Lack of crowds and Disney's response

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Disneyland was awesome at rope drop this morning. Rode Hyperspace four times in a row -DS fave right now. Then worked our way through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Going to SWGE after pool time. Excited to check out the GE Disney App game other posters have mentioned!! Fun to see if that makes the land more interesting. Thanks for the tip...and I’ll update our take on it tonight.

So was it pretty empty there today?

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Well, today is definitely looking like a holiday weekend. Crowds were very light for the first three hours in the morning but the parks are slammed now. We are heading back to our hotel now and are hoping things will lighten back up in the next few hours.

 

[bwvBound]

Well, today is definitely looking like a holiday weekend. Crowds were very light for the first three hours in the morning but the parks are slammed now. We are heading back to our hotel now and are hoping things will lighten back up in the next few hours.

Both parks seemed, to us, heavier traffic today than Thursday!

 

[alohamom]

Bottom line for me was ROTR not being open yet.

If it was I would have booked a trip and gone.

I am in Toronto and a trip out to Anaheim means jet lag, cost, time etc but I would have done it if ROTR was open-crowds or no crowds

 

[poptart90]

So was it pretty empty there today?

Sorry, missed this! Our perspective is from staying on property with EMH, which has made all the difference this week. By the time the park is picking up around 10-11am, we are headed back to the hotel to swim, rest, and continue to book MaxPass for the evening. So from that angle, the park has been very slow compared to previous years at this time. Also we’ve been watching the enormous queue for GE with the long SR wait time in the morning...skip that! Ride everything else. Then around dinner time, wait about 40 for SR. DS got to ride twice with RS and was pilot again both times. So here are my tips: Get there at rope drop and avoid GE until evening!!

 

[poptart90]

We decided to extend our trip here a few more days because the ride times and crowds have been great (from our perspective anyway) so DH talked to front desk about additional nights at GC. We were offered a premium view room for a negligible cost over the rate we were paying for our woods/courtyard view for two more nights & a “managers special” for one more additional night which ended up being the absolute lowest price we have ever had for a night at the Grand. Others may have experienced this, but we have never been given an upgrade, a price break on a fancy room, or a super discount before. So something is definitely different, I’d say. Hopefully others can use this info to inquire about other savings!! Can’t ever hurt to ask, right??

 

[gottalovepluto]

We decided to extend our trip here a few more days because the ride times and crowds have been great (from our perspective anyway) so DH talked to front desk about additional nights at GC. We were offered a premium view room for a negligible cost over the rate we were paying for our woods/courtyard view for two more nights & a “managers special” for one more additional night which ended up being the absolute lowest price we have ever had for a night at the Grand. Others may have experienced this, but we have never been given an upgrade, a price break on a fancy room, or a super discount before. So something is definitely different, I’d say. Hopefully others can use this info to inquire about other savings!! Can’t ever hurt to ask, right??

Wow! Nice!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Rumor Mill says Disneyland is implementing a hiring freeze and budget cutbacks in all departments immediately in response to the summer’s soft crowds at the parks and hotels. Guess the AP promo didn’t fix all their problems...

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Rumor Mill says Disneyland is implementing a hiring freeze and budget cutbacks in all departments immediately in response to the summer’s soft crowds at the parks and hotels. Guess the AP promo didn’t fix all their problems...

Yup, it’s a mess.

 

[pblack]

I'm still waiting to see if they may unblock some days for deluxe AP holders. I bet even if they unblocked just a few weekdays, not even weekends, for the rest of the summer there attendance numbers would rise.

 

[cdatkins]

Galaxy's Edge is crowded though and people appear to be enjoying their experience there. It's the rest of the park that is not crowded.

To me this means that Galaxy's Edge has not raised attendance overall, it has just sucked in more of the regular attendees.

 

[poptart90]

Rumor Mill says Disneyland is implementing a hiring freeze and budget cutbacks in all departments immediately in response to the summer’s soft crowds at the parks and hotels. Guess the AP promo didn’t fix all their problems...

Well I hate to say it, but I can confirm the article talking about the decline of custodial and other support staff. The bathroom cleanliness at the parks declined through our stay. And we didn’t even get housekeeping services at the Grand one day. Had to go track down extra towels, etc. Not a huge deal. But it was different and noticeable from previous years where multiple park toilets weren’t clogged with waste and trash wasn’t always overflowing. If they reduce more staff, I can’t imagine how hard the CMs who are left will have to work to pick up the slack.

I too am wondering if they are going to unblock APs...we are trying to squeeze another trip in before official blackout ends, so selfishly, I hope not!

 

[Elle23]

I too am wondering if they are going to unblock APs...we are trying to squeeze another trip in before official blackout ends, so selfishly, I hope not!

I had been toying with bumping our September trip to early August, but figured the moment I did that they would unblock all the APs!

 

[midnight star]

I’m hoping these low crowds help Disneyland slow down or stop the extreme price increases. Maybe even add more incentives to passes and tickets so people will come back.

 

[poptart90]

I had been toying with bumping our September trip to early August, but figured the moment I did that they would unblock all the APs!

Exactly my thoughts!!

 

[cdatkins]

If they want to cut staff, look at some of the Guest Relations kiosks. 2, 3 or even 4 CMs standing around with not a lot to do.

 

[Wikker24]

Following this thread, as we are thinking about heading to DLR in January and wondering if low crowds will cause Disney to offer more discounts. We had such a great time last January as the crowds were moderate, only a couple of refurbs, and we got the Canadian Resident ticket deal. Currently eyeing up vacations that are quite ‘reasonable’, but five day park hoppers with MaxPass and no discount eliminate all the savings. Will Disney offer more discount tickets to draw crowds, or will the new ride opening in Star Wars land do It for them?

 

[midnight star]

I’m not the best guesser when it comes to crowds, but what if ROTR still doesn’t bring in the big crowds? I wonder what Disney will do then?

 

[mamapenguin]

I’m not the best guesser when it comes to crowds, but what if ROTR still doesn’t bring in the big crowds? I wonder what Disney will do then?

Maybe incentives. Increase AP discount and or add a month to new APs. Another ticket promo like the spring one would probably help. I think with Halloween time and Christmas time the parks should have their crowds back, so they probably won’t have to do anything.

 

[gottalovepluto]

If they want to cut staff, look at some of the Guest Relations kiosks. 2, 3 or even 4 CMs standing around with not a lot to do.

Tha’s great. Unless you just want a DAS return time and are stuck standing there for 10 mins while the 1 CM on duty explains the entire MP system to someone who can’t Google. And then has to re-explain it when their Significant Other joins the convo. And then the CM has to demonstrate after assiting the guest with their purchase. Followed by doing it all over again because you were 3rd in line, not second and the second guest had a similar question but didn’t listen in on guest 1. There are very good reasons they staff more than 1 person at those locations!