WDW and Disney Park Discussions
Even with Galaxy's Edge open Disneyland feels deserted, but that doesn't mean Batuu will be barren when Orlando's version debuts
By Travisma, July 10, 2019 in WDW and Disney Park Discussions
Travisma 1,157
Hero Fiend
LocationTAMPA FL
Interesting article, lets see if they predicted correctly come September after the big unveiling.
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/even-with-galaxys-edge-open-disneyland-feels-deserted-but-that-doesnt-mean-batuu-will-be-barren-when-orlandos-version-debuts/Content?oid=25621048
I predicted this summer would be the theme park industry's most dramatic season in half a decade, but I've proved prescient for reasons I never anticipated. In Orlando, multi-hour waits persist at Islands of Adventure's new Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure a month after its heavily attended opening, due as much to the coaster's severely limited carrying capacity as its popularity. The Wizarding World's latest thrill has struggled to stay running in the face of recent rainstorms, and the promised "virtual queue" hasn't yet materialized, so your only hope of waiting less than three hours is to enter the queue between 5 and 6 p.m. and pray for clear skies. Simultaneously, Walt Disney World's publicity machine engaged in an uncharacteristically public spat with the fan site WDWNT.com, publishing snarky official statements on the Disney Parks Blog rebutting the website's rumors that the Magic Kingdom's vintage Enchanted Tiki Room and Country Bear Jamboree shows are being retired, referencing "unscrupulous sources" without mentioning them by name.
However, none of this summer's Floridian attraction angst compares to the aftershocks accompanying the debut of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, which ended its reservation-only period on June 24 and opened for the general public to shockingly soft attendance. Instead of the Jedi hordes expected, the entire Anaheim resort was eerily empty throughout the typically busy Fourth of July week. Wait times for the headline Millennium Falcon simulator averaged below an hour (often a walk-on for single riders), and other E-tickets had unusually short lines. Meanwhile, Universal Studios Hollywood up the street started technical rehearsals of its reimagined Jurassic World raft ride, and approached maximum capacity on multiple days.
Disneyland's bizarrely low attendance caught most insiders (and Mouse management) off guard, and while it's a blessing for tourists, many are questioning what it means for the nearly identical Star Wars expansion opening at Disney's Hollywood Studios Aug. 29. Here are my two Spirian Credits on why I think Disneyland feels deserted lately, and why it doesn'tmean that Batuu will be barren when Orlando's version debuts in about six weeks.
· Die-hards drained early: The most hard-core fans booked expensive on-site hotel rooms so they could visit Galaxy's Edge a month ago, and already bought Black Spire Outpost out of much coveted merchandise. By definition, guests who waited until reservations ended were less eager. WDW has announced no similar previews to manage demand.
· Force fatigue: Disneyland remained open for 60 hours to handle demand when Star Tours first opened in 1987, but that came during Star Wars' darkest era between trilogies. Since purchasing Lucasfilm, Disney has pumped out new product non-stop, but box-office receipts from the Asian audiences that travel to California attractions imply that this franchise can't be endlessly milked like Marvel. However, Orlando's foreign visitors hail from Europe and South America, where the series is more popular.
· Attack of the passholders: Currently, most annual passholders are blocked out of the Disneyland Resort entirely, or banished to Disney's California Adventure. Disneyland's correlating drop in wait times demonstrates what a large percentage of those parks' population locals represent. Floridian passholders make up a far smaller proportion of WDW's visitor base, and most will be allowed in when Galaxy's Edge opens.
· Hotel Hell: Disneyland only has 2,490 hotel rooms across its three on-site resorts, and their guests aren't getting special perks inside Galaxy's Edge. WDW has 36,077 rooms across dozens of properties, and every one of those guests will be cramming into "Extra Extra Magic Hours" at 6 a.m. in a doomed attempt to beat the rush.
· Waiting for the chosen one: The Millennium Falcon is getting mixed reviews, and reactions to blue milk are meh, so some are delaying their visit until the Rise of the Resistance (rumored to merge several rides into one epic package) is ready sometime later this year. Orlando's version may emerge hot on Anaheim's heels, minimizing any attendance lag.
· FOMO > FOMO: Despite price increases, Disneyland attendance has been steadily climbing, and Mickey's marketeers – aided and abetted by experts like myself – emphasized what a mob scene Galaxy's Edge's opening months would likely be. Far from fueling most tourists' Fear of Missing Out, such apocalyptic predictions inspired Fear of Massive Overcrowding, creating a self-defeating prophecy: Like Yogi Berra said, nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded. News of California's low crowds could incite the opposite issue in Orlando.
· Nothing to do at DHS: Disneyland is Disney's densest theme park, with more rides than Epcot and Animal Kingdom combined, so Galaxy's Edge's 14 acres just gives it more breathing room. Once Star Wars opens, Hollywood Studios will still have barely a half-dozen E-ticket attractions, and adjustments to its FastPass distribution ensure guests will have few options outside Black Spire Outpost.
Tony reacted to this
Breezy2 13
Jr. Fiend
Interesting perspective and insight as to what is happening at Universal Orlando and Disneyland. The assumptive reasoning for low attendance at DL is a fascinating read. Will truly be something to watch when Galaxy's Edge opens in Orlando, without the reservation system, and the massive number of hotel guests with early admission as compared to DL guest numbers. Obviously it's going to be a totally different game with a different set of rules, dictated by the shear number of onsite guests. I think there's going to be a "big reveal" on crowd control coming soon. I truly do wonder how it's going to be handled. All we know so far is no reservation system but I would say its a sure bet some creative crowd control will be in place. We have our reservations in for October so hopefully it'll all be sorted out by then. Can't wait!
keith_h 365
LocationWake County, NC
5 hours ago, Breezy2 said:
The assumptive reasoning for low attendance at DL is a fascinating read.
