Operating hours of several Epcot attractions and shops to be reduced from Feb 2016

[NearTheEars]

Don't care at all about when or how long the shops are open.
Sad to see adjustments made to attraction operating hours.
Especially after a great quarter for P&R.

 

[thehowiet]

That wasn't the point. The point was that 7pm closings in future world are not new. And that even with the cuts the hours have been greatly extended from what they were 20 years ago. At least when comparing to May to May.

Yes, let's not think about attendance and revenue today...we should move forward only using May of 1994 as our beacon of light.

 

[peter11435]

Yes, let's not think about attendance and revenue today...we should move forward only using May of 1994 as our beacon of light.

Thanks for continuing to miss the point.

I'm not saying things should be like they were in 1994. I'm saying that it's been like this far longer than people think. And that overall hours are longer now then they were then.

 

[hopemax]

After record setting attendance and profits no less.
If I didn't know any better I'd think they were really hurting and on the verge of going out of business.

It's insanity. Friends work merchandise and have been complaining that they have no hours, since before the holidays. If you don't have enough hours to make sure the merchandise in your stockroom makes it onto the sales floor, what does that mean? Walmart got really bad press when their labor issues made the news, but I'm sure even the business world is oblivious to WDW being in a similar situation.

 

[Jahona]

Whilst looking at figures, a garden view at the Floridian in 1993 was $230-250, standard at the Poly was $185-195 and a tower room at the Contemporary was $240-260. Oh, standard at the CBR was $89.

The interweb tells me to times those figures by 1.66 to adjust for inflation. My my.

I was looking at my 2004 planning stuff and room rates were still relatively reasonable. This might be a wages vs cost of living thing, but I feel like the margin between how much you are paid and the cost of vacation is a higher difference than what it used to be.

 

[Britrepeater]

Looking at this another way would the earlier closure times allow more time to work on soarin? Is the idea to steer guests over the other side of future world, so they can make a bit more noise on the west side?

 

[ParentsOf4]

I'm not saying things should be like they were in 1994. I'm saying that it's been like this far longer than people think. And that overall hours are longer now then they were then.

I understand but you don't have to go back to 1994 which, as I noted in my previous post, was a relatively poor financial year for Disney Parks & Resorts. Operating income was down 8.4% while attendance was down 7.4%.

Things were worse in (for example) 2001, 2002, and 2003. I recall going to the Magic Kingdom and seeing 15-minute wait times for Space Mountain and 25-minute wait times for Peter Pan's Flight. Parks and attractions closed early then too. Fireworks often were held only a couple of times a week. Heck, Disney closed entire wings of hotels. Attractions like Rock n Roller Coaster were walk-ons as park closing approached. At times, parts of the theme parks felt like ghost towns. It was eerie.

That is the point though. Operating hours should be a function of attendance. Disney has reported record domestic theme park attendance for some years now. Disney just announced another 10% bump in domestic attendance for the last quarter.

Disney should be taking steps to relieve crowds rather than cramming even more people in during fewer hours.

Chapek has been P&R Chairman for only a few months and it's already beginning to feel like a return of Paul Pressler; charge more for less.

 

[Andrew C]

I understand but you don't have to go back to 1994 which, as I noted in my previous post, was a relatively poor financial year for Disney Parks & Resorts. Operating income was down 8.4% while attendance was down 7.4%.

Things were worse in (for example) 2001, 2002, and 2003. I recall going to the Magic Kingdom and seeing 15-minute wait times for Space Mountain and 25-minute wait times for Peter Pan's Flight. Parks and attractions closed early then too. Fireworks often were held only a couple of times a week. Heck, Disney closed entire wings of hotels. Attractions like Rock n Roller Coaster were walk-ons as park closing approached. At times, parts of the theme parks felt like ghost towns. It was eerie.

That is the point though. Operating hours should be a function of attendance. Disney has reported record domestic theme park attendance for some years now. Disney just announced another 10% bump in domestic attendance for the last quarter.

Disney should be taking steps to relieve crowds rather than cramming even more people in during fewer hours.

Chapek has been P&R Chairman for only a few months and it's already beginning to feel like a return of Paul Pressler; charge more for less.

Would this even be a Chapek decision?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Chapek has been P&R Chairman for only a few months and it's already beginning to feel like a return of Paul Pressler; charge more for less.

That would be a horrible turn of events.

 

[t3techcom18]

Unfortunately, this isn't affecting just the parks themselves but all of property as well. Folks at the resorts are starting to get their hours cut like crazy (even for high seniority folks). My peeps in attractions have been having their managers practically begging them to get out early and not allowing extensions unless it's out of extreme necessity (ie, busy day or short-staffed).

