Posted May 25, 20169 yr comment_235390 The report is out! http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_159_241229_160525.pdf Key notes: MK has hit over 20 million, Towers down 25% to just over 1.9 million as Merlin only gain 0.2% overall with Disney gaining 3.something and Universal 11% to go from 40 mill to 44 million guests a year.
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235397 I find it interesting (and a bit odd) that in a year when both Alton and Thorpe lost a significant percentage of custom, Chessington gained custom.
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235402 To be fair, the Chessington mystery has been around for years. They've grown year on year for the past few years now, regardless of what they've added, or external factors that caused other parks problems. Maybe it's the Zoo which drags people in? Or word of mouth which originates from people wearing rose-tinted glasses from their visits years back? Or just the clear, safe target market that they don't stray from is (too?) loyal to them? It's a bit of a mystery how they seem to always gain numbers, but there are still plenty of logical explanations behind it.
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235403 How are towers going to recover from a 25% drop in a single year? I'm sure that to a certain extent people will naturally migrate back once the Smiler incident is out of their heads, but sweeping cuts, a poorly received new/rehashed attraction, a slap of paint and a lackluster looking SW8 surely won't help and do not fill me with confidence for the long term. A shame they didn't come out with all guns blazing this year; those figures show the parent company can clearly afford it when even with their two biggest properties seeing a nose dive they managed an increase across the whole estate. Slightly off the theme park topic, but a shame to see Tate Modern losing a huge number of visitors. Was it closed for part of the year or something? Always worth a look around if you find yourself at a loose end up town, I thoroughly recommend it.
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235411 The tate modern has seen 2 of its galleries close for ongoing renovation since 2014 I believe? Its a bit of a building site. It seems the link is already down
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235413 37 minutes ago, wegloo said: The tate modern has seen 2 of its galleries close for ongoing renovation since 2014 I believe? Its a bit of a building site. It seems the link is already down http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_160_611852_160525.pdf Honestly what surprises me is that Legoland Windsor had more visitors than Legoland Billund, for some reason I thought the original would be more popular.
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235417 Billund doesn't exactly have the pull of being by London though... Plus most of the Danes probably visit the superior Djurs and Farup parks as well...
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235424 5 hours ago, BaronC. said: To be fair, the Chessington mystery has been around for years. They've grown year on year for the past few years now, regardless of what they've added, or external factors that caused other parks problems. Maybe it's the Zoo which drags people in? Or word of mouth which originates from people wearing rose-tinted glasses from their visits years back? Or just the clear, safe target market that they don't stray from is (too?) loyal to them? It's a bit of a mystery how they seem to always gain numbers, but there are still plenty of logical explanations behind it. As they say there's one born every minute, Chessington's target audience is kids who don't decide where they are going that day, the parents do and as you say the zoo is a popular pull for a five year old bored out of their head. Thorpe and Alton's target audience is teenagers who tend change their thrill desires by the week. Oh and Chessington giving every kid who goes on a school trip there a 50% off voucher can't hurt.
May 25, 20169 yr comment_235425 Things to note in this report. Europe: DLRP gate figures have risen for the first time in over 3 years (but will likely tumble again this year). Europa's strong growth continues Efteling saw some growth but Tivoli Gardens is still most visited after DLP and Europa. Liseberg's attendance is identical to the previous year Alton Towers saw a massive drop by 25% due to the accident (expected of course) and is now no.12 (previously 9). Legoland Windsor is now the most visited UK park and saw a small but healthy growth and is now 9th most visited. Cheasington somewhat saw some growth too despite situations. Thorpe had a rather bad year most likely due to Smiler but other issues would've likely come into fruition too. Rest of the world: Magic Kingdom surpassed 20 million visitors All other Orksndo parks saw growth of at least 2% (inc. Sea World) Disneyland Resort & DCA both saw healthy growth (likely helped by the 60th celebrations) Tokyo Disney park attendances fell slightly Hong Kong Disney attendance fell noticeably
May 26, 20169 yr comment_235426 Chessie as well has the what I'd like to call 'nostalgia factor', where all the people who experienced it in its hey day now have kids and want to take them there to give them the same experiences... Of course its very different now, but it would explain why it never seems to have a lull in attendance...
May 26, 20169 yr comment_235428 Chessington has always had the higher annual pass sales out of the Merlin three and the local community are pretty loyal to the park which may explain why it continues to rise. The fact that it now has a higher attendance then Heide Park is shocking. Disney's dominance is terrifying, it's almost shameful that in a year of 9% growth at Disneyland for example, that because of Shanghai and the tumbling numbers at Hong Kong that the American parks are having to cut staff, operating hours and capacity on attractions. Several parks such as Europa Park, the Universal parks, Efteling and places like PortAventura, Tivoli and Liseberg are doing a wonderful job too.
May 26, 20169 yr comment_235437 I think it's also scary to think Phantasialand now has more visitors than Thorpe Park and almost as many as Towers now, and judging Klugheim opens this year it could over take both of them this year. I think in addition to what's mentioned above, Chessington's growth is also likely due to its location. This is likely due to being the nearest theme park to central London amongst easy transport links. I think its safe to say Thorpe's last good attendance year was 2011 and I would argue that Thoroe's number state is almost as bad as Towers right now (now also being under the 2M mark).
May 26, 20169 yr comment_235438 Will be interesting to see how Alton & Thorpe recover this year versus 2015. A delayed new ride is probably the last thing they want at Thorpe after attendance figures like last year... Would never have thought Legoland was the most visited UK park, wow.
May 26, 20169 yr comment_235488 It doesn't surprise me at all that Thorpe's figures went down last year.
May 26, 20169 yr comment_235490 Ah man, all those facts and figures and all you can take from that is a Thorpe put down.
May 27, 20169 yr comment_235493 9 hours ago, Coaster Jamie said: It doesn't surprise me at all that Thorpe's figures went down last year. It's sister park had a major accident - Thorpe received an awful lot of bad press it's not really a surprise. Pre smiler I beleve gate figures were actually up for both towers and Thorpe. To add to that, I beleve Merlin do not release this information and lot of it is purely predictions - atleast for the Merlin parks.
May 27, 20169 yr comment_235495 1 hour ago, Marc said: It's sister park had a major accident - Thorpe received an awful lot of bad press it's not really a surprise. Pre smiler I beleve gate figures were actually up for both towers and Thorpe. Exactly - I'd put it down to the bad press from the accident, and the operations at times putting some people off from returning.
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