TEA/AECOM Attendance Report 2022

[Mad Dog]

Sunday July 2, at WDW Touring Plans Level 3 lines .....This is the weekend that 'used' to be like Christmas week. Summer has been slowing a bit for the last few years, but not this slow.

 

[GAcoaster]

Yeah, MK was (relatively) dead yesterday, and today seems to be the same. Meanwhile I know SeaWorld has been backing them in...

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Meanwhile I know SeaWorld has been backing them in...

What does that mean?

 

[Mad Dog]

Yeah, MK was (relatively) dead yesterday, and today seems to be the same. Meanwhile I know SeaWorld has been backing them in...

Universal numbers looked OK over the weekend. Traditionally, that's always been a moderate, not high, crowd level time for them. So it's looking kind of normal for Universal. Disney is really something else. All that Chapek anti guest stuff seems to be settling in, but not in a good way. Just took a while to catch up to them.

 

[JoeCamel]

Universal numbers looked OK over the weekend. Traditionally, that's always been a moderate, not high, crowd level time for them. So it's looking kind of normal for Universal. Disney is really something else. All that Chapek anti guest stuff seems to be settling in, but not in a good way. Just took a while to catch up to them.

And the Fourth is closed for further reservations for the MK

Yeah, MK was (relatively) dead yesterday, and today seems to be the same. Meanwhile I know SeaWorld has been backing them in...

What does that mean?

Packing

 

[snayberry]

Parks don't seem as busy for this big holiday. People seem to be cutting back on the spending.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

And the Fourth is closed for further reservations for the MK




Packing

In other words, SW’s doing well? That’s good to hear.

 

[GAcoaster]

What does that mean?

Packing (although backing them it might work!)

 

[Mad Dog]

And the Fourth is closed for further reservations for the MK




Packing

People love those big Fireworks Shows.

 

[JoeCamel]

People love those big Fireworks Shows.

I did the Poly beach on the third once, too much hassle to fight crowds

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

I no longer live in FL - my observation around where I am now is that the news stories coming out of the state have 100% impacted people's willingness/desire to travel there. I've literally heard "I'm not giving that state my tax dollars." It's probably actually a double whammy - trying to play the objective observer here, but there are people who are choosing to go other places because of the state's policies/laws and there are also people who are choosing to go other places because Disney is "woke" etc.

Really just unfortunate for the state all around since the Northeast and Southeast (generalizing here, but those two regions kind of align with the two sides I described above) make up the vast majority of non-FL resident domestic visitation.

Same situation here. I know quite a few people at work (both NYC and LA) who have cancelled plans to visit Florida with everything happening in the state.

These numbers sound about right by TEA standards. When I was at Disney in April at the tail end of spring break, crowds felt manageable - not dead, but not full of 2+ hour waits one would normally expect. I'm doing a HHN trip at the end of October, but these reduced rates for the rest of the summer make a quick weekend trip somewhat tempting if Villain Con opens before I can't take time off.

 

[quinnmac000]

Looking at crowds and things, I have to wonder if park hours are a key factor. If you are going to a park like Seaworld, while its packed in, you can get a lot done in one day whereas Uni and Disney with the crowd levels even at a lower level is still a lot of people. So for locals with passes, do you go to Seaworld where you can hit all the coasters and everything twice in one day no problem or do you head to Uni/Disney where you may face some issues. The Disney parks used to stay open late...I remember pre covid Magic Kingdom was staying open to 11 to 1 am almost every night. Now staying open to 10 is a surprise.

For people who are local and with how traffic keeps getting worse...going to the parks after work and the parks closing early also doesn't help anything.


Going back to Seaworld,
Also one thing about Seaworld is they do give rain check tickets. So if you can't get to enjoy your day of rides because of storms, they give you another ticket which of course probably boosts people going to their parks. Especially with the amount of crazy thunderstorms we had lately that is a really good deal which none of the other parks offer.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

When I was at SW a couple days ago, I didn’t have to park in the overflow lot like I usually do. So it’s good to see they’re apparently doing well.

