Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Although Disney goes out of its way to say that its TEA numbers aren't official, ironically the amusement industry, including Disney, seems to accept them as the official barometer for how well the industry is performing.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I'm trying to come up with a good way to count attendance at the theme parks given that people own APs and multi-day park hopper tickets, etc. So just ticket sales alone, could never give you an accurate representation. My head is spinning. The park hopper thing really throws things threw a loop.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip The MK will always be the #1 Florida park. One year we visited WDW a few months after visiting DL. We decided we would skip the MK and concentrate on the other parks... we had seen DL park thoroughly and knew we had recently seen everything we would see (and frequently it was better). Besides, the MK had never been my favorite WDW park anyway. I left WDW that trip feeling like I had never really been there. The MK's iconic status is so deeply ingrained that it just doesn't seem like a visit to WDW without it. Pretty much the same could be said of Epcot, but not the Studios or the AK. As for the late hours at the MK... it makes sense. It takes far less staffing to keep one park open late than four. And of the four parks, I'm sure the greatest demand would be to keep the MK open late. The Studios and the AK just don't have enough attractions to keep people there that long. As for Epcot, I'm sure you could find plenty of people willing to keep drinking there until 1 AM, but is that something Disney would really want? Even closing at 9 PM drinking in the World Showcase is occasionally a problem.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo <EPCOT and MK are the only parks at WDW that I'd visit more than once on a single visit. AK is awesome, but there just isn't enough there to keep me interested beyond a day to make it worthwhile to extend my vacation. Same with HWS except that it isn't awesome.> I think on my last trip I spent the least time at the MK. I was in Epcot every day on my trip (I was in walking distance). <As for Epcot, I'm sure you could find plenty of people willing to keep drinking there until 1 AM, but is that something Disney would really want?> I know I was wishing for this.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I've done a couple quick trips (in Orlando for other primary reasons) with little or no time in MK, but time in Epcot and I didn't feel like I missed a thing. Granted, for both of those trips I was already planning my next WDW trip (in one case it was less than 2 months away), and I realize that I'm hardly an average visitor, but it can be done >>As for Epcot, I'm sure you could find plenty of people willing to keep drinking there until 1 AM, but is that something Disney would really want? Even closing at 9 PM drinking in the World Showcase is occasionally a problem<< During the Food & Wine Festival the last year or two, they've left the park open an hour later. It's not a drastic change, but it does prove that there's some interest in keeping it open later. That said, F&W has been getting a reputation as a drunk-fest for locals, so take it with a grain of salt As for drinking around the world, I think that keeping the park open later might actually help with it. The times that I've done it (or attemped to do the "Readers Digest" verson and just sample the highlights), I've always felt very rushed and ended up drinking more quickly than I should have. By the time most guests make it into World Showcase, there's only about 8 hours left in the operating day, which isn't much time for 11 or 12 drinks; spreading it out more might help keep people tipsy, instead of puking in the bushes
Originally Posted By darcy-becker For a little perspective from a huge Disney fan whose only been to WDW once. We had 7 days no park hoppers and had to leave the park around 1 on the last day. Day 1 MK Day 2 Studios - We left well before closing. Day 3 Epcot Day 4 AK - Stayed for part of extra magic hours. Day 5 MK Day 6 Epcot Day 7 AK This was back in 2009.
