News Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening day reports - Disney's Hollywood Studios

[The_Jobu]

Opening night at HHN looked insanely busy, where are all these people hiding during the day that the parks are so slow?

 

[mikejs78]

Firesale through the early 2010s.

I remember prices going up from 2004 to 2010, but lots of discounts....

 

[monothingie]

Prices raised to curb attendance. Attendance begins to respond. Alarm bells ring? Seems like they're arriving at their intended result but they're not sure how to handle it.

They want the parks maxed out all the time, hence the dynamic pricing. That’s a PR spin. I bet we hear next how high guest satisfaction is.

 

[monothingie]

I remember prices going up from 2004 to 2010, but lots of discounts....

Buy 3 get 4 free. AP specials galore. They were hurting.

 

[drod1985]

Also, no fast pass for falcon is probably helping keep the stand by wait times down slightly, even during this slower period.

Anybody know the average FP+ to Standby rider ratio? Could possibly extrapolate what MF:SR’s standby wait time would be if FP+ was in use.

 

[bclane]

I think @monothingie Is on to something regarding pricing. As a teacher who is married to a teacher, they’ve almost priced us out. The only reason we keep renewing our Disney passes is because we’ve decided that Disney is more important than things like eating and going to the doctor.

 

[marni1971]

I know it's over 2k theoretical, but what I've heard is that operationally it's been significantly below since opening.

Mid teens. I’m awaiting something more accurate.

1800. It’s often got close so far.

But we digress.

 

[mikejs78]

1800. It’s often got close so far.

But we digress.

Thanks. I had seen 1100 somewhere but it's hard to know what sources to trust. I generally trust your facts above others....

 

[monothingie]

I think @monothingie Is on to something regarding pricing. As a teacher who is married to a teacher, they’ve almost priced us out. The only reason we keep renewing our Disney passes is because we’ve decided that Disney is more important than things like eating and going to the doctor.

I’m not saying Disney needs to subsidize people’s vacations, but the shock shouldn’t be there by TWDC when they’ve been lowering the value equation and then finally guests respond by stop going.

 

[mikejs78]

FWIW - just tried to find a week in October on the Disney site - and came up empty. Extremely limited availability, sometimes none at all. Contrast that to September where you can still find plenty of rooms.

 

[danlb_2000]

Opening night at HHN looked insanely busy, where are all these people hiding during the day that the parks are so slow?

I would imagine HHN draws a lot of locals.

 

[Magic Feather]

Such a shame.
But Keep those APs at $1k...

Imagine the crowds they could have by incentivizing guests. But as @marni1971 said they won’t admit failure.

This isn’t a Star Wars problem, or even a Disney Problem. This is a tourism problem. Universal (which has very reasonably priced annuals) is having just as many problems right now, even pre-Hurricane.

 

[monothingie]

This isn’t a Star Wars problem, or even a Disney Problem. This is a tourism problem. Universal (which has very reasonably priced annuals) is having just as many problems right now, even pre-Hurricane.

Is the latest central Florida fad over? Everything has its price. Disney being the price leader and main destination certainly has not helped the others and secondary destinations. (I would still consider USO to be a secondary destination for many)

 

[ThistleMae]

I would imagine HHN draws a lot of locals.

Just a comment about HHN, which used to be my favorite event to go to. The crowds have gotten to be too much. The scares are spoiled due to attendants rushing people through, and you can see what's waiting up ahead. Totally ruined the experience for me. So...not sure what impact this will have on future attendance there. Just saying.

 

[bclane]

I’m hoping this triggers massive pricing incentives. We passed up the six months free on a Uni pass last time cause we just couldn’t swing both resorts anymore. I just think a lot of people are feeling some financial pressure even though the economy has been good. I know for us, our income was several thousand dollars less than the year before but my taxes were over a thousand dollars higher than the previous year (made a lot less in tutoring income). That was quite a shock. I know the tax cuts benefited a lot of people so I’m not trying to be political but they actually hurt us as we lost some deductions that had benefited us in the past and we didn’t qualify for the new things that were supposed to help. For example, since we itemize deductions and have for the last 20 or so years, we weren’t benefited by the higher standard deduction. Anyway, I just wonder if more people are hurting more than the apparent good economy would make it seem. Combine that with Dorian, the fact that it’s September, all the price gouging, the looming possible recession, the fact that RotR isn’t opened yet, and maybe all those things together explain the current situation. I mean I just don’t believe people are tired of having fun or suddenly hate theme parks.

 

[mikejs78]

I’m not saying Disney needs to subsidize people’s vacations, but the shock shouldn’t be there by TWDC when they’ve been lowering the value equation and then finally guests respond by stop going.

They won't learn. They will cut entertainment and cut some future projects because they will think that building out doesn't generate a good return. That's the lesson they will learn if Galaxy's Edge doesn't ultimately succeed.

 

[jt04]

Is the latest central Florida fad over? Everything has its price. Disney being the price leader and main destination certainly has not helped the others and secondary destinations. (I would still consider USO to be a secondary destination for many)

Between the expanding population growth of central Florida and Orlando being an obvious destination for conventions, the areas tourist industry is somewhat recession proof. Nothing that can't be managed by adjusting park hours and attraction closures for maintenance.IMO.

 

[jt04]

They won't learn. They will cut entertainment and cut some future projects because they will think that building out doesn't generate a good return. That's the lesson they will learn if Galaxy's Edge doesn't ultimately succeed.

My guess is GE's is not seen as a failure at all. Probably grades adequate considering it is somewhat barebones of what it can and likely will be in the future. ROtR has to open before we really can tell.

I'm betting 25% of guests at DL yesterday think GE is a new planet on Star Tours. Just wait until they stumble onto the actual land.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Anybody know the average FP+ to Standby rider ratio? Could possibly extrapolate what MF:SR’s standby wait time would be if FP+ was in use.

80% Fastpass, 20% standby. No joke. This is the standard and any huge draw attraction is doing this ratio most of the day.

 

[BubbaQuest]

Not to beat a dead horse but comparing the standby wait time at a FP+ attraction (FOP) to the wait time at an attraction without FP+ (MFSR) is really silly. For the majority of people riding FOP the wait is 10-20 minutes because they are riding FP+. People are willing to wait 50 to ride MFSR?! Wow it must be a ton better/more interesting!

The comparisons are just too tough to make. Some people are willing to get into an FOP standby line of 140 minutes. No one is facing that decision with MFSR. When they add FP+ to it somebody feel free to resurface this thread. We can then see how much FP+ destroys standby wait times. Hours waits for MFSR will be there at Spring Break if there is FP+.

Martin has explained this about FP+ so many times I have lost count.

Oh, I get that. I know that standby lines with FP are much shorter than lines without FP. I'm not trying to compare apples and oranges here. I'm only looking at the overall numbers to get a general idea how many people are in the park. Looking at those numbers, it appears WDW is experiencing an average early September day.

One small problem, they just spent $1B on a land that lets you fly the Millennium Falcon. And yet it's just an "average early September day". I'd be willing to buy into the "it's slow everywhere" story people are passing around. But I no longer believe that to be true. People are lining up for Pandora. People are lining up for HHN. People are lining up for popcorn buckets at DLR. They're just not lining up for SWGE, beyond an average early September day.