Jamie Biesiada
This summer finally saw a moderation in demand for major theme parks in Orlando.
The parks have drawn record crowds, and recorded record financial results, in recent years. But in the third fiscal quarter, Disney said, park attendance was comparable to the year prior, not up. Similarly, in the second quarter, Universal saw a decrease in attendance and a normalization of visitation levels.
For advisors who sell a lot of theme park vacations, it's a good time to diversify into other products if they haven't done so already.
Having a diverse base of products to sell has been very beneficial to MEI-Travel in Issaquah, Wash., owner Beci Mahnken recently told me. Mahnken also owns Mouse Fan Travel and Universal Fan Travel, which specialize in Disney and Universal.
Mahnken described her business to Orlando theme parks as "very strong." But, higher prices have some clients considering other options.
"People started looking at the pricing and going, well, if it's going to cost me X amount to return to a theme park experience, this year, I think I want to try going to Europe for the first time. Or doing a cruise for the first time. Or trying a bucket-list vacation," Mahnken said.
Mahnken is confident that those clients will return to theme parks, but after several years, they want to branch out, she said.
That has bolstered her agency's new-to-cruise business, especially in markets attractive to younger families, like mass market and lower-upscale cruises.
"We're seeing so much demand in that area, especially from first-time cruises, which is amazing to me because we've been able then to introduce more clientele to these new experiences and it just keeps getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger," Mahnken said.
It also helps that cruise lines are making huge investments in their ships and private islands and destinations, which have been big draws for families.
Overall bookings for 2025 are strong, Mahnken said. In fact, she said, the year is looking "surprisingly strong" considering the U.S. presidential election in November. In her 25 years of experience, she has seen a slump before and after elections.
"But our 2025 is really strong right now, and that gives me a lot of hope that, hopefully, we will ride this wave a little quicker than we have in other election years and make our way through it," she said. "So while one side may be saying it's doom and gloom for our economy, seeing how people are spending right now is actually showing how strong the economy really is."
Epic Universe ramps up excitement
And for Orlando, 2025 holds something theme park-goers haven't seen since the late 1990s: the opening of a new theme park, Universal's Epic Universe (Disney's last park opening was Animal Kingdom in 1998 and Universal's, Islands of Adventure in 1999).
"Any new and shiny object is exciting," Mahnken said, noting guests are excited about the park.
That excitement has ramped because of how far Universal has come in theme park design in recent years. Mahnken pointed to its Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands, which are highly themed, immersive areas that opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010 and Universal Studios Florida in 2014.
"They have really perfected, or fine-tuned, their storytelling," Mahnken said. "You can tell the difference between when you walk into some of the older lands in Universal Studios, as opposed to walking into Harry Potter. You can see the progression of storytelling."
And, she added, it's been 10-plus years since those areas were created, meaning 10 years of new technology development that will be deployed in Epic Universe.
Several clients are waiting for Universal to reveal Epic Universe's opening date to book their 2025 vacations, Mahnken said. For an agency, clients waiting to book isn't the best thing, she admitted, but she believes the project's impact will be far and wide in central Florida when it opens.
"I think it's going to be a wonderful shot in the arm for the economy of the area," she said. "Also, it's going to create a great opportunity for pre- or post-cruises, which as you can tell, the Port Canaveral area is getting very popular. Some of the best ships are coming there. Some of the best cruise lines that focus on the family market are out of Port Canaveral."