Last year, we noted the softness that Florida’s theme parks were experiencing due to consumers going someplace else (after a surge in visitation to attractions in Florida in 2021 and 2022). This week, we came across an interesting article from The Daily Mail about swarms of spring breakers flocking to Disney World leading to massive crowds.
To substantiate the article’s claims, we reviewed the potential market audience profile for Disney World, and we were shocked to see a 40% increase in the age 18-21 cohort for the trade areas visiting Disney World's three parks (below). Holy Mickey!
Another potential contributor to the swarms are orders in other destinations to inhibit spring breakers (read our piece last week on nightlife districts and how South Beach is down on spring breakers due to local restrictions and a night-time curfew). Another contributor that seems likely is TikTok, Instagram, and other social sharing networks as the article alludes to. When we get updated Placer tourism data next week, we will cover what the year-over-year change was and from where it originated, and how Orlando County fared versus Miami-Dade. To conclude and look at the big picture, we expect consumer spending on fun vs. stuff to be more even in 2024 after a strong year of fun in 2023, market share capture versus outsized overall industry growth would be a confirmation of that forecast.
