MousDad
New Member
WDW1974 is Sally Field?
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There is no attendance problem at WDW
- Thread starter ptaylor
- Start date
WDW1974 is Sally Field?
Well, I can't say I "love" WDW1974. Even if I did, I'd be like Randal in 'Clerks II' - "I love you, man... in the most heterosexual way possible". Respect? All week long and twice on Sunday. 
I've been around long enough and read enough posers, wannabe's, and legend-in-their-own-mind types to be able to weed thru most of the BS posters. He's not in that category. Your mileage may vary, operators are standing by, this offer won't last long, may the Force be with you.
We were there before and after the MLK weekend. Crowds were not bad, really. The ONLY attractions we saw that entire week that had more than a 10 minute wait (and most were 20-30 minutes) were Space MT, TSM, Soarin', Peter Pan, and one time for RnRC and ToT. Nothing out of the ordinary there, right? I'm not counting Test Track because of all the problems it's been having. Even Spaceship Earth had a 25 minute wait listed but it wasn't nearly that long - the rest of my party went in there while I watched a couple of sleeping kids and they said it wasn't that long of a wait. One day, when we were coming into MK, the parking lot was fuller than I can remember seeing in a long time. I thought to myself, "Uh oh, this isn't good". No line was longer than normal, or what I've seen as normal during my trips in January, October, late April, early May....
There may be a lot of people in the parks - I don't have or know how to get attendance figures. But the attractions do not reflect it. As for spending, I saw about 20x more people bringing their own food/drinks into the parks. If this trend continues, and I can't see it abating since Disney sees it necessary to charge me $10-12 for a fast food meal worth about 1/4 that price, revenue at the parks will decline, as Brian mentioned (I agree with several of your points, BTW). The Buy-4-Get-3 promotion is going to cut into revenue. Reduced spending by guests is going to cut into revenue. People getting wise and not buying their overpriced, generic, crap merchandise is going to cut into their revenue.
Here's something to ponder: Along with the aforementioned SSE queue discrepancy, when we went to TSM during on the 1/19 EMH (maybe it was 1/18? Can't remember right now), the listed wait time was 60 minutes, then 70 minutes. The CM out front was asked multiple times if that was true, and he swore it was - "Yeah, it's about 60 minutes from here" is what I heard him say to quite a few guests who asked post-Fantasmic. I went thru the stand-by queue a little later, which was still allegedly 60-70 minutes - IN 20 MINUTES. It was the entire queue, also, nothing cut off. You don't suppose they are deliberately inflating listed stand-by times in an effort to get more people to go into the shops, do you?
I've been around long enough and read enough posers, wannabe's, and legend-in-their-own-mind types to be able to weed thru most of the BS posters. He's not in that category. Your mileage may vary, operators are standing by, this offer won't last long, may the Force be with you.We were there before and after the MLK weekend. Crowds were not bad, really. The ONLY attractions we saw that entire week that had more than a 10 minute wait (and most were 20-30 minutes) were Space MT, TSM, Soarin', Peter Pan, and one time for RnRC and ToT. Nothing out of the ordinary there, right? I'm not counting Test Track because of all the problems it's been having. Even Spaceship Earth had a 25 minute wait listed but it wasn't nearly that long - the rest of my party went in there while I watched a couple of sleeping kids and they said it wasn't that long of a wait. One day, when we were coming into MK, the parking lot was fuller than I can remember seeing in a long time. I thought to myself, "Uh oh, this isn't good". No line was longer than normal, or what I've seen as normal during my trips in January, October, late April, early May....
There may be a lot of people in the parks - I don't have or know how to get attendance figures. But the attractions do not reflect it. As for spending, I saw about 20x more people bringing their own food/drinks into the parks. If this trend continues, and I can't see it abating since Disney sees it necessary to charge me $10-12 for a fast food meal worth about 1/4 that price, revenue at the parks will decline, as Brian mentioned (I agree with several of your points, BTW). The Buy-4-Get-3 promotion is going to cut into revenue. Reduced spending by guests is going to cut into revenue. People getting wise and not buying their overpriced, generic, crap merchandise is going to cut into their revenue.
