Walt Disney World Holiday Season 2024

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Disney invests a lot of money in improving GSAT. The idea that they are intentionally increasing wait times to sell more genie+ has always been ludicrous on its face.

 

[jlhwdw]

WDW has done a lot in the past decade that I have strongly disagreed with and not liked. But they still dominate the industry as far as operating rides and attractions with efficiency. No other park or operator can even come close. The throughput of WDW rides and attractions is untouchable.

Will a posted wait time be elevated by 10-15 minutes to allow for an unexpected delay? Possibly. Are attractions being operated at a reduced capacity with fewer vehicles or ride units to create artificial demand with a longer, slower moving line? Absolutely not! There *are* park chains out there that do this. But not Disney.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Disney invests a lot of money in improving GSAT. The idea that they are intentionally increasing wait times to sell more genie+ has always been ludicrous on its face.

Exactly. Happier people spend more money. In fact, thanks to the DAS changes, both standby and LL queues are moving faster. This makes everyone happier, including those spending ever more money on LL.

 

[monothingie]

They are certainly not trying to elevate wait times. Quite the opposite and it’s clear to anyone in the parks this week. They actually opened TRON during early entry today for the crowds. We rode TRON and Space Mtn. by 8 am! Also Big Thunder 2x, TBA VQ, Pirates, Jingle Cruise, Swiss Family, Carpets, Mansion, Pooh, Mine Train, Mermaid, Mad Tea Party, and Space Mtn. twice with time to swim for 3 hours and go to Whispering Canyon.

Very pleased.

Wouldn’t the same effect on wait times manifest themselves if fewer people visited?

I’ve seen this every major holiday going back to 2023 in which the parks are geared up for large crowds that never materialize, and wind up being no worse than a normal day in 2019.

The up charges are always going to sell out because they have to. (Organically or Not) Because if they don’t, no one will buy them.

 

[peter11435]

Wouldn’t the same effect on wait times manifest themselves if fewer people visited?

I’ve seen this every major holiday going back to 2023 in which the parks are geared up for large crowds that never materialize, and wind up being no worse than a normal day in 2019.

The up charges are always going to sell out because they have to. (Organically or Not) Because if they don’t, no one will buy them.

Fewer people are not visiting. This holiday season is busier than the last several years.

 

[monothingie]

Fewer people are not visiting. This holiday season is busier than the last several years.

Clearly busier.

The crowds are just congregating in the parking lots instead of going into the theme parks, hotels, restaurants, or shops.

 

[peter11435]

Clearly busier.
View attachment 832961

The crowds are just congregating in the parking lots instead of going into the theme parks, hotels, restaurants, or shops.

For many reasons wait times are not a direct indicator of park attendance.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Clearly busier.
View attachment 832961

The crowds are just congregating in the parking lots instead of going into the theme parks, hotels, restaurants, or shops.

I don’t know the data off the top of my head for right now, but the one year view is dominated by NYE and NYEE. It’s not comparable to the rest of peak week. I think if you look at the individual days it will be very comparable to last year, maybe a little more busy (Christmas I think had a longer average wait this year, for instance, but I’m not too sure).

 

[monothingie]

For many reasons wait times are not a direct indicator of park attendance.

Oh I agree, but they are not the only indicator, but they are a darn good one.

But we can look at hotel bookings or ADRs for TS and see that there is a glut of availability.

Would you like to have dinner at the California Grill tonight with me? A table for 2 is available for most of the evening dining slots.

 

[peter11435]

Oh I agree, but they are not the only indicator, but they are a darn good one.

But we can look at hotel bookings or ADRs for TS and see that there is a glut of availability.

Would you like to have dinner at the California Grill tonight with me? A table for 2 is available for most of the evening dining slots.

They really aren’t even a good indicator. There are far too many other variables and many things have changed since last year that are impacting wait times year over year.

I said nothing about ADRs or hotel bookings. I’m strictly referring to park attendance.

 

[monothingie]

I don’t know the data off the top of my head for right now, but the one year view is dominated by NYE and NYEE. It’s not comparable to the rest of peak week. I think if you look at the individual days it will be very comparable to last year, maybe a little more busy (Christmas I think had a longer average wait this year, for instance, but I’m not too sure).

The average wait time measured:

12/25/22 - 51 Minutes
12/25/23 - 42 Minutes
12/25/24 - 40 Minutes

12/26/22 - 57 Minutes
12/26/23 - 54 Minutes
12/26/24 - 43 Minutes

I agree that wait times do not reflect the totality of crowd levels, but there is a trend here. Also consider that you had one major attraction convert from VQ to Standby which in theory should have increased the average wait times for the parks.

 

[peter11435]

The average wait time measured:

12/25/22 - 51 Minutes
12/25/23 - 42 Minutes
12/25/24 - 40 Minutes

12/26/22 - 57 Minutes
12/26/23 - 54 Minutes
12/26/24 - 43 Minutes

I agree that wait times do not reflect the totality of crowd levels, but there is a trend here. Also consider that you had one major attraction convert from VQ to Standby which in theory should have increased the average wait times for the parks.

The trend of lower wait times is not due to lower attendance. There are at least four other variables causing that shift.

 

[monothingie]

The trend of lower wait times is not due to lower attendance. There are at least four other variables causing that shift.

Do tell. Don't leave us in suspense.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

The average wait time measured:

12/25/22 - 51 Minutes
12/25/23 - 42 Minutes
12/25/24 - 40 Minutes

12/26/22 - 57 Minutes
12/26/23 - 54 Minutes
12/26/24 - 43 Minutes

Thank you for sharing this, it’s interesting to see!

Crazy to also think how many people don’t go to the parks for many days of their stays

 

[monothingie]

Thank you for sharing this, it’s interesting to see!

Crazy to also think how many people don’t go to the parks for many days of their stays

Just my opinion, but the cost of tickets and extras really factor in. They'll trade a day or two of standard admission for an up-charge party, or just will find something else to do in order to makeup for the cost of tickets/food/merch.

 

[peter11435]

Do tell. Don't leave us in suspense.

One should be very obvious.

 

[Jrb1979]

WDW has done a lot in the past decade that I have strongly disagreed with and not liked. But they still dominate the industry as far as operating rides and attractions with efficiency. No other park or operator can even come close. The throughput of WDW rides and attractions is untouchable.

Will a posted wait time be elevated by 10-15 minutes to allow for an unexpected delay? Possibly. Are attractions being operated at a reduced capacity with fewer vehicles or ride units to create artificial demand with a longer, slower moving line? Absolutely not! There *are* park chains out there that do this. But not Disney.

I visit multiple parks across the country each year and I have never been to one that creates artificial demand.

 

[spresso81]

One should be very obvious.

My assumption would be changes to DAS.

From my own personal experience (for transparency nobody in my family uses or used DAS) we noticed a huge difference between our trip last December and this December in LL wait times. A few times our LL waits were 20-30 minutes last year. This year almost all of our LL return waits were under 5 minutes.

 

[peter11435]

My assumption would be changes to DAS.

From my own personal experience (for transparency nobody in my family uses or used DAS) we noticed a huge difference between our trip last December and this December in LL wait times. A few times our LL waits were 20-30 minutes last year. This year almost all of our LL return waits were under 5 minutes.

Yes, the DAS changes are one of them.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Exactly. Happier people spend more money. In fact, thanks to the DAS changes, both standby and LL queues are moving faster. This makes everyone happier, including those spending ever more money on LL.

It's a Christmas miracle!!