Skull Island: Reign of Kong - General Discussion

[sparky]

Universal definitely seems down. I would've thought 7/2 would have been the busiest Saturday of the Summer by far, but when I arrived around 4:30PM waits were pretty low. Like 25 minutes for Spidey, 20 for FJ, 20 for Gringotts, etc. Felt like the off season. Been checking waits periodically today (7/4), too, and I was seeing stuff like 20 for Spidey and 10-15 each for FJ and Gringotts around 2:00PM. It's nuts. Not sure what's going on.

What is the hotel occupancy at? I know the week we are arriving in August Hard Rock is sold out, but the other hotels have lots of rooms left.

 

[Mad Dog]

Could world terrorism be having a small impact? TT said that Uni is off too. What else could be chasing the numbers lower?

WDW has been down the entire calendar year. Sometimes you can't tell from TP because the line times are inflated from the past due to staff cuts & FP+ (In fact TP is redoing their whole rating system to reflect that). Universal seems flat, but according to Test Track they were ahead when he commented about the attendance in late May. Since he's saying they're (Universal) down now, that must reflect a slow June.....I read somewhere that Orlando hotel occupancy is down 2% for the calendar year.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

I expected the recent events to cause a reduction in attendance but not by this much.

 

[NJBrandon]

Disney quarterly results(From January 3rd to April 2nd): Attendance at our domestic theme parks was relatively flat, as an increase at Disneyland Resort was offset by a modest decrease at Walt Disney World Resort.

Universal quarterly results(ending March 31): Pro forma revenue increased 9.6%, reflecting stable guest attendance and higher per capita spending at the parks, which benefitted, in part, from the timing of spring holidays.

Comcast reports the next quarters earnings on July 27th and Disney on August 2nd. Should get more information then on how attendance is doing.

 

[Mad Dog]

I expected the recent events to cause a reduction in attendance but not by this much.

It's got to be other factors too, since WDW started offering lots of special summer packages a couple of months ago and there were tons of available hotel rooms on property. Besides South American countries, whose economies are in the can, it might be all the price increases, too much planning required, staff cutting, and lack of new attractions (Combination: The Perfect Storm) catching up with WDW. And since Universal feeds off of WDW somewhat, that might trickle down to them a bit too. Plus, it's been two years since a new attraction/land at Uni. And since Kong & Hulk weren't ready for the second quarter that lack of new stuff might have flattened their attendance.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Earlier this year UOR was year over year attendance gains. WDW was down. All seem to be now even or down. WDW continues to decrease over the years.

 

[Legolas813]

What is TP that everyone keeps mentioning?

 

[Miketheboss]

Maybe because everything is so damn expensive. Going to a park for a day and staying at a hotel for a family of four can cost the family $1,000+.

 

[awhen]

Well it was 34 minutes to goggle pickup, then a 30 minute delay. I got Will as my driver who I hadn't seen before. Ride was perfect until the end of the 360 scene when the ride stopped.

After about 15 minutes the work lights came on and we were evacuated. I got to walk from the 360 room along the ride path past the inanimate Kong all the way to unloading. It was pretty neat to see.

 

[Teebin]

What is TP that everyone keeps mentioning?

Touring Plans... it is a website.

 

[Teebin]

Could people be holding out for Avatar or Star Wars? They certainly held out for Potter at Uni.

 

[UAN17]

UK visitors tend to book in advance.

2015 will have seen a significant increase from UK guests because of the wide scale press of Diagon Alley in 2014. It was in pretty much all of the papers to the extent it was huge news. There's been nothing since that's grabbed the attention like that but I'd be surprised if UK visitors aren't stable in 2016, because many places don't feel safe right now. Typically cheap locations like Turkey or Tunisia have suffered tragedy and that's forcing the price of Spain etc up, reducing the price gap between a European holiday and a few weeks in Florida.

I hope Disney are feeling a hit because of customer dissatisfaction personally. I think the public aren't stupid and realise they're being taken for fools when they go to the studios and wait over an hour for each of the 5 rides, or watch a show that hasn't been updated since the 90s. Or visit Animal Kingdom which still has a chronic lack of rides. Or Epcot which is stale, neglected and dated.

When people pay premium prices they expect a premium time....standing in the sweltering heat for 90 minutes for Seven Drawf Mine Train won't make many people think "wow I need to come back here!!"

To bring this back round to Kong, I'm hoping Universal, and Disney, see the reduced crowds as an OPPORTUNITY to update rides and take them down, ramp up construction ready for when things pick up. Let's hope this doesn't increase hesitation to invest in great rides.

 

[Wanderer72]

Could people be holding out for Avatar or Star Wars? They certainly held out for Potter at Uni.

I doubt that many people are holding out for Avatar. Star Wars definitely though. And I'm sure half of Hollywood Studios being under construction has had some impact as well.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Could it be they are finally hitting the price increase tipping point?

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Could it be they are finally hitting the price increase tipping point?

I know this is true for us and we are locals. We're over the high prices. We also get to a point that we skip certain rides, not because they are old, but because they are 3D and that 3D bright sunlight transition isn't easy over and over again. Just add in everything and the Value just doesn't quite add up for us to wanting to continue to invest in the parks. Doesn't mean we wont go. We just consider how we go and or when now.

 

[WAJAS]

Lol, SeaWorld filled their overflow lot today. I guess the locals are still coming.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Lol, SeaWorld filled their overflow lot today. I guess the locals are still coming.

Sea World finally stopped playing me too on rate increases. They are now cheaper than the other parks.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Sea World finally stopped playing me too on rate increases. They are now cheaper than the other parks.

Sea World is the most Value for your money. Followed by Disney then Universal.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Sea World is the most Value for your money. Followed by Disney then Universal.

For me it would depend on the type of ticket. Universal two day one park ticket is cheaper than the same at WDW. Same goes for 3 day park to park. AP renewal is also much cheaper.

Sea World wins on one day tickets. Base AP is only good for one park.

 

[Mad Dog]

I was just reading the 4th of July photo update on Mice Chat. They were in Disneyland at 11:00 AM and said the park was nearly empty. They showed the posted wait times & photos of the sparsely occupied park, and commented this was the lowest crowd they've ever seen on the 4th, and that the park is usually packed at that time.But they said the crowds would probably show up for Fireworks later in the day. They also said the weekend holiday crowds were lower than normal and only at moderate levels. Interesting holiday weekend this year. Disneyland doesn't have the South American tourist flood like WDW gets, so it must be a combination of other factors in California......Update Note: The WDW crowds showed up later in the day for Fireworks, so they were busy the second half. Universal stayed slow all day.