Great post
I get the feeling Disney is in all out panic mode regarding the attendance at Galaxy's Edge.Thanks. It's a really interesting phenomenon that's playing out this month at Disneyland. No one could have predicted this.
Crowds were modest and manageable for the three weeks of reservations only, so everyone thought the place would go nuts today for the first day of no-reservations and the Virtual Queue to enter the land.
Right now at 9:30pm Pacific Time, just finishing the first Fantasmic! at Disneyland and World of Color at DCA, as I watch the fireworks start here on my deck on a gorgeous SoCal summer evening, and wait times and crowds have collapsed further with Disneyland open until Midnight.
They turned off the Virtual Queue to get into Star Wars Land at 5:00pm today, the land has just been open to anyone who wanders in since 5:00pm, and currently the Millennium Falcon has a 30 minute wait time. All other E Tickets at Disneyland and DCA are 5 to 10 minute wait times. In short, Disneyland and DCA are dead as a doornail tonight and everything except Millennium Falcon is basically a walk-on. That's unheard of!
It will be interesting to see how the crowds develop through next week with the 4th of July, but suffice it to say we should see some visible panic from TDA and Burbank within a day or two via Parks Blog posts, TV marketing, etc.
How this also plays out with the opening of the DHS land just 60 days from now, and what WDW does differently, will also be fun to watch.
Which is ridiculous because a land like Galaxy's Edge is a long-term investment, and many people planned trips to purposely avoid the opening. I personally know about a half dozen families who scheduled WDW trips for a month or two after opening, and even more who delayed their trips until after Christmas in order to avoid as much chaos as possible - specifically because they saw what happened when Pandora opened. These are families who want to experience Galaxy's Edge in Hollywood Studios...they just don't want to deal with huge opening crowds. And I think that's likely the case with Disneyland, too - people expected craziness, so they're being cautious about when to visit. Then there's also the fact that Rise of the Resistance isn't even open yet (and isn't opening right away at DHS, either). How many people are waiting until that 2nd ride is available before visiting?
This worries me that if Galaxy's Edge underperforms in the long run, Disney might revert to letting the parks stagnate for years again.Thanks. It's a really interesting phenomenon that's playing out this month at Disneyland. No one could have predicted this.
Crowds were modest and manageable for the three weeks of reservations only, so everyone thought the place would go nuts today for the first day of no-reservations and the Virtual Queue to enter the land.
Right now at 9:30pm Pacific Time, just finishing the first Fantasmic! at Disneyland and World of Color at DCA, as I watch the fireworks start here on my deck on a gorgeous SoCal summer evening, and wait times and crowds have collapsed further with Disneyland open until Midnight.
They turned off the Virtual Queue to get into Star Wars Land at 5:00pm today, the land has just been open to anyone who wanders in since 5:00pm, and currently the Millennium Falcon has a 30 minute wait time. All other E Tickets at Disneyland and DCA are 5 to 10 minute wait times. In short, Disneyland and DCA are dead as a doornail tonight and everything except Millennium Falcon is basically a walk-on. That's unheard of!
It will be interesting to see how the crowds develop through next week with the 4th of July, but suffice it to say we should see some visible panic from TDA and Burbank within a day or two via Parks Blog posts, TV marketing, etc.
How this also plays out with the opening of the DHS land just 60 days from now, and what WDW does differently, will also be fun to watch.
I don't think it will under-perform in the long run, but I worry about leadership mis-reading what they're seeing right now.
Passholders are blocked out at Disneyland at this time and that’s their demographic. Let’s see what happens when DLR are able get access to the park again. WDW will be total chaos
All Of those resort hotels, it will be totally opposite opening day.
You nailed it. (In my opinion.)
Well this would be something never observed before in Disney theme parks. Everybody showed up for Pandora and Toy Story land undeterred by crowds. Why is Galaxy's Edge a different ball game suddenly?
Because it has a much bigger fan-base - to the point that it will draw people who wouldn't previously have even considered a trip to DL or WDW.
The size of the fan base doesn't relate to the fact that people showed up for the others undeterred by crowds. And Wizarding World drew crowds on opening day too despite having a large and comparable fan base. What you said had no relevance to the question at hand.
Sorry...I think I mis-read or something. As I said in an earlier post, I think people are staying away based on what happened when Pandora opened and in the hopes of missing what they thought/think would/will be a madhouse and to wait for RotR to open.
Passholders are blocked out at Disneyland at this time and that’s their demographic. Let’s see what happens when DLR are able get access to the park again. WDW will be total chaos
I actually also wonder if putting SW:GE in Disneyland was a mistake - if it's drawing in more people, but offset by off-putting the AP regulars. I wonder if they would have been better served putting it in DCA, acting as a new draw to that park. DHS won't have the same problem, in fact it creates a new reason to visit the park.
And as I initially responded, this would be a first of its kind scenario. I don't think that's the case. As Mikejs78 pointed out, it's more likely that Disneyland really only services the California market and that Disney World will have the true impact. Honestly, I could believe that people would often miss the fact that the Disneyland Galaxy's Edge opened first. Like in history documentaries, they'll say "Galaxy's Edge opened on August 29th, 2019" with no mention that the Disneyland version had been open months prior.
