Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[jinx8402]

Feeling the same for my late August trip

Fellow late August trip checking in. It will be interesting to see how crowds compare back to '21 when we went and it was dead. Also wonder if we will be seeing an update from touringplans on their crowd level predictions. If I recall, several months ago they bumped up their predictions.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I'll add my own anecdote— it was basically the same for me. As I said, we got reservations for Yak & Yeti 1 hour + in advance, no sweat. Everest was a walk on, Kilimanjaro safaris was like 15 min, and all the attractions at MK and EPCOT were generally easy to get on to. we got on ROTR at DHS in under 30 min at the end of the day.

Yeah, I got to MK at 8:20p, rode Tron, watched Happily Ever After, bolted out at the end to get on PPF & now I’m in line for SDMT. I also squeezed in a Cream Cheese pretzel lol

 

[jpeden]

This is all boding well for my early Aug midweek trip

I’m no longer worried about my week after thanksgiving trip considering they’re giving out 35% discounts to D+ subscribers.

The real tell will be if they extend that discount to other hotel rooms/types. While in theory it should be bookable all resorts it isn’t. For example, even though there appears to be a ton of rooms at WL the week we are going only one room category currently has the discount. Hopefully they keep adding rooms and categories.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I’m no longer worried about my week after thanksgiving trip considering they’re giving out 35% discounts to D+ subscribers.

The real tell will be if they extend that discount to other hotel rooms/types. While in theory it should be bookable all resorts it isn’t. For example, even though there appears to be a ton of rooms at WL the week we are going only one room category currently has the discount. Hopefully they keep adding rooms and categories.

Be worried the D+ Disney cruises were some of the most overbooked and crowded cruises they’ve ever sailed. I hope you have a fabulous trip though you gonna do Jollywood nights?

 

[jpeden]

Be worried the D+ Disney cruises were some of the most overbooked and crowded cruises they’ve ever sailed. I hope you have a fabulous trip though you gonna do Jollywood nights?

We have small kids so we are going to pass. We will do MVMCP although the base price of $159 is killing me a little. When we first went in 2015 I think my wife and I paid $79/person.

 

[Bullseye1967]

We have small kids so we are going to pass. We will do MVMCP although the base price of $159 is killing me a little. When we first went in 2015 I think my wife and I paid $79/person.

It may have been a bit more. We paid $79 in 2012, but different dates have different prices. We went early December.

 

[jannerUK]

Yeah mid August trip for six of us. Starting to think it will be low crowds sans MK for us

 

[Stripes]

Chapek was setup for failure by Iger things then Iger rides in on his white horse saying I can’t believe what Chapek did and I’ll save the day and fix all and here we are. Much improved

Chapek made a lot of poor decisions and should never have been CEO. The parks business was thriving in spite of Chapek, not because of him. That said, I have nothing but good things to say about the decisions Disney has made since Iger returned, especially regarding the return of creative control and accountability (will take a few years to produce result.)

Disney’s relative weakness at the moment is primarily due to disruption across the entire media industry. Most of Disney‘s competitors are struggling much more than they are. I do think Disney is in a really strong position to weather the disruption and come out as the dominant player in the new media landscape.

 

[Vacationeer]

We have small kids so we are going to pass. We will do MVMCP although the base price of $159 is killing me a little. When we first went in 2015 I think my wife and I paid $79/person.

Yeah that sounds right

It is amazing how much all these events have skyrocketed. The 2021 party had some tickets at $250+tax.

We paid about $500 for 4 tickets in 2019. Didn’t feel worth it. Was packed! We said never again.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

some scary $#!% right here....

There is ZERO indication as it stands he’d ever leave. He will have to be removed.

But as always…I love to be proven wrong

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Chapek made a lot of poor decisions and should never have been CEO. The parks business was thriving in spite of Chapek, not because of him. That said, I have nothing but good things to say about the decisions Disney has made since Iger returned, especially regarding the return of creative control and accountability (will take a few years to produce result.)

