Typhoon Lagoon vs. Volcano Bay. Who is winning?

[Disone]

Just wondering. I read this interesting article on the Motley Fool

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/07/21/disney-worlds-top-rival-is-winning-the-water-park.aspx

Seem while the Author feel Volcano Bay is "winning" the water park wars, I question how he came to this conclusion. He note that Disney's water parks were open 5 months long in 2017 then Volcano bay was. I assume he thinks this because VB did not open until May 25th, but he is overlooking that both Disney water parks are closed for at least 2 months of the year. They take turns.

So.... annual attendence for Typhoon was 2.16 mill in ten months, or 216k per month while VB was 1.5 mill in 7 months or 214k per month. So in the first year of Universals highly publicized brand new water theme park, the decades old Typhoon Lagoon was still beating VB in month to month attendance. I assume VB will actually win the annual attendance battle, but only because to my knowledge, it does not close seasonal like the Disney Water Parks do. But is that really winning?

 

[TwilightZone]

Personally I think volcano bay, from what I've seen of it, is better than typhoon lagoon. Typhoon lagoon just has the advantage of being near disney, which is arguably the more popular vacation spot than universal is.

 

[Disone]

Not really looking for a debate as to which one is better, just musing about which one is truely Winning. I have been to both. I do like the water slides of VB. They are intense and really large and lots of fun. But Typhoons Wave Pool is vastly superior, the lazy river is just as good as VB's lazy river (the lazy one not the adventure one) and the atmosphere is more immersive at TY. VB has a great reveal when you first enter, after that its fiber glass slides, exposed plumbing, freeway noises and hotel towers. The DO NOT ruin the nice environment that VB has created, I would love to have one of those rooms in those towers overlooking the park, but they do make it less immersive then TY.

But which one is a the better water park debate put aside, I would have thought a brand new park with top billing would have beat the smack out of the decades old park. And Motley Fool seems to want you to think it has, but the numbers just suggest more of a tie then an out right winner. Typhoon has the higher amount of visits per month, but is open for fewer months per year so VB but beat it on an annual basis.

I will be very interested in TEA's 2018 report in 2019

 

[ToTBellHop]

Not really looking for a debate as to which one is better, just musing about which one is truely Winning. I have been to both. I do like the water slides of VB. They are intense and really large and lots of fun. But Typhoons Wave Pool is vastly superior, the lazy river is just as good as VB's lazy river (the lazy one not the adventure one) and the atmosphere is more immersive at TY. VB has a great reveal when you first enter, after that its fiber glass slides, exposed plumbing, freeway noises and hotel towers. The DO NOT ruin the nice environment that VB has created, I would love to have one of those rooms in those towers overlooking the park, but they do make it less immersive then TY.

But which one is a the better water park debate put aside, I would have thought a brand new park with top billing would have beat the smack out of the decades old park. And Motley Fool seems to want you to think it has, but the numbers just suggest more of a tie then an out right winner. Typhoon has the higher amount of visits per month, but is open for fewer months per year so VB but beat it on an annual basis.

I will be very interested in TEA's 2018 report in 2019

We will also see how long Universal can keep its water [theme] park open 365 days a year without it getting run-down.

 

[Bob Harlem]

The location is what sells it -- being right next to 3 large very nice on-site hotels being a real big key, and the fact the park truly is beautiful. It's needs more content for the numbers it brings, but it's running a lot smoother (And still reaching capacity much more often than not -- hint go just after the afternoon storms for a much better experience)

With Aventura opening up this year, it's a safe bet VB matches or exceeds the Disney ones this year.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

You've got to take all these Disney vs Uni comparisons with a grain of salt. Uni is not Disney's main competitor. Disney is not Uni's main competitor. Sure they compete at a certain level.......

Think of it this way. If I asked who is Royal Caribbean's biggest competitor....many might say Princess, or Holland America, or Carnival. And that's wrong too.

