Orlando Theme Park Market Share

[umichigan10]

Sea World is, and always has been, a niche park. When I started visiting Orlando as a kid in the 70's, Sea World was our first stop, right after we got off the plane. Then it was two days at the Magic Kingdom. We literally did all of Sea World in less than a day back then. Not sure I could say the same about it now, but it's still a one day park, at best.

We went this past fall, and my kids loved Sea World. The kids area is wonderful, and the 3 story play structure kept them entertained for hours. I have not seen Blackfish, nor do I care too. I know of all the good the Sea World parks do, so it's of no real interest to me to see it. The same can be said for many well know Zoos too.

Sure but there's a difference between being a niche park with only 1 other destination, than one with 2 huge destinations that each have multiple things to do (Disney has 7 different things there between the parks, water parks, and DS). At some point people just look past you

 

[mcjaco]

Sure but there's a difference between being a niche park with only 1 other destination, than one with 2 huge destinations that each have multiple things to do (Disney has 7 different things there between the parks, water parks, and DS). At some point people just look past you

It also has what are arguably the best roller coasters, next to Busch Gardens, in the state of Florida. I think your predictions of demise, are premature.

 

[umichigan10]

It also has what are arguably the best roller coasters, next to Busch Gardens, in the state of Florida. I think your predictions of demise, are premature.

I hope so because I'd like to go someday

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

Frankly, I'm amazed that USO only has a 25% market share. With all the hype they've generated in the past 5-10 years, you'd think they'd do better than that.

 

[rteetz]

Frankly, I'm amazed that USO only has a 25% market share. With all the hype they've generated in the past 5-10 years, you'd think they'd do better than that.

Well it's hard to take large chunks away from Disney. They have always been "king". They have been steadily increasing for years though. A lot of people who go to USO also go to Disney so that's why Disney doesn't lose so quickly.

 

[saskdw]

The biggest advantage Disney has is size. Everyone has their opinion on which place has better attractions. But at this point UO can't compete with the sheer volume of WDW. 40 sq miles holding 4 large theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Springs, 25 plus large resorts, etc.

WDW just simply has more to do and holds more people. UO is very well done, but they seem to only hold people's attention for a couple days. Even though some would argue Citywalk is better than DS, the reality is that DS holds a lot more people.

UO may continue to nibble away at Disney, but they need a lot "more" before they are a serious threat.

 

[rteetz]

The biggest advantage Disney has is size. Everyone has their opinion on which place has better attractions. But at this point UO can't compete with the sheer volume of WDW. 40 sq miles holding 4 large theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Springs, 25 plus large resorts, etc.

WDW just simply has more to do and holds more people. UO is very well done, but they seem to only hold people's attention for a couple days. Even though some would argue Citywalk is better than DS, the reality is that DS holds a lot more people.

UO may continue to nibble away at Disney, but they need a lot "more" before they are a serious threat.

Yes Disney has size but they haven't been using it. Their expansions as of age have just been using existing areas in the parks.

 

[saskdw]

Yes Disney has size but they haven't been using it. Their expansions as of age have just been using existing areas in the parks.

Even with just the space they are using they've had a huge size advantage.

 

[rteetz]

Even with just the space they are using they've had a huge size advantage.

Universal does have over 400 acres plus the wet n wild site at their disposal though.

 

[manning]

http://nypost.com/2017/06/02/high-prices-at-disney-parks-took-hit-on-attendance-last-year/

Disney parks in North America had slight attendance declines last year due to increased ticket prices, while Harry Potter rides helped Universal show strong increases in visitors.

A new report released this week by the Themed Entertainment Association and the firm AECOM says Disney’s domestic parks declined by about 1 percent. Despite the declines, revenue was up about 5 percent due to increased guest spending. Disney officials have said they are comfortable trading smaller crowds for higher prices.

Attendance at Universal parks in the United States was up almost 7.5 percent thanks to the Harry Potter rides as well as a new Walking Dead attraction at its California park.

Six Flags parks had a 4 percent increase in attendance, and Cedar Fair parks were up 2.7 percent in visitors.

Filed under disney world , disneyland , six flags , theme parks , univers

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

Well it's hard to take large chunks away from Disney. They have always been "king". They have been steadily increasing for years though. A lot of people who go to USO also go to Disney so that's why Disney doesn't lose so quickly.

