There is no attendance problem at WDW

[WDW1974]

^ I'm not so cute no more.

Probably all the alcohol you're chugging ... ages you prematurely and takes away your looks.

And if there was gum after the first four weeks of opening, that would certainly be "bad show!"

Perhaps, but I've seen gum and stains on MK sidewalks as soon as they've been redone of late.

I think that's the point of a then vs. now comparison.

Perhaps hated is the wrong term. Passionately disliked.....by some? :lol:

Wuvable? Oh, bruva.

It is hard to be the voice of reason when some would rather live in Fantasyland ... now featuring The Jon Benet Boutique and The McPoohland Playground and Diaper Change Area.

 

[mcjaco]

Probably all the alcohol you're chugging ... ages you prematurely and takes away your looks.

I had no idea that my love for fine tasty beer, has preceeded me across multiple forums. I must be famous! :ROFLOL:

It is hard to be the voice of reason when some would rather live in Fantasyland ... now featuring The Jon Benet Boutique and The McPoohland Playground and Diaper Change Area.

Where's can I find the Walmart Main Street shops? :lookaroun

 

[tirian]

Rohde.

Thank you. I don't know why I can't keep that straight, especially since people misspell my last name frequently.

 

[tirian]

Who's says I'm cynical? :ROFLOL:

Mmmm, I think I have an ale waiting for me at home..... :drevil:

At least I didn't have to add a smiley for you to get the joke. :sohappy:

...but I gave you a smiley there.

 

[jakeman]

and although Val isn't a boy, she is a long tenured WDW CM

Val was my manager when I was a CP at Safariis (about 10 years ago). She tried to give me a repremand when they changed the attendance policy between summers when I was gone (was unknowningly clocking in at the wrong location). Nice lady to me. Listened to my issues and tore up the repremand.

Just wanted to name drop my brush with a now exec and also to chime in.

I was at POFQ on business last night and the place was pretty empty. I was in building 2 and was able to park in the front lot in the second row.

There was also never a line at the food court and I went down there several times for snack (dang you large per diem I must spend or loose!).

Perhaps, but I've seen gum and stains on MK sidewalks as soon as they've been redone of late.

I think that's the point of a then vs. now comparison.

I am assuming that you mean more the guest's inconsideration than a lack of maintainance?

 

[Figments Friend]

Perhaps, but I've seen gum and stains on MK sidewalks as soon as they've been redone of late.

I think that's the point of a then vs. now comparison.

This reminds me of something else i noticed this trip.....all the gum stains and other marks all over the place. In the past the Parks have been pretty good at cleaning up but this time it seemed some areas were overlooked. These were not out of the way areas either, i'm talking about major walkways most Guests use and people can plainly see. An example- the upramp at the EPCOT Monorail Station. Noticable spots all the way up...but the best sight was when i rode in on a beam in Monorail Pinks' cockpit. The dropspace between the beam and wait platform was full of trash and bottles! Yeah, that was a eye opener..

Sign of the times?

 

[Figments Friend]

That makes some sense. September was always the least crowded month of the year going back to the first years MK was open.

The free food was designed to change that and it certainly has helped.

I hear ya...September used to be (USED to be..) my favorite time to visit the Parks but no more. After the past couple of years i have decided not to bother as the crowds are too crazy and take away from the enjoyment somewhat. I give Disney credit though for turning this longtime 'slow period' completely around into what i call the 'Post-Peak, Peak Season'! Great for them, not so good for those of us who liked to visit 'Off Season'.

'Seemed' is the key word.

As I've mentioned before, there are many factors that go into the way a park 'seems.'

Everything from cutting labor and capacity on attractions to inflating standby times/FP to having attractions and dining facilities closed to even the amount of double-wide strollers and ECVs that clutter walkways to the amount of stands/carts/kiosks that have been built.

I'll repeat it ad nauseum (for my fans here) but you can very easily make a light day feel moderate and a moderate day feel crowded and it in no way equates to how many people are actually there.

