I’m not saying Disney’s throne at the top is being threatened.
What I am saying is that Disney should probably start making a move.
The 2014 TEA attendance report came in and although once again Disney is on top, Universal had the nicest improvement from 2013 to 2014 and it’s actually not even close. While Disney continues to see great improvement in Magic Kingdom but not as much from the other parks, we are seeing two Universal parks increase attendance by over 10%. We have seen Universal Studios Japan shoot into the top 5 slot, skipping three Disney parks along the way. And then there’s Sea World----dying a slow miserable death and in dire need of any sort of good news.
Let’s start with Universal and the amazing upswing it’s been engaged in for the past few years. Despicable Me, Transformers, Harry Potter, Attack on Titan (In Japan), The Simpsons, Walking Dead (Halloween Horror Nights), and now the upcoming Nintendo are IPs that are propelling the Universal theme park brand into the next level. After years of getting continuously destroyed by Disney, Universal in the Orlando side is suddenly closing in on the Orlando Disney parks. Even though it still trails by around 2 million, the local market has responded far better to Universal and the momentum is definitely swinging their way.
Nintendo being in Universal might be the next big punch the parks can take against Disney. The Nintendo brand has remained incessantly strong, even with the slight failure of the WiiU. Mario and Pokemon are the two biggest gaming franchises in history, and of course Zelda and Metroid has its built-in fanbase that has remained quite loyal. The merchandise potential is incredible, and of course this is the perfect way to fully replace Marvel in the Islands of Adventure.
But, I still have a gripe with Universal. Forcing a two-park ticket to experience all of Harry Potter was not exactly the brightest idea. So even though Universal Studios Orlando went up double-digits, Islands of Adventure was streamlined in its attendance from 2013 to 2014. Universal was already ready to improve because of Despicable Me (shockingly a moneymaker) and Springfield (Simpsons is America’s most popular family). Did it really need Harry Potter so bad it took away from Island’s momentum? Did you really need to force visitors to buy the Universal park-hopper ticket to experience all of Harry Potter, therefore eliminating the chance at even more visitors? Nonetheless, 16.3 million between the parks is much better than the 10 million back in 2009. And I can nearly guarantee you after Nintendo arrives we will be looking at nearly 20 million. Yes, I have that much faith in the partnership. Another note, the Hollywood version of Universal going up 10% is impressive too.
Disney has remained on top because of its ridiculous entourage of deals, incredible hotels, great marketing, and of course stellar reputation. But something is slightly off with Magic Kingdom growing twice as much as the other parks for the second year in a row. Epcot still hasn’t quite taken off with the new Test Track, while Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are just going through the motions. Magic Kingdom has drawn 19 million people (Averaging 52,000 guests a day, which is extremely impressive), while the other parks are between 10 and 11 million. This means that Disney has been able to retain around 53-58% of the Magic Kingdom crowd. This means that the local crowd has been curious to see the improved Magic (despite the higher pricing), the improved Islands, and the improved Universal. However, the other parks not as much. Orlando received over 50 million visitors in 2014. So add that with the approximately 8 million that lives in Central Florida. Nearly 60 million people have access to Disney year-round. And the economy is improving. Shouldn’t they nonetheless be worried that Universal Studios Japan managed to leapfrog them into the top 5?
Look at this:
Number of visitors in 2009/2015 (Attendance in millions)
Magic Kingdom: 17.2/19.3 (+2.1)
Epcot: 10.9/11.4 (+0.5)
Hollywood Studios: 9.7/10.3 (+0.6)
Animal Kingdom: 9.5/10.4 (+0.9)
Sea World: 5.8/4.6 (-1.2)
Universal Studios Orlando: 5.5/8.2 (+2.7)
Islands of Adventure: 4.6/8.1 (+3.5)
For several years now, Disney had the 8 most-visited parks in the planet. Now, Universal has jumped into the Top 5, and have two parks creeping into the Top 10. Disneyland Paris took a dive, Walt Disney Studios Paris took a dive, and California Adventure still has just half of Disneyland’s audience. It is not time to panic, but it is time to take notice. AvatarLand isn’t going to become the solution because the Florida crowd just isn’t as interested in the now-forgotten smash hit, when compared to the likes of Simpsons and Harry Potter. Then there’s Hollywood Studios, which is in dire need or any type of expansion or change. The Florida economy has grown, 90+ million visit Florida, but you are seeing far superior growth from Disney’s main rival as opposed to Disney. That should stir up some type of worrying.
As for Sea World, that’s just bad news from beginning to end.
The attendance report revealed the same song, but with updated lyrics: Disney is on top (Even the unknown-outside-Asia DisneySea is at #4) and will remain on top for a very long time granted we don’t see a decision-making disaster. But, but, Universal is no slouch or pushover anymore---it’s chomping away at the theme park market share and isn’t going to let Disney bully them around anymore. With King Kong, Nintendo, and possibly more surprises on the way, the fight might become more interesting if Disney doesn’t throw anything into the ring.
Until then, Disney is #1, and #2, and #3, And #4……..
Previous Articles about TEA Attendance:
2009
2012
2013
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