Is Disney World quieter than usual this summer?
Featured, Matt Palm, News, Uncategorized — By Matt Palm on July 15, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Does this scene at Animal Kingdom Lodge mean things are less busy than usual at Disney World?
I had dinner at Boma in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge last night and was surprised to see the parking lot being improved with a large portion of it closed off to cars. The improvement work wasn’t surprising — repainting has to happen — but the timing gave me pause.
This is supposed to be the height of the summer season, one of the most prolonged busy streaks for the parks. Yet Disney was able to shut down a healthy portion of a major resort parking lot for days — and, guess what? There was still parking readily available.
There were empty tables throughout the hours my group spent at Boma.
Last week, I had eaten at Biergarten at Epcot’s Germany and there were plenty of empty tables around us that night. “It has been pretty dead in here,” our server told us.
Walking out of Epcot as Illuminations began, huge patches of viewing area around the lagoon were completely deserted. We arrived at Magic Kingdom 10 minutes before the Nightastic fireworks started and were able to walk halfway up Main Street U.S.A. with no problem.
A cast-member friend shared that Disney is offering them 60-percent off some hotel stays through August. More than half off for cast in the summer? Wow.
What gives? Where is everyone? Is it Harry Potter? the economy? Or have I just been in the right place at the right time?
Disney World does not release attendance figures as a standard policy, so I’m looking at anecdotal evidence such as this. Has anyone else gotten a sense the parks are quieter than usual?
Print This Post
Tags: Animal Kindgom Lodge, Disney attendance, Disney World, Epcot, Magic Kingdom
Tweet This
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
Follow Dewayne on Twitter
58 Comments
Possibly due to a Wizzardly Wizzard up the road. I’ve been there last three weeks and certain times it was quiet also normally Crystal Palace queueing for meals but i got in 20 mins earlier for my booking. When i visited Universal the queue for Mr Potter was unbelievably long with folk joining it at 15:00 and it getting no shorter. Good times as no waiting on other rides. Magic Kingdom also appeared quieter than usual but filled up a bit for parades.
I don’t think it’s so much Harry Potter as it is the economy catching up. Most folks pay for their vacations one to two years in advance – we’re seeing the result of the tank the economy took one to two years ago.
We are just finishing up a week at wdw. Usually come down at Christmas but the travel deals were too good to pass up. Crowds have been pretty big but arms to be primarily teenagers from Brazil. Most of the popular rides had wait times of 45 minutes or more.
Surprised how empty the restaurants have been. I think that reflects the economy. Could have snagged a table in Cinderella’s Castle just a few days ahead of time!
We are annual passholders that get out to Disney most weekends for a couple of hours.Generally friday night or Sunday morning. I see not sign of declining numbers. Maybe during the week but the weekends !
Especially at night it seems extra crowded.
We just got back on Saturday. Except for July 4th when the parks went to phase two and were crowded, we were surprised at how (for the most part) the crowds were pretty light. We also saw lots of groups of teens from other countries. One group was over 60 kids! Wait times weren’t too bad, except for Toy Story Mania. If you are there, enjoy the parks!!!
One theory – more folks are getting used to the free dining plan, and are waiting until late August to go. If things don’t get significantly busier a month from today, then my theory falls flat on its face!
I, also, think the parks are much quieter this summer. It definitely has to do with the economy. I really don’t think the potter ride has that much to do with Disney attendance. I expect that the economy will continue to dive and the parks get even less crowded for the next year or two. Even those who have jobs may be bracing for what will happen next year when taxes go up and more layoffs will occur.
I am also a passholder. I have seen the normal big crowds, expecially at MK and HS. What I have discovered is alot of empty tables at signature restaurants. That maybe a sign of people using the deals but not spending extra this year.
