Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[TheMaxRebo]

I guess I found it most interesting that every park WDW, DL, Uni was down this year compared to previous years

I wonder if specific dates that are notorious for high crowds are being avoid due to that reputation - so July 4, Memorial Day, etc .... Reminds me of when they were talking up the crazy crowds for GE and then people stayed away initial to avoid the crazy crowds - so much they didn't materialize

Like Yogi would say, no one goes there any more it's too crowded

 

[LSLS]

We are staying there for 16 nights in September. It was the perfect compromise to going full Disney Resort.

Looking forward to the 5.30pm kickback and 3 alcoholic drinks per night.

Personally, Drury Inns are far and away the best hotels in their price range (I always look for them when traveling). The breakfasts are great, kickbacks are incredible, nice beds, amenities, etc. I'd be shocked if you don't love it.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Wonder if that is partly due to the country only pretty recently really opening up for travel. And same with Europe in general (not as extreme/recent)

Yes, I do think that is a major factor. Everyone had an itch to go to these places during the pandemic but couldn't so now that they can, tourists are flooding in. I saw pictures from cherry blossom season (March/April) in major cities and the crowds looked very akin to WDW.

 

[lentesta]

I feel like this deluge of articles is all based on a single report from @lentesta about 4th of July crowds in particular. I haven't really seen anything else beyond that single data point that keeps getting recycled over and over again.

I have had an astounding number of interview requests this week.

Also, it's weird to get a text from a casual acquaintance that says "Hey, I saw you mentioned in an OANN story about Disney." Bro, I have so many questions for you.

 

[mkt]

Yep. Europe is SLAMMED right now.

I was in Toronto for work a few weeks back. The city was full of Americans.

My assumption is that Americans with a passport are going to where the greenback is functionally a stronger currency right now, which is unfortunately not in the US.

 

[Ayla]

I was in Toronto for work a few weeks back. The city was full of Americans.

*sigh* I loved Toronto.

Hope to go back someday, but alas, my next Canada "vacation" is to a fishing lodge in western Ontario, leaving tomorrow.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

It's interesting to see gloom and doom comments because WDW is less busy compared to recent years.

Those of us who have been going for decades know that a slow day today compared to a few years ago is light years ahead of crowds 10 or 20 years ago.

Obviously Disney wants as much attendance and profit as possible but they're doing more than fine.

 

[Thepuma]

Personally, Drury Inns are far and away the best hotels in their price range (I always look for them when traveling). The breakfasts are great, kickbacks are incredible, nice beds, amenities, etc. I'd be shocked if you don't love it.

Cool

It was going to be Art Of Animation but did a last minute check and Drury Plaza was coming up around £800 cheaper between me and the wife..plus the included breakfast and kickbacks, I couldn't turn it down.

Still get in the parks 30 mins early, which for us rope droppers is invaluable.

 

[GhostHost1000]

It's interesting to see gloom and doom comments because WDW is less busy compared to recent years.

Those of us who have been going for decades know that a slow day today compared to a few years ago is light years ahead of crowds 10 or 20 years ago.

Obviously Disney wants as much attendance and profit as possible but they're doing more than fine.

Just imagine if the parks grew as the crowds have over the years. People would enjoy it more and G+ wouldn’t be needed

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Just imagine if the parks grew as the crowds have over the years. People would enjoy it more and G+ wouldn’t be needed

Or just kept the same hours, instead of putting nighttime hours between huge paywalls.

I remember going to Magic Kingdom past midnight in the fall, not just summer, when EMH were for all resort guests.

Nowadays there are less quiet times because everyone is there from open to close. Less ability to take an afternoon rest followed by a late evening in the theme parks.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I have had an astounding number of interview requests this week.

Also, it's weird to get a text from a casual acquaintance that says "Hey, I saw you mentioned in an OANN story about Disney." Bro, I have so many questions for you.

I read your post very quickly because I don’t have much time and I swore it said”hey,I saw you mentioned in an QAnon story about Disney”. I nearly fell off my chair saying why is Len giving an interview to that group and why do they want to know about Disney? I’m better now after rereading it.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It's interesting to see gloom and doom comments because WDW is less busy compared to recent years.

Those of us who have been going for decades know that a slow day today compared to a few years ago is light years ahead of crowds 10 or 20 years ago.

