Thoughts on why crowds are lower this summer so far??

[mom2rtk]

Okay, let's use the Louvre as our example!!!

The Louvre is still free for all visitors on the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m. (except in July and August).
It is also always free for many adults:
anyone under the age of 18
all 18-25 year-old residents of the European Economic Area
Disabled visitors and the person accompanying them
Art teachers
Artists affiliated to the AIAP
ICOM and ICOMOS members
Journalists
Job seekers
People on income support

The price for non-exempt adults was 17 Euros in 2017, and it is now just 22 Euros. The price has only gone up 29% over the past 7 years, and that is ONLY if you buy your ticket at the entrance, and only if you are an adult. It is still possible to get a discounted multi-museum pass.

In 2017 a 1-day WDW ticket cost a max of $124. this year they go as high as $189. that's a 52.5% increase over the same time period. At WDW, children as young as 10 pay the adult price, and children ages 3-9 cost almost the same as an adult: $184. No exemptions for disabled guests. Can you even imagine that?

The poster I quoted made a blanket statement that "major league sports" have gone up as much as WDW, but I debunked that as well. I only looked up two teams, and found adult MLB tickets for just $12. Seniors and children can even still attend some games for free!

It is very much still possible to find worthwhile, inexpensive entertainment values, including world class museums like the Smithsonian and the Louvre. I get tired of wild claims that the price of all entertainment has gone up in price as much as WDW. I've always mixed my WDW visits with less expensive options like FL's state and national parks, going back 50+ years. As much as I like WDW, I also love walking around St. Augustine and collecting shells on Honeymoon Island. Entertainment value is not = to cost.

You could go even further and give some weight to the cost of Genie+, which replaced free FP during that timeframe.

 

[RivShore]

The poster I quoted made a blanket statement that "major league sports" have gone up as much as WDW, but I debunked that as well.

If you are talking about me, i never made a blanket "major league sports" statement, I only mentioned the NFL, when it came to sports.

And all you other travel options are great and usually much lower in cost but when comparing them to the cost of WDW or Universal, don't forget that many of them are lower cost because they are funded by the government and donations. Take that funding away and how much would it cost?

Look at Kennedy Space Center - KSC has a very similar daily cost to WDW, if you want the full experience, even with all it's government funding. And we spent a day in St. Augustine this past spring and between paying for the trolley and the entrance fee to a few historical buildings, we were approaching $100 per person.

 

[Minnie1222]

It is very much still possible to find worthwhile, inexpensive entertainment values, including world class museums like the Smithsonian and the Louvre.

I completely agree with this statement. I also strongly believe that Disney, or any business, should be able to charge whatever they want. People who can't accept the new cost are free to explore other options. There's no need to ill-wish Disney, or spread false information about empty or dirty parks. The dirty parks are from another thread, sorry for going off-topic.

 

[B-Ride]

Heat, rain and the price make WDW unattractive to our family. Luckily we got 10 trips in when the FastPass was free, prices were more realistic, and the crowds the last week of August were almost non-existent. Explains why I have about 50 FastPasses that we didn't need to use and I use as bookmarks.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

People who can't accept the new cost are free to explore other options.

I think this is the key point.

I get the impression that WDW prices have hit the ceiling for many folks, and they are simply choosing to do something else that costs less money.

For me, I always consider cost/value when choosing to spend money. Is it worth the price? Is just as important as how good it is.

 

[Travel60]

I have found GWL to be pretty close to as expensive as Disney - claw machines should be illegal (lol)! Still definitely a good time and in my limited experience very well run.

At GWL now.

Our rooms for 2 nights all in were around $500 (Wolf Den room). We bought a $300 package that included a bunch of the activities/events for 4 and $100 dining credit.

The cynic in me thought - yeah, that's one meal. So far we've had dinner, breakfast and lunch and probably still have $20 or so left.

The wands for the quest games were included. We could have "upgraded" them with jewels and fancy knobs but didn't. There are cabanas we could rent but didn't (don't at Disney either). Other than tonight's dinner and tomorrow breakfast, the only extra I anticipate is DGD wants to do the ropes course - $15.00. Two nights is just about the right time to stay and not hear "I'm bored!"

