2019 Theme Park attendance figures

[gatour]

After posting earlier in the News thread, I looked at a few other TEA reports. Here are the attendance bumps at Orlando parks in the year they opened new lands (all opened in their respective summers between June -August):

Hogsmeade - IoA (2010): +30%
Diagon Alley - USO (2014): +17%
Pandora - AK (2017): +16%
Toy Story Land - DHS (2018): +5%
Galaxy’s Edge - DHS (2019): +2%

Although there are plenty of variables to try and explain differences (and not just that RotR hadn’t opened), the fact that Galaxy’s Edge generated a fraction of the attendance increases of comparable lands is still somewhat shocking.

It is not always about driving attendance increases. It can also be about retaining the attendance you currently have.

Not everyone goes to Disney several times a year. They spread their trips out. I.E only going every few years. By adding new rides, the parks are looking at getting these people back a bit more often. Replacing people that have totally dropped out of the "game"

For example. We became Universal Florida annual passholders several years ago. About three years ago we dropped the passes as we have done all of the rides multiple times. Now that the replaced the dueling dragons roller coaster put in Fast and Furious, and the replacement for Terminator we are thinking about buying annual passes again.

If they had not added these rides/shows, we would not be considering buying the annual pass.

The whole thing about the Star Wars Galaxy Edge thing is that from what I read here, if you are not at rope drop you can pretty much write off doing the ride. Not everyone is enamored with that idea, so I am guessing some are people are holding off, much like Avatar

 

[ShadeDK]

It is not always about driving attendance increases. It can also be about retaining the attendance you currently have.

I completely agree. As others have pointed out, expansions also can go towards guest experience and increasing spend-per-guest (which I’m confident Disney would prefer over just increased attendance, even though it probably prefers to increase both).

We don’t have the underlying data - for all we know, the parks would have shown a decline in attendance but-for GE. Even if unlikely, it’s a possibility. In that sense, GE would serve the purpose of helping maintain attendance now and in years to come. The troubling part if that’s true, though, is the $2B price tag - that’s a lot of money to essentially tread water.

 

[OSUZorba]

They announced the opening of SWGE.

Start here and read the next 10 pages of this thread:

Yup, I would've rescheduled my trip if I could have once that was announced. I was there opening week, and assumed everything would be slammed, but it really had no affect on other parks, and I even hoped to DHS the evening of the opening and had a good time.

Like I said so strange. Most other parks after adding new lands or attractions draw big crowds from them. I never hear people talk about avoiding a park cause of a new attraction or land. Its why I say Disney fans are a different breed.

Everyone was predicting lines through the parking lot. And there was a constant string of cost cutting and price increases basically justified (on here at least) of "Star Wars is coming, we don't need you, don't let the door hit you on the way out." Disney World is also very different in that most of their customers are tourists, as opposed to locals or super-locals. I went to Kings Island for Diamond Back's opening day. Figured it was crazy, I'd just leave, but I had a season pass and lived 25 minutes away. At Disney, I have to fly there, generally stay a week, have $1500+ in tickets for my family (or starting the clock on APs), I have no interest in going to "see the madness" then leaving.

 

[Tiki Birdland]

Everyone was predicting lines through the parking lot. And there was a constant string of cost cutting and price increases basically justified (on here at least) of "Star Wars is coming, we don't need you, don't let the door hit you on the way out."

THIS. Bob Iger essentially said as much when he announced GE, stating essentially, "Just tell them it's open and watch them come.". The huge ticket and merch price increases backed him up on that. How does that feel now, Bob?

 

[YesterDark]

I think Hoth or Tatooine or a mixture of sites would have done the trick.

See I disagree. Hoth is just an iceball with hidden bunkers and the only identifiable structures would be the shield generator and AT ATs. Hoth would be a cool ride, but a boring land to walk around. Same thing about Tatooine except sand. I hate sand.

Mos Eisley would probably the best setting I think if you had to pick one setting. You need something where people walk around it casually in the movies so you can mimic that in the parks. Almost everything you think about would make a great ride but not a great land imo.

 

[dlavender]

See I disagree. Hoth is just an iceball with hidden bunkers and the only identifiable structures would be the shield generator and AT ATs. Hoth would be a cool ride, but a boring land to walk around. Same thing about Tatooine except sand. I hate sand.

Mos Eisley would probably the best setting I think if you had to pick one setting. You need something where people walk around it casually in the movies so you can mimic that in the parks. Almost everything you think about would make a great ride but not a great land imo.

Perhaps. I think in absence of places "we know", they did themselves a disservice by not having more interactive elements (the data pads don't do it for me). A droid show with R2 and C3po would be cool.

