Boo Bash sold out quickly. Very Merriest hasn't sold out a single date.

[gottalovepluto]

Both Cost and covid delta concerns.

I thought the parties near Thanksgiving & Xmas would sell out but now that they haven’t I think those are solely victims of cost. No matter what COVID does WDW will be busy over that period, those parties should have sold out.

 

[Imamom2]

I think price and Covid combined with Boo Bash tickets available day of - people will wait ’til they arrive and then purchase if tix are available. We will be checking out on 11/8 but if we were there for the party I might think about it because it’s just two of us.

 

[kappyfamily]

we will be there over thanksgiving and would love to go, we can afford to pay the cost of the tickets but just simply wont.

 

[JakeAZ]

Agreed. Boo Bash was on sale during the 60-75 days when we thought COVID was mostly over. I think a lot of people have cancelled due to Delta. I think its why the parks are so empty right now(well maybe not this weekend).

While I think some people have canceled, I think the parks are on the lighter side because people held out their bookings for the 50th. Same way they were lighter the summer before Galaxy's Edge opened.

I'm looking at our week in November and there isn't a single room on DVC or hotel side.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

As someone who has tickets for the Christmas event, I’m scared that the answer might be that Disney simply set a much higher capacity for Christmas After Hours than they did for Boo Bash. If that’s true, I will be really upset. Part of what led me to pay the ridiculously high price for the Christmas event was seeing how small the crowds have been—and how short the lines have been—for Boo Bash. Both events are labeled as “After Hours” and both have been advertised with the exact same language about shorter wait times. If I ended up paying a grand for my family to stand in 30-45 minute lines, I will be furious!

 

[shh]

I think price has a lot to do with it. But it's also non-refundable and that makes a lot of people think twice before plunking down so much money this far in advance. Too many "what if's"

Yup.

 

[Violet Parr]

Interesting reflections, thanks for your thoughts. I had not considered several of the things suggested here. One, that capacity might be higher. Ouch. I hope not for those who are going.

Two, that people view Halloween parties and Christmas parties differently. This is true for our family and I realize that it influenced our decision to attend Boo Bash even at a higher price and lower offerings than MNSSHP. We can get Christmas vibes in a lot of different ways, but Halloween is something we really kind of need trick or treating and lots of other people dressed up for, etc. Esp since our kids are beyond the trick or treating age in the neighborhood, but we all still love Halloween as a family.

I really do think covid has had something to do with it. Even if people HAVE been able to return or exchange Boo Bash tickets (and there have been reports of non-weather related exchanges) at point of sale, the tickets are clearly designated non-refundable. No one expected Delta to mess everything up, so I wonder if people are holding back in part because who knows what the coming months will bring in terms of covid.

Lastly, yes, the prices are sky high. $1250 + tax for a family of 5 is some big spending.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I agree that the price and the Delta variant are a factor. Disney, a company that's never been shy about raising prices, really seems to be pushing the envelope as much as they possibly can these days. However, the Delta variant is having an effect on the economy. The August jobs report wasn't good....500K jobs under expectations. Leisure and Hospitality were a big drag on the report with hotels adding only 6,600 jobs and restaurants/bars actually slashing over 40K jobs. And so this will affect Disney as well.

 

[igrsod]

If covid didn't slow down Boo Bash, I doubt it would slow down Very Merriest. I gotta go with price. Ruled it out for us.

We bought boo bash tickets for our now cancelled trip in September... price was high but we figured it was worth it. We changed our trip to December hoping Covid will be more under control in Florida. When the Very Merriest tickets came out with those prices... we all just laughed and said NO!!!
That's way too much.

Edited just to also add in for what it is worth, we got full refund on our Boo Bash tickets because we didn't want to travel to Florida with the case counts so high.

 

[peteykirch]

It could be cost or it could be the fact they saw how fast Boo Bash sold out they are selling more tickets for the Christmas version.

 

[Turk February]

I hope it's the price. At some point people need to put their foot down. I could justify the Boo Bash cost when I bought those tickets but these Merriest prices are insane.

 

[cindyfan]

You missed the obvious: They probably increased capacity for this event. Disney doesn’t tell anyone what capacity is for anything. I have no doubt they increased Boo Bash numbers. And after seeing the interest there, Disney probably increased capacity to the Christmas event. And within a few years, both events will be back to the same crowds we saw a few years ago.

