Attendance sinking on the West Coast too?

[denyuntilcaught]

Good.

 

[TP2000]

View attachment 795748
A year old E ticket attraction currently a 10 min wait a few days before July 4th. Wow!

Remember for the first year of this ride, this was a paid lighting lane attraction that could go for over an extra $20 a person?

That's shocking, and yet...

I continue to maintain that they did an AWFUL job promoting and marketing this expensive new ride.

Last summer, my family of Disneyland admirers who live in major markets west of the Rockies had no idea it existed. During summer planning discussion on if/when we might go to Disneyland, I had to tell them about it, and explain it. They had no idea. They hadn't seen a commercial for it, hadn't seen a segment on the local news about, etc. It was unknown.

I think back to the lead up to that ride's opening, and even Disney itself seemed to be talking more about that hilariously awful "Walt's Dreaming Tree" than the mega-bucks big new ride they were opening 30 yards north of this...

 

[el_super]

It has also been true over the last several years that weekends in the summer were typically less crowded than weekdays because of higher individual ticket pricing over the last several years AND more pronounced AP blockouts, even if we have not yet reached the point that all are simply blocked out for summer. .

I regularly visit in the summer, and there was a pronounced difference in crowds Fri-Sun vs. the rest of the week over the last few years (considerably busier Mon-Thurs).

Yes. And this was all by design.

 

[TP2000]

I'm sure our family isn't alone in deciding to skip DL this year, because too many things are closed for refurbishment.

Nothing is official yet, but when I last talked to my sister about summer plans, the idea of us all going up to Disneyland for a day or two was not at the top of the list.

Her boys and their wives have no interest or desire to go any more. And without that component it's harder to get the three of us old duffers, especially her husband who is always a good sport but not exactly a Disneyland fanatic, motivated to deal with all the hassle and headache that a Disneyland visit requires now; reservations, planning, mandatory App downloads and updates, Lightning Lane upcharges and rules and regulations, Mobile Order requirements if you dare to want so much as a corndog or a Coke, Check The App! You're Not Looking At The App Enough! You Don't Seem Like You Want This Enough! etc., etc.

Without some big new ride or "thing", the thrill seems to be draining away for my family.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Summer has been the new "off season" for Disneyland for a while now since most annual passes are blocked out.

I guess the Disney accountants still think letting APs in the park is bad for business?

I mean, the park is open and staffed anyway, but I guess the accountants still think the money spent by APs does not justify letting them in?

The idea that APs going to DL and bringing PB&Js to the park is false propaganda….

 

[Parteecia]

Last week I checked the inspire calendar and Wed-Fri were unavailable so I chose another day. Today only the 4th is still fully booked. I'm hoping you all are correct about lighter crowds.

 

[davis_unoxx]

That's shocking, and yet...

I continue to maintain that they did an AWFUL job promoting and marketing this expensive new ride.

Last summer, my family of Disneyland admirers who live in major markets west of the Rockies had no idea it existed. During summer planning discussion on if/when we might go to Disneyland, I had to tell them about it, and explain it. They had no idea. They hadn't seen a commercial for it, hadn't seen a segment on the local news about, etc. It was unknown.

I think back to the lead up to that ride's opening, and even Disney itself seemed to be talking more about that hilariously awful "Walt's Dreaming Tree" than the mega-bucks big new ride they were opening 30 yards north of this...

I agree!

They built this ride same time as Paid lightning lane was becoming a thing. I wonder if they expected the paid lightning lane to last permanently, or at least a longer than it did... I'm wondering if they expected it to help pay off a good chunk of the attraction's cost...


Just seems like the newer attractions aren't drawing in the crowds like the rides from the 80's and 90's. Splash and Indy!

 

[Professortango1]

Disney doesn’t like APs but the parks would be empty without them. The parks don’t make financial sense if you aren’t getting some type of a multi day discount.

I only buy single day tickets. If they took away the payment plan nonsense, they would be making more money with folks buying day tickets and crowds would likely level our nicely, meaning less strain on their CM teams and less turnover. But no, let's just keep doing the same thing.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I'm sure our family isn't alone in deciding to skip DL this year, because too many things are closed for refurbishment.

I skipped because I hate Pixar Fest that much.

 

[Phroobar]

I only buy single day tickets. If they took away the payment plan nonsense, they would be making more money with folks buying day tickets and crowds would likely level our nicely, meaning less strain on their CM teams and less turnover. But no, let's just keep doing the same thing.

Amen! There should be no payment plan. If you can't afford the entire thing, you shouldn't go or just buy a single day ticket. If there really needs to be one, add interest of 30%.

 

[Andrew25]

I only buy single day tickets. If they took away the payment plan nonsense, they would be making more money with folks buying day tickets and crowds would likely level our nicely, meaning less strain on their CM teams and less turnover. But no, let's just keep doing the same thing.

Disney had that same logic back when SWGE opened, believing APs will sucker up and buy 1-day tickets, and ended up resulting in a quiet summer .

 

[Professortango1]

Disney had that same logic back when SWGE opened, believing APs will sucker up and buy 1-day tickets, and ended up resulting in a quiet summer .

I don't recall them offering AP's without any Payment Plan options.