I can totally understand what you are talking about here. Yes, i also noticed the strange time postings this trip - posted ride times were often not accurate. The 'red cards' were being used a lot i saw, but i still did'nt notice any changes. I suppose one could say the overposting of wait times makes Guests feel good when they reach the end of the queue and realize they did'nt have to wait that long....but i find your version of the therory behind it interesting.

And yes, the strollers ( double versions) were in high concentration. Yeah i know....there have always been a lot of strollers at WDW, but this time it seemed like every other person had one! I still think it would be nice to have a 'Stroller Free' marked walkway in the parks....much like they have highways divided up and marked. Ah...bliss!

Sorry...i digress......

I think if the Brazillian tour groups were not there, the Parks would have seemed very light. The large numerous groups really added a lot of bulk to the overall 'feel'. Another poster mentioned how english was really a second language this trip with all the visitors.....CM's seemed happy when they could talk to someone who knew english!

 

[Figments Friend]

A ton of people I know are going for their birthdays.. Seems like that promotion is working nicely

Agree..that was yet another thing i noticed this trip: almost everyone i saw had on a 'birthday button'!

Actually, most people had on some kind of free button from Guest Relations...if not a birthday it was some other topic.

Again, a interesting observation.

 

[TURKEY]

Where did you get your information that advance bookings are down dramatically?

I've read this in a couple of places, including from the team that puts together "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". In order to produce their excellent "Crowd Calendar" (www.touringplans.com), they track advance bookings at the hotels.

Wouldn't layoffs of cast members be a good indication of how WDW is doing? Sorry if it's been posted anywhere but has WDW had any major layoffs?

Advanced bookings aren't what they used to be. People are waiting longer and longer to book. Advanced is 1-2 months, not 4-6 months to a year as in the past for most people. Notice the guide is revising their dates more and more.

That's why dining is now 90 days vs. 180. That's why hours get posted later and later.


Right now, most bookings are last minute trips or booking for specials of any sort.

 

[MousDad]

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".

http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky061008a.htm

"Several months ago, I used this space to muse about "peak oil," a phenomenon of the world starting to run out of petroleum and the effect on prices in general and Disney World in particular. Disney had commissioned a study, and if oil stays above $160/barrel, Disney was advised to sell off the WDW parks and just collect a licensing fee. The parks would still eke out a profit, but not as much of a profit margin as Disney wants and the parks would be a drag on the company's bottom line. Here's what I wrote about this, when breaking the story back in September of 2007:

But Disney, understandably, is nervous. Shortly after 9/11 rocked the economy and put a very sizeable dent in airline travel, Disney re-examined its assumptions about the business it was in, and commissioned an internal study in the past couple of years, hiring a major investment banking and consulting firm to help them drum up scenarios. Not wanting to repeat the tourist shock of 9/11, Disney wanted to know what the future might bring. What's the worst-case scenario, they asked?"

 

[Captain Chaos]

Seriously, how do these people keep their jobs? These aren't online fanboy rants; as you know, folks in WDI are disgusted with how those two parks are being run right now, too. Lasseter's WDW visits have been—how shall we say—incindiary.

yea, but what is Lasseter going to do about it?? Improve DL some more and ignore WDW? Seems to be MO lately...

 

[tirian]

Where did you get your information that advance bookings are down dramatically?

I've read this in a couple of places, including from the team that puts together "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". In order to produce their excellent "Crowd Calendar" (www.touringplans.com), they track advance bookings at the hotels.

Wouldn't layoffs of cast members be a good indication of how WDW is doing? Sorry if it's been posted anywhere but has WDW had any major layoffs?

They're laying off managers, not CMs who barely make more than minimum wage. (People forget that working in the park is just another job, like working at Best Buy or American Eagle or something.)

Disney releases this information in very limited amounts and ways, which is how touringplans.com gets their projections. It's kind of how Disney "doesn't officially release attendance numbers," yet the annual worldwide attendance ratings for all theme parks always know how many Guests went through Disney parks. There's a difference between official numbers and official press statements.

