There's been a lot of excitement as Disney starts to unveil details about its new Star Wars' attractions, in particular, the brand new Star Wars themed lands, reportedly opening in 2019 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
But that excitement might just be causing Disney guests to take a wait-and-see attitude about visiting the world's busiest theme parks in the here and now. Last year, both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, the world's two most-visited theme parks, saw traffic numbers dip slightly according to the Global Attractions Attendance Report produced by Aecom and the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA.)
The dip could also be a normal market adjustment after the two theme parks reported strong attendance in 2015.
"Following record-setting numbers in 2015, attendance results in 2016 were more modest but still reflective of a healthy, growing industry," said John Robinett, Aecom's senior vice president of economics.
In either case, the two parks saw a collective decrease of about one percent, with a half percent decrease reported at the Magic Kingdom and a 1.8 percent decrease at Disneyland.
It's not just in North America where Disney is seeing the pinch. On the list of the ten most-visited theme parks in the world, seven are Disney parks, and all seven saw a slight decrease in attendance last year.
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The Aecom report also notes that while Disney traffic may be down slightly, revenue for the parks has increased. The report attributed this increase to "higher average prices for admissions to theme parks and cruise line bookings, increased food, beverage, and merchandise spending, and higher room rates."
Universal Studios
While global numbers of theme park visitors are down by about 1 percent according to the report, at least one franchise is having a very good year. Three Universal Studios parks (one in Tokyo and two in Orlando) round out the list of the top ten parks, and all three facilities saw a bump in traffic of at least 4 percent, according to the AECOM report.
The theme park with the largest attendance growth was Universal Studios Hollywood (not among the top ten), which reported a whopping 13.9 percent growth for the year. Of course, the Los Angeles-based theme park opened its landmark Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction last year, which helps explain the increased interest.
"Universal Studios Hollywood attributes its unparalleled attendance growth in 2016 to its ambitious investment in the destination, including the unprecedented arrival of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter," said Karen Irwin, president and chief operating officer of the theme park, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Top Theme Parks
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, 20,395,000 2016 visitors, -0.5 percent
Disneyland, 17,943,000 2016 visitors, -1.8 percent
Tokyo Disneyland; 16,540,000 2016 visitors, -0.4 percent
Universal Studios Japan; 14,500,000 2016 visitors, +4.3 percent
Tokyo Disney Sea; 13,460,000, 2016 visitors, -1.0 percent
Epcot at Walt Disney World; 11,712,000 2016 visitors, -0.7 percent
Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World; 10,844,000 2016 visitors, -0.7 percent
Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, 10,776,000 2016 visitors, -0.5 percent
Universal Studios (Orlando); 9,998,000, +4.3 percent
Islands of Adventure (Universal Orlando); 9,362,000, +6.5 percent
Other Entertainment Options
At the world's top 20 water parks, classified separately than theme parks, attendance increased by 3.6 percent last year. Despite the overall increase, Disney's water parks also didn't fare so well. Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, the #2 and #3 most-visited parks in the world respectively, both saw attendance decreases of just less than one percent for the year.
The report also analyzed the world's most-visited museums. Globally, the world's top museums attracted 1.2 percent more visitors than they did the year prior. Of the top five museums, all saw a healthy increase of around 3 percent or higher, with the exception of the #3 museum, the Louvre, which saw attendance decline by nearly 15 percent last year.
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National Museum of China (Beijing); 7,550,000 2016 visitors, 3.6 percent
National Air and Space Museum (Washington D.C.); 7,500,000 2016 visitors, 8.7 percent
Louvre (Paris, France); 7,400,000 2016 visitors, -14.9 percent
National Museum of Natural History (Washington D.C.); 7,100,000 2016 visitors, 2.9 percent
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.); 6,700,000 2016 visitors, 6.3 percent
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