Summer Guest Attendance Down? CM Hours Cut

[Dismomof2boys]

https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/august16.cfm

This is for August 2016, not 2017.

 

[Veronique]

This is for August 2016, not 2017.

And this was in answer to the debate just before my post about what were the hours last year.

 

[Tomh]

And this was in answer to the debate just before my post about what were the hours last year.

So not what I had listed in my document, but then I suppose it is always possible that I had it wrong, or didn't update when the hours were changed.

 

[Veronique]

So not what I had listed in my document, but then I suppose it is always possible that I had it wrong, or didn't update when the hours were changed.

Maybe wdwinfo are publishing "real" hours that happened. I know that at least twice in my life, the speaker at MK annouced a later closing time the day off.

 

[Tomh]

Maybe wdwinfo are publishing "real" hours that happened. I know that at least twice in my life, the speaker at MK annouced a later closing time the day off.

I have had that happen as well, however a previous poster seemed pretty certain that those hours were announced well ahead of time. To be honest, I had a lot of stuff going on last summer just before vacation, and it is entirely possible that I just missed the change in park hours. I thought my information was correct, but I am not that certain as to suggest that someone else is completely wrong.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Sorry, we will be there at the end of next week so you'll at least have us to contend with

Me too!!

For what it's worth, Disney has value and moderate resort rooms available on Priceline Express, including POFQ in mid-August for $97/night.

I think having POFQ available on Priceline is a sign that demand is lower than Disney would like. I know many travel agencies (and many of y'all) are warning against staying at Caribbean Beach. I think that should increase occupancy at the other moderates. POFQ is the smallest moderate, so if normal POFQ demand plus Caribbean Beach spillover isn't already hitting Disney's occupancy goals for POFQ, it's unusual.

Also, I hear a smaller set of hourly cutbacks is happening this week, primarily in retail.

I could be wrong about all of this.

I just booked that rate for next weekend and even got an additional $30 off with a promo code...bringing it to $82. I am shocked pofq is there and that cheap as well. Also saw YC for $170 and gf for $360. YC is my fave but for such a short trip we will be in the parks open to close so wasn't any point in paying the upgrade.

 

[amberpi]

Crowds will never "feel" low. That's because with all the information they have through MM+, Disney stays one step ahead of it. If crowds are expected to be low, they staff down further and it "feels" the same to the average park goer. It essentially cashes out the benefit of lower crowds for the company's benefit instead of the guest.

They sunk what, a billion dollars into it and will profit for years, right?

 

[HillsboroHoppers]

We are going after Labor Day hoping for less CROWDED parks. I'm not bothered by wait times, as we have FP for our can't miss rides, and plan to rope drop each park too. I'm looking to not be shoulder to shoulder with humanity all day/every day! We want to see lots of shows and enjoy the ambiance of the parks, which would be easier with fewer numbers of people. Hope everyone that has trips planned has a great time, I know we will!

 

[thevolcanogod]

Did MK yesterday - felt about 30% less crowded than the same time in 2014. Did AK today - felt about twice as crowded as the same time in 2014

 

[epcotty]

I think it's highly likely.

A lot of people want to pretend that Disney is doing badly because they're unhappy with recent changes and have been (or nearly have been) priced out.

The truth is that Disney doesn't care and isn't hurting. If the current prices are too high for you (general you), you are not who they want in the parks. They want people with deeper pockets, whether they're first time visitors or not, who will spend freely. This model seems to be working out just fine for Disney.

The thing with that model is diminishing returns. If they lose enough people they'd still notice even if they really overcharge the people who still come. It's a business model that only works for so long. Maybe they'd always be able to make that profitable enough for them though. Otherwise they'd have to cut back on the overcharging if they feel they've lost enough people for the overcharging to not compensate. I guess in the end it's all crowd control but it's never what Walt or any CEO until Iger wanted

 

[mom2rtk]

I think it's highly likely.

