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Will Disney always remain the top dog of the theme park industry?

Matt N

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Disclaimer: This post ended up far longer than I originally anticipated; I apologise for that in advance! If you struggle with long posts, scroll to the bottom for a TL;DR.
Hi guys. Whatever you think of Disney theme parks, it is hard to deny that in terms of popularity, fan following, and general influence within the industry, they are at the absolute zenith of theme parks on the world stage. Even if Disney theme parks are not your personal favourite, it is hard to argue against them being the most well known and popular theme parks on Earth by quite some distance. I’d wager that there are very few people in the developed world who haven’t heard of “Disneyland” in some capacity, and millions upon millions of people flock to Disney theme parks each year; of the top 10 most visited theme parks in the world in the 2019 TEA report, 8 of them were operated by Disney. The parks also have a huge fan following and captive audience; whereas most theme parks only have a few fan communities, Disney has umpteen of them, and travel tips, theme park vlogs and general Disney discussion around even the smallest of elements within the parks is plentiful across the internet.

There are plenty of good reasons why they have developed such influence and reputation over the years. Disney were one of the key trailblazers in developing the theme park in its contemporary form, many of their attractions are/were truly innovative and boundary-pushing for their time, and the parks have arguably curated a very unique sense of Disney “magic” that transcends their physical ride hardware, through things such as parades, fireworks shows, and character meet and greets that have become pretty iconic over the years.

However… some of the chain’s recent decision making has come under heavy criticism, and Disney has been criticised as being increasingly out of touch with modern theme park goers. In recent years, there has been a substantially increased emphasis upon planning in advance, which some have argued makes the parks more stressful to visit. The parks have scrapped their free FastPass in favour of a paid option. The parks’ investments are growing less plentiful and arguably less revered to some extent; many were disappointed with the recent D23 Expo for its lack of announcements aside from a delayed TRON opening and some “blue sky” ideas for the end of the decade, and some of the company’s recent investments (e.g. Avengers Campus) have come under fair criticism. The lack of anything non-IP based is also coming under fire from some. Not to mention, the parks are becoming very expensive; day tickets for the parks are approaching $200, and some of the new experiences are getting incredibly pricey… the new Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel experience, with a price starting at $5,000 for two people, is a prime example of this. With all this happening, it does seem as though a not insignificant group within enthusiast circles are becoming somewhat disillusioned with the Disney parks.

However, in spite of this resentment from some… the parks remain phenomenally popular. The visitor figures remain high across the board, and still grow each year. Millions of families still visit Disney theme parks each year and come out blown away by the experience. The parks still have their reputation and prestige just as much as they ever did; millions of people are still drawn in to a first time visit by it, and millions of people still return for their umpteenth visit because of it.

Before I get too carried away, my basic question is; will Disney ever be beaten as the theme park champions of the world? Will the resentment of a minority eventually build up towards becoming the resentment of a majority and stop people from wanting to visit Disney parks? Will the hefty efforts of competitors eventually lure people away from Disney for good? Will they ever lose their status as top dog of the theme park industry, in your opinion?

Personally, I’m honestly not sure they ever will; I genuinely think that Disney are a somewhat invincible name within the theme park industry. I reckon that no matter what Disney does and what the competition does, there will still be a rather considerable captive audience who will visit the parks because of that Disney name and the brand they’ve concocted over the years.

I think this because I’d argue that Disney have been very clever in how they’ve marketed and positioned the parks over the years. They’ve developed a phenomenally strong brand image, and they’ve worked on emphasising the whole product as something so truly magical and beyond words that it transcends any investments or physical ride hardware. Obviously this won’t be the case for everyone, but most who visit Disney parks or aspire to visit them don’t really care about the latest cutting edge rides or investment. For instance, my aunt dreams of visiting Disney World. My dad said to her “I wouldn't recommend Magic Kingdom unless you have young children. It’s rammed full of little kids, the rides are mostly a bit rubbish, and bits of it look really quite tired”. My aunt said back “I don’t care about the rides. I want to be a princess, and see Mickey and Goofy, and watch the fireworks and the parade!”. If my aunt is anything to go by, then Disney’s appeal is curated on the general sense of magic, as well as a bit of nostalgia thrown in for good measure, rather than anything to do with its physical ride hardware or investments, and I think that is a very hard thing to replicate.

I’m genuinely convinced that Disney could build nothing new for 10 years and still have their attendance figures stay relatively stable or possibly even grow, and I think that’s a rather unique situation that no other theme park could replicate.

