universal I of Adventure .. world’s top theme park

[DonaldDuck1117]

The fact that they have Hollywood Studios ranked ahead of Disneyland tells me everything I need to know about the validity of this ranking

[BrerGnat]

The fact that they have Hollywood Studios ranked ahead of Disneyland tells me everything I need to know about the validity of this ranking

LOL. Exactly.

[Speedy1998]

Based on the attendance numbers that TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) puts out, IOA is not even close to the top. Based on attendance these are the top ten parks in the US for 2014.

1. Magic Kingdom - 18.5 Million visitors
2. Disneyland - 16.2 Million visitors
3. Epcot - 11.2 Million visitors
4. Animal Kingdom - 10.2 Million visitors
5. Hollywood Studios - 10.1 Million visitors
6. Disney's California Adventure - 8.5 Million visitors
7. Islands of Adventure - 8.1 Million visitors
8. Universal Studios Fl - 7.0 Million
9. Universal Studios Hollywood - 6.1 Million
10. Sea World Fl - 5.0 Million

So based on attendance numbers I do not see how IOA can be considered the best theme park in the US. If it were, more people would visit it.

[DonaldDuck1117]

I don't think how good a park is should be based solely on attendance figures. There are some great seasonal parks throughout the country that can't come close to attendance rankings but are absolutely fantastic.

[magicofdisney]

I think it says volumes about IOA's ability to please the customer considering it has half the attendance of MK.

Or, you could say MK has twice as many people to complain.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Based on the attendance numbers that TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) puts out, IOA is not even close to the top. Based on attendance these are the top ten parks in the US for 2014.

1. Magic Kingdom - 18.5 Million visitors
2. Disneyland - 16.2 Million visitors
3. Epcot - 11.2 Million visitors
4. Animal Kingdom - 10.2 Million visitors
5. Hollywood Studios - 10.1 Million visitors
6. Disney's California Adventure - 8.5 Million visitors
7. Islands of Adventure - 8.1 Million visitors
8. Universal Studios Fl - 7.0 Million
9. Universal Studios Hollywood - 6.1 Million
10. Sea World Fl - 5.0 Million

So based on attendance numbers I do not see how IOA can be considered the best theme park in the US. If it were, more people would visit it.

First, the TEA numbers aren't official numbers.. They are, at best, guestimates... People who would know say IOA's and Univerdal Orlando's numbers are a lot closer to DHS than TEA wants to report... And even may surpass... No way DHS has 10 million guests a year when most days the park is dead...

Second, attendance isn't the only thing... If so, Tokyo Disney Sea is better than MK.. cause again, people in the industry say TDS pulls in more guests than MK does... So TDS should be the best...

Third, when trying to compare parks, THEME is what matters... THEME and attractions.. And IOA does blow away Epcot and DHS... Universal is still in the process of being fixed from many years of pathetic management... DAK, in my opinion, is the best themed theme park in WDW, yes over MK... I put IOA right up there with DAK and MK in theme, but IOA blows away DAK with attractions... MK and IOA are tied in my opinion when comparing attractions (not how many but quality)

The fact is though, this list is based on opinion, not fact... And many more people do hold the opinion that IOA is the best themed theme park... Is it? I don't know... I do think it is one of the best... As I said above... And only going to get better...

[AgentC]

I think you can make valid arguments for different parks to be on top depending on what you are using to make your judgement. Different things are important to different people. However how a list is complied matters.

This is what Trip Advisor says about the awards.

This year’s awards honor 244 attractions in total, including the top 25 in the world and dedicated lists for Asia, Canada, Europe, India, South America, South Pacific, the U.K. and the U.S. The annual awards are based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travelers across the globe. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for amusement parks and water parks worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.

However millions of reviews is a bit deceptive. I probably had a little too much time on my hands so I went to Trip Advisor and looked at the reviews for all the parks in the top 10 USA parks. I may have also created a spreadsheet. If numbers bore you you'd better skip to the next post.


