Walt Disney World Park Hours cut starting September 8 2020

[GoofGoof]

Well that is different than , "people are not traveling" and "air traffic is 'completely" down" etc etc. Glad you agree.

It has more than doubled since early June but will take a while to get back to normal especially with business travel.

Come on man, seriously??? I never said nobody at all was traveling and you know that’s not what I meant. This whole discussion is about Disney on a macro economic level. They need a large portion of their normal customer base to want to travel,and want to come to WDW. They aren’t getting that and based on their actions recently aren’t expecting it any time soon. You are too focused on yourself. You are flying and you are going to theme parks but that doesn’t mean enough other people are doing it for Disney be in good shape. It’s not personal just basic economics.

 

[oceanbreeze77]

when school starts travel numbers will get even worse.

 

[Lilofan]

when school starts travel numbers will get even worse.

Possible 5 day a week parks open?

 

[markc]

Guess you haven't been to a Florida beach , they have been as crowded or even more so than pre Covid times.

Beaches are packed with primarily locals. The locals, many of whom have never owned a Disney pass in their life, are frequenting the beach because it's free and the bars are closed as are most everything else they enjoyed doing. There is no correlation between the beach attendance and park attendance

Masks in the parks are a big issue preventing people from going, not 100% the reason but a significant one.

You're missing the point. For every person who hates wearing a mask, there's another who will only go somewhere if masks are required, cancelling out the "masks in the park are a big issue". You'll lose a good chunk of the individuals going to the parks now if you remove the mask mandate and replace them on a 1:1 ratio (or less) with individuals who don't care for masks, with no increase in attendance. Masks AREN'T the issue. COVID is the issue.

I have traveled to state parks, beaches and people are traveling. Airports are picking up as well. I have been on flights and traffic is increasing.

I have traveled to state parks and beaches too. People aren't travelling en mass. They're predominately staying local, with a few exceptions. Flight traffic is up from March and April, but still significantly down from a year ago.

 

[DISR]

The parks are most beautiful and stunning at night. AK is just amazing with WS a close second.

I agree. Pandora is simply stunning at night and a must-do for me every trip. Other parks also have a unique nighttime look and feel. Even when I am done with rides for the day, I really enjoy the atmosphere at night. Missing this would definitely be another down side to going now.

 

[easyrowrdw]

when school starts travel numbers will get even worse.

In terms of Disney, my understanding is that the parks have been busier in the fall compared to the summers in recent years. I think fall travel to the parks will depend more on the conditions in the country and Florida rather than schools.

 

[Jrb1979]

In terms of Disney, my understanding is that the parks have been busier in the fall compared to the summers in recent years. I think fall travel to the parks will depend more on the conditions in the country and Florida rather than schools.

I don't see them being any busier then they are now. It has nothing to do with Covid-19 but the fact a lot of the government subsidies run out then. People just won't have the money to go.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't see them being any busier then they are now. It has nothing to do with Covid-19 but the fact a lot of the government subsidies run out then. People just won't have the money to go.

The people getting the subsidies are unemployed service-sector workers. They're not Disney's customer base.

 

[peter11435]

I don't see them being any busier then they are now. It has nothing to do with Covid-19 but the fact a lot of the government subsidies run out then. People just won't have the money to go.

Unemployed service workers are not Disney’s main demographic.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The people getting the subsidies are unemployed service-sector workers. They're not Disney's customer base.

Unemployed service workers are not Disney’s main demographic.

 

[GoofGoof]

The people getting the subsidies are unemployed service-sector workers. They're not Disney's customer base.

Unemployed service workers are not Disney’s main demographic.

Shouldn‘t be and aren’t are 2 different things. It’s amazing what you can afford with a credit card

I think that once the dust settles on Covid there’s going to be a surge of pent up demand from a lot of people who are working from home so not economically impacted and/or saving their $1,200 checks for something fun to do. There will also be pent up demand from our neighbors across the pond who are still shut out from flying into the country. That could at least help partially offset the downward demand from people who did lose their jobs.

