Disneyland Paris Narrowly Beats Its Attendance Record

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Disneyland Paris broke attendance records in 2023 (Photo by Salvatore Romano/NurPhoto via Getty … [+] Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images Disneyland Paris beat its all-time attendance record by just 0.6% last year as 16.1 million visitors streamed through its turnstiles according to the latest Global Attractions Attendance Report from the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). The complex on the outskirts of Paris is home to the flagship Disneyland Park and its movie-themed neighbor, the Walt Disney Studios. Both had a roller coaster ride last year. On the one hand, the end of pandemic restrictions unleashed waves of tourists flush with furlough cash and a pent-up demand to travel. However, Disneyland Paris was gripped by strikes over the busy summer period as staff demanded a pay rise to combat soaring inflation in France. It led to the cancelation of parades and shows but the resort still had a happy ending thanks to some heavy hitters. Disneyland Paris is home to Europe’s only theme park land based on the hit Avengers movies and 2023 was its first full year of operation. As we reported, the land is home to a ground-breaking simulator which uses motion-sensing cameras and 3D screens to give guests the impression that they are spinning webs alongside Spider-Man. It didn’t come cheap. The Avengers Campus land is the first part of a $2.1 billion expansion of the Walt Disney Studios park which was revealed in Britain’s Express newspaper in November 2017. The expansion was badly needed as the park was widely considered to be the poor relation to the neighboring Disneyland Park thanks to its smaller selection of rides, limited landscaping and lack of both greenery and water features. In October we revealed that Disneyland Paris had invested more than $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) in the Studios park over the five years to the end of September 2022. A total of $398.6 million (€370 million) of this went on Avengers Campus, according to David Jaraudias, design manager of the land. It was money well spent. MORE FOR YOU Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Friday, August 16 Harris Will Propose $25,000 In Down Payment Aid For First-Time Homebuyers As Part Of Economic Agenda Kamala Harris Releases Economic Agenda—Here’s What To Know Avengers Campus brought the Studios park bang up to date as not only does it feature cutting-edge ride technology but it also launched just one year after its debut in California. In contrast, it took 13 years to bring the Tower of Terror freefall ride to the Studios park and even when it opened in 2007 it was one of four similar attractions in Disney parks around the world. The Spider-Man simulator in Avengers Campus can only be found in California and Paris and it has had a magic touch. Walt Disney Studios’ new Spider-Man ride likely played a major role in its attendance boost Disney The TEA data shows that in 2023, attendance at the Studios rose 6.7% to 5.7 million giving it more visitors than in any other year since the park swung open its ornate iron gates in 2002. The same cannot be said of its neighbor. Last year, attendance at the Disneyland Park only increased by 4.7% to 10.4 million which is 0.8 million less than its all-time high in 2012 when the resort celebrated its 20th anniversary. The 11.2 million visitors to the Disneyland Park were joined by 4.8 million at the Studios giving Disneyland Paris a total of 16 million guests, a total which was narrowly beaten last year. Visitors flocked to the Disneyland Park in 2012 to see a new son et lumière show which combined lasers, fireworks, flame-throwers and multi-colored fountains timed to footage from classic Disney cartoons. Ingeniously, the scenes were projected onto screens formed from fountains which fanned out into a fine mist. The park’s centerpiece castle was also used to show them and, thanks to some technical wizardry, the projections appeared to be flat despite being beamed on to protrusions, balustrades and turrets. As the graph below shows, the Disneyland Park’s attendance has waned since then in line with a lack of investment. To this day, its last major new-build attraction was the Space Mountain roller coaster which opened nearly 30 years ago in 1995. That doesn’t seem set to change any time soon. Attendance by park at Disneyland Paris Caroline Reid using Flourish At last weekend’s D23 fan festival, Disney revealed that a new night time show will debut in the Disneyland Park next year but no announcements were made about it getting new rides. Not only is the Studios park getting a new show over the next few years but new lands themed to Disney’s Frozen and Lion King films will also open as we recently reported. The lack of new attractions in both parks has suppressed attendance at Disneyland Paris so much that it rose by just 5.4% in 2023 and hasn’t even doubled in the 32 years since the resort opened according to the TEA data below. Disneyland Paris has been contacted for comment on the data and any response will be inserted into this report in an update. Total attendance at Disneyland Paris Caroline Reid using Flourish It is a world away from Shanghai Disneyland which attracted 14 million visitors last year, a 150% increase on its opening-year tally in 2016. Nevertheless, the glow the Studios park got following the opening of Avengers Campus shows the potential. The higher the attendance, the higher the revenue and the profit. As we revealed last year in The Times of London, the opening of Avengers Campus cast a powerful spell on Disneyland Paris as its revenue rose nearly three-fold to a record $2.6 billion (€2.4 billion) in the year to September 30, 2022. It outstripped a 57.8% increase in costs leaving the company with a $50.6 million (€47 million) operating profit, its highest in a decade. Like every good Hollywood tale there had to be a sequel and that came earlier this year when we revealed in The Guardian that in 2023 Disneyland Paris made a record operating profit of $188.5 million (€175 million) as revenue rose 23.5% to an all-time high of $3.1 billion (€2.9 billion). This represented a staggering 56.6% of the international revenue generated by Disney’s entire theme parks and cruises division last year and 17.1% of its profit. This may only be the start. Referring to our exclusive in October, the TEA report states that Disneyland Paris “has invested US$1.5 billion into its Walt Disney Studios Park over the past five years” and adds that further investment “will hopefully help raise this park’s profile”. That really would be a happy ending. Caroline Reid Following Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions