Why is attendance up?

[Giselle]

I read on other posts that attendance at DW is going up. Any guesses as to how this can be considering the economic situation? Is there official information to track the crowds year to year? Just wondering . . .

[jonahbear2006]

From what I understood it isnt. I thought I had read earlier in the year that they were down by about 30%.

[waymickey]

I heard the same that attendance is down. When we were there in August POP century was only half booked. We found this out because a friend works for disney.

[Melanie]

Not sure about hotel bookings, but attendance in the parks is certainly not down. For the 2+ years I've been local, I can tell you firsthand there's hardly a time of low crowds anymore. It's crazy!

[johnO]

More booking deals, that last longer.

[Ian]

I think people may be confusing theme park revenue (which was reported earlier in the year as being down somewhere around 30%) with attendance.

Disney has been offering so many specials and deals that foot traffic in the parks is actually probably up. The issue is that with the discounts combined with reduced guest spending in general, that the per-guest revenue number is probably significantly lower.

When you think about the number of guests WDW puts through the turnstiles on an annual basis (probably somewhere around 15,000,000 people a year) a decrease in spending per guest of just $5-$10 (which is nothing) can obviously lead to significantly reduced revenue.

[PopPhan]

I think people may be confusing theme park revenue (which was reported earlier in the year as being down somewhere around 30%) with attendance.

I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement --- attendance up - revenues down.

Disney has been offering so many specials and deals that foot traffic in the parks is actually probably up. The issue is that with the discounts combined with reduced guest spending in general, that the per-guest revenue number is probably significantly lower.

When you think about the number of guests WDW puts through the turnstiles on an annual basis (probably somewhere around 15,000,000 people a year) a decrease in spending per guest of just $5-$10 (which is nothing) can obviously lead to significantly reduced revenue.

And yet, Disney keeps increasing their prices on everything....

If they really wanted to increase revenues, they should really think about 'price points' -- prices that will keep people spending in the park and bring in new 'buyers', rather than discouraging in-park/resort purchases.

A 10% across-the-board decrease in merchandise/dining/etc. pricing, while leaving resort room pricing at its current level, cut back on a few of the discounts (or keep them all if there aren't enough "heads-in-beds") could increase their revenues by as much as 25% by enticing those 'borderline' buyers to let go of some (more) of their hard-earned cash on food/souvenirs/etc.

But....what do I know? I'm just a software engineer, not an economist!!

[Ian]

I've said the exact same thing, actually. I obviously don't run Disney, but I do have a senior leadership position in a small business and, considering that it's an ad agency, I do know a little bit about things like PR and marketing.

I think Disney had a golden opportunity back in 2009 to say to the general public (i.e their customers), "Listen ... we hear you. We know times are tough. In recognition of that, this year we're going to roll back our ticket prices to pre-recession levels." and then they could have cut prices by 10% or 15% or something.

Instead, they stuck their heads in the sand, announced they were opening a neigborhood of $1 million plus homes in the Magic Kingdom's backyard (during, arguably, the biggest class war in the history of this country), and raised prices the next three years by historically large percentages.

So instead of earning a slew of positive press, reinforcing their relationship with their customer base, and generally coming off looking like heroes (and packing the parks in the process), they just ended up having to continue to ply the general public with huge discount after discount. This despite them proclaiming every year that they were going to start, " ... weaning the public off discounts!"

I don't get it!

[DizneyRox]

I've said the exact same thing, actually. I obviously don't run Disney, but I do have a senior leadership position in a small business and, considering that it's an ad agency, I do know a little bit about things like PR and marketing.

I think Disney had a golden opportunity back in 2009 to say to the general public (i.e their customers), "Listen ... we hear you. We know times are tough. In recognition of that, this year we're going to roll back our ticket prices to pre-recession levels." and then they could have cut prices by 10% or 15% or something.

Instead, they stuck their heads in the sand, announced they were opening a neigborhood of $1 million plus homes in the Magic Kingdom's backyard (during, arguably, the biggest class war in the history of this country), and raised prices the next three years by historically large percentages.

So instead of earning a slew of positive press, reinforcing their relationship with their customer base, and generally coming off looking like heroes (and packing the parks in the process), they just ended up having to continue to ply the general public with huge discount after discount. This despite them proclaiming every year that they were going to start, " ... weaning the public off discounts!"

I don't get it!

It's looking more and more like we're going to be on another cruise next year too.

Sorry Charlie.. Errr Disney...

[SBETigg]

In bad times, people look for things that make them forget their troubles and feel good. People still want to spend money on vacations, even if it means cutting corners elsewhere, and Disney presents some surprisingly affordable vacation options plus a very happy fantasy-based experience. And even when even the "more affordable" seems steep, you see people risking their financial reputation for the sake of a few days' escape from reality. I've seen any number of posts here with people saying things like "I'm out of work, but I already planned my Disney vacation- should I go anyway?" People want the escape, often really need it, so... they find a way to make it work. Honestly, there are probably few regrets from people who cut corners to go on a Disney vacation at cost of other things in life. Plus, I think there are a lot of locals who take a Disney day as a more economical staycation option than traveling distances to go elsewhere.

[kemps@wdw]

Why? The biggest bang for your $ of course!Even with prices increasing over the years, WDW is still 47 square miles of non-stop fun, something for everyone, do it all or do nothing, any age and any nationality welcome, open all day, every day, all year long in any kind of weather, multiple types of transportation, every type of food preference, value to deluxe accomodations, 1st class entertainment, dining experiences 2nd to none, and...probably the friendliest staff on the PLANET! Now, what other vacation destination can pull all this off, effortlessly I might add? Only @ WDW!

[BigRedDad]

My on this is that foreign travelers have better exchange rates and people in the US foresee another recession. If they want a trip, they want to take it before a second recession while they have employment. Plus, there are some decent packages out there.