TEA and AECOM post theme park attendance numbers for 2013

[rteetz]

The full list has been released these are estimates as most parks don't release official numbers.

1. 18,588,000 Magic Kingdom up 6%
2. 17,214,000 Tokyo Disneyland up 15.9%
3. 16,202,000 Disneyland Anaheim up 1.5%
4. 14,084,000 Tokyo Disney sea up 11.3%
5. 11,229,000 Epcot up 1.5%
6. 10,430,000 Disneyland Paris down 6.9%
7. 10,198,000 Animal Kingdom up 2%
8. 10,110,000 Hollywood Studios up 2%
9. 10,100,000 universal studios japan up 4.1%
10. 8,514,000 California adventure up 9.5%
11. 8,141,000 islands of adventure up 2%
13. 7,400,000 Hong Kong Disneyland up 10.4%
16. 7,062,000 Universal studios Florida up 14%
17. 6,148,000 universal studios Hollywood up 4%
19. 5,090,000 seaworld Orlando down 5%
21. 4,470,000 walt Disney studios Paris down 6.9%

As for water parks Disney is two and three
Aquatica is seven
Wet n wild is ninth

 

[mvk]

Looks like WDW remained the same in market share while US picked up the SW drop.

Parks 70,418,000 (68,043,000 in 2012)
WDW - 50,125,000 (48,509,000) 71.2% market share (71.3% in 2012)
US - 15,203,000 (14,176,000) 21.6% (20.8%)
SW - 5,090,000 (5,358,000) 7.2% (7.9%)

Water Parks 6,922,000 (6,814,000)
WDW - 4,110,000 (4,029,000) 59.4% (59.1%)
US (Wet n Wild) - 1,259,000 (1,247,000) 18.2% (18.3%)
Aquatica - 1,553,000 (1,538,000) 22.4% (22.6%)

Combined 77,340,000 (74,857,000)
WDW - 54,235,000 (52,538,000) 70.1% (70.2%)
US + Wet n Wild - 16,462,000 (15,523,000) 21.3% (20.6%)
Other (Sea World + Aquatica) - 6,643,000 (6,896,000) 8.6% (9.2%)

 

[rteetz]

Looks like WDW remained the same in market share while US picked up the SW drop. Parks 70,418,000 (68,043,000 in 2012) WDW - 50,125,000 (48,509,000) 71.2% market share (71.3% in 2012) US - 15,203,000 (14,176,000) 21.6% (20.8%) SW - 5,090,000 (5,358,000) 7.2% (7.9%) Water Parks 6,922,000 (6,814,000) WDW - 4,110,000 (4,029,000) 59.4% (59.1%) US (Wet n Wild) - 1,259,000 (1,247,000) 18.2% (18.3%) Aquatica - 1,553,000 (1,538,000) 22.4% (22.6%) Combined 77,340,000 (74,857,000) WDW - 54,235,000 (52,538,000) 70.1% (70.2%) US + Wet n Wild - 16,462,000 (15,523,000) 21.3% (20.6%) Other (Sea World + Aquatica) - 6,643,000 (6,896,000) 8.6% (9.2%)

It will be very interesting to see next years numbers

 

[mvk]

It will be very interesting to see next years numbers

I predict WDW will have more "new" visitors, or a higher increased head count, but with Universal starting so much lower, their increase percentage will be much higher.

Something like

WDW +2M visitors (4% increase)
US +1.5M visitors (10% increase)

WDW was at a 3.3% increase this year, while US was at 7.2% increase. WDW had an increased head count of 1,616,000 while US had an increased head count of 1,027,000.

Disney had reported large attendance increase in the previous quarter though, so it might be more than that on their end.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

You would think that with Diagon Alley opening this year that IOA's number's will pass California Adventure's.

 

[sheetz]

You would think that with Diagon Alley opening this year that IOA's number's will pass California Adventure's.

Not necessarily since the bulk of attendance increase should occur in USF. On the other hand Universal Studios Japan should handily beat out a number of Disney parks this year after they open their Harry Potter land.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Not necessarily since the bulk of attendance increase should occur in USF. On the other hand Universal Studios Japan should handily beat out a number of Disney parks this year after they open their Harry Potter land.

Ah yes...hadn't thought of that.

Disney better get hoppin' on making the three non-MK parks at WDW more desirable to many more people than they have now.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

I think the most interesting trend is North America compared to Japan/Asia. If these trends continue, Japan and Asia will be Disney's premier locations while WDW and DL will be their second tier locations. That is something to think about! It confirms their decision to focus on Asian markets which are huge and love all things Disney. Of course, WDW is still where the most foreign visitors come, while very few foreign visitors go to Tokyo Disney & Disney Sea. That is both positive and negative. It would be nice to attract other visitors, but boy do the Japanese turn out the highest percentage visitation of any nation!

