TikiTorch
Active Member
Well maybe as July goes on crowds will grow thinner. I don't know. I wouldn't say crowds were high, but I'd say they were normal/as anticipated based on prior years.
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Crowds are down? Curious about the claims . . .
- Thread starter KeithVH
- Start date
glvsav37
Well-Known Member
That was July 4th week. I would expected it esp being that the 4th was on a Monday meaning those closer could make it a long weekend trip
I watched a live stream of WDW radio from the MK yesterday afternoon and I was shocked how un-busy it seemed. I could actually see pavement in tomorrow land...on a Friday...in July....mid day.
Granted it was only one side of the park, but I was still surprised. I usually visit in july, so I have a handle on the normal volume.
https://postimg.org/image/haijzuktd/
Quoting from http://www.fampeople.com/cat-bob-iger:
Iger was born to a Jewish [...] family in Long Island, New York. His mother Mimi worked at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside, New York and his father Arthur was executive vice president and general manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and a professor of advertising and public relations.
Really, his father was an "executive vice president and general manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and a professor of advertising and public relations" living on Long Island and Iger wants us to believe that his family couldn't afford Disneyland?
Recalling that Iger was born in 1951 and would have been of the appropriate age for Disneyland by about 1960, maybe Iger's parents, like many upper middle class families of that time, thought an amusement park was too "common" for them, so saying it was "too expensive" was just something they said to quiet their son.
Or maybe it's a just a story Iger tells to the public to justify price hikes.
As I've documented many times, until 1984 WDW and DLR were both eminently affordable for nearly all families.
Come on Iger, I was paying for my own WDW vacations when I was making $3.75/hour as a life guard!
My husband grew up in a family situation similar to Iger's.
I can believe that his family felt they couldn't afford a Disney vacation . The cost of airfare was much higher than it is now, compared to income. I took my first flight in 1970, and the same flight costs about the same now. But that was at a time when I was making less than $15,000 per year! An income of $150,000 made you part of the 1%. My husband's family (5 children) never flew anywhere - it was too expensive. and they were well off.
Driving would eat up a large portion of a limited vacation, so it was easier to spend time closer to home.
Also, vacations were not child-centric back then - they were primarily for the working adults, although destinations were usually chosen so the children would also have something to do. It would never have occurred to any of my sibs and I to decide where we would vacation - if we could have afforded to go anywhere. We didn't even have a say in day trips! My husband had the same experience - the children had no say in the destination.
I forgot to add -
The economy in the NE was not doing all that well - many factories, especially textiles, were closing. The economy in the SE was improving; many factories were opening - especially textiles. As I recall, the West Coast was also having a housing boom.
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The original point of this was that people are being priced out of Disney or at least priced out of going as often as they used to be able to REGARDLESS what your travel preferences are. I was not looking back on the past either. I was making a point to provide EVIDENCE (you know, the thing you call Salmon) to show how rapidly their prices are increasing.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
This is what I'm most curious about- HS crowds.
Does it seem like people are staying away because of the closures?
Or are more people going because of the new Star Wars additions?
Kylo Ken
Local Idiot
Quite frankly I'm not sure what's keeping them away. The park just has an emptiness to it today. I went on the stand by line for TGMR and waited 10 mins. To me that's not normal for a Saturday in July.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
Yes, which is why I posted actual, factual, data of other Florida area hotels and their, just as dramatic as Disney, price increases over the past few years. Not comparing my family to another, comparing relevant industry pricing.
Unfortunately everything has become more expensive. That point has been discussed though.
I think, as other have said, that the reason is not only the price increase- because there are a lot of new families who didn't take their children 5 years ago. So they don't have that comparison. Will be interesting to see the percentage of how up or most likely down Florida tourism was in 2016 as a whole.
Please give a report on your next visit as well..and enjoy the low crowds!!
Does anyone including @wdwmagic have an idea about Hollywood Studios attendance this year?
TikiTorch
Active Member
I saw many more Star Wars T-shirts on guests at HS than at any of the other parks. That may not mean anything... But to me it may mean that the Star Wars offerings are drawing people to HS that would otherwise skip it. Overall attendance may be down, but it would probably be much worse if they weren't offering so many Star Wars things. The Galactic Spectacular really is spectacular. That alone is a good reason to at least spend the last half of a day at HS.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I still don't fully understand the logistics of attending Fantasmic and Star Wars fireworks. The park closes at 7 during my week.
I currently have a F! Dinner reservation (was kiddo's fave show), but would love to add a Star Wars desert party when they get released. Doesn't seem like both are possible time wise, and I'm not looking forward to deciding between the two.
Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
My husband grew up in a family situation similar to Iger's.
I can believe that his family felt they couldn't afford a Disney vacation . The cost of airfare was much higher than it is now, compared to income. I took my first flight in 1970, and the same flight costs about the same now. But that was at a time when I was making less than $15,000 per year! An income of $150,000 made you part of the 1%. My husband's family (5 children) never flew anywhere - it was too expensive. and they were well off.
