Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[wannabeBelle]

That's beautiful. If someone could move that hideous boat out the way, it'd be even better!

Hey there, No hating on my ride! I had to park somewhere and that is where it fit!! Marie

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Disney only opened part of the land initially. But when Rise (the best part) opened in December it was much more crowded. People were showing up at Hollywood before 5:00am to get in for a Boarding Group. I think if Disney had opened everything together the crowds would've been much bigger. If Universal runs into similar issues with staggered or delayed openings, then I could see it winding up with softer crowds than anticipated.

People showed up crazy early the day Galaxy's Edge opened as well. It was just that later-arriving crowds didn't materialize, and people left after seeing GE and some of the merch.

I was there. By mid-day it was clear the merchandise wasn't selling. In the morning the gift shops had a line, by mid-day the CM's were bring stuff outdoors to display it on carts in the hope people would buy it.

We also got a small opening day handout on the way in. I think it was a small poster. On the way out of the park, CM's said we could each have another one. Most people leaving didn't want one.

I understand there was some excitement the day Rise opened, I wasn't there that day to compare them.

It was kinda fun to be at HS so crazy early in the morning, but it was also a little surreal because it was still dark out. Almost dream-like.

Alas, the ride and the land were a bit underwhelming. I should also maybe mention that I was also able to visit GE a few days before that during AP previews. To some extent people dressed up both days, but just about everyone there for the AP preview was wearing Star Wars outfits or shirts, so that enthusiasm was fun.

 

[Tha Realest]

People were showing up at Hollywood before 5:00am to get in for a Boarding Group.

That was the only way one could experience. General attendance numbers at DL after SWGE opened actually showed a negligible effect on attendance, if not a downturn.

 

[hopemax]

From a semi-reliable source they are adding Sapphire Falls to the premier resorts along with the Helios at Epic.

Speculation is the the 4 older resorts will get EP for the 2 original parks and Helios will get EP for Epic. Not sure if it will have EP at opening though or later on.

Sapphire Falls as an EP option would be great! Only stayed there 1 night (couldn't get RPR for 2, so we moved, but still had the EP we wanted).

This is what I expect. Helios will be the only hotel with Express at Epic for a good while, but it might not be from Day 1.

 

[rd805]

A part of me does think back to when Disney was so worried about the crazy crowds for Galaxy's Edge that they had all these restrictions and then the crowds wound up staying away ... Could the same thing happen with EU?

Obviously people are excited for it but only so many hoops they will jump through and so much they pay - especially to do it more than once

1) The theme park lover in me sort of hopes it keeps tourists away from EU, so people can travel there, get to see most if not all of the park, and then they can expand offerings for the general public to follow. Selfishly, i want to be there within the first month of opening.

2) Star Wars land had amazing hype; but then opening it not-fully completed in combination that it's really just "Okay" and no where near what it could have been led to the crowds staying away.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's been very evident that Orlando as a destination has hit a price ceiling 2 years ago. I love the parks, but I can't convince myself to spend $150+ for a 1-day ticket, let alone for a family of 4.

The charge of Disney management at parks has always been to avoid exactly that and nothing else

 

[GhostHost1000]

If numbers continue to trend down then what other companies do is what Disney has done in the past . It is called streamlining your business by restructuring. Many can read those tea leaves.

How many times do they have to restructure in order to make good business and park
decisions?

 

[Tha Realest]

The charge of Disney management at parks has always been to avoid exactly that and nothing else

Well, they’ve found the ceiling. Maybe they’re about to become acquainted with the floor?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Well, they’ve found the ceiling. Maybe they’re about to become acquainted with the floor?

Well if they get acquainted with the Florida u employment system…they ain’t gonna like it

 

[easyrowrdw]

People showed up crazy early the day Galaxy's Edge opened as well. It was just that later-arriving crowds didn't materialize, and people left after seeing GE and some of the merch.

I was there. By mid-day it was clear the merchandise wasn't selling. In the morning the gift shops had a line, by mid-day the CM's were bring stuff outdoors to display it on carts in the hope people would buy it.

We also got a small opening day handout on the way in. I think it was a small poster. On the way out of the park, CM's said we could each have another one. Most people leaving didn't want one.

I understand there was some excitement the day Rise opened, I wasn't there that day to compare them.

It was kinda fun to be at HS so crazy early in the morning, but it was also a little surreal because it was still dark out. Almost dream-like.

Alas, the ride and the land were a bit underwhelming. I should also maybe mention that I was also able to visit GE a few days before that during AP previews. To some extent people dressed up both days, but just about everyone there for the AP preview was wearing Star Wars outfits or shirts, so that enthusiasm was fun.

I'm with you on the land, but you thought Rise was underwhelming? Or just Falcon? From my POV it seemed like the lack of stuff (other than stuff to buy) and Falcon being just okay really hurt. (They still had way more live "entertainment" at the beginning than they do now though, which is pretty sad.) But, yeah, the huge crowds never seemed to materialize.

That was the only way one could experience. General attendance numbers at DL after SWGE opened actually showed a negligible effect on attendance, if not a downturn.

That's crazy. I was speaking about Disney World. They made tweaks to the boarding groups to lessen the crush, but on the days I went there were more people waiting before sunrise than I see on a typical day today. Didn't they have timed entry into the land at some point too? Or am I making that up?

