TEA Attendance Report Now due June 3rd

[Mike S]

You are correct that both companies need people to stay in their hotel/timeshare rooms and that is where the real money is made. Disney added tens of thousands of rooms over the years and have basically said they will add more soon as their occupancy rate is now at 90%. Even though there are those here who keep saying Disney has tons of rooms available each night, they neglect the fact that 90% occupancy is just about as full as you can get it. As for the long term future, there is no doubt that Disney will continue to build more hotel/timeshare rooms and will eventually build a 5th gate and probably a 6th gate. Universal will continue to build and will have their 15,000 plus rooms but Disney will have over 50,000 rooms of their own to go with Hotel row, Swan/Dolphin and Flamingo Crossing. There is room for both companies to thrive and prosper and even for SeaWorld and the other small parks. For the time being I only see myself staying and spending time at WDW. I do wish Universal and the other parks the best. A growing economy in best for everyone and so anyone wishing the other company bad is only hurting the company they like. Orlando should be able to continue to grow for years and support total theme park attendance more than double that they currently have.

They should flesh out their current parks as much as possible before even thinking about a fifth gate, let alone a sixth. There are rumors that Uni is seriously considering a third theme park though which will probably happen after more expansion and fixing up of their current parks like how Disney should do it.

 

[LeRaposa]

So what does exactly does Disney plan on doing about Universal's massive growth? Universal (the actual park) is set to overtake DHS, AK, and EPCOT in three years.

I mean Avatar land isn't going to do anything. There's no guarantee Avatar 2 will ever come out and if it does, there's still no guarantee it will be a success. The release date has been pushed back three times.

 

[Mike S]

So what does exactly does Disney plan on doing about Universal's massive growth? Universal (the actual park) is set to overtake DHS, AK, and EPCOT in three years.

I mean Avatar land isn't going to do anything. There's no guarantee Avatar 2 will ever come out and if it does, there's still no guarantee it will be a success. The release date has been pushed back three times.

 

[LeRaposa]

I have another question. Why is Universal Japan is so popular all of a sudden?

 

[Rteetz]

I have another question. Why is Universal Japan is so popular all of a sudden?

Potter

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

So what does exactly does Disney plan on doing about Universal's massive growth? Universal (the actual park) is set to overtake DHS, AK, and EPCOT in three years.

They are definitely closing the gap but I don't see them passing any of the WDW parks any time soon, other than HS which will probably be due to Uni going up and HS going down. There are only so many Harry Potter projects out there and Uni would need something on that scale to add the couple million needed. They've made huge gains but they've done it with the biggest IP in the game, along with Star Wars and possibly Lord of the Rings. Unless they land LotR there's nothing else that will have the same impact as HP.

 

[Mike S]

I have another question. Why is Universal Japan is so popular all of a sudden?

I think it was always Universal's most attended park. That and Harry Potter opened there last year.

 

[LeRaposa]

They are definitely closing the gap but I don't see them passing any of the WDW parks any time soon, other than HS which will probably be due to Uni going up and HS going down. There are only so many Harry Potter projects out there and Uni would need something on that scale to add the couple million needed. They've made huge gains but they've done it with the biggest IP in the game, along with Star Wars and possibly Lord of the Rings. Unless they land LotR there's nothing else that will have the same impact as HP.

If Universal Orlando keeps gaining at least 1 million people per year then it should overtake DHS and AK in two years. It would take three years to overtake EPCOT.

Also one word: Nintendo

 

[Mike S]

If Universal Orlando keeps gaining at least 1 million people per year then it should overtake DHS and AK in two years. It would take three years to overtake EPCOT.

Also one word: Nintendo

Nintendo could be big, but just how big we don't yet know. It all depends on what attractions we're getting out of it.

 

[LeRaposa]

It could be big, but just how big we don't yet know. It all depends on what attractions we're getting out of it.

I think it'll be huge. Nintendo's not a company to make such deals. It must be something big to get them interested. I'm sure they've received many offers in the past. I'm certain it'll be a huge success for Universal. Mario is still the best selling video game series in the world. People always complain that Mario is boring but they're some of the only popular games on Nintendo home consoles.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

If Universal Orlando keeps gaining at least 1 million people per year then it should overtake DHS and AK in two years. It would take three years to overtake EPCOT.

