Disneyland’s Attendance Issues Summer 2019

[Parkscope Joe]

Pissed off people don't spend as much money

There's a min-max situation here and I don't think DL has hit that threshold where more guests doesn't mean more spending.

 

[shiekra38]

Depends on if you are looking at it from the customer's perspective or the business's perspective.

I'm quite positive DL would take a park full of pissed off people over what they've had for the last month.

There's a min-max situation here and I don't think DL has hit that threshold where more guests doesn't mean more spending.

I thought we were talking about WDW

I'd agree that DL needs a boost in attendance

 

[devinp267]

Real talk, theme parks decrease in fun the more people are there. Is it better for less people to have a guaranteed positive experience or open it up and let people potentially have an extremely negative experience?

I know this.. but i was reassured yesterday at the park(ioa). It was hot and shoulder to shoulder and our plan was to ride hagrid and gtfo of there. It was a line to get in line for 3 broomsticks, just miserable. Only reason i was there was for hagrid's but the state of the atmosphere was a mess!! But it seems the out of state people are the ones that are forced to go in summer, locals know better.

 

[tyro]

I just received an email to get 30% off a stay at WDW until 8/28 (day before Galaxy's Edge opens) so this is a issue on both coasts. And may not be as related to Galaxy's Edge overhype/scaring away as others have stated and more to do with an overall decline of onsite stays at Disney in general. I would love to be a fly in the wall to see the data that the company is pulling as to why this is happening.

 

[shiekra38]

I know this.. but i was reassured yesterday at the park(ioa). It was hot and shoulder to shoulder and our plan was to ride hagrid and gtfo of there. It was a line to get in line for 3 broomsticks, just miserable. Only reason i was there was for hagrid's but the state of the atmosphere was a mess!! But it seems the out of state people are the ones that are forced to go in summer, locals know better.

Universal is awful with smashing people into small areas

I just received an email to get 30% off a stay at WDW until 8/28 (day before Galaxy's Edge opens) so this is a issue on both coasts. And may not be as related to Galaxy's Edge overhype/scaring away as others have stated and more to do with an overall decline of onsite stays at Disney in general. I would love to be a fly in the wall to see the data that the company is pulling as to why this is happening.

I thought Star Wars was supposed to fix that

 

[Ryan]

Didn't something similar happen with WWOHP at USH? The model of raising ticket prices and blacking out most APs also had an adverse effect there, and they don't have half the AP base. WWOHP FL had been open for 6 years at that point so hype level should have way lower regardless but expectations were still high. They shuffled a couple things around though and eventually started to see the lifts in attendance and having record-breaking days.

Remember.. the only AP levels able to get into Disneyland right now are those paying minimum $1149 a year. All the WDW passes will be open when Galaxy's Edge opens, including the cheaper Theme Park Select and Weekday Passes. Plus, all the regular ticket holders AND it'll be Labor Day weekend. I would expect very different results.

I remember those days three years ago, when USH was introducing a new AP almost every week and people were baffled by the soft attendance. Eventually, however, Uni got it right. It of course required them to retire some of their ego, which even with this $99 deal, I don't think Disney is similarly capable of. The peak pricing in particular is outrageous, $149 for 1 park was just a step too far for a regional theme park, no matter if Disney doesn't want to admit that.

The quality of SWGE, MFSR, the price of SW merch, or RotR not being open have nothing to do with the rest of the park being empty. If the rest of the park was packed and SWGE we moderate or empty, then sure you could say that. People didn't say, oh $200 lightsaber? I'm not going at all. The blockouts, fear of overcrowding, and overall resort pricing are why it's dead.

Yup yup yup. And before somebody brings up that tired "but the wait for Smuggler's Run!!" argument again, please remember capacity and how that affects wait times. Simply put some are putting their obvious biases in when trying to connect the dots of this issue, and that's very, very clear.

 

[Nick]

I remember those days three years ago, when USH was introducing a new AP almost every week and people were baffled by the soft attendance. Eventually, however, Uni got it right. It of course required them to retire some of their ego, which even with this $99 deal, I don't think Disney is similarly capable of. The peak pricing in particular is outrageous, $149 for 1 park was just a step too far for a regional theme park, no matter if Disney doesn't want to admit that.



Yup yup yup. And before somebody brings up that tired "but the wait for Smuggler's Run!!" argument again, please remember capacity and how that affects wait times. Simply put some are putting their obvious biases in when trying to connect the dots of this issue, and that's very, very clear.

Also, can we please remember that SR is running without Fastpass at the moment, too?

Crowds are low, no doubt, but Smugglers Run has pretty damn high capacity.

 

[Mad Dog]

I just received an email to get 30% off a stay at WDW until 8/28 (day before Galaxy's Edge opens) so this is a issue on both coasts. And may not be as related to Galaxy's Edge overhype/scaring away as others have stated and more to do with an overall decline of onsite stays at Disney in general. I would love to be a fly in the wall to see the data that the company is pulling as to why this is happening.