Case in point; Disneyland Park in France has not changed a whole lot since it opened. The last new ride built there was Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast back in 2006. Before that, it was Space Mountain in 1995. You could probably count the number of new attractions built in that park since its opening in 1992 on one or two hands… yet over the course of the 2010s (between 2010 and 2019), park attendance only declined by 755,000, or 7.2%, in spite of the park adding no new attractions during that period.

DLP might not even be the best case study of this given that park’s well established inherent issues that have existed from the get go. Let’s instead look at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. The Florida resort went through somewhat of a dry spell of large CAPEX investments during the late 2000s and early 2010s (I don’t believe there were any between Expedition Everest in 2006 and New Fantasyland in 2014, but correct me if I’m wrong there), and this dry spell aligned pretty perfectly with when Universal Orlando blew the theme park industry wide open with WWOHP. You’d think that Disney might face a decline in guest figures due to this and the relatively minimal investment into MK during that timeframe, but in the 5 years between 2009 and 2014, park attendance actually grew by 2,099,000, or 12.2%; even with Universal making a very ballsy attempt to take visitors away from Disney in the form of the two WWOHP areas during that time, the House of Mouse emerged completely unscathed.

Even going away from Disney’s ability to stabilise or grow their business without making huge investments; I’d also argue that some enthusiasts’ perceived negatives within the current Disney operation actually lean toward the demands of the modern guest. For instance, I would make the argument that Disney’s incredibly IP-driven approach within their parks as of late has come about due to guests going to the parks seeking out their favourite characters and film franchises. If people couldn’t do that in this day and age, I’d argue that they would be disappointed. As much as enthusiasts might bemoan additions like Avengers Campus and the rethemes of Disney icons to IPs, I’d argue that IPs are exactly what the modern guest wants from Disney parks. With Avengers Campus, for example; I’d imagine that your average guest would say “They’ve got an Avengers land? Awesome!” and be more compelled to go for this reason rather than bemoaning the perceived unoriginality and blandness of the land like most enthusiasts appear to be doing. As much as we enthusiasts may have found a non-branded land more interesting, I think the appeal among your average guest would have been far lower.

My point is; no matter what the competition does, I reckon Disney will always remain top dog. They’ve curated a very unique brand image and perceived experience that far transcends any physical ride hardware or flash new investments, and I think that will always work in their favour. And I also think that some of their current strategies, while bemoaned by enthusiasts, lean into what the contemporary guest seeks from their parks.

But what are your thoughts? Do you think Disney will always remain top dog? Or do you think resentment will build, or the competition will get too intense, and someone else will eventually take Disney’s crown? I’d be keen to know your thoughts!

TL;DR: Disney have sat at the zenith of the theme park industry for decades now. But with some of their recent decision making proving quite unpopular among enthusiasts, the question I ask today is; will Disney always remain top dog within the theme park industry, in your opinion? I personally feel that they will for two reasons. The first is that their brand has been very cleverly curated so that the hook of the parks far transcends any physical ride hardware or flash new investments, and the second is that I feel some of their current strategies, although loathed by a majority of enthusiasts, lean into the contemporary guest’s demands from the Disney parks.
 
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Whilst the Disney enthusiast committee is probably the most vocal in the world - its also the most irrelevant.

In the last few years they've acquired Marvel and Star Wars and these alone will keep guests coming for decades. Then you've got hit films like Encanto growing the power of the brand further. It's an endless cycle which will keep them at the top of the tree to the point where they can afford to get complacent.

They've got a global, generational pull factor which will never go away. Enthusiasts are a drop in the ocean to Disney.
 
Even amongst the sorts of people who post on the Disney forums there are many who state they are never going again, only to visit the park again in a year or two.

But Disney don't need to add much really I guess, some people go for the nostalgia of riding 50 year old rides like Pirates, others just really want to meet their favour princess. When people still love the old movies and rides there is less incentive to add new.

Whereas at Universal the only opening day attraction left is ET.
 
I honestly think that if Disney maintain their current strategy of lower investment and lack of focus on guest experience, in the long term the reputation they continue to trade off will fade. Just look at the recent Hollywood Studios tripadvisor reviews to see what kind of reception the current strategy is receiving; are these people really going to rush back like Disney visitors of old?

Who would have thought 20 years ago that Europa Park would be voted best theme park for its eight consecutive year or that Alton Towers would be renting fairground rides?

Times change and reputations can fade. It’s not irretrievable for Disney but they’re not on the right path at the moment.
 
I have been to Disneyland and Disney World, with how they are being run I currently have no desire to return to either. If I were going to Florida I'd very likely hit the Universal and Seaworld parks and not bother with Disney. If I'm typical then that's probably bad news for them.
 
