What is going on with Disney parks?

[Searc]

I think people are finally wising up to the times of year to avoid thanks to the internet and many crowd calendars. Christmas to new years will always be crowded but todays disney guests are more informed then those 10-15 years ago. Unfortunately i think the complexity and price is starting to scare people away

I definitely agree with your last sentence!

 

[disneygirlsng]

If you don’t go to it, yes. I suppose the ADRs specifically in MK are pretty limited to begin with so probably not something that would work out.

If one was really determined to get into MK it looks like you could buy memory maker. That’s adding quite a bit of expense to get in on a crazy busy day if you weren’t already going to get it though.

You could always make the ADR, get into the park, move the ADR to the next day, then cancel it to avoid the no show fee. But I agree about there probably not being much, if anything left.

 

[Remy is Up]

I think people are finally wising up to the times of year to avoid thanks to the internet and many crowd calendars. Christmas to new years will always be crowded but todays disney guests are more informed then those 10-15 years ago. Unfortunately i think the complexity and price is starting to scare people away

It is simply called thinning the herd

 

[SaintsManiac]

As I said a few pages back, thanksgiving crowds were insane. That was the only trip I’ve taken where the crowds overwhelmed us.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I just got an offer for free dining for mid summer.

 

[ajay3]

I'm late to this thread, and can't comment on crowd sizes but wanted to add my two cents. We have been die hard Disney fans forever- 2 or more week-long on site trips per year for over 20 years. 2017 was our last trip - crowd sizes, cost, and general atmosphere finally pushed us past our tipping point. It wasn't fun anymore, the addition of using an app and being on a schedule for Fast Passes, while it has so many benefits, has made it a stressful experience for those of us who like to go in the parks and forget there's a real world. It also seems like some of the "magic" had worn off the parks in general - from disrepair, to cast member attitudes, we were just done.

I realize time moves on and things can't always stay the same, but I do hope Disney finds a balance of that old time simplicity that I think a lot of it's fans are looking for and the new technology that draws in newcomers. We are planning a February trip and hoping for a great experience after our break, but are still shocked at how much more expensive it has gotten in less than 3 years!

 

[ClapYourHands]

I'm not sure what the phases are nor did I know they even had them but I have personally been at MK on xmas last several years and have been in the park when it reach capacity. First couple times we were already in the park and once where we weren't and was trying to get in. Now we stay offsite so not sure if offsite guests are considered a phase but we were told flat out that the park was at about 120,000 guests and they weren't allowing anymore guests in and I had to basically prove I had reservations and FP's just to get in. The other times we were already in the park and they closed all ticket booths and refused to let anyone in and even announced the park was at capacity. All within last 6+ years. This is the very reason we stopped going to MK on xmas day and even xmas eve.

But...you got in. So, park wasn’t at capacity because you showed you had an ADR, and were admitted. You may have been trying to enter at a time they were limiting entrance, but that’s not the same as stopping new entrance.

I guarantee that those other times you were in the park and they “refused to let anyone in” were also times they were still letting people in. People with on-site stays, ADRs, annual passes, etc.

Saying the park is “at capacity” is a good way to deter people from coming if they don’t already have concrete plans. So if you were planning to walk up and buy a ticket and enter, the “at capacity” you mentioned would mean not getting in. Even then, there are ways to get yourself into a category that would get you into the park, possibly expensive ways, but ways. However, until you get to phase 4, people are still being let in.

 

[MudQueen22]

We went every 2 or 2.5 years until now. The price is increasing much faster than our salaries (and we are both educators), so we just can't go as often. Fortunately, we own a travel trailer, so we take lots of small trips within our state so that we can satisfy our wanderlust at an affordable price.
We think we might get back to Disney in 2023ish.

Our last stay was at the campground, but we are now priced out of it. The last figures we saw on a premium campsite were in the $200s per night!! (For reference, we spend roughly $25 per night at a state park and roughly $60 per night for a resort campground elsewhere.) Disney's rate, coupled with the gas to get there (and gas expenditure doubles when towing a travel trailer), is just too much now. Unless the price goes back down on the campsites, we will likely stay in a value resort on our next visit.

We do love Disney very much, but I will admit to not being as emotionally invested as so many are. It's probably for the best, because we would probably take it hard if we wanted to go so desperately and just couldn't afford it.

 

[kymom99]

We went 4 times when my son was young. 2004-2010. We also went to DL once. We make a modest income but I always felt like I could get a good value out of a trip. We always stayed in a Disney hotel (except at DL) and got park hoppers. We went from sun up to sun down for one ticket price. I felt like even the food was reasonable. Now I have a grandson who I would love to take, but I just can’t justify it. It’s so darned expensive. Even if staying off property. Getting basic tickets just limits you so much. Even with hoppers, which have also gotten crazy, you have to plan around all this other stuff. It just makes me tired.

 

[Orionreplay]

When my wife and I started going on our vacations to WDW, life was a lark in the park. We'd buy popcorn and stroll to the next area, looking like people from a glossy pamphlet, pointing and laughing at random stuff. We'd spend all day in one or two parks. Dinner reservations were just a phone call away from guest services or your hotel room. If a concierge was available, why that was even more fun.

