Wow...parks are near-empty on Thanksgiving Weekend!

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

MouseChat reports empty parks at WDW for the Thanksgiving weekend and many of the trip reports/pictures back it up.

Remember the time when it was capacity/packed in the parks and resorts during the Thanksgiving holiday? Maybe they will start giving free dining and heavy discounts for hotel stays during *this* period as well.

Not a good sign for WDW.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

...and to think they charge premium rates during this weekend. It seems like there were more people at the resorts and parks in October(and those crowds weren't anything to write home about)!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

...and to think they charge premium rates during this weekend. It seems like there were more people at the resorts and parks in October(and those crowds weren't anything to write home about)!

The week before thanksgiving were the
Lightest crowds I've ever experienced as a traveler and reminded me of the 2001-2002 crowds that I recall as an employees

That week was always lighter...but not to that level.

And I loved it from two angles...the "more the merrier" is not indicative of wdw... "Less is best" is.

Second, I hope they choke on it...because their pricing is outrageous. Really shameful. If it was in a state of constant improvement... Perhaps... But that is not close to the case.

One other thing I notice is that people's assessments of crowd levels are way off based on history.

I can remember last may seeing a comment about how "slammed" the parks were during a week I was there and I couldn't stop laughing...

Not even close. Light at worst.

But the measuring sticks have become silly...no fast pass at toy story mania or a 70 minute wait on soarin is used to extrapolate crowd levels.

Nope...in the 80's, 90's and 2000...both magic kingdom and EPCOT had double the people in the park on the crowded periods... Which was offset by dead periods. MGM was uncomfortable by 10 am.
Now it's fanned out but the crowd levels are also fanned out. So while attendance has risen...the crowd hasn't in my opinion

Unavailability of fast pass is an indictment of their failure to provide enough variety to
Occupy the consumer...often the result of multi year periods of no attempt at reinvestment that is and has become the normal pattern.

I hope crowds fall...absolutely.
It serves the consumer 2 ways.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

@lockedoutlogic

As always, very interesting insight. I remember how you had said it was "delightfully dead" the week before this Thanksgiving but predicted it wouldn't be once it got to be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. From what I'm hearing, those crowds never came.

I've always been told to stay away from WDW at Thanksgiving time because the crowds are unbearable and all the resorts are booked up. That appears to be a thing of the past.

 

[GSUJillybean]

We were there from 11/11-11/23. We deliberately left the Saturday before Thanksgiving thinking the parks, which weren't crowded at all during our visit, would fill up.

We checked out of our hotel, grabbed a late breakfast, and headed to the Magic Kingdom to do some shopping before we left-- we ended up riding quite a few rides because it wasn't nearly as packed as we expected.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Well we were there from 11/22-11/30 and the parks were not empty. There may not have been massive crowds, but I don't consider wait times of 60-120 minutes on the big attractions, running out of fast passes before 9:30 am and the crowds that I saw empty at all.

Now Thanksgiving day I was surprised by the smaller crowds at MK because I was expecting way worse, but that Friday at Epcot was packed!

Trust me, the parks were not empty, just manageable.

 

[Castle2Castle]

We were last there in November in 2011, the week prior to Thanksgiving week. Crowd levels were low and it was a very peaceful trip up until the last day which was the start of Thanksgiving week. On that day, lines were full everywhere with a 30+ minute wait even for the People Mover.

I can't personally speak to 2012 or 2013, but my sister seemed to think 2012 was busy, so I don't know that anyone can say the holiday crowds are a thing of the past. Even if 2013 anecdotes are reflected in data, it would seem to be an exception to many years of experience. And it makes sense when considering the reluctance of parents to take kids out of school and time off from work; Thanksgiving week is a slower time for many work places and the holiday means you only have to take 2-3 days off work to enjoy a week+ vacation. Just as that's been true in the past it will likely hold true in the future.

 

[GSUJillybean]

Well we were there from 11/22-11/30 and the parks were not empty. There may not have been massive crowds, but I don't consider wait times of 60-120 minutes on the big attractions, running out of fast passes before 9:30 am and the crowds that I saw empty at all.

Now Thanksgiving day I was surprised by the smaller crowds at MK because I was expecting way worse, but that Friday at Epcot was packed!

Trust me, the parks were not empty, just manageable.

I will say that even on the days we felt parks were emptiest, headliner FP ran out early. I think that's due to FP+ and not crowd level.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I will say that even on the days we felt parks were emptiest, headliner FP ran out early. I think that's due to FP+ and not crowd level.

Yup...lot's of double-dipping.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Well we were there from 11/22-11/30 and the parks were not empty. There may not have been massive crowds, but I don't consider wait times of 60-120 minutes on the big attractions, running out of fast passes before 9:30 am and the crowds that I saw empty at all.

Now Thanksgiving day I was surprised by the smaller crowds at MK because I was expecting way worse, but that Friday at Epcot was packed!

Trust me, the parks were not empty, just manageable.

@wdwmom...was all of Epcot "packed" or just World Showcase? During your whole stay which parks seemed the most consistently empty?

How about your resort...did it seem booked up?

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

Unavailability of fast pass is an indictment of their failure to provide enough variety to
Occupy the consumer...often the result of multi year periods of no attempt at reinvestment that is and has become the normal pattern.

This pretty much sums it up. The focus has been on squeezing water from rocks for so long that they haven't invested in new attractions or even kept the status quo to keep (ie closing of WoL in Epcot, swapping WoM for Mission Space, etc.) capacity handled at the parks.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

After all is said and done, it is startling that WDW was experiencing "light attendance/crowds" on Thanksgiving Week. Other tourist destinations are on fire during that week...just like WDW *used* to be.