I think Disney’s decision to not build any major attractions over the past several years is catching up with them. Disney remains a quality destination, but it is less fresh today than it was five years ago. For the first time in six years, we have no plans to visit Walt Disney World this year. We plan to be back next year, but we’re pausing for now because there is no compelling reason to be there.
I agree!
It’s that stupid Disney Dining Discount. Locals could never get in to the restaurants because they were overbooked by resort guests. So, locals found other great restaurants in town, besides those in Mickey’s land. Now that the parks are filled with 16 year old Brazilian girls, who don’t particularly enjoy Jiko and Le Cellier, the restaurants are dead. But, where’s the locals? They’ve moved on..
Since when does Disney care about the locals! They have overpriced the average resident right out of patronizing their product. Look what they did to Pleasure Island, which by the way was 75% locals. Disney should have done a better job policing the place. Shame on them.
I think Magical Express may be playing a part in the decisions to refurbish parking lots this summer. A lot of people seem to be forgoing the rental car expense and using the provided transportation. I have seen parking lots in many of the resorts appear empty but there is no lack of people getting on the Disney buses at those same resorts.
July is the time for Brazilian guests! Pop Century and the 3 All stars are 100% booked. Restaurants may be empty but take a look at ANY quick service at Disney at any time… You’ll see how busy they are!
And Brazilians are always looking for discounts everywhere. They want to spend less with hotels and food to spend more later with shopping.
Summer Nightastisc, as I already said, seems like “Yesterday News”… While Disneyland got “World of Color” [Please, update IllumiNations Fireworks with the World of Color tecnology!] we have the “same MS Electrical Parade”, the “Magic, Music, And Mayhem” with a very little different spiel and they call it “Summer Nightastic! Fireworks Spectacular” (not original at all) and the Tower of Terror with new lights and drop. The Updates for the next 4 or 5 years will be great but we won’t have a real AMAZING New Disney Ride.
That just makes me laugh!
For the first time I feel Disney is trying to cheat me!
But I still think Disney is way better than any other theme park and they’re doing really amazing stuff for Disney Hard Fans
And about Potter… it wont even scratch Disney attendance!
completely agree, there are allot of people that can’t even ride the new Harry Potter Ride. You can ride anything at Disney and it doesn’t matter your size.
I think perhaps Universal has seen an increase in attendance due to WWoHP, but I’m not convinced it’s taken business from Disney. I think the same people who would have chosen Disney prior to HP opening will still be choosing Disney.
The restaurants are empty because they jacked up the prices to pay for the meal plans. We used to eat there once or twice each month but it now costs $37 to eat at Germany
I Think it is really do to Wizarding World. I mean when parnets are aasking there 7-16 year old kids where they want to go of course its going to be the NEW theme park experiance. Harry is extrodanary not happy dreams come true thingy. So its alot more exciting to attend IOA this year. Also perhaps disney has Finally lost its charm. “YA RIGHT” lol
harry can’t be the full problem wouldn’t make sense, he is just a surface issue. But free dining is coming up and was extended into december!! so maybe many people changed there plans because of that? only time will tell but free dining starts soon so we will just have to wait and see.
The Brits havent arrived yet…..They dont break up from school until next week!
hey!!!!!! there is nothing wrong with us brits!!!! we are going to disney and the end of september, never been before. hope it is quiet we have no patience over this side of the water!!!
In my experience, the most polite, and fun and interesting to talk to nationality by far is Brits! Canadians run a close 2nd….
Have to agree on the politeness of the folks from Britain. Amazing! Especially the kids. My daughter was swimming around a pair of scuba flippers in one of the resort pools, trying to grab them. Thinking the owner may get upset, I went over to the scene. A young English boy approached me and said “shall I put them in the shallower water for her?”
BRING BACK GREAT FUN LIKE THE ADVENTURE CLUB AND I WILL START RETURNING .
I agree. I miss it terribly!