I have been to Disneyland and Disney World, with how they are being run I currently have no desire to return to either. If I were going to Florida I'd very likely hit the Universal and Seaworld parks and not bother with Disney. If I'm typical then that's probably bad news for them.
That’s exactly what I’ve just done, Universal and the Seaworld parks. Couldn’t be bothered with the faff of Disney. Might go back once Epic Universe opens, or go to California as their Disney parks seem less stressful.

The only issue with the SeaWorld parks is the prices once inside, their tickets might be cheaper than Disney/Universal but the food and souvenirs are expensive and they are adding a further 5% to everything.
 
Disney have many issues that as a repeat visitor do put me off returning. Some are just the reality of the industry. They charge extortionate prices because there are people that are willing (and can afford) to pay them.
Other issues are decisions I just personally can't stand, such as having to plan your visit without the flexibility to be spontaneous on the day.

However they are a global juggernaut of a brand. With many years of built up reputation and cross promotion opportunities it would take a major mistep to knock them off their pedestal. The issues I listed above still wouldn't stop me recommending people visit, even if it makes it hard for me personally to justify multiple trips.

They also still offer a product beyond what their competitors can. Today I was listening to one of the Imagineers behind Galaxy's Edge and the Galactic Starcruiser and it was a real insight into the extra level of detail Disney go to. Just think about Batuu. They could have so easily built a couple of Star Wars set locations, slapped the IP on it and presented that as the experience. Some might argue it would have been more successful if they had. But instead they designed a whole new world, expanded the Star Wars univers and filled it with history. If you dive deep enough they actually have backstorys for all the surrounding planets so the staff can authentically play out that they really live in this world, beyond just repeating a set script.
That's simply a level of detail no one else does, at a scale no one else can do. And no matter your thoughts on the Galactic Starcruise it is a major innovation in immersion experiences, and likely a glimpse into the future of themed entertainment (it's practically Westworld).

I watched the D23 panel and got as frustrated as everyone else that projects were taking a long time. I also don't think the proposed expansions are quite the right approach. The Dark Kingdom sounds like a great idea (and I'm so glad it's not as a 5th gate, the current 4 could all do with bulking up the offerings first). However it also seems the least likely to actually happen.
I'm also not opposed to the IPs. I love every one of those films. But I don't think sticking them into whatever expansion spot is available is good future planning. Especially when those IPs are already in use elsewhere and are being split over multiple parks. However none of these things are deal breakers to the average guest, (and based on past experience even the worst ideas have been made to work by Imagineering). Unless Disney took a real dive in the existing offering people are going to keep coming back for the Disney experience and none of their competitors are in a position to compete with that.
 
I generally agree with venny here:
I honestly think that if Disney maintain their current strategy of lower investment and lack of focus on guest experience, in the long term the reputation they continue to trade off will fade. Just look at the recent Hollywood Studios tripadvisor reviews to see what kind of reception the current strategy is receiving; are these people really going to rush back like Disney visitors of old?

Who would have thought 20 years ago that Europa Park would be voted best theme park for its eight consecutive year or that Alton Towers would be renting fairground rides?

Times change and reputations can fade. It’s not irretrievable for Disney but they’re not on the right path at the moment.

I grew up near Disneyland and have been dozens of times, so it will always have a soft spot in my heart, and I'm sure I'll visit once every few years no matter what it costs. It would be hard for them to make the original Disneyland so bad that I would never visit again, and I think a lot of people feel that way, which means that no matter what the actual offerings are enough people will have the inertia of nostalgia to keep the parks full.

That said, I haven't been since February 2020 (phew!), and everything I've read these days doesn't fill me with confidence. The lack of creativity in new offerings is the big killer... at the finale of the new Guardians of the Galaxy coaster you're looking at the characters on a screen, it's unbelievable. And of course that ride got good reviews, I'm sure it's fun to be on, but to quote Joe Rohde, "fun is cheap". I think if it continues this way (reduced offerings, cheap new rides, all for rapidly increasing prices) the nostalgic inertia will lessen over time, but it's Disney so I doubt it will ever go away entirely.

I remember another "dark time" of the early 2000s, the cost-cutting and lack of creativity that California Adventure 1.0 was born out of, which was then followed by a period when the (West coast, at least) parks were in the best condition I've seen them in during my lifetime, from roughly Disneyland's 50th anniversary in 2005 to the opening of California Adventure 2 in 2012. So it does go in cycles, and right now things are headed in the wrong direction.

