Universal Attendance Drops

[d-r]

There have been discussions on this board questioning why Walt Disney World's attendance figures have dropped, whereas Universal's have not or may have gained. We have, for example, examined graphs of the attedance at Universal and Disney following the opening of the Animal Kingdom and Island Adventures theme parks.

Interestingly, Vivendi has released an earnings report.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021112/media_nm/industry_vivendi_dc_1

Lower theme-park attendance also depressed the top line.

Here is the report:
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu2/en/files/3qen.pdf

Lower attendance at the Theme Parks, as compared to the same quarter in 2001, also contributed to declines in revenue for the quarter.*

* this refers to declines in revenue for the entertainment division, overall, Vivendi reported a slight increase in revenue.

Is this the result solely of the problems with attendance at the Japanese Universal park? This is the summer quarter that is referred to so it could be due in some part to the Japanese attendance drop, which tanked so badly in August. Was there any drop in Orlando as well?

DR

 

[Another Voice]

Universal Japan suffered through a couple of public relations disasters the last year (the biggest about serving food past their expiration dates in the park's restuarants) and the slow down from a huge opening year (it's generally considered that Universal doesn't have the same repear value that Tokyo Disneyland has).

Domestically, the attendance problems are "rumored" to be from Universal Hollywood. That park is heavily dependent on international tourism which is way off (us locals don't even remember that US Hollywood exists most of the time).

And in the numbers, Vivendi Universal includes not only the parks but the studios and cable assets as well. The parks contributed just a very small amount to the decline. Last year Universal had six movies in a row that grossed more than $100 million at the box office, a feat they did not have this year - motion picture revenues not theme parks casued the lower reveunes.