Will Brexit Affect WDW?

[kcbonnies]

We have already seen (I think) the implications of the failing of the Brazil economy have a real impact on WDW with fewer numbers of South American tourists. Now with the British pound in free fall, will we see our friends from across the pond come in smaller numbers? Will that have a meaningful impact on WDW attendance (and on bookings)?
Also, if this sparks a world wide recession, which appears to a very real possibility, is WDW prepared to absorb the hit? Attendance appears to be trending down (possibly by design) but what will a global down swing do?

 

[NeuroCindy]

I think it's too soon to tell. Right now the markets are in panic, we don't know how soon they will stabilize and recover. That's what's going to make a difference.

As to a global recession, you will probably see less people at WDW, which in turn may decrease ticket prices, but more over, will probably put a hold on some construction.

 

[Koz]

I'm all for it somehow impacting tour groups from Brazil, negatively. I hope the Brits keep coming, as they are fun, reasonable and extremely laid back. My kind of people.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I'm all for lower crowds but not for a recession. I think this will all equalize out ideally sooner rather than later. The markets are shaken right now but the actual withdrawal of the UK from Europe is going to take a couple of years so I think things are going to calm back down. It has all been a bit of a shock. Interestingly - DH was English (became American a couple of years ago) - he was for the exit and I (American all my life) was against it.

 

[rg35]

If the EU allows it, the Brexit will take something like 2 years to fully sort out. Also remaining to be seen if there is a larger split of "the empire". Several countries within Great Britain voted to stay in the EU. It will be some time before things are settled completely. In the meanwhile, all we have right now is panic market reaction to the news.

 

[GillianP1301]

I know when the Canadian dollar is struggling against the US$, like it is currently, I change my resort choice. When the dollar was near or at par, I did an AoA suite and deluxe, with it at $1.35, I've gone moderate. So, I can definitely see our British friends making those kinds of adjustments to make up for the loss in value of their currency. Long term, time will tell. Right now, it's the day after panic, so it's impossible to gauge.

 

[Skywise]

Right now, yes (with the Pound being way down against the dollar...) but long term I can't see it being much of an impact unless they have an economic collapse like Brazil is currently going through but I don't see that happening.

 

[BadPinkTink]

yes it will, definatly in the short term, bookings for 2017 from UK will be down. Im already seeing on Facebook UK friends who were in New York last month saying they are glad then went then, as they couldnt afford it now with the the way markets are going. People who would have been booking between now and Christmas for summer 2017 will now be reconsidering their plans.

 

[1lilspark]

More pricing out of the locals/ middle class to make up the lost $ from the Brits and to offset construction costs I'm sure

 

[skullsplitter]

This will be interesting to watch and see what impacts it has. I can see Scotland and maybe Northern Ireland voting to leave the UK and go EU. I also just read that Holland now wants a vote on whether to stay EU or not. Could be a wild ride.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Hmmm. I may need to go book a WDW vacation.

 

[whiporee]

I think the British pavilion will have walls going up soon.

 

[jpeden]

Brexit may have short term implications in bookings but I doubt it has true effect long-term. What we're seeing now in the markets is a reaction to an unexpected (although not surprising) result from last night's vote. Markets were expecting a "Remain" win based on notoriously bad British polling data and now the market is reacting to something it wasn't expecting. Uncertainty breeds panic in the market - things will settle down in a few weeks. I expect the Pound will stay lower than we've seen in the past five/six years, but I don't expect it to go much further than say $1.25. Brexit is two years away from happening once Great Britain notifies the EU that it intends to activate Article 50 of the European Union Treaty so we're probably looking at two years from when the new PM is installed in October. No one is going to know the true effects until the new trade deals are negotiated between the EU and Great Britain. In the meantime, if attendance drops - celebrate it! It will mean shorter lines and better deals to be had for us stateside visitors.

 

[MariMama]

I think there are grave economic repercussions that are yet to be seen and it will greatly affect the middle class of Britain. So yes, I believe Brexit will affect how many British visitors come to WDW in the coming years.

 

[Polybound]

We have already seen (I think) the implications of the failing of the Brazil economy have a real impact on WDW with fewer numbers of South American tourists. Now with the British pound in free fall, will we see our friends from across the pond come in smaller numbers? Will that have a meaningful impact on WDW attendance (and on bookings)?
Also, if this sparks a world wide recession, which appears to a very real possibility, is WDW to absorb the hit? Attendance appears to be trending down (possibly by design) what will a global down swing do?

Of course no one knows for sure, but IMO, the initial drop in the British Pound and British/EU Markets are just knee jerk reactions. Within a week, everything for the most part will be back where they were before. I seriously doubt it will affect WDW travel from GB in the long run.

 

[Karin1984]

For those in Euro-countries it will now be very attractive to book a trip to WDW via the UK website. So from other countries we could expect a small increase. No huge numbers.

In 2012 I booked via the UK website, but due to the pound/euro rates in 2015 I booked via the US.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

And I thought American politics were a mess!

Likely, we'll see a slight decrease in attendance, at least short term. The UK isn't officially separated yet, and it will take time to do so. Hopefully, the immediate crash of the markets will talk a bit of sense into their government and the UK won't head into recession.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Anyone KNOW what % of WDW guests are British or European?

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

I would be sad if this affected our UK friends' ability to come & enjoy. We have met many people from the UK in the parks and they have never been anything less than pleasant.

 

[godders]

I don't think it will affect UK attendance for 18 months (if it does at all) mostly because we've been able to book our 2017 holidays for a while now so we've already got pretty good rates in already.

Also like a previous poster I've always checked the rates on both UK and US disney websites when shopping for my trips and have gone with whichever was cheaper....