TEA/AECOM Attendance Report 2022

[OrlandoGuy]

Yes and no. Instagram definitely does have value in what people going to. However, actual travel trends put out by CNBC/American Expreess etc does not correlate with the date you are providing. For travel, people are now wanting to be trend setters and finding those hidden gem locations. They want exclusive and unique. Its almost hipster like in fact.

68% of respondents agree that they pride themselves on finding lesser-known vacation spots before they become popular

2025 Global Travel Trends Report

Your inside look at what is driving travel booking decisions right now

www.americanexpress.com

Travel abroad is poised 'for a big comeback' in 2023 as Americans eye trips to Asia, Europe

Travel abroad will boom in 2023. Some 31% of Americans more interested in international than domestic travel, according to Destination Analysts.

www.cnbc.com

I think the better statement would be people want an authentic experience where they feel part of something rather than a manufactured experience which is what is happening with the theme parks.

Appreciate the background data…not sure how that doesn’t back up what I said though? Unless you’re getting hung up on my Instagram examples..? In which case, yeah, I agree, those specific landmarks just popped into my head—the hidden gems didn’t because they’re…hidden.

 

[quinnmac000]

Appreciate the background data…not sure how that doesn’t back up what I said though? Unless you’re getting hung up on my Instagram examples..? In which case, yeah, I agree, those specific landmarks just popped into my head—the hidden gems didn’t because they’re…hidden.

It's mostly the instagram example is what I'm saying no about.

 

[UNIrd]

Honeslty, if you can afford it, sounds like a terrific time to plan a WDW trip. I’ve been eying January next year when it’s traditionally slow. I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like if it’s like this on July 4th… maybe I can finally ride 7DMT!

Rode it twice b2b. First time was posted wait time of 50 minutes but I noticed NO ONE was in the outside queue. Queue literally started at the Vault. I was like no way that's more than 20 minutes. Took 15.

Got out of line, jumped right back in. This time was a literal walk-on but it was during the fireworks which means we were on the ride during the 4th of July spectacular. It was GLORIOUS.

 

[Brian G.]

Let us not forget that all Orlando parks have made efforts to spread out the crowds from the typical Summer season with their dynamic pricing plus other seasonal offerings for years.

BUT I don't think it's any ONE thing. It's like a giant Venn diagram full of reasons.

 

[Viator]

What I am looking at is the 3K jump that USH had during 2022. I wonder if it comes as a result of actions from the competitors, ontop of just the contents that were being represented.

The updated Holiday's at USH, Weeknd at HHN, and Jupiter's Claim feel like really good reasons to get them back up really quick.

 

[SeventyOne]

Cruise lines are a big beneficiary of travel this year.

Cruise prices (and cruise give-aways) reflect this.

 

[Nick]

Cruise prices (and cruise give-aways) reflect this.

Also, this type of good press:

This Might Be the Most Affordable Way to See Europe This Summer

Cruising is not just one of the easiest way to see Europe this summer and fall — in many cases, it's also the most cost-effective.

www.travelandleisure.com

 

[Jerroddragon]

What I am looking at is the 3K jump that USH had during 2022. I wonder if it comes as a result of actions from the competitors, ontop of just the contents that were being represented.

The updated Holiday's at USH, Weeknd at HHN, and Jupiter's Claim feel like really good reasons to get them back up really quick.

Pricing

A USH AP is under 200 bucks and Disneyland was not having as many deals as this year. Knotts has had a few rides down since covid here and there, Six Flags is.....a mess.
With the amount of spring and now summer days selling out, I bet USH is the big winner of 2023 as well. No doubt it will have the one of it not the highest growth of any of the USA parks

 

[Southerncoasterer]

By all intent and purposes Six Flags and Cedar Fair should be the ones benefiting from the high cost slow down of travel.

Horrible time for them to be dropping the ball so badly.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Cruise prices (and cruise give-aways) reflect this.

