Does WDW have more repeat visitors or first timers?

[R W B]

If I was forced to take a guess I would lean towards more repeat visitors, like a 60/40 or 65/35 split.

So what's the real answer?

 

[AndyS2992]

Walt Disney World - First Timers (Near 50/50 though I guess)
Disneyland - Repeat Guests

 

[DfromATX]

I think this would be hard to answer. For so many, WDW is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but then there are others who have gone every year since they were born. It would be interesting to know the answer, if that's even possible. They ask when you call how many times you've gone.

 

[DisneyBeatles]

My guess would be repeat visitors because most first timers believe it is too expensive to revisit

 

[disneysince71]

I am guessing 25/75 repeats... Florida residents get such great deals... I think they are 30+%! But who knows just guessing from conversations and all those Florida tags in the parking lot!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Walt Disney World - First Timers (Near 50/50 though I guess)
Disneyland - Repeat Guests

It's much cloaser to 50/50 now at Disneyland according to more recent reports.

EDIT: I should say that is the more local vs out-of-town visitors comparison and may not indicate new "first time" business per say, but it would probably indicate a rise in them.

 

[disneysince71]

My guess would be repeat visitors because most first timers believe it is too expensive to revisit[/qu

My guess would be repeat visitors because most first timers believe it is too expensive to revisit

??? help???

 

[bethymouse]

Repeat Guests maybe. DVC for sure. I know I'm one of those repeat guests and most of us on here are.

 

[PUSH]

I'd guess it's probably very close. There's a lot of repeat visitors, but also a lot of people in the parks who look confused and lost so I assume they are first timers.

However Disneyland is more repeat visitors.

 

[luv]

I think WDW has more repeaters than people think. I hear them all the time in the parks. More of the people I talk to are repeat visitors than first-timers. I know many people say WDW is mostly first-timers, but I don't believe it.

 

[Nemo14]

I think WDW has more repeaters than people think. I hear them all the time in the parks. More of the people I talk to are repeat visitors than first-timers. I know many people say WDW is mostly first-timers, but I don't believe it.

I agree. We often talk with people in line and what not, and I'd say probably at least 80% of them are repeat visitors who, like most of us here, have been going there for years.

 

[ImagineerDude]

Well not exactly sure...DL however has a ton of passholders. For me, definitely repeat WDW!

 

[Victoria]

I think WDW will always win with the first-timer crowd since there is such a large international crowd there. Brazillian tour groups alone (assuming these kids only come to WDW once in their lives) should drive the first timer number high. Whenever I am in DL I feel like I am surrounded by nothing but locals. I've also heard that the justification for WDW not getting things like Haunted Mansion Holiday, Ghost Galaxy, and IASW holiday is because of the supposed first-timer population at WDW. I guess the theory is that WDW should always present a "pure" form of attractions since so many people will only experience them once or twice in their lives.

 

[WildRide12]

I am guessing 25/75 repeats... Florida residents get such great deals... I think they are 30+%! But who knows just guessing from conversations and all those Florida tags in the parking lot!

I would also say repeat, but as someone who lives here I can assure you a decent amount of those Florida plates are rental cars.

 

[ParentsOf4]

With overseas attendance surging to 23% last year due to a weak U.S. dollar making WDW more affordable to overseas guests, led by many first-time visitors from Argentina and Brazil, while domestic attendance plummeted due to price increases and attraction stagnation, WDW is increasing viewed as a poor vacation choice by many traditional U.S. families. Those who can might continue to vacation in Orlando but are reducing the number of days spent at WDW. Those who can't are finding their time between WDW visits increasing. Taken as a whole, these trends suggest WDW is moving away from "repeat" guests towards "first-time" guests.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I don't know, it's hard to say. I will say this though, I am going to take a stab and say 80% of WDW guests are outside of Florida (and country even). Just a guess based on things like being at shows and seeing hands raised as to who is from Florida. So I don't know, I will say 60% of the guests are repeat guests while 40% are first timers.

In Disneyland I would say the locals take up 50% of the attendance due to the much larger population of Southern California. So by my estimation 25% of Disneyland guests are first timers with 75% being there before. The way the country is set up is there is heavy population on the Eastern side meaning if a family is going to fly/drive to a Disney park it is going to be WDW.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I don't know, it's hard to say. I will say this though, I am going to take a stab and say 80% of WDW guests are outside of Florida (and country even). Just a guess based on things like being at shows and seeing hands raised as to who is from Florida. So I don't know, I will say 60% of the guests are repeat guests while 40% are first timers.

In Disneyland I would say the locals take up 50% of the attendance due to the much larger population of Southern California. So by my estimation 25% of Disneyland guests are first timers with 75% being there before. The way the country is set up is there is heavy population on the Eastern side meaning if a family is going to fly/drive to a Disney park it is going to be WDW.

 

[Thrill]

I've also heard that the justification for WDW not getting things like Haunted Mansion Holiday, Ghost Galaxy, and IASW holiday is because of the supposed first-timer population at WDW. I guess the theory is that WDW should always present a "pure" form of attractions since so many people will only experience them once or twice in their lives.

I think it's less about having the original attraction than it is about closings. If Space Mountain is down for even a week or two, tens of thousands miss it. Most first timers would have no clue about it until they arrived, and would complain. With a few of these overlapping, people would get mad.

 

[yellowb]

I would say by the amount of people who wait in hours long stand by lines, that the first timers are pretty abundant.

 

[MarkTwain]

It changes pretty dramatically with the time of year. It's also important to distinguish between "repeat visitor" in the sense that they came here once before and liked it, so now they're here for a second or third time, versus "repeat visitor" in the sense that they come every year or once a weekend... or are WDWmagic members.

Here's an estimate based on what I've witnessed based on conversations with park guests:

Summer, average times of year:
50% first-timer / 30% second/third visit / 20% Park experts.

Dead seasons (skews much more toward Americans/locals/passholders, and also senior citizens for some reason):
30% first-timer, 30% second/third time visitor, 40% park expert

Holidays (skews much more toward foreign people for some reason... I guess Americans know to stay away?):
70% first-timers, 15% second/third visit, 15% park expert