Is attendance at WDW down?

[HairyBear]

I have heard news stories and heard people talking about reading that WDW attendance is down. On Intercot someone asked about a value season that Disney has when you can book a package for a 'discounted' rate to spur more people to attend WDW. :mickey: Not only have I seen more advertising on TV for WDW but nearly every facet of popular entertainment is dominated by Disney. I run into people all the time that talk about a future trip or one they just got back from. This wasn't the case in the past. There are so many organizations selling trips accomodations and packages to WDW. And who knows how many discussion groups,books and web sites giving information on the ins and outs of how to get the most magic from your trip.During a Very Merry Christmas party I experienced a very crowded parade where the adults that had not found a spot before the parade kicking kids in the back so they would be able to get the crying childrens vacated places (un Disneylike) How could Disney parks possibly be lower on attendnce? Is this a new corporate spin on the news just like every year retailers saying that Christmas spending is down, while not mentioning that retailers are starting the Christmas 'buying' season earlier and earlier every year. Today I read how the DVC is taking away the glasses and replacing them with styrofoam in some of the club resorts.



Are Disney parks really less crowded?:mickey:

[Catzle]

I would say not! I think it goes by the discounts they put out and since they didn't really do discounts for ex: May at all except the ticket up grade I would do say Disney is doing just great! I couldn't even get a AAA rate for room so I am thinking they are booked!

[brianlw71]

Attendance @ WDW has definitely been on the upside in the past few years.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

This past week, attendance at MK was down 16% from last year according the reports my leaders got.

[playdead88]

i think everything is a bit slower these days - people tend to cut out things like entertainment and vacations first when things get tight so i can imagine that disney isn't the only place feeling a bit of a slow down

[SurferStitch]

I would say not! I think it goes by the discounts they put out and since they didn't really do discounts for ex: May at all except the ticket up grade I would do say Disney is doing just great! I couldn't even get a AAA rate for room so I am thinking they are booked!

I wouldn't mind seeing crowds die down a bit.

Actually, we had a AAA discount at the GF (also had one available for the Poly), then got an even better AP discount for our May trip at the Flo. Our AP discount is a little bigger than I thought it would be! :thumbsup:

[Ian]

It may be starting to slow (which I expected it to), but in the last 12-18 months it's been booming. I think 2007 attendance may even have set some records.

But the lack of new attractions to draw people down, the aging appeal of the YoaMD, and people's worries about the economy are destined to slow things down.

This is where the lack of investment in the parks always comes back to bite them.

[NJ Camper]

I know we were doing 2 trips 1 spring and 1 fall but due to cash flow issues we have to settle for 1 longer fall trip this stinks but we still have 1 longer trip 2 weeks depending on cash flow and availability maybe we will extend that one if possible

[Young@Heart]

It seems like attendance was steadily increasing for a few years. I suppose a slow-down once-in-a-while (esp. w/ talk of a recession) is bound to happen. :confused:

[DNS]

Attendance @ WDW has definitely been on the upside in the past few years.
It seems this way to me also. Regardless of the time of year we have gone in the past few years, it seems to be far more crowded than it was 10 or 12 years ago.

[HairyBear]

The 1st time that my family went with me was their 1st time at WDW. September of 2002, during parades the crowds were concentrated but not excessive. Most attractions required little or no wait:mickey:!:goofy: Walking through the cattle corral prior to riding Splash Mountain rather than inching through was a prime example of how slow it must have been. For us it probably was the best trip we have had. :thumbsup: Staying at the Contemporary with a birdseye view of MK didn't hurt either!

[MarkC]

It may be a combination of a few things. 1) High gas prices take away discretionary dollars for a lot of people. 2) A lot of people went last year for the Year of a Million Dreams. Since they're still running the same promotion the newness of it has worn off. There may be other factors but those are the two foremost in my tiny little mind. Mark

[Aurora]

This past week, attendance at MK was down 16% from last year according the reports my leaders got.

You've heard the Mark Twain quote about there being three kinds of lies: "Lies, d--- lies, and statistics." Attendance at MK might have been down 16%, but they're comparing it with 2007, a booming year. I'd like to see what the numbers were compared with the last 10 years.