Disney’s relative weakness at the moment is primarily due to disruption across the entire media industry. Most of Disney‘s competitors are struggling much more than they are. I do think Disney is in a really strong position to weather the disruption and come out as the dominant player in the new media landscape.

…are you interested in buying some Florida swampland?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I posted last week that I’d be here this week and give a “non-pixie duster” review of the crowd levels. I’m at MK right now, compared to last summer it’s DEAD. Generally speaking it’s not “empty”, but I’d say it’s pretty low crowds. Think September crowd levels (a few years ago)

Well the pictures are telling “$1399+tax” worth of words…

Campbell must have been there on the slowest days EVER if any of that looked “packed”

…it’s the middle of June. It can never be “empty”…literally…but this is not a crowd that would ever please the stock holders. And if it’s “uncomfortable” because it’s hot and humid….”breaking news” on that

 

[esskay]

Currently watching a live stream of some guy getting on smugglers run. 75mins the wait time stated. He basically got through the two big rooms in 3 minutes!

No way was he waiting more than 20

Seems to be a recurring theme. Had that happen twice in May.

 

[jpeden]

Yeah that sounds right
View attachment 724926
It is amazing how much all these events have skyrocketed. The 2021 party had some tickets at $250+tax.

We paid about $500 for 4 tickets in 2019. Didn’t feel worth it. Was packed! We said never again.

Well then we paid $74 because I would have bought in advance and we went in November. It’s also crazy to think they were all just one price except one “premium” night which was only $8 more if you bought your tickets in advance.

In 2021 I get the price increase because it was an after hours event - not MVMCP. But now they’re pricing the parties like after hours events. I will say attendance was clearly kept down for MNSSHP in 2022 when we went as it was nothing like the nightmare that was 2019 (I ended up getting a refund for the party we went to in 2019 it was so miserable), but 2022 attendance was still nothing like the one time we went to DAH (which we got for free due to Disney bungling something else on one of our trips as guest recovery).

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The “parties” were like $37/$27 20 years ago…in the $50-60 range 10

…you do the math

When a company tells you who they are…believe them.

 

[Splash4eva]

The “parties” were like $37/$27 20 years ago…in the $50-60 range 10

…you do the math

When a company tells you who they are…believe them.

Not that defending pricing but when a company basically continues to sell out these parties/after hours/hard ticketed events raising prices accordingly is what they are suppose to be doing… now as far as everything else they have done price wise it seems like things have finally caught up to them BUT imo pricing is not the only/main reason people are cutting back on their trips its a combination of many factors i feel. Pricing is just one of them.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Not that defending pricing but when a company basically continues to sell out these parties/after hours/hard ticketed events raising prices accordingly is what they are suppose to be doing… now as far as everything else they have done price wise it seems like things have finally caught up to them BUT imo pricing is not the only/main reason people are cutting back on their trips its a combination of many factors i feel. Pricing is just one of them.

For the “parties” I tend to agree…if I want to call august 22 “Halloween” and somebody will show up in garb during the monsoon season…it ain’t on me.

After hours is different. They let their standard attendance exceed what they can comfortably handle through lack of expansion, kept “winter hours” , and then sell an “escape” from the crowds.

Dr evil level there.
But nobody has to believe my opinion…it’s just exactly how it went. The way they make decisions under stiff Bob isn’t mystical or rocket science

 

[DisneyCane]

…are you interested in buying some Florida swampland?

Funny thing is that if you bought a bunch of Florida swamp land 40 years ago, you'd probably be rich enough to visit each Disney park in the world and stay at the top resort in each location for a week every year and not even have to think about the cost.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Funny thing is that if you bought a bunch of Florida swamp land 40 years ago, you'd probably be rich enough to visit each Disney park in the world and stay at the top resort in each location for a week every year and not even have to think about the cost.

Not really…it would have crashed 4 times…as all “real estate” in facade areas does

 

[SamusAranX]

Yeah, I got to MK at 8:20p, rode Tron, watched Happily Ever After, bolted out at the end to get on PPF & now I’m in line for SDMT. I also squeezed in a Cream Cheese pretzel lol

Where can I get a cream cheese pretzel?