Business Disney World Hasn’t Felt This Empty in Years - Who knew jacking up prices to insane levels while supporting groomers was a bad business decision?

Shorter wait times for rides and more discount offers are signs of thinning crowds at the theme parks​

The U.S. Air Force conducting a special Independence Day flyover of Magic Kingdom Park on July 4.
PHOTO: JAMES KILBY/DISNEY

By Jacob Passy
July 10, 2023 5:30 am ET

Visitors to Disney theme parks this summer are encountering something they haven’t seen in a while: elbow room.

Travel analysts and advisers say traffic to Disney’s U.S. parks, and some rival parks, has slowed this summer. Data from a travel company that tracks line-waiting time at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., shows that the Independence Day weekend was one of the slowest in nearly a decade.

Disney executives have said they have expected weaker earnings from their U.S. parks this year. The Orlando-area resort is even offering hotel discounts around Christmas, typically a peak period.

Travel advisers and industry analysts say the slowdown is the latest sign that Disney’s recent price hikes and changes to park operations have soured some families on visiting the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Disney faces a unique set of challenges right now, from streaming losses to executive succession to a political and legal fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Revenue from its parks division has long been a bright spot for the company, buoying overall earnings. Disney declined to comment on recent attendance.

A faster ride​

Park visitors in recent weeks have had significantly lower wait times to get on rides, according to data from Touring Plans, a company that tracks wait times at major amusement parks, including Disney World and Disneyland in California. Industry analysts say shorter wait times generally correlate with smaller crowds.



At Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in Central Florida, home to the blockbuster Star Wars attractions, July 4 was the third-slowest day in the past year, according to Touring Plans, which analyzed the wait times that Disney parks post on their mobile apps.

The average posted wait time at the Magic Kingdom park in Florida—which has a special fireworks display on July 4—was 27 minutes this year for the holiday, down from 31 minutes in 2022 and 47 minutes in 2019, the Touring Plans analysis shows.

“It’s something that nobody would have predicted—just unfathomable,” says Len Testa, a computer scientist who runs Touring Plans. Testa says wait times rose in the following days.

Disney and other theme-park companies can adjust posted wait times for rides to steer visitors toward or away from areas within parks. Longer wait times can also reflect operational issues like broken-down rides.

Speaking during the company’s May earnings call, former Disney finance chief Christine McCarthy said the company anticipated lower demand for the U.S. parks in the second half of the year, partly due to the end of Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Room to move​

Jaime Brown, a speech pathologist and Walt Disney World annual pass holder who lives in Celebration, Fla., visited the resort three times during the Independence Day week, hitting all four of the resort’s parks.

When Brown visited Disney’s Epcot theme park during that stretch, she says she walked onto the Spaceship Earth attraction without waiting. On another day, she scored a last-minute breakfast reservation at Topolino’s Terrace in Disney’s Riviera Resort, which typically books out weeks in advance.

“I couldn’t believe how light the crowds were,” Brown says, adding that the parks felt busier during a 2021 summertime visit.

Florida’s summer heat, humidity and heavy rains make summer a relatively quiet season at the state’s theme parks. The heat index exceeded 100 degrees on several days in early July.

Disney has also intentionally thinned crowds at parks, aiming to improve the park experience for a smaller number of visitors who will spend more money.


Wait times for rides at Universal Studios Florida also dropped on the Fourth of July compared with the 2022 holiday.
PHOTO: DEWAYNE BEVIL/ZUMA PRESS

Still, the July 4 lull signals that tourists have cooled somewhat on theme-park vacations, travel professionals say.

“From what we’re seeing with our bookings, that pent-up demand has somewhat transitioned to cruises and Europe,” says Greg Antonelle, co-owner of MickeyTravels, a travel agency based in Windermere, Fla.

The slower period at parks could extend beyond summer, says A.J. Wolfe, the owner of Disney Food Blog, a website focused on the company’s theme parks. Disney doesn’t have major new U.S. attractions opening soon, apart from a reimagination of the Splash Mountain ride at its Florida and California parks. Attractions based on “Frozen” are being built in Disney’s Paris and Hong Kong resorts, and a “Zootopia” attraction is due to open soon at Disney’s park in Shanghai.

Given that vacationers often visit both Disney World and the nearby Universal theme parks, Testa says some families may be holding off on visiting Central Florida in anticipation of a third theme park expected to open in 2025 at Universal Orlando Resort.

