TEA Global Attendance Index is out

[Disney Analyst]

California Parks
Disneyland +0.5%
Disney California Adventure +0.5%
Universal Studios Hollywood -9.9% - concerning. Considering Universal has mentioned that attendance continues to decline in 2025 (at least the first half of the year). With it receiving Super Nintendo World in 2023, you'd have imagine their attendance would remain flat or fall marginally. Is the park too pricey? Unsure what's causing the downturn here.

I just don’t think USH has the repeat value still. Locals who aren’t AP’s may have come out to check out SNW once, and that was enough… international or out of state likely the same.

I know our trip last year was enough. Did our one day at USH and we won’t be back there for many many many years, until something bigger happens.

 

[jah4955]

For EPCOT, Could it be folks were interested in visiting a non walled up EPCOT and wanted to see the changes?

I didn't hurt Disney "cut their losses" and destroyed the barges.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I didn't hurt Disney "cut their losses" and destroyed the barges.

That's one destruction Disney did I agree with.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Cosmic Rewind is a fine roller coaster but it's not a great themed attraction -- you might be disappointed if you go in expecting one of the best rides ever.

Obviously it's all subjective, but it wouldn't even be one of the top 5 rides at 1994 EPCOT for me.

It wouldn’t come close to the top 5 attractions at EPCOT in ‘94.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And more reports than ever of “light” crowds, low wait times, easy walk-up dining for 90% of restaurants… but unless I’m misreading the numbers, MK allegedly is averaging 48.5k people per day, every day (9k/day less than 2019)? There’s a scent of fish in the air…

A way to track In-park hours per guest would be a fantastic set of data to have.

The TEA numbers are speculative from
A number of “sources”…mostly from Marketing offices…not the “ministry of truth”…

All the things you mentioned are realities from the limited info Disney does actually give us…

What’s that?
1. Their “reservations” are never filled…as they are having a somewhat difficult time selling these upsells
2. Their posted wait times are low…take it for what it’s worth
3. The restaurants are WIDE open…look it up.
4. There are rooms available every day…with steep discounts (of ridiculous prices…but still)


So the reactions are incorrect…but predicable.

People doesn’t want to believe it…because they are raising all the prices while demand is falling. And why?

Because they know you will not say “no”. It’s really simple here.

And I don’t me “you”…I mean YOU!!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It wouldn’t come close to the top 5 attractions at EPCOT in ‘94.

Not sure that’s true

As a longtime Epcot purist…what made the park great was the consistency of the two themes…

Once they started taking parts away - test track/WOM being first…it compromised what we nostalgists remembered…so there’s no going back

 

[monothingie]

It doesn't matter that their attendance level is just getting back to 2012 levels.

All that matters is that they can extricate more dollars per body that crawl through their gates.

And don't think for any second that their inability to recover 15% of their peak attendance has anything to do with factors other than bad management.

 

[monothingie]

The TEA numbers are speculative from
A number of “sources”…mostly from Marketing offices…not the “ministry of truth”…

All the things you mentioned are realities from the limited info Disney does actually give us…

What’s that?
1. Their “reservations” are never filled…as they are having a somewhat difficult time selling these upsells
2. Their posted wait times are low…take it for what it’s worth
3. The restaurants are WIDE open…look it up.
4. There are rooms available every day…with steep discounts (of ridiculous prices…but still)


So the reactions are incorrect…but predicable.

People doesn’t want to believe it…because they are raising all the prices while demand is falling. And why?

Because they know you will not say “no”. It’s really simple here.

And I don’t me “you”…I mean YOU!!

Flat attendance is not good.

When you consider all the things that came online after the parks reopened or in the months before the parks closed in 2020, flat should not be happening.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I have an idea...bring back all of the perks present in 2019 for guests! I get it, COVID broke it. But the answer isn't to price out a large sector of consumers!

 

[HauntedPirate]

Until someone comes forth with valid info as to how park hoppers are measured and/or included in these numbers, they (and Disney’s claims around attendance) are going to be taken with large grains of salt.