Thankfully there will always be Tokyo, a seemingly alternate reality in which Disney actually cares for and invests in its parks. Not the easiest place to visit, but compare the activity over there (the Beauty and the Beast ride which at least from a video might be the greatest dark ride of all time, DisneySea's massive expansion next year, and a complete revamp of Tomorrowland following that) to what's happening in the states and it's night and day.
 
The biggest problem is when I went in 07, 08,11 and 16 to Orlando Disney was always the biggest pull as they offered.
Free airport transfers
Free food and drink
Fast pass was free
Extra magic hours in the morning and evening
Magic bands
Free resort mug
14 day for the price of 7 tickets.

Now the best you can currently get is up to $1200 credit
14 day for the price of 7
30 mins emh in the morning or 2 hours on the evening if your in a deluxe resort.

Disney even put there prices up with there parks costing between $109 to $159 per day per person
 
Children are a continuous addition to this world, and as long as said children are introduced to Disney (pretty much every one) then Disney parks will remain the biggest in the world. Everytime I visit a Disney park, they are rammed with families, so I'm sure they won't miss enthusiasts dismissing them to visit 'rival' parks.
 
You also got to think there’s Disney + which is coming up to its 3rd birthday. Then you got all the films at the cinema and the 12 theme parks worldwide.
Just found this report
  • Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom: 12,691,000 (1)
  • Universal's Islands of Adventure: 9,077,000 (7)
  • Universal Studios Florida: 8,987,000 (6)
  • Disney's Hollywood Studios: 8,589,000 (5)
  • Epcot: 7,752,000 (4)
  • Disney's Animal Kingdom: 7,194,000 (3)
  • Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: 3,210,000 (12)
  • SeaWorld Orlando: 3,051,000 (10)
That’s interesting that since Disney brought theses restrictions and less on offer universal moved into 2 and 3 place
 
Thankfully there will always be Tokyo, a seemingly alternate reality in which Disney actually cares for and invests in its parks. Not the easiest place to visit, but compare the activity over there (the Beauty and the Beast ride which at least from a video might be the greatest dark ride of all time, DisneySea's massive expansion next year, and a complete revamp of Tomorrowland following that) to what's happening in the states and it's night and day.
Disney don’t care about Tokyo, the Oriental Land Company who own the park do. They don’t want cheap attractions or low quality replicas of the US rides so they don’t pay Disney to install them. That’s the reason the Tokyo parks are better, they aren’t Disney.
 
I worded that poorly, I know that OLC is in control over there, but the effect is that we are able to see what the other parks would look like if they had someone in charge who cared to spend the time and money to do things right.
 
Disney is nothing if not reactive, if they see a downturn in popularity they will realign their strategy. It’s happened before where they have taken poor decisions that impact the brand and they just re-align it again.

I actually think universal have the bigger long term issue as they have milked Potter for all its worth and none of the other IP’s they are bringing in bar Nintendo seem to have any staying power (Fallon, fast and furious etc). This means those rides need re-skinning more regularly than Disney have to which could become a big problem, particularly if their film division don’t create more compelling IP’s to use in the parks.
 
I’m not convinced by the argument that Disney are concerned about impacting their brand. If that were the case then they would not be taking the decisions they are, which have had such a detrimental effect on the park experience.

There is a mountain of evidence that quite the contrary is true. The focus of the business has continued to shift away from quality and towards short term profit growth.

See for example: price rises, the park reservation system, withdrawal of free Fastpass, implementation of paid Fastpass (with an upcharge-on-upcharge for “premium” rides), slow investment, scrapped projects, increasing paid for events, shorter opening hours, poorly executed new nighttime shows, entertainment cuts etc.
 
I do find it very interesting that Universal Orlando’s 2 parks seemingly beat every Disney park in the world bar Magic Kingdom in 2021.

According to TEA/AECOM’s estimates, Islands of Adventure was the second most visited park in the world behind Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios Florida was third. They even both beat Disneyland in California, the previous second highest in the world that wasn’t a million miles behind Magic Kingdom pre-COVID.

This appears to show that Universal has seemingly recovered from COVID a lot quicker than Disney has, and that Disney’s status as top dog may not necessarily be as assured as I’d thought. 2021’s figures suggest that Universal Orlando have managed to recoup around 90% of their pre-COVID attendance, while Walt Disney World have only managed to recoup around 60% of theirs. It should be noted that this is with foreign visitors being banned from entering the USA until November 2021, however… so once foreign visitors return in large numbers in 2022, could Universal’s figures actually end up higher than they were pre-COVID? And could Disney recover a bigger percentage of their pre-COVID figures?
 
