Attendance drop in the parks... I wonder why

[King Panda 77]

I'm with @Goofyernmost and would like to see a return to no FP .

 

[LAKid53]

Not that I don't see the validity in the misery of standing in the August sun, but Space Mountain is a poor example as the queue is indoors aside from the tail end during an abysmally long wait.

A better example would have been the original Dumbo with an uncovered queue in a sea of concrete and a pathetically slow moving line. I'm starting to sweat just from the memories.

This was before the do over......

 

[LAKid53]

Not that I don't see the validity in the misery of standing in the August sun, but Space Mountain is a poor example as the queue is indoors aside from the tail end during an abysmally long wait.

A better example would have been the original Dumbo with an uncovered queue in a sea of concrete and a pathetically slow moving line. I'm starting to sweat just from the memories.

Funny you mention Dumbo....we rode it after Space Mountain...and yes, no covered queue. Most of my memories from that trip are standing in the unbearable heat, with little shade, waiting for rides. And then getting soaked in the typical afternoon thunderstorms because we didn't bring any raincoats or ponchos.

 

[RobidaFlats]

This was before the do over......

I'm confused, what do over? Space mountain has always had an indoor queue because you have to go under the berm to access the show building. There was never a time when the queue was outdoors, let alone uncovered and exposed to the sun.

 

[drizgirl]

I'm confused, what do over? Space mountain has always had an indoor queue because you have to go under the berm to access the show building. There was never a time when the queue was outdoors, let alone uncovered and exposed to the sun.

I think they meant before Dumbo was redone.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm confused, what do over? Space mountain has always had an indoor queue because you have to go under the berm to access the show building. There was never a time when the queue was outdoors, let alone uncovered and exposed to the sun.

If I remember, the queue wasn't as long as it is now. But that trip was back in the 90s, so my memory may be off. I just remember this very long line out in the sun and a rather short line inside....and freezing because I was drenched in sweat and the a/c was so cold.

 

[RobidaFlats]

I think they meant before Dumbo was redone.

That was my initial thought, but the very next post goes into detail about Dumbo, so I assumed the first was a reference to Space Mountain.

 

[LAKid53]

That was my initial thought, but the very next post goes into detail about Dumbo, so I assumed the first was a reference to Space Mountain.

Ask me, I'm here. No, I was talking about Space Mountain....like I said, it was over 20 years ago....so my memory may be faulty.

 

[RobidaFlats]

If I remember, the queue wasn't as long as it is now. But that trip was back in the 90s, so my memory may be off. I just remember this very long line out in the sun and a rather short line inside....and freezing because I was drenched in sweat and the a/c was so cold.

I think it might be a mixed-up memory (which happens to the best of us). The Space Mountain queue has been functionally the same since its opening in 1975.

 

[21stamps]

Ask me, I'm here. No, I was talking about Space Mountain....like I said, it was over 20 years ago....so my memory may be faulty.

The line was, at least when I visited, always extended to the outside. I have those same memories too. I also remember moving slowly through the inside, which is one thing that I don't like about FP, I wish we could enjoy the queue a little more.

I'm with @Goofyernmost and would like to see a return to no FP .

I would agree with you guys- if the yearly visitor count was the same now as it was in the 80s and 90s. I can't imagine what the lines would be like now with so many more people.

 

[LAKid53]

I think it might be a mixed-up memory (which happens to the best of us). The Space Mountain queue has been functionally the same since its opening in 1975.
View attachment 186702

That's what I vaguely remember it looked like. The queue inside, though, seemed shorter. I was expecting the ride to be like DLR, so I was surprised at the rocket cars.

That entire trip was not the best intro to WDW, I must say. But we got over it (only took 14 years ) and now visit regularly. In spite of the crowds.

 

[thomas998]

Did you not enjoy Universal 10 years or ago? Or just no interest in going there at that time?


No. I can't imagine. It would be insane!!!

Until Potter land we just saw no point, Universal was more like six flags that we have near home so it wasn't a draw to us back then.

 

[L.C. Clench]

Gee I remember those days when the lines actually moved. You didn't need interactive queues because you weren't just standing in the same place for 20 minutes at a time.

 

[thomas998]

Getting back to WDW attendance (and not wdwmagic attendance)....



I think that once Diagon Alley opened in 2014, split stays became the trend and by now, it could be the norm. 2015 TEA/AECOM report for 2014-15 says that MK attendance growth was 6% vs. UO Studios at 16%. I'm curious what the next report will show (given the challenges of the past year, too).

That was what got us to try Universal... Now though even when we do a split trip we stay exclusively at Universal's hotels. They are just better and cheaper than the Disney hotel's that in past stay were getting a bit run down... I think the last time we did a Disney hotel the pool nearest our room was out of order so we had to trek halfway across the resort to get a pool... things like that are a real pain in the backside given the prices Disney charges.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Until Potter land we just saw no point, Universal was more like six flags that we have near home so it wasn't a draw to us back then.

Just as a minor correction, Uni was nothing like six flags. Yes, there most publicized attractions were things like the big coasters after IoA was built, but, previous to that it was a mini-WDW. It had animatronics and interesting shows, no thrill rides to speak of unless you counted Back to the Future and Jaws as a thrill ride, I didn't. Even back then Uni had exceeded Disney in detail and immersion, it's just that Disney Fans (other then myself) couldn't bring themselves to either go see it for themselves or to admit that it was true.

