WDW, Please fast track attractions, crowd level critical

[REG Glenn]

I don’t know what Disney can do about the crowd levels at this juncture, but here are some suggestions.

1) can we speed up the construction timeline for the new attractions. The joke about the parking garages taking 3 years to construct was not far from the truth. Yes, Disney does quality projects. Is putting up a quality attraction and doing it expeditiously possible? Are they mutually exclusive? I think the speed that Star Wars Land has gone up is a good example. The place looks amazing and it didn’t take 3 years to build with its opening in 2019. Let’s pick up the pace on Ratatouille, Guardians and Tron.

2) don’t get rid of future attractions to bring new ones in its place. I’m not a huge fan Mr. Toads at DL. But it still stands, absorbing crowds, delighting patrons of its quirky charm on this C ticket attraction. Disneyland, which has to use the most of their limited space, somehow found space for their new Pooh attraction. Can WDW, with loads of greenspace surrounding the Magic Kingdom, not find a place for new attractions. I was never a fan of Snow White’s Scary Adventure, but how easy would it have been to build a new Princess Hall near Be Our Guest or the Little Mermaid attraction. More attractions absorb more people and give the guest more options. These two aforementioned WDW attractions were not hated like Stitch or Figment, so why not keep them. If an attraction is bad, yes, replace it. Just because it is not a E ticket attraction does not mean it should be scrapped. Compare the number of attractions at Disneyland Park to that of the Magic Kingdom. They’re not even close.

3) stop adding more resorts and rooms until you (WDW) have places for these guest to attend. Expand the parks at a greater rate or let’s get a fifth ticket. Critical mass is here. Watching Happily Ever After with not a inch to spare is more stressful than magical. The fireworks and projections are first rate, as are most things at WDW. That’s why we go. The complaint of most who attend are the wait times and the crowd levels.

I often check the wait times on the Parks app and am amazed at the 2 to 3 hour wait times on the more popular attractions. I used to love WDW at the Holidays. No thanks this year. And it’s not just the holidays. Marathon weekends, Spring Breaks, Flower and Garden, Summer peak, Food and Wine, Halloween, and Christmas...and these seasons and festivals overlap. There is no more slow time. Disney, We Have a Problem.....what’s the plan?

 

[networkpro]

Raise prices until equilibrium is met.

 

[Gelatoni]

You can't fast track construction safely... I'd rather 3 months longer than a coaster derailed...

 

[scottriehm]

I agree that it is absolutely too crowded in the parks. I was in WDW from the 22nd to the 28th (including our travel days where we did go to the park) and during the first part of the week, we tried to get there at rope drop to standby for some rides and then use our three FastPasses which started around 11. After several days of complete madness, where it seemed like no matter where we went, we were being packed in like sardine cans within two hours of rope drop and after being lucky enough to have short standby for one or two rides, going standby became ridiculous. After the first couple days, we just accepted getting to the parks between 10 and 11, use our FastPasses and get out of the park.

 

[BalooChicago]

2) don’t get rid of future attractions to bring new ones in its place. I’m not a huge fan Mr. Toads at DL. But it still stands, absorbing crowds, delighting patrons of its quirky charm on this C ticket attraction. Disneyland, which has to use the most of their limited space, somehow found space for their new Pooh attraction.

They found space by getting rid of the Country Bear Jamboree. I’d much rather have CBJ than Toad.

 

[imperius]

Yeah you can’t just fast track construction like that.

 

[SirWillow]

"fast tracking" new attractions isn't a solution, as mentioned by others. That doesn't mean that there isn't need for more to absorb some of the crowds, and they have a lot of them in production when you consider all that they are adding in the next few years. But that's not going to make the crowds better or easier to manage. If anything, it may make the crowds bigger.

If you really want the crowds easier to manage, then you're looking for a way to make them smaller, in which case you start looking at the unpopular, but maybe necessary, option of raising ticket prices to the point that they actually start chasing some people away. But we've seen over the last several years that even steady raises in prices hasn't been keeping the crowds down, as they've still increased. Which means more than likely your only solution is a massive raise in the price of tickets, something along the lines of 50% I'm guessing before you'd actually see a change.

 

[Mickey5150]

They could build things faster, but then we would have "The Summer of Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ratatouille, Tron, and Mickey Mouse." Probably not the smartest thing from a marketing standpoint.

