The 2023 TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index has been released, and it reveals that Disney Experiences continues to dominate globally. We’ll have an overview of the data in another article, but we wanted to drill down to what’s going on at Walt Disney World first.
As always, the TEA attendance report is the industry standard in estimating attendance at the top theme parks and museums worldwide. While Disney does not release attendance figures publicly, the TEA index is widely accepted within the industry as having accurate estimates.
At a high level, Magic Kingdom remains popular, beating out Disneyland to be the global theme park attendance champion once again. At Walt Disney World, EPCOT saw a massive boost in 2023 to the tune of a nearly 20% increase in attendance. The biggest loser at Walt Disney World was Disney’s Hollywood Studios at a slide of 5.5%, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom also saw a dip in attendance.
Another high-level data point is that all four Walt Disney World theme parks are still below their 2019 attendance levels. Before we jump into 2023 figures, here’s a look back at 2019 attendance:
- Magic Kingdom: 20.9 million
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 13.9 million
- EPCOT: 12.4 million
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 11.5 million
Magic Kingdom | 17.7 Million (+3.4%)
Magic Kingdom takes the throne again, racking up nearly 18 million visitors in 2023. The big draw for Magic Kingdom in 2023 was the April opening of TRON Lightcycle Run, which was a popular addition to Tomorrowland. Another likely magnet was the return of the Happily Ever After fireworks show, also in early April.
Of course, the Magic Kingdom is the Magic Kingdom, and guests will visit regardless as a theme park rite of passage. Looking forward, Disney is looking to significantly invest in expanding Magic Kingdom’s capacity with the addition of two new Cars-themed attractions and a Villains Land that is sure to bring guests from every corner of the globe when it opens sometime in the next decade.
EPCOT | 12 Million (+19.8%)
EPCOT was the big winner at Walt Disney World in 2023, increasing attendance by nearly 20% – almost unheard of when considering the rest of the Orlando and North American market was down or flat in 2023. EPCOT reclaimed the 2nd place spot at Walt Disney World, surpassing Disney’s Hollywood Studios after a strong multi-year run for DHS.
The big draw in 2023 was likely the fully realized popularity of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction, along with a new Moana-themed walkthrough attraction. Other notable changes at EPCOT included the early 2023 closing of Harmonious, and the return of EPCOT Forever.
EPCOT is positioned for more growth too with the recent completion of the EPCOT Overhaul project, and a new version of Test Track opening in 2025. It will be interesting to see what EPCOT’s ceiling might be with a mixed bag of reactions to the EPCOT Overhaul project that saw many projects cut out completely or scaled back. Will EPCOT need another infusion of cash in the next 5 years to continue to see good attendance numbers?
Disney’s Hollywood Studios | 10.3 Million (-5.5%)
Now to the “bad”. Disney’s Hollywood Studios forfeited the number two spot at Walt Disney World to EPCOT after a 5.5% decline in attendance. A lot of the projects for Disney’s Hollywood Studios have wrapped up, and while the park reopened Fantasmic in late 2022, it doesn’t seem to have a palpable effect on attendance. Simply put, the park needs even more help despite significant investments in recent years including Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Thankfully, Disney has acknowledged as much, and recently announced that they will break ground on a Monsters Inc. Land in 2025. An opening date has not been announced.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom | 8.8 Million (-2.8%)
My how the mighty have fallen. In 2019, Disney’s Animal Kingdom had the second-highest attendance behind Magic Kingdom. It was riding a years-long wave of popularity due to Pandora – The World of Avatar and Disney World wanted guests to stay in the park past dinner. Now, Pandora remains popular, but with no nighttime entertainment, the park is struggling.
By the way, that’s the same thing that we wrote last year, and it remains evergreen. Of course, Disney World is going to break ground soon (read: this fall) on a Tropical Americas-themed reimagining of DinoLand USA, but it won’t open until 2027. Will Disney try to help the struggling park with some new nighttime entertainment? Nothing has been announced, but with the Disney Springs drone show set to end in early September, Disney wouldn’t need to extend hours too much during the winter to accommodate a nighttime show at the park. Nothing has been announced at this time.
Attendance Trends Moving Forward
While Disney has forecasted a downturn in attendance from mid-2024 through early-2025 (at least), the sky isn’t falling. Disney execs have not been shy about their desire to manage attendance while increasing per capita spending – and they’ve done just that.
Late 2019 and early 2020 were very crowded at Disney World. The experience was bursting at the seams and Disney simply wasn’t expanding enough to keep pace with demand. The fact that Disney is moving forward with a Magic Kingdom expansion project seems to indicate that they understand that they not only need to invest in parks that need the help (Animal Kingdom) but that they need to keep pace with demand at others.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