From the rumblings I've heard, I can't confirm nor deny that this might be a shifting of the economic resources since a certain Oriental park still needs a lot of work before it's ready...

Care to confirm or elaborate on this, Martin or djkidkaz?

 

[mouse_luv]

 

[Mike C]

More of this is coming, also. There's a reason DHS has had very little sign of construction lately. I hate to blame Shanghai, but...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Hasn't Future World 9 to 7 and World Showcase 11 to 9 been standard Epcot hours for years?

 

[Slowjack]

[...] now it won't give the ride the appearance of a depressing ghost town when the relatively few guests that do ride are spread out so thinly throughout the long day.

A well-maintained park never has the appearance of a depressing ghost town. No one who has been on a Disney ride when it was sparsely attended, but looking clean and in great working condition, has felt bad about it. Instead they felt glad. But since Disney now shutters things and reduces hours whenever crowds become thin, it's an experience few will have again.

You know what makes a place feel like a depressing ghost town? When the park is open but a ride is closed for no reason except to save a few bucks. Ask yourself this: if the deli counter at the grocery was staffed even when no one was waiting--versus having the counter closed except at peak times--which scenario would make you feel better? I don't mean just more convenient to you, but which would make you feel like the store was doing well and would continue to prosper?

 

[noidwork]

I was there 2 weeks ago with 3 small kids, so we went to do Imagination around 8:30, before Illuminations. There were more cast members on this side of the park then there were guests. Inside Imagination itself, there was 1 at the entrance, 4 at the load station, and 2 at the exit. I didn't see any other riders coming behind us, or on the vehicle in front of us. There were no guests in the area after the ride either. I'd be sad if it was closed because it was something my kids could do, but as a business operator, that's just foolish to keep running it when no one is there.

I also like the idea mentioned earlier of keeping things open to spread out the population, but the problem is these attractions don't draw enough people at night to make any appreciable difference on where the crowd is. If there was anything remotely interesting, it'd draw people and it'd stay open. But Imagination and LWtL do not do it. I'm fine with saving money on things that are not bein used if it helps the bottom line.

I do recognize this was one of the slowest weeks of the year, that's why we chose it.

 

[Lirael]

I get everyone's issues with this, but I admit I dont really mind it. If Disney is now after cost-cutting, putting rides back to the hours they used to be and simply not opening the store in for an hour most guests dont really go to it...seem like small, sane, measures. Better than layoffs, or exorbitant increase in pricing.

(Although I am a little worried that disney is being like this now, since I think the usually big brazilian attendance in summer might decrease this year...)

 

[disney4life2008]

Epcpt and Hollywood studios is turning out to be an embarrassment.

 

[Biff215]

I didn't say I liked it, but, even if the parks are filled to capacity, if no one is going to those places to warrant them being opened, I understand why it isn't. It's a waste of resources. I, again, am not one that likes to see things closed, but, there is a difference between an hour or so per day and permanently. I'd guess that the majority of those that are indignant about it, do not support those areas during the times listed. In other words, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worse thing that could happen, it wouldn't even reach 5.

As I said, just a few years ago, Future World basically closed down at 7pm. That's not conjecture, that is personal experience. So, what's new and shocking about it. After that hour 99.9% of all the Guests are in World Showcase waiting for the big boomers to start. It's a wonder that end of Epcot doesn't drop into one of the infamous sinkholes during that time.

It's clearly always been Disney's goal to push guests into WS to have dinner and shop in the evening. But to say "no one is going to these places" or 99.9% of guests being in WS are beyond an exaggeration. It's like this because Disney hasn't offered enough in FW to take up your time, but that's no excuse for not making it available until park close. Just wait until Soarin reopens!

 

[BoarderPhreak]

EPCOT Center also used to keep everything open in Futureworld until 10pm. When it was fully open until that time every night during the summer months...

Those were good times back then; I remember them well. Of course, there was also actual stuff to do in FW back then. Heck, Communicore alone soaked up tons of people.

 

[Goofyernmost]

It's clearly always been Disney's goal to push guests into WS to have dinner and shop in the evening. But to say "no one is going to these places" or 99.9% of guests being in WS are beyond an exaggeration. It's like this because Disney hasn't offered enough in FW to take up your time, but that's no excuse for not making it available until park close. Just wait until Soarin reopens!

Then they will be back up to longer hours. Wait and see! The 99.9% was indeed a likely exaggerated W.A.G. But, I am certain that there was not a lot of business after those hours after Soarin closed for refurb.