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Credit: Inside The MagicSorry Disney Parks, but you’re no longer the most popular searched vacation spot outside of Florida and California.
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Family Destinations Guide, a resource for traveling reviews and vacation suggestions, frequently releases rankings of top cities to explore or best restaurants to eat at. Recently, they reported the most searched tourist attractions by state.
Essentially, the report broke down which vacation spots get the most searches online by each state nationwide. For example, Graceland, the Elvis Presley home and museum, is the most searched destination in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
When it came to Disney Parks, they were nearly absent from the research. Walt Disney World didn’t appear at all, not even in Florida. And California was the only state that searched for Disneyland the most.
So what was Florida’s top search? Universal Studios Orlando.
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That’s right. According to the Family Destinations Guide, the Disney rival Theme Park was the most frequently researched destination in the Sunshine State. And they weren’t the only states that searched Universal Studios Orlando the most. Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Texas are also very curious about Theme Park.
What This Tells Us About Disney Parks
Ultimately, this data should be concerning for Disney. While the company can argue that fewer people search the Parks because they may already be informed, it doesn’t seem like new Guests are interested in visiting the Parks anytime soon.
This could be for several reasons. One is that Disney has been struggling in recent months to impress their current Guests, whether it’s at the parks or the box office. If current Disney fans aren’t thrilled about the company’s state, why would any new visitors be interested?
Another reason, and it’s a big one, is that the Parks have become overly priced. “Aggressive” was the word Disney CEO, Bob Iger, used when describing it. Travelers may be more aware of the price gouging than anything else at the Parks. The media, including Inside The Magic, has covered Disney’s steep ticket prices over the past year. This could be preventing new Guests from researching the Parks all together.
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Lastly, Universal Studios Orlando may be coming up on searches more than Disney Parks because they could be the Park that travelers know less about. The ticket prices for Universal are very close to prices at Walt Disney World; however, since there are two Parks to visit instead of four, this could result in a cheaper vacation that appeals more to curious travelers.
Nevertheless, this isn’t a good look for Disney. The best way to grow a business is to have new Guests come in. With the outcome of the results exposing Disney’s loss in popularity, it might be time for the Parks to reconsider the choices they have been making lately.
Have you cut back on your Disney vacation planning in recent months? Let Inside The Magic know in the comments below.