Can’t believe they got a 3rd area of Harry Potter going into the new park.
Anyway I think Disney has woken up in the past 10 years as before Universal opened Harry Potter they just added minimum to the park.
2012 Story book Circus and the little Mermaid ride
2013 Disney Princesses and Tangled area
2014 Seven dwarfs mine train
2015 1st stage of Disney Springs opens
2016 Frozen, Disney Springs fully opens and Soaring around the world with the 3rd theatre opens
2017 Pandora opens with 2 new rides
2018 Toy story land opens with 2 new rides
2019 Galaxy edge opens with 2 rides over the 2019 season
2020 Before the lockdown Mickey and Minnie runaway ride opens
2021 Ratatouille ride opens
2022 GOTG coaster opens
2023 Tron Coaster and the Moana water area.
2024 Princess and the frog taking over Splash mountain.
I think they will have a break in 2025 as Epic Universe will take some of there guests but can see the free dining plan returning then the next big project opening in 2026 which I think will be in Animal Kingdom.

Didn’t Disney land not reopen to April 2021?
 
For the world’s largest theme park resort, I’m not sure that’s a massive list. It equates to less than one major addition per year across all of the resort. They have to service four theme parks, two water parks and all the associated hotels, shopping and nightlife districts. The investment they’re making at present just doesn’t seem to be keeping pace - it took them as long to open Guardians of the Galaxy as it did to build the entire resort in 1971.
 
Walt Disney World have only managed to recoup around 60% of theirs

This is suspected as intentional though, introducing the park pass reservations and purposefully capping the number of visitors lower at the parks.

What TWDC supposedly want is to decrease the number of people visiting the parks - but increase the spend of each guest at the parks instead.

And unfortunately that is working for them at the moment, and I think the strategy will continue. I don’t think gate numbers are enough to judge if people are losing interest in Disney Parks.

I do think that they are still the golden standard of parks and experiences though amongst the competition, and that will continue to generate interest and ultimately visits to the parks.

That’s supported heavily by other aspects and divisions such as animation and film that continue to drum the brand into the every day lives of current and future generations, and as a result people associate “high quality experiences and fun” with Disney.

I do think they are clearly playing a game at the moment though of trying to raise prices to increase that guest spend whilst still struggling with staffing and other pandemic hangovers - we visited a few weeks ago and already F&B price increases have struck across WDW again since, increasing things like a medium cup of soda from $3.99 to $4.29 - however this is also still cheaper than all of the other Orlando parks (bar Fun Spot maybe, but that’s in a league of its own anyway…!).

Even elements such as the Lightning Lane+ for Rise of the Resistance and Guardians has now crept up from $17 to $22 at peak times (and that supposedly isn’t the final ceiling for it as the parks are not at the highest crowd levels at the moment) - again just pushing to see how much they can raise things, and I think unfortunately people will continue to pay it too, especially as we’re all being told and lulled into a sense of prices are increasing everywhere at the moment, and maybe even the belief that excusably Disney is “just part of that”.

I do think they are pricing people out of a trip and holiday though, but I suspect that might almost be intentional too - of course you want the deep pocket guests visiting your parks and increasing that spend, rather than guests who are frugal and not willing (or unable) to spend. They know they are a premium product, and they want premium people for it.

It’s funny how it’s just been announced a load of character meet and greets are closing soon just as Fantasmic is set to reopen and obviously requires a number of cast members and characters - a coincidence maybe, but to me it seems they are still struggling with staffing. The only saving grace is that it is hard to spot the staffing issues and you have to really pay attention - unlike other parks where it is clear they have no staff and positions (such as batching boats), shows and F&B remain shuttered as a result.

It does in general just feel like TWDC is experimenting a lot at the moment and seeing how far they can push their guests - and I think the other parks and resorts around them will follow too and only serve to support their actions as a result too.
 
For the world’s largest theme park resort, I’m not sure that’s a massive list. It equates to less than one major addition per year across all of the resort. They have to service four theme parks, two water parks and all the associated hotels, shopping and nightlife districts. The investment they’re making at present just doesn’t seem to be keeping pace - it took them as long to open Guardians of the Galaxy as it did to build the entire resort in 1971.
Yeah but Disney not stupid and they know if they work on multiple attractions they know if you visited this year to ride GOTG coaster you got to book again for next year to ride Tron.
Like they kinda know since Universal opened up there big last investment last year and all there money and resources going into Epic universe they got to summer 2025 to make as much Money as possible.
 
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