 

[Raineman]

I don’t buy the theory that building more on property resorts drives up park attendance numbers to the critical point. This theory assumes that a significant amount of WDW guests would not visit WDW unless they could stay on property, and I think that’s not the case. With the amount of lodging options on or close to RCID property, there would be, and are, plenty of options other than Disney resorts. You also have to take into account the number of locals/AP holders who make up some of the crowd-the number of resorts has no effect on how often they visit.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Of course more resorts & DVC spaces with rooms filled = more guests being brought into the parks. Where do you think they are going when they leave the resorts? Into the parks. Which arent expanding at the same level of rising numbers of guests. Yes the events are drawing in more and more locals which only adds to the problem, but theres more numbers coming in from resort staying guests than before. There just isnt enough attractions, restaurants and shows to absorb the ever raising increases. Adding in the new resorts and DVC spaces, Disneys getting a lot more revenue. We can only hope that these are going in with the anticipation of another spacious future park and attraction build so we can get back to the days of an enjoyable non body crushing vacation.

 

[marni1971]

Perhaps “build as fast as possible” as opposed to “fast track”?

 

[Tavernacle12]

If only there were some large, unused spaces that could be opened with smaller experiences to take on some of the excess crowds. It’s too bad they don’t have anything like that they could use.

(I imagine having the Lion King film in The Land reopen seasonally, as well as Wonders of Life open with food services, shopping, and the theater could at least have been done. They could also change Path Of The Jedi to something people would want to see...)

 

[Chef Mickey]

Raising prices significantly is the only short term solution.

Long term, WDW needs to get a lot bigger and before that, every park needs its space to be maximized.

 

[ecranos]

It’s crazy yes but no way Disney does much about as long as people still show up in droves each day. We avoid all the times of the year you mentioned now, which is sad but there is no magic for us when it’s so crowded.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

It's also sad that the only way you can experience low crowds is by paying for Disney after dark. If you are too crowded, can't get any rides done, then just fork over more money to have a lower amount of crowds. Insane! But that's what it is becoming. It works out great for Disney's bottom line, but unfortunately a lot of guests can't or won't fork over even more money.

 

[networkpro]

It's also sad that the only way you can experience low crowds is by paying for Disney after dark. If you are too crowded, can't get any rides done, then just fork over more money to have a lower amount of crowds. Insane! But that's what it is becoming. It works out great for Disney's bottom line, but unfortunately a lot of guests can't or won't fork over even more money.

Its sad that people believe that the parks are perfectly elastic and can be everything for everybody at a low cost.

 

[scottriehm]

Its sad that people believe that the parks are perfectly elastic and can be everything for everybody at a low cost.

I also wish everyone who wanted to experience WDW could actually afford to visit since it is something special, however, that's just not something that's possible. Disney obviously is a for-profit company and needs to at least cover their costs (which isn't low), and if everyone was able to experience it for cheap, no one would be able to because WDW would always be beyond capacity.

I truly do think the only fix for this on the short term is to dramatically increase prices to decrease the demand of guests, which is the unpopular move that really no one who wants to go to Disney, and especially those who visit frequently, wants.

 

[Stitch826]

Once again, it's all about supply and demand. Until a fifth park opens or there is a significant increase in the number of attractions in the existing parks (or until there is an economic recession), the parks will continue to be crowded throughout the year.

Using round numbers, suppose the average guest spends $100 per day on a ticket (averaging single ticket prices with discounted multi-day tickets). Furthermore, let's say the average daily attendance at Magic Kingdom is 50,000 people (one site lists the 2017 average at just over 56,000, but again, round numbers here). This brings in $5,000,000 in ticket revenue. If Disney was to increase its prices by 50% to $150 for an average one-day ticket, that would mean that it would only need 33,333 people to bring in the same amount of revenue.

Of course, Disney would have to increase the price of everything else 50% (food, souvenirs, hotel rooms, etc.) to make up for the reduced number of park guests. The All-Star Resorts might start at $175 a night, while resorts like the Polynesian and Grand Floridian could jump to $750 a night.

 

[Chef Mickey]

It's also sad that the only way you can experience low crowds is by paying for Disney after dark. If you are too crowded, can't get any rides done, then just fork over more money to have a lower amount of crowds. Insane! But that's what it is becoming. It works out great for Disney's bottom line, but unfortunately a lot of guests can't or won't fork over even more money.

Sorry, but give me a break. Welcome to business and the real world. Nothing is free and Disney has no obligation to sell tickets below market.

 

[lazyboy97o]

You can't fast track construction safely... I'd rather 3 months longer than a coaster derailed...

Yes, you can. Just compare the timeline of Slinky Dog Dash to Time Traveler. Many of Disney’s projects take a long time but of course leadership wouldn’t know what to actually cut from the process.

Central Florida effectively abandoned the smaller scale experiences in favor of marquee attractions. The parks need little experiences that people discover, that in their quantity absorb crowds while still having a charm that adds to the day’s experience. Such attractions lack financial justification because nobody will plan a trip around them or point them out on a survey as a reason to visit.