 

[jah4955]

Cosmic Rewind is a fine roller coaster but it's not a great themed attraction -- you might be disappointed if you go in expecting one of the best rides ever.

Obviously it's all subjective, but for me it wouldn't even be one of the top 5 rides at 1994 EPCOT (if I ranked every Future World pavilion at that time and added Cosmic Rewind to the list, I think CR would actually come in last).

If I ever go, I'll probably make the same conclusion.

I never found the majority of EPCOT of 1.0 to be tiresome (I'd guess at least twenty visits from 1982-1994?). Regarding the majority of what's come to WDW since (that I've been to), I have found it tiresome after more than 1 visit. I wish Disney's 1982 forecast came true...corporations perpetually clawing over each other to make top-notch attractions in each FW pavilion every 10 years.

 

[jpeden]

Until someone comes forth with valid info as to how park hoppers are measured and/or included in these numbers, they (and Disney’s claims around attendance) are going to be taken with large grains of salt.

This is the real question. I understand that hoppers are the minority of tickets bought, however without filtering out folks who have multiple gate clicks in a day this isn’t accurate.

Also if I leave and come back to the same park does that count as two clicks or one?

 

[Nevermore525]

This is the real question. I understand that hoppers are the minority of tickets bought, however without filtering out folks who have multiple gate clicks in a day this isn’t accurate.

Also if I leave and come back to the same park does that count as two clicks or one?

Until someone comes forth with valid info as to how park hoppers are measured and/or included in these numbers, they (and Disney’s claims around attendance) are going to be taken with large grains of salt.

TEA and how they do their numbers, no idea.

As far how Disney reports YoY attendance changes on their SEC Filings, it is one click per day: “Attendance is used to analyze volume trends at our theme parks and is based on the number of unique daily entries, i.e. a person visiting multiple theme parks in a single day is counted only once. Our attendance count includes complimentary entries but excludes entries by children under the age of three.”

 

[Comped]

As far how Disney reports YoY attendance changes on their SEC Filings, it is one click per day: “Attendance is used to analyze volume trends at our theme parks and is based on the number of unique daily entries, i.e. a person visiting multiple theme parks in a single day is counted only once. Our attendance count includes complimentary entries but excludes entries by children under the age of three.”

Children under 3 not requiring a ticket is something I'm surprised (and so was every guest I dealt with who had someone in their party who qualified) that Bob kept... It's open to abuse, I will say. But I am not a doctor (nor do I have children) - the difference between 2 and 3 to me is impossible to tell (and I'd suspect the same for most CMs).

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

But.. but... Disney is supposed to be EMPTY???

 

[LSLS]

Honestly not very surprised by any of this. I initially thought 2025 would be a drop, but I don't think that will happen for Disney World now. I think the really interesting thing is going to be Universal. I won't know for another month, but it's felt like Epic wasn't nearly the home run game changer I was expecting.

 

[Disstevefan1]

But.. but... Disney is supposed to be EMPTY???

WDW is only empty(ish) in the daytime in parks that close early for a hard ticket event.

 

[LSLS]

But.. but... Disney is supposed to be EMPTY???

It, was when that thread was made (and is much emptier at times it was historically slammed, while busier at times that were historically dead)? And, it's still below 2019 numbers, yet has wait times above then if you want to really rehash a 3 year old thread.

 

[Chi84]

But.. but... Disney is supposed to be EMPTY???

If Disney is empty but it has the most attendance of any theme park, those other parks must be really hurting.

Maybe Disney isn’t empty? Or are we saying “lightly attended” now?

 

[Sir_Cliff]

All of this seems in line with what Disney and Universal have been reporting, though perhaps out of line with what some people on here have been arguing is the case, particularly that increasing numbers of families are abandoning Walt Disney World for Universal Orlando. In general, the Orlando theme park market seems pretty flat but a bit more difficult for Universal in the past few years.

I would think this is another reason to be sceptical of all the anecdotal reports of empty parks at WDW as an indicator of a significant decline in attendance. Everything from Disney so far suggests it's more or less flat, but I guess we'll see what the next quarterly report reveals. Of course, I understand plenty of people won't believe the numbers unless they are bad.