If you add up the total number of reviews from all the parks, there were 136,458 reviews. Magic Kingdom had the most reviews with 27,052. Cedar Point has the least with 4,219. Discovery Cove was the second lowest with only 9708 reviews. If you compare reviews of MK to the visitors (18M) less than 1% reviewed the park. ( .15% to be exact) IOA's percentage was .29%

However when I took the combined percent for excellent and very good rating, IOA was higher than MK. 92% to 88%. Interestingly enough Discovery Cove actual has the highest rating with 96% rating it very good or above. My guess is the part of the algorithm that account for quantity of reviews pushed it down.

So for those of you who love numbers here is the parks listed in top 10 order with the percent of very good and above ratings and the % of terrible ratings. When we do this type of study at my company generally average ratings are not considered positive which is why I am using very good and above. Also beware that I am using everything on Trip Advisor while they know what is specific to the calendar year they are using.

Park, Percent VG or Above , Percent Terrible
IOA , 92% , 1.08%
Discovery Cove , 96% , .50%
MK , 88%, 1.80%
Universal Hollywood, 87%, 1.20%
Universal Florida, 83% , 3.68%
Disneyland, 86% , 2.31%
Animal Kingdom , 86% , .90%
Cedar Point, 89% 2.49%
SeaWorld, 86%, 2.23%

I think if you take into account the volume of reviews, it does kind of make sense. Discovery Cover is by far the most positively reviewed park and it also have the least negative reviews but is has less than 1/2 as many reviews as IOA so it got pushed down. The only one that seems off is Universal Florida since it has a lower approval rating (83%) and a high terrible rating (3.68%). My guess would be that its rating have improved since the opening of Diagon Alley and the more recent reviews are more positive than the overall review.

And now I'll stop boring you with numbers.

[MizMissy]

And now I'll stop boring you with numbers.

I just wanted to say Not Boring At ALL! Thank You and I LOVE IT ... but ... I love a good spreadsheet!

[1DisneyNut]

I was reading the above posts discussing the estimated attendance figures and the statistics of the trip advisor ratings (which is pretty interesting btw) and it got me to thinking about how Disney does not like to release attendance figures. Something occurred to me. If google could very easily write software and use a geo-stationary satellite and count the number of people that enter the parks on cloudless days. With a sampling over a years time, they could easily estimate the attendance figures within a few percent. I would not be surprised if they already thought about this and are doing it but haven't made it public. If not, it would be something to seriously consider because they could be valuable information.

[NJGIRL]

Based on the attendance numbers that TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) puts out, IOA is not even close to the top. Based on attendance these are the top ten parks in the US for 2014.

1. Magic Kingdom - 18.5 Million visitors
2. Disneyland - 16.2 Million visitors
3. Epcot - 11.2 Million visitors
4. Animal Kingdom - 10.2 Million visitors
5. Hollywood Studios - 10.1 Million visitors
6. Disney's California Adventure - 8.5 Million visitors
7. Islands of Adventure - 8.1 Million visitors
8. Universal Studios Fl - 7.0 Million
9. Universal Studios Hollywood - 6.1 Million
10. Sea World Fl - 5.0 Million

So based on attendance numbers I do not see how IOA can be considered the best theme park in the US. If it were, more people would visit it.

This is not a ranking of attendance. It is a ranking of customer satisfaction. I am not sure how anyone can say it is wrong. It is an opinion of many travelers, not just people who are loyal to Disney. No one can make someone like Disney the best if they feel different.

[AgentC]

I just wanted to say Not Boring At ALL! Thank You and I LOVE IT ... but ... I love a good spreadsheet!

I was reading the above posts discussing the estimated attendance figures and the statistics of the trip advisor ratings (which is pretty interesting btw)

Glad I'm not the only one who appreciates a good spreadsheet.

[BrerGnat]

I figured that was how they ranked the parks. The issue is, though, that people can review one without having been to the others, but that doesn't make one inherently BETTER. I prefer rankings based on a combination of factors having been taken into account, equally across the board. That is why I don't put much stake in these kinds of opinion surveys.

[Speedy1998]

This is not a ranking of attendance. It is a ranking of customer satisfaction. I am not sure how anyone can say it is wrong. It is an opinion of many travelers, not just people who are loyal to Disney. No one can make someone like Disney the best if they feel different.

