Well, let me jump in with some of my input here. The first statement that needs to be made is that theme park hours are always based on expected attendance. Seems like a simple enough statement, right?
Uhm ... not exactly.
At least not anymore. The biggest factor in determining WDW park operating hours now is the load levels at WDW resorts. The only problem with that is that many people (yes, even with 30,000 rooms and timeshares on property) still come from off-site locations. So when you look at say ... January and see a terrible number for predicted occupancy (see new thread) the parks could still be very busy with off-site and local guests.
Think of the implication... A guest at a Walt Disney World theme park should be able to visit an equal number of attractions whether the park close at midnight or if the park at 8. In my experience (which believe me I would believe equal to or surpassing even the surliest here) this has been the case. I know better than to visit the MK on a day where it closes at 1 am. Simply put, there's more people than China.
No. Not necessarily true. If the MK is open from 8-midnight, it will be crowded (packed likely at times) but those throngs will ebb and flow as people leave for a meal, a swim, to park hop or just take off for the day. When MK is open say 9-7, you can pretty much expect crowds to be consistent for much more of the day.
So, stretching this out to it's logical conclusion (get your cameras ready, for this will be the only time I ever say this) WDW1974 is right.
Why is the this only time you'll agree with me?
Do you enjoy being wrong?
Oh, for sure he's not right about the parks being open less than they were in the 70s and 80s...
No, pal, I am quite right about them being open less now ... do I have to go and pull an operating schedule from say August of 1977 that shows the MK was open 9-1 every day except the last two days when it was 9-7? Do I have to pull an EPCOT schedule from the summer of 1988 that shows the ENTIRE park open from 8-midnight over the summer? What about a DAK schedule from 1998 that shows 7-8 operating hours daily?
I don't state things as facts unless they are in fact so ...
He's either willfully ignoring the times of the year when fireworks only ran twice a week at the MK and if you wanted to stay past 6 pm on a weekday, too bad; or he is blissfully unaware that that used to be the case.
No, he isn't at all. He has mentioned this on other threads here in the past week. Nightly MK fireworks didn't become 'normal' until fall of 1996 when WDW started doing so for the woefully short of substance 25th anniversary ... it was a gimmick to do them nightly, but proved popular so they stuck with doing so.
But there's a whole lot more to a MK visit than fireworks. I recall times when MK was open until 10 or 11 and didn't have any ... fireworks used to be special, offered nightly during summer, Spring Break and Christmas and occassionaly holiday weekends.
I grew up with days of MK closing at 6 every night ... like it did in October 1981 for example (since I have that operating calendar here). No one died. No one even complained because Disney gave you a lot of bang for your buck when it was open.
And he's not right about WDW being the bastion of shortened hours while all other theme parks are upholding some sort of gold standard. I got two words for you, Disneyland; September. Try it sometime.
Hey, buddy, guess what? WDW1974 has been an APer at DL since the 1990s to go with his 1982 original WDW AP and his DLP AP.
He's been to DL countless times, including this past September. And he has no issue with DL's off-season 10-8 hours since the place is very uncrowded that time of year ... except on weekends when it is packed and remains open until 11 or midnight.
WDW is, as you put it, the bastion of shortened hours based upon WHAT IT USED TO OFFER ALL GUESTS!
No, what he is right about is how bad WDW is expecting it to be next year... Personally, I think they are over-reacting(as the Disney Company is wont to do), but to reduce the hours as much as they have (which, barring the Epcot change is actually not a significant dip in hours, which has been both proven and ignored earlier in this thread), is the Disney Company's way of saying "you're right WDW1974, we are going to have less people, so you can reap the benefits of a basically empty park in a much shorter time, enjoy not having to tear your hair out while being surrounded by tourists and have a Disney Day!"
NOTHING here has been proven about cuts in hours except people saying they aren't being cut and the rest of us, who have the facts on our side, are saying uhm, yeah they are.
And again, you are missing the point here. I have NO issue with Disney cutting back the hours in 2009 if attendance plummets like they predict. That is smart business and very wise in tough times.
My issue is them making all of these premptive cuts in 2008 (like closing the park at 8 on a holiday weekend when they are kicking off their Light Spectacular) to save money in advance. Because the parks appear to have been packed last week and Disney's cuts resulted in a lower quality product for all those folks spending thousands on magical WDW vacations.
That's my issue.
If no one show up in January, I'd advocate having one park shuttered every day and I'd fight any fanboy who disagrees out on the McPoohPlayground!
Do you get my POV yet?
Truth is, times are going to be tough next year, and many people are not going to be able to make a trip out to WDW. That works out to the benefit of the locals who can make an easy trip out with their annual pass, but I unfortunately, that isn't as large a number of people as is necessary to keep the parks open til midnight... On a Tuesday...in January...
And what sane, rational person would ever advocate the parks being left open until midnight on a Tuesday in January (except perhaps the first one of the month)?