Crowds are relatively light at Universal Orlando too, travel analysts say. The average wait time with the Universal Studios Florida theme park was 28 minutes on July 4, down from 38 minutes in 2022 but in line with 2019’s levels. (Universal Orlando Resort declined to comment.)

The number of people who visited Universal’s two Florida theme parks in 2022 combined exceeded the level set in 2019, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Association, an industry trade group. Attendance at Walt Disney World’s theme parks was lower in 2022 than in 2019, partly because Disney has limited capacity at its parks through a reservation system it implemented in 2020.

Fan fatigue​

Theme-park fans have loudly complained in recent years about Disney raising admission prices and eliminating free amenities.

Stephanie Oprea, an Atlanta-based senior planner and director of marketing for Pixie Travel, an agency specializing in Disney vacations, says costs are giving travelers pause.

“People might be a little bit fatigued with price increases based on the economy at the moment,” Oprea says, noting that some clients have considered cruise or beach vacations rather than returning to Disney’s parks due to recent price increases.

At Disneyland, the company increased the cost of multiday tickets by 9% or more in October, with the price of a two-day ticket rising from $255 per adult to $285.

To attract more visitors to Main Street U.S.A., Disney has rolled out promotions, including discounts for return visits and savings of up to 40% on rooms at some Disney World hotels for annual passholders on certain days in December near Christmas, which is typically one of the busiest and most expensive times to visit. (Disney has offered discounts to passholders during that time period in the past.)

The company also announced it would bring back dining plans that allow visitors to prepay for meals next year. The plans, popular with Disney die-hards, were suspended in 2020.

Other Orlando-area theme parks, including Universal Studios and SeaWorld, have also started offering discounts and promotions for later this year.

The recent flood of promotions suggests that greater savings could be on the horizon for next year. “If I were going to Disney World, I would probably hold off until 2024,” Wolfe says.

Source (Archive)

 

[Dysnomia]

It's not just the economy. Disney's killing itself and they don't seem to care.

Well raising prices does help with crowding issues. Think the main issue is that in addition to rising prices they've been cutting back on services and rides in the parks a ton as well. I haven't been to Disney since like 2006 but from what I've read people who are into Disney are definitely noticing that they're getting less for their much more expensive tickets now.

I remember a couple of articles posted here about the food being a total ripoff. The pics look like something you could make at home for just a few dollars.

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

I work for one of these companies.

Money is part of it, but companies have True Believers. They started out in HR, because the hiring bar is so low that anyone who doesn't openly drool too much will get hired. Once the True Believers were in charge of HR, they were able to enforce "diversity training" and even make being diverse part of your annual performance review.

They also control the recruitment pipeline. For every three qualified candidates, you'll interview one white male qualified candidate and two incompetent diverse hires and be told that you are scored based on how "diverse" your team is. HR doesn't need to tell you that you must hire someone who checks off the BIPOC or genderspecial box. Other protected classes like age or disability don't count. You have to hire them, and you have to do their jobs because they are not qualified and spend all day at work talking about how being "authentic" means not working.

Companies went insane on DEI because crazy blue haired genderspecial white women and BIPOCs who want reparations for something that happened 200 years ago have enough power to make your life a living hell if you don't tow the line.

This is spot on and will also add that the True Believers are now a solid majority of management and boards of directors of most medium- and large-sized firms. Maybe some don’t care but if they still act as if they’re true believers it’s a distinction without a difference. Pretty tough to get hired and advance as a white guy. Not impossible but your qualifications need to be so much more than any woman or nonwhite that catladies can’t fuck with it. This is going to have serious ramifications as whites retire. We’re going to see a lot of serious issues emerge on a societal level likely in the 2030s and 2040s.

 

[The Nothingness]

Do you think mega amusement parks like Disney World and Six Flags are too big to fail while smaller places eventually close down?

 

[Flamin Park]

The pass costs $1400 a year and you have to pay for accomodations on top? Who the fuck has this money to burn on Disney shit? Plus having to pay for all the overpriced food and shit

You could get a really nice adventure holiday for about half that. And it's literally just reskinned theme parks

Jesus Christ Disney adults are insane

 

[Nobunaga]

>you have to make a fucking reservation which is a pain in the ass to even get in the parks
>fast pass system needs a degree with all the bs that comes with it
>instead of having some fun ambiance and actual themes you get some shit MEMBER X?????? clapfest
>rides become less fun
>jack the prices to high heaven because fuck you
>get rid of random cast members that at least made some things memorable/interesting
Wooooooooooow, bugged consumer mechanics dood ack ack ack ack

 

[Super Guido]

Other protected classes like age or disability don't count

Well shit, no wonder it's so hard for an autist to find a job.

