn’t done anything to draw in new guests either. (I’m intentionally avoiding the whole “declining quality” debate!) WWOHP shows what happens when a theme park “gets it right”. Disney might be trying to counter with FLE and Avatarland but I reserve my judgment until I walk through the completed lands. A great ad campaign or major studio hits for Avatar 2 & 3 could turn these into big winners for WDW. They also could be duds. I just don’t know about these two. (WWHOP sounded like a winner from the moment I first read about it.)
Busch Gardens Tampa seems to have been distant enough from the fray to be unaffected by WWOHP.
The 7.1M Orlando tourists gained from 2009 to 2011 went somewhere. Clearly UO received the lion’s share. But there’s at least another 3.5M unaccounted for. Where did they go? Not to WDW (flat attendance), SWO (declining attendance), or Orlando’s several water parks (total attendance was down slightly, mostly down at Aquatica). Are they, amazingly, visiting Orlando and not going to any major theme park?
Based on my own extremely limited discussions with other tourists, more people than ever are splitting their vacations between WDW and UO, spending a day or two at UO and the rest of their vacations at WDW or elsewhere. I continue to run into people who are “doing Disney” only vacations but still not too many “doing Universal” only vacations.
Disney’s price increase earlier this year almost seems to intentionally push people away from visiting WDW for more than 4 days. It was only a few years ago that adding days 5 through 10 to a WDW ticket cost $4/day. Now these cost $10/day, an increase of 250%. Is Disney conceding that it no longer can keep many guests captive for an entire week, deciding instead that the way to make up the lost revenue is to gouge those people who do remain loyal to WDW for more than 4 days at a time? (See AP price increase discussions as well for more cannon fodder on Disney’s treatment of its loyal customers.)
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
Parentsof4, attendance is only one metric to look at here. Universal and Comcast aren't starting off one of the most aggressive rounds of theme park building because of attendance. Yes, it's something that has helped, but guest spending in all areas is the real reason they feel so confident in their ability to expand and gain revenue.
They have Potter that is already a merchandising giant, Despicable Me that is selling out of merch consistently, and Transformers on the way that has been a rousing success in Hollywood in generating profit. That's the real metric to look at.
And one metric you can measure is the willingness to spend and to shoot for the (dark of) the moon. Universal wants to impress. They want to have people dying to come see their rides. To see their new, big, shiny toys.
I don't know if the same can be said from up the road.
It's crazy to think about.
They have Potter that is already a merchandising giant, Despicable Me that is selling out of merch consistently, and Transformers on the way that has been a rousing success in Hollywood in generating profit. That's the real metric to look at.
And one metric you can measure is the willingness to spend and to shoot for the (dark of) the moon. Universal wants to impress. They want to have people dying to come see their rides. To see their new, big, shiny toys.
I don't know if the same can be said from up the road.
It's crazy to think about.
TarzanRocked99-
Well-Known Member
i think the thing that is impressing me most is that its not like Uni didnt already have a major project in the works. I mean WWOHP2 is already under construction even if they won't officially admit it. Instead of resting on the fact that they added three new offerings this year and have more coming down the pike, they decide to rush a huge E-ticket into development to fill the gap and on top of that a family friendly D-ticket to IOA to balance things out. We havn't seen expansion like this in Orlando in decades.
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
Yup. 2 100-million-dollar e-ticket rides under construction at once, a land, a transportation/dark ride connecting 2 parks, a D ticket, and a resort all being constructed at once. And that's only the major projects.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
I've agree with both TarzanRocked99- and GLaDOS. What Universal and Comcast are doing right now in Orlando is amazing. Doubling down on their investment rather than sitting back and resting.
Actually - none of these options really thrills me and I find it a very difficult question to answer.
For me Transformers is the equivalent to Avatar. It is a theme I have no interest in at all whatsoever. I know that the ride at USH gets pretty good reviews so I am hopeful that I will enjoy the ride as a ride (I love Spiderman at IoA, so that's a good sign).
Neither Mermaid nor 7DMR (why isn't it 7DMT?) excite me as rides. But I think their surroundings will be pleasant to look at and finally bring to the MK Fantasyland some of the charm the ones at DL and DLP have. That is something I am looking forward to.
ETA: Oh and since I just declared opinions unequal on that other thread: You are welcome to tell me that my opinion is wrong! But I will stick with it anyway.
Lee
Adventurer
This, I'm gonna need to know more about....
ChrisFL
Premium Member
There's always one in every crowd.
J/K, I know what you mean. I'm not a huge Transformers fan (at least of the new movies) but it is a very popular franchise/ride, so its good for the parks IMO
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
I'm not a big Transformers fan (that's for my brothers, lol...one brother just adored the cartoon movie when he was young) but I found the first movie ok...though the next two were horried. But the ride looks great! I'd go on it in a heartbeat even while not being the biggest fan of the franchise. And it is good for the park so I say ok, bring it!