As I've said in the WDW threads, almost all the WDW hotels have plenty of classifications of rooms available for most of the Fall. In the past, if you didn't get a room more than six months before your trip, the room choices got pretty slim. Not so right now. I find that interesting. I'm guessing GESWL at DHS will be crowded, but I think those crowds will be more fueled by locals, and just the normal stream of tourists. Hotel bookings look soft at this point in time, unless there's a late spurt with some booking promotions.

 

[GAcoaster]

Yet they're building more rooms on Disney property, and in the surrounding area. Even with the growth of all the Orlando parks attendance, there has to be SOME saturation point for the number of hotel rooms in Orlando. Yet, Disney, Universal, Marriott, Hilton, etc, just keep building more and more hotels. I'm guessing we'll see Disney start lowering the price point on some of their hotels as all this new inventory comes online. I can't see why anyone would pay more than about $100 a night for All Stars.

 

[shiekra38]

Yet they're building more rooms on Disney property, and in the surrounding area. Even with the growth of all the Orlando parks attendance, there has to be SOME saturation point for the number of hotel rooms in Orlando. Yet, Disney, Universal, Marriott, Hilton, etc, just keep building more and more hotels. I'm guessing we'll see Disney start lowering the price point on some of their hotels as all this new inventory comes online. I can't see why anyone would pay more than about $100 a night for All Stars.

It really is crazy how much WDW is expanding their hotels...I hope it isn't all in anticipation for SWL and the 50th

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Yet they're building more rooms on Disney property, and in the surrounding area. Even with the growth of all the Orlando parks attendance, there has to be SOME saturation point for the number of hotel rooms in Orlando. Yet, Disney, Universal, Marriott, Hilton, etc, just keep building more and more hotels. I'm guessing we'll see Disney start lowering the price point on some of their hotels as all this new inventory comes online. I can't see why anyone would pay more than about $100 a night for All Stars.

Fair but this thread is about Disneyland.

 

[fryoj]

I just received an email to get 30% off a stay at WDW until 8/28 (day before Galaxy's Edge opens) so this is a issue on both coasts. And may not be as related to Galaxy's Edge overhype/scaring away as others have stated and more to do with an overall decline of onsite stays at Disney in general. I would love to be a fly in the wall to see the data that the company is pulling as to why this is happening.

I got the same offer and noticed the end date.

Universal is awful with smashing people into small areas

I thought Star Wars was supposed to fix that

The offer ends before Star Wars opens. The offer is about a weak summer crowd. Could be overall pricing of people waiting for SW.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Some anecdotal info

 

[quinnmac000]

Here is a video where almost all the rides after SWGE was opened and everything is literally walk on

 

[tielo]

For everyone who said that Disney wanted this, you are wrong. Heads are going to roll and more will be cut to satisfy the investors. As a result that will not make future park goers happy.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

For everyone who said that Disney wanted this, you are wrong. Heads are going to roll and more will be cut to satisfy the investors. As a result that will not make future park goers happy.

I believe Disney wanted a pleasant and easy access to SWGE and the new merch and good there, but not at the cost of historically low attendance.

 

[Scott W.]

For everyone who said that Disney wanted this, you are wrong. Heads are going to roll and more will be cut to satisfy the investors. As a result that will not make future park goers happy.

Spot on. On the more Disney centric forums, there is a lot of confusion and even panic about the current situation.

I don’t really know how I feel about it. I’m still on the fence about going out west in September, my original hesitation was that it was going to be a mad house with crazy long queues and it may still happen. Now, my hesitation is, is Star Wars worth it?

I think once RotR opens, it will be back to business as normal and I hope that the current situation is putting Disney in an even higher gear if possible to get it open.

 

[Mad Dog]

Spot on. On the more Disney centric forums, there is a lot of confusion and even panic about the current situation.

I don’t really know how I feel about it. I’m still on the fence about going out west in September, my original hesitation was that it was going to be a mad house with crazy long queues and it may still happen. Now, my hesitation is, is Star Wars worth it?

I think once RotR opens, it will be back to business as normal and I hope that the current situation is putting Disney in an even higher gear if possible to get it open.

Kind of depends on whether MF is your type of ride, with the gaming type interactivity. If not, from everything we're seeing, it seems you should wait until RotR opens. Perhaps, with all of these circumstances, Disney will open it sooner than later.

 

[shiekra38]

I believe Disney wanted a pleasant and easy access to SWGE and the new merch and good there, but not at the cost of historically low attendance.

Softs went extremely well, and then a drop off

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Softs went extremely well, and then a drop off

There was a drop during the reservation period (I refuse to call it soft open after Disneyland calls it “now open”).