Changes in the "average guest" who visits WDW

[ChrisFL]

I've theorized on this for a bit and I believe Spirit has mentioned it in passing as well.

While the numbers for WDW have been steady, and MK especially, I wonder if we're not just seeing a difference in the kinds of attendance we're seeing in the parks.

For example, instead of having individual families with kids visiting every few years, who keep up the attendance, it seems like we're seeing a lot more tour groups from Brazil and Argentina, the cheerleaders/twirlers, pop warner football, band competitions, Star Wars weekends, Food and Wine Festival (to bring out the locals), etc.

My thought on this is, people often say that WDW doesn't need to change things, because their attendance remains higher than other parks, but is it because of their quality, or just the special deals that all of these other groups are getting?

 

[Andrew C]

I've theorized on this for a bit and I believe Spirit has mentioned it in passing as well.

While the numbers for WDW have been steady, and MK especially, I wonder if we're not just seeing a difference in the kinds of attendance we're seeing in the parks.

For example, instead of having individual families with kids visiting every few years, who keep up the attendance, it seems like we're seeing a lot more tour groups from Brazil and Argentina, the cheerleaders/twirlers, pop warner football, band competitions, Star Wars weekends, Food and Wine Festival (to bring out the locals), etc.

My thought on this is, people often say that WDW doesn't need to change things, because their attendance remains higher than other parks, but is it because of their quality, or just the special deals that all of these other groups are getting?

Haven't specials and events like this been offered since the beginning though? And even at DL?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Tour Groups are nothing new. The only significant change I've noticed is the increase in children under 3 (aka toddlers).

 

[draybook]

The only increase I noticed in September was that of the Spanish and Portuguese speaking population as well as a bit more Euros.

 

[birdie31]

Having brought a bus load of Canadians every 2nd year for about 15 years, the group discounts are not that great. For example, Disney Groups department in 2012 had to match the cheaper rates at CAA for rooms (Coronado). Tickets did offer a free waterpark admission, but they were only marginally reduced compared to just buying the tix outright and by using the Groups department, you were denied access to free dining or any other promotion happening (at the time, One More Disney Day was on). Dining offers would have been more cost effective having run the numbers....

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Cant comment as Im way above average.

Though on reflection, if there has been a 20% decline in UK visitor number in recent years, from what was the largest foreign group, that could possibly be visible in park population. Fewer football tops for a start. (correct use of term)

 

[Robin Of Loxley]

instead of having individual families with kids visiting every few years, who keep up the attendance

I think a lot of this has to do with the different challenges young parents of today are facing in comparison to young parents of the 70s/80s and even 90s starting a family. Simply put, it costs a lot more today to start/raise a family than yesteryear. College loans, healthcare costs, and other expenditures weighing more heavily today, making it harder for Mr. & Mrs. Average American to factor in Disney vacations to their entertainment lineup as easily as it was for parents of previous decades. This is also an era when people are wising up to the vital importance of shoving away as much as possible for retirement; changing many-a-mindset into Save For Tomorrow rather than Splurge For Today. You have money shows such as Suze Orman and Clark Howard Money Talk telling folks to avoid the pricey family vacation, keep it simple when it comes to leisure, and save for retirement like your life depends on it. Good habits for sure, but certainly can play a role as to why the average family with kids is shrinking when it comes to WDW attendance. Though this is just a guess on my part, and considering how park attendance is on the rise from previous decades mentioned above, and such a jump cannot solely be put on the shoulders of tour groups & cheerleaders alone...maybe I'm way off base. I dunno.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I think a lot of this has to do with the different challenges young parents of today are facing in comparison to young parents of the 70s/80s and even 90s starting a family. Simply put, it costs a lot more today to start/raise a family than yesteryear. College loans, healthcare costs, and other expenditures weighing more heavily today, making it harder for Mr. & Mrs. Average American to factor in Disney vacations to their entertainment lineup as easily as it was for parents of previous decades. This is also an era when people are wising up to the vital importance of shoving away as much as possible for retirement; changing many-a-mindset into Save For Tomorrow rather than Splurge For Today.