Yep, this year is the first time I've cruise, and I'm hooked now. I took a Royal Caribbean cruise over Memorial Day and am going on a 7 day NCL cruise next month. Even with summer pricing, the overall value of a cruise makes more sense to average tourists than a theme park vacation or individual cities. Assuming you prepay gratuities and know about any potential upcharges on board, it's relieving to have 95% of the trip paid upfront. With my NCL cruise next month, the free bonuses include the regular alcohol package, two speciality restaurants, basic internet, and a $50 excursion credit. Disney wouldn't be caught dead giving out the Dining Plan during the summer, yet cruise lines throw free stuff at you year-round. Without any major new additions next year, the Orlando parks may need to get creative with deals.

 

[Tbad556]

Surprised this hasn't been dropped here yet with the recent discussions. Some actual data on the recent drops:

Orange County tourist tax tumbles again

The back-to-back decreases of the Orange County tourist-tax collections, the first since January and February 2021, followed a historic run of 14 straight record months.

www.orlandosentinel.com

 

[Jake S]

it's worth noting that these are drops in comparison to a record-setting fiscal year (2022). here are the 2018-19 fiscal year numbers next to the 2022-23 fiscal year numbers (in millions).

Month	2018-19 Fiscal Year	2022-23 Fiscal Year	Percent Change
October	23.7	31.4	33
November	23.5	30.9	32
December	23.6	31.2	33
January	23.4	29.1	24
February	25.3	32.6	29
March	31.3	39.0	25
April	25.9	33.6	30
May	22.6	26.2	16

source | source 2

 

[Mad Dog]

it's worth noting that these are drops in comparison to a record-setting fiscal year (2022). here are the 2018-19 fiscal year numbers next to the 2022-23 fiscal year numbers (in millions).

Month	2018-19 Fiscal Year	2022-23 Fiscal Year	Percent Change
October	23.7	31.4	33
November	23.5	30.9	32
December	23.6	31.2	33
January	23.4	29.1	24
February	25.3	32.6	29
March	31.3	39.0	25
April	25.9	33.6	30
May	22.6	26.2	16

source | source 2

Were the tax rates the same then as now?

 

[Jake S]

Were the tax rates the same then as now?

I may be reading this incorrectly, but I believe this indicates it's been 6 percent since the end of fiscal year 2006.

 

[quinnmac000]

Even if the tax rate remained 6%, the costs of hotels and other things definitely is definitely more expensive so I'm curious looking at the numbers how much true "growth" is being showcased vs artificial economic growth due to increased costs.

Its like with movies...we are seeing huge box offices but when they break it down by total ticket sales movies nowadays are selling less tickets than Jaws ET etc.

 

[Mad Dog]

I may be reading this incorrectly, but I believe this indicates it's been 6 percent since the end of fiscal year 2006.

The other point I'd guess is that the very large increase in hotel prices, that took advantage of the post covid travel snapback, could be a large reason for the funds increase. Number of visitors might be a truer indicator, if that's available....Example 6% of a $200 hotel room is $12 while 6% of a $300 hotel room is $18....The Hotels have really taken advantage of the post covid situation, increasing their costs way above inflation, even though they cut their cleaning staffs, for the most part.

 

[Jake S]

right, and if the question is “how many people are traveling to orange county,” this can’t really answer it. but the original news article is strictly talking about revenue and its month-to-month decline.

my point is just that there’s some bad or misleading math happening to make that comparison. and ultimately, the number of visitors matters less to the hotels and theme parks than how much money they take in.

 

[Teebin]

The theme park slump in central Florida is the lead story on CNN.com. The article focuses on both Disney and Universal attendance and mentions a few well known theme park related websites.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/business/disney-world-universal-orlando-attendance-down/index.html

 

[wutisgood]

The thing about Disney and to a slightly lesser extent universal is they are actively incentivized to keep the lines long to sell skip the line passes

 

[Jerroddragon]

The thing about Disney and to a slightly lesser extent universal is they are actively incentivized to keep the lines long to sell skip the line passes

Both in their own way benefits from lines
HHN is almost impossible to do without a front of the line pass

Also if I went to epic universe, no way I’d do it without a pass, maybe locals don’t have to but I feel like universal is pretty unfun without a pass unless it’s a slow day because they heavily push to let the express line move and make standby people wait