Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[EricsBiscuit]

See -
Attendance is down.
Some attractions like EE have no waits.
Genie + is perfect.
Boarding groups are so easy to get in, its no big deal to miss then

All is right at WDW.

I didn’t buy LL or G+ and got on everything I wanted to. That being said, there are still plenty of people using the G+ line. The line for Peter Pan on Saturday was well outside the queue, and not because they were still scanning in. It was backed up. In hindsight, I should have tried to get to the park before 1:00 to get the bg but it wasn’t feasible. I was stuck with bg 35 and arrived at the park mid afternoon. I don’t think any sob story or tears would have gotten us on so I didn’t even bother trying lol.

 

[BrianLo]

Ontario March break was last week too, which is a huge parks migratory event normally. I think we (Canadians) are in a pseudo recession and the exchange rate is bad to boot. Pseudo because the only reason GDP isn’t shrinking is massive record immigration.

Maybe Spring is going to be an ideal time to visit now, it really feels like attendance trends are flipping.

 

[Andrew25]

Last week was ridicously busy... and Monday's have become a rather busy day of the week for the parks... this is bizarre.

Will be interesting if it picks up or not, next week is forecasted to be the busiest.

 

[Grimley1968]

Ontario March break was last week too, which is a huge parks migratory event normally. I think we (Canadians) are in a pseudo recession and the exchange rate is bad to boot. Pseudo because the only reason GDP isn’t shrinking is massive record immigration.

Maybe Spring is going to be an ideal time to visit now, it really feels like attendance trends are flipping.

I wasn't at WDW last week, but I was at Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral for the week. I saw many, many cars with Ontario plates heading in the same direction we were on I-75 on our travel days, probably more so than any individual US state except for Florida.

 

[Ayla]

Last week was ridicously busy... and Monday's have become a rather busy day of the week for the parks... this is bizarre.

Will be interesting if it picks up or not, next week is forecasted to be the busiest.

Forecasts haven't been very accurate so far this year, it seems.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Don’t think it’s an anomaly, rise 30 min space is 15.

Are all AP levels blacked out now?

 

[wannabeBelle]

Are all AP levels blacked out now?

Pirate and Pixie Dust only as per the blackout date calendar. Getting a park reservation at the other two levels may be a different question though. Marie

 

[Ayla]

Last week was ridicously busy... and Monday's have become a rather busy day of the week for the parks... this is bizarre.

Will be interesting if it picks up or not, next week is forecasted to be the busiest.

I just checked park reservations availability for day guests and resort guests...next week Tuesday, MK is blocked out (all other parks available all other days) and the following week, again only MK is blocked out on April 2nd (again, a Tuesday), all other parks available throughout the week.

The next two weeks are wide open for AP's that don't have blackout dates.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

I was at AK on Saturday, landed around 4:00. The lot looked full driving in, but they were refilling parking lanes right up next to Preferred when I got in. Lots and lots of empty spaces within the rows, and lots of people leaving even then. Kilimanjaro Safaris was a walk-on right up until it closed at 6:45. Flight of Passage was about a 40 minute wait or so at 7:30, if that. (The posted wait time was 70 minutes, but it wasn't anywhere near.) Lots and lots of elbow room in that park for a weekend during Spring Break, surprisingly enough.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I suspect next week to be a little more crowed again with Good Friday and Easter spring break week, but this week being dead as a spring break week as well is not good.

 

[Andrew25]

To show you how empty Orlando is today… I just drove from Celebration to Universal in 15 minutes. Typically a half hour normally, 45 at rush hour

 

[PREMiERdrum]

This past week and next week the parks are jammed. Not historic highs, but at least back up to pre-COVID averages for peak weeks. However, room bookings are still very, very soft.

Busses to and from resorts were easy to come by all last week - we were never left waiting.

On Monday the All Star complex had over 800 new check-ins scheduled, and occupancy still couldn't crack 85%.

 

[HauntedPirate]

This past week and next week the parks are jammed. Not historic highs, but at least back up to pre-COVID averages for peak weeks. However, room bookings are still very, very soft.

Busses to and from resorts were easy to come by all last week - we were never left waiting.

On Monday the All Star complex had over 800 new check-ins scheduled, and occupancy still couldn't crack 85%.

This week and next week aren't surprising at all. Lots of schools out for spring break.

But bookings still being soft? Our circle of "families known" has grown quite a bit over the past few years, for various reasons. We didn't see a single family that we know go to the swamps. Texas, Belize, lots went to Mexico, one large group went to Spain.

 

[HoustonHorn]

Small sample size and purely anecdotal, but folks who I am helping are choosing to stay off-site about half the time. And these are veterans who always used to stay onsite. The reasons they cite are lack of value, high price, fewer advantages to staying onsite, and the amount they are spending on G+/ILL.

 

[DisneyHead123]

If people really aren’t booking, they’ve budged surprisingly little on room prices.

The thing I can’t figure out is why there is such a huge gulf between the moderates and the deluxes. The deluxes are sometimes 3 to 4 times more expensive than the moderates, and just don’t seem like a 4-fold upgrade or even like they could be that much more expensive to run. It seems like they need to get the price on some of the deluxes down a fair bit so that there’s not such a huge gap in the pricing continuum. In many cases they leap from low $300s for Port Orleans to the $800 - $1,000+ range for popular deluxes.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Been here all week. Parks are pretty busy but manageable. Evenings have been nice.

 

[Lilofan]

To show you how empty Orlando is today… I just drove from Celebration to Universal in 15 minutes. Typically a half hour normally, 45 at rush hour

Next week is some in Northeast having spring break ( ie NJ ). Expect WDW to be busier.

 

[HauntedPirate]

If people really aren’t booking, they’ve budged surprisingly little on room prices.

The thing I can’t figure out is why there is such a huge gulf between the moderates and the deluxes. The deluxes are sometimes 3 to 4 times more expensive than the moderates, and just don’t seem like a 4-fold upgrade or even like they could be that much more expensive to run. It seems like they need to get the price on some of the deluxes down a fair bit so that there’s not such a huge gap in the pricing continuum. In many cases they leap from low $300s for Port Orleans to the $800 - $1,000+ range for popular deluxes.

It all comes down to two things - Hubris, and arrogance. And they have them both in spades.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

They are midgets standing on the shoulders of the giants who built Disney’s legacy.

The old management understood the difference between what you “can do” and what you “should do”.

Of course you CAN charge people a per ride fee on top of an unlimited ticket, but SHOULD you?

Of course you CAN cut entertainment, ride staffing, customer service and grooming standards, etc. and charge the same amount as the Disney Difference, but SHOULD you?

They think they are being clever by slaughtering the sheep when their predecessors happily sheared them over and over again….

Truly idiots.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

It all comes down to two things - Hubris, and arrogance. And they have them both in spades.

This, and...

They've had enough rouge and perfume to mostly cover this mess so far, but that won't last forever.