Epcot, AK and DHS have been slow all summer?

[hgeisler]

And it was always booked solid years in advance back then. When we returned to the Ploy at night this past during most of the parks closing times we noticed that there were very view rooms at the GF were lit up. The Poly was a little better...but that was during the supposed "peak season". The GF's occupancy rate must be really low.

GF almost always has availability for some reason.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

A beautiful resort, though. We want to stay there our next vacation. It's hard to believe that they keep such high rates on a hotel that is always near empty.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

We, too, were there June 16-21 and the parks were very busy. Lines were long at the most popular attractions, but most of the restaurants were not anywhere near capacity when we ate meals.

This seems to be the thing so many are commenting on. Even when a park is "busy" the table service restaurants are nowhere near capacity(except for BOG).

 

[PEC]

Not saying this is the greatest gauge but before my family trip in Mid-June I was tracking Wait Times and Fast Pass return times on my phone App for planning purposes. The trends were pretty consistent through May and then you could tell in June a little increase in Wait times and Fass Pass. I continued to track after the vacation and noticed starting in mid-July Fast Pass return times and Wait times dropped significantly. Without much historical data I figured this was common starting mid-July. Surprisingly in early August the Wait times and Fast Pass times increased a lot for a couple of weeks and then started going way down. Of course in after Labor Day wait times and Fast Pass return times have dropped significantly. My guess is this is the norm. Now I have posted elsewhere, AK and DHS need significant changes. Surprisingly I would put more emphasis on DHS. Bottomline is I am struggling to get a full day in there and I do about everything (shows, Back lot tours etc.). AK at least has shorter hours and if you do the trails, shows etc. you can make a day of it just keep in mind it closes a lot earlier than DHS.
For my two cents I would use the Disney app for Fast Pass return times and Wait times as probably the best gauge. That is a good indicator as to how many people are at the parks doing something.

 

[mm1971]

My family had a wonderful week-long visit this past July staying at the Poly. Except for the abundant showers in the afternoon we had our usual magical visit. One alarming aspect of our vacation was how EMPTY all of the parks(other than MK) were during our stay. We had made ADR's MONTHS ahead of time because our past experience showed that it was necessary.

WOW...except for Cinderella's Royal Table, all of the restaurants we reserved were half-empty(at best). Epcot(in particular) was EMPTY. Well, I have a friend at work that has a sister that lives in Orlando and she told my friend that DHS/Epcot/AK have been empty ALL summer. She has an annual pass and goes almost bi-weekly and says that she has NEVER seen it this bad.

Anyone know what's going on?

We were there the middle of August and reservations in WS at Epcot were booked pretty solid. Via Napoli, Chefs de France were both completely full while we were eating. I know that crowds tail off in mid to late August normally, but I thought it was still reasonable busy everywhere we went except AK. HS was pretty busy the day we were there and ride lines were decent. I wonder if not offering FD is the reason the restaurants were not as busy during your visit. Maybe a lot of people are doing more CS.

 

[flfamily]

Seems to be slowing down a bit now. We were there last weekend and the lines weren't that bad at Animal Kingdom. The heat on the other hand...but it's still worth it!

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Spent 8 days there in may and it was delightfully dead.

Same day reservations, little crowds anywhere... Almost no lines including the "brand spankin new" fantasyland rides.

Only line was the belle story in fantasyland and the line to get quickserve at the beauty and the beast restaurant.

Chicken fingers, anyone?

Guessing you and I were there on seperate weeks! An hour b4 Fantasmic we couldn't get a seat. Our Teppon Edo ADR was 45 min past it's time.
Fastpasses gone by noon for both TSM and TT . Still beat going to work though

 

[Robbi]

In march of 1972 a poly lagoon view was.....$40 a night.

My first trip with mom, dad, and my brothers was in 1972. We had to stay offsite because rooms onsite had a 1.5 year wait!
I wonder if the Contemporary was the same price? If so, then by 1979, it had more than doubled in price!!!

 

[TJSkinner]

Several issues figure into the possible attendance decline at Disney properties. Since the deaths of the Disney's the corporation has turned into a dollars and cents venture. Vision and imagination lose in the battle of making a buck. Go ahead and ride that tired horse as long as it will go and only replace it when necessary instead of that horse needs new shoes, and saddle and maybe a new barn to keep it in. so everyone will want to come see the horse again.
Then there is the fact that Disney now has parks around the globe and tourist no longer have to go to WDW or DL. They can go to Paris or Hong Kong or Tokyo where things may be newer and better plus they can tour new destinations. but having more sometimes dilutes the oringinal. and when the money is spent on the new, then the old suffers.
And lastly is the money issue. Disney appeals to children of all ages, races, and classes, but the money to go to the parks is not something most middle class families can afford without saving for years. I have done Disney on a shoe string with a campsite and cooking our own meals. I have stayed at the deluxe villas for comfort's sake, but I still bring a lot of my own food to cook in the kitchen of our villa. Realized two years ago that we are not really sit down meal people most of the time and I can fix quick serve meals for a lot less.
All this being said I grew up with the Wonderful World of Disney. Their movies have been an important part of mine, my children, and now my grandchildren's lives. And when I go to a Disney property I get to relive my childhood, see my grown children be kids again if even briefly and hope to see the magic come to life in my grandchildren's eyes. While I am at the parks reality is suspended and possibilities are endless. And yes it can cost me several thousand dollars per trip, but it is memories I will cherish forever. I hope that the bean counters will remember the magic and realize that dreams have to be nurtured too.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