I, for one, really want to visit Disney Sea.

And then there is poor Paris. I thought this would be a popular place - and it is compared to other theme parks in the world - but not anywhere what one would expect of Disney.

Disney and Universal

Magic Kingdom is DOUBLE Islands of Adventure PLUS 2.4 MILLION! IA is over 3 million behind outdated Epcot. More than 2 million behind a half-day park, Animal Kingdom, and almost 2 million behind Hollywood Studios, also in need of an update. And this is after all the new rides and HP. Wow.

When the new HP addition opens Universal Studios will match Islands of Adventure and both will rise. But even if Uni comes up to IA and both rise another 20% (which it won't), they would still be lower than all 4 Disney parks and ONE HALF Magic Kingdom. And during this, Disney's numbers will continue to rise. Uni doesn't take people away from Disney. This whole thing is staggering to think about.

Where do all the arguments about Universal doing so much better than Disney come from?

 

[beer dave]

You know, I was actually considering taking a trip to uni this year, staying on site to get the benefit of the front of the line pass included. Upon checking into it for about 2 minutes, I find that the all famed HP area is not included in the pass. Forget it. My kids have been there and being huge HP fans, they were disappointed. No need for me to go.

 

[seascapemvy]

The full list has been released these are estimates as most parks don't release official numbers.

1. 18,588,000 Magic Kingdom up 6%
2. 17,214,000 Tokyo Disneyland up 15.9%
3. 16,202,000 Disneyland Anaheim up 1.5%
4. 14,084,000 Tokyo Disney sea up 11.3%
5. 11,229,000 Epcot up 1.5%
6. 10,430,000 Disneyland Paris down 6.9%
7. 10,198,000 Animal Kingdom up 2%
8. 10,110,000 Hollywood Studios up 2%
9. 10,100,000 universal studios japan up 4.1%
10. 8,514,000 California adventure up 9.5%
11. 8,141,000 islands of adventure up 2%
13. 7,400,000 Hong Kong Disneyland up 10.4%
16. 7,062,000 Universal studios Florida up 14%
17. 6,148,000 universal studios Hollywood up 4%
19. 5,090,000 seaworld Orlando down 5%
21. 4,470,000 walt Disney studios Paris down 6.9%

As for water parks Disney is two and three
Aquatica is seven
Wet n wild is ninth

I agree with others that Asia is where the growth is. However the combined total visitors to WDW will not be topped. I expect that in 2021 MK will draw 25 million guests, Epcot and AK will draw over 15 million each and DHS will be at 12 million. The biggest problem Disney faces is that that is just about capacity of MK and DHS. Epcot and AK may be able to hold more due to their size and expansion but the only solution for MK is to copy from Disney Land and build a 5th gate next to it like in California. A Orlando Adventure Land with a large DVC just to the west of the MK makes sense. It could also be built to the same size as MK and almost double the capacity in that area. It is needed for the additional customer that will be staying in the flamingo crossing hotels and timeshares. There will also be more a Disney hotels and DVCs built on the main property in the next 10 years. A 5th gate is needed very soon and most likely by 2021. As for future expansion after that DHS is very limited. AK has lots of possibilities. Epcot can have 3 or 4 more countries and a pavilion to replace WoL but the space in future world is limited. Maximum capacity there is probably 25 million and the only area I can see near it to build on is across the parking lots and roadway, a 6th gate in the 2030s.

 

[sheetz]

Where do all the arguments about Universal doing so much better than Disney come from?

You can't just look at attendance numbers as the be all to end all. Disneyland Paris has the highest attendance in Europe and they've been bleeding money since day 1.

In the case of WDW, remember the way multi-day tickets priced. The 4th day of a ticket is priced a lot lower than the first 3 days. For example, on base tickets a 4-day ticket costs only $20 more than a 3-day. That means the 4th day park (which is usually DAK or DHS) is only bringing in an extra $20 in admission revenue. For a 5-day ticket the 5th day is bringing in only an extra $10 in revenue.

Contrast that with USF and IOA. Not only are they bringing in higher admission revenue than either DAK or DHS, they are now going to force guests to upgrade to the park hopper option in order to experience Hogwarts Express.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Ah yes...hadn't thought of that.