 

[GoofGoof]

In terms of Disney, my understanding is that the parks have been busier in the fall compared to the summers in recent years. I think fall travel to the parks will depend more on the conditions in the country and Florida rather than schools.

Lots of fall travel is based on festivals, conventions and school type activities. Fall and winter after New Years are very popular time for companies to hold conventions in Orlando. Lots of people want to avoid the really hot months. You also have F&W that attracts a crowd along with Halloween and Christmas parties. They also did stuff like Pop Warner football and national cheerleading championships in the fall/winter off peak times. A lot of that stuff isn’t going to happen this year further reducing demand.

 

[GoofGoof]

You're missing the point. For every person who hates wearing a mask, there's another who will only go somewhere if masks are required, cancelling out the "masks in the park are a big issue". You'll lose a good chunk of the individuals going to the parks now if you remove the mask mandate and replace them on a 1:1 ratio (or less) with individuals who don't care for masks, with no increase in attendance. Masks AREN'T the issue. COVID is the issue.

I know a lot of people don’t believe the poll that was done, but in it they asked about safety precautions:
The new data finds that attendance caps (45%), sanitization stations (43%), temperature checks (40%) and social distancing (39%) make American parents more likely to visit a U.S. theme park, according to the survey.

The poll data found that 20% of parents would be less likely to visit a theme park that has a mandatory face mask policy.

So at least based on that poll only 20% of people said they would be less likely to visit if masks were mandatory while close to half the people polled said the various safety precautions would make them more likely to go. Disney’s internal polling has probably shown something similar being that they issued additional clarifications that made the rules more stringent and they have been actively enforcing the rules.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I know a lot of people don’t believe the poll that was done, but in it they asked about safety precautions:
The new data finds that attendance caps (45%), sanitization stations (43%), temperature checks (40%) and social distancing (39%) make American parents more likely to visit a U.S. theme park, according to the survey.

The poll data found that 20% of parents would be less likely to visit a theme park that has a mandatory face mask policy.

So at least based on that poll only 20% of people said they would be less likely to visit if masks were mandatory while close to half the people polled said the various safety precautions would make them more likely to go. Disney’s internal polling has probably shown something similar being that they issued additional clarifications that made the rules more stringent and they have been actively enforcing the rules.

COVID-fearful people say in polls that they want masks and social distancing, but they also say in those same polls that they're not going to go to a theme park anyways, no matter what the rules are. Disney is appeasing people who aren't in the universe of potential customers to begin with.

Guy 1: "Theme parks should have mandatory masks. Hell no, I'm not going to a theme park until there's a vaccine."
Guy 2: "Masks are stupid, I'm not going to a theme park if I have to wear one. Social distancing is a dystopian term out of Orwell."

Disney is catering to Guy 1, who isn't coming no matter what they do, while driving away Guy 2. It doesn't matter if there are more Guy 1s out there than Guy 2s if all of the Guy 1s are waiting for a vaccine.

You're missing the point. For every person who hates wearing a mask, there's another who will only go somewhere if masks are required, cancelling out the "masks in the park are a big issue".

Completely disagree. The people who LIKE masks aren't going to theme parks until there's a vaccine. The number of people who are pro-mask but also willing to go into a theme park environment even with a mask is extremely small.

 

[RHCP Mickey]

My personal observations and questions...

1) There is little to no availability for APs this week and next. I was at AK yesterday, and it was comfortably busy. With Silver APs just getting access this week (I don't know the numbers but I know dozens of AP holders and almost all of them are Silver), is that going to be the norm for all parks? Perhaps the lack of AP attendance through July and the first week of August was overblown because only a small percentage of APs had access.

2) I cannot imagine that the shorter hours are for "safety after dark." I saw 100% compliance with masking yesterday, in the middle of the day. CMs were extremely attentive to any masks below the nose, in a pleasant but firm way. It's never so dark in the parks that CMs can't see people's faces. Shortening hours has to be a pure cost-cutting measure at the moment, but then, why not open Epcot from 11-9 to allow for maximum food and beverage sales? Having all four parks open solely in the hottest hours of the late summer/early fall is a confusing tactic, I can't see the strategy behind it.