Driving would eat up a large portion of a limited vacation, so it was easier to spend time closer to home.
Also, vacations were not child-centric back then - they were primarily for the working adults, although destinations were usually chosen so the children would also have something to do. It would never have occurred to any of my sibs and I to decide where we would vacation - if we could have afforded to go anywhere. We didn't even have a say in day trips! My husband had the same experience - the children had no say in the destination.
I forgot to add -
Yes, our family was like that too, but not well off. I used to watch "The Wonderful World of Disney" and dream of being there. We could not afford it at all though. I did get Mickey ears one Christmas with my name on themWhat a great gift!
We also had zero imput into our family vacations. We went fishing to a local lake for a week. Dad and Mom decided where we went, and we entertained ourselves running around the lake front, hide and seek, just general out door playing
So, it sounds like our childhood's were similar!
The economy in the NE was not doing all that well - many factories, especially textiles, were closing. The economy in the SE was improving; many factories were opening - especially textiles. As I recall, the West Coast was also having a housing boom.
kbmum
Well-Known Member
My family was there June 29-July 8. Like you, we experienced large crowds just about everywhere we went. We definitely didn't see short wait times for rides and the only restaurant we ate at that seemed to have tables available was The Wave at the Contemporary. Disney Springs was very crowded on the 4th.
raven
Well-Known Member
Perhaps it could be fear of traveling due to current events. Istanbul, Pulse, Dallas, gator attack... Those types of things are fresh in people's minds and they might just be afraid to go anywhere.
gmajew
Premium Member
Quoting from http://www.fampeople.com/cat-bob-iger:
Iger was born to a Jewish [...] family in Long Island, New York. His mother Mimi worked at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside, New York and his father Arthur was executive vice president and general manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and a professor of advertising and public relations.
Really, his father was an "executive vice president and general manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and a professor of advertising and public relations" living on Long Island and Iger wants us to believe that his family couldn't afford Disneyland?
Recalling that Iger was born in 1951 and would have been of the appropriate age for Disneyland by about 1960, maybe Iger's parents, like many upper middle class families of that time, thought an amusement park was too "common" for them, so saying it was "too expensive" was just something they said to quiet their son.
Or maybe it's just a story Iger tells to the public to justify price hikes.
As I've documented many times, until 1984 WDW and DLR were both eminently affordable for nearly all families.
Come on Iger, I was paying for my own WDW vacations when I was making $3.75/hour as a life guard!
Cost of airfare?
21stamps
Well-Known Member
Super jealous!
SorcererMC
Well-Known Member
In June, VisitOrlando was saying that they had not seen any indication of changes to visitors' plans. [pre-existing]. Tourism industry experts, on the other hand, were expecting an impact of 5-15%, citing future bookings, b/c tourists 'moods' and perception of safety have an impact on choosing the destination. WDW is unique due to the emotional and financial investment that most visitors make while planning their vacation, and they are unlikely to change those plans. It's murky.
Tourism has traditionally been FL#1 industry, accounting for 23% state GDP. It's not realistic to expect no impact whatsoever, and it's even more difficult to point to the exact culprit (combined with price increases, gator attack, intl econ issues) - depends on what WDW data is showing, and if it has the capability of parsing it out.
I'm somewhat repeating myself so more on intl terrorism econ impact in
To find recent comparable cases of terrorist incidents economic impact on tourism, look to: Istanbul 06-30-16, Belgium (Brussels) 03-22-16, France (Paris) 11-13-15, Tunisia 03-19-15, Egypt 2005, London subway bombing 07-07-05, Madrid train 2004, Bali nightclub bombing Oct 2002, and NYC/DC 9-11. Almost all of these are cases in Europe or affect European (especially UK) travelers, and the number of recent attacks is indicative of the emerging trend of decentralized terrorist orgs. Airline industry is a traditional soft target (going back to 1970s-80s-90s).
After 9/11, it took NYC hotels 34 months to return to prior occupancy levels (already 2001 econ recession). Bali hotels offered discounts of 30%, but rebounded the following year (another popular destination for UK and EU travelers). Some hotels in Greece are seeing 50+% drops in occupancy (despite increasing volume of tourists) due to the migrant crisis (ie not terrorism but impact on tourism). Tourism is also an important econ sector for Europe (obviously).
After 9/11, it took NYC hotels 34 months to return to prior occupancy levels (already 2001 econ recession). Bali hotels offered discounts of 30%, but rebounded the following year (another popular destination for UK and EU travelers). Some hotels in Greece are seeing 50+% drops in occupancy (despite increasing volume of tourists) due to the migrant crisis (ie not terrorism but impact on tourism). Tourism is also an important econ sector for Europe (obviously).
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Hasn't it been like 114 degrees?
SorcererMC
Well-Known Member
I thought July-August was always unbearable, but that is unusual and would definitely keep families with small children away.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
It hasn't been 114, but it's been like 98. Average for July is 92. So it's been HOT.