Obviously Disney wants as much attendance and profit as possible but they're doing more than fine.

Indeed.

The low attendance now is similar to the low attendance WDW used to get 10 years ago in Sep, Jan, and Feb. The parks nor the company didn't collapse because of that.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

So basically Iger said the boom of people going away since the pandemic is over..and the Florida heat are the reasons it’s slower at WDW.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/business/disney-world-universal-orlando-attendance-down

 

[MaryJaneP]

Whaaah, the parks are too crowded! Whaaah, the parks are too deserted! Make up your mf mind.

 

[el_super]

Obviously Disney wants as much attendance and profit as possible but they're doing more than fine.

Yep. Probably where the optimism from Iger is coming from. If attendance is down, people have a better time at the parks, and are more willing to return and pay higher prices for the better experience.

Of course what that means for Disney though, is spending more to keep them coming back at the higher prices. This is a return to the model that they found success with decades ago. Spend big and get big revenue in return. This puts the parks on a path toward growth, rather than the stagnation of the last 10 years.

 

[Thepuma]

So basically Iger said the boom of people going away since the pandemic is over..and the Florida heat are the reasons it’s slower at WDW.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/business/disney-world-universal-orlando-attendance-down

Who would have guessed that Florida would be hot in summer

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yep. Probably where the optimism from Iger is coming from. If attendance is down, people have a better time at the parks, and are more willing to return and pay higher prices for the better experience.

Of course what that means for Disney though, is spending more to keep them coming back at the higher prices. This is a return to the model that they found success with decades ago. Spend big and get big revenue in return. This puts the parks on a path toward growth, rather than the stagnation of the last 10 years.

But are people having a better time? That is the part I find most concerning. A Disney trip hasn't been "cheap" in a long time, but people felt it was worth it. Now with the add-ons and added complexity in planning, not a ton of new stuff, loss of perks (ME, etc), loss of entertainment (streetmosphere, etc) are people really having a better time in exchange for the high prices?

I still think a very good time can be had, why we have a trip planned, but hard to argue you are getting so much of a better experience for the drastically increased prices you are now paying

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Wonder if that is partly due to the country only pretty recently really opening up for travel. And same with Europe in general (not as extreme/recent)

Does get at a bit of what Iger talked about in his interview with Florence da being a place that opened very early from Covid so it became a hot spot to go for people that wanted to travel anywhere and now kinda got that out of their system and now going different places they can go now

I think it is PR spin to put so much into this vs looking honestly at themselves, but it could definitely be a factor

I think it’s probably one of the biggest factors, along with high prices, and lower perceived value.

We used to alternate WDW with Europe, as a result of Covid we did WDW in Nov 2020, Nov 2021, and Jan 2023… our next trip is Europe and we have no current WDW trips planned.

The Covid disrupted travel patterns favored WDW and created artificially high demand, now that normal travel is returning it’s going to favor all the areas we’ve skipped and hurt WDW demand, eventually vacationers will spread themselves out again.

Might be a rough year or two for Disney while patterns get back to normal though.

 

[el_super]

But are people having a better time? That is the part I find most concerning. A Disney trip hasn't been "cheap" in a long time, but people felt it was worth it. Now with the add-ons and added complexity in planning, not a ton of new stuff, loss of perks (ME, etc), loss of entertainment (streetmosphere, etc) are people really having a better time in exchange for the high prices?

Most of those issues are related to the high demand. Needing dated reservations and planning for wait time management became integral parts of the experience because the place was too crowded all the time.

If you curb demand on the pricing side, you can start to pull back the need for park reservations and Genie+. Even Streetmosphere can be pulled back a bit, since a lot of it is used as extra capacity.

If you can go on every ride over and over with a minimal wait... can you NOT have a better time?

 

[MR.Dis]

Just imagine if the parks grew as the crowds have over the years. People would enjoy it more and G+ wouldn’t be needed

My beef for several years is not that Disney needs another Park, they need to complete the Parks they have. AK has 7 rides (if you count Triceratops and 4 shows (counting that bird show and Tree of life). Hollywood studios is not much better with 9 rides and 5 shows (if you count the Dis Jr - not counting Fantasmic which is a night time attraction). Both should have a minimum of 4 more rides--and they do not all have to be E ticket rides. How many people remember that both Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land were supposed to have 4 new rides each until the 2 Bob's cut the budget?