It seems that Visitors are returning to Universal Orlando faster than they are returning to Walt Disney World.

According to reports, Universal Orlando, which reopened their theme parks on 5th June are seeing an upturn in attendance, although attendance is still down 64% from 2019. In comparison Walt Disney World, which reopened their theme parks in mid July seems to have attendance levels down by 80% from 2019.

Disney CEO, Bob Chapek acknowledged that Disney World had a higher than expected number of reservation cancellations when he spoke during a quarterly earnings call.

One simple theory is that Universal Orlando is attracting an older audience that feel more confident to enjoy the parks. Families with younger children that would normally visit Walt Disney World for the character experiences, etc, are probably less confident to visit at this time.

The general feeling though is that confidence is growing and as the COVID-19 cases decrease Walt Disney World will see ongoing improvements in attendance.