2013 Theme Park Attendance Report

[robbalvey]

Complete PDF Document from TEA which also includes water parks and more detailed information: http://www.teaconnect.org/pdf/TEAAECOM2013.pdf

 

Here's some of the most notable "Top" results:

 

Top Twenty Global Theme Parks - Their 2013 attendance - and change from previous year.

 

1. MAGIC KINGDOM at Walt Disney World - 2013 attendance: 18,588,000 - Up 6%

2. TOKYO DISNEYLAND - 2013 attendance: 17,214,000 - Up 15.9%

3. DISNEYLAND - 2013 attendance: 16,202,000 - Up 1.5%

4. TOKYO DISNEY SEA - 2013 attendance: 14,084,000 - Up 11.3%

5. EPCOT at Walt Disney World - 2013 attendance: 11,229,000 - Up 1.5%

6. DISNEYLAND PARK AT DISNEYLAND PARIS - 2013 attendance: 10,430,000 - Down -6.9%

7. DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM at Walt Disney World - 2013 attendance: 10,198,000 - Up 2%

8. DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS at Walt Disney World - 2013 attendance: 10,110,000 - Up 2%

9. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN - 2013 attendance: 10,100,000 - Up 4.1%

10. DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE - 2013 attendance: 8,514,000 - Up 9.5%

11. ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE at Universal Orlando - 2013 attendance: 8,141,000 - Up 2%

12. OCEAN PARK - 2013 attendance: 7,475,000 - Up 0.5%

13. HONG KONG DISNEYLAND - 2013 attendance: 7,400,000 - Up 10.4%

14. LOTTE WORLD - 2013 attendance: 7,400,000 - Up 15.9%

15. EVERLAND - 2013 attendance: 7,303,000 - Up 6.6%

16. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS at Universal Orlando - 2013 attendance: 7,062,000 - Up 14%

17. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD - 2013 attendance: 6,148,000 - Up 4%

18. NAGASHIMA SPA LAND - 2013 attendance: 5,840,000 - Down - 0.2%

19. SEAWORLD, Orlando - 2013 attendance: 5,090,000 - Down -5%

20. EUROPA PARK - 2013 attendance: 4,900,000 - Up 6.5%

 

Top Twenty North America Theme Parks - Their 2013 attendance - and change from previous year.

 

1. MAGIC KINGDOM at Walt Disney World - 2013 attendance: 18,588,000 - Up 6%

2. DISNEYLAND - 2013 attendance: 16,202,000 - Up 1.5%

3. EPCOT - 2013 attendance: 11,229,000 - Up 1.5%

4. DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM - 2013 attendance: 10,198,000 - Up 2%

5. DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - 2013 attendance: 10,110,000 - Up 2%

6. DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE - 2013 attendance: 8,514,000 - Up 9.5%

7. ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE - 2013 attendance: 8,141,000 - Up 2%

8. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS at Universal Orlando - 2013 attendance: 7,062,000 - Up 14%

9. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD - 2013 attendance: 6,148,000 - Up 4%

10. SEAWORLD FL - 2013 attendance: 5,090,000 - Down -5%

11. SEAWORLD CA - 2013 attendance: 4,311,000 - Down -3%

12. BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA - 2013 attendance: 4,087,000 - Down -6%

13. KNOTT'S BERRY FARM - 2013 attendance: 3,683,000 - Up 5%

14. CANADA'S WONDERLAND - 2013 attendance: 3,582,000 - Down -2%

15. CEDAR POINT - 2013 attendance: 3,382,000 - Up 5%

16. KINGS ISLAND - 2013 attendance: 3,206,000 - Up 0%

17. HERSHEYPARK - 2013 attendance: 3,180,000 - Up 1.3%

18. SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN - 2013 attendance: 2,906,000 - Up 3.5%

19. SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE - 2013 attendance: 2,800,000 - Up 5.7%

20. BUSCH GARDENS WILLIAMSBURG - 2013 attendance: 2,726,000 - Down -4.5%

 

TPR has been to every one of these parks! You can find photos & reports in our Park Index: http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/

Edited June 2, 2017 by larrygator

[PVA62]

These types of lists always interest me. One thing that I find surprising is that there are four Cedar Fair parks ahead of the first Six Flags. I guess I never really paid attention to attendance very much. Just a personal perception I always had, thinking SFMM would outdo the top Cedar Fair parks. Thanks for sharing!

