TEA's 2013 Attendance Report

[jzarley]

TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) has come out with their annual report of worldwide park attendance. And, yes--these numbers are unofficial and not validated/supported/confirmed by any of the parks or chains. But nonetheless, I always find it to be interesting reading...

http://www.teaconnect.org/pdf/TEAAECOM2013.pdf

[bkroz]

A few notable things to me:

GLOBALLY

• Magic Kingdom (#1 globally) still on top, and with an estimated 6% increase, likely due to the first phase of New Fantasyland with the new Little Mermaid dark ride, Be Our Guest restaurant, and Enchanted Tales with Belle.
• Tokyo Disneyland (#2) attendance increases an incredible estimated 15.9% to overtake the original Disneyland as the second most visited theme park in the world. Impressive, but recognize that the earthquakes of 2012 have a lot to do with that increase. Sister park DisneySea (#4) up 11.3%.
• Disney California Adventure (#10) enters the top 10 parks worldwide. 2013 was its first full year as a re-branded park including Cars Land and Buena Vista Street. Many imagined it would surprise Disney's Hollywood Studios. That doesn't seem to be the case. Disney California Adventure grew an estimated 9.5% with the original Disneyland (#2) growing only 1.5%. Keep in mind that Disney's internal figures count only the "first click" of the turnstiles. DCA's meteoric rise and Disneyland's slight increase probably have to do with guests entering DCA first to get Radiator Springs Racers rides / FastPasses.
• Universal Studios Florida (#16) estimated to have a 14% increase (huge) likely due to the many projects continually opening. Expect it to pass Islands of Adventure (#11) once Potter is open

NORTH AMERICA

• Knott's Berry Farm (#13 in North America) becomes Cedar Fair's leading park.
• Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, and Kings Island come in 14th, 15th, and 16th in North America, respectively.
• SeaWorld Orlando (#10), SeaWorld San Diego (#11), Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (#12), and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (#20) all have estimated negative attendance change from (-2.0%) to (-5.0%) (even though SeaWorld itself - now a public company - says the change was (-13.0%)) and blame the timing of Easter and weather, despite parks in the same regions showing double-digit growth.
• As expected, Epcot (#3), Disney's Animal Kingdom (#4), and Disney's Hollywood Studios (#5) round out North America's top five. They've kept that arrangement for a while. Like I said, some expected Disney California Adventure (#6) to edge out Hollywood Studios, but it missed it by 1.7 million.

[CedarPointer]

I mean, it's not like California Adventure and Hollywood Studios are similar at all.

[jzarley]

• SeaWorld Orlando (#10), SeaWorld San Diego (#11), Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (#12), and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (#20) all have estimated negative attendance change from (-2.0%) to (-5.0%) (even though SeaWorld itself - now a public company - says the change was (-13.0%)) and blame the timing of Easter and weather, despite parks in the same regions showing double-digit growth.

Yeah, this is the one that really stuck out with me. I know Sea World had mentioned the timing of Easter for the attendance fall off in the latest reporting quarter, but the TEA report estimates attendance for the 2013 calendar year...I wonder if the same claim was made for Easter of 2013?

I wonder how much of the decline can be attributed to bad PR from the "Blackfish" documentary and how much can be attributed to management structural challenges since the Blackstone spin-off? It's not unusual for Blackstone to load up a company with quite a bit of debt prior to a spin off then let management deal with it (they recently did the same thing with the spin off of La Quinta hotels). Having to deal with balance sheet issues like that can throw even the best managed companies off their game... (No real knowledge one way or another...just ponderin')

[bkroz]

The popular thought is that Blackfish has a whole lot to do with it. Also worth considering, though, is that the only big installation at those parks in 2013 was Empire of the Penguin, right?

[jcgoble3]

Keep in mind that Disney's internal figures count only the "first click" of the turnstiles.

I'm confused, What does this mean?

[RailRider]

The growth at Universal Florida more than likely stems from Potter spill over at IOA. Universal is finally capitalizing on having 2 parks and on site resorts and getting folks to stay and spend more time on site. This is something that Disney has been doing for a long time, which is why the 4 parks at the World continued to dominate the area. I imagine the Universal parks may climb a bit over 9.5 Million and then level out and drop back. They still don't offer enough in the evening to keep guests in the parks once the sun goes down.

SeaWorld may say that Blackfish hasn't effected the gates, but it is very obvious. I also think their handling of the situation has hurt them just as much as the documentary. a 5% drop at SeaWorld Orlando is shocking, especially when all of the other major parks in Orlando were up 2% or more, that is shocking.

Disney seeing the growth at both MK and DCA may lead the parks to green light rumored upgrades at both EPCOT and Studios. Animal Kingdom may become the #2 park in Orlando once Pandora and the night time entertainment is added.

[bkroz]

Keep in mind that Disney's internal figures count only the "first click" of the turnstiles.

I'm confused, What does this mean?

