VelociCoaster (1,728) + Skull Island (1,800) + Hagrid's (1,680) =
5,208 THRC
Dueling Dragons (~1,920) and Poseidon's Fury (600-800) =
2,520-2,720 THRC
For the theaters, The Eight Voyage of Sinbad has 1.7K seats and the Toon Lagoon Amphitheatre has 2K seats... 3.7K seats sitting empty. Running 4 shows each day would result in about 14.8K in additional attraction/experience capacity for the day.
So IOA did gain capacity, and most of the newer experiences are mostly utilized. BUT, you could argue that IOA hasn't gained as much capacity overall when taking attendance gains into account.
Attendance Change: 2010 Attendance (5.9M) to 2022 Attendance (11.0M) =
85% Increase
Ride Capacity Change: 2010 Ride Capacity (22.6K THRC) to 2022 Ride Capacity (26.5K THRC) =
17% Increase (Excluded Hogwarts Express).
Total Attraction Capacity Change: 2010 Attraction Capacity (22.6K THRC) to 2022 Attraction Capacity (25.7K THRC) =
14% Increase (Toon Lagoon Theater Excluded, Ended Prior to 2010 & Excluded Hogwarts Express).
However, most significant data point to me is the "average experiences per guest per day" that ultimately determine whether or not the park has enough attraction capacity to provide enough experiences per guest:
- In 2010, with attendance at 5.9M and total daily attraction capacity at 278K, each guest could experience about ~17.2x attractions a day. -> shows you how much Universal was struggling in the 2000s
- In 2022 (and today), attendance at 11.0M and total daily attraction capacity at 318K, each guest can experience about ~10.5x attractions.
For reference, the other Orlando parks (split between all attraction/show capacity & C-E tickets only):
- Magic Kingdom 11.2x (all attractions + shows) | 10.6x (C-E Tickets only)
- Epcot 14.8x (all attractions + shows) | 9.7x (C-E Tickets only)
- Hollywood Studios 9.3x (all attractions + shows) | 6.6x (C-E Tickets only)
- Animal Kingdom 9.8x (all attractions + shows) | 6.6x (C-E Tickets only)
- Universal Studios Florida 9.2x (all attractions + shows) | 7.2x (C-E Tickets only)
- Islands of Adventure 10.5x (all attractions + shows) | 8.2x (C-E Tickets only)
In short, capacity
has technically increased, but attendance has skyrocketed so much that the capacity increases aren't as impactful.
I don't think anyone is clamoring for the return of Sinbad or the previous TL shows... but Universal should certainly try at bringing back those online. A capacity increase of 15K would be much appreciated... especially during the hot and stormy Florida days.
-----------------------------------
For Additional Details:
- VelociCoaster - 24 Seats X ~50-Sec Dispatch Interval
- Skull Island - 60 Seats X ~120-Sec Dispatch Interval -> 66 seats prior to blocking the first row entirely
- Hagrid's Motorbike - 14 Seats X ~30-sec Dispatch Interval -> this is in ideal operational conditions, well known how temperamental Hagrid can be.
- Dueling Dragons* - 32 Seats X ~120-sec Dispatch Intervals (Unlike Hulk, this ran only 2 trains per track)
- Poseidon's Fury - ~600-800 guests an hour depending on the interval they use that day between shows
*Dueling Dragons had the dual load/unload platforms which actually decreased capacity as they would have to wait for the train to clear unload and then proceed to load + only running 2 trains each.
**Well aware this excludes smaller experiences like Ollivanders, Raptor Encounter and other meet & greets. Their impact to overall park capacity is immaterial.
View attachment 22062
Not as dramatic... FL resident deals are doing wonders right now. June was still relatively busy last year... but there was a
significant drop in July/August when it got hotter.
Edit: Please feel free to provide any feedback on anything here, gladly appreciate making my analysis better. Also, want to chime in that a good amount of experiences at IOA are water rides and have tall height requirements... so while capacity is on par with the other parks, certain demographics can't or don't want to experience it. IOA is a thrill-junkie's paradise... outside of that demographic it's lacking.