Here's something to ponder: Along with the aforementioned SSE queue discrepancy, when we went to TSM during on the 1/19 EMH (maybe it was 1/18? Can't remember right now), the listed wait time was 60 minutes, then 70 minutes. The CM out front was asked multiple times if that was true, and he swore it was - "Yeah, it's about 60 minutes from here" is what I heard him say to quite a few guests who asked post-Fantasmic. I went thru the stand-by queue a little later, which was still allegedly 60-70 minutes - IN 20 MINUTES. It was the entire queue, also, nothing cut off. You don't suppose they are deliberately inflating listed stand-by times in an effort to get more people to go into the shops, do you?
Would not surprise me at all if they did it intentionally. The parks are dieng and even when the economy comes back attendance will still be poor in the parks because they are no longer up to the quality they once were. You can't ask $80 for a ticket to a park that is only HALF as good as it was 15 years ago.
You know, it's blasphemy to suggest WDW "is half as good as it was" to some of the fanboys here. :zipit: :brick::ROFLOL: Yet it's so, so true....
I hope, for all WDW fans' sake, that someone in TWDC wakes up and sees the gem that WDW is, and gets its "leaders" out of their positions before it's too late. Because if they don't get their heads out of their collective rears they're going to flush it right down the toilet in the pursuit of the bottom line. Yes, that's pointed directly towards at least two of the current park heads, and possibly all 4. You're right, I should be fair and point that comment to most of the current WDW management, and Rasulo and Ed Grier in CA.
Where have you gone, Matt Ouimet and Greg Emmer, our theme parks turn their lonely eyes to you....
epcotWSC
Well-Known Member
Oh get over yourselves. There was record attendance every year for the past few years, yet suddenly in 2009 people decided that they're not going to WDW because it's not how it used to be? Yeah, ok. When the economy recovers it will be back to where it was. The thing is, I don't see attendance taking a huge hit even now. I see other aspects of the parks taking hits though. Merchandise sales, restaurant revenue, and things of that sort. The non-necessities will be cut by families, but they'll still go.
The fact is, WDW is a vacation resort. The large majority who go to WDW go on vacation. Most of these people get a multiday magic your way ticket. The fact is, a 5 day ticket with park hopper & water parks is $64.4 per day. A 10 day ticket is $33.70 per day. 10 day no expiration with all the add ons is about $53.70 per day. A 5 day base ticket is $44.40 per day and a 10 day is $23.70.
The idea is that the longer you stay the less you pay per day. Even the 5 day with water parks & hoppers is 64.40. You could potentially stay on Disney property for 10 days with that. 5 days in the parks, 5 days at the water parks that means you are technically paying $32.20 per day. Very few people pay $75 per day for the park.
The fact is, WDW is a vacation resort. The large majority who go to WDW go on vacation. Most of these people get a multiday magic your way ticket. The fact is, a 5 day ticket with park hopper & water parks is $64.4 per day. A 10 day ticket is $33.70 per day. 10 day no expiration with all the add ons is about $53.70 per day. A 5 day base ticket is $44.40 per day and a 10 day is $23.70.
The idea is that the longer you stay the less you pay per day. Even the 5 day with water parks & hoppers is 64.40. You could potentially stay on Disney property for 10 days with that. 5 days in the parks, 5 days at the water parks that means you are technically paying $32.20 per day. Very few people pay $75 per day for the park.
jt04
Well-Known Member
WhatJaneSays
Well-Known Member
About a month and a half ago it was fairly quite. It didn't really seem like there were a lot less people but the wait times were very short even for that time of year. Met up and spent a single afternoon at MK with my friends and we still saw every thing we wanted to without a single fastpass. Jungle Cruise, Pirates (twice), Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain (twice), Haunted Mansion,Philharmagic, Teacups, Space Mountain (twice) and we still had plenty of time to get a few Character autographs, have some ice-cream and a find a good spot for Wishes.
I just got back from an impromptu trip over the weekend and it seemed much busier, longer lines and whatnot. Could just be the time of year. It's hard to tell if its a phase or economics of just random.
I just got back from an impromptu trip over the weekend and it seemed much busier, longer lines and whatnot. Could just be the time of year. It's hard to tell if its a phase or economics of just random.
burninup4nick
New Member
I agree with you. I havent been since October but even then everyone was saying how slow it was getting and I thought it was pretty busy.
Glad to here that their attendance isnt declining!!! What would we do without wdw???? that's a really scary thought lol.
Glad to here that their attendance isnt declining!!! What would we do without wdw???? that's a really scary thought lol.
Brian Noble
Well-Known Member
That could be TSM's version of stacking (holding people outside any interior queuing to make the wait look longer than it is.) But, the area back there is already pretty narrow, so they can't do it "for real", so instead they "virtually" stack by inflating the times.
