Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[DisneyHead123]

Ya that's an interesting anecdote for sure. Cruise lines are also reporting record bookings so I do take some heed to the places that were more 'off limits' now seeing the targeted rebound. Or I guess one could make the argument there are also just more things to do in general. I wonder if the International crowds really came back to WDW.

I think it’s reopenings at some places plus bad experiences at the places that were open in the past couple of years. To my mind the post Covid travel surges during the past two years could have been an opportunity for people to “fall in love” with new destinations during revenge travel. Instead I think the exorbitant prices plus labor / supply shortages left people looking for new spots - not just at Disney but at various vacation locales.

 

[mysto]

The Circle of Festivals.

It's the circle of Festivals
And it moves us all to FL
Through queues and LL
Through food and shows
'Til we find our place for illumiations
On the path un-scrimming
In the circle
The circle of Fesivals

 

[Lilofan]

$300 is the “discounted” price for POFQ in November.

I get that they can, but is having a hallway even that much more expensive? It just seems like a vaguely in-your-face way to scream “motel!”, and to what end really?

The end is staying on WDW property among other things and leaving your car at the resort parking lot while utilizing WDW transportation but I am sure you already knew that.

 

[DisneyHead123]

The end is staying on WDW property among other things and leaving your car at the resort parking lot while utilizing WDW transportation but I am sure you already knew that.

I mean what is the end point in having motel doors, which have a kinda seedy connotation for many people (maybe depending on where you grew up)? Are they even saving money by not having a hallway? If not I don’t understand the point in not just having a hallway.

 

[Lilofan]

I mean what is the end point in having motel doors, which have a kinda seedy connotation for many people (maybe depending on where you grew up)? Are they even saving money by not having a hallway? If not I don’t understand the point in not just having a hallway.

In regards to the WDW value resorts , that's not realistic having an interior hallway.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I mean what is the end point in having motel doors, which have a kinda seedy connotation for many people (maybe depending on where you grew up)? Are they even saving money by not having a hallway? If not I don’t understand the point in not just having a hallway.

To be fair, when the values originally opened their price point was more in line with the prices of motels offsite - not the near $200/night standard rate it is now. They’re hardly “value” resorts any more, no matter what terminology Disney uses for them.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I mean what is the end point in having motel doors, which have a kinda seedy connotation for many people (maybe depending on where you grew up)? Are they even saving money by not having a hallway? If not I don’t understand the point in not just having a hallway.

That's why you ask for the second floor or higher.

You don't open to the street... you have a balcony!!

 

[DisneyHead123]

To be fair, when the values originally opened their price point was more in line with the prices of motels offsite - not the near $200/night standard rate it is now. They’re hardly “value” resorts any more, no matter what terminology Disney uses for them.

I guess that makes sense although given some of the associations people sometimes have with motels, they just don’t fit the Disney brand to me. Again, maybe it’s just where I grew up, I very much associate them with crime - people went to motels for nefarious purposes.

That said, out of curiosity I Googled exterior doors at Disney and they are supposedly much quieter, which would be a plus.

 

[MisterPenguin]

You know what's worse than having your room door open directly to the outside?

Being on the second floor and there's no elevator.

And you know what's worse than being on the second floor and there's no elevator?

Checking in at the desk and the clerk doesn't let you know there's no elevator and doesn't ask if you need help with your luggage.

Luckily, I can hoist a 45 pound* bag up a flight of stairs. But I can imagine the consternation of guests that can't.

So much for the extra value a moderate affords.

(BTW, this was all pre-pandemic.)


*How much is that in stone?

 

[Angel Ariel]

You know what's worse than having your room door open directly to the outside?

Being on the second floor and there's no elevator.

And you know what's worse than being on the second floor and there's no elevator?

Checking in at the desk and the clerk doesn't let you know there's no elevator and doesn't ask if you need help with your luggage.

Luckily, I can hoist a 45 pound* bag up a flight of stairs. But I can imagine the consternation of guests that can't.

So much for the extra value a moderate affords.

(BTW, this was all pre-pandemic.)


*How much is that in stone?

I’ll add - second floor when you have a child who uses a stroller as a wheelchair, when the outer corridor isn’t large enough to get the stroller past when there’s a housekeeping cart outside..

*wasn’t a Disney owned hotel, but was a harbor hotel at the crosswalk outside DLR.