Obviously the writer of this article was lucky on the days he was at Disney. I was just at the Magic Kingdom on a Saturday for the parade and fireworks and Main Street was PACKED! My friend and I had to weave our way through the gift shops to get to a good viewing for the fireworks show after the parade was over. My family and I ate at Boma’s a few weeks ago around 7pm and there was not an empty table to be found. I guess it’s just a combination of what day your at a park and a little bit of luck!
I bet it is not any one thing. I’m sure Harry Potter has something to do with it. There are a lot of Harry Potter fans out there; Plus it’s new. Never under estimate the draw of the next new thing. And Universal is offering some great discounts themselves–the pins I am receiving have been fantastic! I’m also sure some people are suffering from the economy. Those that need to save for 1-3 years now need to save for 2-5 years. Others are probably just building up their emergency funds. Then there is the trend towards less extravagance. Then there are other destinations that are suffering and offering great deals so Disney has more competition. Then the deals Disney offers in the Fall brings more people in, so others are probably waiting to take advantage of those deals.
I think one clear indication that things are slower than expected has been the continued discounts that Disney has been offering despite having said that they were going to be discontinued. When Disney announced that free dining was being extended thru the end of the year, something was up. A couple of weeks later economists are now saying that predictions for the economy were too optimistic. I say, forget the Fed, watch the Mouse.
Don’t underestimate Harry! The lines are still extremely long. It’s new and as someone said, most tweens and teens want to see Hogwarts. It will calm down. Disney will always be a major draw not only the rides but the quality of the cast members. I’ve been to Sea World, Busch Gardens and Universal lately and nothing compairs to the cast members at Disney. PLUS it is so hot here in Florida right now I don’t even want to go outside to see it rain and rain and rain.
We were at Epcot on 10 Jul. Went to Capt Eo first thing. Only 8 of us watching. Walked over to Soarin’ for a Fast Pass but the wait time at around 945 was only 20 minutes and actually took less than that.
Lunch @ Brown Derby. We were the only ones there until around 1145.
Sure seemed slow to us.
And of course there were the very large “groups.”
Other than that it seemed slower than normal to me.
Frank
Was at the Magic Kingdon Wednesday night – heard storys of 2 hours for Splash mountain and 1 hour for Buzz lightyear while sitting in 40 min line for rocket ride on top of people mover. place was slammed!
As a Florida resident (Orlando) for years I had an annual pass to WDW, but let it run out and have not renewed for two years now. Even with the new monthly payment plan for the annual pass until WDW invests more money into the parks and build something new I don’t feel the need or want to visit. But my friends are talking me into a Universal annual pass.
With the payment plan, we (husband and I) will probably think about getting a WDW annual pass. We’ve had our Universal passes for 3 years now, and we’re always using them. If you get the no-blackout-dates annual, it pays for itself after 2 visits, and you get free parking.
well DICK…Y fits you perfectly doesn’t it!!! Disney world is a big venue and they still have allot of repeat worth..obviously they just want to watch there penny’s,but shame on them right. It’s time to take the trash out of disney anyway, and trash belongs at universal…So have fun DICK with a Y!
I don’t think it’s fair to insult his comment with that kind of childish response. Dicky is making a very good point. From a financial standpoint, especially from the locals, they are excited about newer things. Even with the payment plan (which, dont get me wrong, has helped make Disney annual passes more available to local families), most WDW parks are out of reach for many people. As someone who has worked for Disney (both in the parks, as well as for their sales team), I can attest that Disney has held back on the bigger investments as of late. There is even talk that the new Fantasyland project may be getting changed and/or scaled back. Universal has created a very high quality product with the Harry Potter section, as well as with their various concert series. Just to let you know, calling Universal goers “trash” is an insult to most people in the city of Orlando (including the majority of Disney cast members who continue to visit their parks frequently).
Ted…put the bong down.
as a share holder,i hate to say,it.but i think the
high cost of,getting in at the world,has caught up
with disney. all most $100. dollars? i love that place,
but there pricing them,self out of it.when you can go to
universal.wait tell the new mk,is done!! wow..