3) The danger I see with cutting hours is that if attendance does rise to daily "capacity" as a result of all the Silver APs actually showing up to their reservations, there will be higher concentrations of bodies in the parks during the middle of the day. With slightly longer hours, it would keep the population thinner w/ morning and evening crowds. I think it's in their business interests to keep things as safe as possible, both from a real and a perception perspective. If it's physically crowded, that could lead to some COVID cases, and it will definitely turn people off from returning.

4) Apropos of nothing, wearing a mask in the heat is at worst a minor annoyance. If my almost 3 year old can do it for 4 hours without complaining, I think you can too.

 

[GoofGoof]

COVID-fearful people say in polls that they want masks and social distancing, but they also say in those same polls that they're not going to go to a theme park anyways, no matter what the rules are. Disney is appeasing people who aren't in the universe of potential customers to begin with.

Guy 1: "Theme parks should have mandatory masks. Hell no, I'm not going to a theme park until there's a vaccine."
Guy 2: "Masks are stupid, I'm not going to a theme park if I have to wear one. Social distancing is a dystopian term out of Orwell."

Disney is catering to Guy 1, who isn't coming no matter what they do, while driving away Guy 2. It doesn't matter if there are more Guy 1s out there than Guy 2s if all of the Guy 1s are waiting for a vaccine.


Completely disagree. The people who LIKE masks aren't going to theme parks until there's a vaccine. The number of people who are pro-mask but also willing to go into a theme park environment even with a mask is extremely small.

It cuts both ways though. Of the 20% who said they wouldn’t go because of a mask rule some portion still wouldn’t go even if masks aren’t required. You forgot guy #3 who already went to WDW since it re-opened and/or plans to go some time this year and feels safe because of the safety precautions. I don’t see how you can know that out of all of the people who actually did go to WDW this summer that some portion would not have gone if they didn’t have mask and other safety rules. You are assuming that anyone who says masks should be required isn’t going to WDW anyway. Numerous posts here and other places from people who actually went or plan to go say different. Go to any of the Covid threads and there are pages of people defending Disney as “safe” due to the precautions. You are not factoring is whether they would have still gone if the safety precautions were not in effect.

 

[legwand77]

when school starts travel numbers will get even worse.

well since a good bit of schools are virtual/optional virtual I don't think that will have as much of an effect as you predict it will. Go to school during the day and then head to the parks in the afternoon.

 

[legwand77]

Lots of fall travel is based on festivals, conventions and school type activities. Fall and winter after New Years are very popular time for companies to hold conventions in Orlando. Lots of people want to avoid the really hot months. You also have F&W that attracts a crowd along with Halloween and Christmas parties. They also did stuff like Pop Warner football and national cheerleading championships in the fall/winter off peak times. A lot of that stuff isn’t going to happen this year further reducing demand.

Many sports tournaments and competitions already or still happening, had a big volleyball tournament back in July.

 

[Ldno]

School starting will be a nightmare this year, schools expects parents to be full time parents at home or have someone at home to home school their kids to learn, not to mention the need of day care when they do go back to work, oh boy.

 

[GoofGoof]

2) I cannot imagine that the shorter hours are for "safety after dark." I saw 100% compliance with masking yesterday, in the middle of the day. CMs were extremely attentive to any masks below the nose, in a pleasant but firm way. It's never so dark in the parks that CMs can't see people's faces. Shortening hours has to be a pure cost-cutting measure at the moment, but then, why not open Epcot from 11-9 to allow for maximum food and beverage sales? Having all four parks open solely in the hottest hours of the late summer/early fall is a confusing tactic, I can't see the strategy behind it.

Are people really saying this? Do they not realize that daylight savings time ends in November? Why would,they cut back on hours in Sept and even the beginning of Oct when it still stays light pretty late? It’s purely economic.