Opinion: Walt Disney World didn't have a great summer
Posted
From the piece:
The world's most visited theme-park resort -- home to Magic Kingdom, the world's most visited theme park -- is wrapping up what will likely be remembered as a disappointing season. Attendance has fallen at Disney World for the March and June quarters, and it won't be a surprise if the pivotal September quarter also falls short of last year's turnstile clicks.
The media giant didn't do its Florida resort any favors, playing a starring role in most (but not all) of the reasons why its attendance is moving lower this year.
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I respect Rick's opinion (he was a podcast guest of ours back in the day), but I think he stops short where he may have had the answer, that any dip in attendance is by design. Attendance without regard to revenue, per capita spending and hotel occupancy I think misses the bigger picture. Iger himself indicated that they would be OK with less people spending more because it's a better experience. I don't think the annual pass price hikes are a problem either. This year we took the passes with blackout dates around Christmas and spring break, but we paid about the same we did last year. Assuming our per-visit spending is the same (it's probably higher given higher food prices), our net spend is still likely higher, because we never visited those busy weeks anyway. AP holders take up space and don't spend very much money, and I doubt you want them crowding the lines for Space Mountain.
With reported higher occupancy rates, and a crazy amount of premium up-charge options, I suspect they're doing fine.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
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