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

[Kingkonig]

WDW used to be an affordable family vacation. Europe has always been an expensive trip. Now people look at the cost of WDW and think "WOW" the places I could go with that money. Then you think why am I spending a ridiculous amount of money for a theme park vacation when I could actually go to some of the places in Epcot.

I’m struggling to remember a time when WDW was considered an “affordable” family vacation. Sure it may have been “more” affordable than it is now, but there’s still ways to do Disney cheap - stay off property, don’t eat at the resorts, don’t buy souvenirs or extras, etc.

Also, Europe is cheap right now because of a weak Euro. Not that it’s a bad idea to travel there when their currency is weak, but generally a strong dollar vs a weak Euro will make the disparity between a US luxury “once in a lifetime” vacation look even more expensive international one - especially when the deciding factor is flight cost.

 

[DCLMP]

We were always traveling as a family of 5 so POR was one of the few mods that could accommodate us. At the time of year we were going, it was always in the $250 to $300 an night range.

I've never stayed at POR maybe that's why.

 

[DCLMP]

I’m struggling to remember a time when WDW was considered an “affordable” family vacation. Sure it may have been “more” affordable than it is now, but there’s still ways to do Disney cheap - stay off property, don’t eat at the resorts, don’t buy souvenirs or extras, etc.

Also, Europe is cheap right now because of a weak Euro. Not that it’s a bad idea to travel there when their currency is weak, but generally a strong dollar vs a weak Euro will make the disparity between a US luxury “once in a lifetime” vacation look even more expensive international one - especially when the deciding factor is flight cost.

It was affordable for us. No it's not.

Europe is not cheap. They have inflation just like we do. There prices have gone up so it's all relative to the dollar. I've been to Europe three times since 2022 and prices are on par with the US.

I'm planning a trip to Japan. Despite the weak yen hotels are still in the 200-300 range. Luxury hotels hotels 500-700 or so a night. Since the USD is the reserve currency everything is basically priced in dollars.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

WDW is getting back to the old normal. Busy weekdays, less attendance weekends.
May reconsider visits based on that.

 

[maxiesmom]

I’m struggling to remember a time when WDW was considered an “affordable” family vacation. Sure it may have been “more” affordable than it is now, but there’s still ways to do Disney cheap - stay off property, don’t eat at the resorts, don’t buy souvenirs or extras, etc.

I totally agree. The first time I went to WDW I was 29. No way could my parents have afforded a family trip to Disney World.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

For many Disney is viewed as luxury vacation on the same level as a European vacation.

For my family we view Disney as a higher quality Cedar Point vacation. We wouldn't pick a European vacation due to price cause it doesn't replace visiting a theme park. If we a going to choose something cheaper than Disney it's going to be another theme park not something completely different.

I see many posts about WDW vs Europe. How are these even comparable? They're absolutely different things. Go to Europe because you want to see Europe, not because it's cheaper than Disney. What??

I'm also fascinated that people say going to Europe is cheaper. We are going to Europe next summer and it's double the cost of Disney for our family. I agree in the comparison of luxury vacations as to why people use it as an example, but if I stayed in a DVC comparison 2 bedroom villa in Italy, it's VERY expensive (just priced this out). Hotels in Rome and Sicily are quite pricey in the summer, plus airfare. Maybe people are going in offseason and to less traveled to destinations in Europe? All I know is, many of the people I talk to are skipping vacation this year due to finances.

 

[RivShore]

WDW is getting back to the old normal. Busy weekdays, less attendance weekends.
May reconsider visits based on that.

Right, once word gets out that crowds are relatively low and ride times are more than reasonable, everyone will head on down again and we will be back to where we started before the (possible) downturn.

 

[Minnie1222]

Am I crazy? I thought this was a thing last year too...

Last year. The year before. Ten years ago, etc..

The earliest I heard about Disney's "deterioration" and "decline in attendance" was in the 80's. Not joking.

 

[SL6827]

I totally agree. The first time I went to WDW I was 29. No way could my parents have afforded a family trip to Disney World.

I was 31 at my first visit. It would have to be free for me to brave the heat in the summer now. 100% free! (unless I was doing a water park only trip)

 

[RivShore]

Are those prices before the 30%? I always booked resorts with 35-40% off.

