2014 Theme Park Attendance Report

[robbalvey]

It's that time of year again! The theme park attendance report is out! Take a look at the link below and post your thoughts!

 

http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_103_49736_150603.pdf

 

Here's the top 25 world-wide parks in 2014 compared to 2013:

 

2013:

 

2014:

 

And the top 20 in North America for 2014:

Edited June 3, 2015 by robbalvey

[A.J.]

This bit in regards to the long-term challenges of North American parks is really interesting -

 

The continued stagnation of middle class incomes, which may already be leading to a bifurcation of the market. This raises questions about the sustainability of recent ticket price increases as well as the positioning of some parks relative to the characteristics of the residents and tourists to major markets.

For a park that's within the limits of or within a short (15-20 minute) drive / ride of a major city, it's really hard to figure out who to target because there's such a huge variation in the net incomes of individuals and families. Do you jack the prices up to get more money from the few people who can (and will) really pay for it, or do you keep the prices lower, risk lower profits, but have the chance to attract more people, local or otherwise, to the gate on a regular basis?

[jarmor]

Are these numbers weighted for parks they aren't open year round? I don't think its fair to compare the numbers of a park that's open 6-8 months a year to one that's open year round unless they use the numbers and estimate what the numbers would be.

[DirkFunk]

Are these numbers weighted for parks they aren't open year round? I don't think its fair to compare the numbers of a park that's open 6-8 months a year to one that's open year round unless they use the numbers and estimate what the numbers would be.

 

There's an explanation deep in it where they explain how the numbers are generated. Either parks give them the numbers or they guess the numbers based on a number of criteria. Nothing is weighted based on "year round".

[Rollercoaster Rider]

2 Things

 

1. WOW, SeaWorld Parks took a hit in 2014.

2. I wish they would at least do Top 25 US Parks. Wonder where my Homepark GAm ranked?

[Garet]

Wow, I knew Harry Potter had been popular in Japan but that's a huge boost! Considering people said the lines weren't as busy as they expected them to be for Gringotts I'm surprised to see Universal Orlando had a similar boost.

[Divv3k]

I think the real shock is Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Paris dropping a further 4.7% (after a 6.9% drop the previous year) despite a recovering economy and the opening of Ratatouille. The rest of the big European parks saw decent increases in attendance so it's got to be a little concerning that Disney is falling while the others are increasing.

 

Of course, outwith Europe Disney is really looking fantastic and I guess these numbers goes to show that Universal's heavy investment strategy is really paying off in visitor numbers at least.

[Heth]

I'm not surprised at the decline of Disneyland Paris. It's a shame though, as the park does appear to be doing a lot of refurbishment this year to try to and improve the parks. One can only hope that next year attendance reflects that.

[coasterbill]

A few things that stood out to me...

 

Sea World got absolutely crushed, but it looks like the Busch parks were very stable, I was very surprised to see a slight boost at the Tampa Location despite the late opening of Falcon's Fury and the hit their sister park took (though I know Blackfish had a lot to do with that and consumers generally don't know that the parks are owned by the same company).

 

Despite the addition of Banshee, Kings Island only had a 1% jump which seems a little low to me. I wonder if they were expecting more.

 

Universal's growth is really amazing. Harry Potter is a juggernaut.

 

Cedar Point's drop is a little strange, but the fact that they were closed on a weekend with beautiful weather thanks to that water main break may have played a role there. That won't account for a 4% drop though. It might not even have accounted for a 1% drop.

 

I'm a little surprised that despite Zumanjaro which gained a lot of attention from the general public on Social Media, Great Adventure's attendance stayed flat.

Edited June 3, 2015 by coasterbill

[robbalvey]

The most interesting take-away for me is Orlando. This once again just proves that Disney doesn't *NEED* to be building anything on the rate that Universal or SeaWorld parks do. I've seen people say things like "Wow, all these new announcements for all these Orlando parks...what do you have to say for yourself Disney?" and my response to comments like that are "Disney's response is that they are the #1 parks in the world."

