Originally Posted By FerretAfros It does appear that there was a huge jump in attendance in 1995 (about 4 million guests), which I would attribute to the 40th and Indy. It clearly reached a peak in 1996 and began to level off, but it definately leveled off at a higher point than it was leveling in the early 90's. Pre-Indy/post-Splash it looks like the average was around 12 million, while post-Indy looks more like 13-14 million. Although that may not seem like a huge difference, one attraction adding an extra 13% to the parks business is huge. Sure, there were special promotions going on, but there were also special promotions going on in the early 90's that apparently either didn't work as well or show that Indy truly did increase the park's capacity.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Cause and effect aren't always that neat and tidy. You can consider Indy an attendance factor, which I'm sure it was, but you also have to consider the following: 1) A peak in the demographic audience for Disney parks as the Baby Boom generation was in its pre-adolescent child rearing height. The number of families with pre-adolescent children has not increased substantially since then. 2) A roaring domestic and international economy, particularly the economies of Asia. The Asian economic meltdown in 1998 had more adverse affects on Disneyland attendance than any single attraction or event ever introduced on the park. Tourists from Asia spend a lot more money in Disneyland than the family from Riverside. 3) The swell in popularity for Disney movies, particularly animated features, that brought a lot of attention and good will to the Disney brand. Disneyland leveraged these ideas in some very popular entertainment events at the time. Remember the Beauty & the Beast stage show that drove attendance during the same period? The Lion King parade, and before that the Aladdin parade? Having entertainment relevant to the most popular movies of the day drives attendance as well. I'm sure there are other factors that have not been mentioned here. It's a common error to assign cause and effect relationships to events that appear to occur simultaneously in time, but often effects are the result of cumulative events that don't always happen at a single point in time. I fully expect DL and DCA attendace to be woeful in 2007, when the effect of recession take root in the U.S. economy. If the economy comes back to life in 2008, which isn't a certainty, you can expect attendance to recover as well. Will the Disney enthusiasts assign an attendance jump to Midway Mania or to the normal ebbs and flows of an economic cycle?
Originally Posted By a1stav ^^^^ Don't know, but new/better attractions keeps me coming back. Without them my attendance may not stop but would greatly be reduced.
Originally Posted By Park Hopper I’m sure the points Mrichmondj talks about are all relevant factors, but just how relevant is difficult to say. No one is ever going to convince me that the reason New Tomorrowland fell on its face was the Asian economic crisis. It could just be a coincidence that in the late ’90’s to early 2000’s, when new attractions were Tarzan’s Treehouse and a revamped Autopia and when maintenance was an often ignored afterthought, Disneyland attendance was spiraling downward. And after DCA opened, who knows if the poor attendance was driven by uninspired offerings like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and surround sound Lincoln or maybe the people were just drained away by the park across the esplanade. I wish I could say attendance goes up every time they add a quality attraction but it doesn’t. Fantasmic failed to bring in the bodies and the addition of Toontown actually saw a drop in attendance. There was, I believe at that time something of a recession at that time. So, if attendance drops in ’07 will it be because of a recession or because the Finding Nemo Sub voyage is underwhelming. Who can say for sure. I’m not even sure Disney knows.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros For what's it's worth, I beleive the Lion King and Aladdin parades were in the early 90's when their films came out. I know that the Lion King parade also played during the 40th, but I think that may have been its last season. Although the parades and shows in the early 90's may have been good, they just didn't seem to draw in record crowds.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Although that may not seem like a huge difference, one attraction adding an extra 13% to the parks business is huge. Sure, there were special promotions going on, but there were also special promotions going on in the early 90's that apparently either didn't work as well or show that Indy truly did increase the park's capacity. That's right. Star Tours seemed to have a similiar effect in 1987 and the years shortly after it opened. But as far as attractions having this kind of impact, Indiana Jones and Star Tours could be considered anomalies. Note that DL's attendance dropped considerably the year following the opening of Splash Mountain.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Which tends to support the idea that the macro-economy has greater influence on park attendance than a single attraction. New attraction + booming macro-economy = big attendance boost New attraction + weak macro-economy = attendance decline Weak attraction + good macro-economy = attendance boost Weak attraction + weak macro-economy = weak attendance I think the macro-economic trends outweigh the other factors. Does that mean you stop building new attractions or cease putting effort into them? Heck no! But it's silly to try and link a single attraction to park attendance without considering other factors.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Basically, the Amusement/Theme Park business has become a system for Marketing, and the Marketing folks think that you need a major new attraction every 2 to 3 years, with minor new stuff in-between. This is mainly to drive RETURN visits from the folks who live near the park... Here is a good example, with Knott's planning to open its new coaster before Finding Nemo opens... <a href="http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/stories/20061130_01.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.ultimaterollercoast er.com/news/stories/20061130_01.shtml</a> >>Knott's Berry Farm is putting a spin on a traditional roller coaster. The park announced yesterday that their building a new family attraction for 2007 that will be a combination of a roller coaster and a spinning thrill ride. Sierra Sidewinder currently under construction at the park will open next spring near the entrance to Camp Snoopy. According to Knott's this new roller coaster will be different since the cars on the coaster's two trains spin. "Sierra Sidewinder will be an exciting addition to Knott's Berry Farm and will give kids as well as adults a ride like they have never experienced before," said Marty Keithley, Knott's Berry Farm's general manager. Guests will be seated two across, back-to-back, in two row cars. The coaster's two trains have four cars for a total of 16 riders. From there Sierra Sidewinder carries riders up a six-story tall lift hill before sending them through a series of nose-dives, banks, dips and turns at speeds of up to 37 mph. The added thrill comes from the cars that continually spin, uncontrolled throughout the 1,411-foot long ride. Because the spinning is uncontrolled each ride on Sierra Sidewinder should be a unique experience. The coaster, designed by Mack Rides of Germany is only the second one of its kind in the world. According to Knott's the first is located at Germany's Europa Park. "The Mack Company is a family business known for its quality products and dates back to 1780 when they first started building carriages and coaches," said Keithley. "Today they are an award-winning company known for their innovative attractions and family oriented ride construction." When Sierra Sidewinder debuts next spring will be the theme park's 8th roller coaster. The last roller coaster built at Knott's was Silver Bullet, an inverted coaster that opened in December 2004. With a spring opening planned, Knott's new roller coaster will likely debut before Disneyland's revamped Submarine Voyage that is expected to reopen in June.<< When ToT opened, seemed like every other park in SoCal also had a major new attraction. And while they would all love to have new folks attend, as I understand it, the attractions were designed to make sure the folks in the area would visit the park, and not to bypass its parks for other parks with new attractions.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj I would be interested to see if any parks post gains next year with the economy in full recession by the 2nd quarter.
Originally Posted By Nobody "The park announced yesterday that their building a new family attraction..." It looks like UltimateRollerCoaster.com is another website in need of editorial support. ;-)
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP For What it's worth-- I dislike the Pooh ride, alot, ElderP and I call it the many psycho adventures of Winnie the Pooh and my feet get cramped!! However, I frequently attend the park with toddlers (not mine!) and they love it. Most days we are in DL we head over there. Did it bring more people to the parks, probably not. Is it adding value for some one (noteably the under 6 set.) yes