[julioot]

And it keeps suprising me that parks like cedar point and canadas wonderland attract less people than say, the efteling in the netherlands.

Edited June 3, 2014 by robbalvey

[TXman308]

I'm interested to see how much Potter brings up USO's attendance this year, considering last year Transformers brought it up 14%. (Or am I missing another big ride?)

Edited June 3, 2014 by robbalvey

[tylercolby83]

Wow, is this the first year MK surpassed Tokyo Disneyland?

Edited June 3, 2014 by tylercolby83

[bbomser]

Here are a couple of things that I take away from this:

 

1: 9 of the top 10 Worldwide are Disney (Not Surprised).

 

2: Of the 6 Major Parks in FL (Disney + Universal), all 4 Disney Parks are ahead of Universal, what change will Harry Potter make this year, along with a full year of Transformers?

 

3: I also had no idea that the Disney Water Parks were both so popular.

 

4: And it's a shame, but the PETA and Blackfish folk will see the decline in numbers and claim victory over SeaWorld.

[Mrlittle]

I really like reading the PDF file Robb linked. It talks about waterparks and museums as well. Very interesting stuff.

[coasterbill]

Any insight as to why Busch / SeaWorld took such a beating last year?

 

SeaWorld Orlando was down 5% despite opening a major new ride.

SeaWorld California was down 3%

Busch Gardens Tampa was down 6%

Busch Gardens Williamsburg was down 4.5%

[Superbatboy]

Nice to see MM almost back to 3 mil after dropping down to 2.5 mil a few seasons ago.

 

Awesome increase for Universal Orlando

[jetsplumber]

wow, cant believe how far down sfgadv has fallen on that list. when I worked at the park in the mid 90's, they did 4 million guests. what a huge drop off

[robbalvey]

Any insight as to why Busch / SeaWorld took such a beating last year?

 

SeaWorld Orlando was down 5% despite opening a major new ride.

SeaWorld California was down 3%

Busch Gardens Tampa was down 6%

Busch Gardens Williamsburg was down 4.5%

It unfortunately was probably mostly in part with bad press and ignorant people.

[urzishra]

^ What? You mean watching a one-sided documentary DOESN'T make me an expert on the situation?

 

That being said, 5% is huge, that's what half a million people on ave? wow. incredible. I'm surprised at the difference between WDW and then Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. I would think they would all have roughly the same amount of visitors, but visitors to Magic Kingdom nearly double that of each of those other parks. And nearly 2 to 1 for Disneyland to California Adventure.

 

I haven't been to California Adventure in a while, but I am probably MORE excited to go there than actual Disneyland.

[cfc]

Any insight as to why Busch / SeaWorld took such a beating last year?

 

SeaWorld Orlando was down 5% despite opening a major new ride.

SeaWorld California was down 3%

Busch Gardens Tampa was down 6%

Busch Gardens Williamsburg was down 4.5%

It unfortunately was probably mostly in part with bad press and ignorant people.

 

Tourism has been "off" in Williamsburg for a few years now; historical sites aren't the big draw they used to be, and the local hotel operators are always crying in their beer about it. BGW hasn't opened a major new attraction since Verbolten, either.

[yankeeman311]

A couple of notes on this list:

 

First, I find it amazing how far apart Magic Kingdom is from the other WDW parks. They're 7 million above Epcot and 8 million above Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Considering most of the people that go to WDW are tourists, it just surprises me just how much more often people go to Magic Kingdom than the others.

 

Second, I'm wondering with Diagon Alley coming to Universal next year if IOA and USF will take a big enough jump to get much closer to passing Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I know they're still 2 and 3 million behind them respectively but I still feel like it's when and not if these 2 pass them in attendance. I think it'll take another 5-10 years but I'm just interested to see how much closer they get next year.