 

Universal's best performing park in Orlando doesn't even come close to touching Disney's worst performing park. And that's not a knock on Universal. I think it's great that they are continuing to expand and increasing their numbers. But I'm not convinced they are pulling people AWAY from Disney as much as they'd like to think they are. (Or at least maybe their fans claim they are.)

 

And seeing that IOA was flat this year, while Studios saw an increase due to Potter also tells me that most people when they come to Orlando are visiting Disney as their #1 priority, and then spending ONE day at Universal. I think a lot of people were hoping to see a boost as both parks with an increase in 2-park, 2-day ticket sales, but it doesn't appear as though that is happening.

[DirkFunk]

And seeing that IOA was flat this year, while Studios saw an increase due to Potter also tells me that most people when they come to Orlando are visiting Disney as their #1 priority, and then spending ONE day at Universal. I think a lot of people were hoping to see a boost as both parks with an increase in 2-park, 2-day ticket sales, but it doesn't appear as though that is happening.

 

I'm not sure I put much stock into the numbers given that Comcast/NBC claims that 80% of Orlando ticket sales are 2 park tickets in their last earnings report. Still, you know that if the same people crying about how the numbers aren't true showed IOA with 12 million people attending that they'd be talking about how wonderful it all is and yelling at some nebulous Disney fan population.

[Intimidator305]

I believe the Diagon Alley expansion in the Studios park did exactly what Universal wanted it to do - get both attendances equal again. Obviously, if you're going to the parks for Harry Potter, you can't just do one. With the attention that IOA has been getting lately it is just as great as (I actually think better than) Universal Studios Florida.

 

On a different note, the Magic Kingdom numbers always make my jaw drop - absolutely insane!

[megametal]

I was surprised to see that Seaworld San Diego saw a bigger attendance drop than Orlando did. I mean, most of Blackfish is focused on Tilikum at Orlando. I think the Seaworld numbers will improve next year with Mako and lets not forget that this past year was brutal due to Blackfish backlash. (And I think 2 Orlando animals died in the past week or two, btw.)

 

Also, I'm always surprised Kings Dominion is never on the top 20 American parks...

[TIMtationX]

If anybody thinks Universal is EVER going to come close to beating WDW in attendance, they're kidding themselves. It's never going to happen. Magic Kingdom will be the #1 most attended park on Earth for the rest of time. I just like that Universal is being aggressive with their parks. Universal putting even a small dent in Disney marketshare is a win for them.

 

I will say however, that Hollywood Studios being higher on the list than Universal Studios is a travesty lolol

[ragerunner2]

I think it would be interesting to find out what numbers are estimates vs actual reported attendances.

[MIAfan88]

At first I was surprised Cedar Point was down, then I remembered they opened GateKeeper the year previous.

 

On a side note, does this publication not list all properties Six Flags and Cedar Fair own? It would have been nice to see how the smaller parks of those big chains did.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

For those of you wondering how SeaWorld San Diego dipped so much in attendance, the answer should be pretty obvious and it's not *just* Blackfish. Ask yourself what reason SeaWorld gave to the LA market to make the drive south to SeaWorld last year. Can you think of one? I can't. Those tide pools at the entrance aren't any sort of big draw. Sure they'll make the entrance look better than it was, but who would make a special trip down just for that?

 

So that, the wonderful demonstration of how not to have a 50th anniversary, Blackfish, combined with what their competitors all did and yeah, not a good attendance year for Orlando or San Diego.

 

As for Disney/Universal, I'm just happy that Universal wants to keep building up as much as they are. It doesn't matter what Disney does in response, if anything. What it means for a theme park fan is that we will continue to enjoy all these new & amazing experiences. I, for one, will look forward to having a great time doing exactly that.

[DirkFunk]

At first I was surprised Cedar Point was down, then I remembered they opened GateKeeper the year previous.

