Will IOA ever surpass a Disney park attendance wise?

[Jimmy Thick]

Looking over the recent attendance figures it makes me chuckle at how dominant still the Disney parks in Florida really are. Even with the recent Potter addition at Universal, they are still nowhere near Disney in terms of attendance.

But with the recent, constant barrage of unsubstantiated rumors about DHS receiving a repackaging, it still outdraws IOA by a huge margin.

So much so, even with the second phase of Potter opening soon, I highly doubt it will come close to DHS from a annual attendance standpoint, in fact I think I have a bet with someone here it won't. Iam that confident.

How so?

My belief is this, Potter, anyway people want to slice it, has appealed to the people it will appeal to, the second phase of Potter will not bring in double digit increases due to the fact the fan base who seriously wanted to see it already did. If Potter was this amazing property that Disney passed on, and lets face it, by their recent track record of success surrounding picking and choosing IP's, I have to give Disney the benefit of the doubt for passing on Potter, wouldn't the army of Potter fans have felt the need to see Potter by now? Would real Potter fans abstain from going for the chance of possibly a second phase opening?

I highly, highly doubt it.

Phase 2 of Potter will increase gate numbers a little more, but it will still be far behind the numbers the weakest Disney park in Florida will produce, and considering all Disney parks in Florida will surpass 10 million this year, and IOA never hitting even 8 million in guests, I would fearlessly forecast we won't be seeing IOA surpassing a Disney park in Florida anytime soon.


Jimmy Thick- Raw numbers and the preference of the general public don't lie now.

 

[Master Yoda]

It is mathematically possible, but it would take a fairly significant drop in either DHS's or AK's attendance for it to happen. Even if US got a 2 million guest per year spike due to Potter and AK and DHS remained flat it would still leave them upwards of a million guests shy of surpassing them.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I don't think they ever will. Disney's got a lock on the top spots. Even with HP they don't have the draw Disney gets. When I mention Florida as a vacation destination to anyone, the first thing the majority of people think of is the Disney parks. I know more people who go to IOA as a secondary trip. And quite a few who did go to FL just to see HP said their impressions of HP wasnt up to their expectations.

 

[luv]

I'm not sure that more Potter will equal more attendance, but we shall see.

The Uni parks are so wonderful and just get even more amazing all the time. Disney is surviving on reputation, mostly. If Disney doesn't stop their long slide down into sludge, it's only a matter of time before more people are going to Uni than Disney.

My son is 23. He and several of his friends visited all the Orlando parks while growing up. They all liked Uni better.

I don't really care, though. I just want everyone going to whatever park I'm not in that day.

 

[BryceM]

The only reason that DAK and DHS have higher attendance than IOA is because of the multi-day tickets. It does not mean that DAK and DHS are more worth the price than IOA, because they aren't. Heck, both DHS and DAK are now cheaper to get into for a single day than IOA and USF are! But I think this is justifiable because both Universal parks feel more complete than both DAK and DHS.

I think that it might occur over the next few years with all of the expansions that Universal is doing to their parks, and with the addition of the "value" hotel. But I still feel that as long as WDW has Magic Kingdom (or even EPCOT), more resorts and multi-day tickets, that DAK and DHS will remain higher in attendance than IOA.

I do hope that a Universal park passes a Disney one. Wouldn't that be a nice wake up call for TDO?

 

[gonnichi]

The only real reason I think IOA might surpass a Disney park in Orlando is because Universal Orlando Resort is creating amazing new attractions and themed areas while WDW has done little except make plans for their future. No new exciting attractions at all have been or are being built for WDW parks except the MK. After visiting IOA and USF Guests will see just how stale DHS, Epcot and DAK have become. Guests may start to avoid these parks. I feel that in the next few years if word gets out that TDO is finally building for the future people will avoid those parks even more untill the expansions are completed. This is when they may surpass a WDW park in Attendance. Just my opinion.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Looking over the recent attendance figures it makes me chuckle at how dominant still the Disney parks in Florida really are. Even with the recent Potter addition at Universal, they are still nowhere near Disney in terms of attendance.

But with the recent, constant barrage of unsubstantiated rumors about DHS receiving a repackaging, it still outdraws IOA by a huge margin.

So much so, even with the second phase of Potter opening soon, I highly doubt it will come close to DHS from a annual attendance standpoint, in fact I think I have a bet with someone here it won't. Iam that confident.

You got a fact wrong The 2nd Phase Potter Expansion isn't being built for helping IOA at all, but for USF. The fact is IOA is outdrawing USF in Attendance by a lot and Universal wants to cut down the gap.

When the first Phase of the Potter Expansion happened, it helped IOA a lot, but it didn't increase the attendance a lot at USF. Basically happened for Potter Phase one for Attendance, It only helped Attendance for 1 out 2 Universal theme parks in Orlando.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Without the multi-day tickets and the park hoppers, DHS and AK wouldn't be as high in attendance as they are now.

