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Walt Disney World Holiday Season 2024
- Thread starter bmr1591
- Start date
Oh I couldn't hope to explain all four of the factors as eloquently as you could.
Mickeytb357
New Member
Morocco is a former colony of France. Makes total thematic sense.
<add sardonic comment about how busy or not busy WDW is>
peter11435
Well-Known Member
I said at least four. And you couldn’t.
Never claimed I could.
But you got at least four of nothing then, since you can't bother to spell it out for us plebes.
Got it!
spectromagic04
Well-Known Member
1. DAS changes
2. Not as many buying lightning lanes because of higher prices.
3. Higher capacity because they are shoving more people in ride vehicles. No more social distancing from 2021/22.
That’s all I can think of
Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
Bobby told him not release the reasons
Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
Number 2 would make standby waits higher. Those guests aren't going to stop riding things if they don't have Lightning Lanes.
I'm sure that there are a variety of reasons, maybe some are proprietary that he may know and can't say anything about, and I accept that, But the I know something that you don't and you have to guess it, but I still won't tell you game, gets old.
lentesta
Premium Member
Here's a look at average posted mid-day waits at key Orlando attractions for Dec 23, 24, 25, and 26 as compared to same dates in 2023.
A couple of things:
- As others have said, DAS changes are probably reducing standby waits at WDW parks
- Parks with single-day ticket prices > $191 are showing drops in wait times vs last year (MK, DHS)
- Parks with single-day ticket prices < $191 are showing increases in wait times (AK, EP, USF, IOA)
ETA: Here's a blog post with ride-by-ride, park-by-park data.
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I don't understand why there is ANY debate about parks attendance declining. Burbank has explained this FACT to investors multiple times in SEC filings and quarterly's. I know it's hard for many fans here to accept this. Many seem to dismiss these people who state this fact as just "haters and liars" of some type. It seems that these same people think that even Burbank itself,...the only people with the actual numbers...are lying too!
Why would Burbank lie about parks attendance declining? They legally CAN'T do that to investors or the Securities and Exchange Commission. It's not something they "want" to say but they are FORCED to be honest about it to Wall Street.
I don't understand why there is soooo much fan resistance to this actual "fact".
Why would Burbank lie about parks attendance declining? They legally CAN'T do that to investors or the Securities and Exchange Commission. It's not something they "want" to say but they are FORCED to be honest about it to Wall Street.
I don't understand why there is soooo much fan resistance to this actual "fact".
Chi84
Premium Member
The decline may be too small for people to notice yet. I don’t get the feeling people are disputing numbers. Calm down.
Purely subjective question, because there is no way to answer this, but do you think the DAS changes are the significant driver of lower standby wait times?
It seems like Disney the main driver of this disparity between half of the parks, was limiting park pass selections, to push people away from the MK and DHS to the less popular parks. But even then, those with park hoppers can pretty much do anything they wanted for the second half of the day anyway.
Either way it's a big change from the way in how pre-2020 capacity closures were used.
lentesta
Premium Member
Disneys full-year 10-K for 2024 says domestic attendance was up.
Post links to what you see, please. I’d love to figure this out.
lentesta
Premium Member
I think it’s a combination of pricing and DAS. I don’t remember how many APs need to make reservations now. That might be part of it.
Still, the $191 line is interesting.
From the 10-K Attendance was up 1% domestically, down from 6% in 2023. But it does not break down specifically WDW or DLR.
I believe what @Cliff was referring to was the Q&A after the 2nd or 3rd Quarter Earnings in which Hugh Johnston was asked about weakening demand for the theme parks, specifically after the 2022 post covid highs. If it's somewhere in writing, I'll stand corrected.
lentesta
Premium Member
Ahh, yeah, okay - I remember those comments. Thanks. I was looking at 10-Ks and didn't see anything.
Just a clarification, Disney’s FY is from October to September.
So FY 2023 includes Christmas/Thanksgiving 2022 and FY 2024 reflects Christmas Thanksgiving 2023.
Crowd data shows mid/late Fall 2022 was very busy. Compared to 2023 and respectively to 2024, which will be reflected in Q1 2025 Earnings.
So FY 2023 includes Christmas/Thanksgiving 2022 and FY 2024 reflects Christmas Thanksgiving 2023.
Crowd data shows mid/late Fall 2022 was very busy. Compared to 2023 and respectively to 2024, which will be reflected in Q1 2025 Earnings.
I see YouTubers in the parks saying stuff like "People are saying that parks attendance is declining,...but look how busy it is today! It can't be true"
Just because parks are busy some days and not others doesn't really mean anything "visually". Burbank pulls it's numbers aggregated over time. Weekly average, monthly average and yearly. They compare one season to the past 5 same season's performances. There is no way any guest can make determinations (good or bad) based on what they "see" the days they go. Wait times are not good indicators either as those numbers are too easily manipulated for the organizations watching and collecting them.
Another "big picture" SEC statement that Burbank warned investors was this:
"We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products, which impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and the profitability of any of our businesses."
"Further, consumers’ perceptions of our position on matters of public interest, including our efforts to achieve certain of our environmental and social goals, often differ widely and present risks to our reputation and brands,"
"Our revenues and profitability are adversely impacted when our entertainment offerings and products, as well as our methods to make our offerings and products available to consumers, do not achieve sufficient consumer acceptance."
(Yes,..."Burbank" themselves wrote this, not any Disney "hater" trying to be "negative")
Yeah Burbank, you are 100% right in admitting this. This is an umbrella "brand" problem that affects EVERYthing you have...including Parks and Experiences too.
Bottom line: Park attendance is dropping but Burbank is offsetting that decline by raising ARPU (average revenue per user) and that tactic succeeded! Parks and Experiences compensated for the loss and remained relatively flat with no losses in recent quarters. I'm a shareholder so,...good job!
Less people + more revenue per person = relatively flat performance.
But how long can this maneuver last? It will be fun to find out in a year or two.
Just because parks are busy some days and not others doesn't really mean anything "visually". Burbank pulls it's numbers aggregated over time. Weekly average, monthly average and yearly. They compare one season to the past 5 same season's performances. There is no way any guest can make determinations (good or bad) based on what they "see" the days they go. Wait times are not good indicators either as those numbers are too easily manipulated for the organizations watching and collecting them.
Another "big picture" SEC statement that Burbank warned investors was this:
"We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products, which impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and the profitability of any of our businesses."
"Further, consumers’ perceptions of our position on matters of public interest, including our efforts to achieve certain of our environmental and social goals, often differ widely and present risks to our reputation and brands,"
"Our revenues and profitability are adversely impacted when our entertainment offerings and products, as well as our methods to make our offerings and products available to consumers, do not achieve sufficient consumer acceptance."
(Yes,..."Burbank" themselves wrote this, not any Disney "hater" trying to be "negative")
Yeah Burbank, you are 100% right in admitting this. This is an umbrella "brand" problem that affects EVERYthing you have...including Parks and Experiences too.
Bottom line: Park attendance is dropping but Burbank is offsetting that decline by raising ARPU (average revenue per user) and that tactic succeeded! Parks and Experiences compensated for the loss and remained relatively flat with no losses in recent quarters. I'm a shareholder so,...good job!
Less people + more revenue per person = relatively flat performance.
But how long can this maneuver last? It will be fun to find out in a year or two.
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