Themed Entertainment Association 2023 Statistics

[OG Runner]

The stats are out. Discuss.
Magic Kingdom attendance up 3.4% EPCOT attendance up 19.8% Animal Kingdom attendance down 2.8%
Disney Hollywood Studios down 5.5%
Islands of Adventure (Florida) down 9.3% Universal Studios (Florida) down 9.3%

 

[bwr827]

Where are the drastic Disney reductions everyone has been going on about?

 

[OG Runner]

Where are the drastic Disney reductions everyone has been going on about?

Honestly, that is what I was looking for, and both Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios were down a bit.
If you look at the actual report the increases at Magic Kingdom & EPCOT more than made up for it, as
they had higher attendance than those parks last year.

 

[bwr827]

Epcot in particular is a massive increase.

 

[sonoma15]

Also these are estimated attendance numbers for last year, I think most of the attendance being down talks have been about this year.

 

[bwr827]

Also these are estimated attendance numbers for last year, I think most of the attendance being down talks have been about this year.

I’ve seen countless comments to the effect of, “2023 was awful and 2024 is even more disastrous.”

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Huge drops for Universal. That surprises me.

 

[OG Runner]

Huge drops for Universal. That surprises me.

Do you think some people are putting off trips in anticipating to go when Epic Universe opens?

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

Huge drops for Universal. That surprises me.

Doesn't surprise me.

Universal hasn't had anything of actual substance open since VC + the main Studios park is in a kinda sad state rn + EU is making people delay their planned trips. I think they will recover in 2025 but 2024 should also be light in Universal's attendance, possibly even more so.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

Huge drops for Universal. That surprises me.

1) No new attractions worth making the trip since 2021
2) Ticket prices ballooned during this time
3) Epic is right around the corner

 

[cheezbat]

Do you think some people are putting off trips in anticipating to go when Epic Universe opens?

I actually have a few friends that literally decided not to come this year and just wait for Epic next year…so yeah…would make sense especially considering the only new thing this year was Dreamworks land. Not something they’d plan a trip for.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Uni is offering $199 APs to the end of the year. If WDW did that, rumors would be stewing.

 

[bwr827]

The absence of all the usual critics in this thread says it all.

 

[BrianLo]

I actually have a few friends that literally decided not to come this year and just wait for Epic next year…so yeah…would make sense especially considering the only new thing this year was Dreamworks land. Not something they’d plan a trip for.

Same. I’m going for an excessive two weeks at WDW in December and normally would consider Universal for sure, but have decided to skip it for a more dedicated Universal trip next Fall.

Ironically, WDW did minorly get me for that one. I’ll do a free water park day and maybe Boo to you (which I’ve never done before) if I can also see the new night parade. Particularly due to the ‘possible’ restrictive ticketing policy they are considering for Epic. I don’t need more days at USO/IOA.

After that, I won’t come back to either until December 2027 thereafter.

 

[sonoma15]

I’ve seen countless comments to the effect of, “2023 was awful and 2024 is even more disastrous.”

That's possible. I'm actually surprised TEA reported attendance being nearly 20% higher at Epcot and 3.4% higher at MK, because judging from yearly average wait times from thrill-data.com it sure seems like MK was a lot busier in 2022:

Epcot is a lot closer, but still down a little:

I think the avg. wait time drop at both EPCOT and MK are probably impacted by the new rides opening on virtual queue only, as those rides don't get reflected in the average wait time. MK has a pretty big drop though, but maybe that's because of Splash being closed for most of the year and Tron being on VQ. It is true that wait times don't tell the full story of attendance, but a nearly 20% increase for Epcot from 2022 is huge though and I feel like that would've been reflected a little more in average wait times.

The drop of 9% for both USF and IOA seems to hold up relatively well judging by average wait times:

(IOA)

(USF)

 

[mkt]

Huge drops for Universal. That surprises me.

It doesn't surprise me. Osbourne Effect.

 

[Raidermatt]

That's possible. I'm actually surprised TEA reported attendance being nearly 20% higher at Epcot and 3.4% higher at MK, because judging from yearly average wait times from thrill-data.com it sure seems like MK was a lot busier in 2022:
Epcot is a lot closer, but still down a little:


I think the avg. wait time drop at both EPCOT and MK are probably impacted by the new rides opening on virtual queue only, as those rides don't get reflected in the average wait time. MK has a pretty big drop though, but maybe that's because of Splash being closed for most of the year and Tron being on VQ. It is true that wait times don't tell the full story of attendance, but a nearly 20% increase for Epcot from 2022 is huge though and I feel like that would've been reflected a little more in average wait times.

The drop of 9% for both USF and IOA seems to hold up relatively well judging by average wait timesIOA) (USF)

We also cannot assume that other operational factors were consistent from year to year. For example, when attendance drops, some rides are put into a lower capacity mode, which can keep wait times high.