A big part of it is because influencers are the New Age e-celebs. I don't quite understand it myself, being a generation removed, but a lot of my younger colleagues do know, or at least discuss these on a semi-frequent basis. They definitely fit the actor model too: all glamour and popularity and riches for seemingly no effort (it's not, of course).

I can understand the appeal of a seemingly "glamorous" life. My issue is more that it's selling a lifestyle that's unattainable to a lot of people, and the person selling it isn't that well-off themselves. You know how social media supposedly makes everyone feel like shit because everyone seems to be having a good time? Well this is more than just family or friends - this has an extra layer of sleaze because they're trying to do that same thing, but they're doing it to sell a product or a concept.

 

[Some Dumb Faggot]

Did the drag queen princesses scare everyone away?

 

[Ahriman]

What they're not saying is that the parks are also less crowded because they're successfully replacing "Families with Children" as their target audience.

They're instead targeting "Nolstalgic Adults", which basically means Manchildren, Wine Aunts, and assorted deranged super-fans.

It makes sense on paper, as these are adults with more disposable income than a family with kids. But in practice, it makes their parks filled with weirdos, season-pass abusers, and rich assholes.

Also, pandering to adults over children is potentially losing them a LOT of future customers and shitting up their brand image.

Also known as the Harley-Davidson marketing strategy. Spoiler alert: H-D's sales have been in the shitter for decades.

Harley truly did kill itself.

If you really want a chopper, get an Indian instead.

 

[The Ugly One]

EPCOT's food and wine festival is the only reason I would ever goto a Disney park. NGL drinking Around the World was a blast.

I thought it sucked. $300 to walk through the world's largest airport terminal, eating expensive, okay food and drinking expensive, okay booze.

 

[Kulee Baba]

Disney created this monster and made their bed, now they have to lie in it

Fastpass was such a great idea at launch. Don't want to wait an hour for the E-Ticket ride? Well just get the fastpass, go to some quicker rides and then use the fastpass to get expedited.

The thought of having to then bouncing around different rides at certain times. How's that a carefree vacation?

 

[Cyclonus]

Great, now we can start recycling all those early nineties jokes about eurodisney:

 

[SIMIΔN]

Also known as the Harley-Davidson marketing strategy. Spoiler alert: H-D's sales have been in the shitter for decades.

Harley needs to reach out to less macho groups.
They should give Dylan a call.

As for Disney, their hullaballoo over abortion shows they want more DINKs and less families.

 

[I-chi]

Disney died the day the cancer took Walt. It was never meant to be forever.

 

[Niggs Monaghan]

Do you think mega amusement parks like Disney World and Six Flags are too big to fail while smaller places eventually close down?

I think the smaller places will benefit bigly from this because it's cheaper to go to the smaller places.
For instance, in PA there's a pretty big theme park with lots of rides that is free to enter and the food is really cheap even after inflation. You have to pay per ride ticket and for the carnie games etc, but you can pick and choose what to spend your money on. It's a lot more economical for non-wealthy people and the kids will still have a lot of fun, and won't get accosted by male fairy godmothers.

 

[Snekposter]

The pass costs $1400 a year and you have to pay for accomodations on top? Who the fuck has this money to burn on Disney shit? Plus having to pay for all the overpriced food and shit

That's just it. Almost nobody. Its an extremely limited market and completely at odds with Walt's original vision of a theme park for everyone.

 

[Kela de Thaym]

The pass costs $1400 a year and you have to pay for accomodations on top? Who the fuck has this money to burn on Disney shit? Plus having to pay for all the overpriced food and shit

You could get a really nice adventure holiday for about half that. And it's literally just reskinned theme parks

Jesus Christ Disney adults are insane

Yeah, Disney adults are a breed of their own. People make jokes about consoomer slaves, but they are that to a T without any self-awareness/reflection whatsoever. It's pretty sickening.

As for Disney, their hullaballoo over abortion shows they want more DINKs and less families.

Perhaps, but with all their fucking around Disney is finding out that parents are becoming an increasingly uppity and vocal bunch, especially when it comes to their children. Guess the pandemic finally shocked the inattentive "throw an iPad to shut the kids up" sorts into, yanno, actually being parents and monitoring what messages their children receive from things they watch.

