Recent Theme Park attendence (USA TODAY)

[goredwings]

Just thought I would pass this all along to you after reading the USA today paper. Recent theme park attendence was down 5.5% and less than half the ticket windows were open. There was not a ride in sight that had a line. Also recent Disney bookings are down dramatically. Going April 18-21 and hope this keeps up!!!!!

This is all occuring they said because of the weak economy and the growing threat of war. See the article in 3-14 USA Today paper (sorry, couldnt find it online).

 

[Ratpack]

I agree with you, I hope this continues too. Then the codes will be that much better for the summer. Of course the drawback is they may have shorter hours and service will suffer. But I will take my chances.

 

[currycook]

We were at the parks yesterday. I thought the crowds were low for this time of year. That is from my own comparision to past years especially since 9-11. The down side is that the service is also lowered as their are less frills and less employees and hours are shorter.

 

[CarolynK]

We also felt the crowds were light, based on FastPass return times which were sometimes within an hour of obtaining them. I never had a complaint about service, though, and our favorite park, Epcot, was open untill 9:00 pm every night as usual.

 

[bunnyfoo]

This one isn't from USA Today, but its about the decline in Disney park attendance because of the potential war against Iraq.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...12/ap_wo_en_ge/na_fin_us_disney_theme_parks_1

 

[jenjie]

We just got back (3/11-3/15) and although the parks were definitely not full, let me tell you who was there. Why didn't I see this coming?

Dance competition
Cheerleading competition
school choir competition
marching band competition
college softball tournament
Best Buy convention
Harley Davidson convention

and those are just the ones I know about. I will say one thing, with all those teenagers there in groups, we did not notice any kind of disturbance whatsoever. I did however see lots of teens enjoying themselves.

 

[TreeOfLife]

They should outsmart destiny and counterattack the effects of a possible war by offering awesome incentives!
It will work better than having Jeb try to change his brother's mind...

 

[anne60]

From the yahoo article, it seems that Disney's biggest loss is from the international traveler...maybe they will focus some deals to attract folks from "across the pond".

 

[twinmomto3boys]

I think Anne is probably right. I think its wrong that Disney give other countries better deals for travel. I have a lot of friends in the States that cannot afford to go to Disney - especially in the summer.... and they would love to go.

 

[Bill3]

I find this semi-humorous. People get giddy with the idea of going to WDW with small crowds,however many of these SAME people get crazed when WDW cuts anything back. Cutbacks are usually the result of low attendance. As someone said-you can't have your cake.....

 

[twinmomto3boys]

By no means do I think it's great that the parks attendence is down. I'm just saying if Disney is going to market discounts, it should be to Americans first. That's all.

 

[eeyore0062]

Going April 18-21 and hope this keeps up!!!!!

Do you know how many people will have to have cut hours or loose their jobs?... not only that, but as Bill says... if the crowds aren't there, then there will be many cutbacks.

I hope the place is PACKED for the spring and summer seasons... if we want to continue to enjoy the quality theme parks for which Disney is reknowned, there have to be ticket sales, and guests staying in the resorts.... I cannot bring myself to hope that the crowds are down, just because I happen to be on vacation.

 

[EpcotGeek]

Well said Eeyore!

I certainly don't like to hear about the attendance being so low. While I can understand hoping the parks aren't overcrowded on your vacation, I don't agree with those that hope the current trend continues. . . . . . . when it's all said and done, nobody benefits from it.

 

[bunnyfoo]

I guess it's really a double edged sword ...low park attendance means less lineups for the rides and shows but shorter park hours and other cutbacks. I agree with the other posters, it's nice in the short term but ends up hurting everyone else in the long run...

 

[mommystieg]

I agree with eeyore0062--

Even though I don't really look forward to milling with the masses during our summer visit, I have to agree. If attendance continues to decline so will all the things WDW has to offer. There might be great offers to encourage visitors but lower attendance still means shorter hours, less parades/fireworks and other perks

 

[Fantasmic303]

We also just returned from WDW and even though they claim attendance is down, I certainly don't feel the same way. Because of shortened park hours, the crowds seemed thick, and we had to rush around every hour of our vacation to get things in. Because we spilt from the family we were traveling with, two of us were able to get most things done, and we did all the E-tickets using Fast Pass...HOWEVER, it wasn't easy. Tower of Terror FPs were not available after 12 noon, and it was well over an hour wait for the remainder of the day. Fantasyland (with the exception of IASW and Snow White) had 50-70 minute waits for everything, including Ariel. We were literally bumping into people in World Showcase because the crowds moved in masses.

Don't get me wrong - I had a great time. But I would've had a better time if I hadn't been looking at my watch trying to figure out how to fit everything in. Trust me - we're all better off if their so-called "low" attendance increases so that they can increase park hours and service, because if they don't, every season is going to be like the summer crowds. A lot of Disney fans choose not to visit during that time specifically to avoid that kind of atmosphere.

 

[Memph1s]

We went to MGM Sat. and fought our way toward ToT and RnR. We got to the turn to go into RnR and it was so packed with people we turned around and fought or way out of the park without doing anything but a little shopping. I have never seen MGM so packed. While waiting for the tram to pull away the tram host was talking on the PA to a large group of cheerleaders headed into the park. Then on the tram ride back to the car the tram host said for all you that are leaving because of the people I was just talking to (the cheerleaders) Let me warn you that MGM and MK are totally packed today and I strongly suggest you try Epcot or AK.

We went to Epcot and at 11am TT was out of FP and had a 60 stand by. We even had a 45 min wait for maelstrom. Epcot was very manageable but busier then I have seen it since last summer.

We went to AK Sunday and it took almost 30 mins just to get inside the park. It was very crowded but manageable.
It was great weather wise and we had gotten rain on the last 3 weekends so the locals my have been out more. I know we had put off the going the 3 previous weekends because of weather.

But if MK was as packed as MGM was and attendance is down I hope I never go when it is up. We have been during Christmas and July 4th and it did not seem as crowded as it was this weekend.

 

[Allan]

We returned Saturday from 6 days at the World and found it quite crowded. We have gone the second week in March for spring break since 1998 and found this one to be at least as crowded as every other time. On E-night, we waited 30 minutes to ride space mountain and about 15 for BTMRR.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Agree, when you are in a crowded park, you just want to leave.
We were in WDW the last week of May 2002. MK was bad. So bad we left. The other parks were great. But Disney also acted then as if the park crowd was low.
DH and I both said had that been our first WDW trip, it probably would have been our last too. So I don't know what they really think they gain. We just know better to avoid WDW during that time through October now.
May made us REALLY appreciate January. In May at MK, we kept saying -- We will do that in January. And we did, several times over with no lines!

 

[allicat]

Could it be possible that many local people were in the parks over the weekend? I cant imagine how some people say its mobbed and others are reporting its light crowds! And USA today reporting about the light crowds.