Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[Ayla]

I'm just here because I can't believe later this year my husband and I will be counted in the "50 and over group". For everything.

I'm not far behind you. *sigh*

 

[DopeyRunner]

We need folks who actually are in the parks daily to report back and tell us if they see or feel if the crowds are less and the guest experience is better.

Perhaps some numbers are down but are the queues are still packed and is it true the only way to get on an attraction is in the last hour the park is open?

Does MDE have an API to get wait time information?

 

[dreday3]

I'm not far behind you. *sigh*

As my mom told us very recently - "you don't look it so quit admitting it".

 

[ChrisFL]

This is purely anecdotal, but of the few people I know who have decided to halt Disney trips for awhile, lackluster park visits were the reason. One person mentioned loss of FastPass and Genie not working well with the big crowds, another said transportation with the bus system was becoming too slow and cumbersome, another mentioned crowds. All said they’ll go back at some point but don’t feel like Disney is worth it at this exact moment.

No idea if that’s representative at all and I do think a myriad of reasons come into play, but did find that interesting. I don’t know if I’d be excited about going back either if not for my son (he recently reached a point where he finally seems to be outgrowing the endless meltdowns that ensued whenever we traveled, and will actually go on some rides). But I do think that if something is an amazing experience for people, they’re more likely to “find a way”. Shorter trip, less expensive hotel, no character meals, etc. If the experience is a bit meh then suddenly it’s easier to rationalize various reasons not to go and let them take precedence.

I bet the removal of Magical Express as one of the perks had a psychological effect on top of that...it gave the impression that from start to finish your vacation would be super convenient.

 

[hopemax]

Younger baby boomers are nearing 70, so it won't be long before they're removed from the calculations.

1964 is the end of the boomers. The youngest are approaching 60, not 70.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I bet the removal of Magical Express as one of the perks had a psychological effect on top of that...it gave the impression that from start to finish your vacation would be super convenient.

By canning magical express…Slaphead counteracted the whole purpose of magical express

It was low cost to say “we want you here…and we don’t think you’re missing out by not going anywhere else”

That was his dumbest move…cause he made few. The rest were all basically Iger hatchlings

 

[dreday3]

I'm so curious to see how much they raise hotel prices by when they come out next week.

Common sense says of course they will increase, but by all the indicators you guys are mentioning - wouldn't it be more prudent to not raise the prices?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm just here because I can't believe later this year my husband and I will be counted in the "50 and over group". For everything.

I'm not far behind you. *sigh*

You two sound hot…

…but I only have eyes for @monothingie and Mom

 

[GimpYancIent]

I'm just here because I can't believe later this year my husband and I will be counted in the "50 and over group". For everything.

Soooo young and worrying about aging. Please take a breath and go enjoy a Dole Whip spiking it with a little rum would be good too.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We need folks who actually are in the parks daily to report back and tell us if they see or feel if the crowds are less and the guest experience is better.

Perhaps some numbers are down but are the queues are still packed and is it true the only way to get on an attraction is in the last hour the park is open?

They fell behind comfortable capacity due to a natural growth in travel in the region 10-15 years ago. Iger did it purposefully to try and sell more stuff at higher prices.
Not really and indicator nor a mystery

 

[Lilofan]

I'm just here because I can't believe later this year my husband and I will be counted in the "50 and over group". For everything.

Just think in 5 years you can both move into a 55 & up retirement village if financially able to and being active with fellow seniors ( let's play pickleball ! )

 

[dreday3]

Just think in 5 years you can both move into a 55 & up retirement village if financially able to and being active with fellow seniors ( let's play pickleball ! )

And there we'd be young again!

 

[mightynine]

I'm so curious to see how much they raise hotel prices by when they come out next week.

Common sense says of course they will increase, but by all the indicators you guys are mentioning - wouldn't it be more prudent to not raise the prices?

Raise prices 30% then offer 20% discounts - you're still ahead 10%!

 

[Tay]

Like someone said they are out of touch of what we want. No one has a problem with the rising cost but we want to see results and the money spread out more. You have to pay extra for longer lines, & smaller portions.

The drama with the FLA governor, I see why they don’t want to invest the full 17 billion but at the very least they have to start building some people eaters, more indoor restaurants, & some shows to get people out the Florida heat and long lines. I don’t think that’s unreasonable to ask and for them to do.

It’s like everything has to be this big gigantic extravaganza for them to invest in the parks when people just want to go to Disney to get on rides and have fun.

I can literally go to Disneyland Paris, London, and Portugal for less than what I paid for for the 4 parks & my stay in a (crappy) value hotel for a week.

 

[lentesta]

Ding ding ding. This, to me, is the biggest problem. That's your next generation of regular visitors right there and leadership only cared about goosing quarterly numbers rather than trying to give a good experience that would lead them to go back home and talk about how great of a time they had.

And then the people that can (maybe?) afford it come back and say it's too complicated, don't bother.

Also, doesn't surprise me UO would feel the spillover from WDW. IMO, it's still dependent on getting people visiting both while in Orlando, not planning an Orlando trip exclusively for UO.

I mean, Universal is opening a park for young families near Dallas. Not only does it address the affordablity issue but Dallas' population is more than 3x that of Orlando's.

 

[lentesta]

Raise prices 30% then offer 20% discounts - you're still ahead 10%!

The math here isn't obvious, so I had to use a calculator: $1 x 1.30 x 0.80 = $1.04, so you'd be up 4%.

Where:

• $1 is the original price
• 1.30 is the 30% raise in prices
• 0.80 is the 20% discount (or 80% of the current price, which is the same thing)

 

[mightynine]

I mean, Universal is opening a park for young families near Dallas. Not only does it address the affordablity issue but Dallas' population is more than 3x that of Orlando's.

That's going to be really interesting to see play out.

The math here isn't obvious, so I had to use a calculator: $1 x 1.30 x 0.80 = $1.04, so you'd be up 4%.

Where:

• $1 is the original price
• 1.30 is the 30% raise in prices
• 0.80 is the 20% discount (or 80% of the current price, which is the same thing)

Hey, I didn't get on the internet to do math! (Thanks for the correction!)

 

[lentesta]

For DCL they actually got it right….they charge premium market rates but EVERY person I’ve met or friend I’ve had who’s done DC said it’s head and shoulders above the competition and their favorite CL….if only Disney would do this with the parks. If you’re gonna charge a higher rate, make the experience match.

Agreed. In our DCL book, the "Which cruise line should you choose" section says "Kids? => Disney"

 

[Drdcm]

It’s kind of funny. I went a few weeks ago for a solo trip for two days because it happened to be an option that didn’t require me to spend a ton of money. I have been pretty consistently irritated with the increased cost and what I perceived to be declining quality. I put off going for much longer than I normally would, and really only went because it happened to be convenient.

The attendance was really low ( I know that it’s usually lower that time of year). That in itself increased the value to me and I had a blast. I was actually able to enjoy myself because I could do what I wanted. If attendance is truly dropping, maybe they need that to help gain back some of their die hard fans.

 

[lentesta]

Does MDE have an API to get wait time information?

Close enough. Lots of sites have them. Posted wait times have a lot of noise, though. It's very difficult to tease out some changes in attendance.