TEA and AECOM's definitive global attraction attendance report shows moderate performance in 2019

[KIGhostGuy]

Please share that, what is the source?

Cedar Fair said in one of their conference calls (Quarter 4 of 2018 IIRC) that the attendance at Knott’s was over 6 million for that year. TEA had it at 4 million. In Quarter 4 of 2019, Cedar Fair said that Knott’s was one of the parks that had a record breaking or near record-breaking year, which would have meant around or over 6 million people. But TEA still had the number at 4 million for 2019.

 

[RollerCoaster]

Please share that, what is the source?

Cedar Fair no longer releases individual park attendance.

The source is from the Cedar Fair Q4 Earnings Call on February 13, 2019.

Richard A. Zimmerman -- President & Chief Executive Officer stated the following and I quote:

"For example, we have already achieved great success in broadening the guest experience at our Knott's Berry Farm park in Southern California by introducing five Seasons of Fun events. The success of these events has driven attendance at this property to more than 6 million visits on an annual basis, and help fuel season pass sales at that location, and we expect this growth to continue."

This statement is a little misleading since the 6-million is very likely for the entire resort. So that includes the approximately 450,000 attendance for Knott's Soak City, plus another 500,000 for the separate ticketed Halloween Haunt, and I interpreted it to include hotel bookings.

It's believed that TEA's estimates don't include separately ticketed events like Halloween Haunt or private buyouts.

 

[Darkbeer1]

I would add visits to the Marketplace, including all the restaurants, Independence Hall (Many school groups), Group Picnics, and just folks strolling through the park like area near Independence Hall.

As you said, apples versus oranges. That also could go to counting both clicks in the same day for a visitor (KBF and KSC), TEA would only count the first visit in a day.

 

[RollerCoaster]

Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's Soak City are separately ticketed parks, not both included for one admission. If someone goes to Knott's in the morning and Soak City in the afternoon why should their attendance not count at both parks?

If someone goes to Knott's in the morning and Disneyland in the afternoon are you trying to say that their attendance at Disneyland doesn't count?

Please do explain your logic.

 

[shambolicdefending]

Let's not forget that about 10 years ago in the Summer of 2019, Disneyland offered one of the deepest day ticket discounts we've ever seen... just to get back to flat attendance.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's Soak City are separately ticketed parks, not both included for one admission. If someone goes to Knott's in the morning and Soak City in the afternoon why should their attendance not count at both parks?

If someone goes to Knott's in the morning and Disneyland in the afternoon are you trying to say that their attendance at Disneyland doesn't count?

Please do explain your logic.

Disney came up with the standard for locations with more than one park (aka resort), to calculate per-guest spending, hotel stay percentages, etc. Only the first park of the day counts in the official daily attendance. Of course, Disney also does track the secondary numbers, they just made the main number to reflect how many folks visited the resort in a single day.

So someone who enters Disneyland first, then park hops to DCA, that counts as a Disneyland visit, of course, switch it around, and it counts as DCA. Over the last two decades, Disney has done a lot of tricks to have folks enter DCA first, or at least try to.

Same for Knott's, the TEA number reflects one or the other, while internally it can count as 2, heck, you could say some visited 4 different parts in the same day, inflating the number they can claim.

That is why TEA sticks with the Disney view of one visitor, one Hotel Room, and one park per day.

 

[el_super]

Only the first park of the day counts in the official daily attendance.

Not really. But TEA doesn't have access to the official numbers so that doesn't really matter.

 

[RollerCoaster]

Disney came up with the standard for locations with more than one park (aka resort), to calculate per-guest spending, hotel stay percentages, etc. Only the first park of the day counts in the official daily attendance. Of course, Disney also does track the secondary numbers, they just made the main number to reflect how many folks visited the resort in a single day.

So someone who enters Disneyland first, then park hops to DCA, that counts as a Disneyland visit, of course, switch it around, and it counts as DCA. Over the last two decades, Disney has done a lot of tricks to have folks enter DCA first, or at least try to.

Same for Knott's, the TEA number reflects one or the other, while internally it can count as 2, heck, you could say some visited 4 different parts in the same day, inflating the number they can claim.

That is why TEA sticks with the Disney view of one visitor, one Hotel Room, and one park per day.

First of all the first click thing is nonsense when you're counting park attendance. I'd like to see your source that TEA follows that standard. I can say for sure they do not. If someone walks through your gate at some point during the day, if only for a minute, they count as your attendance.

The report is about attendance, not per guest spending, hotel stay percentages.

I would STRONGLY DISAGREE with you that Disney has a lot of tricks to get people to enter DCA first. Until Cars Land was built DCA always opened an hour or two after Disneyland. It seems pretty hard to historically trick guests into entering that park first when for several hours the only option was Disneyland.

Furthermore, if the Amusement Business/TEA reports only reflected what you say then DCA wasn't the failure that fans and Disney made it out to be when it first opened.

