What source do you use for annual visitors?
Good points-I would assume US has their attention (and hope so for all of our sakes) I just think there are often short term changes (and Disney invests at a lot of different locations) and if US/IOA are soo much better than AK/DHS they will (and should) pass them in attendance. But then down the road DHS get Cars Land and/or Star Wars plus AK improvements-so then what? Do we come back here and conclude we all win and it's just typical business changes as usual?
And if some parks are passed-might be a good thing-I mean what would happen?
My bigger question is attendance measurements.
If I go back and forth into EPCOT from BCV during a single day-is that considered multiple people visits?
Likewise if I go back and forth to US and IOA is that multiple?
And does the new HP train going back and forth keep counting those as extra visitors?
Same with DL and CA-seems like if parks are feet apart is a huge advantage for guest counts.
Or is it just tickets sold?
I get my numbers from a combination of places. Some come from entertainment business tracking that monitors theme parks, museums, national parks, etc. But I have another source that comes directly from a friend that works for Universal Creative. Those are Universal's own numbers and their estimates based on detailed tracking they do at the Disney parks (they have people in each Disney park estimating attendance and sales there daily via paid admission; Disney does the same at Universal). I can't reveal what those internal numbers are, but I can tell you that Universal has seen marked increase in attendance and spending. Disney has seen increases in attendance but not in spending. One of the things that was jarring at first is how many Minion shirts and paraphernalia I've been seeing at Disney - all bought at Universal. Same goes for Potter. This used to be a one way street. You'd see Disney stuff at Universal but rarely see Universal stuff at Disney. There was a brief change when Shrek 4-D hit, but that was temporary. The Potter stuff has persisted longer as has the Minion merchandise.
So those that say it's more about merchandise are kind of correct. Same for those that state that it impacts vacations. Disney sells less longer stays and Universal finds that many people book at Disney resorts and then book with them as well, splitting their vacation and not staying at Disney even when they'd go to Universal. That's why they added another resort - one that has a lot of family suites. They may build a fifth resort on the space between Royal Pacific and Cabana Cay.
As for measurements, Universal only counts per day, per park. Their internal totals do not count people twice for the same park. If I go to USF then to IOA and back to USF, I get counted once for each park to measure attendance. I cannot speak to how Disney does theirs because I don't have direct knowledge through a source.
Disney is in an awkward situation in some regards. They are Disney, so they are the name. Orlando was put on the map by them. They are often given the benefit of the doubt and do get a large percentage of visitors who get to stop by every few years at best, but sometimes visit just once. For those, everything is new. Disney has millions and millions out there who dream about visiting WDW. Universal appeals to a more limited set and a group more likely to repeat visit. So having newer attraction encourages more frequent visits. Though this is a more recent philosophy on their part.
I think Disney has yet to fully adapt to what Universal is doing. They also function differently. Universal Creative is now based in Orlando. Their major ride design house is there, not out in California. Most of the Imagineers are out in Cali. Universal can adapt more quickly and has a lot less red tape. Comcast has given them great autonomy with their parks and a mission to push Disney. Comcast also has deep pockets that match Disney. GE did too, but they didn't care about theme parks at all.
Universal is set up to be able to do this at a faster pace. Disney has decades of protocols about how long it should take to get a ride designed and built. They have been trying to speed it up, but they won't match Universal's speed any time soon.
The thing I'm waiting on is the potential Marvel buyout. Universal holds theme park rights for Florida eternally. Costs increase every decade, but the contract has no expiration. They are waiting for Disney to offer over $1 Billion to buy them out and finance an elaborate replacement that will likely be a resurrection of the Gotham City concept they had before they went to Marvel. They have a good working relationship with WB thanks to the Harry Potter stuff. But they won't be bringing Batman and Superman to IOA anytime soon unless Disney steps up and decides they want Spidey, Hulk, the Fantastic Four, etc at WDW. I believe they can't do any Marvel characters in Florida due to the rights deal, though they do make some money off them. Just not that much. It was a pretty sweet deal. That's why they went with Marvel instead of DC. WB wanted a lot more money back in the 90s. Marvel low bid them.
I'm not sure anyone said that or even insinuated it.