Everyone keeps mention that the Harry Potter ride has no effect on Disney. It’s NOT the ride but the ENTIRE Harry Potter experience which is having an effect on Disney. From the shows, to the shops to being on the Harry Potter film sets and yes, the rides. And YES, I think Disney is being effected by HP. Disney at first to counteract it decided to bring back the most popular attractions and shows so people would have a reason for revisiting the parks…ie: Main Street Electrical Parade, Captain EO, Redoing Tower of Terror, again, adding Toy Story 3 figures to Toy Story Mania, redoing all of Fantasyland (don’t get me started about that!!), etc. This won’t be enough as there are 500 million people plus who have read the Harry Potter books and seen the movies and now want to experience the World of Harry Potter first hand. To taste Butter Beer & Pumkin Juice, to be chosen to select a wand, to use the Marauder’s map to walk down the streets in Hogsmeade and more. So you see it’s NOT just about a ride and it’s amazing queue area.
MARK MY WORDS….within a year, Disney will announce a Fifth Theme Park!
I’m hoping they dust off some old ideas, like Disney’s America or a Disney Villains All Metal (roller coasters) theme park.
Well that’s just my opinion!
Loser.
Hey Seriously, it’s nice that you know you’re a loser and are willing to admit!
a combined number of things has lead to disney attendence being down, including the poor economy,disney losing its magic weither short or long term to the creativity of universal and harry potter and not reinvesting in more rides or additions to parks. fantasy land is great but what is new for the guys. pleasure island used to be the place to go at night now it is a ghost town. Bring back the adventures club new and improved to compete with the harry potter experience of living the movie. reopen the rest of pleasure islands clubs at least until something can be put in there place. disney needs to renew,reinvest in parks and reward frequent returning guests if it wants its attendence to bounce back. if universal can pump up attendence by improving 20 acres with hp what is disney doing with its many square miles of space.
Schools here in the UK brake up next week so the crowds may get bigger.
However for the first time in about 10 years I don’t know anyone who is going to Orlando for their summer holiday. The prices for the UK tourists are high and unlike a few years ago when we could almost get $2 for every £1 the exchange rate is not so great for us.
People here are choosing to holiday either in the UK or Europe. Who knows maybe Disney will lower their prices for both tourists and locals if they have a bad summer. maybe not, but we can all hope.
If one was looking to inaccurately gauge attendance at Disney World and wanted to skew the numbers south, I’d pick Boma, the Biergarten, and crowds at EPCOT, especially around the World Showcase. Now if you said it was dead at Le Cellier and there’s a 5 minute wait to get on Soaring, one might raise an eyebrow. I do think however that Disney World in comparison to Disneyland and Universal Studios in Orlando is looking rather anemic in the new attractions department and having been to see the Potter land at IOA, they have definitely got a huge attendance bump. I think Disney World should move faster with the Fantasyland Expansion and a one country expansion for the world showcase at EPCOT is long overdue.
It may be I was just in underattended areas … but I did notice the wait time for Soarin was only 35 minutes — not 5, but very low for a summer weekend. And don’t discount the MK fireworks, which generally are mobbed.
Fantasyland when finished will be little princesses. Nothing for boys or adults. While WWOHP appeals to children of old ages and the kids inside of each of us! To really compete with Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Disney will have to up the ante and build a fifth theme park!
We are Brits and have been visiting Orlando since 1992, this year we will be back again – Florida in general and the locals in particular always make us feel so welcome. This year we will not be visiting Disney – the prices are now ridiculous, especially for single day tickets and a 7 day ticket is more time than we wish to spend there. So many other things to do!! Disney’s loss I guess.
