Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[HauntedPirate]

People want to see the fireworks from in front of the castle. Get rid of projections, and people will still want to see the fireworks from Main Street/Hub.

The guests want the "postcard perfect" image/experience of seeing it from the hub.

Not all of them. And when there are perimeter launches, where do you get that "postcard perfect" shot from, standing in the hub or somewhere on Main Street? Not really.

There are also plenty of spots people used to watch Wishes! from: the beaches at GF, Poly, and the Contemporary, the top of the Contemporary, outside the 4th floor of the Contemporary, on boats in Bay Lake, on boats in Seven Seas Lagoon... Unless you're going to eliminate repeat guests, those are extremely viable options for someone who has seen a fireworks show at MK (without projections) at least once before. Disney created the entire problem by thinking projections on the castle were a good idea. Cramming everyone into that space creates immense pressure before the show and after it is done. Eliminate the problem and guess what happens? You start relieving the pressure on the area.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think for many there is just so much pressure for maximizing your experience on your Disney trip that people "force" things - and seeing the fireworks over the Castle with the specially designed fireworks is part of that. Then, like this week, only give people 2 or 3 chances in a week to do that due to the holiday parties at MK and it just gets magnified

For folks that go regularly or have longer trips with multiple MK days, maybe less pressure but for so many guests they do want those "magical moments"

Only way to counter that is provide alternatives, provide different magical moments, increase the scope for providing those moments, etc - or just over the one people fine the moment isn't worth it (which is where our family is at - we watch further down Main St or just at a point that isn't crazy. The negative experience in the hub currently provided isn't worth it to us)

 

[_caleb]

Obviously the answer to the crowding problem is to do several smaller fireworks shows through the day.

 

[monothingie]

Only way to counter that is provide alternatives, provide different magical moments, increase the scope for providing those moments, etc - or just over the one people fine the moment isn't worth it (which is where our family is at - we watch further down Main St or just at a point that isn't crazy. The negative experience in the hub currently provided isn't worth it to us)

I'm surprised that viewing areas haven't been further monetized.

Expand the Genie + LL fireworks access to the hub and Main Street so you have to pay to see the projections and music.

For everyone else, open up the bypasses to let people come in and out and for everyone else in the parks, tell them to lookup and hopefully listen for the soundtrack echoing over from Main Street.

 

[Andrew25]

I'm surprised that viewing areas haven't been further monetized.

Expand the Genie + LL fireworks access to the hub and Main Street so you have to pay to see the projections and music.

For everyone else, open up the bypasses to let people come in and out and for everyone else in the parks, tell them to lookup and hopefully listen for the soundtrack echoing over from Main Street.

You're all lucky I'm not Chairman of the Parks, I would have sectioned off portions of the hub depending on how much you paid to get in.

APs can see it from the parking lot.

 

[Touchdown]

Most people want to see them from Main Street but DL has shown that when given an option a ton of people will opt for less crowded viewing areas.

Both the Fantasmic area and IASW area are often full for fireworks, it’s not as good as Main Street but with the projections on IASW and on the fountains it’s pretty close.

And still most see it on Main Street and the hub gets jammed. It’s almost like ever since the parks were first introduced to the public, the image of fireworks behind the castle was the trademark of the park, someone should really blame the knucklehead who used that pitch…

 

[Andrew25]

And still most see it on Main Street and the hub gets jammed. It’s almost like ever since the parks were first introduced to the public, the image of fireworks behind the castle was the trademark of the park, someone should really blame the knucklehead who used that pitch…

Exactly. You can put a giant viewing area with dedicated viewing for fireworks in Frontierland with lights/projections and the hub will still reach capacity. Everybody wants the castle with the fireworks behind it. That's the magic shot, and what a good amount of visitors pay for at the end of the day.

 

[UNCgolf]

And still most see it on Main Street and the hub gets jammed. It’s almost like ever since the parks were first introduced to the public, the image of fireworks behind the castle was the trademark of the park, someone should really blame the knucklehead who used that pitch…

Of course the majority are still going to want to see it from there, but if even 10% of people are willing to see it from somewhere else that still has a relatively big effect -- and 10% is probably a low estimate. A lot of people would prefer somewhere less crowded if they weren't going to miss anything important by doing so; especially people who have already seen the show from in front of the castle.

Right now basically no one wants to watch it from anywhere else because if you can't see the projections you're missing like half of the show.

 

[NotCalledBob]

Watching the fireworks at Small World in DLR is great. All the projections, most of the fireworks. And none of the crowds. I think the few times I've watched the fireworks there are the only times I've actually genuinely enjoyed Disney fireworks.

I like watching them from the hub, or main St, in either park. But, I think calling it an enjoyable experience the way you are crowded in with everyone is a stretch.

If they can create a similar location at MK I'm all for it.

 

[PiratesMansion]

People still were camping out in front of the castle to watch the fireworks when it was just Wishes and there were no projections. The instinct to watch the show in front of the castle is not something people started doing just because of projections.

What probably makes it seem worse is that when they were showing Wishes, they also were open later and would run two showings of whatever night parade was running at the moment in addition to fireworks, and there were separate projection-only shows added onto this in the last few years of Wishes.