Those were rack rates but we did not usually travel during discount times, unfortunately.

I don't think mods ever had 40% off and even 30% was rare as the parks were filling up in the years before covid.

Currently you do see some short periods of 30% off for POR but the highest discounts are still reserved for Deluxe.

 

[focusondisney]

I’m struggling to remember a time when WDW was considered an “affordable” family vacation.

I think when they first opened the value resorts, they made a definite effort to promote it as affordable. There were commercials offering a value resort for parents & 2 kids for $1500 for a week. But even at that price, there were still plenty of families that couldn’t afford it.

Last year. The year before. Ten years ago, etc..

The earliest I heard about Disney's "deterioration" and "decline in attendance" was in the 80's. Not joking.

I know! That talk has been around for so long, you would think the place would have been shuttered & sold off for parts by now.

 

[focusondisney]

I don't think mods ever had 40% off and even 30% was rare as the parks were filling up in the years before covid.

And for many years, POFQ was so popular, it was either excluded from any discounts or only got 10% off.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

I haven't read this entire thread, but we were at WDW from 6/26-7/2 and it was very crowded. I agree that the crowds were low for most of June as I watched wait times every day before our trip, but the crowds were heavier while we were there. In early June, you could get Tron almost immediately for most of the day. When we were there, Tron return times were 4-5 hours out.

I'm guessing it was more crowded due to schools out on the east coast and July 4th.

 

[DCLMP]

Those were rack rates but we did not usually travel during discount times, unfortunately.

I don't think mods ever had 40% off and even 30% was rare as the parks were filling up in the years before covid.

Currently you do see some short periods of 30% off for POR but the highest discounts are still reserved for Deluxe.

I always traveled during the off peak times. I'm surprised to see CSR at 254.00 +tax and that's with 30% off in August. I'm actually more than surprised I'm shocked. I have a request in for SSR with points for 260 a nights, I could also get BWV for 220 or GFV for 330, Renting points through the third party brokers is the way to go. That's how I've done my last three trips.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Last year. The year before. Ten years ago, etc..

The earliest I heard about Disney's "deterioration" and "decline in attendance" was in the 80's. Not joking.

DCA was so bad we renewed our APs for $112 and that included a free month, parking and a 10% renewal discount.
We had the parks to ourselves.
$5 16oz IPAs.

 

[RivShore]

I always traveled during the off peak times. I'm surprised to see CSR at 254.00 +tax and that's with 30% off in August. I'm actually more than surprised I'm shocked. I have a request in for SSR with points for 260 a nights, I could also get BWV for 220 or GFV for 330, Renting points through the third party brokers is the way to go. That's how I've done my last three trips.

And that is exactly how we ended up with DVC - once mod prices took that jump in 2018-19, we rented DVC for the first time and got a deluxe room for less than a mod - far superior rooms for less money, yes please. We soon decided that buying in made the most sense for us and it was that increase in mod rates that pushed us there.

 

[DCLMP]

I totally agree. The first time I went to WDW I was 29. No way could my parents have afforded a family trip to Disney World.

Of course there's always been a lot of people that couldn't afford it. I do believe 10 years ago with budgeting, and saving it was attainable for a lot more people than it is now..

In 2010 we stayed at the poly for 10 days with deluxe dining 2 adults and 2 kids for 5200 dollars. I thought that was a really good vacation and certainly not unaffordable. We were firmly in the middle at that time. It took me several months to save up for it, but it was doable. We could have stayed at value with regular dining for 1\3 the cost. I don't believe it's affordable for the middle class anymore, the prices have gotten so high a lot of us that can still afford it don't think it's worth it.

 

[Jrb1979]

Thought this video works well with this thread.

 

[RivShore]

a lot of us that can still afford it don't think it's worth it.

But yet you are still planning a trip to WDW, so there are ways to make it work.

I said something similar in the DCL version of this thread - if prices are up but people are still going, Disney might know exactly what it is doing. LOL

 

[tom1944]

Maybe Disney decided it is a better business plan to be the high end of amusement parks similar to how the automobile, retail and jewelry market is.