Crowds are down? Curious about the claims . . .

[71jason]

Anecdotally, living in the heart of Mouse Town, it has felt like a slow Summer so far. And most of the tourists I've seen have been from northern Florida or Georgia (can tell by the Gator and Bulldog clothing). As has been mentioned, Brazilians are missing, but haven't seen the typical influx of northeasterners, either.

I think it is the perfect storm of factors. Economic collapse in South America--biggest market outside of Florida, uncertainty in UK, kind of a soft economy in the US, out-of-control rising prices, bad PR from gator attack and Pulse shooting. Throw in my point above about the seeming trend away from Summer vacation, it's not that busy.

 

[Polydweller]

Anecdotally, living in the heart of Mouse Town, it has felt like a slow Summer so far. And most of the tourists I've seen have been from northern Florida or Georgia (can tell by the Gator and Bulldog clothing). As has been mentioned, Brazilians are missing, but haven't seen the typical influx of northeasterners, either.

I think it is the perfect storm of factors. Economic collapse in South America--biggest market outside of Florida, uncertainty in UK, kind of a soft economy in the US, out-of-control rising prices, bad PR from gator attack and Pulse shooting. Throw in my point above about the seeming trend away from Summer vacation, it's not that busy.

Economic factors are the essential factors. Six to eight months ago the Canadian dollar was very low requiring about $1.38 to buy a US $. That time frame was about the time required to plan a Disney vacation. The strong US dollar impacted people in many countries reducing the value of their currency and reducing visitors for those countries. Then the general economic downturn and uncertainty affects people in the USA making them question a luxury vacation. Finally, the shooting in Orlando and the unfortunate alligator incident has impacted visitors as well.

Since all the issues the Disney haters pull out in virtually every thread (no new rides, no E ticket rides, poor maintenance, management not caring etc, etc) have been around for years according to them and were when the place was packed it's abundantly clear that one can dismiss their arguments. There just the same old same old bashing comments you see all over this board. To understand what's going on one has to look for what factors are different now and it is the economy, especially six months and more ago when people would an to come now.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

April 2, 2007 Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
February 22, 2012 Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
June 15, 2012 Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station
December 6, 2012 Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
December 6, 2012 Enchanted Tales with Belle
March 9, 2014 Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
May 28, 2014 Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

November 27, 2006 The Seas with Nemo & Friends
April 2, 2007 Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
October 14, 2009 Sum of All Thrills (in Innoventions East)
June 23, 2012 Agent P's World Showcase Adventure
December 6, 2012 New Test Track
June 17, 2016 New Soarin'
June 21, 2016 Frozen Ever After

October 9, 2007 Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple
May 31, 2008 Toy Story Midway Mania!
March 27, 2011 Disney Junior - Live on Stage!
July 4, 2014 Star Wars: Path of the Jedi
July 5, 2014 For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
December 1, 2015 Star Wars Launch Bay
June 17, 2016 Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular

April 7, 2006 Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
January 24, 2007 Finding Nemo - The Musical
May 27, 2016 Sunset Safari
May 27, 2016 Harambe Wildlife Parti
May 27, 2016 Discovery Island Carnivale
May 27, 2016 Harambe Village Acrobats
May 28, 2016 The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic


Not to mention all the millions of dollars being invested in new attractions currently under construction.

While most of these attractions aren't major E's, this isn't a bad line up at all. In fact, I feel they were generally enhancements of what was there before. Its actually the oncoming onslaught of poorly placed attractions that have me worried about the future of the parks. Also, you forgot to mention the new Star Tours in 2011. If you mentioned Test Track and Soarin', why not mention Star Tours?

 

[AEfx]

And here's my 2 cents on the matter - Disney & Universal have BOTH raised admission prices to unmanageable levels (ask someone who is unhappy with the matter on either end about it), and eventually it may get very well to the point where, if neither Disney and/or Universal takes no action other than to continue to jack up prices, they will go out of business or auction off the parks

What are you smokin'? Sure, if you are comparing one-day tickets I guess they are a lot closer, but Universal is much cheaper overall for multi-day tickets and especially Annual Pass options. A 4-Day Universal (1 park/day) ticket is under $200, the same ticket at Disney is well over $300. And those AP's are wayyyyy cheaper, have more options, and plus, anyone anywhere can use the payment plan.

Now, sure, someone will jump in and say "more parks at Disney" which is accurate, but that's beside the point I am replying to. Given how stagnant WDW's attraction line up is, and how much Universal keeps adding, it's amazing that Disney keeps being able to charge higher and higher prices for ever growing older and staler line-ups.