One of the major downsides that the early Uni had was that it was to small for the numbers of people that were attending. The lines made Disney's look like walk on's. They hid their lines. It was set up so from the start of the line it all looked like it wouldn't take to long, then all of a sudden, after you had already invest a half hour in the always moving line, the queue took a previously unseen turn and you were in a gigantic, not air conditioned, tent with three times the number of people hidden then what was visible from the start of the line. It was awful. Back to the Future weaved back and forth in so many directions that if you didn't go to the bathroom before you entered it you were praying for an end before you got to the ride. I loved King Kong, but, the queue was pure torture. The queue was about 12 foot wide. If you have seen the clip lately of the last Mary Tyler Moore show where the group shuffles over to the tissues, that is how the line moved in that queue. They had themed screens that were made to be news broadcasts of the terror that KK was wreaking on the city and you saw the same loop about 7000 times before you actually got to the ride. Still went on it every time I visited the park.

However, when you went to the attractions you were almost never disappointed. Once they added IoA the big, out in the open, coasters and other thrill adventures showed up, but, it was a while before that happened and even then, it was that half that had the six flags feel.

 

[thomas998]

Just as a minor correction, Uni was nothing like six flags. Yes, there most publicized attractions were things like the big coasters after IoA was built, but, previous to that it was a mini-WDW. It had animatronics and interesting shows, no thrill rides to speak of unless you counted Back to the Future and Jaws as a thrill ride, I didn't. Even back then Uni had exceeded Disney in detail and immersion, it's just that Disney Fans (other then myself) couldn't bring themselves to either go see it for themselves or to admit that it was true.

One of the major downsides that the early Uni had was that it was to small for the numbers of people that were attending. The lines made Disney's look like walk on's. They hid their lines. It was set up so from the start of the line it all looked like it wouldn't take to long, then all of a sudden, after you had already invest a half hour in the always moving line, the queue took a previously unseen turn and you were in a gigantic, not air conditioned, tent with three times the number of people hidden then what was visible from the start of the line. It was awful. Back to the Future weaved back and forth in so many directions that if you didn't go to the bathroom before you entered it you were praying for an end before you got to the ride. I loved King Kong, but, the queue was pure torture. The queue was about 12 foot wide. If you have seen the clip lately of the last Mary Tyler Moore show where the group shuffles over to the tissues, that is how the line moved in that queue. They had themed screens that were made to be news broadcasts of the terror that KK was wreaking on the city and you saw the same loop about 7000 times before you actually got to the ride. Still went on it every time I visited the park.

However, when you went to the attractions you were almost never disappointed. Once they added IoA the big, out in the open, coasters and other thrill adventures showed up, but, it was a while before that happened and even then, it was that half that was had the six flags feel.

Unless I'm missing something in the areas that made up the original Universal, I don't see them as being anything close to Disney like back then. The only area that has Disney like consistency in its immersive continuity is Potter world. Outside of that you could maybe say it all looked like a movie lot or fake city but neither of those things are what I would call immersive since you could get the same feel walking down the sidewalk of any number of cities in the US.

I suspect you may be comparing early Universal to a six flags that you are familiar with. I'm comparing it to the Six Flags over Texas which until its recent decline from lack of funding was probably the most immersive of all the Six Flag parks. I know some of the other Six Flags parks have pretty much zero immersion and are just parks with rides and no theme... The one in Texas had themes and held them together fairly well from one area to the next... though today a lot of that has been pushed aside for the sake of cutting costs.

 

[larryz]

I'm confused, what do over? Space mountain has always had an indoor queue because you have to go under the berm to access the show building. There was never a time when the queue was outdoors, let alone uncovered and exposed to the sun.

You must be too young to remember the days when the SM queue ran the whole length of the indoor line, PLUS snaked back and forth outside as well...

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Unless I'm missing something in the areas that made up the original Universal, I don't see them as being anything close to Disney like back then. The only area that has Disney like consistency in its immersive continuity is Potter world. Outside of that you could maybe say it all looked like a movie lot or fake city but neither of those things are what I would call immersive since you could get the same feel walking down the sidewalk of any number of cities in the US.

I suspect you may be comparing early Universal to a six flags that you are familiar with. I'm comparing it to the Six Flags over Texas which until its recent decline from lack of funding was probably the most immersive of all the Six Flag parks. I know some of the other Six Flags parks have pretty much zero immersion and are just parks with rides and no theme... The one in Texas had themes and held them together fairly well from one area to the next... though today a lot of that has been pushed aside for the sake of cutting costs.

Universal has never been like any Six Flags. Particularly in the early days. Six Flags, even Texas, are all about off the shelf flats and coasters. Universal never had anything like

And I'm pretty sure that Six Flags didn't have anything like

 

[21stamps]

Unless I'm missing something in the areas that made up the original Universal, I don't see them as being anything close to Disney like back then. The only area that has Disney like consistency in its immersive continuity is Potter world. Outside of that you could maybe say it all looked like a movie lot or fake city but neither of those things are what I would call immersive since you could get the same feel walking down the sidewalk of any number of cities in the US.

I suspect you may be comparing early Universal to a six flags that you are familiar with. I'm comparing it to the Six Flags over Texas which until its recent decline from lack of funding was probably the most immersive of all the Six Flag parks. I know some of the other Six Flags parks have pretty much zero immersion and are just parks with rides and no theme... The one in Texas had themes and held them together fairly well from one area to the next... though today a lot of that has been pushed aside for the sake of cutting costs.

Universal back then didn't have anything like HP, but it had great attractions and shows. My family always spent a day there. Jaws was awesome. I don't know much about Six Flags, I've been to several other amusement parks though, and would never compare them to Universal then or now. IoA is more similar, but Uni has had a movie focus since it's inception, it didn't always have big roller coasters.

 

[21stamps]

Universal has never been like any Six Flags. Particularly in the early days. Six Flags, even Texas, are all about off the shelf flats and coasters. Universal never had anything like

And I'm pretty sure that Six Flags didn't have anything like

Lol. Jinx.

I agree 100%