the_rich
Well-Known Member
I got that upgrade a few weeks back from boardwalk to gf.
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Is attendance really down at WDW this or…
- Thread starter coachb
- Start date
the_rich
Well-Known Member
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they're closing any resorts. They are taking buildings out of service.
Oh that's more likely. I just read shuttered and panicked.
(lighthearted panic, not serious panic )
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the_rich
Well-Known Member
Yea, it's like with me. I got an offer to upgrade from boardwalk to gf. I took it but I could have still stayed at boardwalk if I wanted.Oh that's more likely. I just read shuttered and panicked.
Grimley1968
Well-Known Member
The recent (in this thread) references to WDW or any tourist destination being a destination to visit for a week or more made me think about WDW's history in that regard.
When I used to visit with my family in 70's and 80's, we never considered WDW as a place to spend more than a day at a time. Having only one or two parks at the time, as well as many fewer resorts pre-Eisner certainly enforced that trend. Before we could afford to stay at WDW for a week, we were starting to go to WDW for multiple days from the nearest beach multiple times in a vacation by the late 90's.
The very first time we stayed for a week at WDW was in 2001, when all 4 parks were open, we had a growing family of our own, and WDW encouraged lengthy stays with deep discounts on even the monorail resorts, and service was top notch. We did that a bunch after that, but that waned as the kids grew up.
If we go at all now, it's only for a day at a time, like in the 70's through the 90's. Our family circumstances dictate that to some degree, but possibly to a greater degree Disney dictates it as well. Up until very recently, I assumed that was unintentional on Disney's part, just poor judgment. But some of their decisions in the past decade make it seem intentional that they're discouraging multiple theme park days or long resort stays: a) charging for parking at the resorts, even though that was thankfully short-lived, b) charging for Genie+ (or whatever it's called now) or even a la carte for what used to just be Fastpass, c) not resuming parking lot trams in 2 of the 4 parks, d) shuttering sections of resorts to artificially lower inventory rather than make their pricing more attractive to fill them, among other moves.
It seems Disney is okay with not only one-and-done vacations by guests, but also Disney seems to be increasingly agnostic about one day only trips versus lengthy WDW-only vacations. That's fine with me, since I'm historically more accustomed to making WDW a one or two day visit out of a lengthy beach vacation within an easy drive. How this affects attendance at the parks, I don't know (sorry for the tangent). But it's interesting to see.
When I used to visit with my family in 70's and 80's, we never considered WDW as a place to spend more than a day at a time. Having only one or two parks at the time, as well as many fewer resorts pre-Eisner certainly enforced that trend. Before we could afford to stay at WDW for a week, we were starting to go to WDW for multiple days from the nearest beach multiple times in a vacation by the late 90's.
The very first time we stayed for a week at WDW was in 2001, when all 4 parks were open, we had a growing family of our own, and WDW encouraged lengthy stays with deep discounts on even the monorail resorts, and service was top notch. We did that a bunch after that, but that waned as the kids grew up.
If we go at all now, it's only for a day at a time, like in the 70's through the 90's. Our family circumstances dictate that to some degree, but possibly to a greater degree Disney dictates it as well. Up until very recently, I assumed that was unintentional on Disney's part, just poor judgment. But some of their decisions in the past decade make it seem intentional that they're discouraging multiple theme park days or long resort stays: a) charging for parking at the resorts, even though that was thankfully short-lived, b) charging for Genie+ (or whatever it's called now) or even a la carte for what used to just be Fastpass, c) not resuming parking lot trams in 2 of the 4 parks, d) shuttering sections of resorts to artificially lower inventory rather than make their pricing more attractive to fill them, among other moves.
It seems Disney is okay with not only one-and-done vacations by guests, but also Disney seems to be increasingly agnostic about one day only trips versus lengthy WDW-only vacations. That's fine with me, since I'm historically more accustomed to making WDW a one or two day visit out of a lengthy beach vacation within an easy drive. How this affects attendance at the parks, I don't know (sorry for the tangent). But it's interesting to see.
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AEfx
Well-Known Member
It depends on what they build.
Because I'm sort of done with the "I need to be at a theme park from rope drop to close every day I am there" thing, I can quite easily fill a week at Universal, especially since they opened Volcano Bay. Unlike a Disney vacation where you feel you have to be there every second to make it "worth it" and you "need a vacation from your vacation" when you get home, at week at Universal means I have at least a day or two of rest and/or checking out the many other things in the area. And once they have a third park, it will be super-easy to spend a week there. (It's funny how much people spend for Disney resorts when they spend so little time at them, if they are taking full advantage of the parks - remember when the resorts were all full of activities back in the day, just for that?)
If they have a good 2-3 days worth of theme park experience, a nice waterpark or two, and resorts with nice pools/amentites etc. - I don't think anyone is saying overnight it would somehow be as successful as a 50+ year old resort, but it absolutely could compete and has the potential to be quite successful.
I've been on these boards for 20 years now, so I find myself occasionally feeling like I need to remind folks - up until about ten years ago, even after the debut of Potter 1.0, Universal was seen as "that little park up the road that takes Disney's leftovers", "the Potter boost is just a flash in the pan", and so on. My, how times have changed - and they can very well change again. Disney is no longer an untouchable experience that no one can beat.
Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
That's odd. My husband just bought some laquer thinner too and complained about the price increase. I wasn't listening (lol), so I don't remember the price.
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
With the lobby work going on I am sure the GF is having lower occupancy than usual (a long with just the general lower bookings)
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Yea most wives never listen to their husbands ----we're used to it Ha Ha Ha
I can't complain on gym membership at Planet Fitness. $10 a month for more than 10 years and counting.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
…so is this thread closed now?
The question has been answered by the sweatered weasel
The question has been answered by the sweatered weasel
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Not confirmed until tight pants appears in a new video on the resort tvs haha
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t go as far as “destroying” but I do think it’s being damaged.
With all the crowd control schemes, nickel and diming, lowering of standards, reduced benefits, etc that reputation has definitely taken a hit.
I still think it can be salvaged but they need to pivot back to quality and value at some point, so far they haven’t shown any indication they’re going to.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
…don’t creep me out, dude
Willmark
Well-Known Member
Destroyed, damaged, however one wants to phrase it, it's not good.
At some point they will need to do something, seems like they are waiting for the customer to blink first.
Willmark
Well-Known Member
Breaking this out of an excellent post all around because this is the stop and start of it right now.
Disney is NOT untouchable, years ago they were held as the gold standard. Companies openly talked about "Imagneering" or the "Disney way."
Now? Not so much.
That's seemed to be the focus as gold standard , Disney leading the way as taught by the facilitators at Disney Institute at WDW to companies who took part in seminars, classes, tour of WDW onstage and backstage.
BuddyThomas
Well-Known Member
I joined this site in 2013. At that time, and for years after, there were multiple posters on this board who were insanely advocating for Disney to hike up their prices so high that a lot of people would not be able to afford to vacation there, thus making it far less crowded for their own wealthy and privileged families to visit. Apparently Disney finally got their message.