[ibrowse17]

Not sure about crowd sizes, but the line for Peter Pan was as long as ever on our last two trips:thumbsup:

[Gator]

I know the feeling of pinching pennies. So I'm using W's economic stimulus check to stimulate my vacation plans. Don't know if anyone will do the same thing.

[Jasper]

Beware of numbers being thrown around. There is an old saying that goes something like: Figures can lie and lairs can figure. As has already been said since Disney does not actually release attendance figures it is impossible to know what a comment like down or up 16% refers to. Not having the context for the numbers can set folks down a dangerous path.

As for Disney's excessive advertising, since so many of those decisions are made well in advance of when they air it is hard to say that the ads are in response to any kind of slowdown. They make these decisions based on goals that are set well in advance rather than so much about what has already happened.

[PhilHarHarMagic]

We just got back from the last 5 days in the parks - I've been going since 89 and haven't ever seen crowds at every park like they were this week. We were able to work our way around and do everything we wanted to, but there were a lot of folks there!

[disneylovinmom]

I think that $$ has alot to do with lower attendance if it is in fact true. It doesn't look like we will even get to go on a vacation this year.:( A lot of people I have spoken with say that the rising cost of fuel has a lot to do with their vacation plans and they were thinking of visiting someplace closer to where they live if they do go on a vacation. The rising fuel costs just cause a ripple effect and everything else is more $$ as a result and there is just not enough to go around to go on a costly trip.

[Dakota Rose]

The only good thing about the recession IMO is the possible slow-down at WDW and all vacation spots. I'm kind of hoping for it, actually. :secret:

[BrerGnat]

This past week, attendance at MK was down 16% from last year according the reports my leaders got.

This may have a lot to do with Easter/Spring break timing than anything else. Since Easter fluctuates every year, it's easy to run into very different attendance numbers throughout March/April from year to year.

If they said that attendance was down 16% for the QUARTER, that would be an entirely different story.

[BrerGnat]

The only good thing about the recession IMO is the possible slow-down at WDW and all vacation spots. I'm kind of hoping for it, actually. :secret:

You and me both, secretly of course. :secret::secret:;)

[CaptSmee]

This past week, attendance at MK was down 16% from last year according the reports my leaders got.

Wow! That's good for me, bad for WDW...i'm sure it won't last too long though.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

I don't know where everyone gets that Disney doesn't release their attendence records. They are a member of IAAPA, which requires the records for comparision for industry standards.

And they release the figures to just about everyone, including all the resorts and flights for check-ins, food service locations in parks for scheduling purposes, merchandise locations for stocking purposes. Shareholders would also want to see if there is an increase in attendence because they have a financial investment in the company, and if Disney isn't selling park tickets, they may want or even need to pull their funding. There are so many little things that are dependant on the amount of Guests present in the park that we are constantly being updated with how many people are still in the park based on turnstile rotations.

And yes, Disney does release their attendence records, which is how we know whether there has been an increase to the parks attendence, such as MK being up to 17.06 million from last year's 16.6 million, and AK has the largest increase with 6% to 9.49 million. I highly doubt people just make up those numbers and they get them from somewhere.

[JerseyDad]

I think that $$ has alot to do with lower attendance if it is in fact true. It doesn't look like we will even get to go on a vacation this year. A lot of people I have spoken with say that the rising cost of fuel has a lot to do with their vacation plans and they were thinking of visiting someplace closer to where they live if they do go on a vacation. The rising fuel costs just cause a ripple effect and everything else is more $$ as a result and there is just not enough to go around to go on a costly trip.


.....even with the rising gas costs, the added +/-$150 dollars or so that it'd cost for our drive to WDW from NJ wouldn't be a deterent factor as to whether or not we vacation there this fall.


.....what WOULD be a factor would be a severe (even more than now) down-turn in the economy or projected negative economic forecast. With something like that happening, it's more about "can I afford to spend now...what I may possibly need tomorrow"...should unemployment come knocking. That...is something that has crossed my mind several times as I've looked into this years potential for a vacation. I can be quite sure that others may have had the same train of thought.

