Current wait time surprisingly low?

[mickeyluv'r]

Yeah been noticing the shift from Summer being the busiest time.... for a number of years, going back before COVID.

Block out dates for AP holders have opened up, room rates are no longer "peak" in the summer. It's become the new "value season" - I've been noticing for a few years that it seems that August is now the cheapest and least crowded time to go.

Of course your likly to die from heat exhaustion....

Crowd calendar for summer 2017 was pretty typical:
most of June was Regular season
Last part of June through middle of August was Peak season.
Lare August to Labor day was Regular season.
Most of September was Low crowd season.

I've been going to WDW in summer for many years. There has long been a drop off in late August, but July 4th week was always very busy.

We usually take an afternoon break in summer, and the storms are an inconvenience, but otherwise we enjoy going to WDW in summer.

 

[DLgal]

Crowd calendar for summer 2017 was pretty typical:
most of June was Regular season
Last part of June through middle of August was Peak season.
Lare August to Labor day was Regular season.
Most of September was Low crowd season.

I've been going to WDW in summer for many years. There has long been a drop off in late August, but July 4th week was always very busy.

We usually take an afternoon break in summer, and the storms are an inconvenience, but otherwise we enjoy going to WDW in summer.

Rather than look at historic crowd calendars, look at historic WDW hotel "season" rates. Summer has not been considered peak season in a VERY long time. It has been a "value" categorized season for awhile.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Rather than look at historic crowd calendars, look at historic WDW hotel "season" rates. Summer has not been considered peak season in a VERY long time. It has been a "value" categorized season for awhile.

Phew! Summer is no longer priced as a season at all, by that I mean the rates are all over the place. They vary from week to week. WDW isn't even consistent from one hotel to the next any more.

On top of that, ticket prices and G+ prices all now also fluctuate daily. Hotel rates only tell part of the picture now.

That is part of why I why I picked 2017 rates. Late August/September has long been a discount season, but July was usually quite a bit higher. August/September is hurricane season.

And looking at this summer, having priced out assorted dates, Poly is pretty close to rack rate even with all the various discount options offered, but other hotels are closer to the 25% and 35% off rate. In the past, WDW discounts tended to be slightly more consistent. At least values to values and mod to mod and deluxe to deluxe.

 

[raidermatt]

Selling out early is a clear sign you have priced it too low. In an ideal world, you would sell out on the final day to ensure you have captured every last dollar possible.

That all depends on your pricing strategy. It is not always best to dynamically price to that level, which is one reason why many businesses do not do it. There are long term ramifications to be considered.

 

[PrincessJo]

I'm surprised that so many are shocked at the low wait times. Disney is too expensive now, the parks are filthy and in disrepair, and the rides constantly go down. Hardly worth the cost.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I'm surprised that so many are shocked at the low wait times. Disney is too expensive now, the parks are filthy and in disrepair, and the rides constantly go down. Hardly worth the cost.

While I respect that is your opinion, what you’re saying does not happen overnight and ticket prices, parks and resorts cannot decline to a great extent in just a couple of months but crowds have dropped greatly in 2-3 months compared to similar dates in other years. Looking at historical data, crowds are lower now than they have been in July for a number of years (removing 2020 and 2021 when international guests could not visit WDW.)

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm surprised that so many are shocked at the low wait times. Disney is too expensive now, the parks are filthy and in disrepair, and the rides constantly go down. Hardly worth the cost.

I don't know where you live but the parks are  far from filthy. You only hear when rides go down, but never when they run smoothly. Cost is also subjective.

 

[AustinTink]

the parks are filthy and in disrepair

I haven’t been to WDW in years so just wondering what areas are filthy? We go to DLR every year and the level of cleanliness there hasn’t changed.

 

[rwdavis2]

Hi everyone!

We go to WDW next week () so I have been non-stop monitoring wait times for a few weeks. Over this past weekend, including today, I've noticed that the wait times really aren't that high for what I thought was a holiday weekend? I mean, when I've just checked, BTMR was 20 minutes at 12pm on the 4th July?!

Does anyone know why this might be? Obviously we can't know for sure but I'm up for some speculation - particularly if these low(ish) wait times will stick around for the next few weeks .

Very bizarre but I'm not complaining!

There is along article about this in today’s Wall Street Journal. They reference Touring Plans as a source of information.

