Disney World attendance is down 25% this year........

[qqq]

From the annual report we received today. Disney also cut 4,000 full time jobs throughout the company last year. They expect resort operations will continue to be effected by the downturn in leisure travel and lower consumer confidence.

It seems BCV would offer buyers some kind of incentive to get it off the ground (that's my opinion!)

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by qqq
Disney also cut 4,000 full time jobs throughout the company last year.

Weren't many of those cuts at the internet operations division (go.com)? Attendance seemed light in early January, but it was very cold, so I'm sure the locals stayed home. With the DVC cruise fully booked, and DVC resorts operating at normal levels, tourism is starting to recover...maybe 100% by summer. Unless something else happens

 

[Regina]

Just ignore this. A reply that belonged to another thread somehow ended up here.

Sorry.

 

[PamOKW]

The employment cuts were throughout the Disney Company, not just the Internet operation. Quite a few positions were cut at WDW and they went through a period where folks were working reduced hours. I think the hours have been restored. Things are better at WDW but they aren't out of the woods yet. I imagine the unseasonably mild weather on the East Coast isn't helping either. People aren't as desperate for a trip to Florida when temps are in the 50-60 range.

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by dvcreg
Chuck, don't confuse the member cruise being fully booked as meaning the entire ship is sold out.

In all likelihood, DVC had a block of rooms set aside for members which have been booked. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are still openings for this sailing.

Actually, the entire cruise is sold out. I just checked on the cruise website for that date and got the following message:

Oops! Your vacation date is no longer available. Please choose another vacation date.

Lisa

 

[walter]

Maybe now it would be a good time for DVC members to be offered park pass discounts. Just a thought. I for one will once again be staying at OKW for a week, but have been to the parks various times in the past 5 years. Therefore we will visit other venues UNLESS some sort of incentive is provided.

 

[DVC-Don]

We just returned from a 12 day stay at OKW. Except for MLK weekend, there were hardly any long lines. Most rides were walk ons. There were some lines of 30 to 45 minutes for TT and BTMRR, but sometimes you could even walk on those two. Most Fast Pass kiosk's were closed. It was not due to the weather, it was in the 80's most days. The place, at times, felt strange.

 

[Regina]

Oops, never mind.

 

[walter]

DVC-Don,
We felt the same way when we visited WDW the last week in October. Hopefully things will turn around soon. Although I think Disney has to be a little more aggressive in providing new shows, etc. on a more regular basis. I know it takes time for CM to practice or learn a new system, but that is what it will take to get the regulars to return on a more frequent basis (along with maybe a DVC discount as I mentioned before in this posting).

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by qqq
From the annual report we received today. Disney also cut 4,000 full time jobs throughout the company last year. They expect resort operations will continue to be effected by the downturn in leisure travel and lower consumer confidence.

It seems BCV would offer buyers some kind of incentive to get it off the ground (that's my opinion!)

qqq....your original post indicates that WDW attendance was down 25% in 2001. That's not accurate....2001 attendance was down something less than 15%. I think the 25% number reflected the period from 9/11 until end of year.

In any event, it was a bad year for theme parks in general. WDW was not having a good year before 9/11, and of course it was heavily hit by the fear of consumers to fly. WDW has an inordinate percentage of its guest who fly there, so it felt the worst part of the impact.

There are indications that things are improving, but most industry analysts think it will take a year or so to return to previous levels. If BCV does not sell well after the initial surge, look for some additional incentives as they go.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Ditto on the discounts.

I know a decent discount would encourge me to visit the parks more frequently. I will not be buying this year.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

I was listening to public radio on the way in to work this morning, and they did an extended piece on how 9/11 has impacted the Orlando area.

This may be self-evident, but all the theme parks in the area took a significant hit, and since they're the engine that drives the tourist trade, the hotels are likewise suffering. But the general impression was that the worst was over, that Disney was seeing a lot of activity in bookings for the summer, and they were guardedly encouraged.

What they found, too, was that at any given time 50% of visitors had flown in, and for the last few months bookings were coming from "locals" in the southeast who were driving in, but that trend was gradually reversing itself, too.

In the meantime, according to our guide, DVC sales are still healthy and are one real bright spot in the whole Disney scheme of things.

Friday at AK, everything -- and I mean EVERYTHING -- was a walk on. January's slow anyway, but the weather was perfect and it made for a perfect Disney day!

 

[raidermatt]

Just a comment on DVC pass discounts. I know this has been discussed ad nauseum, so I'll keep it short.

Regardless of whether we agree with Disney's strategy on this, it's unlikely that what is seen as a temporary bump in the road (recession) will convince them to increase the discounts we DVC'ers get. It seems most DVC'ers are looking for a discount program that would be somewhat permanent, as opposed to a discount only valid for a brief period, like the next 3 months. So I doubt we will see anything that comes as a result of the economy, unless the analysts are wrong and we are not already back on the upward swing.

 

[Magicmom]

I think these forums are a good way to let Disney know that DVCers would patronize the parks more for a good discount that takes our ownership in Disney resorts into account. Every since our free passes went away in 2000 (for the early DVC purchasers), we have spent quite a bit of time sampling Universal, etc, even while staying at DVC. It is strange that we get about the same Disney discounts as the general public, given our long-term investment in Disney.

 

[mooses41]

Yes, but they already have members money, so they have no incentive to give a discount, possibly if sales slow down, but i dont forsee that,

 

[ralphd]

Originally posted by Granny
qqq....your original post indicates that WDW attendance was down 25% in 2001. That's not accurate....2001 attendance was down something less than 15%. I think the 25% number reflected the period from 9/11 until end of year.

Think Granny is closer to the real number. Disney was definitely down for the year, but not close to 25%.
The numbers were posted for all the major parks in the US a few weeks ago.
Universal was much closer to the 25% number.

ralphd

 

[tarzanman]

ralphd - I think that the number reported was not for the 4th quarter of 2001 but for the first quater of Disney's fiscal year. It is stated in the financials for the first quarter that it was 25% down.