We were there the middle of August and reservations in WS at Epcot were booked pretty solid. Via Napoli, Chefs de France were both completely full while we were eating. I know that crowds tail off in mid to late August normally, but I thought it was still reasonable busy everywhere we went except AK. HS was pretty busy the day we were there and ride lines were decent. I wonder if not offering FD is the reason the restaurants were not as busy during your visit. Maybe a lot of people are doing more CS.

We ate at Tutu Italia at 5:30 PM and it was only 1/3 full and we had made reservations months beforehand. Boy, did we rush to get there too! We noticed that Via Napoli seemed a little busier(but we didn't really know about that place enough to book an ADR). We were really shocked by how the once-popular San Angel Inn was only half full(at 5:30 pm and the Sci-Fi at around the same time half empty as well!). It wasn't too many years ago that those two were some of the hottest tickets anywhere!

Again...all of this was during July 13th-21st of this year.

 

[richmo]

I don't know...from my Aug 4-11 observations:

- Test Track / Soarin' lines routinely swelled to 100+ minutes. FP distributions ended fairly early.

- Had a Sci-Fi ressie I wanted to change one day. Upon inquiry, I was told they were booked completely solid for that day. Wound up keeping the reservation and it certainly was full.

- Toy Story Mania...triple digit waits, no surprise there.

- Downtown Disney - despite the extra difficulty parking there these days, I've never seen it so packed.

Seemed pretty typically crowded to me.

 

[pilferk]

I'm laughing

you couldnt have said it better...ESPECIALLY about DVC.

i think ours was $79.50 after the incentives per point when we bought, two professional level incomes with a cushion, pre kids and stay at home at the time...

I honestly am 50% pure laughter and 50% pure anger (that they kill the trees) everytime i get a "buy now before its gone/goes up" mailer on cardstock from DVC...only about 6 times a year.

Are they completely delusional? I've talked to one of my former co-workers who sells...and i have talked to our "guide" a few times...and i ask them "what on earth makes you guys think that any of the old membership is impressed by the pitches now (unless they're a little clustered...which sadly many are)?

The response i get is "its' only gonna go up and you get priority where you want if you buy in..."

PASS!!!! no chance of a sale there for an add on. I actually want one...but no way on their terms. When the time comes i'll buy a "short" contract on third party resale...only 25-35 years left or so...to bump our points. But i couldn't in good conscious buy from disney. no thanks. My other favorite is when they sold "old" points in the inventory at CURRENT prices? you gotta be kidding me...its like me selling a 2000 ford focus for twice the original sticker price...come on. That one always kills me. if the whole point is to offset costs and get me there to buy other stuff (and it is)...then just put them out a discount and get rid of them like hotcakes...like baseball players out the cornfield: people will come. and they'll be thrilled at the "deal" and you'll make even more.

They squeeze us more every year on food (damn dining plan), tickets (annual pass blood sucking), stuff (higher prices, less quality...though i typically buy nothing), and ancillary costs (notable airfare) goes up on a steady curve as well.
so not only are the points now a way lesser value than 10-20 years ago...they are layered with additional costs that rise without taking a break.

really...while i got my good deal with dvc...the new sales are delusional.

sure i'll pay you $155 for the Grand Floridian (and i know that place frontwards and back...so it aint that grand) points...AND get far less out of them because of the monorail line point charts?

heck no, baby

We bought in at $96 a point when AKV went up, after incentives and discounts. We paid MOSTLY cash, and financed the remainder for about 6 months til a bonus check landed in my mailbox.

We've, at a couple of points, considered an add on through disney, but balked at the prices.

The prices have literally increased 50% in about 6 years. That's just nuts.

If we buy, it will be resale and it will be AKV with our use year, for a "few" (maybe 50 to 100) points to smooth out some of the changes they've made to the points chart vs the way we travel. But I would never pay the prices Disney is trying to push, now. I just can't see enough value in it, at those prices.

 

[Ego831]

Even the value resorts can cost close to $1000 for a family of four to stay for a week's vacation. Add to that the cost of park tickets and food, Disney is really putting itself out of reach for a lot of middle class families.

Not sure what you expected - $150 a night is not a lot for a "on property" hotel! You get all the transportation benefits back and forth, the benefits of being on property, extra magic hours, etc. AND you are going during the peak summer months!

I am not sure how much cheaper they could make it? Are you looking for $79 a night accomodations on property? I am sure you can find budget hotels off property that will still even provide bus transport to the parks for free.....