To me, and I'm not alone, it's a lot of empty space with some expensive stores. Now Rise is great from the reports and from what I've seen. The Falcon looks spectacular. There just isn't enough to pull people in, IMO. 1 stellar ride, 1 subpar ride, and a large area with a few stores and a quick service just isn't enough to move the needle. And obviously wasn't enough to get people to "brave the crowds" and pay the extra cash to go.

I think just Mos Eisley with a more interactive cantina would have been a better route to go.

I see comments like the one below all the time and is a common refrain from people I know:

"It's like being on a whole other planet....but not a planet you care about."

 

[BrianL]

Perhaps. I think in absence of places "we know", they did themselves a disservice by not having more interactive elements (the data pads don't do it for me). A droid show with R2 and C3po would be cool.

To me, and I'm not alone, it's a lot of empty space with some expensive stores. Now Rise is great from the reports and from what I've seen. The Falcon looks spectacular. There just isn't enough to pull people in, IMO. 1 stellar ride, 1 subpar ride, and a large area with a few stores and a quick service just isn't enough to move the needle. And obviously wasn't enough to get people to "brave the crowds" and pay the extra cash to go.

I think just Mos Eisley with a more interactive cantina would have been a better route to go.

I see comments like the one below all the time and is a common refrain from people I know:

"It's like being on a whole other planet....but not a planet you care about."

I do agree that part of it is the layout. There is too much empty space and the markigns on stores and such are made to blend in a bit too much so that you might not even know they are there. Maybe they are thinking they can add some stuff. I don't think they necessarily had to use a location familliar from the movies (it's plenty Star Wars-y), just that they could have planned the space a bit better I think.

 

[dlavender]

I do agree that part of it is the layout. There is too much empty space and the markigns on stores and such are made to blend in a bit too much so that you might not even know they are there. Maybe they are thinking they can add some stuff. I don't think they necessarily had to use a location familliar from the movies (it's plenty Star Wars-y), just that they could have planned the space a bit better I think.

I went into it with no expectations and we just found ourselves wandering around and feeling like we were at a strip mall on a strange planet.

It just wasn't immersive enough and once was enough for me until we could make it back to ride Rise when it opened. They needed to put more into it to get the attendance bump. I think the "mall" route was a mistake. The land was touted for a long time as the third attraction. If so, it ranks with the triceratops spin.....

Now, if we pretended like Covid wasn't a thing, I think they left themselves plenty of space to fix it. Add in a show or two, add in a hologram here and there, and get some more SW music involved and it's looking a lot better.

 

[BrianL]

I went into it with no expectations and we just found ourselves wandering around and feeling like we were at a strip mall on a strange planet.

It just wasn't immersive enough and once was enough for me until we could make it back to ride Rise when it opened. They needed to put more into it to get the attendance bump. I think the "mall" route was a mistake. The land was touted for a long time as the third attraction. If so, it ranks with the triceratops spin.....

Now, if we pretended like Covid wasn't a thing, I think they left themselves plenty of space to fix it. Add in a show or two, add in a hologram here and there, and get some more SW music involved and it's looking a lot better.

Yeah, I actually maybe felt it was TOO immersive - like realistic to a Star Wars planet, most of wich are pretty, well, you wouldn't want to live there, you know? The lack of music, proper signage, the intense "put-on" by CMs - I can really do without all that (like really, just tell me where the restroom is ) . It doesn't have to be "real" for me. I think the difference is if it is intended for Star Wars fans or Disney Parks fans - I am both, but I'd like it to be a little more "theme-park-y" - i.e. more fun.

 

[Chumpieboy]

I do agree that part of it is the layout. There is too much empty space and the markigns on stores and such are made to blend in a bit too much so that you might not even know they are there. Maybe they are thinking they can add some stuff. I don't think they necessarily had to use a location familliar from the movies (it's plenty Star Wars-y), just that they could have planned the space a bit better I think.

Agree on the markings. My first time walking around it took forever to find the restrooms.

 

[BrianL]

Agree on the markings. My first time walking around it took forever to find the restrooms.

You mean "the refresher" right?

 

[dlavender]

Yeah, I actually maybe felt it was TOO immersive - like realistic to a Star Wars planet, most of wich are pretty, well, you wouldn't want to live there, you know? The lack of music, proper signage, the intense "put-on" by CMs - I can really do without all that (like really, just tell me where the restroom is ) . It doesn't have to be "real" for me. I think the difference is if it is intended for Star Wars fans or Disney Parks fans - I am both, but I'd like it to be a little more "theme-park-y" - i.e. more fun.

Maybe that's the thing. A little more "campy".

 

[BrianL]

Maybe that's the thing. A little more "campy".

Exactly! I mean, I get that Luke Skywalker doesn't hear the Star Wars theme while he is walking around, but I sure want to! When you first enter - "da da - da da da DA da!" They play it on Star Tours at the end, and you get a score during the ride. Does MSFR even have a score?