If you are referring to the statement that down attendance is related to restrictions on local passholders that would be pretty accurate. Disneyland has always been supported much more by those living in SoCal than tourists. It also received a fair amount of support from people living in the San Francisco Bay Area as it is only a 1.5 hr flight or about a 5 hour drive. When I lived in SoCal in the mid 70's I would go to Disneyland at least once a month. At that time they would would have A list music acts on a regular basis and it was a good place to take someone on a first date. Of course it isn't as affordable so I'm not sure it would make the first date list anymore. Even in the 80's and early 90's we would get down to SoCal 4 or 5 times a year and hit Disneyland on most of those visits. It is the difference in Disneyland's and WDW's customer bases that make it hard to judge the public's response to attractions as Disneyland's is so affected by how Disney manages the locals which isn't such an issue in Florida.
Forgot to mention local support has a lot to do with population. SoCal has about 24 million people within a couple of hours of Disneyland so it has a large pool of people to draw from for day trips.
BradyBzLyn...Mo 1,879
Tag:I'm a shady internet thug.
LocationSouthern NH
In a related story...
Disneyland Implements Hiring Freeze and Cutbacks
Dusty Sage
UPDATED: 7/10 8:30pm – We have received some additional perspectives on this story from sources at Disney. In interest of providing balance, we have included those comments at the bottom of this story.
Things are getting serious at Disneyland where a hiring freeze and budget cuts have just been implemented in response to low summer attendance.
All departments have been asked to cut labor hours and make other cuts as necessary. The park had staffed up for the expected huge crowds for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. When those crowds didn't appear, Disney unblocked Cast Member admissions and launched discounted pass holder tickets. While those admissions do seem to be successful, it isn't enough to make up for soft hotel room bookings and short attraction waits.
Guests should expect to see entertainment, custodial, and non-essential labor cuts immediately at the resort. Among these are the shuttering of the Newsboys show on Buena Vista Street and a scaling back of the Lion King show, both at DCA.
There are many reasons why guests may not be showing up: waiting for the 2nd attraction in the land to open, fear of overcrowding, high prices, tepid reviews for the new land.
For balance, we are including the information below from sources inside Disney who wished to further explain current labor changes at the resort.
Hiring Freeze/Labor Cuts
We continue to invest in our property and have only recently added 1,600 new positions with the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge to be the county's largest employer with more than 31,000 cast members.
Like any business we adjust hiring needs during the course of year to match our business needs.
Positions do remain open at the Disneyland Resort: Disney Career Search
Disneyland continually evaluates and refines their creative entertainment offerings. For example:
Red Car Trolley News Boys
When Marvel construction required us to close the Red Car Trolley, we sought out a way to continue offering an adapted entertainment show for our Guests. However, as construction continues, and based on current viewership trends and the needs of the business, we have decided to close the show at this time.
Without the trolley, the show just didn't offer the same value to guests.
It's not unusual to make creative changes to a show once it opens.
In addition, Cast Members may be scheduled in other locations based on job knowledge and availability or work with talent casting to explore potential new opportunities.
https://www.micechat.com/230592-freeze-disneyland-implements-hiring-freeze-and-cutbacks/?fbclid=IwAR3ptsI7KsHyBVqcaF-3ZxwymKlgk7Mb36E-PCWG3Xxh5w5EBn-6FZeiaQQ
Busch Gardens has committed to staying open late every summer night till 10 thru 8/11 with fireworks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Not sure if it's the heat, rain or economy, but every time we've gone on a weeknight it's been like a ghost town.
Tigris, the newest ride had a 30 minute wait last night. Some of the other big (usually long wait time) rides have been 5 to 20 minutes.
Don't know if they are adjusting workers hours, etc, but I can foresee them not doing this again next year if attendance doesn't pick up.
Tony 15
Fort Fiend
Tag:"If you don't kill the battery in your golf cart, then your not getting your moneys worth"
5 minutes ago, Travisma said:
Have you rode Tigris yet?
7 hours ago, Tony said:
Train, bumper cars and walking more our speed, and I joined the brew club on fathers day so there's always a stop there.
ThemeParkCommando 16
Tag:Harold. He's that sheep there over under the elm. He's that most dangerous of animals, a clever sheep.
LocationSan Antonio, TX
SeaWorld San Antonio is building a new wooden coaster for 2020. Rumored name will be "ABYSS". Claim to fame is that it will be the longest wooden coaster in Texas. Our park is only seeming busy on the weekends, but attendance does appear to be up over last year. The new Turtle Reef area is drawing attendance, but right now they are shooting themselves in the foot. The new biofilter is not working as expected, I don't believe. The turtle aquarium was SO green with algae last week, you could barely see the turtles unless they were right up on the glass. I'm thinking it's currently a PR nightmare.
47 minutes ago, ThemeParkCommando said:
San Antonio is our "home" park since that's where we purchased our APs at a fantastic rate maybe 7 years ago.
Up until about a year and 1/2 ago it didn't matter, we still got all of the Tampa/Orlando AP specials like $10 Busch Bucks 3 times a year.
They stopped allowing us to get the good freebies, we still get lanyards, sunglasses, etc., and discounts where you have to kick in $$.
But for what we're paying monthly for our APs it's not worth trying to change them or argue about it.