Disney better get hoppin' on making the three non-MK parks at WDW more desirable to many more people than they have now.

ok...you have to explain why you're coming to that conclusion...

because again...as always...the numbers prove disney must do NOTHING except keep throwing the gates open.

They have 3.5 heads enter their parks for every one that go to their "big competitors" up on kirkman...that's just not anywhere close to a threat.

Bad for disney fans...and their wallets

Everytime these numbers come out...it repeats the same schitck to me

 

[ChipnDale79]

ok...you have to explain why you're coming to that conclusion... because again...as always...the numbers prove disney must do NOTHING except keep throwing the gates open. They have 3.5 heads enter their parks for every one that go to their "big competitors" up on kirkman...that's just not anywhere close to a threat. Bad for disney fans...and their wallets Everytime these numbers come out...it repeats the same schitck to me

Short term thinking.....

 

[JoeA]

You can't just look at attendance numbers as the be all to end all. Disneyland Paris has the highest attendance in Europe and they've been bleeding money since day 1. In the case of WDW, remember the way multi-day tickets priced. The 4th day of a ticket is priced a lot lower than the first 3 days. For example, on base tickets a 4-day ticket costs only $20 more than a 3-day. That means the 4th day park (which is usually DAK or DHS) is only bringing in an extra $20 in admission revenue. For a 5-day ticket the 5th day is bringing in only an extra $10 in revenue. Contrast that with USF and IOA. Not only are they bringing in higher admission revenue than either DAK or DHS, they are now going to force guests to upgrade to the park hopper option in order to experience Hogwarts Express.

This is flawed in so many ways...!

For starters, Disney now has you on resort for 5 days, let's say, instead of 2. How much does it cost to eat, to drink, or more importantly - to sleep? And you're assuming people go to AK on the 4th or 5th day. How many people get hoppers? You say universal is "forcing" people? From where did they get that idea?

This is way more complex than simply thinking people go to AK on the "$10 day" and trying to put that value on that park.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Short term thinking.....

Since 1971...but really since 1998 if you want to talk "peak" mode

 

[lockedoutlogic]

This is flawed in so many ways...!

For starters, Disney now has you on resort for 5 days, let's say, instead of 2. How much does it cost to eat, to drink, or more importantly - to sleep? And you're assuming people go to AK on the 4th or 5th day. How many people get hoppers? You say universal is "forcing" people? From where did they get that idea?

This is way more complex than simply thinking people go to AK on the "$10 day" and trying to put that value on that park.

Agree...and it starts with this fundamental point: there is no "profit" in tickets...fact.
So it's flawed thinking from the go

 

[sheetz]

This is way more complex than simply thinking people go to AK on the "$10 day" and trying to put that value on that park.

Of course guests spend more than just admission inside a park, but that's true of every other theme park park as well. Uni also onsite hotels and has plans for more.

The point that I was trying to make is that you can't say that the WDW parks are doing better than the Universal parks simply based on attendance. Does that extra day in DAK really make more profit for Disney than that one day in IOA for Universal? My guess is that it probably doesn't, or else Disney would have already started on that 5th park.

I'm not sure what you mean by your comment about UNI "forcing" guests to buy a hopper ticket. I'm referring to the fact that guests will now have to purchase the park hopper option in order to ride the Hogwarts Express between USF and IOA.

 

[JoeA]

Of course guests spend more than just admission inside a park, but that's true of every other theme park park as well. Uni also onsite hotels and has plans for more. The point that I was trying to make is that you can't say that the WDW parks are doing better than the Universal parks simply based on attendance. Does that extra day in DAK really make more profit for Disney than that one day in IOA for Universal? My guess is that it probably doesn't, or else Disney would have already started on that 5th park. I'm not sure what you mean by your comment about UNI "forcing" guests to buy a hopper ticket. I'm referring to the fact that guests will now have to purchase the park hopper option in order to ride the Hogwarts Express between USF and IOA.

I was only quoting you when using "force" in my comment.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Of course guests spend more than just admission inside a park, but that's true of every other theme park park as well. Uni also onsite hotels and has plans for more.

The point that I was trying to make is that you can't say that the WDW parks are doing better than the Universal parks simply based on attendance. ...

Well since WDW has more hotels and far more people that stay on site to visit, and sell far more merchandise on site, and based on the Theme Park divisions profits, I think you can. Disney does better per visitor with their hotels and their merchandise.

I specifically stay for longer stays at Disney because those additional days past 4 are only $20 per person. Awesome. So I stay at the hotel, eat the food, shop in the shops. Me and millions of others.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Since 1971...but really since 1998 if you want to talk "peak" mode

Disagree