"Park attendance is down"... but is it?

[TiggerBouncy]

We are going home in a few weeks, and I keep hearing that "Park Attendance is down". "It's at it's lowest it's been in years". "Everything is walk on".

Right now on my Disney App...
7DMT 105 minutes
SDD 105 minutes
MF:SR 75 Minutes
RotR 90 Minutes
Even ToT is an hour....

These numbers do not sound like an empty park to me - they sound about normal for a "busy time".

Is my app lying, or are people just trying to make it sound like Disney is dying for political reasons when they say the parks are empty? What am I going to hit when I am there? Trying to plan what I will be able to bring my Brother in Law to see with his 2 days and there is a big difference between what we can hit if the rides are all at 30 minute waits vs 105 minute waits.

 

[CarolynFH]

When attendance is down, Disney reduces staffing in the parks, runs two trains on BTMRR instead of 3 or 4, etc., and reduces capacity in various ways. So standby wait times can be long even though attendance is down. Best estimate of crowd level is how full the walkways are, in combination with wait times.

 

[nw6675]

Thoughts on MK hours extended Wed to 11 pm? EEH 11-1 now.

I took that as crowds up?

 

[crisi]

Thoughts on MK hours extended Wed to 11 pm? EEH 11-1 now.

I took that as crowds up?

One thing they can do with doing extended hours at the MK on short notice is to respond to very short notice - but also possibly short term - changes. One of the possible reasons crowds have been low this Summer is the heat. Extending hours into the night means its cooler in the night, thus people can take mid afternoon breaks - even with low park attendance Disney might do that. Or if the weather report says it will be a cooler day, Disney might expect more locals to show up and a crowded park - so offering extended hours gives hotel guests a more satisfying trip.

In other words, its an indicator of crowds, but it might indicate a response to something else.

 

[Sandisw]

Sometimes you have to look at the less popular rides to get an idea about attendance. When you see those with high times, it’s crowded but when those are lower and only the popular ones are busy, it can mean it’s probably less crowded.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

When attendance is down, Disney reduces staffing in the parks, runs two trains on BTMRR instead of 3 or 4, etc., and reduces capacity in various ways. So standby wait times can be long even though attendance is down. Best estimate of crowd level is how full the walkways are, in combination with wait times.

That's a good point. I admit I was equating low crowds with low wait times, and I should know better.

Thank you!

 

[disney-inspired]

That's a good point. I admit I was equating low crowds with low wait times, and I should know better.

Thank you!

And I def think the app lies to push Genie+ purchases.

 

[Minnie1222]

We were at WDW during the week that triggered all the articles about empty parks. Noticeably absent were the many youth groups from Central/South America. We only saw one group at Epcot as opposed to 5-10 groups per park in the old times. The crowd was smaller but the parks were far from empty. It was also excruciating hot and humid. The heat was so bad that we didn't mind forfeiting the parks for two days to stay in the room and watch silly TV shows.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

We are going home in a few weeks, and I keep hearing that "Park Attendance is down". "It's at it's lowest it's been in years". "Everything is walk on".

Right now on my Disney App...
7DMT 105 minutes
SDD 105 minutes
MF:SR 75 Minutes
RotR 90 Minutes
Even ToT is an hour....

These numbers do not sound like an empty park to me - they sound about normal for a "busy time".

Is my app lying, or are people just trying to make it sound like Disney is dying for political reasons when they say the parks are empty? What am I going to hit when I am there? Trying to plan what I will be able to bring my Brother in Law to see with his 2 days and there is a big difference between what we can hit if the rides are all at 30 minute waits vs 105 minute waits.

According to touring plans,

7DMT at 105 minutes is representative of a 7/10 crowd level
SDD 105 minutes an 8/10
MF:SR 75 Minutes a 6 or 7 / 10
RotR 90 Minutes a 2 or 3 /10
ToT an hour.... a 6/10

No, it’s not that busy. It looks like it’s about a 7/10, which is the most common number over the last 12 months.

 

[Micca]

"The parks have never been so empty" is a click-bait headline. The parks were slower than usual over the 4th of July weekend, but that's not necessarily an on-going trend. Parks can be slower than usual and and still be very crowded.

Media has now decided it's time to crap on Disney because of the Iger/DeSantis feud and the less than spectacular results at the box office, and the comments Iger made about the strike. Sure there have been plenty of mistakes, but the narrative has shifted to garner clicks.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

We are going home in a few weeks, and I keep hearing that "Park Attendance is down". "It's at it's lowest it's been in years". "Everything is walk on".

Right now on my Disney App...
7DMT 105 minutes
SDD 105 minutes
MF:SR 75 Minutes
RotR 90 Minutes
Even ToT is an hour....

These numbers do not sound like an empty park to me - they sound about normal for a "busy time".

