Beyond Big Thunder

[Jwaire]

Guest experiences I would love to see return with an investment instead of a new land:

Magical Express, free FP+ (or Genie+) selections, nighttime parade/show, AK open at night, longer magic hours (before and after regular park closing), street performers.

There's probably more, but these were the things off the top of my head.

That wouldn't be an investment. That would be a liability. They've gotten away without bringing those labor intensive items back.

"As miserable as the pandemic has been, we had this opportunity not to just reopen those gates again, but to kind of restart, in a way,” D’Amaro told CNBC last week. “You don’t get these opportunities much in life where the world stands still for you for a moment.”

They had the lucrative revenge travel era, post-COVID, and now that it has died off—they are forced to bring back discounts, make park investments, perform overdue maintenance, etc.

The best thing to improve the guest experience at Walt Disney World would be for people to stop going and start visiting their competitors.

 

[ttintagel]

I'd be happy if they came out and said, "We're not building anything new this year, but we're making a commitment to make sure that everything we currently have is running at peak performance and peak capacity, with adequate staffing and maintenance."

Honestly, a lot of the crowding problems would get a lot better if every attraction, restaurant, and shop was always open and running at capacity. And when they do build new attractions, capacity needs to be a higher priority than it currently is.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I'd be happy if they came out and said, "We're not building anything new this year, but we're making a commitment to make sure that everything we currently have is running at peak performance and peak capacity, with adequate staffing and maintenance."

Honestly, a lot of the crowding problems would get a lot better if every attraction, restaurant, and shop was always open and running at capacity. And when they do build new attractions, capacity needs to be a higher priority than it currently is.

I would be happy with that as well. I don't need something new all the time and I don't get the constant whining about "WDW's lack of response to EU." But that's not how marketing works. I think that would only work for some of the die-hard fans/repeat visitors, folks connected to Disney news frequently... though many will still complain that WDW isn't building anything new. Regardless, they also have to cater to the average guest who isn't a yearly visitor and isn't plugged in to Disney stuff constantly.

 

[ttintagel]

I would be happy with that as well. I don't need something new all the time and I don't get the constant whining about "WDW's lack of response to EU." But that's not how marketing works. I think that would only work for some of the die-hard fans/repeat visitors, folks connected to Disney news frequently... though many will still complain that WDW isn't building anything new. Regardless, they also have to cater to the average guest who isn't a yearly visitor and isn't plugged in to Disney stuff constantly.

I don't know, Disney's publicity and PR department has been one of their weakest links in recent years. If they got behind a proper publicity campaign promising increased capacity and smoother operations that led to a better guest experience, I think they could really get some traction.

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't know, Disney's publicity and PR department has been one of their weakest links in recent years. If they got behind a proper publicity campaign promising increased capacity and smoother operations that led to a better guest experience, I think they could really get some traction.

And yet the parks are experiencing higher levels of attendance

 

[Jwaire]

And yet the parks are experiencing higher levels of attendance

Attendance dropped substantially during Q4 2023 and Q1 2024. They reported it on their earnings call. And we are still nowhere near pre-COVID levels. They were barely hitting it during the revenge travel era.

It's not as crowded as people think. There's just less to do.

 

[clarker99]

Attendance dropped substantially during Q4 2023 and Q1 2024. They reported it on their earnings call. And we are still nowhere near pre-COVID levels. They were barely hitting it during the revenge travel era.

It's not as crowded as people think. There's just less to do.

We have addressed this in other threads and attendance is likely not down substantially.

Q4FY23 domestic attendance was up 5% vs Q4FY22. They did not mention anything about attendance being down at WDW. I did the math for everyone here and WDW was more than likely up vs the previous yr quarter:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/crowd-outlook.3918282/post-65170415

Q1FY24 domestic attendance was at 0% growth. WDW was down as they mention in the notes. How much do you think WDW was down?

With a 0% domestic growth:

if WDW was:
-1% = DLR was up approx 1.5-2%
-2.5% = DLR up 4-4.5%
-5% = DLR up 7.5-9%

Hard to believe DLR was up more than 2% but possibly.

 

[Brian Noble]

"Substantially" is maybe a bit severe. The actual language they used was:

A decrease [in financial performance] at Walt Disney World Resort reflecting a modest decrease in revenues and higher
costs. These impacts were due to:
▪ Lower volumes due to decreases in attendance and occupied room nights, both of which
reflected the comparison to the 50th anniversary celebration in the prior-year quarter
▪ Higher costs due to inflation, partially offset by cost saving initiatives and lower
depreciation
▪ Increased guest spending due to higher average ticket prices, partially offset by lower
average daily room rates

Interestingly, Disneyland's attendance was up, but also did not have a major anniversary event in the year-prior quarter. And Experiences overall is going gangbusters: "At Experiences, we generated all-time records in revenue, operating income, and operating margin in the first quarter,"

 

[clarker99]

Attendance dropped substantially during Q4 2023 and Q1 2024. They reported it on their earnings call. And we are still nowhere near pre-COVID levels. They were barely hitting it during the revenge travel era.

It's not as crowded as people think. There's just less to do.

Also, if you look at the Florida tourism numbers, post-covid was definitely higher than pre-covid. Add in Florida residents also travelling around Florida and visiting various hotspots and I think it is pretty safe to say that attendance levels were probably higher in 2022/23 vs. 2019.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/crowd-outlook.3918282/post-65380813

 

[BostonEd]

The fact is, while I welcome expansion, MK needs it the least. They could bring back some street performers, etc. and that would make a big difference (not to mention general maintenance). The other parks are where they really need more attractions.

Not much else needs to be said. Thread closed!

 

[starlite_]

Well, as they say, nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
Disney used to be a leader in innovation, giving people adventures and experiences they never even knew they wanted, taking risks and telling stories about good and evil, challenges and triumphs, heroes and villains and monsters, happiness and sadness, fear and bravery, friends and enemies, love and hate and life and death. It's a bad sign if their new creative trajectory is just cheap fan pandering.

So according to you, liking Disney Villains = being stupid. Wow.