Disney has kicked annual passholders in the teeth for some years now. I have sent letters which have resulted in telephone calls from the current and past VPs of Epcot. All I get is the corporate runaround – we do try to meet expectations, we do listen to our loyal visitors, yada, yada, yada. Yet cutbacks in entertainment continue and compound each year. No foreign entertainment at Food and Wine, no nightly entertainment at Flower and Garden, drastic cutbacks in displays at the Christmas holidays. I held an annual pass for 13 years and probably spent $5,000 a year at Epcot. When my complaints fell on deaf ears, I did not renew. I now go to Universal/Islands and SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Tampa.
At least Disney responds to your complaints. I had an issue with the renewal of my annual passes (they took my money but never updated the expiration date on the pass. They never responded to my emails.
AFTER my expiration date, they sent me a mailing regarding renewals. I could get another annual pass for $149. Funny thing is that I can go into a Publix and buy he same pass for $139.
The only park that has consistently given me a deal on my annual pass is Seaworld.
I am a local. We ate a ‘Ohana a few nights ago and the restaurant was packed! We called for days to get a reservation and they had nothing. Finally, I called the morning of the night we wanted to go and they had a cancellation at 8:20pm, so we snagged it. But the parking lot at Disney’s Polynesian Resort was completely packed and so was the restaurant.
We come to Florida from the UK every year. The trouble with Disney _ the magic has lost its sparkle. Its just a huge shopping Mall with every ride ending in ways to spend your hard earned money!!!
We will still visit, we generally pick one park each year unless we have friends who havent been before. But always enjoy the experience. Theres nothing else like it in the world, is there?
As we say over here Use it or Loose it
the trouble is the price for uk visitors we were in w.d.w 2008 a 14 day disney pass has gone up $100 per adult universal has gone up $35 per adult seaworld $15 the british goverment keep puting up airport yax duty but we will be back 30th sept 2010
Not supprised attendance down, i was a regular visitor to Orland and other parts of the U.S.A since 1983. But since the amount of paper work you have to fill in, then the customes check which takes for ever a.lot of people from the U.k are put off going as often. Im now going Dubai this year with the group i used to travel to the U.S.A with. I wil be back thoe, i love Orlando its people, and i do miss the friends ive made over there but will not be there as often.
Went last night to Hollywood Studios (Fri 07/17) and it was nearly empty. Tower of Terror had a wait time of 5 mins. Rock and Roller Coaster was 15 mins. Waited 7 mins. to get a table at Mama Melrose’s for dinner.
We are coming over from the uk in September! not doing Disney! we did’t last year either! No real new rides etc!! Potter for us this year!
And yes the customs people are so rude!!
We are British and we have been visiting Orlando and Florida in general for 13 years – every year and more recently twice a year. We visit the parks of course, but one reason for coming back is the people of Florida. We are always impressed how friendly and genuinely appreciative you are. So, although it’s much more expensive to get to Florida now, we now look at how to cut costs while we are there and one way is maybe cutting out a park or two and not visiting thwm all every trip. But Florida has so much more to offer than the theme parks – beutiful beaches, fantastic shopping, great food at reasonable prices and amazing people! We will continue to visit as long as we can!x God bless the USA.
A few of you mentioned Pleasure Island. They used to make so much money out there and now they make nothing. Why don’t they reopen some of the places until they decide what they’re going to do. I’d be out there every weekend.
Hi we are coming from the UK next month and we have read reports saying that everyone is staying away because of the oil spill! Something to do with the toxic fumes from the cleaning solution to break up the oil. This could be scare mongering but we are still coming, love MK and will visit WWofHP can’t wait. It will be good if quiter, as we normally have to wait for the resturants and rides. When we tried to hire a car most were already booked, that must be a good sign.
Good Day All! I just got back from WDW yesterday and can say don’t know where all of you where at. But our resort was packed along with the bus rides to and from the park. We had to wait on a table at our meal times and also all rides. Disney does not seem to have a problem with getting guest to come to vist them. We go every year so this seems to be a better year for them anyway. The deals help out alot.