The worst thing about it though was the Star Wars fans - they are the worst! YEah, I am one, but I don't have to run after stormtroopers with my lightsaber like some of the kids - I mean, 20-somethings - did! It was a bit of an unpleasant vibe, but Disney encouraged that. Give me the Disney Parks crowd any day!

 

[dlavender]

Exactly! I mean, I get that Luke Skywalker doesn't hear the Star Wars theme while he is walking around, but I sure want to! When you first enter - "da da - da da da DA da!" They play it on Star Tours at the end, and you get a score during the ride. Does MSFR even have a score?

The worst thing about it though was the Star Wars fans - they are the worst! YEah, I am one, but I don't have to run after stormtroopers with my lightsaber like some of the kids - I mean, 20-somethings - did! It was a bit of an unpleasant vibe, but Disney encouraged that. Give me the Disney Parks crowd any day!

The lack of music is a stunning omission, IMO.

I want to "be in the movie" not a recreation of what "real life" is like from the movie world.

A larger Ewok village from the Star Tours queue would be neat to walk around with the music.

Or just any more themed walkways with music. Just give us the amazing music already!

But, who knows how much the early reviews did anything to change attendance patterns. I have a suspicion that it did have a role. But could have just been pricing, waiting for completion, and fear of crowds. I think it was all four (adding in reviews), we will all just have varying levels of how much we think each played a part in it.

 

[skeeter31]

Exactly! I mean, I get that Luke Skywalker doesn't hear the Star Wars theme while he is walking around, but I sure want to! When you first enter - "da da - da da da DA da!" They play it on Star Tours at the end, and you get a score during the ride. Does MSFR even have a score?

The worst thing about it though was the Star Wars fans - they are the worst! YEah, I am one, but I don't have to run after stormtroopers with my lightsaber like some of the kids - I mean, 20-somethings - did! It was a bit of an unpleasant vibe, but Disney encouraged that. Give me the Disney Parks crowd any day!

It will be interesting to see how the land holds up and changes over the years. I don’t think we’ll see any changes right now due to the popularity of the new rides which makes the land extremely popular, but as the newness of those rides fade, will the allure of that land still be the same? I could see them eventually pumping some music in, toning down the “acting” in the land, and adding some regular signage to entice more non SW people in there.

 

[BrianL]

I want to "be in the movie" not a recreation of what "real life" is like from the movie world.

YES! This.

I know they took some queus from Harry Potter, but even Pandora has some music interspersed and FOP has a wonderful Score.

 

[skeeter31]

YES! This.

I know they took some queus from Harry Potter, but even Pandora has some music interspersed and FOP has a wonderful Score.

But HP is much more immersive, since it’s scenes directly out of the movies and much more interactive with the wand touchpoints and such. Makes it much more accessible to a HP-neophyte

 

[BrianL]

But HP is much more immersive, since it’s scenes directly out of the movies and much more interactive with the wand touchpoints and such. Makes it much more accessible to a HP-neophyte

Yeah, but I judt mean HP tries to be "real" which is the trend, but I don't prefer that. I think SWGE is TOO immersive in that it's just like living on Batuu would be - i.e. not that nice. I mean, what planet in Star Wars would you actually want to live on? They are mostly terrible. I guess Naboo seems nice, but even they have monsters in the water. Maybe Coruscant if you could afford to live in the high levels. Generally though, they kinda suck. I think HPs benefit is that they didn't try to fit it all into a timeline - you can go from one movie to the next. I think SW would have been better if it just had rides that were independent. It's a theme, not a narrative.

 

[dlavender]

Yeah, but I judt mean HP tries to be "real" which is the trend, but I don't prefer that. I think SWGE is TOO immersive in that it's just like living on Batuu would be - i.e. not that nice. I mean, what planet in Star Wars would you actually want to live on? They are mostly terrible. I guess Naboo seems nice, but even they have monsters in the water. Maybe Coruscant if you could afford to live in the high levels. Generally though, they kinda suck. I think HPs benefit is that they didn't try to fit it all into a timeline - you can go from one movie to the next. I think SW would have been better if it just had rides that were independent. It's a theme, not a narrative.

SWGE's biggest mistake is worrying too much about timelines.

Just give us all the great star wars. I don't care if someone is dead in the timeline or not. Don't care if I go from episode IV to VI to III etc.

That's what HP gets right. It's just HP world, no timeline.

 

[BrianL]

SWGE's biggest mistake is worrying too much about timelines.

Just give us all the great star wars. I don't care if someone is dead in the timeline or not. Don't care if I go from episode IV to VI to III etc.

That's what HP gets right. It's just HP world, no timeline.

Yeah, I agree. Rise of the Resistance could take place in the sequel trilogy time and Milennium Falcon could have been with Han during the Imperial era or whatever. That wouldn't matter to me at all. I mean, Star Tours doesn't really make any sense, but it's great!