News TEA/AECOM 2018 Theme Index Released

[danlb_2000]

Every project has "difficulties".

I should also point out DAKs increase hasn't come at the expense of other parks. As some suggested would happen.

Not sure if we can conclude that. Here are the growth percentages in 2017 and 2018. MK and DHS grew faster in 2018, but AK and Epcot's growth slowed.

	2017​	2018​
MK	0.3%​	2.0%​
Epcot	4.0%​	2.0%​
DHS	-0.5%​	4.8%​
AK	13.2%​	9.1%​
Overall	3.8%​	4.2%​

 

[MisterPenguin]

DAK attendance up 10%... daaaang.

And that's on top of the previous year's 15.3% growth. Pandora (and all the other night activities, making DAK a 'full day park) has had a very clear impact on DAK attendance.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Trends are important. USO seems to be owning it for the past 10 years. I wonder what they’re doing differently....

Starting from a smaller base?

If 2 million more people visited USO than the year before, that would be a 20% jump in attendance. But, if that happened to the MK, it would only be a 10% jump in attendance because MK, by itself, gets twice the attendance of USO.

USO's growth was around 2% until Potter, then it jumped to the mid teens... for just three years and now has drop to 2-5% yearly growth.

Disney has had similar normal growth and similar spikes with the opening of big, new lands/rides.

 

[Janir]

Some claimed Pandora was a mistake. That was after they claimed it couldn't get past the development phase. Fun times.

I personally didn't think Pandora was a good idea. I obviously was wrong.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

This rumor also came from people that have very good track records. Considering that they had to work with James Cameron, it shouldn't be the least bit surprising that there were difficulties.

Avatar 2 was originally scheduled to come out in 2014.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm surprised that Universal hasn't tried to pick up Merlin or Six Flags.

And do what? rebrand them as Universal parks and add lots of $$$ for proper theming, or just run them as amusement parks?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

And that's on top of the previous year's 15.3% growth. Pandora (and all the other night activities, making DAK a 'full day park) has had a very clear impact on DAK attendance.

It also proves my point that the "build more stuff to decrease crowding" people need to be careful what they wish for. DAK has more to do than they did two years ago, but I'm not sure they have 25% more capacity to accommodate the 25% more people. When attendance growth outpaces capacity additions, the parks get more crowded, not less.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Not sure if we can conclude that. Here are the growth percentages in 2017 and 2018. MK and DHS grew faster in 2018, but AK and Epcot's growth slowed.

	2017​	2018​
MK	0.3%​	2.0%​
Epcot	4.0%​	2.0%​
DHS	-0.5%​	4.8%​
AK	13.2%​	9.1%​
Overall	3.8%​	4.2%​

Well, MK's growth has been erratic over the past 10 years with twice having minor negative growth to several years of 2% growth and three years of around 4% growth. So, it's hard to know what is 'normal' for MK.

We do know that with the big attendance leaps of DAK in the past two years that MK had 0.3% and 2.0% growth, which is a big improvement over the negative growth in 2016 (before Pandora) but half as high as 2012-2015, but more than 2008-2013.

That MK's attendance still went up with DAK drawing even bigger crowds and now DHS drawing crowds seems to indicate at the least a lack of negative impact.

But then again, everybody's boat floated up in Orlando with the city itself constantly announcing record breaking number of visitors and all the parks enjoying an increase.

Chart goes from present to the past...

Total numbers in the millions.

Percent changes in attendance...

 

[DisneyJayL]

Well, this is all good.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It also proves my point that the "build more stuff to decrease crowding" people need to be careful what they wish for. DAK has more to do than they did two years ago, but I'm not sure they have 25% more capacity to accommodate the 25% more people. When attendance growth outpaces capacity additions, the parks get more crowded, not less.

Central Florida needs more stuff in the A - C ticket range. Stuff that won’t draw in additional visitors. The problem is that such stuff lacks strong financial correlation.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Central Florida needs more stuff in the A - C ticket range. Stuff that won’t draw in additional visitors. The problem is that such stuff lacks strong financial correlation.

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy is a step in the right direction.

 

[devoy1701]

it's amazing how Epcot is going to be passed over by both AK and DHS in the next 12 months. I mean kuddos to TDO/WDW/Disney Parks for the turnaround of AK and DHS (a few years late) but Epcot will literally be left in the dust.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Central Florida needs more stuff in the A - C ticket range. Stuff that won’t draw in additional visitors. The problem is that such stuff lacks strong financial correlation.

It also lacks strong public approval. There was a thread here a month ago polling with ride in DHS, and Saucers was dead last -- the only C-Ticket of the group. And when C-Tickets are built (or rumored to be built -- O hai, UK ride!), Disney fans (at least, the ones here) bitterly complain about how lackluster it is and call Disney cheap.

C-Tickets are constantly being called out to be ripped out (o, hai, Primeval Whirl and Aladdin Carpets!).

There is no love in building new C-Tickets (O, hai, Na'vi River Journey!).

Everyone says Disney should build C-Tickets, until they do.

 

[MisterPenguin]

it's amazing how Epcot is going to be passed over by both AK and DHS in the next 12 months. I mean kuddos to TDO/WDW/Disney Parks for the turnaround of AK and DHS (a few years late) but Epcot will literally be left in the dust.

That is why they're speedily putting up two new restaurants and a new fireworks show and expanding festival days and what's offered at those festivals.

Not to mention the new rides and spine the following years.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It also lacks strong public approval. There was a thread here a month ago polling with ride in DHS, and Saucers was dead last -- the only C-Ticket of the group. And when C-Tickets are built (or rumored to be built -- O hai, UK ride!), Disney fans (at least, the ones here) bitterly complain about how lackluster it is and call Disney cheap.

C-Tickets are constantly being called out to be ripped out (o, hai, Primeval Whirl and Aladdin Carpets!).

There is no love in building new C-Tickets (O, hai, Na'vi River Journey!).

Everyone says Disney should build C-Tickets, until they do.

A C Ticket, by its very nature, isn’t supposed to be a marquee attraction. It is also not a justification for disregarding design and storytelling, a problem with many of the examples you cite.

 

[devoy1701]

That is why they're speedily putting up two new restaurants and a new fireworks show and expanding festival days and what's offered at those festivals.

Not to mention the new rides and spine the following years.

understood...but it's lipstick. They let that park rest on it's laurels and ride on it's previous reputation for way too long. Those things you mention will hopefully keep it from bleeding attendance numbers while they work on the correction. By then we'll still have Epcot at 12m while DHS and AK are both at the 16m mark. When is Guardians and Ratatouille expected to open anyway?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

understood...but it's lipstick. They let that park rest on it's laurels and ride on it's previous reputation for way too long. Those things you mention will hopefully keep it from bleeding attendance numbers while they work on the correction. By then we'll still have Epcot at 12m while DHS and AK are both at the 16m mark. When is Guardians and Ratatouille expected to open anyway?

Rat is 2020 and GotG is 2021.

 

[devoy1701]

Rat is 2020 and GotG is 2021.

so no real relief until 2021.

 

[EricPZ]

Mmmm......I love spreadsheet graphs.

 

[ThatMouse]

Disney does not report individual park attendance, therefore increases and decreases are statistically insignificant. Furthermore, guests can attend more than one park per day. There is no way to tell what a "half-day" is by these numbers. What would be more meaningful is hours spent in each park rather than a count. A random survey of 1000 guests asking how many hours they spend would be more meaningful than these per park stats.