Current Crowd Levels & Visitor Origins

[Raineman]

I want to preface this by saying that I am not coming as this from a political angle, and if this thread gets political, mods, please lock it, but, for anyone who has visited WDW recently: have you seen a decrease in crowd levels and/or have you seen/heard a change in the amount of non-American guests? Given the, um, "events" that have been happening in the US the last few months, and the growing trend of people from foreign countries abstaining from visiting the US, at some point there will have to be a fairly significant drop in crowd levels/resort bookings. Has that already started to hit? I am from Canada (Ontario) and I have always seen a good number of Ontario license plates in parking lots at WDW-has this changed? I'm very curious about all of this, and I would imagine that Disney management is anticipating that possible decrease in visitors and strategizing how to compensate for that loss of revenue. **Again, please try to keep comments non-political. I don't want this to turn into a political mudslinging echo-chamber.

 

[danlb_2000]

US faces $6 Billion loss as Canadian tourism nosedives

Some Canadians are boycotting the US as a trade war between the countries continues.

www.newsweek.com

According to data from Statistics Canada, there was a 32 percent drop in the number of Canadians who took road trips into the U.S in March 2025 compared to March 2024.

The data said there was also a 13.5 percent decline in air travelers from Canada in a year.

 

[danlb_2000]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/international-tourists-domestic-american-travel-abroad.html#:~:text=Foreign%20visitors%20to%20the%20United,part%20of%20the%20Commerce%20Department.

Foreign visitors to the United States by air fell nearly 10% in March from the same month a year earlier and nearly 13% from before the pandemic to 4.54 million people, according to data from the International Trade Administration, part of the Commerce Department.

 

[Raineman]

So, it would probably be safe to assume that a portion of the decreases you mentioned were visitors who might have had WDW as their destination previously.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

IMO, all these "trends" always end up being relatively temporary. The resolve goes away after a short bit. So sure, it may impact for brief period, then it will come back. Probably stronger than before.

 

[Jrb1979]

IMO, all these "trends" always end up being relatively temporary. The resolve goes away after a short bit. So sure, it may impact for brief period, then it will come back. Probably stronger than before.

Cause that's why they are offering a free dining plans for kids for all of 2026.

 

[Lilofan]

I want to preface this by saying that I am not coming as this from a political angle, and if this thread gets political, mods, please lock it, but, for anyone who has visited WDW recently: have you seen a decrease in crowd levels and/or have you seen/heard a change in the amount of non-American guests? Given the, um, "events" that have been happening in the US the last few months, and the growing trend of people from foreign countries abstaining from visiting the US, at some point there will have to be a fairly significant drop in crowd levels/resort bookings. Has that already started to hit? I am from Canada (Ontario) and I have always seen a good number of Ontario license plates in parking lots at WDW-has this changed? I'm very curious about all of this, and I would imagine that Disney management is anticipating that possible decrease in visitors and strategizing how to compensate for that loss of revenue. **Again, please try to keep comments non-political. I don't want this to turn into a political mudslinging echo-chamber.

Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando already expressed concern on less guests from Canada visiting Central Florida.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Cause that's why they are offering a free dining plans for kids for all of 2026.

Nothing is ever “Free”. How much you think a 7 year old is gonna put away on a daily basis while they are capped by the child’s menu?

And to qualify for that you need to stay on property and purchase a certain type of package and the entire party also needs to purchase a dining plan at whatever rate/promotion qualifies.

Hard pass for me. But to the uninitiated - might seem like a good deal.

 

[Jrb1979]

Nothing is ever “Free”. How much you think a 7 year old is gonna put away on a daily basis while they are capped by the child’s menu?

And to qualify for that you need to stay on property and purchase a certain type of package and the entire party also needs to purchase a dining plan at whatever rate/promotion qualifies.

Hard pass for me. But to the uninitiated - might seem like a good deal.

You're right it's not free. My point was in regards to your post about it coming back stronger than ever. Attendance is down due to more than the political climate.