On several threads, I've posted concrete examples of how, even adjusted for inflation, today's WDW costs much more than the WDW of old.

Just consider the price of a 1-day ticket compared with the Consumer Price Index:

Raising a family today might be more expensive. However, WDW most definitely is.

The biggest change in demographics I've noticed over the decades (I've been going since the late 1970s) seems to be the increased attendance by young children.

Originally, the parks were geared towards a middle school, junior high school crowd. Strollers were much less common in the 1970s and 1980s.

Consider some of the early attractions at MK such as POTC, HM, and Space Mountain. Even the Wendy character in Peter Pan (released in 1953) was a 12 year-old. It's A Small World was a huge hit among adults at the 1964 World's Fair, while Carousel of Progress is told from an adult's POV. Can you imagine most 4 year-olds sitting still for the Enchanted Tiki Room?

And EPCOT, well, the original EPCOT most definitely had an adult feel to it. The first time I went in 1983 as a twentysomething, I couldn't imagine how anyone under the age of 12 could like the park. It was surprisingly educational.

I think trends started to change with the success The Modern Classics, beginning with The Little Mermaid in 1989. These movies were popular among a much younger audience. It was after the release of these movies that Disney started to dumb down the attractions, increasingly targeting a younger crowd, removing elements that might frighten while also inserting more cartoon characters.

It didn't happen all at once but, I suspect, Disney started receiving complaints in the 1990s from parents of frightened children and, over time, took steps to make WDW more toddler friendly.

 

[cheezbat]

Without a doubt there are far more foreign tourists and far less Americans. When I visited Disney when I was younger, I hardly ever heard other languages spoken. In the last thirteen years(while I've actually lived in central florida), I've noticed more and more Spanish and Portuguese being spoken. When I was a cast member, I dealt with about half English speaking people and half other languages. The past two years while visiting, I barely heard ANY English....aside from that being spoken by cast members.

I think overall, Americans visiting has declined, often in part due to rising costs of living. It isn't easy nowadays!

 

[ParentsOf4]

Without a doubt there are far more foreign tourists and far less Americans. When I visited Disney when I was younger, I hardly ever heard other languages spoken. In the last thirteen years(while I've actually lived in central florida), I've noticed more and more Spanish and Portuguese being spoken. When I was a cast member, I dealt with about half English speaking people and half other languages. The past two years while visiting, I barely heard ANY English....aside from that being spoken by cast members.

I think overall, Americans visiting has declined, often in part due to rising costs of living. It isn't easy nowadays!

Reading through Disney's quarterly releases and earnings calls, the mix of domestic-to-international visitor has held relatively steady at about 18-to-22% international over the last decade. However, the mix of International guest has changed. There are less from Europe (particularly from the U.K. & Ireland) and more from South America. On more than one occasion, Iger and Rasulo have commented on the growth from Brazil.

The South Americans really have helped the tourist industry in Orlando. Both WDW and Universal have benefited greatly from the increased business.

 

[imagineer boy]

On several threads, I've posted concrete examples of how, even adjusted for inflation, today's WDW costs much more than the WDW of old.

Just consider the price of a 1-day ticket compared with the Consumer Price Index:

View attachment 46142

Raising a family today might be more expensive. However, WDW most definitely is.

The biggest change in demographics I've noticed over the decades (I've been going since the late 1970s) seems to be the increased attendance by young children.

Originally, the parks were geared towards a middle school, junior high school crowd. Strollers were much less common in the 1970s and 1980s.

Consider some of the early attractions at MK such as POTC, HM, and Space Mountain. Even the Wendy character in Peter Pan (released in 1953) was a 12 year-old. It's A Small World was a huge hit among adults at the 1964 World's Fair, while Carousel of Progress is told from an adult's POV. Can you imagine most 4 year-olds sitting still for the Enchanted Tiki Room?

And EPCOT, well, the original EPCOT most definitely had an adult feel to it. The first time I went in 1983 as a twentysomething, I couldn't imagine how anyone under the age of 12 could like the park. It was surprisingly educational.

