Theme park attendance figures 2010

[furie]

So Flamingoland get higher visitor numbers than Blackpool? I find that hard to believe...

Since becoming a "pay on entry" park, Blackpool no longer release their gate attendance figures and don't appear in this report :roll:

 

[D1993]

freaking hell. As much of a cedar fair and six flags fanboy i am for the pure crazy rides i must admit the people at disney are bloody genius. 120 million people WTH?!
thats a massive amount of people coming in and out of their gates. does anyone know how much admission is?
im guessing maybe 70 dollars?
so 70 times 120 is ................. some number in the billions. haha the people at disney are really laughing!
of course thats just gross profit or whatever just from entrance, not net profit etc.
still imagine the amount of money they make!

 

[Gavin]

^Before Disney's films started making a "comeback" with The Little Mermaid, the parks, for many years, were the only profitable part of the company and basically kept the whole thing afloat.

 

[marc]

$70 try $84 plus $12 to park lol. Remember though many people use offers and 14 day passes etc.

 

[Mark]

I'm glad Disney's numbers declined in 2010 because it means that people branched out and tried other parks with equally as good theme, but with better rides.

There is also a contributing factor that a lot of people will have been holding off their vacation to WDW and will return when Star Tours II and the massive Fantastyland Expansion. Judging by the conversations we had whilst at WDW when we were there last, a lot of the American visitors have restricted vacation time and therefore tend to choose between doing the WDW or the other parks. With HPland opening in 2010, many will have opted to have a break from Disney but I wouldn't bank on the decline being anything substantial or the start of a trend.

 

[slappy mcguire]

Mickey mouse stole my wallet the thieving little rodent.

I am glad to see the decline in Disney figures for one simple reason; no park should ever, ever assume it's customers will come regardless, and pay whatever. What is happening at Disney is the same arrogance that has affected Merlin recently, and both groups deserve the customer leakage they have experienced. Theme parks have a really unique business model, where essentially people will pay to queue and eat, and if the temptation is to make people realise that that is all they are doing, by pricing themselves out of the market, or adding attractions that are essentially souped up versions of funfair rides, then both groups will get exactly what they deserve.

 

[marc]

^What park is not like though? I actually find parks like Drayton and Lightwater more of a rip off as both parks over charge for food and lack in everything. I have yet to have a good day in both my examples.

At least Disney and Merlin do offer something different and you can spend all day not being bored in their parks.

These parks must be doing something right as people go and go back year after year. As I said they are not for everyone. As for funfair rides? what funfair rides do they actually have? I count more funfair rides and places like Drayton, Lightwater, Flamingoland, AI etc.

By your example you wish for Lightwater to fail as all they add is funfair rides now days. Blackpool has just invested millions but on what? Yes you guessed it funfair rides.

Yes Disney has some rides that we might not like but they are not aimed at us are they, they are aimed at familes and it works.

 

[Martyn B]

Why are we now constantly reffering to Alton/Thorpe/Chessy as 'Merlin parks' - cant remember that happening when Tussuards owned them, they were always Alton/Thorpe/Chessy back then.

Also, I wish people would stop bashing Alton (not necessarily in this topic), its awsome, and our best park by a Country mile. I get the feeling the Alton bashing is down to the Merlin ownership, yeah?

 

[furie]

Why are we now constantly reffering to Alton/Thorpe/Chessy as 'Merlin parks' - cant remember that happening when Tussuards owned them, they were always Alton/Thorpe/Chessy back then.

I always used to refer to them as Tussauds Parks. I never liked the Tussauds attitude either, but it was usually pretty background in their "bought in" parks. I hated Warwick Castle under Tussauds and 2003/2004/2005 at Alton was an awful time for the park that had some pretty long reaching effects. However, you never quite got the idea at the time of who was to blame. Each Tussauds attraction was similar, but it was never quite so over-reaching and present in each place as it is with Merlin.

Also, I wish people would stop bashing Alton (not necessarily in this topic), its awsome, and our best park by a Country mile. I get the feeling the Alton bashing is down to the Merlin ownership, yeah?

Yes, but... It's not down to Merlin as such. Alton still really relies on what was built prior to that 2003 nasty period. Dark Forest I think is good and despite the dreadful over-hype, Thirteen is suitable and well produced.

The problem is, that it's everything else around the park that's the issue. It's the small things and changes in the way the park is managed. Essentially the constant money-grabbing and that is 100% down to the over-all Merlin influence and it's there in each and every Merlin attraction.

It's an odd one to be honest. Merlin seem much better at production of "attractions" and understand how to budget and create them. So they're actually a good company in terms of what they give to customers in terms of new stuff (which we're only just really starting to see). However, they're just a typical, nasty, faceless corporation. PR from the firm is dreadful and it's like watching a barrel full of well oiled politicians making policy and excuses for it. So while they're giving with one hand, they're slapping you with the other.