 

Third, I knew SeaWorld parks would take a big hit but I was shocked to see the Busch parks take a big hit too. I didn't think GP would know they were owned by the same company. I think one of the Busch parks took a bigger hit than any SW park. It's unbelievable how influential one documentary can be.

 

Finally, I'm very happy to see Great Adventure in the top 20 North American parks. I don't think they were in it last year so I'm glad to see my home park made it especially getting the bump up they did with no major new attractions this year. Interested to see if GAdv takes a bigger bump up next year with Zumanjaro (if it ever opens).

[Kyle Coleman]

Anyone else really surprised to see that knotts does that kind of attendance.

[PayneTrain]

Any insight as to why Busch / SeaWorld took such a beating last year?

 

SeaWorld Orlando was down 5% despite opening a major new ride.

SeaWorld California was down 3%

Busch Gardens Tampa was down 6%

Busch Gardens Williamsburg was down 4.5%

It unfortunately was probably mostly in part with bad press and ignorant people.

 

Tourism has been "off" in Williamsburg for a few years now; historical sites aren't the big draw they used to be, and the local hotel operators are always crying in their beer about it. BGW hasn't opened a major new attraction since Verbolten, either.

 

On top of that Verbolten cost something around 3 times as much as Griffon and attendance only increased what, 4% that year compared to 12% with Griffon? Granted one could argue Griffon was working with the 400th anniversary down here but I don't know how true that could be.

 

I am definitely not an expert but I feel like the change in ownership that resulted in some rocky transition. They aren't exclusively negative or entirely on park personnel but also how park profit was viewed when they were an entertainment division of a beer company vs an exclusive entertainment business. I'm not saying the parks were never required to/didn't make a profit before 2009, but now that the ONLY business SWE has is the parks success and the appeasement of public stockholders, all Busch parks are in varying degrees of chaos. My friends and family notice the same kind of indentity crisis the park is in and they compare it to the first two years KD changed hands in the mid-aughties. I know enthusiasts are more on the beat with the nuanced changes a park has, but the attendance figures may show even the general public has picked up on it.

 

I don't think the drops in the Busch parks, especially the one in Virginia, can be easily tied to Blackfish. It's mostly an accumulation of having more false starts than successes at a local level over the last 5 years.

Edited June 3, 2014 by PayneTrain

[coasterbill]

Anyone else really surprised to see that knotts does that kind of attendance.

 

Not really since they're open 364 days out of the year, if I remember correctly Cars Land hurt them a lot last year... they couldn't help but rebound a little this year.

[cfc]

Third, I knew SeaWorld parks would take a big hit but I was shocked to see the Busch parks take a big hit too. I didn't think GP would know they were owned by the same company. I think one of the Busch parks took a bigger hit than any SW park. It's unbelievable how influential one documentary can be.

 

 

It's tough to say how much Blackfish affected attendance at the Williamsburg park. I'm inclined to think that slower tourism in this area in general is more of a factor.

[SharkTums]

Mmmm Tokyo Disney Sea.

[yankeeman311]

Third, I knew SeaWorld parks would take a big hit but I was shocked to see the Busch parks take a big hit too. I didn't think GP would know they were owned by the same company. I think one of the Busch parks took a bigger hit than any SW park. It's unbelievable how influential one documentary can be.

 

 

It's tough to say how much Blackfish affected attendance at the Williamsburg park. I'm inclined to think that slower tourism in this area in general is more of a factor.

 

That could be true but I saw on the list BGT took an even bigger hit than BGW which is why I placed it partly with being with SW. If it's not Blackfish than I'm wondering why the Tampa Busch Gardens took a 6% hit.

[SharkTums]

^I feel that Tampa is much more a 'locals' park than people think. They didn't get anything new, and announced Falcon's Fury in 2013 so people may have delayed visits. It will be interesting to see their 2014 numbers and how they change...if they get the ride open!

[cfc]

The Tampa park's Facebook page was plastered with Blackfish posters some time back; the Williamsburg park page, not so much. Of course, it isn't exactly a "scientific" measurement of public opinion.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

I wish they did Top 30 Theme Parks in the US, Or go back to Amusement Business and do Top 50.

