Evidence wdw is setting record attendance numbers?

[999DoomBuggies]

Is there evidence that wdw is setting record attendance numbers? Do we only have the TEA (themed entertainment association) to go by? I am questioning the claims that Disney is breaking attendance records.

Wait times are definitely up but resorts appear to rarely fill up anymore and wait times are obviously negatively impacted by fast pass +.

 

[bocaj1431]

Is there evidence that wdw is setting record attendance numbers? Do we only have the TEA (themed entertainment association) to go by? I am questioning the claims that Disney is breaking attendance records.

Wait times are definitely up but resorts appear to rarely fill up anymore and wait times are obviously negatively impacted by fast pass +.

I am not sure about the disney hotels but the DVC hotels are often full and you cant forget those who stay off property and those who live in FL.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Wait times are definitely up but resorts appear to rarely fill up anymore and wait times are obviously negatively impacted by fast pass +.

I absolutely agree. Resorts are definitely not nearly as busy as they were 15-20 years ago.

 

[stampingoddess]

I absolutely agree. Resorts are definitely not nearly as busy as they were 15-20 years ago.

This could also be due to the fact that there are significantly more hotel rooms now then there were 15-20 yrs ago

 

[Missyrose]

I am not sure about the disney hotels but the DVC hotels are often full and you cant forget those who stay off property and those who live in FL.

DVC resorts are timeshares, and by their definition are meant to be filled to capacity nearly 365 days a year. So that's not a good barometer to use to evaluate whether Disney resorts are filled.

 

[mistysue]

DVC resorts are timeshares, and by their definition are meant to be filled to capacity nearly 365 days a year. So that's not a good barometer to use to evaluate whether Disney resorts are filled.

But then you would also need to consider that DVC pulls from the pool of people who would be in non-DVC on-site hotels if not in DVC... if they only wanted to save money they would go completely off-site as Disney's prices have raised far more than the surrounding area.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are hitting record numbers at least for recent years if not all time. FP+ can mess with times, but you just didn't have enough people riding pirates get get a 40 minute wait before. Yes, it's true that people are a more spread out but the times for headliners have not gone down as much as the whenever rides have gone up.

 

[MuddyTires]

Just look at Disney's SEC filings.

 

[bocaj1431]

DVC resorts are timeshares, and by their definition are meant to be filled to capacity nearly 365 days a year. So that's not a good barometer to use to evaluate whether Disney resorts are filled.

Actually the question was, whether the report that Disney is setting record attendance numbers is accurate because it did not seem the hotels were booked to capacity. Therefore, my comment did apply because all those people in the DVC hotels are going to the parks. All those people contribute to the numbers toward park attendance and with DVC expanding, that adds even more people to the parks!

My point was that the numbers of people staying at the disney hotels is not the only factor that contributes to numbers in the park. You also have to consider DVC, hotels outside of Disney, and those who live in FL. Maybe, the rise in cost of Disney hotels, park tickets and dining inside disney have pushed people to stay outside the parks in order to save money. That probably is not he case but it highlights there are different factors which contribute towards attendance besides the numbers at the Disney hotels.

How do we know that the numbers at the hotels are down? Is there a source that shares the numbers of those staying at the Disney hotels with the public? Is there a source that shares the attendance numbers of the parks with the public. Not trying to start an argument, I am just curious.

 

[Jestocost]

Just look at Disney's SEC filings.

The most current attendance data was released with their most recent 10-Q (see page 26) and covers the period through Dec. 28, 2013, so it is lagging somewhat. Domestic park attendance for the most recent quarter was flat with the same period the prior year and hotel occupancy rates were the same in both periods. FWIW, attendance for the quarter ending Dec. 29, 2012 was up strongly (4%) over the prior year.

So, I guess if the prior year quarter reflected record attendance and attendance levels are consistent then it's accurate to say that the trend is continuing. However attendance is not up year over year according to the most current data released by Disney.

Per capita guest spending, on the other hand, continues to increase. Disney should be reasonably OK with flat attendance trends if the guest spending trend continues.

