Theme park attendance numbers for 2015 released by TEA

Sean

Sean

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Top theme park and amusement groups around the world
  1. Walt Disney Attractions* – 138M, 2.7% growth
  2. Merlin Entertainment Group – 63M, 0.2% growth
  3. Universal Parks & Resorts – 49M, 11.8% growth
  4. OCT Parks China – 30M, 7.8% growth
  5. Six Flags – 29M, 11.4% growth
  6. Cedar Fair – 24M, 4.9% growth
  7. Chimelong Group – 24M, 26.4% growth
  8. Fantawild (New) – 23M
  9. SeaWorld – 22M, 0.3% growth
  10. Songcheng – 22M
WDW growth is low compared to Universal, Maybe they are starting to price themselves out. Universal has an Big jump and if they were smart they would remain competitive and continue to grow.
 
Having spoken with people who were recently back from Disney trips I found them to be 'universally' horrified by Disney prices. These were people that were not in the Disney bubble. They just went because they thought it would be a good idea to take the kids there.

The consensus was that Disney is way over priced and not worth the effort. The men especially were like "We are never going back!" There was a strong feeling that they were ripped off, which they were, especially considering all the construction walls and the cuts in entertainment of which they aren't even aware of.

I always say that these are the people that are going to help drive Disney's numbers down. They will bring back their stories of long lines and high prices and when their neighbors ask 'How was Disney' they will get an earful. Disney already has a rep as a very pricey vacation. All the crap that's going on there now will dissuade even more families from going.

~Joanie
 
If the numbers stayed static... Figure 3% and 12% respectively... And using the most basic equation, USF would only gain 1.5 million per year and would take nearly 60 years to catch up with Disney (Assuming no other factors - which would be unrealistic)....

I suspect that Disney is counting on Shanghai to bump those numbers in 2016...


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Joanie Eddis-Koch said:
The consensus was that Disney is way over priced and not worth the effort.
~Joanie
Click to expand...

I will give you the "not worth the effort"! MM+ and dining reservations has ensured a high stress, low spontaneity vacation with little room for deviation. Clearly the people who came up with these ideas have never traveled with multiple kids. Kids change their minds on a whim. MM+ has made that a nightmare.
 
That's something I've thought and said for years now - even the strong emphasis on advanced reservations so far out for dining, then fast passes, were already making spontaneous vacations much harder to enjoy - MM+ just moves it to another level. The OCD super-planners may like it, but I hate it.

I know I'm a little selfish in that I don't worry about the pricing - with FL resident discounts and APs I can afford it if it gets even more expensive, but I want to feel like I get something out of that extra cost. Significantly higher crowds, much more difficulty walking onto rides, hard-to-get reservations, removal of quiet spots and benches all through the parks, and a bunch of stressed out people trying to schedule every step they make...well that ain't it! I admit I wouldn't complain if the crowds dropped and attendance went down - there are just far too many people there as it is...it's pretty obvious why Disney raises the prices and takes away features & attractions & benefits...same reason oil companies jack up the price of gas at the pumps just before travel weekends: Why not? People are paying, attendance and profits continue to go up...so no reason to change anything. If people would be willing to cancel Disney vacations and attendance plummeted along with profits, then they might change course.
 
Numbers can be a bit misleading though. If you dig a little further, the US parks did much better and the overseas parks are what caused the overall attendance to be low. It's just a matter of how you spin the article.

The ITM Article on 2015 Attendance shows that the Disneyland was up 9% last year with some of the others up 5%.


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