 

[Minnie1222]

I haven’t been to WDW in years so just wondering what areas are filthy? We go to DLR every year and the level of cleanliness there hasn’t changed.

We've been to WDW seven times since re-opening, all during major holidays or events. I don't see any area that can be called filthy. Some people see one overflow trash can moments before it was emptied and keep fixating on it.

 

[AustinTink]

We've been to WDW seven times since re-opening, all during major holidays or events. I don't see any area that can be called filthy. Some people see one overflow trash can moments before it was emptied and keep fixating on it.

That’s good to know. DLR is still very clean as well.

 

[Jrb1979]

UBS: ".. tough comps in Orlando .. UBS Evidence Lab data indicates that foot traffic in the domestic parks was down 23% yoy in F3Q (thru 6/24) vs. -5% in F2Q."

That's from an article in the Wall Street journal. That's not all do to the shift from summer to other seasons. IMO it's a combination of things. One being price, especially when you add in the cost of Genie+. Two being the end of pent up demand. A big on is no big major attractions are coming any time soon.

 

[Praying Colonel]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1678389529676337159

 

[Jerseyprincess317]

We were there June 28-July 4th. It was empty for the most part. I believe it was a mixture of black out dates for many APs and the 4 park deal and the heat.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'm surprised that so many are shocked at the low wait times. Disney is too expensive now, the parks are filthy and in disrepair, and the rides constantly go down. Hardly worth the cost.

Yea, I agree with others who don't have the same opinion or experiences you're expressing here. There are a number of reasons for lower wait times, including weather and an easing of travel from post-Covid revenge travel. But we've been to WDW a couple times just this year, and the place is not filthy and in disrepair. And yes, it's more expensive now than it was last year or the year before - but what isn't? But it's still worth it to us for the magic and the fun we enjoy, so we'll continue to get back. And if the crowds stay lower, that would be fine with us!

 

[Smugpugmug]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1678389529676337159

Something else to point out is that along with high attendance back in 2019, Fastpass+ still existed which absolutely wrecked standby lines. It made standby lines way longer than with Genie+.

I don't miss those 2017-19 crowds though. FOP regularly had 3 hour waits and Mine Train around 2 hours.

 

[Fitzwoman27]

I don't know where you live but the parks are  far from filthy. You only hear when rides go down, but never when they run smoothly. Cost is also subjective.

agreed

 

[BamaGuy44]

Yea, I agree with others who don't have the same opinion or experiences you're expressing here. There are a number of reasons for lower wait times, including weather and an easing of travel from post-Covid revenge travel. But we've been to WDW a couple times just this year, and the place is not filthy and in disrepair. And yes, it's more expensive now than it was last year or the year before - but what isn't? But it's still worth it to us for the magic and the fun we enjoy, so we'll continue to get back. And if the crowds stay lower, that would be fine with us!

You see this in any thread about any "slowness" in the parks.
"Well duh. OF COURSE the parks are struggling. It's obviously because of <insert list of common gripes people have complained about forever>"
Doesn't matter if the parks were at near record levels just a few weeks before, or that there are many factors out of Disney's control (economy, inflation, market uncertainty, etc) at work. My favorite is people pointing how hot it is in the summer. Like it hasn't always been hot in Orlando in the summer. Never seemed to hold the crowds down

Obviously to say the parks are filthy and in disrepair is a huge exaggeration. And wait times are becoming less and less relevant to measure overall park "crowded-ness" or attendance. Clearly bookings are down this summer and into fall or we wouldn't be seeing them offer hotel deals and incentives we haven't seen in several years. But that's down from what were probably close to record levels.

My mostly uneducated guess is that we're going back to a more normal pattern of ebb and flow in crowds, out of the post Covid pattern of busy season being basically the whole year due to pent up demand and revenge travel. Time will tell I guess.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

My mostly uneducated guess is that we're going back to a more normal pattern of ebb and flow in crowds, out of the post Covid pattern of busy season being basically the whole year due to pent up demand and revenge travel. Time will tell I guess.

Agree 100%. It's probably more educated than you give yourself credit for!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I concur with @BamaGuy44 we are likely seeing the new normal pattern developing for Disney parks. In 2019, business was booming- but that booming business occurred with incentives like ME and luggage transport that no longer exist. Makes it hard to do an apples to apples comparison since Disney isn’t incentivizing guests like they were in 2019.