MK went from three significant nighttime entertainment offerings (some of which offered multiple showings) to one, and that's as much of a contributing factor the congestion to the shows becoming more castle-centric, hence the current mob of people in the hub waiting for fireworks that would still exist even if HEA was projection-free. Bring back more of these options, and the HEA congestion will ease a bit. Alternatively, they could do what DL does and offer alternate viewing areas away from the hub.

It's not like there are no alternatives or possible solutions to this crowding. They just choose not to implement them

 

[UNCgolf]

People still were camping out in front of the castle to watch the fireworks when it was just Wishes and there were no projections. The instinct to watch the show in front of the castle is not something people started doing just because of projections.

Of course not, but no one suggested that. The issue is that the projection focus makes the crowding even worse; it exacerbates the problem.

They should definitely be doing two shows a night, though. That would have a much larger effect on decreasing the crowd than anything else they could do.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You're all lucky I'm not Chairman of the Parks, I would have sectioned off portions of the hub depending on how much you paid to get in.

APs can see it from the parking lot.

How’s retirement treating you, Chapek?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

People still were camping out in front of the castle to watch the fireworks when it was just Wishes and there were no projections. The instinct to watch the show in front of the castle is not something people started doing just because of projections.

What probably makes it seem worse is that when they were showing Wishes, they also were open later and would run two showings of whatever night parade was running at the moment in addition to fireworks, and there were separate projection-only shows added onto this in the last few years of Wishes.

MK went from three significant nighttime entertainment offerings (some of which offered multiple showings) to one, and that's as much of a contributing factor the congestion to the shows becoming more castle-centric, hence the current mob of people in the hub waiting for fireworks that would still exist even if HEA was projection-free. Bring back more of these options, and the HEA congestion will ease a bit. Alternatively, they could do what DL does and offer alternate viewing areas away from the hub.

It's not like there are no alternatives or possible solutions to this crowding. They just choose not to implement them

So you’re saying higher price, less value, more headache?

…I felt like I’ve heard that somewhere before?

 

[drizgirl]

People still were camping out in front of the castle to watch the fireworks when it was just Wishes and there were no projections. The instinct to watch the show in front of the castle is not something people started doing just because of projections.

What probably makes it seem worse is that when they were showing Wishes, they also were open later and would run two showings of whatever night parade was running at the moment in addition to fireworks, and there were separate projection-only shows added onto this in the last few years of Wishes.

MK went from three significant nighttime entertainment offerings (some of which offered multiple showings) to one, and that's as much of a contributing factor the congestion to the shows becoming more castle-centric, hence the current mob of people in the hub waiting for fireworks that would still exist even if HEA was projection-free. Bring back more of these options, and the HEA congestion will ease a bit. Alternatively, they could do what DL does and offer alternate viewing areas away from the hub.

It's not like there are no alternatives or possible solutions to this crowding. They just choose not to implement them

Nailed it.

 

[PiratesMansion]

So you’re saying higher price, less value, more headache?

…I felt like I’ve heard that somewhere before?

I actually said that having three night things vs one would be a better experience and value, and the tickets were actually lower priced when this was offered, but I'm sure you'll read whatever you want to read.

 

[HauntedPirate]

You're all lucky I'm not Chairman of the Parks, I would have sectioned off portions of the hub depending on how much you paid to get in.

APs can see it from the parking lot.

Donnie, is that you in disguise?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I actually said that having three night things vs one would be a better experience and value, and the tickets were actually lower priced when this was offered, but I'm sure you'll read whatever you want to read.

So closing parks for upsell tickets…aka block pricing…and cutting the nightly shows to correspond to that is not the same thing? Less value?

Someone will have to explain how? But I bet ya can’t do it

 

[PiratesMansion]

So closing parks for upsell tickets…aka block pricing…and cutting the nightly shows to correspond to that is not the same thing? Less value?

Someone will have to explain how? But I bet ya can’t do it

I figured it was obvious I was referring to regular day tickets, i.e. not upcharge parties, given that that is what was actually offered to regular day-ticket guests not that long ago.

 

[Lilofan]

People still were camping out in front of the castle to watch the fireworks when it was just Wishes and there were no projections. The instinct to watch the show in front of the castle is not something people started doing just because of projections.

What probably makes it seem worse is that when they were showing Wishes, they also were open later and would run two showings of whatever night parade was running at the moment in addition to fireworks, and there were separate projection-only shows added onto this in the last few years of Wishes.

MK went from three significant nighttime entertainment offerings (some of which offered multiple showings) to one, and that's as much of a contributing factor the congestion to the shows becoming more castle-centric, hence the current mob of people in the hub waiting for fireworks that would still exist even if HEA was projection-free. Bring back more of these options, and the HEA congestion will ease a bit. Alternatively, they could do what DL does and offer alternate viewing areas away from the hub.

It's not like there are no alternatives or possible solutions to this crowding. They just choose not to implement them

Projection working or not the mentality is
Hurry up and wait exercise which is a common item in the military .

We saw the NYE fireworks at Epcot WS by the lagoon getting there by 11pm. We stood next to families that hurry up and wait by them getting to their spot at 1pm and waited until NYE fireworks almost 11 hours later.

 

[Lilofan]

So you’re saying higher price, less value, more headache?

…I felt like I’ve heard that somewhere before?

And still many line up and drink the Kool Aid. Nothing new there.