Skift Take
Disney executives have said they don't mind sacrificing some attendance if they're still making good money. Both of these things happened last year — but the company is still working to drive numbers up in 2017 and the future.
It was a slightly less crowded — and more expensive — world at Disney parks last year.
The theme park giant saw attendance drop at each of its 11 global locations that were open the previous year, according to the latest worldwide attractions attendance report from the Themed Entertainment Association and the economics practice at engineering firm AECOM.
The 2016 TEA/AECOM Theme Index, released Thursday, also showed a slight drop of 1.1 percent at the top 25 theme parks in the world.
“Following record-setting numbers in 2015, attendance results in 2016 were more modest but still reflective of a healthy, growing industry,” said John Robinett, senior vice president for economics at AECOM. “The major theme park operators continued their positive performance, and most markets saw slow, steady growth, while weather, tourism and political issues contributed to minor declines in others.”
The report is not produced by the theme parks themselves, which do not all publicly release attendance numbers. Most stay away from giving numbers on a park-by-park basis.
With the inclusion of the Shanghai Disney Resort, which opened in June of 2016, the Walt Disney Company saw total attendance nudge up less than one percent to almost 139 million — the largest total by far of any theme park company. Drops were most significant at international parks: Paris Disneyland fell by 14 percent to 8.4 million, while Hong Kong Disneyland dropped 10 percent to 6.1 million. Most U.S. parks dropped by a small amount, less than a percentage point.
Universal Parks and Resorts overall saw attendance increase 5.5 percent to 47 million. The operator continued to benefit from the allure of Harry Potter-themed lands, which are now open at two Orlando parks