I think USF and IOA has a chance to surpass a WDW theme park, but that chance is during DHS's construction. The fact is a lot of DHS is going to be closed from the 2014 to 2017 or 2018 time period including current attractions. It looks like Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing lights isn't going to happen at DHS in 2014 unless things change and that is going to hurt DHS attendance for November and December of 2014 since they are a big draw during the holidays.

Universal theme parks have new attractions opening at the time DHS is going construction. When the two planned lands for DHS are under construction, the area Osborne Family Spectacle of dancing Lights is will be part of that construction.

Take a what USF has coming in 2014 and 2015 at the time DHS's 2 rumor expansions are happening.

I know IOA has Jurassic Park expansion coming in 2015, but USF has more stuff opening from 2014 to 2015. USF 2014 has Harry Potter opening for USF, and 2015 has a rumored King Kong attraction.

 

[cheezbat]

From what I've heard, the TEA numbers for the theme parks in 2012 are not accurate....and that DHS numbers were closer to 8.5 million and DAK was around 9...which means IOA was much closer than first thought.

 

[Captain Neo]

As far as most people are concerned it already surpassed Disney's Hollywood Studios and the ongoing projects at both Universal Orlando parks over the next 3 years will continue to ensure that dominance. Also, as beautiful as DAK is most people when they spend the money they do, want earth shaking rides so expect DAK to fall way behind Universal's 2 parks as well. The only reason WDW was doing so well in Orlando was because they were controlling the message and had a captivated audience but because Harry Potter is getting people to leave the WDW resort and see this big world outside of Disney people are leaving in droves.

If Disney doesn't start investing in the parks and real rides and attractions again instead of selling off land and building timeshare buildings they will begin loosing guests forever. It will be no different when people abandoned American car manufacturers in droves when they were cutting cost and selling poorly built vehicles when their competitors from overseas were going the extra mile for customers or when Sony lost their huge marketshare in the video game industry due to their arrogance.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

The two times we've been to IOA, it has been EXTREMELY crowded and the layout in HPW is so small that it's not very hard to see why. Did I just have a LeFou moment?

 

[tare]

That would be a NO. But ioa is fun. Just not as fun as disney!!!

 

[FigmentJedi]

I don't think they ever will. Disney's got a lock on the top spots. Even with HP they don't have the draw Disney gets. When I mention Florida as a vacation destination to anyone, the first thing the majority of people think of is the Disney parks. I know more people who go to IOA as a secondary trip. And quite a few who did go to FL just to see HP said their impressions of HP wasnt up to their expectations.

Probably because Universal's marketing suggests Potter's a full park rather then just a land.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Probably because Universal's marketing suggests Potter's a full park rather then just a land.

I agree with this. I wonder how many people leave disappointed when they walk through the area and...

That's all of it.


Jimmy Thick- Fun while it lasted...

 

[Tom Morrow]

The only reason that DAK and DHS have higher attendance than IOA is because of the multi-day tickets. It does not mean that DAK and DHS are more worth the price than IOA, because they aren't. Heck, both DHS and DAK are now cheaper to get into for a single day than IOA and USF are! But I think this is justifiable because both Universal parks feel more complete than both DAK and DHS.

Precisely. Remove the park hoppers and it could easily beat DHS and DAK.

I agree with this. I wonder how many people leave disappointed when they walk through the area and...

That's all of it.


Jimmy Thick- Fun while it lasted...

To be fair, Universal never promoted it as its own theme park, it was other media outlets that dubbed it as such.

 

[jensenrick]

Maybe not surpass it in attendance- just in excitement, innovation, comfort, relaxation, and value for your money. You know, if you like those things.

 

[draybook]

I agree with this. I wonder how many people leave disappointed when they walk through the area and...

That's all of it.


Jimmy Thick- Fun while it lasted...

Well, that beats walking around all of AK and finding 3 rides and 4 shows.......

 

[WED99]

I think by the time the IOA attendance strated getting close the Disney they would realize and do something about it.

 

[BryceM]

I agree with this. I wonder how many people leave disappointed when they walk through the area and...

That's all of it.


Jimmy Thick- Fun while it lasted...

Just like Tom Morrow said, Universal never promoted it as it's own theme park. It was other media sources.

And I doubt anyone was disappointed. When they're done exploring the Wizarding World, they can walk through the lush jungles of Jurassic Park, step into the pages of Dr. Seuss books, explore an Ancient Greek city, etc.

IOA is so much more than WWoHP.

 

[Master Yoda]

Just like Tom Morrow said, Universal never promoted it as it's own theme park. It was other media sources.

And I doubt anyone was disappointed. When they're done exploring the Wizarding World, they can walk through the lush jungles of Jurassic Park, step into the pages of Dr. Seuss books, explore an Ancient Greek city, etc.

IOA is so much more than WWoHP.

While true, you would be surprised at the number of people that don't care. I had a number of clients, especially those with small kids, that had no interest in IOA outside of the Potter expansion. When they found out that Forbidden Journey had a 48" height restriction, even that interest dropped.