Disney competes against Vegas. They compete against Hawaii, Europe, Cancun, the Caribbean and Sandals and Atlantis. They compete against cruises.

The cruise lines compete against land based destinations like Disney and Uni, and Vegas, and Europe.

Sure there is a level of one-upmanship between Disney and Uni (in the same way there is between RCI and Norwegian or Princess). But both Uni and Disney share a main objective....and that is - getting people to Orlando. Disney needs Uni. Uni needs Disney (probably more so)...the same way Princess needs Holland America and Celebrity.

So in the big scheme of things....Uni builds a popular water park - Disney wins too. Disney builds Star Wars Land - Uni wins too.

 

[larryz]

Motley doesn't write articles to entertain... they're selling their own services, so anything they post is clickbait to get you to their site.

 

[mergatroid]

So.... annual attendence for Typhoon was 2.16 mill in ten months, or 216k per month while VB was 1.5 mill in 7 months or 214k per month. So in the first year of Universals highly publicized brand new water theme park, the decades old Typhoon Lagoon was still beating VB in month to month attendance. I assume VB will actually win the annual attendance battle, but only because to my knowledge, it does not close seasonal like the Disney Water Parks do. But is that really winning?

Logic would suggest that you could use this as proof TL was won, however logic isn't always used especially where there's a bias. Also other aspects get brought into the argument, some possibly valid, some possibly not so valid. For example, people will rightly or wrongly argue that ....................

# Disney has more guests occupying their hotels so they have a bigger onsite customer base to draw from.
# Disney's is cheaper and has free parking so some choose the cheaper option rather than try VB
# VB has had far more unhappy guests than TL, you could argue that a lot of complaints from guests doesn't mean 'winning'
# VB has had many teething problems with huge waits, lots of slides not working fully and guests feeling cheated
# The two parks probably aim for a different demographic making comparisons slightly harder. VB tries to attract 'thrill seekers' whereas TL is more family based. For instance a mum & dad with two young kids will find more to do at TL, whereas a mum & dad with teens will find more to do at VB.

I've tried both and whilst VB has the better slides (thrill wise), I couldn't ride as many as I wanted due to the ridiculous wait times. TL is cheaper, easier to access (park for free and walk in) and has a more secluded and relaxing feel to it in my opinion. I'll visit both again but Disney's two parks will get more of my custom for the reasons just said. As for winning, I imagine both companies feel like winners from a financial point of view.

 

[Disone]

Logic would suggest that you could use this as proof TL was won, however logic isn't always used especially where there's a bias. Also other aspects get brought into the argument, some possibly valid, some possibly not so valid. For example, people will rightly or wrongly argue that ....................

# Disney has more guests occupying their hotels so they have a bigger onsite customer base to draw from.
# Disney's is cheaper and has free parking so some choose the cheaper option rather than try VB
# VB has had far more unhappy guests than TL, you could argue that a lot of complaints from guests doesn't mean 'winning'
# VB has had many teething problems with huge waits, lots of slides not working fully and guests feeling cheated
# The two parks probably aim for a different demographic making comparisons slightly harder. VB tries to attract 'thrill seekers' whereas TL is more family based. For instance a mum & dad with two young kids will find more to do at TL, whereas a mum & dad with teens will find more to do at VB.

I've tried both and whilst VB has the better slides (thrill wise), I couldn't ride as many as I wanted due to the ridiculous wait times. TL is cheaper, easier to access (park for free and walk in) and has a more secluded and relaxing feel to it in my opinion. I'll visit both again but Disney's two parks will get more of my custom for the reasons just said. As for winning, I imagine both companies feel like winners from a financial point of view.

Just wanted to say I love this post. Very objective! Much more so then the Motley fool article. I agree with all your thoughts.

 

[Maddad]

We hit up TL last time down and were disappointed. The only thing that impressed me was the wave pool. There are multiple water parks in the Wisconsin Dells that I would consider better and cheaper than TL.