 

[Andysol]

1) No, the advisories aren’t impacting attendance in any significant way whatsoever. Groups cancel events all the time- even that article by Orlando sentinel said the game of thrones was really cancelled because of poor ticket sales.
This is like the summer of the shark.

2) The water park numbers are crazy. The fact that disney just shuttered a water park and doesn’t even care to reopen it and STILL is down in attendance at their one open park from 2019 is shocking. They’re really cut in half when it comes to water parks. 4.1m to 2m
Volcano Bay, on the other hand, will absolutely surpass both when Epic Universe opens.
That’s a huge victory, considering adding water parks to AP is much more expensive at UOR compared to WDW.
Expand! Let’s go VB!

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Anyway, this was interesting. I hope the CA parks are popping, at least.

Record number of Americans expected to travel this 4th of July: AAA

More than 50 million Americans may travel this 4th of July 2023 weekend, AAA reported. But with record travel expected, some times may be better to drive than others.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[Tbad556]

Looking at the current wait times on the 4th of July is highkey wild. Millennium Falcon at a 10, Rise at a 20, Tower of Terror at a 13, Toy Story Mania at a 20, etc. Even at Universal, Forbidden Journey is a 15, HRRR is a 20, Hagrids & VC are under an hour, Hulk is a 15, etc.

 

[Mad Dog]

Looking at the current wait times on the 4th of July is highkey wild. Millennium Falcon at a 10, Rise at a 20, Tower of Terror at a 13, Toy Story Mania at a 20, etc. Even at Universal, Forbidden Journey is a 15, HRRR is a 20, Hagrids & VC are under an hour, Hulk is a 15, etc.

Yes, I was looking at all those earlier. Slow as molasses. They'll show up late at the MK, but only because of the Fireworks. July 3 was slow too, even with fireworks at MK. This weekend is the canary in the mine for Orlando parks, most especially Disney. The slower crowds the past 10 weeks are for real it seems. The easy times of 2022 covid exhaustion are over. No more overcharging for hotels and kicking up prices, if they're smart.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Looking at crowds and things, I have to wonder if park hours are a key factor. If you are going to a park like Seaworld, while its packed in, you can get a lot done in one day whereas Uni and Disney with the crowd levels even at a lower level is still a lot of people. So for locals with passes, do you go to Seaworld where you can hit all the coasters and everything twice in one day no problem or do you head to Uni/Disney where you may face some issues. The Disney parks used to stay open late...I remember pre covid Magic Kingdom was staying open to 11 to 1 am almost every night. Now staying open to 10 is a surprise.

For people who are local and with how traffic keeps getting worse...going to the parks after work and the parks closing early also doesn't help anything.


Going back to Seaworld,
Also one thing about Seaworld is they do give rain check tickets. So if you can't get to enjoy your day of rides because of storms, they give you another ticket which of course probably boosts people going to their parks. Especially with the amount of crazy thunderstorms we had lately that is a really good deal which none of the other parks offer.

My opinion would be that I can go to the parks just about any time. I would avoid the parks at (traditionally) busy times unless I just want to take it in (people watch, not caring about ride counts) -- so I am sure the fireworks brings locals out when the weather is favorable.

Now, this year in particular, it is hotter than I ever recall in my lifetime! -- the traffic to get towards Aquatic is never light, it is even hot before the sun comes up, sunset helps some. I would think the heat would keep locals away more so than the park hours.

Based on my last few park visits, I would say WDW would be dead if not for international tourist. Based on one trip to UNI, I would say vollyball is adding to already decent crowds.

 

[Nick]

It’s July 4th and you’d expect it to be pretty crowded at Universal especially with this being the first time the park will have fireworks all year. Park certainly isn’t dead, but it’s actually slower today than most of the summer so far. Has to be due to most APs being blocked out I’d guess.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Well, the country as a whole is supposedly experiencing near if not record travel. So it’s just a fascinating dissonance.