Is my app lying, or are people just trying to make it sound like Disney is dying for political reasons when they say the parks are empty? What am I going to hit when I am there? Trying to plan what I will be able to bring my Brother in Law to see with his 2 days and there is a big difference between what we can hit if the rides are all at 30 minute waits vs 105 minute waits.

I think you are on the right track. Politics.

 

[npatellye]

We just got back from the parks and we came across at least 5 different teen tour groups in every single park, every single day. Maybe we missed it but we found parks to be crowded on walkways. Granted, we haven’t been in the summer since 2017 but, in my opinion, it didn’t feel any less crowded last week than it did during the early part of Thanksgiving week 2022. Your opinion and experience, and that of others, may vary.

 

[Minnie1222]

We just got back from the parks and we came across at least 5 different teen tour groups in every single park, every single day. Maybe we missed it but we found parks to be crowded on walkways. Granted, we haven’t been in the summer since 2017 but, in my opinion, it didn’t feel any less crowded last week than it did during the early part of Thanksgiving week 2022. Your opinion and experience, and that of others, may vary.

Glad to hear the kids are back. Ironically, I used to think they were annoying. It's strange how nostalgia works.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

We were at WDW during the week that triggered all the articles about empty parks. Noticeably absent were the many youth groups from Central/South America. We only saw one group at Epcot as opposed to 5-10 groups per park in the old times. The crowd was smaller but the parks were far from empty. It was also excruciating hot and humid. The heat was so bad that we didn't mind forfeiting the parks for two days to stay in the room and watch silly TV shows.

We were also there on july 4th weekend. We kept commenting on how empty and pleasant the parks were, relatively speaking. Friday/Saturday/Sunday. So nice.

We were also there from June 16-July 3rd. The first two weeks (june 16-june 30) was actually pretty crowded and long lines which was a stark contrast to the July 4 wknd.

Perhaps it was just a glitch. No one wanted to go to July 4th wknd thinking it would be too crowded???

Granted, it was hot that weekend but it was hot the entire trip. We were able to easily catch the rides we wanted on those last few days, even slinky dog and Peter Pan were almost walk ons. The preceding two weeks, however, were as crowded as ever.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

This past week you could just about walk onto soarin every time we tried, it felt weird. Maybe it’s just not so popular anymore? Felt odd to just walk right on at 2:00 in the afternoon or later.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

This past week you could just about walk onto soarin every time we tried, it felt weird. Maybe it’s just not so popular anymore? Felt odd to just walk right on at 2:00 in the afternoon or later.

Soarin was a walk on starting last year (at least, thats what it was for us). Even when the wait would say 20min, we were able to get right on. I don't think its super popular anymore. Guardians and Tron, on the other hand.....

 

[Minnie1222]

This past week you could just about walk onto soarin every time we tried, it felt weird. Maybe it’s just not so popular anymore? Felt odd to just walk right on at 2:00 in the afternoon or later.

Yes, I feel like Soarin' is no longer a Tier A ride. On our last visit, we stayed in The Land for a few hours and repeatedly went to Soarin', Living with the Land, Awesome Planet. It was nice because Soarin' and Living with the Land are some of our favorite rides.

Hopefully once the walls are down, guests will come back to that area instead of congregating on the other side. It would be so sad if they shut down The Land.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Yes, I feel like Soarin' is no longer a Tier A ride. On our last visit, we stayed in The Land for a few hours and repeatedly went to Soarin', Living with the Land, Awesome Planet. It was nice because Soarin' and Living with the Land are some of our favorite rides.

Hopefully once the walls are down, guests will come back to that area instead of congregating on the other side. It would be so sad if they shut down The Land.

Have you done the living with the land tour? We did that this past June and it was super fun. With the DVC discount, the price is quite reasonable at around $30pp. My kids wanted to get the plant that they sell at the check in desk, which we never knew about until the tour. Desk is just next to Soarin!

I can't wait for Moana land!!

 

[Minnie1222]

Have you done the living with the land tour? We did that this past June and it was super fun. With the DVC discount, it is super reasonable at around $30pp. My kids wanted to get the plant that they sell at the check in desk, which we never knew about until the tour. Desk is just next to Soarin!

My family is against it lol. They're too lazy to go on a tour to learn things, only want to sit on a boat and look at plants. ☹

 

[sheilafri]

We were also there on july 4th weekend. We kept commenting on how empty and pleasant the parks were, relatively speaking. Friday/Saturday/Sunday. So nice.

Perhaps it was just a glitch. No one wanted to go to July 4th wknd thinking it would be too crowded???

Granted, it was hot that weekend but it was hot the entire trip. We were able to easily catch the rides we wanted on those last few days, even slinky dog and Peter Pan were almost walk ons. The preceding two weeks, however, were as crowded as ever.

I’ve wondered if people are using crowd calendars to time their trips leading to unexpectedly low crowds when the calendars say it will be crowded. Add that to the heat and humidity of Florida summers and people are going to try to time their visits for when they expect lower crowd levels.