That's not so much to get people into the shops, though. At other parks I've seen use it, it has two main goals. One: to redistribute crowds to lesser-demanded attractions at the beginning of the operating day. (Look at that line, Myrtle! Let's come back later!) Two: to keep the size of the line they have to bleed off at park close shorter, to keep a lid on staffing hours.
EpcotServo
Well-Known Member
No, I guarantee you that there is no Midway-Mania-Shopping-Conspiracy at work here.
:lol:
You see first of all, the wait time isn't that ACTUAL wait time. It's the wait time of the past. (Thanks to the genius FLIK system, you're not getting a good guess of the CURRENT wait time, just the ACTUAL wait time from a few minutes/hours ago.)
Now at Midway Mania your wait will be long or short not because of the actual length of the line, but the length of the FASTPASS line. If relatively nobody was coming through Fastpass at the end of the day, of course you only waited about 20 Minutes. The more Fastpasses coming in the longer your wait.
Third, Cast Members at all attractions have to stick to what the sign says. They can allude to it being longer or shorter, but the Time on the sign is what they have to agree with. Why? Cause if they were to be telling everybody "No, it's only like 20 Minutes" and they ended up waiting 60 minutes, they might be upset and go on about yelling and screaming that "THEY were told it'd only be 20 Minutes".
That's why you should always be prepared to wait what the sign says. Go on your OWN judgement, and just know that the Cast Members can only hazzard a guess like you.
:wave:
Dayma
Well-Known Member
Exactly! Too hard to do without real numbers.
jt04
Well-Known Member
Well we do know this. The parks are not "empty" as a couple people predicted. The crowds may be down a bit compared to last year but that is understandable. Kevin Yee even predicted the closure of parks on certain days.
KingdomHeart
New Member
I'm a bit frustrated, cause my vacation in May was planned to maximize time with minimal lines (it was hellish trying to make it all work out between school and work), but if we want WDW to stay awesome, the numbers need to stay up. There's enough buzz about new attractions out of fear due to the economy/Potter, so let's just hope. ::fingers crossed::
-Nicholas
-Nicholas
tirian
Well-Known Member
To his credit, Yee said that this was a last-ditch effort scenario. WDW was expecting to be hit worse earlier than it actually was—why do you think they released the 3/4 offer? Why do you think entertainment was cut? Why do you think the company is offering several hundred buyout packages? They can't look at January, with all its events and conferences that were booked over a year in advance, and say that everything's going to be fine.
BTW, advance bookings for the rest of the year (after the offer) are practically dead. That doesn't mean that nobody is coming, but it does mean that Guests are waiting longer to make sure they have the money for a relatively expensive vacation. Also, comparing WDW to other resort vacations like a ski trip or Hawaiian retreat and calling WDW a "bargain" is a very weak argument. Those places are suffering too, and money is money, regardless of whether or not WDW costs $200 less than a ski lodge in Colorado.
I'm not preaching doom and gloom; WDW will be okay. There's no reason to think the parks are going to close down. But rolling eyes at business model projections isn't smart, either. Sometimes the models are right.
BTW, advance bookings for the rest of the year (after the offer) are practically dead. That doesn't mean that nobody is coming, but it does mean that Guests are waiting longer to make sure they have the money for a relatively expensive vacation. Also, comparing WDW to other resort vacations like a ski trip or Hawaiian retreat and calling WDW a "bargain" is a very weak argument. Those places are suffering too, and money is money, regardless of whether or not WDW costs $200 less than a ski lodge in Colorado.
I'm not preaching doom and gloom; WDW will be okay. There's no reason to think the parks are going to close down. But rolling eyes at business model projections isn't smart, either. Sometimes the models are right.
tirian
Well-Known Member
One weak year isn't going to kill WDW. Lousy executives who don't care about maintaining classic levels of quality do that. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they were offered the buyout packages.
MousDad
New Member
Kevin Yee even predicted the closure of parks on certain days.
False. He reported that a third-party consultant had recommended that Disney include rolling park closures as part of a contingency plan, in the event that spiking oil prices resulted in drastically reduced attendance. Kevin Yee did not predict that parks would close on certain days.
jt04
Well-Known Member
Perhaps you could provide the quote and link concening "third-party consultants" advising Disney to close parks on a rotational basis. Perhaps it is near the quote he provides from "WDW74". :lookaroun
Are you saying "WDW74" is a Disney consultant?