Impacts of COVID-related capacity constraints on theme park attendance: evidence from Magic Kingdom wait times

This paper examines the impacts of COVID-related capacity constraints on attendance at the Magic Kingdom theme park. Results – based on analysis of about 325,000 attraction wait times recorded between 2014 and 2020 – show that operating at 25% of the park’s capacity would lead to a 54.1-percent reduction in estimated annual attendance, whereas a constraint of 50-percent capacity would lower annual attendance by 10.6%. COVID-related capacity constraints will likely decrease the revenue generated by theme parks and reduce visitation in regions where major theme parks are located.