YEP!!! that was my first thought! To me it was obvious Disney saw Boo Bash was a huge money maker and increased capacity for Very Merriest. I don't think it will take a few years.... I think by the last week of Very Merriest, Disney will increase capacity to what MVMCP was and it will be busy! Second reason would be price. Don't think Covid has anything to do with it.

 

[Marionnette]

I was leaning towards the increased capacity theory at first but I have a few thoughts that make me think otherwise.

The first is that Disney relies heavily on FOMO. Sold out events dates generate more interest and people rush to purchase tickets for their nights because they fear that if they wait, they will not be able to buy them later.

The second thought is that Disney doesn't want guests who have not purchased their tickets to be discouraged by reports of huge crowds. So, capacity limits for earlier dates may be set lower in order to generate the buzz that "the streets are empty and rides are walk-on".There are a lot of people in the wait & see camp who won't pull the trigger on a purchase until they see reports of light crowds and low wait times.

 

[Violet Parr]

We bought boo bash tickets for our now cancelled trip in September... price was high but we figured it was worth it. We changed our trip to December hoping Covid will be more under control in Florida. When the Very Merriest tickets came out with those prices... we all just laughed and said NO!!!
That's way too much.

Edited just to also add in for what it is worth, we got full refund on our Boo Bash tickets because we didn't want to travel to Florida with the case counts so high.

Thank you for sharing that. I've heard of many people getting refunds and couldn't find any posts to back it up. People are definitely canceling Boo Bash tix and getting refunds.

 

[Wdwfan2016]

Boo Bash hasn't sold out for every night like they have said it has. They hyped it up to create demand. Tickets have been available for purchase on almost every night so far and will continue to be available.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

Boo Bash hasn't sold out for every night like they have said it has. They hyped it up to create demand. Tickets have been available for purchase on almost every night so far and will continue to be available.

I suspect that same day tickets are available at the box office only because so many people have canceled their trips due to delta. I think that the events were sold out, but aren’t anymore.

 

[Violet Parr]

I suspect that same day tickets are available at the box office only because so many people have canceled their trips due to delta. I think that the events were sold old, but aren’t anymore.

Yup, that's what I suggested earlier but was told that tickets are non-refundable. But the truth is, lots of people have canceled, and Disney is wise to issue refunds.

 

[Julie Amber]

I'm going to add that on top of delta variant and high prices, people who have paid the high price for Boo Bash have mostly come back and reported that it wasn't worth the price of admission. So not only did people pay a ton for those tickets, but people are finding that it's not that great. Then the Christmas party was released at an even higher price, and people just said no. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Most people weren't going to pay huge ticket fees again for a sub par event

 

[Violet Parr]

I'm going to add that on top of delta variant and high prices, people who have paid the high price for Boo Bash have mostly come back and reported that it wasn't worth the price of admission. So not only did people pay a ton for those tickets, but people are finding that it's not that great. Then the Christmas party was released at an even higher price, and people just said no. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Most people weren't going to pay huge ticket fees again for a sub par event

Oh, I haven't picked up on that. I've mostly just followed the Boo Bash thread here and everyone seems to be having a reasonably good time from there. Not a major blast, but reasonable fun.

 

[maryj11]

Interesting reflections, thanks for your thoughts. I had not considered several of the things suggested here. One, that capacity might be higher. Ouch. I hope not for those who are going.

Two, that people view Halloween parties and Christmas parties differently. This is true for our family and I realize that it influenced our decision to attend Boo Bash even at a higher price and lower offerings than MNSSHP. We can get Christmas vibes in a lot of different ways, but Halloween is something we really kind of need trick or treating and lots of other people dressed up for, etc. Esp since our kids are beyond the trick or treating age in the neighborhood, but we all still love Halloween as a family.

I really do think covid has had something to do with it. Even if people HAVE been able to return or exchange Boo Bash tickets (and there have been reports of non-weather related exchanges) at point of sale, the tickets are clearly designated non-refundable. No one expected Delta to mess everything up, so I wonder if people are holding back in part because who knows what the coming months will bring in terms of covid.

Lastly, yes, the prices are sky high. $1250 + tax for a family of 5 is some big spending.

Yes what they pay for tickets would pay for a Disney resort stay