Harry Potter's Magic Helps Universal Parks Gain as Disney Slows

(Bloomberg) -- Universal Studios theme parks in Florida and California boosted attendance by 7.4 percent last year due to the powerful draw of Harry Potter attractions, while Walt Disney Co.'s domestic visitors fell less than 1 percent.

The numbers were also mixed for operators globally, according to annual data released Thursday by the Themed Entertainment Association and the consulting firm Aecom. Attendance at the world's 25 largest parks dipped 1.1 percent, failing to top 2015's record. But new attractions such as Disney's Shanghai Resort helped lift overall attendance for the largest operators by 3.9 percent to 436.8 million visitors.

Parks have become major growth initiatives for Disney and Universal, which are tying attractions to their movie and television properties in a display of corporate synergy. Burbank, California-based Disney, which gets about one-fifth of its profit from its resorts division, is building Star Wars lands in both Florida and California as its biggest business, TV networks, struggles to grow. Universal, whose parks contribute 10 percent of Comcast's profits, has attractions tied to its “Despicable Me” films.

“Attendance results in 2016 were more modest but still reflective of a healthy, growing industry,” John Robinett, Aecom's senior vice president for economics, said in a statement. “The major theme park operators continued their positive performance, and most markets saw slow, steady growth, while weather, tourism and political issues contributed to minor declines in others.”

See Disney's Quest to Beat Harry Potter

Universal Studios, owned by Comcast Corp., boosted attendance 14 percent to almost 8.1 million at its Los Angeles park after the opening of a Harry Potter attraction last year. The company's two theme parks in Orlando, which also feature Harry Potter rides, likewise saw attendance climb.

Attendance at the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, fell last year as it did at the company's four parks in Orlando, Florida. The namesake Disney park was coming off a 9 percent gain in 2015 due to events tied to a year-long celebration of the resort's 60th anniversary. Higher 2016 ticket prices and guest spending have boosted revenue for the company, the report said.

Theme-park operators are investing in new attractions to keep drawing new and repeat customers. Disney last week opened Pandora -- the World of Avatar at its Animal Kingdom park in Orlando and unveiled a remodel in Anaheim of its Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to feature characters from its “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. Both have been well-received by guests, with the wait time for Pandora's Na'vi River Journey stretching to two hours on Thursday morning, according to the Walt Disney World app.

Universal opened Volcano Bay, a new themed water park in Orlando last week.

Disney's attendance worldwide rose less than 1 percent, benefiting from the introduction of the Shanghai park, which drew 5.6 million guests in its first seven months. The new resort helped counter declines in Paris and Hong Kong.

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., the ninth-largest operator worldwide, continued to experience fallout from animal activists protesting the captivity of its killer whales. Attendance at the Orlando-based company's parks fell 2.1 percent overall last year. This month, SeaWorld unveiled a new orca show at its San Diego park that shows the animals performing more natural behaviors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum, Paul Barbagallo