 

[el_super]

That was the only way one could experience. General attendance numbers at DL after SWGE opened actually showed a negligible effect on attendance, if not a downturn.

Attendance went down due to increases in ticket prices and adjustments to the way APs work. They took actions to limit attendance.

Attendance isn't all that important. It needs to stop be used as a metric of success or failure.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

I'm with you on the land, but you thought Rise was underwhelming? Or just Falcon? From my POV it seemed like the lack of stuff (other than stuff to buy) and Falcon being just okay really hurt. (They still had way more live "entertainment" at the beginning than they do now though, which is pretty sad.) But, yeah, the huge crowds never seemed to materialize.

That's crazy. I was speaking about Disney World. They made tweaks to the boarding groups to lessen the crush, but on the days I went there were more people waiting before sunrise than I see on a typical day today. Didn't they have timed entry into the land at some point too? Or am I making that up?

They did, and yes, they managed it about as well as you might expect.

 

[celluloid]

Disney's problem is the same as Universal's issue.

A brand-new theme park and its hotels are going to be the center of theme park attention for the next five years starting big in 2025.

This is worse news for Disney, because it is not theirs.

 

[Tha Realest]

Attendance went down due to increases in ticket prices and adjustments to the way APs work. They took actions to limit attendance.

Attendance isn't all that important. It needs to stop be used as a metric of success or failure.

You can’t really believe they built out valuable 14 acres at Disneyland (and it’s attendant capacity expansion) to result in a wash attendance-wise.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm with you on the land, but you thought Rise was underwhelming? Or just Falcon? From my POV it seemed like the lack of stuff (other than stuff to buy) and Falcon being just okay really hurt. (They still had way more live "entertainment" at the beginning than they do now though, which is pretty sad.) But, yeah, the huge crowds never seemed to materialize.

That's crazy. I was speaking about Disney World. They made tweaks to the boarding groups to lessen the crush, but on the days I went there were more people waiting before sunrise than I see on a typical day today. Didn't they have timed entry into the land at some point too? Or am I making that up?

You really want to get me started?

 

[networkpro]

I'm with you on the land, but you thought Rise was underwhelming? Or just Falcon? From my POV it seemed like the lack of stuff (other than stuff to buy) and Falcon being just okay really hurt. (They still had way more live "entertainment" at the beginning than they do now though, which is pretty sad.) But, yeah, the huge crowds never seemed to materialize.

That's crazy. I was speaking about Disney World. They made tweaks to the boarding groups to lessen the crush, but on the days I went there were more people waiting before sunrise than I see on a typical day today. Didn't they have timed entry into the land at some point too? Or am I making that up?

IMHO its never approached even a semblance of immersion. It's been worse with the crowd management since the opening days for either of the attractions. I can only truthfully say that I've been immersed in lines inside of the Blackspire area of Galaxy's Edge.

 

[jpinkc]

You can’t really believe they built out valuable 14 acres at Disneyland (and it’s attendant capacity expansion) to result in a wash attendance-wise.

I can. Disneyland is a much different animal to WDW. I have family in California who are looking to get out as when retirement hits. They go to Disneyland 4 or 5 times a year sometimes more. They always say its so much better than WDW. They like WDW but the crowds just boggle them. According to people they know who have worked at Disneyland its about stable attendance there, which they get with the locals, heck people would come to the parks for lunch and leave just to kinda get away for a bit. Now this was a pre pandemic discussion had over dinner in WDW.

 

[jpinkc]

You rally want to get me started?

No Walter we dont. Most of us agree with you, anything Star Wars after Rogue One pretty much sucked. Season 1&2 of Mando being exceptions. And yes they should have stayed Original Star Wars for the land. But we are in the wrong thread

 

[GhostHost1000]

Attendance went down due to increases in ticket prices and adjustments to the way APs work. They took actions to limit attendance.

Attendance isn't all that important. It needs to stop be used as a metric of success or failure.

cmon... you can't really believe that? Uni raises their prices when Disney does as well... were they trying to limit attendance too?

attendance did not go down just because of prices...many reasons for that...prices are just a part of it

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I'm with you on the land, but you thought Rise was underwhelming? Or just Falcon? From my POV it seemed like the lack of stuff (other than stuff to buy) and Falcon being just okay really hurt. (They still had way more live "entertainment" at the beginning than they do now though, which is pretty sad.) But, yeah, the huge crowds never seemed to materialize.

That's crazy. I was speaking about Disney World. They made tweaks to the boarding groups to lessen the crush, but on the days I went there were more people waiting before sunrise than I see on a typical day today. Didn't they have timed entry into the land at some point too? Or am I making that up?

My post was more about opening day than Rise, but yeah. The whole area is a disappointment, IMO. Falcon should be so much more. Docking Bay is one of the better QS in HS, but that isn't saying much. The merchandise is all wildly over-priced and mostly unappealing. Also, coconut milk? blech. The cantina idea had potential, but the execution is a miss.

It didn't help that the first time we rode Rise it broke down while we were waiting, so it ended up being a 2 hour wait in a enclosed queue that kept getting hotter and hotter with little airflow. I'm not paying $25 to do that again.

The best part of the land- on a later visit- was Mando. Star Wars is beloved, but somehow Disney made a land that is dull and ugly. Seeing Mando confirmed for me just how much better the land should have been.

Alas, I don't want to hijack this thread any more than I already have, so I'll leave it there.