I wonder why the phased closings weren't required. Is it the surge pricing, the MK's increased maximum capacity, or no new attractions. We'll never know the reason. I also wonder if the suits are concerned.
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2016 Christmas Week Phase Closing watch
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I can't imagine that dynamic pricing on one day tickets made much difference. But I do think the resort and food prices during peak season have pushed people to shift into less busy times. I saw lots of reports of very heavy crowds in early December, now people are saying maybe Christmas week doesn't seem as bad as usual. I think peak times have just gotten too expensive for what people get in return and maybe the crowds are shifting to what used to be less busy times.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I know some schools did not get out until Sat the 24th. Could later than normal arrivals have delayed the crowds this year?
We checked into AKL yesterday and went to MK for a couple of hours, lines were decent but crowds weren't bad. At Epcot today, lines are all very long, lots of traffic and congestion, but the worst lines seem to be for the Fastpass kiosks. On the bright side, the 90 minute wait for Soarin turned into 60!!
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
I'm "Drinking Around The Universe" for my Birthday. This is what USF looks like.
MissM
Well-Known Member
So with Christmas not being as busy as previous years without any phased closing...any speculation on this weekend's NYE crowd levels? I've been sick with bronchitis for a month and have subsequently missed out on just about everything this holiday season - including our traditional Christmas In the Parks day. So we're thinking of heading over on Friday evening. (We have plans on NYE itself.) Wondering what we're in for. We've been on New Year's Eve in the past but never on the 30th and never in a year without phased closings.
Hasn't this really been the story of 2016, low attendance? This has nothing to do with congestion pricing, it has everything to do with the parks either being half closed, people getting Disney fatigue, too expensive, or people just don't want to be bothered with the hassle of paying top rates to be herded together in the parks. I would tend to discount the latter, because most people know Disney is still busy during the holidays.
Don't think for a second that execs are not concerned about this. The holiday season is an important barometer for how things are going, the fact that there has not been a single phase closing yet, (even during Thanksgiving) should be VERY concerning short term. I think the closest that we got to a capacity closing was the parking lot at EPCOT closed during one of the last days of F+W.
So I guess until SWL and TSL open in a couple of years, which will probably bring more attendance in, expect to see more up-charge events, more parties, more gimmicks and trials to try to appeal to high margin guests. But if you're in the upper income category, are you really going to be a Disney World customer?
Don't think for a second that execs are not concerned about this. The holiday season is an important barometer for how things are going, the fact that there has not been a single phase closing yet, (even during Thanksgiving) should be VERY concerning short term. I think the closest that we got to a capacity closing was the parking lot at EPCOT closed during one of the last days of F+W.
So I guess until SWL and TSL open in a couple of years, which will probably bring more attendance in, expect to see more up-charge events, more parties, more gimmicks and trials to try to appeal to high margin guests. But if you're in the upper income category, are you really going to be a Disney World customer?
MotherOfBirds
Well-Known Member
To what extent do any of you think that Star Wars factors into this? I realize a lot of tourists don't even know SWL is being built, but perhaps it's motivating people to push back their next visit
Luxe
Well-Known Member
Looks like the gauntlet between IASW and Peter Pan...I'm "Drinking Around The Universe" for my Birthday. This is what USF looks like.
Happy Birthday though!
HauntedMansionFLA
Well-Known Member
We were there December 3 - 9 and the place was packed. We had a good time since it was just the two of us. But the looks on all of the families trying to juggle the parks looked miserable. I heard people say " they said this was the best time to come" a lot during the week. Another thing I noticed was people used up their MagicBand for everything. That's one wasps of busting a budget. It will be interesting to see if they even out revenue spent throughout the year. No slow or busy time.