I think trends started to change with the success The Modern Classics, beginning with The Little Mermaid in 1989. These movies were popular among a much younger audience. It was after the release of these movies that Disney started to dumb down the attractions, increasingly targeting a younger crowd, removing elements that might frighten while also inserting more cartoon characters.

It didn't happen all at once but, I suspect, Disney started receiving complaints in the 1990s from parents of frightened children and, over time, took steps to make WDW more toddler friendly.

Agreed, and it's a real shame. I hate seeing WDW commercials where they show families with young kids just riding Dumbo, the tea cups, and hugging mickey. There's more to WDW than that you dumb marketing people!

 

[wendysue]

Reading through Disney's quarterly releases and earnings calls, the mix of domestic-to-international visitor has held relatively steady at about 18-to-22% international over the last decade. However, the mix of International guest has changed. There are less from Europe (particularly from the U.K. & Ireland) and more from South America. On more than one occasion, Iger and Rasulo have commented on the growth from Brazil.

The South Americans really have helped the tourist industry in Orlando. Both WDW and Universal have benefited greatly from the increased business.

Maybe it's time for a Disney-Brazil.....

 

[willtravel]

Maybe it's time for a Disney-Brazil.....

Do you mean a Disney in Brazil? That would definitely take away the $$$ from Orlando. For all parks.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Do you mean a Disney in Brazil? That would definitely take away the $$$ from Orlando. For all parks.

I agree, another Disney park anywhere in the Americas would noticeably hurt WDW's business. It's never going to happen; TDO would oppose it.

 

[LucyK]

Seriously, even if there was a Disney Brazil, people from down here would still go to the USA. It's not only about Disney, it's also about Universal and even more importantly to some, shopping.

 

[disney4life2008]

Cant comment as Im way above average.

Though on reflection, if there has been a 20% decline in UK visitor number in recent years, from what was the largest foreign group, that could possibly be visible in park population. Fewer football tops for a start. (correct use of term)

I would agree attendance patterns seem constant within the last 10 years amongst all groups. But in the last 20 years, I have observed the severe decrease in UK visitors. iN the 90s I remember hoards of UK visitors all along 192 and in the parks. I would also say the same about direct from Asia guets. What has contributed to thedecrease?

 

[disney4life2008]

Seriously, even if there was a Disney Brazil, people from down here would still go to the USA. It's not only about Disney, it's also about Universal and even more importantly to some, shopping.

which is another reason I avoid shopping in orlando. For some reason, people think the outlet malls is the place to be along idrive but alot of that stuff is is marked up and discountered. there are some jewels in orlando, but its not at the outlets.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I would agree attendance patterns seem constant within the last 10 years amongst all groups. But in the last 20 years, I have observed the severe decrease in UK visitors. iN the 90s I remember hoards of UK visitors all along 192 and in the parks. I would also say the same about direct from Asia guets. What has contributed to thedecrease?

Orlando is old hat, places like Dubai, Tunisia, Malta, South Africa and Australasia are all more heavily marketed. Doesnt help that my flight to Orlando is now almost 55% tax, and the tax is based on distance. Its really just a ploy by the political class to keep the oiks at home.

 

[disney4life2008]

Agreed, and it's a real shame. I hate seeing WDW commercials where they show families with young kids just riding Dumbo, the tea cups, and hugging mickey. There's more to WDW than that you dumb marketing people!

interesting perspective. i too get tired of seeing dunbo and Cinderella in every commercial but that is what sells. I always find it funny how wdw is marketed to different groups. cultural tv networks have a completely different wdw commercial vs what you see on ABC family.

 

[Nemo14]

I would agree attendance patterns seem constant within the last 10 years amongst all groups. But in the last 20 years, I have observed the severe decrease in UK visitors. iN the 90s I remember hoards of UK visitors all along 192 and in the parks. I would also say the same about direct from Asia guets. What has contributed to thedecrease?

I would assume the lack of anything new?