Maybe it *is* because of the lack of reinvestment and skyrocketing rates for guests. It would be interesting to hear what was going on across town at Universal.

Anyone have a report about how Universal was doing?

 

[jeters_boy]

Maybe it *is* because of the lack of reinvestment

The new Fantasyland expansion cost about half a billion dollars. I believe that was the largest in-park expansion since the AK opened in '98.

Look I want new projects as much as the next person, but I don't see the "lack of reinvestment" angle.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

The new Fantasyland expansion cost about half a billion dollars. I believe that was the largest in-park expansion since the AK opened in '98.

Look I want new projects as much as the next person, but I don't see the "lack of reinvestment" angle.

I understand. I was just considering that it may have an impact. One thing is certain...*something* is keeping people away on what should have been one of the absolute busiest times of the year. We're talking about Thanksgiving Week and there was "light attendance".

That's horrible.

 

[tjkraz]

If memory serves we had another one of these "light attendance" posts regarding July 4th. A couple months later Disney reported record attendance over the fiscal year which ended September 30.

In recent years Disney has gone to great lengths to spread crowds out over the entire year. Special events like Food & Wine, Flower & Garden...promotions which discount packages during slower periods (free dining)...Marathons...Star Wars Weekends, etc.

Unless there's some downturn in overall attendance, this doesn't amount to anything. Low crowds are great for people who pay the premium holiday prices yet don't have to deal with oppressive wait times.

 

[mvk]

If memory serves we had another one of these "light attendance" posts regarding July 4th. A couple months later Disney reported record attendance over the fiscal year which ended September 30.

In recent years Disney has gone to great lengths to spread crowds out over the entire year. Special events like Food & Wine, Flower & Garden...promotions which discount packages during slower periods (free dining)...Marathons...Star Wars Weekends, etc.

Unless there's some downturn in overall attendance, this doesn't amount to anything. Low crowds are great for people who pay the premium holiday prices yet don't have to deal with oppressive wait times.

Yes, it was the same poster with the "light attendance" posts previously.

 

[Castle2Castle]

One thing is certain...*something* is keeping people away on what should have been one of the absolute busiest times of the year. We're talking about Thanksgiving Week and there was "light attendance".

That's horrible.

I'm not sure how "certain" you can say this is when it's based on an anecdote rather than any kind of numbers or other data. Numbers for 2012 were up, and reported numbers thus far through 2013 have sounded to be positive as well; seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill -- a molehill that may not even exist at that.

ETA: Touring Plans Crowd Report Nov 24-30:

Like most Thanksgiving Holidays at Disney World, the final week of November 2013 proved to be a busy one. The resort hit a level ’7′ on Sunday, November 24 and remained at that level or higher until Saturday, November 30. We’ve seen busier Thanksgiving weeks in the past, but still this was a very busy week for Disney World guests. . .

Even with a different profile from 2012, I'm not sure their reports indicate "light attendance".

ETA: Touring Plans Crowd Report Dec 1-7 says "Post Thanksgiving week crowds at Walt Disney World are usually a lot like pre-Thanksgiving crowds, lighter than average but not as low as early fall. This year, crowds during the first week of December were at or below average but higher than we predicted. In some cases, much higher. We under-predicted every day by one or two index points." Balance that against the Thanksgiving week and it seems like much ado about nothing.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I'm not sure how "certain" you can say this is when it's based on an anecdote rather than any kind of numbers or other data. Numbers for 2012 were up, and reported numbers thus far through 2013 have sounded to be positive as well; seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill -- a molehill that may not even exist at that.

ETA: Touring Plans Crowd Report Nov 24-30:

Even with a different profile from 2012, I'm not sure their reports indicate "light attendance".

ETA: Touring Plans Crowd Report Dec 1-7 says "Post Thanksgiving week crowds at Walt Disney World are usually a lot like pre-Thanksgiving crowds, lighter than average but not as low as early fall. This year, crowds during the first week of December were at or below average but higher than we predicted. In some cases, much higher. We under-predicted every day by one or two index points." Balance that against the Thanksgiving week and it seems like much ado about nothing.

Great info. I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, I'm simply surprised at the reports I heard, the "biggest" being from the MouceChat podcast.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Yes, it was the same poster with the "light attendance" posts previously.

Yes...that would be *me*.

So what? I'm interested in WDW's crowd levels. When I hear that they are "light" at a crucial time of year I think it's worth discussing.

P.S. You won't find a bigger WDW fan than me. I'm not trying to spread negativity about WDW...I love that place.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

If memory serves we had another one of these "light attendance" posts regarding July 4th. A couple months later Disney reported record attendance over the fiscal year which ended September 30.

In recent years Disney has gone to great lengths to spread crowds out over the entire year. Special events like Food & Wine, Flower & Garden...promotions which discount packages during slower periods (free dining)...Marathons...Star Wars Weekends, etc.

Unless there's some downturn in overall attendance, this doesn't amount to anything. Low crowds are great for people who pay the premium holiday prices yet don't have to deal with oppressive wait times.

Well, I'm sure you are talking about the thread I started about the "light attendance" in mid-July. Not the 4th 0f July weekend which I also heard was nothing to write home about as far as crowd-levels.

It's true...throughout our stay at the Polynesian from July 13-21 it was not busy anywhere. Yes it was *somewhat crowded" at times in the MK but that was it. Everything else was really empty.

Disney reprts a "record year" but everyone keeps saying there aren't crowds. Fast Pass being used up early in the morning is only indicative of Magic Band holder double-dipping.