 

[AEfx]

People just need to understand that Disney IS investing in WDW, and they are trying as hard as they can. It's not about "can we make this go along any faster", it's more about "can we actually make this work". They are improving, its only taken baby steps so far.

Jeeze, will you be my boss? Got any openings? 'cause I'd love to have one that thinks that what is going on at WDW has been them "trying as hard as they can" - if that's your level of expectation, I could show up for work once a week hammered to click my time clock and collect my check and spend the rest of my time with my feet up watching my stories.

 

[AEfx]

While most of these attractions aren't major E's, this isn't a bad line up at all.

Most aren't? I see exactly one on that list that anyone could dare call an "E" - and that's the laughed-at slow-kid of the E-ticket mountains since it's centerpiece has been broken (Everest) from what at this point is practically day one.

If someone looks at that list and doesn't see it as mostly gobs of thrown-together junk (I wonder how long it took someone to develop the Star Wars Fashion prancing show or the "let's hold stick masks up" Frozen sing-a-long - hint - an intern with three days could put that filler together) then I feel sorry for you, because you have no idea what Disney quality can truly be like. Especially that AK list - what. a. joke.

 

[hopemax]

We are also approaching the point where we are 2.5 years after the rollout of Fastpass+ for all guests. I'm going to be curious to know, as we enter the 3-5 year period (which is the point where I think people who are going to make a 2nd WDW visit will be planning and booking. Some do it faster, but the majority need some time to save back up) were people "more satisfied" with their Fastpass+ vacation than people in the past, or "less satisfied." (increased vs decreased bookings).

 

[glvsav37]

maybe it seems quite everywhere because everyone is here ...
View attachment 149185

I just want to point out, that sadly lost in all this serious discussion and debate, that this kid in the lower left corner is picking his nose.

carry on.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

Most aren't? I see exactly one on that list that anyone could dare call an "E" - and that's the laughed-at slow-kid of the E-ticket mountains since it's centerpiece has been broken (Everest) from what at this point is practically day one.

If someone looks at that list and doesn't see it as mostly gobs of thrown-together junk (I wonder how long it took someone to develop the Star Wars Fashion prancing show or the "let's hold stick masks up" Frozen sing-a-long - hint - an intern with three days could put that filler together) then I feel sorry for you, because you have no idea what Disney quality can truly be like. Especially that AK list - what. a. joke.

Believe me, I don't like the sing-a-long and fashion show crap either. But what I do like are the actual permanent new attractions and upgrades to existing ones. I'm not saying every addition I wanted to happen, happened, but that each park had at least a couple of changes I enjoyed. I loved DAK at night, I loved the new Star Tours, I loved the new Test Track, and even though we all admit they could've done a lot more with it, I loved what they did do with NFL. It may not be a perfect or ideal list, but at least most of the important changes haven't been negative ones unlike some those made in their immediate past and future.

 

[bethymouse]

I wish I could be there at this time! It would be very easy to get on everything that's not Frozen. Sounds like fun!

Let's go!

 

[ANJ]

It seems that the stars have aligned for the mouse ( not in a good way ) I think everything has come together to cause this down turn. We can point fingers at many things that have led to this. Cuts, it wasn't that long ago we talked about cuts that was a result of SDL opening. Brazil is headed the way of Venezuela. They have huge problems right now. A WDW vacation is the least of their concerns. We all know about the recent tragic events. Americans are just not happy right now. There is a real uneasy feeling. The economy is rocky. Recent world events have us all on edge. I am not happy about that but I will say I am happy to think that the big cheese could be squirming a bit. Wall street is going to smell blood and like a true predator they will be there with baited breath. Also history tells us that our beloved SWL and its budget will get the " slim fast" treatment. I also think that the fact that you have to plan just about every second of your visit has caught up as well. It took time, but its just a big hassle to plan a visit. Given the ever rising cost who wants to put that kind of effort in to a vacation? Its supposed to be relaxing.

And what business EVER said " we want less customers" no one ever! That's the most ridicules thing I have heard. I have seen it before on this board and cant believe someone would even think such a thing. Disney wants the place packed to the seems everyday, all day. Disney stopped caring about guest experience long ago. Please don't think that all of the sudden they started caring. Just ridicules. Seriously, they don't care.

Its nice that some of you think the place is still magical. I know it is your hope that they have all these new things and attractions coming on line. But its only to distract you from the real issues that WDW has. I said it before and I will say it again. Attractions wasn't what made WDW special or magical. Attractions were not the Disney difference. It helped. It added to the magic, but it was down the list. The real magic was the company going above and beyond your imagination. Its easy to fool a three year old. But real magic is when you could make adults eyes fill with tears of joy. Not tears of sadness when they get the bill.