The first park you enter on any given day is the one that gets a +1 in internal attendance measures and records. So if you start at Epcot then take a monorail to Magic Kingdom, that counts as 1 visitor at Epcot. Period. Certainly computer systems track and record how visitors move around the resort, but just to simplify their own record-keeping and counts, Disney only counts the first park you enter in terms of their annual attendance numbers. It would be pretty confusing to do anything else - what if a guest park-hops to all four parks on one day? Should all four parks get a +1? Maybe, but that doesn't seem like it's inflating the number of people who actually visit the resort?

That's a much bigger deal at the Disneyland Resort, where Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure have entrances that face each other across a 200-foot plaza. There, it's simple and very common to park-hop, so a huge majority of visitors do it (on top of the huge annual pass population there). Last year, patterns shifted monumentally, so visitors enter Disney California Adventure first to get into Cars Land or get Radiator Springs Racers Fastpasses. The end result is that growth looks huge at Disney California Adventure and less impressive at Disneyland, when the case may be that visitors run into DCA, ride RSR, then go over to Disneyland for the rest of the day. Doesn't matter. DCA gets +1 for the day since it got the "first click" of the turnstile for that guest.

[jcgoble3]

Ah, that makes sense. Still, why not count a park-hopping guest for every park individually but only once in the resort-wide count? That would seem to me to provide the more accurate numbers. The sum of both parks (or all four parks in the case of WDW) does not necessarily have to equal the resort-wide count; that's what asterisks and footnotes are for.

[bkroz]

Ah, that makes sense. Still, why not count a park-hopping guest for every park individually but only once in the resort-wide count? That would seem to me to provide the more accurate numbers. The sum of both parks (or all four parks in the case of WDW) does not necessarily have to equal the resort-wide count; that's what asterisks and footnotes are for.

I don't disagree, but if the same guest could count twice, both of the Disneyland's parks would probably have 170% more visitors than the numbers already show.

[stashua123]

Hmm it seems Kings Island has leveled off. Im geussing this time next year when they release this years KI"s attendance would have shot up.

[The Interpreter]

One must wonder where DO these figures come from...

[bkroz]

I sure do wonder that. I imagine it's a nice combination of "insider" information, assumed patterns, anecdotal records, and guessing.

[MDMC01]

I thought it was cool that Zoombezi Bay made it in the Top 20 for most visited water parks in North America and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis made it in the Top 20 museums in North America. The Indy Children's Museum's ranking makes sense to me as I've heard it's pretty well-known as one of the top children's museums around, but I guess I didn't realize how popular Zoombezi Bay is.

[The Interpreter]

I have never believed TEA's attendance figures for SFMM or SFGAd. Nor do I believe that SFGAm gets fewer customers than certain Ohio parks...

I strongly suspect that the SF figures are seriously lowballed, though I'm not exactly sure why.

[thedevariouseffect]

It a some guy with binoculars out in the parking lot and a hand clicker hehe

[The Interpreter]

And I think he's related to the Disney family...

[thegajone]

Regardless of how valid the numbers are, it's cool to see that the 2 highest attended seasonal parks in the US are located in Ohio.

[The Interpreter]

Only if the numbers are reasonably accurate.

They may be.

They may not.

[jdawg1998]

Take out all the darned Florida/California theme parks and Kings Island is really the second most visited amusement park in America. That's pretty cool.

[McSalsa]

^
Depending on if the SFGadv or SFGam numbers are anywhere close to accurate. Kings Island is probably Top 5 though.

[Gabe]

I thought it was cool that Zoombezi Bay made it in the Top 20 for most visited water parks in North America and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis made it in the Top 20 museums in North America. The Indy Children's Museum's ranking makes sense to me as I've heard it's pretty well-known as one of the top children's museums around, but I guess I didn't realize how popular Zoombezi Bay is.

I urge anyone on this forum to come to the Indy Children's Museum this summer and early fall. The museum is currently exhibiting a collection of real terra cotta warriors from Emperor Chin's tomb. This is big, since the Chinese government only loans them out to 1-2 US museums a year and competition is fierce. The museum opened an exhibit a couple years ago featuring replica warriors and officials from the Chinese government were impressed enough that they put the Children's museum at the top of the list. The exhibit runs through 11/2, plus you can combine it with a visit to the new Orangutan center at the zoo! As an added bonus, the zoo has reopened their coaster (closed during the construction of the Orangutan center), so for those needing or wanting the credit, come on down!

[medford]

For an added idea, one can stay at the Crown Plaza in downtown Indy and reserve a room in one of their "sleeper" coaches. They have approx. 6 trains on either end of the building (inside the building) that they've divided in half and turned into hotel rooms. The rooms are decent, certainly not the nicest, but its definently a unique experience. We surprised our 5 year old when we stayed there last summer. The children's museum is pretty cool. As far as the zoo, its not as big or nice as the Cincy zoo (and from what I'm lead to believe the CBus zoo though I've never been there) but its far more interactive than the Cincy zoo, definently worth the trip, just not as large a variety of animals if that is what you are used to. The organtang exhibt looked like it was going to be impressive, but it was under construction so I only got a far away view of what it will look like. The coaster was open when we were there last season while construction was going on, really nothing to write home about, but for those that like to tally up different coaster credits...