 

[Disney Irish]

I only buy single day tickets. If they took away the payment plan nonsense, they would be making more money with folks buying day tickets and crowds would likely level our nicely, meaning less strain on their CM teams and less turnover. But no, let's just keep doing the same thing.

That's an assumption that they would make more money with no payment plan for the Keys.

If nothing else Disney knows how to squeeze money out of a situation. If they felt they would get more money by having Keys that had no payment plan they would do that.

The reason for having the payment plan is its like a gym membership. They hope that most won't use it on a regular enough basis that it will have an impact, ie free money for those that don't use the Key to their full potential.

 

[el_super]

Disney had that same logic back when SWGE opened, believing APs will sucker up and buy 1-day tickets, and ended up resulting in a quiet summer .

I think they've made some progress converting the APs over to the three-day So Cal ticket option they've been running the last few years. Still a good discount, but a higher cost of entry than an average AP.

 

[Professortango1]

That's an assumption that they would make more money with no payment plan for the Keys.

If nothing else Disney knows how to squeeze money out of a situation. If they felt they would get more money by having Keys that had no payment plan they would do that.

The reason for having the payment plan is its like a gym membership. They hope that most won't use it on a regular enough basis that it will have an impact, ie free money for those that don't use the Key to their full potential.

It's generally the opposite I find. When you are paying monthly, you see that deduction every 30 days reminding you that you get into the parks for free. People try and make sure they go at least a few times to "make money" on the pass. When you pay in one giant sum, you are more likely to go hard for a few months and then forget when life gets hectic. Then renewal spurs the need again.

Plus, many refuse to budget or deal with delayed gratification and so rather than putting aside money each month on their own to save up and buy a MK in a year, they will likely buy day tickets a few times a year, paying the true value to visit the park.

 

[PiratesMansion]

It's generally the opposite I find. When you are paying monthly, you see that deduction every 30 days reminding you that you get into the parks for free. People try and make sure they go at least a few times to "make money" on the pass. When you pay in one giant sum, you are more likely to go hard for a few months and then forget when life gets hectic. Then renewal spurs the need again.

Plus, many refuse to budget or deal with delayed gratification and so rather than putting aside money each month on their own to save up and buy a MK in a year, they will likely buy day tickets a few times a year, paying the true value to visit the park.

People tune out monthly payment plans in a way they don't tune out one big bill. And while it should be the opposite, there are an awful lot of people that are irrational and/or don't pay as much attention to their finances as they should.

It's psychological. $20 a month for Netflix doesn't sound nearly as bad to most people as $240 in one fell swoop, and many people will never do the math. There's a reason a lot of places, streamers, etc don't offer or heavily discourage all-in-one payment plans now: less people think about the financial implications and are less likely to cancel.

 

[Disney Irish]

It's generally the opposite I find. When you are paying monthly, you see that deduction every 30 days reminding you that you get into the parks for free. People try and make sure they go at least a few times to "make money" on the pass. When you pay in one giant sum, you are more likely to go hard for a few months and then forget when life gets hectic. Then renewal spurs the need again.

Plus, many refuse to budget or deal with delayed gratification and so rather than putting aside money each month on their own to save up and buy a MK in a year, they will likely buy day tickets a few times a year, paying the true value to visit the park.

That may work for you, but there is a reason why the "gym membership" analogy is used often for these type of monthly payments. People don't look that closely at recurring payments and tend to forget about them.

 

[Professortango1]

That may work for you, but there is a reason why the "gym membership" analogy is used often for these type of monthly payments. People don't look that closely at recurring payments and tend to forget about them.

Gym memberships used to try and get people to do annual fees, but the market succumbed to monthly payments to reduce sticker shock. Also, Disneyland and the gym are very different places. Most people want to go to Disneyland while they create excuses why they can't make the gun this week.

 

[Disney Irish]

Gym memberships used to try and get people to do annual fees, but the market succumbed to monthly payments to reduce sticker shock. Also, Disneyland and the gym are very different places. Most people want to go to Disneyland while they create excuses why they can't make the gun this week.

You're missing the point of the analogy, so forget about it.

The point is the average person isn't looking closely at their monthly reoccurring subscription payments, they are often forgot about. There is a reason why there are now services that help people cancel such forgotten about subscriptions. I would also imagine the same person on average isn't going more than 5-6x a year, if that.

Again if Disney felt they could get more money by removing the monthly payment option they would have a long time ago.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I only buy single day tickets. If they took away the payment plan nonsense, they would be making more money with folks buying day tickets and crowds would likely level our nicely, meaning less strain on their CM teams and less turnover. But no, let's just keep doing the same thing.

I can’t even imagine how devastating that would be to the parks attendance. Probably a 25% attendance drop overnight if they eliminated all the locals who can only afford it due to payment plans, the area around DL is not an affluent area, the payment plan is probably the only option for the vast majority who live within 10 miles of the parks to ever come.

I’d love to see Disney eliminate the Keys program simply to laugh at their arrogance, my guess is they’d suffer a 50%+ attendance drop overnight and they’d have to bring their $160 inflated price tag down to $100 within days just to survive.

Disney will never eliminate the pass program because they can’t survive without it.