As time passed and our trips together grew in number at WDW, we began to feel something different. We were there when they introduced FPs at the little kiosks when you walked onto Main Street. We had to be shown how it all worked and it was hoot to pick and choose our rides on a touch screen, but today, FPs are annoying as heck. We feel so confined and trapped.

Today we have ADRs and FPs months before the trip and the feeling that if you don't get to choose something, then the entire trip is a bust.... months before even going on the vacation.

I was totally amazed in November how we now walk through the parks staring at our phones, always opening MDE and even the Play Disney apps. There was no more being engaged with the Park around us. Instead it always head down staring at screen looking up momentarily to not bump into someone.

 

[Moliphino]

I was totally amazed in November how we now walk through the parks staring at our phones, always opening MDE and even the Play Disney apps. There was no more being engaged with the Park around us. Instead it always head down staring at screen looking up momentarily to not bump into someone.

My excessive phone use in the parks can be blamed mostly on Pokemon Go, not Disney.
The Play app was pretty fun in SWGE and does kind of force you to explore all over the land. I don't bother with it much outside of that.

 

[Orionreplay]

My excessive phone use in the parks can be blamed mostly on Pokemon Go, not Disney.
The Play app was pretty fun in SWGE and does kind of force you to explore all over the land. I don't bother with it much outside of that.

I did enjoy the Play app and can admit that. But I found the Play app to be less intrusive and just something to pass the time in a line or two. The kids got quickly bored of its use in SWGE, but for short timeframe my daughter and I hunted out door panels to hack.

 

[DrunkJam]

I did enjoy the Play app and can admit that. But I found the Play app to be less intrusive and just something to pass the time in a line or two. The kids got quickly bored of its use in SWGE, but for short timeframe my daughter and I hunted out door panels to hack.

So, I have downloaded the Play App is it not just little games to play to not be bored in the queue? Is it interactive? I didn't know that!

 

[Orionreplay]

So, I have downloaded the Play App is it not just little games to play to not be bored in the queue? Is it interactive? I didn't know that!

Mostly in the lines, it gives you games to play related to the ride line. For instance, my family of four had fun in the Soarin' line as we joined a color team and answered Geography trivia. The app also had some Toy Story related games to play in the Slinky Dog line.

But in Galaxy's Edge, the Play app became a whole different thing and let you translate the language, hack door panels, etc. It made you feel like you had a data pad and you were more immersed in the environment. It was fun our first and second tries, but eventually the kids gravitated away from it.

 

[DrunkJam]

Mostly in the lines, it gives you games to play related to the ride line. For instance, my family of four had fun in the Soarin' line as we joined a color team and answered Geography trivia. The app also had some Toy Story related games to play in the Slinky Dog line.

But in Galaxy's Edge, the Play app became a whole different thing and let you translate the language, hack door panels, etc. It made you feel like you had a data pad and you were more immersed in the environment. It was fun our first and second tries, but eventually the kids gravitated away from it.

Ooh, I will definitely give it a try then! I would never have known! Thank you!

 

[Vernon slusher]

Maybe it's not just Disney parks, but what we notice because of our little bubble here. What if this is a bigger trend being observed across the economic landscape (e.g. Thomas Cook Travel)? Vacations are always the first to go when there is economic uncertainty.

Breaking points move. As consumers (especially Disney consumers with such an emotional attachment to the product), we adjust and push the point a little further each time something is taken away. I don't know what my breaking point is, but whatever it is, someone else will always be willing to fill in should I find Disney has left me by the wayside.

This was a good post with good info.

 

[Jrb1979]

I have a season pass for Cedar Point. I have noticed that since the offer of a new Gold pass which includes Parking and the Halloween event that it's been much busier then usual. I know they don't have the same attendance as Disney does but I wonder if Cedar Point and other regional parks have taken away Disney?

 

[rteetz]

I have a season pass for Cedar Point. I have noticed that since the offer of a new Gold pass which includes Parking and the Halloween event that it's been much busier then usual. I know they don't have the same attendance as Disney does but I wonder if Cedar Point and other regional parks have taken away Disney?

I wouldn’t think so. Cedar Point and parks like that aren’t a vacation destination usually. They are a weekend thing.

 

[piglet1979]

I think the reason why Cedar Point was so busy last year was because of the Gold pass being good for the end of last year and the whole season coming up. It was only offered (if I am remembering correctly) for the 50th anniversary. I live close to Cedar Point and several people that i know who normally don't get season passes did because the deal was so good and they could start using in at the end of last season.

 

[Jrb1979]

I think the reason why Cedar Point was so busy last year was because of the Gold pass being good for the end of last year and the whole season coming up. It was only offered (if I am remembering correctly) for the 50th anniversary. I live close to Cedar Point and several people that i know who normally don't get season passes did because the deal was so good and they could start using in at the end of last season.

I wonder if some people are choosing to get a Gold Pass for Cedar Point instead of going to Disney. You always hear how Disney is offering free dining cause rooms aren't filling as they normally are. I wonder if people are giving up traveling and choosing to go places within driving distance.