[The Interpreter]

How the (bleep) is Six Flags ahead of Cedar Fair?? I've been to 6 of their parks and I thought they was busted compared to just CP or KI alone.

When?

Which ones?

How were they busted?

Note also that Six Flags is near virtually every major metro market...Cedar Fair isn't.

Cedar Fair:

NYC: no

Chicago: no

Dallas/Fort Worth: no

Atlanta: no

St Louis: no

Meanwhile, Cedar Fair has parks in places like Shakopee, Minnesota; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Aurora, Ohio and Sandusky, Ohio.

And some New Yorkers would sneer Cincinnati!

That prejudice against Cinci is about as accurate as many's against a Six Flags they haven't been to in years.

For instance, Six Flags was recently headed by the former General Manager of Kings Island, the former Chairman of Paramount Parks.

The Flags of today is not the Flags of the midterm past. It is far, far better than that.

And it's not really a competitor of Cedar Fair. I daresay that Matt Ouimet and James Reid-Anderson understand each other's companies, respect and admire each other and borrow best practices. Gary Story and Dick Kinzel, and their business strategies, are gone.

Who did all season dining first at a seasonal park?

What seasonal chain first adopted virtual lines (and still does a far better job of it)?

Who started in park advertising on a wide scale basis?

Where was an event like CP's after hours party first done in a seasonal park?

Who started selling refillable souvenir mugs?

Which seasonal park chain first widely adopted no loose articles on large coasters?

Yep. And questions can just as easily be formulated the other way.

Those who only see the best at their favorite chain are missing out.

[shark6495]

Is there any close proximity SF/CF competition with each other? I know all parks are chasing that elusive vacation family or road trip family, but is there any two parks that are located with in a few hours of each other? Similar to the old KK and KI or SF Ohio and CP?

[Kegger]

How the (bleep) is Six Flags ahead of Cedar Fair?? I've been to 6 of their parks and I thought they was busted compared to just CP or KI alone.

When?

WHich ones?

How were they busted?

Note also that Six Flags is near virtually every major metro market...Cedar Fair isn't.

Cedar Fair:

NYC: no

Chicago: no

Dallas/Fort Worth: no

Atlanta: no

St Louis: no

Meanwhile, Cedar Fair has parks in places like Shakopee, Minnesota; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Aurora, Ohio and Sandusky, Ohio.

And some New Yorkers would sneer Cincinnati!

That prejudice against Cinci is about as accurate as many's against a Six Flags they haven't been to in years.

For instance, Six Flags was recently headed by the former General Manager of Kings Island, the former Chairman of Paramount Parks.

The Flags of today is not the Flags of the midterm past. It is far, far better than that.

And it's not really a competitor of Cedar Fair. I daresay that Matt Ouimet and James Reid-Anderson understand each other's companies, respect and admire each other and borrow best practices. Gary Story and Dick Kinzel, and their business strategies, are gone.

Who did all season dining first at a seasonal park?

What seasonal chain first adopted virtual lines (and still does a far better job of it)?

Who started in park advertising on a wide scale basis?

Where was an event like CP's after hours party first done in a seasonal park?

Who started selling refillable souvenir mugs?

Which seasonal park chain first widely adopted no loose articles on large coasters?

Yep. And questions can just as easily be formulated the other way.

Those who only see the best at their favorite chain are missing out.

Illinois

Kentucky

Missouri

Montreal

New Jersey

New York

Texas (Arlington)

So yeah I've been to a few, but it's just my opinion. The parks have a good gimmick going but to me they just don't feel or excite me like CP or kI, can you dig it?

[The Interpreter]

Is there any close proximity SF/CF competition with each other? I know all parks are chasing that elusive vacation family or road trip family, but is there any two parks that are located with

in a few hours of each other? Similar to the old KK and KI or SF Ohio and CP?

Knott's Berry Farm--Six Flags Magic Mountain

Dorney Park--Six Flags Great Adventure

Kings Dominion--Six Flags America.

That's about it.

Kegger, when did you visit those parks? They have changed drastically under the two most recent managements. Again, Gary Story's Six Flags is long gone.

[Gabe]

For an added idea, one can stay at the Crown Plaza in downtown Indy and reserve a room in one of their "sleeper" coaches. They have approx. 6 trains on either end of the building (inside the building) that they've divided in half and turned into hotel rooms. The rooms are decent, certainly not the nicest, but its definently a unique experience. We surprised our 5 year old when we stayed there last summer. The children's museum is pretty cool. As far as the zoo, its not as big or nice as the Cincy zoo (and from what I'm lead to believe the CBus zoo though I've never been there) but its far more interactive than the Cincy zoo, definently worth the trip, just not as large a variety of animals if that is what you are used to. The organtang exhibt looked like it was going to be impressive, but it was under construction so I only got a far away view of what it will look like. The coaster was open when we were there last season while construction was going on, really nothing to write home about, but for those that like to tally up different coaster credits...

The orang exhibit at the zoo features a skyride around the enclosure which gives you an up close look at the orangs as well as a great view of downtown indy. I believe there is a $2-$3 upcharge for the ride.