[BintamiM]

It is really sad to see all of the major parks for SEA take a beating. But I don't think there is 1 major reason for their attendance to go down, but rather several reason, a Perfect storm. This is just my opinion, I am pretty sure most of you may or may not agree. But wanted to put in my 2 cents.

 

Change in Ownership = When they got sold to Blackstone they had a hard time finding their new identify (Worlds of Discovery, SeaWorld Parks, Etc) With that came uncertainty and a lack of interest from the public. And they are going through it again now that they have gone public and Blackstone have less ownership of the company

 

New mission, new identity = Now that SEA has establish what their goals are, I feel as if people are not warmly responding to it. For one their new attractions have not been what we would normally expect from the company. They are more than ever vigorously targeting families but I feel as if they are forgetting the young adult market, which was a big chunk of BGT and BGW's market. What works for the Sea Parks will not necessarily work for the Busch parks.

 

Guest service = I think the public recognizes that SEA Parks have better customer service than the Six Flags and CF Chains but lousy when compared to Universal and Disney. I actually have been appalled by few encounters I have had and some that I have seen. My major was in Hospitality Management and I heard what a lot of the students had to say about the SEA/BUSCH parks, It was rather embarrassing. I think that in some areas they have improved and in others it has gotten worse.

 

Blackfish = There is no denying that Blackfish had a big impact at the SEA parks, to think otherwise is ludicrous. They set out a mission to hurt the company and they have. Hopefully this will blow over and SEA will recuperate their losses

 

Competition = Disney, Universal , SF, CF have all stepped up their games immensely. I heard several hire ups from SEA say that "we do not like to see them as competition because if we do we will loose" I think that is very naive to say but I do not know much of their plans.

 

I think the industry is growing a lot and I am happy to see that, just a little sad that SeaWorld Parks is not enjoying that growth.

[SharkTums]

It is really sad to see all of the major parks for SEA take a beating. But I don't think there is 1 major reason for their attendance to go down, but rather several reason, a Perfect storm. This is just my opinion, I am pretty sure most of you may or may not agree. But wanted to put in my 2 cents.

 

Change in Ownership = When they got sold to Blackstone they had a hard time finding their new identify (Worlds of Discovery, SeaWorld Parks, Etc) With that came uncertainty and a lack of interest from the public. And they are going through it again now that they have gone public and Blackstone have less ownership of the company

 

New mission, new identity = Now that SEA has establish what their goals are, I feel as if people are not warmly responding to it. For one their new attractions have not been what we would normally expect from the company. They are more than ever vigorously targeting families but I feel as if they are forgetting the young adult market, which was a big chunk of BGT and BGW's market. What works for the Sea Parks will not necessarily work for the Busch parks.

 

Guest service = I think the public recognizes that SEA Parks have better customer service than the Six Flags and CF Chains but lousy when compared to Universal and Disney. I actually have been appalled by few encounters I have had and some that I have seen. My major was in Hospitality Management and I heard what a lot of the students had to say about the SEA/BUSCH parks, It was rather embarrassing. I think that in some areas they have improved and in others it has gotten worse.

 

Blackfish = There is no denying that Blackfish had a big impact at the SEA parks, to think otherwise is ludicrous. They set out a mission to hurt the company and they have. Hopefully this will blow over and SEA will recuperate their losses

 

Competition = Disney, Universal , SF, CF have all stepped up their games immensely. I heard several hire ups from SEA say that "we do not like to see them as competition because if we do we will loose" I think that is very naive to say but I do not know much of their plans.

 

I think the industry is growing a lot and I am happy to see that, just a little sad that SeaWorld Parks is not enjoying that growth.

 

This is a great post (other than the loose/lose mistake!!!!) that makes excellent points explaining the Sea World Parks decrease. Especially upsetting is the guest service. On recent visits over the last two years we have noticed just terrible employees (Six Flags or worse level) talking about break schedules and inappropriate stuff for around children. It also takes soooo long to scan your ticket and get into the park and the front gate employees do nothing to help the process. Hopefully a report like this will make Sea World step up their game in more than one way.