Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

esskay

esskay

Well-Known Member
pluto101 said:
We had full intentions on booking a vacation today. After pricing out rooms, tickets, meals, and Genie+, the trip came out to nearly $4,500 for TWO people at a VALUE resort.

I understand that Disney is a luxury experience, but it has gotten to the point where they have begun to price out their target market. We have already seen this with the Galactic Starcruiser, with its recent closing announcement.

When people wonder why the parks are beginning to look empty, it’s because many lifelong fans and average families are no longer able to afford it.
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Out of interest, try punching the same dates into a booking at Drury Plaza on Hotel Blvd plus tickets. They're currently the 'hot' thing as they dont charge a resort fee, and include breakfast, park transport and an almost concierge-like evening food service., plus you get the early morning entry perk (at least in 2023, it's not yet confirmed for 2024 but likely will be soon).
 
esskay

esskay

Well-Known Member
flyerjab said:
Agree completely. As someone who’s fandom only started in 2011, what was the one thing I was accustomed to with WDW - constant change. Year after year each park had some announced addition, change, etc. Something different to look forward to. Where is any of that now? I feel like they used Covid s as their go to reason for pulling back on everything, and their return to ‘normalcy’ has been a slow-speed train wreck from a guest satisfaction perspective (with train conductor Chapek behind the wheel).

To be fair, we are still enjoying this vacation. We are veterans at vacationing in WDW now and know how to enjoy this despite my current angst over certain current circumstances. For example, having not that great of a day, try the fish-inspired charcuterie at Narcoossee’s…it was life altering 😋

The current direction of the Florida parks is very disappointing though. I really hope Epic Universe walks up and punches Disney right in the face to wake them up. They may not be the untouchable force in the Orlando vacationing scene that they think they are.
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We're essentially back to the mid 2000s where nothing at all was happening at the parks. We went almost a whole decade with very little in the way of new developments, at least not much to write home about. They did develop new fantasyland and pandora towards the end of it, but for the ~5-8 year period after 9/11 everything was on hold.

The difference that time around however was that prices plumeted for international bookings, and there were a huge amount of perks, and direct partnerships with smaller airline carriers such as the now defunct 'My Travel Airways' and 'Travel City Direct' to get people through the gates. The offers to get people on site ranged from big hotel discounts to throwing in free dining, a bunch of free credit, doubling the ticket length, free parkhoppers (it wasn't a thing on standard tickets at the time), etc.

If attendance truely is suffering then I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see something similar at some point. Genie+ might be bringing cash in but theres no way thats anything remotely close to the amount they get from more footfall, and more importantly more people spending cash on site.
 
Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
esskay said:
We're essentially back to the mid 2000s where nothing at all was happening at the parks. We went almost a whole decade with very little in the way of new developments, at least not much to write home about. They did develop new fantasyland and pandora towards the end of it, but for the ~5-8 year period after 9/11 everything was on hold.

The difference that time around however was that prices plumeted for international bookings, and there were a huge amount of perks, and direct partnerships with smaller airline carriers such as the now defunct 'My Travel Airways' and 'Travel City Direct' to get people through the gates. The offers to get people on site ranged from big hotel discounts to throwing in free dining, a bunch of free credit, doubling the ticket length, free parkhoppers (it wasn't a thing on standard tickets at the time), etc.

If attendance truely is suffering then I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see something similar at some point. Genie+ might be bringing cash in but theres no way thats anything remotely close to the amount they get from more footfall, and more importantly more people spending cash on site.
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I wouldn't be surprised that in their mind Epic Universe isn't going to be anything to worry about.
 
Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
I also haven’t notice an expansion of hours. In the past I feel like a lot of the parks would update hours to either open earlier and/or stay open later. I don’t think. I’ve seen that in recent weeks?
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Jrb1979 said:
I wouldn't be surprised that in their mind Epic Universe isn't going to be anything to worry about.
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I am sure they are monitoring it / have some concerns ...

But they may also see it as just bringing more people to the area who haven't been before and will also stop at Disney while they are there

So while their slice of the pie may shrink a little, if the pie overall gets bigger - and the can keep increasing costs for their slice - they are probably ok with it
 
Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
TheMaxRebo said:
I am sure they are monitoring it / have some concerns ...

But they may also see it as just bringing more people to the area who haven't been before and will also stop at Disney while they are there

So while their slice of the pie may shrink a little, if the pie overall gets bigger - and the can keep increasing costs for their slice - they are probably ok with it
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IMO if they had any concerns at all they would be already building new attractions to combat Epic Universe.

Your second paragraph sounds a lot like what Universal used to say when they first came to Orlando
 
D

drizgirl

Well-Known Member
TheMaxRebo said:
I am sure they are monitoring it / have some concerns ...

But they may also see it as just bringing more people to the area who haven't been before and will also stop at Disney while they are there

So while their slice of the pie may shrink a little, if the pie overall gets bigger - and the can keep increasing costs for their slice - they are probably ok with it
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It's funny but it used to be Universal who viewed Disney success as feeding some extra bodies into THEIR parks.

My how times change.
 
hopemax

hopemax

Well-Known Member
"Now, many are shifting their discretionary spending to travel and other services they were not able to find during the pandemic. Strong demand remains for in-person experiences such as travel and dining out. That means big business for leisure and hospitality, as spending is expected to pick up this summer as consumers open up their wallets for memorable experiences.

While some airlines and hotels are posting record bookings, that change in spending is hurting many retailers."

This is the worrying part, if WDW is soft.
 

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