So Many Changes at Walt Disney World

[GAcoaster]

MK didn't even hit 30k on a Christmas. I don't think surge pricing affects attendance that much. I think it's many different factors and I'm still thinking about them.

MK did WELL over 30K on Christmas day.

30K is a very slow day for MK, with most days averaging 40-50K. Christmas day was 60K+ all day.

Studios & DAK are busy with 30K

 

[Nick]

MK didn't even hit 30k on a Christmas. I don't think surge pricing affects attendance that much. I think it's many different factors and I'm still thinking about them.

MK did WELL over 30K on Christmas day.

30K is a very slow day for MK, with most days averaging 40-50K. Christmas day was 60K+ all day.

Studios & DAK are busy with 30K

Yeah, that's ludicrous to say it didn't hit 30K, especially with the waits the park saw.

As GA said, 30K is a below average day for MK.... the park can and HAS held over 100K on multiple occasions without closing due to capacity since the new hub opened (NYE 2014 & 2015). I'm not saying that MK had that many at any point this year because I don't know the numbers anymore, it only gets into the 30K range on a few really slow days each year.

 

[s8film40]

MK did WELL over 30K on Christmas day.

30K is a very slow day for MK, with most days averaging 40-50K. Christmas day was 60K+ all day.

Studios & DAK are busy with 30K

There are generally two different types of attendance numbers. There's the total for the day and the current in-park number at a given time. So I'm not sure what's being talked about here. 60K for MK isn't a big deal for the day. 60K at a any given single point for MK generally results in phased closings.

 

[epcyclopedia]

We talk about how much ground Universal has gained, but their parks each only do as well as AK and DHS which we all think are slow and need vast improvements.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Also - the main concern coming up is guest exit.

This year each area is getting a dedicated route to depart - MK down World Drive (with one way traffic on the roads to the resorts near it), AK to Osceola, DHS to Buena Vista then forced onto Victory and Osceola before being allowed other paths, Epcot onto Epcot Center Drove and Springs to either Hotel Plaza or Bonnet Creek / Epcot Center Drive.

MK and Epcot resort areas will go into one way traffic loop patterns.

And the 28th (tomorrow) looks to be a good day for the first phase closing as it's the first day they're clearing out employee parking lots at Magic Kongdom to allow backstage fireworks viewing guest areas.

 

[GadgetGuru]

We talk about how much ground Universal has gained, but their parks each only do as well as AK and DHS which we all think are slow and need vast improvements.

I think that comparison is only apt when you look at their resorts as a whole. USF + IOA are Universal's busiest parks worldwide with a ton of growth and expansion. AK + DHS are Disney's weakest domestic parks and are showing very slow growth.

Plus, AK + DHS have more land than USF + IOA. Makes those parks feel a lot emptier with the same number of people.

 

[epcyclopedia]

And the plan seems to be to use AK's parking lot as overflow.

 

[WAJAS]

And the plan seems to be to use AK's parking lot as overflow.

That's what I've heard as well. I'd hate to be rerouted to AK when I'm trying to get to MK.

A lot of road construction is about to start throughout the resort. MK's parking lot entrance and DHS's new parking lot entrance are both about to have construction. A few roads are going to be widened as well. Don't expect them to be not impede traffic as well. You all remember the fiasco that was Disney Springs road construction.

 

[tankart150]

That's what I've heard as well. I'd hate to be rerouted to AK when I'm trying to get to MK.

A lot of road construction is about to start throughout the resort. MK's parking lot entrance and DHS's new parking lot entrance are both about to have construction. A few roads are going to be widened as well. Don't expect them to be not impede traffic as well. You all remember the fiasco that was Disney Springs road construction.

Why are they spending all this money on so called resort improvements rather than new rides?

 

[SkiBum]

Why are they spending all this money on so called resort improvements rather than new rides?

While I agree that new rides are needed, infrastructure like roads and other improvements are needed to handle the volumes of traffic. I had friends stuck on a bus from EPCOT to DHS when Osbournes Family Lights was occurring and the 10 minute trip took over an hour.

 

[s8film40]

Why are they spending all this money on so called resort improvements rather than new rides?

It's probably important to remember that aside from the park entrances and a few other roads that these road projects aren't paid for by Disney.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

MK did WELL over 30K on Christmas day.

