But, it is also ridiculous that Disney wants to have 'light attendance" like it has had on major holiday weekends. Yes, they are making attempts to spread out attendance throughout the year...but to have "light crowds" at a non-discounted holiday period CANNOT be what they want. Beaches and resorts throughout the United states were packed at this time. Are you seriously suggesting that Disney wants or PLANS to have weak holiday attendance?
I really don't know how you expect to have any meaningful discussion with such ambiguities. Re-read your comments above. Disney has "light attendance" and other beaches and resorts were "packed."
How am I supposed to respond to that?
What are your qualifications (and criteria) for judging Disney to be "light"? Do you have data on all four theme parks...and waterparks....and Downtown Disney...for the same calendar day? How about comparisons to prior years?
How many other beaches & resorts did you sample before applying this universal "packed" status?
Look, I realize the above questions are impossible to answer. We don't have access to attendance data for Disney or any other destination. But your comments are littered with generalities and hyperbole. Unless Disney ultimately reports lower attendance, we're just two guys standing nose-to-nose screaming:
"Crowds were smaller!"
"No they weren't!"
Personally I'll take hard data over personal perception any day.
It's as if you are saying that Disney is more concentrated on drawing people in on free dining and resort discount periods instead of the premium rates they could get during the holidays.
No, I'm not saying that at all. But what I will point out that Disney knows exactly how its crowds are trending via advance hotel reservations. They aren't often caught off-guard by the crowds in their parks because they know how many will be staying on-site and can compare those reservations to prior years.
They begin analyzing such figures MONTHS in advance. Right now, someone at TWDC has data on how June '14 reservations as of 12/13/13 compare to June '13 reservations on 12/13/12 and June '12 reservations on 12/13/11.
If they were concerned about projected crowds for Thanksgiving, they would have introduced some incentive or discount to attract more people.
Another figure Disney often cites in its financial reports is average guest spending. Hotel / vacation package prices--net of discounts--play a big role in those average guest spending figures. And I don't recall them trending downward anytime in the last several years. Disney is consistently reporting higher average guest spending.
The periods in which Disney does NOT discount are as telling as the periods in which they DO discount.
Disney uses discounts during slow periods to draw business INTO those dates and AWAY from what are normally busier periods. When the parks are slammed to the gills, not all of those people are ABLE to spend money. When Pecos Bills has lines out the door and no tables available, Disney loses money because customers walk away. When people are standing in a 60 minute standby line for Haunted Mansion, they aren't buying churros or Mickey ear hats.
Disney charges higher prices during holiday periods because they know a certain volume of guests will still arrive and pay those prices. Some people will use prices as justification for visiting during another period--perhaps changing work vacation dates or having kids miss school. And while those discounting may lower those guests' average spending, they're filling hotel rooms and attraction stead which would have otherwise sat empty due to the low demand.
It may grab headlines on the DIS when the Magic Kingdom hits a phased closure. But in a practical sense, ANY closure means Disney is losing money. Don't you think Disney wants to convince those guests to visit in August or September--even at discounted prices--rather than simply being turned away on December 26th?