 

[Disone]

We hit up TL last time down and were disappointed. The only thing that impressed me was the wave pool. There are multiple water parks in the Wisconsin Dells that I would consider better and cheaper than TL.

What are they? If I ever go I would enjoy comparing them for myself.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Volcano Bay has a measly three stars on Yelp as opposed to four and a half for Typhoon Lagoon with hundreds of reviews each. Just sayin'.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Just wondering. I read this interesting article on the Motley Fool

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/07/21/disney-worlds-top-rival-is-winning-the-water-park.aspx

Seem while the Author feel Volcano Bay is "winning" the water park wars, I question how he came to this conclusion. He note that Disney's water parks were open 5 months long in 2017 then Volcano bay was. I assume he thinks this because VB did not open until May 25th, but he is overlooking that both Disney water parks are closed for at least 2 months of the year. They take turns.

So.... annual attendence for Typhoon was 2.16 mill in ten months, or 216k per month while VB was 1.5 mill in 7 months or 214k per month. So in the first year of Universals highly publicized brand new water theme park, the decades old Typhoon Lagoon was still beating VB in month to month attendance. I assume VB will actually win the annual attendance battle, but only because to my knowledge, it does not close seasonal like the Disney Water Parks do. But is that really winning?

It will be interesting to see what this year's numbers look like.

 

[Beacon Joe]

Universal's overlooks a frigging interstate. I don't think one can even compare the two.

 

[Maddad]

What are they? If I ever go I would enjoy comparing them for myself.

Noah’s ark is the biggest in town and is also the best. Mt Olympus is good to but they have recently had some issues with some of the guests. There are also some indoor water parks that are good. Kalahari and great wolf are great for a winter weekend.

 

[HansGruber]

How are attendance figures a fair comparison? Disney has 15 (?) resorts to supply visitors from. Only seems logical they would be winning the attendance battle.

 

[Disone]

Volcano Bay has a measly three stars on Yelp as opposed to four and a half for Typhoon Lagoon with hundreds of reviews each. Just sayin'.

I think tapu tapu, in its current incarnation, hurts their overall guest experience.

How are attendance figures a fair comparison? Disney has 15 (?) resorts to supply visitors from. Only seems logical they would be winning the attendance battle.

Attendance is the only competitive comparison and its done not just with water parks but all theme parks. I am not sure Disney's 15 resorts is a true advantage as addmission to TY is NOT included with staying at the resorts. Yes, there is the free Disney resort to TY transportation, but now that even that is direct. It is to DisneySprings and from Springs a shuttle is provided. So like VB, the majority of TY guest are driving there. I am sure both waterparks have a simular demongraphic of population within X miles of them with the ability to choose to attended. For these reasons and more I think its fair to look at the attendance numbers and compare.

 

[Bairstow]

For my money, Typhoon is heads and shoulders better than every other waterpark out there simply by virtue of being a better park. Its rockwork, landscaping, and theming are far more pleasant to be around than the concrete, pine trees, and neon-colored proslide hardware you see everywhere else. Volcano and Blizzard come close, but Typhoon is the only waterpark that makes me actually enjoy spending more time in it than it takes to do the big slides, shower, and get out.

 

[HansGruber]

Yes, there is the free Disney resort to TY transportation, but now that even that is direct. It is to DisneySprings and from Springs a shuttle is provided.

Is that true? IIRC, my resort had a bus terminal going to Typhoon Lagoon.

So like VB, the majority of TY guest are driving there.

I VERY much doubt this. Disney doesn't even charge for parking at the water parks.

I am not sure Disney's 15 resorts is a true advantage as addmission to TY is NOT included with staying at the resorts.

But this is irrelevant. Any Disney resort guest is a million times more likely to visit a Disney water park rather than VB.

 

[disney4life2008]

Bottom line locals and universal guests go to volcano Bay. A local is not going to Disney water parks