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Disney CEO blames new Star Wars attraction for fall in visitor numbers
Disney’s pricing policy could be at a tipping point after a surprising dip in attendance at its US theme parks.
It comes despite the most eagerly-awaited new attraction opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland.
Domestic park attendance was down 3% in the third quarter of financial year 2019, with the company blaming lower annual passholder attendance.
In fact, the Star Wars opening is likely to have contributed to the lower visitor numbers, said CEO Bob Iger.
"Attendance was below what we hoped it would be. There was tremendous concern that there were going to be huge crowds so people stayed away.
"All the local hotels in the region, expecting an influx of visitation, raised their prices. So it simply got more expensive to come stay in Anaheim," he said.
For the first few weeks, Disney had restricted access to the Star Wars land to guests staying at resort hotels and those with confirmed reservations.
Iger said a small decline in attendance at Walt Disney World was down to people holding off visits until the Star Wars attraction opens there in Orlando later this month.
He also acknowledged recent day ticket and passholder price increases might have impacted attendance.
"We feel great about the product we’ve created but it’s going to take some time for things to work themselves out as the marketplace reacts," he said.
Despite the attendance decline, spending was up 10%, in part due to the higher ticket prices.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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