Can we call it what it is? greed

Steve11874

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 12, 2016
So I hesitate posting this. But hear me out. I am a long time Disneyland fan and attendee. I have been born and raised in Southern California and have been more times than I can count. I have had the great fortune of going yesterday and I had a great time. And now I have to call BS about attendance. Much has been said about the drop in attendance in the park. A drop in attendance? Maybe. But let’s be honest. DL has been unbearably crowded for the last several years. It has been so bad I have recently decided I would not go again because it was so crowded it was almost unbearable. I returned because of the reports of low crowds and because I am a huge Star Wars fan. SWGE was wonderful and fulfilled my childhood dreams. It was well designed and I could not be happier about this. but let’s be clear. The park is not empty. Not by a long shot. It’s bearable. I was actually able to walk around without feeling completely crowded in. I had some room to move. But empty it was not. During the Main Street Electrical Parade space mountain was still at a 90 minute wait. During a dip in attendance. This would have been a long wait time not so long ago.

So the share holders and Bob Iger can talk about “low” attendance all they want. It may not line their pockets quite like it has recently but as a fan and long time attendee but I say good. I was finally able to enjoy the park almost as I used to. Even with a 90 minute wait for space mountain.
 
I agree with you. I go every year the last week in June / first few days of July depending on how the days fall. I LOVED the the park this year, great weather, long park hours, all attractions, shows and rides operational and low crowds. I loved the clear walkways, the short wait times, being able to find seats and tables easy at quick service, the great availability of fast passes all through the day , etc etc you get the picture.

Im sure guest satisfaction was up this summer
 
I agree with you as well and that's why we haven't been back to the parks in several years.
Sadly, we have no plans to go back either.
 
It had gotten ridiculous to the point of youtube videos saying it was a ghost town and showing a pic of an empty bench. All just for views. I had gotten my 1st AP last Sept since moving to the area from NJ. It was SUPER crowded and frustrating.

Now it just feels like normal crowds. People are everywhere but you aren't squeezing through the crowds constantly. I didn't bother trying to see fantasmic until this month as it was such a zoo for so long that I didn't bother trying.
 


I was prepared to disagree with you based on your headline, and I am still not sure whether you are pro or con, but (I think) I agree with you that price increases have had the desired effect. While DL attendance may be down, it has been widely reported that DL revenue is UP. Lower crowds present a better experience for guests, and if it takes raising prices to achieve that, then I am all for it. I'm not in the 2% by ANY means but I will pay a little more for a better experience. As long as they provide a better experience, that is!
 
Any day the parks are not at full capacity is money left on the table for Disney - of course they're going to want to do whatever they can to drive maximum revenue, but I wouldn't bet that their objective in raising ticket prices is crowd control. However, if guest satisfaction and park attendance are directly correlated, then they'll likely find a way to exploit this metric - probably by breaking down pricing for attendance to charge a premium for those days/times attendance is low for guests who prefer it that way. Look at the parties - the draw is supposed to be lesser crowds, and they continue to push the envelope on how many people they can get into the parks for these events. There is no altruism for less crowded parks.
 

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