 

[TJA]

I'd be curious to see attendance numbers from this past week in Disney (Easter week). We were just there and never had so many walk-on rides in all of our trips! We went to MK 3x, Epcot 3x, HS 1x. We went on more rides than we ever have, and we've taken plenty of trips in the last 10 years. I'd say we had some luck in timing, but not for 7 days in a row.... MK got crowded each afternoon, like it always does, sometimes feeling impossible to get around before the parades, but that is how it has always been for us no matter what time of year we go....

 

[thehogsters]

Sorrybit I can't comprahend staying at a DIS resort. Why would I stay at mid level DIS resort and pay more than I would for a 2 bedroom at Bonnet creek or a fabulous room at Galord palms.

We have no desire to share one room with 2 kids all week. Especially when you can rent a 2 to 3 bedroom for less.

 

[BudgieMama]

Sorrybit I can't comprahend staying at a DIS resort. Why would I stay at mid level DIS resort and pay more than I would for a 2 bedroom at Bonnet creek or a fabulous room at Galord palms.

We have no desire to share one room with 2 kids all week. Especially when you can rent a 2 to 3 bedroom for less.

For us, there are only two of us, so extra bedrooms are no draw. We didn't want to hire a car as my DH doesn't want to drive in the USA. Staying on site at WDW was a no-brainer for us, especially with the offers available to UK guests. Different people, different needs!

 

[johde]

The most current attendance data was released with their most recent 10-Q (see page 26) and covers the period through Dec. 28, 2013, so it is lagging somewhat. Domestic park attendance for the most recent quarter was flat with the same period the prior year and hotel occupancy rates were the same in both periods. FWIW, attendance for the quarter ending Dec. 29, 2012 was up strongly (4%) over the prior year.

So, I guess if the prior year quarter reflected record attendance and attendance levels are consistent then it's accurate to say that the trend is continuing. However attendance is not up year over year according to the most current data released by Disney.

Per capita guest spending, on the other hand, continues to increase. Disney should be reasonably OK with flat attendance trends if the guest spending trend continues.

Looking at the 10Q it's suggesting that the holiday season 2013 (Oct-Dec) was about the same as 2012 domestically WDW, DL and Cruiselines. The 2013 10K for the fiscal year ending Sept 28,2013 showed a 4% increase in fiscal year 2013 over fiscal year attendance 2013. So I would guess somewhere in the 2%-3% for the calendar year increase in attendance. Which from the data I've seen put every park but EPCOT into record territory.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Sorrybit I can't comprahend staying at a DIS resort. Why would I stay at mid level DIS resort and pay more than I would for a 2 bedroom at Bonnet creek or a fabulous room at Galord palms.

We have no desire to share one room with 2 kids all week. Especially when you can rent a 2 to 3 bedroom for less.

I can't comprehend staying offsite. We did it a few times in the 90s and vowed never again. Renting a car and having to deal with driving and parking does not seem like a fun vacation to us. We would rather spend more on the hotel. Besides we plan our trips around late EMH.

 

[kerri0616]

I have nothing scientific to add, but I have been checking wait times on my phone yesterday and today. Wait times for these past 2 days have been much less than wait times during our trip last June (2nd week? I think.) Easter weekend doesn't seem so bad!

Again, I have no data to back up my assertion. Just an observation.

K

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Sorrybit I can't comprahend staying at a DIS resort. Why would I stay at mid level DIS resort and pay more than I would for a 2 bedroom at Bonnet creek or a fabulous room at Galord palms.

We have no desire to share one room with 2 kids all week. Especially when you can rent a 2 to 3 bedroom for less.

I totally understand the financial wisdom in staying off-site...also the much more spacious accommodations.

But for some of us...staying at a Disney Resort is *at least* half the magic of a Disney vacation.

There's no right or wrong, really. Just different people put different value on different things.

 

[amberpi]

I haven't found the resorts to be less than full. We are staying at the YC in mid May and wanted to extend our trip for a night on the front end and couldn't get in there or the BC. The crowd levels are 5s and we are not staying DVC.

 

[NavyDad]

Sorrybit I can't comprahend staying at a DIS resort. Why would I stay at mid level DIS resort and pay more than I would for a 2 bedroom at Bonnet creek or a fabulous room at Galord palms.