Sorry - I might be jaded because living in Manhattan "cheap" hotels are $300 a night....

 

[jaykorf001]

My family had a wonderful week-long visit this past July staying at the Poly. Except for the abundant showers in the afternoon we had our usual magical visit. One alarming aspect of our vacation was how EMPTY all of the parks(other than MK) were during our stay. We had made ADR's MONTHS ahead of time because our past experience showed that it was necessary.

WOW...except for Cinderella's Royal Table, all of the restaurants we reserved were half-empty(at best). Epcot(in particular) was EMPTY. Well, I have a friend at work that has a sister that lives in Orlando and she told my friend that DHS/Epcot/AK have been empty ALL summer. She has an annual pass and goes almost bi-weekly and says that she has NEVER seen it this bad.

Anyone know what's going on?

We were there in June and AK was packed. It was a green day per the crowd calendar. Everywhere we went was crowded.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

It seems that the value resorts are doing *relatively* well...the thing that has got to be a drain on Disney is the Deluxe Resorts. Just the cost of mainting the grounds of these beautiful reorts has got to be astronomical. And when you view them at nighttime around 10 PM during summer "peak season" you will see about one out of eight rooms lit up. Certainly they need more guests filling these rooms to even break-even w/operating costs. I'd hate to see how empty the GF/AKL/WL/BWI, etc. are during "slow periods".

 

[TJSkinner]

When we tried to rent points for a vacation last Oct. All that was even available was a two bedroom at Saratoga Springs so somebody is reserving plenty of room somewhere. Enjoyed Saratoga Springs, but hope to stay at AK next year. The cost is all about what it is worth to you.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I don't know...from my Aug 4-11 observations:

- Test Track / Soarin' lines routinely swelled to 100+ minutes. FP distributions ended fairly early.

- Had a Sci-Fi ressie I wanted to change one day. Upon inquiry, I was told they were booked completely solid for that day. Wound up keeping the reservation and it certainly was full.

- Toy Story Mania...triple digit waits, no surprise there.

- Downtown Disney - despite the extra difficulty parking there these days, I've never seen it so packed.

Seemed pretty typically crowded to me.

I see a lot of people siting Test Track and Soarin'. How were the waits for Mission:Space? We had tops a 15 minute wait for it while we were there in July.

 

[pilferk]

It seems that the value resorts are doing *relatively* well...the thing that has got to be a drain on Disney is the Deluxe Resorts. Just the cost of mainting the grounds of these beautiful reorts has got to be astronomical. And when you view them at nighttime around 10 PM during summer "peak season" you will see about one out of eight rooms lit up. Certainly they need more guests filling these rooms to even break-even w/operating costs. I'd hate to see how empty the GF/AKL/WL/BWI, etc. are during "slow periods".

One thing to keep in mind, though..10 PM isn't all that "late" during the summer when there are parks open til the wee hours of the morning (midnight to 2 AM).

Also, not being "lit up" isn't, at least in my opinion, a great metric of occupancy. There are trips where our room is "lit up" for about 10 to 15 min on a given night. We walk in, lights go on, kids in their jammies, and the lights are off and they're in bed. If you're just walking by, and you don't hit it right, you'd never know we were there. At AKV, for example, if you could see our balcony windows...you'd see ONE light out of 3 possible. Only the Master bedroom would be lit up. For those staying in "regular" rooms..I wouldn't be surprised to hear of lots of moms and dads bumbling around in the dark once the kiddies are tucked in, either.

I'm not saying you're entirely incorrect about the occupancy rates or crowds..I don't know. But the anecdotal observation point you're using is a little "off", IMHO.

 

[pilferk]

I see a lot of people siting Test Track and Soarin'. How were the waits for Mission:Space? We had tops a 15 minute wait for it while we were there in July.

I think that speaks to mission: space as much as it does to crowd levels.

I've waited longer for SE than M:S the last couple trips...and we typically go during "low crowd" times (late September, early December, mid-January).

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

One thing to keep in mind, though..10 PM isn't all that "late" during the summer when there are parks open til the wee hours of the morning (midnight to 2 AM).

Also, not being "lit up" isn't, at least in my opinion, a great metric of occupancy. There are trips where our room is "lit up" for about 10 to 15 min on a given night. We walk in, lights go on, kids in their jammies, and the lights are off and they're in bed. If you're just walking by, and you don't hit it right, you'd never know we were there. At AKV, for example, if you could see our balcony windows...you'd see ONE light out of 3 possible. Only the Master bedroom would be lit up. For those staying in "regular" rooms..I wouldn't be surprised to hear of lots of moms and dads bumbling around in the dark once the kiddies are tucked in, either.

I'm not saying you're entirely incorrect about the occupancy rates or crowds..I don't know. But the anecdotal observation point you're using is a little "off", IMHO.

Oh, you are absolutely correct and I don't pretend for a second that my anecdotal observations concerning the Deluxe Resorts(particularly GF) are in any way scientific. But, still...at 10M and each floor has only one or two rooms "lit up" suggests a hotel with a LOT of vacant rooms.