Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[Disstevefan1]

It's this. It's always been this. They are systemically re-valuing their product to their audience and aligning it with the premium brand it was in the past. Higher costs, lower crowds, better experience and coming soon, 60 billion in more investment.

Iger wants the parks to show growth. They will show growth by increasing attendance at the higher prices for the next 10 to 20 years.

 

[Drdcm]

View attachment 749996

I don’t get it, but I bet it’s funny

 

[el_super]

The way things used to be.

Care for the guest experience more than doing whatever they can and get away with to simply make more money

What does that even mean though? The way things used to be? What are you looking for specifically?

Of the two options which is preferable to you:
Higher cost, lower attendance?
Lower cost, higher attendance?

Which one aligns more to whatever vision of the past you think is preferable?

 

[Lilofan]

All of which were free at one point or another…

One way to pay for starting rate shortly of $20 per hour for entry level CM.

 

[JD80]

What does that even mean though? The way things used to be? What are you looking for specifically?

Of the two options which is preferable to you:
Higher cost, lower attendance?
Lower cost, higher attendance?

Which one aligns more to whatever vision of the past you think is preferable?

"How things used to be" is a phrase that you will never be able to fulfil because it's charged with nostalgia and youth.

 

[Drdcm]

"How things used to be" is a phrase that you will never be able to fulfil because it's charged with nostalgia and youth.

I mean. There are some pretty tangible things that are different.

Just to name a few… ME, EMH for all guests. Whimsical theming. Non-screen based attractions. Late park hours. Cleanliness (I think it’s still pretty clean but others disagree). Ride maintenance. Reduced entertainment. Reduced staffing in parades.

But I get your point about nostalgia and youth.

Edit: some of these are opinion obviously

 

[GhostHost1000]

What does that even mean though? The way things used to be? What are you looking for specifically?

Of the two options which is preferable to you:
Higher cost, lower attendance?
Lower cost, higher attendance?

Which one aligns more to whatever vision of the past you think is preferable?

I'm not even referring to cost or attendance... I'm referring to quality and care for the guest experience

 

[el_super]

Whimsical theming. Non-screen based attractions.

But even these can be based on nostalgia ... I can definitely see how newer audiences would prefer screen based attractions and thrill rides over the slower paced dark rides of Disney's past.

I'm still not sure why the parks close so early in Florida though.

 

[Dranth]

What does that even mean though? The way things used to be? What are you looking for specifically?

Of the two options which is preferable to you:
Higher cost, lower attendance?
Lower cost, higher attendance?

Which one aligns more to whatever vision of the past you think is preferable?

I think what gets most people is the quality angle which if we are ignoring the continuum all these factors exist on you end up with:

Higher cost, lower attendance, high quality - Where we should be if the goal is to restrict attendance with pricing.
Higher cost, lower attendance, lower quality - Where we are.
Lower cost, higher attendance, high quality - Where we were in the past.
Lower cost, higher attendance, lower quality - Hopefully never happens.

 

[Drdcm]

Now to say some nice things… I think the food quality is better and I like the gondola system. I prefer the new Disney springs. I like the concept of early entry, but think it should be an hour.

 

[el_super]

I'm not even referring to cost or attendance... I'm referring to quality and care for the guest experience

Yeah but you can't even define what that means. Just empty buzz words.

 

[Splash4eva]

One way to pay for starting rate shortly of $20 per hour for entry level CM.

Oh trust me i get it… but im not gonna debate this & CM salaries bc my guess is my take will not be the majorities…

 

[Drdcm]

Yeah but you can't even define what that means. Just empty buzz words.

Define the color red

 

[Dranth]

Define the color red

Easy, Disney+

 

[Drdcm]

Easy, Disney+

Actually it’s light with a wavelength around 700 lol but I realized that after the fact

 

[el_super]

Higher cost, lower attendance, lower quality - Where we are.

I think the lower quality thing is the most subjective part of this conversation.

In all these pages of "attendance is lower" discussion, no one, except maybe that ONE person, tried to imply that the experience was really worse.

When I suggest that Disney doesn't think their attendance is a problem, that is to also suggest that their guest satisfaction numbers haven't moved much to force them to make any meaningful changes. In fact the discounting would definitely lead me to believe that price is really still the number one factor when determining intent to return.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I find it truly amazing that anyone could, with any sort of intellectual honesty, believe that a higher entry cost is somehow going to result in higher revenue for a leisure travel product that is entirely optional. For a product that is 50 years old, is being milked for all its worth already, and has a relatively decent competitor up the interstate that is actively investing in growth and expansion vs. the current Bob model of rip-and-replace. There's a reason jacking ticket prices up won't work, but I'm not going to do the homework for the textbook lurners with zero real-world experience, logic, or practicality.

 

[Dranth]

I think the lower quality thing is the most subjective part of this conversation.

In all these pages of "attendance is lower" discussion, no one, except maybe that ONE person, tried to imply that the experience was really worse.

When I suggest that Disney doesn't think their attendance is a problem, that is to also suggest that their guest satisfaction numbers haven't moved much to force them to make any meaningful changes. In fact the discounting would definitely lead me to believe that price is really still the number one factor when determining intent to return.

Sure, there is a lot of subjectivity to quality but there are some obvious changes over the year to things like maintenance, food, and merch that I believe most people see. I personally think all of those have improved a bit over their lows a few years back but they are still lacking compared to what we once had.

I have no problem paying more as costs increase (within reason) if you maintain the quality I am accustomed to when I became a fan of the product.

 

[el_super]

There's a reason jacking ticket prices up won't work

It already did.

 

[Grimley1968]

In all these pages of "attendance is lower" discussion, no one, except maybe that ONE person, tried to imply that the experience was really worse.

I don't know if I'm that ONE person, but I've not only implied but practically shouted that the WDW experience is worse, far worse, than just 15 years ago. When that becomes obvious to a lot of other previously loyal guests, guess what happens to attendance?