30K is a very slow day for MK, with most days averaging 40-50K. Christmas day was 60K+ all day.

Studios & DAK are busy with 30K

You're correct, I completely messed that one up. AK didn't hit 30k on Christmas Day.

As for DAK/DHS ane IOA/USF numbers I still stand by DHS and DAK being extremely over estimated either on purpose or by outdated statistics models.

 

[s8film40]

You're correct, I completely messed that one up. AK didn't hit 30k on Christmas Day.

As for DAK/DHS ane IOA/USF numbers I still stand by DHS and DAK being extremely over estimated either on purpose or by outdated statistics models.

I think WDW as a whole articicially pulls the numbers up for DAK & DHS. If you consider adding a fourth day is around $35 this is essentially the ticket price for either DAK or DHS. The fact that Universal parks do as well as they do when competing against parks that essentially cost less than half as much, it's pretty impressive. Another big factor is that for most people they consider these half day parks and go back to the others to re-ride some things or do things they missed on the first day at the other park. So it's not that uncommon for the park to get a lot of traffic and turnstile clicks as people come and go for very short periods. Take these parks out of WDW and I very seriously doubt they would be in the top ten parks.

 

[Mad Dog]

I think WDW as a whole articicially pulls the numbers up for DAK & DHS. If you consider adding a fourth day is around $35 this is essentially the ticket price for either DAK or DHS. The fact that Universal parks do as well as they do when competing against parks that essentially cost less than half as much, it's pretty impressive. Another big factor is that for most people they consider these half day parks and go back to the others to re-ride some things or do things they missed on the first day at the other park. So it's not that uncommon for the park to get a lot of traffic and turnstile clicks as people come and go for very short periods. Take these parks out of WDW and I very seriously doubt they would be in the top ten parks.

Good post. Many of the same points I've believed. Just one small change. I think they'd both still be in the top ten parks, but towards the back end rather than the middle. It would be interesting to see what the actual guest spending is within the confines of those two parks. I would guess it's considerably less than MK, Epcot, Universal Studios and IOA.

 

[SkiBum]

I think WDW as a whole articicially pulls the numbers up for DAK & DHS. If you consider adding a fourth day is around $35 this is essentially the ticket price for either DAK or DHS. The fact that Universal parks do as well as they do when competing against parks that essentially cost less than half as much, it's pretty impressive. Another big factor is that for most people they consider these half day parks and go back to the others to re-ride some things or do things they missed on the first day at the other park. So it's not that uncommon for the park to get a lot of traffic and turnstile clicks as people come and go for very short periods. Take these parks out of WDW and I very seriously doubt they would be in the top ten parks.

If you park hop, does the attendance tracker only count the first park you enter?

 

[GadgetGuru]

If you park hop, does the attendance tracker only count the first park you enter?

Million dollar question. I think Disney double counts but it's been a while since I've heard the whole story.

But, with Hogwarts Express and the close proximity, I would expect UsF and IOA to eventually converge on the same yearly attendance. I would imagine they'll tweak their attendance counting eventually.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I think WDW as a whole articicially pulls the numbers up for DAK & DHS. If you consider adding a fourth day is around $35 this is essentially the ticket price for either DAK or DHS. The fact that Universal parks do as well as they do when competing against parks that essentially cost less than half as much, it's pretty impressive. Another big factor is that for most people they consider these half day parks and go back to the others to re-ride some things or do things they missed on the first day at the other park. So it's not that uncommon for the park to get a lot of traffic and turnstile clicks as people come and go for very short periods. Take these parks out of WDW and I very seriously doubt they would be in the top ten parks.

Which also plays into the fact attendance doesn't matter when guests don't spend money or time there.

 

[Disneyhead]

Orlando International Airport set a new record this year with the number of people through the airport.

I am suspecting that only Disney's numbers will be down by a healthy margin. I would not be surprised if Universal is up slightly.

 

[GAcoaster]

I believe SeaWorld's numbers are up slightly as well. Mostly locals getting good deals and Rudolph seems to be a draw for them (and is coming back next year). Disney does seem down though.

 

[epcyclopedia]

I think MK/Epcot are doing within fractional amounts of their projections (which could be up or down for the full year, dunno.)

DHS is not meeting projections and under-performing. No question.

AK? Dunno, seems like it could be down but also that it was expected/projected to be down when ROL failed to materialize this year.