We have no desire to share one room with 2 kids all week. Especially when you can rent a 2 to 3 bedroom for less.

We like to do both.

There is nothing in the world like being able to walk 5 minutes from the Beach Club right into Epcot every night for dinner or take a short boat ride back and forth to DHS. Also no off-site hotel can match the magic of staying in family suites at AoA when your kids and your nephews favorite movies in the world are Nemo and Cars. Absolutely amazing atmosphere for kids. Also there is something to be said for leaving your car in the parking lot for a week while you are on vacation and never having to be worried driving somewhere.

At the same time after our Disney stay we love moving off site to a time share such as Bonnet Creek or Vistana Villages while we visit Universal or some of the other Orlando Attractions. The extra space for about half the price of our room at Beach Club. Seperate bedrooms, full kitchen, Washer & Dryer and a large private balcony all feel really good at that point. We love Vistana Villages but there is no transportation to anywhere. Bonnet Creek is probably the best Off-site place there is but their bus system is terrible IMO.

There really are good and bad things about both!

 

[bwang123]

I'd be curious to see attendance numbers from this past week in Disney (Easter week). We were just there and never had so many walk-on rides in all of our trips! We went to MK 3x, Epcot 3x, HS 1x. We went on more rides than we ever have, and we've taken plenty of trips in the last 10 years. I'd say we had some luck in timing, but not for 7 days in a row.... MK got crowded each afternoon, like it always does, sometimes feeling impossible to get around before the parades, but that is how it has always been for us no matter what time of year we go....

In regards to Easter Week:
"disney overestimated magic kingdom attendance last week by over 150,000 lol"
https://twitter.com/easywdw/status/457946697227059200

 

[richmo]

A few thoughts and observations on some of what's going on in this thread:

- The onsite/offsite argument will go on forever. A lot of it is personal preference. Personally, whether onsite or off, I love having a car. The Disney bus system just doesn't cut it sometimes (case in point: I shouldn't have had to allow 1.5 hours to bus from WL to AKL (via AK), but it was that long). I do like to stay onsite for the magic, but on longer trips, staying offsite in a condo/townhouse having the ability to spread out has its own magic.
- I also was randomly checking wait times the past few days to see how the pre-Easter crowds were. I was also a bit surprised that most of the standby wait times were not horrible. In fact, I think many of them were no more and sometimes less than when I was there in mid-March.
- Comparing this years pre-Easter week crowds to other years may not be a fair comparison. Easter was almost as late as it could possibly be this year. In many years, Easter and spring breaks (meaning mostly college spring breaks) crash right into one another. Most, but not all, of the college breaks seemed to be in March.
- I have gone the past several years during March, usually around the 2nd or 3rd week, but always avoid Easter and the prior and following weekends. I must say that the parks were more crowded this year than I have seen in the past. I don't necessarily just mean wait times (although they were up). The parks themselves were very crowded with people walking around, waits at counter service, exiting after parades, etc. I suppose some of the wait times may have been affected by FP+ growing pains, but that doesn't explain it all.
- As I said, mid-March seemed particularly crowded this year. In addition, car rentals did not see the usual discounting that generally occurs a couple weeks before the rental; in fact, at least a couple in-MCO agencies were listing rentals as 'sold out' for the dates I was interested in. A couple of the off-site hotels I sometimes use were also sold out. I should give the disclaimer that there were cheerleading competitions going on, which adds to some of the non-park traffic, but I've been there before with that going on. Even Braves tickets at WWoS were considerably more difficult to get this year.
- To me, a big factor for the early spring crowds this year can be answered by the winter we have just endured. While it very much varies geographically, the northeast was hit particularly hard and often. I think there was a good number of people that just needed to get away from it and WDW/Orlando is a natural fit. So maybe, just maybe, the Easter crowds may have been down a bit because of it's lateness in April and everyone decided to escape winter a little earlier and go when I was there. And one last thing...because of the snows, many schools up here greatly reduced or wiped out Easter break in order to make up snow days. I know my kids were supposed to be off last Tuesday thru today, but wound up with just Friday. While I'm sure many folks still went ahead with their Easter trips, I'm sure there were plenty that did not.