Here's one of the most anticipated drops for all theme park fans… Every year, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), in partnership with a consulting firm called AECOM, compiles an annual report on the rise and fall of theme parks, water parks, museums, and other “themed” experiences in the previous year. (Park Lore’s supporting members can read a rough summary of industry trends we’ve gathered from: 2022 and 2023 Among the dedicated extra features! )
Although this year’s report was renamed from its previous title (Thematic Index Report) Global Experience Index 2024 Still an annual publication of particular interest to theme park fans, and as always worth reading in depth. It's filled with the highs and lows, global context and stories from the previous year's theme park news. But most importantly…it return Contains rankings and summaries of theme park attendance for the year.
To be clear, most theme park operators do not disclose attendance at their parks, and even if they say broad generalizations, totals, or percentages on investor calls, they almost never disclose specific attendance at a particular park… However, many operators are known to Do Working with AECOM came up with pretty accurate numbers, as it's in the best interest of their stock price, financial disclosures and year-over-year narrative to be vague but honest about their attendance.
As far as industry observers are concerned, TEA/AECOM's October report serves as a lock on last year's attendance numbers, providing (as always) fascinating quantitative estimates that provide the community with some compelling trends and talking points… This year, the global rankings of the top eight parks remain unchanged from 2023, with each park rising only slightly:
- magic kingdom (17.8 million, +.7%)
- disneyland (17.3 million, +.5%)
- universal studios Japan (16 million, unchanged)
- Tokyo Disneyland (15.1 million, +2.6%)
- Shanghai Disneyland (14.7 million, +5%)
- Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (12.6 million, +.9%)
- Tokyo DisneySea (12.6 million, +2.9%)
- EPCO (12.1 million, +1.3%)
It's no surprise that the rankings of these eight parks remain unchanged from 2023. These parks are highly stable built destinations. (There are obviously two exceptions. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is a relatively new park, driven by China's growing middle class, spurring Shanghai Disneyland and Beijing Universal Studios; Epcot has been in the “top eight” two years in a row, but will inevitably rejoin the ongoing rotation of Disney World-affiliated parks soon.)
In the meantime, some parks are reshuffling their next batch of top 15 rankings…
9. Disney's Hollywood Studios (10.3 million, +.3%) (Up from 10th in 2023)
10. Disneyland Paris (10.2 million, –1.8%) (Down from 9th in 2023)
11. Disney California Adventure (10 million, +.5%) (Up from 12th in 2023)
12. Universal Studios Beijing (9.7 million, +8.6%) (Up from 15th in 2023)
13. Universal Studios Florida (9.5 million, –2.6%) (No change in ranking)
14. Universal Islands of Adventure (9.45 million, –5.5%) (Down from 11th in 2023)
15. Disney's Animal Kingdom (8.8 million, +.3%) (Up from 16th in 2023)
These numbers illustrate some of our bigger picture…
1. Universal Orlando hopes it’s the dark before dawn
This time two years ago, when fans of The Underdog story were excited, 2022 ranking It's a jaw-dropping suggestion that Universal Orlando may have pulled off the impossible and used the pandemic as a shot to the moon. In 2022, Universal’s Islands of Adventure was named The fifth most visited theme park on EarthBeating out EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, it essentially joins the list of acclaimed “Castle Parks.” (Universal Studios Florida didn’t do too badly either—at No. 7!)
Estimated attendance last yearAt the same time, he said the benefits were short-lived. It is estimated that by 2023, attendance at both Universal Orlando resorts will decrease by 9%, falling to 11th and 13th place respectively. Obviously, this is a devastating It’s a blow for parks, which have been on an upward trajectory for years and even seem to be back on track coming out of the other side of the pandemic, even stronger than before – something no Walt Disney World park can match.
Based on projections for 2024, this downward trend continues, with island attendance down 5.5% year-over-year and Universal Studios Florida down 2.6% year-over-year. those are better Losses worse than steep 2023 decline, but still concerned for resorts significant Investments and the prevailing internal narrative over the past few years have been based entirely on the following assumptions: Universal finally has the power to transform Central Florida tourism.
Apparently, Universal’s explanation for this is that 2024 is the year tourists postpone vacations because they expect economic growth to peak: Universal’s epic universe opens in 2025. but like it very much Ant-Man: Quantum of Madnessthese results have even the most resilient Comcast executives wondering whether the theme park division they inherited has the boundless potential and infallible strategy that made a third theme park seem so obvious just a few years ago… Speaking of which…
2. Speculation about the impact of Epic Universe is beginning…
It's worth remembering that Epic Universe doesn't open until May 2025, which means we won't see any data or impact on new park attendance until the next version of the TEA/AECOM Experience Index is released in the fall of 2026… but even then, that only represents a six-month year in which Epic Universe operates (and is artificially limited by excluding “park hopping” and annual pass holders), so don't expect Epic to debut anywhere within the top 15 next year.
Frankly, we won't begin to fully understand the impact of Epic Universe on Central Florida until late 2027 (TEA/AECOM releases 2026 data). As for what effect it will have yes? Universal, on the other hand, very much hopes that the Epic Universe project will be bright and loud enough to eventually turn Universal Orlando into a standalone, “bubble” multi-day resort. In Universal Pictures' dream scenario, a family will land under MCO Disney World was not on their itinerary at allsquatting at the Universal Studios Hotel with a park-to-park ticket, resulting in all three Attendance at Universal Studios theme parks continues to grow.
Disney, on the other hand, may be praying that Epic's impact will be what some industry observers have warned since the park was announced: that it would “cannibalize” the resort's other two parks. This means guests don’t have to add an extra day to their vacation to visit Epic Universe, but just replace An existing day – maybe a visit to Universal Studios Florida. This would really cause trouble, resulting in Universal no longer attracting more visitors overall; it would just spread them out more across three parks instead of two. Gurgling. No wonder Earth is already working on major projects for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure…
By the way, even though if When the latter happens, 2024 data suggests Disney doesn't exactly know… if guests Do Ultimately replacing a day trip to the Epic Universe, this could very well be a disney Parks with declining schedules… It looks like one Disney park will fall out of the top fifteen entirely, with data showing that rumors of flat attendance may be more than just a myth… Continue reading…