I would argue that the attendance is people voting with their feet. I mean if people are so satisfied with IOA then why is their estimated attendance half of what the Magic Kingdom's is? We all know that there are not 18 Million unique visitors to the Magic Kingdom each year, which must mean there are allot of satisfied customers making repeat trips.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I would argue that the attendance is people voting with their feet. I mean if people are so satisfied with IOA then why is their estimated attendance half of what the Magic Kingdom's is? We all know that there are not 18 Million unique visitors to the Magic Kingdom each year, which must mean there are allot of satisfied customers making repeat trips.

The fact that IOA's attendance has grown significantly since 2010 shows that people ARE voting with their feet... IOA has not lost any of the attendance increases from 2010/2011, and continue to bring in more guests each year...

Universal had one heck of a boost last year, with only half a year of Diagon Alley open... Should see another significant boost in 2015...

Let's also not forget, Universal has been playing from behind for many years... so being slightly off (or even actually in reality passing DHS) attendance wise, within a 4 year time frame is one heck of an accomplishment...

[DonaldDuck1117]

Attendance is also based on brand. The Disney brand is huge. Everyone knows it. Disney World is a part of Americana. It's one of those places "everyone" has to visit. So of course Disney is always going to have the higher numbers. Disney is entrenched in our lives almost daily. Much more than Universal ever will.

This is why I don't think attendance numbers are the best way of determining the "best park".

[AgentC]

I figured that was how they ranked the parks. The issue is, though, that people can review one without having been to the others, but that doesn't make one inherently BETTER. I prefer rankings based on a combination of factors having been taken into account, equally across the board. That is why I don't put much stake in these kinds of opinion surveys.

Yep, opinions can be a bit crazy. Especially on the bad reviews. People rate things down for several reasons. Several "terrible" reviews on Orlando theme parks complained about the hot July weather.

[BrerGnat]

Yep, opinions can be a bit crazy. Especially on the bad reviews. People rate things down for several reasons. Several "terrible" reviews on Orlando theme parks complained about the hot July weather.

Yes, I have seen those. Also the ones that complain of the crowds and lines.

[John]

Attendance is also based on brand. The Disney brand is huge. Everyone knows it. Disney World is a part of Americana. It's one of those places "everyone" has to visit. So of course Disney is always going to have the higher numbers. Disney is entrenched in our lives almost daily. Much more than Universal ever will.

This is why I don't think attendance numbers are the best way of determining the "best park".

EXACTLY - People right now have a perception based on a brand that has been online since 1971 - and quite frankly, while Universal had a great set of parks, its the last 5 years where they have really put the foot on the gas.

Like someone said, satisfaction is important... not just attendance. If you now are torking off 25% of your attendance because things aren't working, or current value isn't there, or the parks are so crowded you can't do what you want to do - you leave with a bad taste in your mouth that impacts future business.

You can coast for a while on the past - but eventually it will catch up with you.

This is why we have stressed that Disney needs to up their game. Universal is here for the long run.

Competition is good for ALL of us. It keeps everyone on their toes...

[NJGIRL]

You can coast for a while on the past - but eventually it will catch up with you.

This is why we have stressed that Disney needs to up their game. Universal is here for the long run.

Competition is good for ALL of us. It keeps everyone on their toes...

This is exactly how I feel. Disney is coasting and Universal is hungry for the win. I don't have brand loyalty (even in my everyday life). I go for the biggest bang for my buck and right now that's Universal. Competition is good for all of us...waiting for Disney to start putting some effort into it.

[baldburke]

This is exactly how I feel. Disney is coasting and Universal is hungry for the win. I don't have brand loyalty (even in my everyday life). I go for the biggest bang for my buck and right now that's Universal. Competition is good for all of us...waiting for Disney to start putting some effort into it.

The race is long, but hopefully WDW delivers sooner than later with $3B announced for investment to DHS, Avatar Land pending for AK and another $350M to $400M earmarked for MK (as discussed on these boards). I agree that competition is good. Hopefully it will yield good results (and innovative ideas) for WDW.