Also one word: Nintendo

They're only averaging a million a year though because they've built Potter and Potter 2, along with Transformers, Minions, and the. Simpson's. I don't see Nintendo having the same impact, maybe it'll surprise me but I don't see it. I'm more excited for Kong and hopefully a revamped Jurassic Park then I am for Nintendo.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I think USF's biggest problem now is space. With what they've done the last several years they obviously have the ability to pass some Disney parks, I just don't know if they have the space. They used the last major open spaces at IOA for Potter 1 and Kong and they had to bulldoze a popular (although old) attraction at USF to make space for Potter 2. They've Disneylanded themself.

 

[OvertheHorizon]

[QUOTE="LeRaposa, post: 6729788, member: 101152"I mean Avatar land isn't going to do anything. There's no guarantee Avatar 2 will ever come out and if it does, there's still no guarantee it will be a success. The release date has been pushed back three times.[/QUOTE]

Avatar land will be a significant enhancement to AK with two rides, both of which should be popular. One is based on Soarin' style technology, and the other is a dark water ride into the luminescent nighttime world of Pandora. That whole area of the park should be an enchanting place to visit and not dependent on if additional films are released or their success. As someone else noted on these boards, the success of Splash Mountain as an attraction is not dependent on whether you saw the movie on which it is based.

 

[Mike S]

I think USF's biggest problem now is space. With what they've done the last several years they obviously have the ability to pass some Disney parks, I just don't know if they have the space. They used the last major open spaces at IOA for Potter 1 and Kong and they had to bulldoze a popular (although old) attraction at USF to make space for Potter 2. They've Disneylanded themself.

There's still this huge plot in USF and some space in Seuss Landing for expansion.

I think they've been buying some land as well. No, it's not a "blessing of size" like WDW but like life they'll find a way. There's also still the options of replacing Lost Continent and Toon Lagoon someday. Also Fear Factor.

 

[maxairmike]

I brought this up in the Spirited Thread, but it belongs over here.

The TEA numbers, in addition to being guestimations, are extremely inflated fluffy numbers that look great for the companies. Just as they're one metric in part of a larger picture, they can also be extremely misleading. A lot of people look at those numbers and say "Wow, nearly 50 million people visited Disney World last year!" I've seen that even in news articles, suggesting each digit represents unique guests. As I mentioned in the other thread, the reality when it comes to unique guests is far, far different. One guest visiting the parks every day of a week long stay represents 7 first clicks in the TEA numbers. I think a more meaningful metric for attendance would be unique guests. What would that look like? Well, for WDW I would expect the number to look much closer to MK's total, say the 20-25 million mark (because yes, people do actually visit the other parks for 1 day). At Universal and SeaWorld, I would actually expect that number to be a decent bit below a single park's TEA number, due to the amount of APs at those parks.

Just something else to think about.

EDIT: And I should also mention that I think considering this, the gains in revenue shown by Universal are actually even more impressive. It suggests that their AP holders are actually spending a lot, considering the lower amount of unique guests, throwing a wrinkle into the theory that AP holders are stingy guests that can't really be profitable for the parks.

 

[Bairstow]

Avatar land will be a significant enhancement to AK with two rides, both of which should be popular. One is based on Soarin' style technology, and the other is a dark water ride into the luminescent nighttime world of Pandora. That whole area of the park should be an enchanting place to visit and not dependent on if additional films are released or their success. As someone else noted on these boards, the success of Splash Mountain as an attraction is not dependent on whether you saw the movie on which it is based.

The "Rivers of Light" show may be even more important to Animal Kingdom than the Avatar rides, since it and the increased operating hours will help them finally transition to a full-day park.
This might not be reflected so strongly in the "first click" metrics, but it will certainly help the park remain more profitable, especially when people start buying dinner there.

 

[misterID]

I'm more interested in the reaction when TDLR officially surpasses WDW at #1.

And UNI won't come close to unseating WDW in attendance, but if they do open that third gate it will be interesting to see how big the bite is.

 

[hopemax]

Exactly... I chose 2003 because it is the first year with USF having IoA.

IOA opened in 1999...

 

[PhotoDave219]

IOA opened in 1999...

Well, Amusement Business used to do the Yearly Survey before they went under and now TEA took up that mantle around 06 or 07.

Finding the old reports is a tad difficult.

 

[donsullivan]

Well, Amusement Business used to do the Yearly Survey before they went under and now TEA took up that mantle around 06 or 07.

Finding the old reports is a tad difficult.

Yeah, the oldest one I've ever found was 2007. I've got all of them since then though and recently found a version of the 2006. All the changes in who produced them make it harder to find the further back you go.