 

[DisneyDreamerK]

Going the first 2 weeks of December and going in January were my favorite because they used to be so uncrowded. This December was packed and so was the end of January! And your right, there were a TON of tour groups!

 

[Figments Friend]

I was lucky this trip..as i had no issues with any of the multiple tour groups i encountered. Surprisingly, all were rather well behaved ( yes, and i am talking about the famous Brazillian Tour Groups!). They just made the Parks feel busier then they actually were....and filled up a whole bus in one standing!

The only time it became a noticed 'issue' was my last ride on 'Dinosaur' before leaving for the day. I was on the ride with some members of one of these tour groups and the ride went 101. We were stuck in the 'return to load' tunnel right after we transport back to the 'present time'. We sat there for about 2 mins in the dark...and the Brazilliain girls started screaming like crazy for no reason. Yeah, they were just having fun and all...but it was a teeny bit annoying. The cool part however was when the lights came on..and the little safety lights started flashing to direct you to the exits! I finally had the chance to experience a 'lights on' evac mode on a ride, but alas, they never evacuated us. In another 2 mins or so they turned the light back off and started up the ride again.

When we were unloaded i saw 3 WDW Engineer guys ( in their grey outfits) and 2 management types come down the exit stairs as we were leaving. I guess they were having some major issues....

 

[fosse76]

I was lucky this trip..as i had no issues with any of the multiple tour groups i encountered. Surprisingly, all were rather well behaved ( yes, and i am talking about the famous Brazillian Tour Groups!). They just made the Parks feel busier then they actually were....and filled up a whole bus in one standing!

The only time it became a noticed 'issue' was my last ride on 'Dinosaur' before leaving for the day. I was on the ride with some members of one of these tour groups and the ride went 101. We were stuck in the 'return to load' tunnel right after we transport back to the 'present time'. We sat there for about 2 mins in the dark...and the Brazilliain girls started screaming like crazy for no reason. Yeah, they were just having fun and all...but it was a teeny bit annoying. The cool part however was when the lights came on..and the little safety lights started flashing to direct you to the exits! I finally had the chance to experience a 'lights on' evac mode on a ride, but alas, they never evacuated us. In another 2 mins or so they turned the light back off and started up the ride again.

When we were unloaded i saw 3 WDW Engineer guys ( in their grey outfits) and 2 management types come down the exit stairs as we were leaving. I guess they were having some major issues....

I got stuck in the same place...but we were stuck in total darkness, so I think it was a loading/unloading issue. It was funny becaue the guy in front of me was like "I guess we didn't make it!" It was pretty funny.

 

[sknydave]

I suspect that the new reality is this...

"Value Season" is tour group and soccer team season. Avoid it.

Our winter is their summer. They come during these months because the kids are on summer break.

 

[Figments Friend]

I got stuck in the same place...but we were stuck in total darkness, so I think it was a loading/unloading issue. It was funny becaue the guy in front of me was like "I guess we didn't make it!" It was pretty funny.

Ha ha! That is great!! I kept hoping i was three scenes back where the charging Carnotaur was so i could have seen him with the evac lights on. Not a lot of cool stuff to see in the exit shute....:snore:

Dang it...i KNEW i should have stopped outside for that sip of water...if i did, I would have been loaded two or three cars back for perfect timing! Du'oh..!!


This reminds me of a joke - 'How do you keep the Carnotaur from charging?'
' Take away his credit card'!

( thank you, thank you...i am in town all week....be sure to tip your CM servers....)

 

[DryCreek]

If there really is an attendance problem...

I will do my best to help alleviate it starting tomorrow, and for the next seven days after that too!

It's OK folks, I don't mind doing this for ya'll!

Party of four for "the world", please step this way....

 

[TURKEY]

Our winter is their summer. They come during these months because the kids are on summer break.

They also come during our summer because it's their winter. It's a never ending cycle once again.