 

[godfather927]

This was just posted on TD: https://talk.thrill-data.com/blogs/entry/46-june-23-vs-june-24-at-disney-world/

Seems like wait times are indeed down for MK and HS but not so much at AK or Epcot. Interestingly enough, they are also down at Universal, indicating more of a trend across the board, rather than anything specific to decisions made at Disney parks.

 

[Minnie1222]

indicating more of a trend across the board, rather than anything specific to decisions made at Disney parks.

I thought so, too.

Despite what people think, I still don't see a big drop in crowd size from last year to this year. They feel similar to be honest.

 

[UpstateMick]

I am here now and I can definitely say crowds are WAY down at MK today! We haven't seen this low of crowds ever! We have come the past five end of June early July's and this is by far the lowest!

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

I've been watching the ride wait times and they seem very reasonable.

 

[No_strings]

Heat, rain and the price make WDW unattractive to our family. Luckily we got 10 trips in when the FastPass was free, prices were more realistic, and the crowds the last week of August were almost non-existent. Explains why I have about 50 FastPasses that we didn't need to use and I use as bookmarks.

Add the high cost of airfare versus a few years ago and I think families are choose alternatives. Cruises and other destinations are more attractive.

 

[emmabelle]

well I'm hoping for low crowds since we arrive on Wednesday!

 

[bwr827]

well I'm hoping for low crowds since we arrive on Wednesday!

By all reports, you’ll get your wish!

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm coming in 2.5 weeks for a Universal/WDW trip. Expecting low crowds. I will report exactly what I see.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Plain and simple....economics. People cannot afford Disney as easily as they did years ago. The news outlets can lie all they want about inflation, but the reality is, inflation is insane. Many things are 4 times higher than it was in 2020.

Airfare has increased. Tickets have increased. Food has increased. Hotels have increased. When you add that to everyday inflation of utilities, groceries, gas, etc, people need to decide which is more important.....trips or daily provisions.

Florida is hot in the summer. So is Georgia. So is Texas. This happens every year. Some people are easily persuaded to believe it is worse because the news pushes this climate change stuff like hot summers are new, and it also affects their willingness to travel.

 

[g3pak]

I keep seeing reports of record air travel. TSA has record crowds on holidays. Airlines saying record bookings. High cost of air travel is not an issue. If crowds are lower than Disney, it is not the cost to get to Orlando.

It may be the high cost of air travel means not as much money to spend for Disney, but the people flying are going somewhere and spending their money somewhere.

 

[Eastern]

I recently bought park hoppers, 7 days, for a little over 600.00 a piece at AAA for our September trip. We usually spend 10 hours a day at the parks which means we pay a little over $8.00 a person per hour to visit.

Is that with tax included?

 

[disneyseniors]

And I’ll add that the most popular Smithsonian museums require reservations to visit during much of the year to limit crowds. As do several other DC attractions, like Air & Space, National Archives, Washington Monument & Holocaust Museum. Something Disney was highly criticized for doing.

That must be something relatively new? We went during a very busy time about 5 years ago and never had to get reservations for any of those places. Maybe we were lucky.

 

[disneyseniors]

At GWL now.

Our rooms for 2 nights all in were around $500 (Wolf Den room). We bought a $300 package that included a bunch of the activities/events for 4 and $100 dining credit.

The cynic in me thought - yeah, that's one meal. So far we've had dinner, breakfast and lunch and probably still have $20 or so left.

The wands for the quest games were included. We could have "upgraded" them with jewels and fancy knobs but didn't. There are cabanas we could rent but didn't (don't at Disney either). Other than tonight's dinner and tomorrow breakfast, the only extra I anticipate is DGD wants to do the ropes course - $15.00. Two nights is just about the right time to stay and not hear "I'm bored!"

It looks like you are getting a good return on your money at GWL. The ROI at WDW is not there for me anymore. I don't mind spending the money if the return of investment is there. That's why we have switched to Universal now. I sadly miss Disney at times.

 

[DisneyFive]

Is that with tax included?

Just looked directly on WDW website and if I choose the second week of September you can get 7 day PH's for $639 plus tax, or $680 total. Not bad. The same tickets for the time of year we go (late July/early August) is $793 each. Gotta love the slow periods. We used to visit in September and loved the Free Dining offers and such, and for at least the first few years low crowds. (2010-2012ish)