How WDW dumped the Middle Class

[DCLMP]

I can't even bother with 'price' threads anymore. Same regurgitated takes all the time. Disney is always doomed.

Who said they are doomed? They have plenty of supporters on this forum.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

Well, it is a Disney message board.

 

[DCLMP]

The middle class may be doomed, but Disney will adjust to the economy like they always do. I don't see them ever needing a bailout.

 

[MattB2G]

Anyone complaining about Disney prices hasn't been to a County Fair lately....... paid $9 for some fried dough last night with only some powdered sugar on it.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Just to compare cash booked room nights for Disney for the first 3Q of fiscal years:

FY 18 - 6.679M
FY 19 - 6.829M
FY 25 - 6.708M

Yes, this is not just WDW data, but Disney doesn’t just care about WDW data when it comes to overall domestic parks performance

 

[Brian Noble]

They aren't though. There is a marked decline in park attendance this year.

So you are saying they are lying in their 10Q? Because they reported attendance as flat vs. the year-prior quarter.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

So you are saying they are lying in their 10Q? Because they reported attendance as flat vs. the year-prior quarter.

Those are your words chief not mine.

I'm going on the numerous articles I've seen discussing lower attendance. I'm not Disney pobsessed enough to pull 10q reports.

 

[DCLMP]

Why is everyone so concerned about Disney's revenue? Disney is dependent on the ups and downs of the economy. It's nothing personal against Disney. I guess it could be used as a barometer for consumer confidence.

 

[clarker99]

People just never learn. The writer of the article doesnt know Disney’s attendance figures. Only Disney knows. They do not share this information. They only tell us the % change once every 3 quarters. 3rd party companies that use wait time data to guesstimate attendance are wrong. Touring plans once guessed attendance was down 15% in a quarter at WDW based on wait times. The attendance actually increased around 5%.

Anecdotal posts about low attendance on a random June Wednesday are not telling you anything about how WDW or DLR are doing.

Far to many folks are concerned about attendance levels. Disney is still controlling AP’s and not just letting everyone in the parks.

Yes, Disney is more expensive than (insert any year bw 1955 and 2024) but If you think only the richest percentile are visiting Disney parks, I have a monorail to sell you.

@RivShore I guess I couldnt stay away.

 

[clarker99]

Just to compare cash booked room nights for Disney for the first 3Q of fiscal years:

FY 18 - 6.679M
FY 19 - 6.829M
FY 25 - 6.708M

Yes, this is not just WDW data, but Disney doesn’t just care about WDW data when it comes to overall domestic parks performance

Add in DVC and more people are staying at a Disney owned property than 2019.

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm going on the numerous articles I've seen discussing lower attendance. I'm not Disney pobsessed enough to pull 10q reports.

It's about getting facts, or at least closer to the truth. Far from an obsession!

If someone tells me it's currently snowing in Orlando, I will first look at the reports of local reputable meteorologists and call my Floridian relatives. I may even get on a flight to see this phenomenon. What I will not do is checking Magic Kingdom's wait times or watching more YouTubes/TikToks.

Same with Disney, if there are numerous reports about low attendance or dead parks, the first place I would look is their official earning reports, not Google.

 

[Minnie1222]

Add in DVC and more people are staying at a Disney owned property than 2019.

Agreed! Especially with the brand-new Poly tower that just opened last year.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's about getting facts, or at least closer to the truth. Far from an obsession!

If someone tells me it's currently snowing in Orlando, I will first look at the reports of local reputable meteorologists and call my Floridian relatives. I may even get on a flight to see this phenomenon. What I will not do is checking Magic Kingdom's wait times or watching more YouTubes/TikToks.

Same with Disney, if there are numerous reports about low attendance or dead parks, the first place I would look is their official earning reports, not Google.

Revenue is very different than park attendance. We've already known since just before the pandemic that they have touted more guest spending but that doesn't actually mean guests are purchasing more stuff or eating in restaurants on a higher average. Most especially over the years since the pandemic. Most of it is related to what Disney can very easily control (which goes back to the article and subsequent posts regarding just who is traveling to Disney) which is guest spending and it's at least easier for them to raise pricing across a slew of stuff to then be at least profitable enough to not feel as much of a sting if attendance isn't as high as they would have wanted.

It was their norm before the pandemic to raise food pricing in their restaurants several times a year. Ticket pricing has gotten quite pricey very fast (meaning in a relatively short timeframe), hard ticket events have increased quite a lot in pricing and there are more dates than before although they have reduced back down from starting Food& Wine in July, merch pricing is higher, and IME Loungefly and the ears have exploded in popularity over the years. Back in 2017 it seemed like both were just starting. That contributes heavily to increased spending. And yeah hotel costs have also increased.

One thing to me though is I think it's worth looking at, something that which Disney isn't going to give you, is dates that are surprisingly slow compared to expectations. They don't get nitty gritty into those and on a more general level looking at patterns. Those are normally found by people tracking crowds. Like how summer has overtime shifted to being less of a frenzied crowd time period but early fall has crept up there. How some holidays aren't nearly as visited as they were in the past, etc.