Yes, the new attractions have to be paid for somehow, but the aggressive and unpleasant way they do it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I guess a lot of the frustration is down to this inconsistency, you never quite know where you stand...

 

[D1993]

What is strange is that the fact I thought Disney would do better as people that went to Harry Potter I assumed would go there. But we were shocked by how much park tickets and parking is for Disney, sorry but no park in the world is worth $84 for the day!

The problem is Paris which has pulled the numbers down for the whole group, without losing 6% there they would have bigger growth than Merlin who own more than double the parks.

WDW is now very expensive and if they do not lower their price people will not be able to afford it, they reply on people from Europe and the Far East going there and lets face it the Far East now have more than enough parks and better rides.

I can see where Ian is coming from, Disney is not for everyone. Tbh though the only park where you really have Disney in your face is the Magic Kingdom, the other parks tend to be more normal lol.

Europe has suffered big time due to the Euro and flight costs, I think most are in for a bad year again.

oh man this post just made me face light up in the way that it gives me the golden opportunity to complain about the theme parks in australia.
one day admission to movieworld costs $75 and to be honest they have one "wow" ride.
its sucha bloody rip off considering the amount you have to pay, and what you are getting. or more accurately not getting it makes me really angry and annoyed at times that they are so expensive cos theyre really pretty crap.
disney ive never been a massive fan of, however i can go and have my entire day full of things to do and still have a great time even 2nd 3rd time around.

movieworld actually gets boring after your first time. All there is, is superman escape and thats the only thing i pretty much want to do and otherwise its just boring haha. On the upside, the waterpark in gold coast is really awesome one of the best out there.

i guess my point is i still see how disney charges that much, considering these places are charging 75, 85 doesnt seem that much of a stretch.
and theyve always been successful in putting in quality themed rides and all families and children love that park. So as enthusiasts and coaster lovers its probably not our favourite place to go, but i still see the reason why so many million people go. They are great premier theme parks at the end of the day and will always be one of the most successful.

i guess yh disney isnt for everyone, but pretty much everyone in the world wants to go there at least once. And remember WDW is so freaking big there is so much to do like its ridiculous how massive wdw is and how much there is to do!! and the fact that the actual park(s) in plural can take days to cover at the end of the day, i dont think theyre over-pricing too much based on how much they are giving to people. I am just personally used to movieworld being very expensive and when i go to six flags i am in awe of how cheap it is. insanely cheap it cost me 50 dollars including parking (got this special deal online) to great adventure and that park has got so much more than what parks in australia have, yet ones here are so much more expensive.

ultimately i think disney are pretty great and deserve all those millions of people cos theyve really put effort and detail in their parks, so i guess i just appreciate that in a way alot.

 

[Hixee]

^You might find this useful@

 

[slappy mcguire]

Mickey mouse stole my wallet the thieving little rodent.

I am glad to see the decline in Disney figures for one simple reason; no park should ever, ever assume it's customers will come regardless, and pay whatever. What is happening at Disney is the same arrogance that has affected Merlin recently, and both groups deserve the customer leakage they have experienced. Theme parks have a really unique business model, where essentially people will pay to queue and eat, and if the temptation is to make people realise that that is all they are doing, by pricing themselves out of the market, or adding attractions that are essentially souped up versions of funfair rides, then both groups will get exactly what they deserve.

^What park is not like though? I actually find parks like Drayton and Lightwater more of a rip off as both parks over charge for food and lack in everything. I have yet to have a good day in both my examples.

At least Disney and Merlin do offer something different and you can spend all day not being bored in their parks.

These parks must be doing something right as people go and go back year after year. As I said they are not for everyone. As for funfair rides? what funfair rides do they actually have? I count more funfair rides and places like Drayton, Lightwater, Flamingoland, AI etc.

By your example you wish for Lightwater to fail as all they add is funfair rides now days. Blackpool has fun invested millions but on what? Yes you guessed it funfair rides.

Yes Disney has some rides that we might not like but they are not aimed at us are they, they are aimed at familes and it works.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that theme parks are rarely places of quality, value food fayre, I just feel that Disney have something of an indifference to what is a reasonable threshold for what they are charging, on the basis they are Disney, so what's not to love?

I just find Disney to be a cynical, underwhelming and downright lazy group at times; the Orbitron/Aladin ride/Flying Dumbos rides are decent enough kid's rides, but having three identical rides in different states of dress is not the marque of a highly innovative brand that it it claims to be. Toy Story land at DLRP may be a decent enough addition, but is it really much more than a glorified version of what Blackpool have just installed?

And that's just it to me. I have no real problem with the parks par se, but dispise seeing any brand coasting along on customer habits, rather than actually looking to evolve, because people will pay regardless to see Minnie felate Donald, or whatever happens when the park is closed. I simply don't like being taken for a mug in the name of fun, and so much of what is on offer in Disney at the moment suggest it is a park just run by accountants now, which in the long run will do it just as much damage.