Originally Posted By sjhym333 I have been out to the parks and property a couple of times over the past couple of weeks and I have to say that the parks haven't seemed too busy. We had friends who spend Saturday at the MK and said that the wait times were surprisingly low. I also noted online that SeaWorld has just reported a 9% decrease in attendance this last quarter and Amusement Today is reporting that there has been a 9% decline in the number of teens who are going to theme parks across the country. Are we beginning to see a trend? Are theme parks pricing themselves too high? Discuss.
Originally Posted By fkurucz It's possible. It's one of the reasons we haven't set foot in a Disney park since 2008. Or maybe some people are feeling not so confident about the future and are thinking twice about spending a king's ransom for a theme park vacation?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It wouldn't surprise me if the pricing was a huge reason that people haven't returned. I haven't paid full price to enter a theme park since 2005 (considering an AP is a 'discount'). The prices are nearly double what they were at that point, yet the park experience (both DL and WDW) is largely the same. If Disney wants to charge that kind of price, they need to deliver something fresh, new, and amazing; while I think they have a lot of great stuff, the investment in their product simply isn't there. Not at DL (excluding DCA for the moment), and not at WDW. Personally, the $100/day benchmark is really tough to swallow. Yes, it's in line with top-tier ski resorts and other theme parks, and is still less than many professional sports or theater tickets, but I think a lot of people are seeing a price that's $80+ and immediately getting cold feet. Even when you 'save' by buying multi-day tickets, it's still a huge cost (and at $60+/day, still pretty expensive for what you're getting)
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "We had friends who spend Saturday at the MK and said that the wait times were surprisingly low." Obviously attendance is a good barometer of how well or poorly a park is performing, but the real question is how is guest spending? Disney appears to have decided that the resort has reached its attendance peak, and aside from visitor spikes from an occasional new attraction or seasonal celebration, attendance is unlikely to experience the kind of sustained growth we saw during the 80s and 90s. Disney is banking on MyMagic+ as the next revenue generator at WDW.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: My sisters and I have talked to quite a few people who really want to go to the Disney theme parks but can't afford to. So Disney's greed has automatically cost them a lot of guests they would have had, otherwise. The ever increasing parking prices, alone, are enough to keep many away.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Don't know if that is necessarily a bad thing. WDW had become way overcrowded in recent years. Maybe it is better to return to a more pleasant experience for those who can still afford it. Get rid of the DDP and I'll be happy!!
Originally Posted By dizneed I feel that the lower attendance may be due to a combination of higher prices, park attraction stagnancy and inferior quality of merchandise along with the time of year for back to school. If I use myself as an example, my family and I were avid at visiting the Disney parks at least once, sometimes twice a year for a couple of weeks from 1988 up until around 2009, 2010. But, we found that in terms of new attractions or shows, nothing much was being improved upon or upgraded. Example, World Showcase at EPCOT even Illuminations ROE has become stagnant in my opinion, and I could go on but there are plenty of discussion threads on that topic. Disney was always our first choice of parks to visit, but I can’t say that anymore. Don’t get me wrong we still adore Disney but it’s lost its oomph with us. I believe that if the Imagineers don’t start Imagining new dreams into reality real soon, the “application of lipstick on pig” so to speak, will be Disney’s downfall.
Originally Posted By disney pete The prices have been hiked up too much i dont like the parks too busy so wouldnt mind it a bit quieter when we next go in 2015.
Originally Posted By Fantasmicmagic82 The price jump is not in line for what they are offering. We will go for a day next year at the Studios and the other 4 days in Orlando will be 1 day at Universal and 1 day at Kennedy Space Center and one day for a Water park. That is if we don't stay at The JW Marriott they have a nice pool area with a lazy river. They have for me just not added anything I want to do or haven't done in the many times I have been. And we get Florida rates. Even with that and we can afford it. Right now I think people are saying let's do something different and new until WDW offers something new. KSC and Universal have. Disney is just numbers now. All of you have made great points.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Some schools went back last week and some this week here in Central Florida. But we have been out to the resorts and campground several times over the summer and the didn't seem that busy
Originally Posted By tashajilek I will be going the busiest time of year over the Christmas holidays, so I will see if it seems less busy than my Christmas trip two years ago. I do agree that the priced really aren't worth it. I think for The DLR the increase is worth it with all the upgrades, but I don't really understand the WDW price increases. For me going to WDW is worth it seeing this will be my second trip, but not to repeat customers.