Plus, is it no surprise that a movie utterly devoid of any sort of overt socio-political motives made over a billion and a half dollars at the box office this year and absolutely pummeled Disney's theatrical outputs from the last few years into paste?

But yeah, Disney is totally going to pivot over the next few years to infantilized DINKs with disposable income to fund their overpriced, overrated IP fellating showboats if things keep going at the rate they are.

 

[Mukhrani]

I went to Disney once as a kid. Loved it, thought it was a magical, neat experience even though we slummed it the whole time, stayed in a cheap Orlando hotel, and didn't eat at any of the snazzy park restaurants. Have basically come to terms with the fact that I will probably never go back. The main thing that I remember is that the park was filled with sweet old people and other families with children - not spergs in their 30s to 40s who throw money around like its water and dedicate hours to planning their autistic fastpass speedrun of every park. I loved the water parks because they turned the lazy river into public transit, the days we spent there were just so relaxing - which is what a vacation should be. You could race other kids on slides, it was obvious that the park was made for families. And not once did we see a Disney Princess with a five o'clock shadow!

Family was the Disney brand, and it's pretty clear to me that they're trying to leave that behind, even as more sane competitors desperately scurry to take over their old niche. It's part of a pattern of corporations chasing short term profits - killing the goose that laid the golden egg. If Disney had just kept their family-friendly business model I would still remember it fondly and think 'gee, I'd love to take my kids there someday.' When you cater to children, you're always building a new customer base. Now I just think of their stupid, short-sighted greed and creepy enthusiasm for child castration.

 

[namelesstacotruck]

Six Flags is in pretty rough shape actually. I dont think Busch/ Sea World are doing great either. No idea how Knotts or Cedar Fair or hanging. Only Universal Parks are ascendant.

Disney Parks still make lots of money. Just not showing growth because others are eating their market share. Mostly Universal. Universal is ownes by Comcast. They are not your friend either.

 

[Kela de Thaym]

Six Flags is in pretty rough shape actually. I dont think Busch/ Sea World are doing great either. No idea how Knotts or Cedar Fair or hanging. Only Universal Parks are ascendant.

Disney Parks still make lots of money. Just not showing growth because others are eating their market share. Mostly Universal. Universal is ownes by Comcast. They are not your friend either.

Sea World has been on a pretty steady decline going all the way back to the 2008-2009 recession and then the Blackfish documentary a few years back. Busch sold their stake in Sea World and from the looks of things, it's been really sketchy on who owns the parks now. I'd be surprised if they manage to make it within the next 5 years.

Six Flags has been through some shit, due in part to current management prioritizing hiking costs to flush out lower income consumers as he believed the Six Flags parks right now were glorified daycares for teenagers and frankly? He might have a point. But considering Six Flags was known as a less expensive but still worth-it alternative to Disney in some parts, this move has been about as well received as a lead balloon.

As for Cedar Fair, weirdly enough Six Flags and Sea World were in talks to buy it out, but they turned it down. Not sure how they're doing these days, though.

 

[Kulee Baba]

Sea World has been on a pretty steady decline going all the way back to the 2008-2009 recession and then the Blackfish documentary a few years back. Busch sold their stake in Sea World and from the looks of things, it's been really sketchy on who owns the parks now. I'd be surprised if they manage to make it within the next 5 years.

Six Flags has been through some shit, due in part to current management prioritizing hiking costs to flush out lower income consumers as he believed the Six Flags parks right now were glorified daycares for teenagers and frankly? He might have a point. But considering Six Flags was known as a less expensive but still worth-it alternative to Disney in some parts, this move has been about as well received as a lead balloon.

As for Cedar Fair, weirdly enough Six Flags and Sea World were in talks to buy it out, but they turned it down. Not sure how they're doing these days, though.

Cedar Fair I think has been in a very stable situation. They've been a smart company, they don't go nuts chasing big media IPs, only personally knowing Knotts Berry Farm they never made it their mission to get the craziest insane thrill rides ala Six Flags.

My family loved Knotts so much we would drive over there only to get their restaurants Fried Chicken and then take it home. Don't know if their chicken is still that good but I think that's pretty unique you never really hear or a theme park known for its food.

But anyway all these themeparks have so much invested into them. I don't think they'll ever just go away. But Cedar I think is the most stable.