Question: I assume that when we say "market share," we're saying that ~70% of the tourists in Orlando at any given time are coming to WDW during their stay, and that 25% of them are going to go to USO. That means that a whopping 95% are going to do one, the other, or BOTH. Am I reading it correctly?

I suppose it could also mean that on any given DAY, 70% of the tourists are at WDW and 25% of them are at USO. ...but I can't believe that, as there has to be more than 5% scattered across the many other attractions in the Orlando area.

 

[STLstone]

Question: I assume that when we say "market share," we're saying that ~70% of the tourists in Orlando at any given time are coming to WDW during their stay, and that 25% of them are going to go to USO. That means that a whopping 95% are going to do one, the other, or BOTH. Am I reading it correctly?

I suppose it could also mean that on any given DAY, 70% of the tourists are at WDW and 25% of them are at USO. ...but I can't believe that, as there has to be more than 5% scattered across the many other attractions in the Orlando area.

I think in this case "market share" refers to the total money spent by tourists. About 70% of tourism money gets spent at Disney. It could be only 50% of the tourists spending their money there, or it could be 80%.

 

[OSUZorba]

I think it is also based on Theme Park market share only, not on all Orlando tourism.

 

[donsullivan]

Here are some charts I posted on a different site last week that might be useful for those who do not frequent that location. They show the relative size of each of the players in Orlando over a long arc of time as well as the shifts in market share. It's really important not to just look at one year-over-year comparison but the longer trends as they often tell a more subtle story. The chart scales are identical for both WDW and USO to make the relative size of each more clear.

Note: all of the data included here is from TEI annual attendance reports and from before that the older Amusement Business industry reports they replaced.

Walt Disney World Attendance


Universal Orlando Attendance



Top 3 Orlando competitors Theme Park Market Share

 

[rteetz]

Here are some charts I posted on a different site last week that might be useful for those who do not frequent that location. They show the relative size of each of the players in Orlando over a long arc of time as well as the shifts in market share. It's really important not to just look at one year-over-year comparison but the longer trends as they often tell a more subtle story. The chart scales are identical for both WDW and USO to make the relative size of each more clear.

Note: all of the data included here is from TEI annual attendance reports and from before that the older Amusement Business industry reports they replaced.

Walt Disney World Attendance
View attachment 242115

Universal Orlando Attendance
View attachment 242116


Top 3 Orlando competitors Theme Park Market Share
View attachment 242117

Thanks for these!

 

[ChipnDale79]

I've been saying for years that this would happen...

 

[dlavender]

Here are some charts I posted on a different site last week that might be useful for those who do not frequent that location. They show the relative size of each of the players in Orlando over a long arc of time as well as the shifts in market share. It's really important not to just look at one year-over-year comparison but the longer trends as they often tell a more subtle story. The chart scales are identical for both WDW and USO to make the relative size of each more clear.

Note: all of the data included here is from TEI annual attendance reports and from before that the older Amusement Business industry reports they replaced.

Walt Disney World Attendance
View attachment 242115

Universal Orlando Attendance
View attachment 242116


Top 3 Orlando competitors Theme Park Market Share
View attachment 242117

Thanks for these!

Its interesting to see the inverse relationship UNI and DIS have.

 

[OSUZorba]

Those charts imply that Universal has done a good job at creating their own market and aren't simply stealing visitors from Disney. So they are taking market share by growing the market and taking all the growth for themselves.

I don't see Disney really changing that trend unless they do some footprint expansion, although I'm sure Pandora and Star Wars will help some.

 

[princessbride6205]

There is one statistic missing from all of this. Market growth. Stealing market share in a stagnate market is a lot different than gaining more of the growth compared to your competitor. So is Universal helping to growth the entire market and adding more people at a faster rate to Disney. Or are the same number of people being divided up differently?

Looking at the hard numbers in the TEA report, the 4 Disney parks had 313k fewer guests in 2016 compared to 2015. Universal's 2 parks had 983k more guests in 2016 over 2015. So if we are just looking at these 6 Orlando parks, we have a market growth of 670k in 2016. The two WDW water parks lost 33k guests in 2016. SeaWorld had 331k fewer attendees. So adding those losses into the picture, there is still a net gain of 306k Orlando park-goers.

 

[Madonna3]

Poor Sea World. One of the most underrated parks IMO.

Meh, it's part of the Busch Gardens family and for me, that's the reason we don't visit.