[PetefromRI]

I know that in the last couple of years we went during what were once slow times and there were quite alot of people.I think that the days of walking right on to an attraction are about over.Every now and then we got lucky but for the most part it seemed alot more crowded than usual.As far as the economy goes,we'll still try to go as often as possible but I do have an eye on it in case there's a real bad downturn.I'm in construction and so far so good,but if I have to I'll just bypass Disney unless a real good deal comes our way.

[jpH/keD]

We went in Nov 07 and it was WAY crowded. No slow down that we saw. AK was so crowded we couldn't stand it! We left early! For that park being the biggest, the aisles and walkways are too small and cramped!

I hope it does slow down then maybe pricing will go down and I can afford to stay at the Poly for the first time! :secret: It's my new dream(goal)! I still have to talk the DH into it but I will NOT ride the buses again!!!

[dumbo ears]

I would say that attendance is higher than ever but I bet in 2 years it will be down because of how bad the economy is. People will need to save money for more important things than WDW(like there are anything else more important). but not everyone can avord to go now and definitely not if the value of the dollar and everything else keeps going down.

[elmjimmlm]

As far as the crowds in June, in my opinion, were very high...We could not get into a lot of the attractions that we have in past years...We did use the EMH and it was great for us...We rode KRR 3 times without having to get off...It was a cold walk back to the bus.:freeze: I kind of like the crowds even though it would be nice to not have to wait over an hour and a half to ride Peter Pan:peter:

[Sharon1026]

I have heard news stories and heard people talking about reading that WDW attendance is down. On Intercot someone asked about a value season that Disney has when you can book a package for a 'discounted' rate to spur more people to attend WDW. :mickey: Not only have I seen more advertising on TV for WDW but nearly every facet of popular entertainment is dominated by Disney. I run into people all the time that talk about a future trip or one they just got back from. This wasn't the case in the past. There are so many organizations selling trips accomodations and packages to WDW. And who knows how many discussion groups,books and web sites giving information on the ins and outs of how to get the most magic from your trip.During a Very Merry Christmas party I experienced a very crowded parade where the adults that had not found a spot before the parade kicking kids in the back so they would be able to get the crying childrens vacated places (un Disneylike) How could Disney parks possibly be lower on attendnce? Is this a new corporate spin on the news just like every year retailers saying that Christmas spending is down, while not mentioning that retailers are starting the Christmas 'buying' season earlier and earlier every year. Today I read how the DVC is taking away the glasses and replacing them with styrofoam in some of the club resorts.



Are Disney parks really less crowded?:mickey:

Attendance is up. Here's an article to back up the claim:http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1446303561.html?dids=1446303561:1446303561&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+15%2C+2008&author=MARK+ALBRIGHT&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=D.1&desc=DISNEY+DELIVERS+AGAIN

[Buttercup]

I thought that with the recession (or impending one) in the USA, attendance would be down. But then I heard that instead of travelling abroad (say to Europe, etc.) Americans are choosing just to travel domestically in order to save money. So, I don't know if there will be a huge difference or not.

[Speedy1998]

This past week, attendance at MK was down 16% from last year according the reports my leaders got.

As someone else stated I think this probably has more to do with the early easter than the economy slowing down.

I however, did hear that Bob Iger announced recently, in a press confrence, that they are expecting park attendace to decrease in the second half of 2008. I think this may be a pretty accurate prediction. WDW has the perfect barometeor to tell if attendance will be off. The ADR system, if less ADRs are being made for Aug, and Sept for this time last year, then they know the attendace will be down.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

As someone else stated I think this probably has more to do with the early easter than the economy slowing down.



Actually, this is very incorrect. Easter is a peak weekend for Disney, not a slow one. Most CM's are put on a minimum of 8-hour shifts, 6 days during Easter. It's why we have longer nights, most nights until midnight or later. It's why we stopped the parties for a couple of weeks. CM's are blocked from entering the parks right now, we can't use our dining discounts. This is not a slow period - it's prime time.