DD has had to use a full wheelchair this summer due to knee surgery, and wow is it how many “accessible” things (like bathroom stalls) aren’t actually accessible.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I mean what is the end point in having motel doors, which have a kinda seedy connotation for many people (maybe depending on where you grew up)? Are they even saving money by not having a hallway? If not I don’t understand the point in not just having a hallway.

was thinking it might depend where and when you grew up - I definitely associate them with fun family vacations from all over we went, so especially for the values, they seem fine and this way don't have kids runing up and down the halls, just go right into your room, etc.

just don't see it as a huge deal and like I said relate to family vacations in general

 

[Lilofan]

I mean what is the end point in having motel doors, which have a kinda seedy connotation for many people (maybe depending on where you grew up)? Are they even saving money by not having a hallway? If not I don’t understand the point in not just having a hallway.

If you want a breath of fresh FL air all you have to do is open your front door

 

[Lilofan]

I’ll add - second floor when you have a child who uses a stroller as a wheelchair, when the outer corridor isn’t large enough to get the stroller past when there’s a housekeeping cart outside..

*wasn’t a Disney owned hotel, but was a harbor hotel at the crosswalk outside DLR.

DD has had to use a full wheelchair this summer due to knee surgery, and wow is it how many “accessible” things (like bathroom stalls) aren’t actually accessible.

I stayed at Coronado Springs. The landscaping directly outside the four floors Cabanas building was littered with cigarettes. Guests were just flicking their cig butts from the exterior hallways.

 

[Ayla]

I guess that makes sense although given some of the associations people sometimes have with motels, they just don’t fit the Disney brand to me. Again, maybe it’s just where I grew up, I very much associate them with crime - people went to motels for nefarious purposes.

That said, out of curiosity I Googled exterior doors at Disney and they are supposedly much quieter, which would be a plus.

They aren't.

 

[DisneyHead123]

They aren't.

Drat!

 

[DisneyHead123]

was thinking it might depend where and when you grew up - I definitely associate them with fun family vacations from all over we went, so especially for the values, they seem fine and this way don't have kids runing up and down the halls, just go right into your room, etc.

just don't see it as a huge deal and like I said relate to family vacations in general

I do think it depends on your generational / geographical associations. This article had some interesting comments on the history of motels.

 

[dreday3]

I guess that makes sense although given some of the associations people sometimes have with motels, they just don’t fit the Disney brand to me. Again, maybe it’s just where I grew up, I very much associate them with crime - people went to motels for nefarious purposes.

That said, out of curiosity I Googled exterior doors at Disney and they are supposedly much quieter, which would be a plus.

Motels in Chicago are definitely on the seedier side, to say the least.

Motels we've stayed at on road trips in smaller towns are pretty okay and sometimes they are kitschy and fun and a destination in themselves.

Disney mods/values are the destination kind of motels.

 

[flyerjab]

Day 2 was spent in DAK and overall I felt that the crowd levels were a touch more on par with what I would consider ‘normal’. My wife again said she felt the crowd level felt like there were less people in the park. The wait time for FoP almost hit 3 hours at one point. We spent our time in Anandapur, a highlight of the trip this far, but we did walk through Harambe to get to Satu’li Canteen in Pandora (what a sentence).

I did forget to mention that we walked through Epcot from the back entrance to the monorail yesterday. The crowd levels were similar to what we were seeing in MK. My wife is always the first to comment and she goes ‘I can’t believe this is Epcot on a Saturday afternoon.’ And she does not follow this stuff like I do. So far I would say MK and Epcot were very low, but DAK was more normal today in terms of visible numbers.

 

[LittleBuford]

*How much is that in stone?

Divide it by 14.

But we only use stone to measure human weight. Plus we’ve switched to metric for luggage, fruit and veg, etc.

 

[JD80]

So some of this is just opinion as we don't have any concrete data, but here are my thoughts ..

1) We don't know for certain but seems to be plenty of resort availability even around the holidays and the discounts, while nothing unheard of, did come out pretty early. The first Halloween party sold out just about the same time as last year so seems still solid interest in that. So if we had to guess, yes things will be soft, but probably not *as* soft as they have the holidays and the parties, etc as draws. Bigger thing will be watching how thing look post the new year I think

Bolding is mine, but I thought this as well, but compared to 2019, the holiday hotel discounts came out about a month earlier this year. I thought it was much earlier myself but it's pretty close.