Universal Studios Claimed Shocking Crowds Last Year
The Themed Entertainment Association (T.E.A.) just released its annual attendance report for 2021. Yes, I realize we’re in October 2022, but it always takes a long time for the T.E.A. to compile these.
And the pandemic has proven doubly challenging. Still, Universal Studios fans will want to read the highlights from this report.
Photo: Themed Entertainment Association
They paint an extremely rosy picture for your favorite theme parks.
Two of the Top Three Theme Parks in the World
Photo:universal
Let’s call the annual attendance report what it is: bragging rights.
All theme parks want to do well on this list because it shows which businesses are the most successful.
Obviously, there’s more to the parks than their attendance, but that’s the measurement we use to describe popularity.
Photo: Universal
A theme park that fails to finish on any of T.E.A.’s lists – and there are several – seems like it’s struggling.
Conversely, anything that suddenly increases dramatically in the rankings appears more than just successful. It’s also soaring in consumer demand.
You’ll be happy to know that Universal Orlando Resort falls into the latter category…big time.
Photo: touring plans.com
During calendar 2021, the most trafficked theme park in the world was Magic Kingdom, which has stayed true for several consecutive (non-pandemic) years.
However, the second and third most popular theme parks are what should grab your attention. They’re both located in Orlando, but neither one is a Disney property.
Photo:instagram/universalorlando
Yes, for the first time ever, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida both finished in the top three in the world in annual attendance.
Obviously, this statement comes with a few caveats. For starters, many theme parks didn’t operate all 365 days of 2021.
In fact, the park that usually finishes second in attendance, Disneyland, didn’t open until 2021 was one-third complete. It returned on April 30th, 2021.
Contrast that to Universal Orlando Resort, whose parks operated for the entirety of 2021.
Photo:Universal Orlando
Similarly, many international parks operate in countries that were much more stringent about pandemic policies.
Their governmental restrictions dramatically impacted their operating days during 2021.
Photo: Hong King Disneyland
A good example is Hong Kong Disneyland, which closed four times in less than two years.
As such, Universal’s remarkable feat does come with a significant asterisk. Still, if you work at Universal, you’re strutting right now.
Photo: minions movie.com
Park Attendance by the Numbers
I don’t want to bog you down with too much math, but there are three significant factors with theme park attendance right now.
The first represents how the parks were doing before the pandemic in 2019.
Photo: The Apopka Voice
Next is how (poorly) they did in 2020, the year when virtually every theme park on the planet closed for at least six weeks. Some stayed offline for much longer.
Meanwhile, the 2021 attendance represents somewhat of a return to normal.
However, even 2022’s park numbers have remained deflated due to lingering COVID-19 concerns.
For these reasons, theme park attendance numbers will remain a bit challenging to decipher for at least another year.
Despite all these considerations, Universal officials are beaming. Islands of Adventure hosted 10.4 million guests in 2019.
That total collapsed to barely four million in 2020. As a reminder, that’s when Universal Orlando Resort closed for an extended period.
Photo:APNews.com
Then, the parks operated under strict capacity limits for the rest of the year.
In 2021, Universal increased its daily capacity, albeit while maintaining social distancing as much as possible.
Islands of Adventure somehow claimed nearly 9.1 million guests last year despite this significant disadvantage.
Photo:instagram/universalorlando
We can state with confidence that 2021 attendance would have rivaled 2019 if not for those mandated capacity limits.
Similarly, Universal Studios Florida counted 10.9 million guests in 2019. So, it was the more popular of Universal’s Orlando parks that year.
For 2020, Universal Studios Florida managed 4.1 million guests, slightly more than its sibling park.
Photo: Facebook/Universal Orlando
However, for 2021, Universal Studios Florida hosted just under nine million guests. So, Islands of Adventure passed it in 2021.
For comparison, the other three parks at Walt Disney World counted 7.2 million, 7.8 million, and 8.6 million guests.
So, Universal has bragging rights for the first time ever.
Universal Worldwide
Universal Studios Hollywood faced tougher restrictions during 2021. Like Disneyland, it couldn’t reopen until the state government allowed it.
Photo: Universal Studios Hollywood
While its 2021 attendance is up dramatically from 2020, it’s far lower than in 2019.
For 2021, Universal Studios Hollywood counted 5.5 million guests compared to 1.3 million in 2020.
Even when we combine those totals, they fall far short of 2019’s 9.1 million.
Photo:jetinternational.com
In fact, those totals underscore the dramatic challenges that theme park operators faced during the pandemic.
As a reminder, 2022’s data, which we probably won’t receive until next fall, will still show the negative effect of COVID-19 on travel.
This statement brings me to the international parks. Universal Studios Japan normally finishes in the top six or seven in global attendance.
PhotoLjapancheapo.com
For 2021, that didn’t happen. In fact, the park’s 5.5 million guests aren’t much better than the 4.9 million from 2020.
Again, governmental restrictions deflated attendance. For this reason, 2021 represents a far cry from the 14.9 million guests who visited Universal Studios Japan in 2019.
Photo: Universal Studios Japan
Finally, while the T.E.A. didn’t post specific numbers, we can tell from inference that Universal Studios Singapore earned 1.2 million guests last year.
I’m confident about this because it’s the only theme park in Singapore that the T.E.A. tracks. And a graphic in the report shows attendance of 1.2 million in that country.
As expected, Universal Studios Beijing attendance isn’t available. But, as a reminder, that park didn’t open until September 20th. And even that was a limited affair.
Photo: Comcast NBC Universal
Still, the general takeaway here is obvious. The pandemic has hurt Disney more than Universal.
Comcast/NBCUniversal execs have argued that Universal is closing the gap in theme park market share. This data reinforces that argument.
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Feature Photo: Universal