 

On a side note, does this publication not list all properties Six Flags and Cedar Fair own? It would have been nice to see how the smaller parks of those big chains did.

 

Only the ones making the list are shown.

[cfc]

As for Disney/Universal, I'm just happy that Universal wants to keep building up as much as they are. It doesn't matter what Disney does in response, if anything. What it means for a theme park fan is that we will continue to enjoy all these new & amazing experiences. I, for one, will look forward to having a great time doing exactly that.

 

Agreed. Theme-park guests are the real winners here.

[robbalvey]

Universal putting even a small dent in Disney marketshare is a win for them.

You need to understand more how Orlando works. Universal isn't putting a small dent into Disney's marketshare, but instead they are simply increasing their own. When people come to Orlando for vacation they look at the number of days they need. I'm sure there is plenty of research out there that tells us people aren't spending LESS days at Disney, but instead they are spending MORE days in Orlando to do and see more things. This isn't hurting Disney, but it's most certainly benefiting Universal, and as a whole, that's a great thing. The more money brought into the area and the longer people stay in town is what Orlando wants. The whole concept between Disney Vs. Universal is something that mostly falls on the fanboy level that doesn't understand how the industry works, especially here in Florida.

 

"A rising tide raises all ships" is by all means what is happening here.

[DirkFunk]

Universal putting even a small dent in Disney marketshare is a win for them.

You need to understand more how Orlando works. Universal isn't putting a small dent into Disney's marketshare, but instead they are simply increasing their own. When people come to Orlando for vacation they look at the number of days they need. I'm sure there is plenty of research out there that tells us people aren't spending LESS days at Disney, but instead they are spending MORE days in Orlando to do and see more things. This isn't hurting Disney, but it's most certainly benefiting Universal, and as a whole, that's a great thing. The more money brought into the area and the longer people stay in town is what Orlando wants. The whole concept between Disney Vs. Universal is something that mostly falls on the fanboy level that doesn't understand how the industry works, especially here in Florida.

 

"A rising tide raises all ships" is by all means what is happening here.

 

Exactly. For whatever reason, this hobby (like a few others) inspires that kind of brand loyalty and people say dumb things. By the same token, people look at SeaWorld's attendance woes almost always focus solely on Orlando where they have just a fraction of their overall chain. SEAS owns 5 theme parks, 5 water parks, plus Discovery Cove. Harry Potter has no effect whatsoever on how many people go to Aquatica San Antonio.

[A.J.]

The whole concept between Disney Vs. Universal is something that mostly falls on the fanboy level that doesn't understand how the industry works.

...and that's why I'm on Team Tivoli Gardens.

[gisco]

It is interesting that the Disney Paris parks are down while all the others are up.

 

No surprise that Seaworlds are down but I think that will be short term and they will make a come back

[michaellynn4]

Universal putting even a small dent in Disney marketshare is a win for them.

You need to understand more how Orlando works. Universal isn't putting a small dent into Disney's marketshare, but instead they are simply increasing their own. When people come to Orlando for vacation they look at the number of days they need. I'm sure there is plenty of research out there that tells us people aren't spending LESS days at Disney, but instead they are spending MORE days in Orlando to do and see more things. This isn't hurting Disney, but it's most certainly benefiting Universal, and as a whole, that's a great thing. The more money brought into the area and the longer people stay in town is what Orlando wants. The whole concept between Disney Vs. Universal is something that mostly falls on the fanboy level that doesn't understand how the industry works, especially here in Florida.

 

"A rising tide raises all ships" is by all means what is happening here.

 

This, exactly this. It's a market where the parties involved aren't trying to steal away portions of each other's share of the pie but instead are looking for ways to make the pie bigger. Win win!

[Superbatboy]

Crazy how regional theme parks in the U.S. haven't shown much growth in the last decade (perhaps even a decline) but Disney and Universal just keep tearing it up!! You'd think it'd be the opposite with the turn down in the economy, since regional parks are much more economical