A lot of people want to pretend that Disney is doing badly because they're unhappy with recent changes and have been (or nearly have been) priced out.

The truth is that Disney doesn't care and isn't hurting. If the current prices are too high for you (general you), you are not who they want in the parks. They want people with deeper pockets, whether they're first time visitors or not, who will spend freely. This model seems to be working out just fine for Disney.

Except that Disney rarely hits capacity in the parks. It's not like the deep pocket guests have been waiting at the gate for the Clampetts to clear out so they can finally get in. There's room for both deep pocket and not so deep pocket customers. And Disney wants both.

Anyone who thinks Disney is trying to thin the numbers to make a better experience is kidding themselves. Otherwise they wouldn't do things like lift blackout dates on APs and CM passes.

 

[epcotty]

Is it just park hours that bring you, and others, to Disney? Or even how many rides you do in a day? I know for us Disney is so much more than rides. Rides are a small part of the whole package. 6 Flags doesn't even begin to provide a small part of that package. They do just provide rides. Which is why it's not a vacation destination.

I know for us we want to always get as many attractions that we like done as possible, that way we get the most for our money. Of course we also enjoy the parks in general but try to not spend too much time not doing attractions.
Probably many are also like that

 

[Shanti]

Closing of the FP second scan point?

We were there on Easter weekend this year, and the FP 2nd scan points were not in operation. I haven't seen them in operation for a couple of years.

 

[Shanti]

Crowds will never "feel" low. That's because with all the information they have through MM+, Disney stays one step ahead of it. If crowds are expected to be low, they staff down further and it "feels" the same to the average park goer.

Honestly, the attendance would have to PLUMMET for anyone to really feel any difference!!

We just got back last night from 8 days at WDW. My DH and I commented MANY times throughout our trip that the crowds did, in fact, feel low. To me, no amount of up or down staffing can affect how the park itself feels.

During our late July trip last year, crowds definitely felt low. I kept looking around and thinking, "Where is everyone?" Crowds were the lowest we'd experienced since our trip in January 2009. I've taken several trips in the years between, and the lower crowds late last July were very noticeable.

 

[epcotty]

My wife and I were at WDW July 13-18. There were second FP points at 7DMT, Big Thunder and Space Mountain in the MK. At HS there were 2 FP points at Rock & Roll and Tower. Did not see any at EPCOT or AK. As for low crowds you could have fooled us. All four parks were packed.

The 2nd FP point was open at FEA when we were there on the 26th

 

[Seoulbro]

Me too!!



I just booked that rate for next weekend and even got an additional $30 off with a promo code...bringing it to $82. I am shocked pofq is there and that cheap as well. Also saw YC for $170 and gf for $360. YC is my fave but for such a short trip we will be in the parks open to close so wasn't any point in paying the upgrade.

How did you kow it was POFQ when you booked?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

How did you kow it was POFQ when you booked?

Couple things....it said last person booked got pofq, it was 95% satisfaction and I compared that with pofq on trip advisor, and other people in another thread said it is distingushed by the fitness center that we know isn't actually there. Coronado, YC, and gf were all there too, plus some values.

 

[malarky]

Except that Disney rarely hits capacity in the parks. It's not like the deep pocket guests have been waiting at the gate for the Clampetts to clear out so they can finally get in. There's room for both deep pocket and not so deep pocket customers. And Disney wants both.

Anyone who thinks Disney is trying to thin the numbers to make a better experience is kidding themselves. Otherwise they wouldn't do things like lift blackout dates on APs and CM passes.

they want to spread out crowds so they can make more money

 

[Seoulbro]

Couple things....it said last person booked got pofq, it was 95% satisfaction and I compared that with pofq on trip advisor, and other people in another thread said it is distingushed by the fitness center that we know isn't actually there. Coronado, YC, and gf were all there too, plus some values.

Ok, so you used Hotwire?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Ok, so you used Hotwire?

Yep