Nothing will ever change, WDW will never see its once glorious past. Its just that, the past. For those who never visited before 2000, you just have no base of reference. For that I am sad for, because you never experienced true Disney magic. But keep the faith, someone has to.

 

[No Name]

The crowds seem lighter. I just hope Disney doesn't come to the wrong conclusions.

Though I've been happy with their recent decisions, at least from what I've seen so far. It's good business practice to extend hours and add more things like the stuff at the Swan and Dolphin when attendance is down, to try to grow attendance. Many times, businesses make cuts when less money is flowing in. And often times it just creates a downward cycle that eventually leads to the end of that business or a very slow recovery. But that's not what they're doing now.

So I hope people enjoy these less-crowded days, and I hope attendance rebounds soon. And that Disney makes the right decisions.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Disney did have the thought of selling off the parks in the early 80's.

Just saying.

No, they did not. It was a fear that the company would be purchased to be sold off piece by piece.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If I remember right the board was thinking about splitting the company and selling off the parks. I don't want to research that right now but Disney as a company was not doing well in the late 70's early 80's.

Disney was pouring unprecedented resources in the EPCOT Center and Tokyo Disneyland. Profits from the theme parks more than made up for losses at the Studio and kept Walt Disney Products profitable.

 

[TP2000]

Thirdly, I have not really thought about it, but the Rio Olympics does make a lot of sense to stay over there and make some good money instead of vacationing here. I have no idea how their tourism works or if it was an oversight on Disney (seems pretty bad if that were true), but ot does make sense.

Actually, Brazil's economy crashed into a horrible recession back in 2014, and it's turned into a full-blown depression in 2016. The Brazilian economy and its GDP contracted upwards of 5% in late 2015 and early 2016. This is the story of the year in the financial press around the world, and everyone who is concerned about world events is talking about it now that the Olympics is a few weeks away.

As a point of reference, during the 2008-09 glamorously named "Great Recession" the United States economy only contracted an average of 4% and only for 4 consecutive quarters before the economy began to grow again. If that type of graph above for Brazil was repeated in America, it would be a Great Depression.

No wonder the Brazilians aren't spending money on Disney World vacations.

 

[Sonconato]

We were there earlier this evening and it was actually really nice with minimal crowds especially for a July 4th weekend. Most of the rides were walk-ons with no wait. Here are some images from around the park.
.

 

[Phantom Mickey]

My trip in May was the first time I consciously felt like Disney had almost no value for the money. Portion sizes were small at every restaurant from Captain Cooke's at my hotel (the Poly) to the Cali Grill. Custodial cutbacks were apparent in restrooms: at the MK, Studios, and Epcot, I saw literal crap on the floors. At DAK, the poop was smeared on a wall. Attractions kept breaking down. Units were missing from parades. Monorail and bus transportation were the worst I've ever encountered. And many CMs were outright rude.

At the same time, I KNOW Disney is finally investing in WDW again. I had a hard time reconciling the mediocrity I witnessed with the plans I knew about. Somehow, daily operations are deteriorating while good things are waiting in the wings. It's just a mess right now.

I never understood why people complained about public restrooms until I worked at a Sports park. We catered to the local high school kids during the week and those little ***'s would *** on the walls, just to do it.
During the weekends we had another group that would do the same thing. If you want to keep the restrooms clean with no smells, you have to have staff to clean them properly or they will really start to stink.
I have read that the castmembers are moving through quickly. They are not staying long and it seems not planning to make a career at Dizzy. The training is said to be minimal just to get them on the job. I would assume DIZZY is really up against the wall if this is true.

 

[Phantom Mickey]

We were there earlier this evening and it was actually really nice with minimal crowds especially for a July 4th weekend. Most of the rides were walk-ons with no wait. Here are some images from around the park.
.View attachment 149259 View attachment 149268 View attachment 149261 View attachment 149262 View attachment 149263 View attachment 149264 View attachment 149265 View attachment 149266

NOW, whatever you paid for a park ticket, figure for each person you saw there, DIZZY got that much.. wow

 

[Phantom Mickey]

Just bring your own toilet seat cover.

LOL, I wish I didn't know exactly what you mean..... Oh man.

 

[Phantom Mickey]

It would take a monumental collapse for Disney to go out of business and auction off the parks, if it that ever happened I honestly doubt it would be in our lifetime.

I have to agree, movements made in the past have not always favored the parks or the guests. The recent announcements of cutbacks of personnel, cutting the AC to save on electricity, not hiring, etc indicates something is up... just saying