 

[TP2000]

Funny Attendance Story:

Earlier this week the family decided to go up to the San Diego Wild Animal Park near Escondido. The temperature difference between La Jolla and Escondido was about 30 degrees, but it was a dry heat. We arrived into the park at 1pm and were wrapping up the day by 5pm as the park closed at 6pm. I was waiting for the ladies outside a gift shop and this supervisor type was sharing the shade with me when her walkee-talkee radio crackled to life. As she wasn't wearing an earpiece so it just broadcast loudly from her hip the following....

"All units, 5 o'clock in park count is five hundred and one guests, total attendance for the day two thousand two hundred and eighteen." And then I chuckled.

First of all, they just broadcast that info on the park radios and since the supervisors don't wear earpieces it just gets broadcast out to whomever is standing nearby? That seems idiotic yet quaint. Secondly, in the middle of summer they only had 2,200 paying customers for the day? I'm not sure where the Wild Animal Park falls in the TEA zoo ratings, but that seems abysmally low.

The day was fun. The park seemed nearly empty, and yet in the main exhibits there was no Social Distancing at all with even the small crowds they had. Everyone clustered near each other to glimpse the gorillas or babies or whatever was cutest. It was nice to get back to La Jolla with an almost 30 degree drop in temps back to the low 70's.

 

[Phroobar]

Funny Attendance Story:

Earlier this week the family decided to go up to the San Diego Wild Animal Park near Escondido. The temperature difference between La Jolla and Escondido was about 30 degrees, but it was a dry heat. We arrived into the park at 1pm and were wrapping up the day by 5pm as the park closed at 6pm. I was waiting for the ladies outside a gift shop and this supervisor type was sharing the shade with me when her walkee-talkee radio crackled to life. As she wasn't wearing an earpiece so it just broadcast loudly from her hip the following....

"All units, 5 o'clock in park count is five hundred and one guests, total attendance for the day two thousand two hundred and eighteen." And then I chuckled.

First of all, they just broadcast that info on the park radios and since the supervisors don't wear earpieces it just gets broadcast out to whomever is standing nearby? That seems idiotic yet quaint. Secondly, in the middle of summer they only had 2,200 paying customers for the day? I'm not sure where the Wild Animal Park falls in the TEA zoo ratings, but that seems abysmally low.

The day was fun. The park seemed nearly empty, and yet in the main exhibits there was no Social Distancing at all with even the small crowds they had. Everyone clustered near each other to glimpse the gorillas or babies or whatever was cutest. It was nice to get back to La Jolla with an almost 30 degree drop in temps back to the low 70's.

That makes me sad that we didn't go to the San Diego Zoo last tuesday. Of course, my wife would never go for it at $58 a piece without some City Pass option. Balboa Park with closed museums was still very nice though.

 

[danlb_2000]

I was thinking recently about whether TEA would even do this report for 2020, but it looks like they will, it will be release in August. Not sure how useful any data from last year will really be.

TEA Connect error page

 

[PiratesMansion]

I was thinking recently about whether TEA would even do this report for 2020, but it looks like they will, it will be release in August. Not sure how useful any data from last year will really be.

TEA Connect error page

The report: "The findings of our deep and thorough studies indicate that Covid-19 and the related impacts likely resulted in significantly lower attendance for 2020."
The readers:

 

[truecoat]

I was thinking recently about whether TEA would even do this report for 2020, but it looks like they will, it will be release in August. Not sure how useful any data from last year will really be.

TEA Connect error page

It will be harder for Disney to fudge the numbers.

 

[Ismael Flores]

Darkbeer a little off topic here but was wondering if you have heard anything in regards to the story from Business Insider saying that internally there is growing tension between Chapek and Bob Iger.

i don't have a subscription to business insider so couldn't read the article

Hollywood insiders say there's growing tension at Disney as CEO Bob Chapek chafes at Bob Iger's 'long goodbye'

Sources say Chapek's rollout plan for "Black Widow" is causing consternation inside Disney and could be hurting relations with China.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[MisterPenguin]

Darkbeer a little off topic here but was wondering if you have heard anything in regards to the story from Business Insider saying that internally there is growing tension between Chapek and Bob Iger.

i don't have a subscription to business insider so couldn't read the article

Hollywood insiders say there's growing tension at Disney as CEO Bob Chapek chafes at Bob Iger's 'long goodbye'

Sources say Chapek's rollout plan for "Black Widow" is causing consternation inside Disney and could be hurting relations with China.

www.businessinsider.com

This is an old thread just bumped.

Darkbeer hasn't been on the forums for two months.

There's a thread for this rumor:

Rumor - Hollywood insiders say there's growing tension at Disney as CEO Bob Chapek chafes at Bob Iger's 'long goodbye'

Had not seen this mentioned yet, take the source with a ton of salt… https://www.businessinsider.com/tension-between-disneys-bob-iger-and-bob-chapek-2021-7

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