Has the recession affected attendance at DLR?

[jazellesmom]

I am curious to know if the current recession / economic downturn has affected DLR attendance in anyway?

Also, on your trip to DLR do you plan on spending less than usual?

 

[dznee]

Hello fellow Bay Aeran. We're driving down in three days and our plan is to spend about the same at DLR. Thank goodness gas prices have come down to more reasonable levels. It was $4.60/gal near the Grapevine when we last drove down in August. So money saved from gas will go to DLR souvenirs for the kids!

 

[blackssrider00]

I believe it has . Everything has gone up in price and you get less for your money now. Maybe since gas has gone down more people will be driving . I know that Disney didn’t make what they did last quarter . So they are going to have to make the money up somewhere. Hope this helps a little bit

 

[Sherry E]

I am curious to know if the current recession / economic downturn has affected DLR attendance in anyway?

Also, on your trip to DLR do you plan on spending less than usual?

I am really curious about the answer to this question, too, and my guess is that yes, the economic crisis has affected it. The reasons I think this are because attendance in summer was reportedly down from what it usually is, and summer is peak season for DLR (translation: more expensive). Also, there have been reports that Disney hotel bookings in general (at DLR and WDW) are down, which means either fewer people are going to the parks and staying at the hotels OR they are staying offsite. I noticed, when I went onto the AP portion of the DLR website and looked at their availability calendar today, that there are still AP discount rooms available in a large part of December, and December is another peak season - in fact, the week between Christmas and New Year's is normally the busiest time of the whole year, but there is still quite a bit of availability, from what I can tell. Also, the typical 'off-peak season,' which basically covers late September, all of October early November, was supposedly more crowded than it usually is, according to some Cast Members, and I think that is because the hotel rates are lower in the off-peak times, and there were lots of promos and discounts offered for that season this year, as well as Park Hopper promo offers.

So my own personal feeling is that this upcoming holiday season will either be more crowded than it has ever been in the past because people who would normally be flying out of town for Christmas are staying closer to home and going to DLR, OR it will be the other extreme, and it will be much lower attendance than usual because people just cannot afford to go during these tough times in the expensive peak season. I am eager to start getting reports back from people as December begins and progresses, and see whether it seems to be quiet or crazy busy!!!

 

[shoppingmom]

We flew down from BC last week and the attendance seemed down, 5 minute or less waits for rides. We usually go down right around the same time and this year seemed like less people. But the people that were there seemed to be spending money but the truck loads. When we came back through Customs the border guard was dumbfounded when he read the total I put down for what we spent. He actually asked if we were nuts for spending that kind of money at Disneyland with the economy the way it is. I looked at him and advised him that we planned this trip for many months and had our ducks and money in line long before the economy started taking a hit.

 

[pixiewings71]

I would guess that yes, attendance is down. That's why there are so many specials right now. But that won't stop us from going, won't stop us from spending $$ either. We will drive, but we always drive, I'm glad gas prices have dropped and I'm hoping so much that they stay down for our Jan. trip because that will help immensely! We will be spending less but only because there are only 2 of going instead of all 4. I've already purchased our trading pins, I've already purchased our AP vouchers, I've already booked our hotel stay. We will be eating at BB at least once, I want to go to Storytellers, Yamabuki and maybe Napa Rose. We will definitely spend more on food because we generally eat at CS with the girls but I also have a few gift cards for places like California Pizza Kitchen and Rainforest Cafe that we will be using. We won't buy as many souvies but DBF will have his b-day fun card to spend on himself and I will want to buy a pin or two for the girls and maybe something else for them as well.

Overall, I think Disney is taking a hit like everyone else, hopefully that will give them more incentive to have more specials to encourage visits.