So where are the Summer Crowds?

[Darkbeer]

I have noticed very light crowds (for Peak Summer season) when I have gone to the DLR since June 30th.

Here are a few shots from my last visit (Sunday, July 9th)

A couple of shots of DCA crowds from the Monorail around 2:30 PM

http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/...80614259/Large

http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/...80614642/Large

Then the Disneyland wait board

http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/...80625990/Large

And then the Parade of Dreams along Main Street (these photos were at 3:25 PM, the Parade had already started at the small world end at 3:15 PM, and should be on Main Street in about 10 minutes)


http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/...80674365/Large

http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/gallery/...80676203/Large

Of course, there are a few more shots in the album...

But that is a very small crowd... I have seen off-season weekdays with more people along Main Street than yesterday.

So where are the guests?

It looks like a bunch of factors.

The weather lately has been hot and more humid than normal, but that really should only effect the locals, as visitors have already invested a lot of money in airfare (or gas and other car expenses) and hotels, plus many have pre-paid tickets as part of their packages.

Reports have hotel rooms being available at many locations, both on-property and off in the next few weeks.

Has the 50th Celebration been overplayed? Attendance was up last summer when Disney was strongly promoting the event. Also, some Disney fans decided to not visit in 2004 and early 2005 due to the combination of the large amount of refurbs and wanting to wait until the 50th started.

Has the 50th help shift the local attendance? Once again, strong promotion had many locals attend in 2005. Some families are just not that much into theme parks, and find an expense of $200 and up for a day (based on tickets, parking, food, drink and merchandise for a family) not worth doing more than once every few years. Plus many SoCal folks were persuaded to convert to a Disneyland AP (using the ticket sellers, plus special handouts that came with the tickets, and other AP advertising). Many of these folks decided to get the SoCal or SoCal Select AP, which are blocked out for all of July and much of August. So locals need to have a Deluxe or Premium AP to visit yesterday, or buy a Blockout Pass for $30, or pay for a new ticket (non AP holders). So did the heat help keep the locals away?

It was a busy day in Sports, heck the reason I was at the DLR was the World Cup, folks started to line up before 9 AM, and the place was full, and folks were turned away before the game even started. Plus you had the Wimbleton Men's Championship, plus NASCAR and the last day of baseball before the All-Star break, but many days have lots of sports, and I have seen Disneyland busier during NFL season, including the playoffs.

Is it the costs of travelling to the DLR? Gas prices are up, which also make airlines fares go up. Last year crowds have allowed hotels to raise their prices, and they are not wanting to go back to the lower rates, even if there have been quite a few new and rebuilt hotel room added in the last few months.

Of course, Disney has raised admission and other prices throughout the resort.

Have many folks just decided to not go (or come back) in general? Is promoting some minor changes to a decades old attraction a good thing as the major marketing push?

So why are the folks not going to Disneyland and DCA?

[junglemom]

I am glad...My friend is taking her kids this weekend for the first time. I am glad she won't have hectic crowds to tend with. I gave her as many tips as I coudl to make it a magical trip!

[infinite]

My husband has a business trip coming up and will be in the area is about a week, he offered to tae us all with him to visit Disneyland, and the boys said No, we dont want to go when it is crowded, we will wait until Fall. Maybe people are remembering last Summer, and have decided to put off their trips until Fall, so they avoid crowds. Of course not this means it will be crowded this Falloh dear!

Also, around here almost half of our schools ar year round, and while all of the children had June almost half of the year-round kids went back to school this month.

Now I need to talk the boys into going next week, don't I?

[Goosegirl]

We are going to be there 2 weeks from today, so that is 4 more people.

I am hoping the crowds stay small for our sake. But I am working on booking my trip right now and some hotels that were available just this morning have been booking up today.

[DianeM]

I wonder if the heavy crowds last year aren't scaring people off. The crowds last year sounded horrible, and I'm betting that there were a lot of not so happy customers going home and telling all their friends not to visit DL during the summer. As word spreads that crowds are small, the problem (for Disney Corp, not for the visitors) should take care of itself.

So why are the folks not going to Disneyland and DCA?

[Tinkermommy]

I know I've been hesitant to go this summer because of the crowds. This past year has been so unlike the two previous years that we've had APs in that I haven't been on a single day when it didn't feel over-crowded. And some of the guests have seemed, to me, to be crankier this past year.

However, it's killin' me that we haven't been on Pirates yet, and some of our once-a-year friends have, so I'm gonna suck it up and go Friday. You can, therefore, pretty much count on Friday bringing an end to the slower-than-usual days...LOL!!

[SteveK]

I noticed it was quite lite on 6/28 as well when I thought it would be packed. That being said it was very crowded on 6/26 when Pirates re-opened.

One thing I will say regarding your parade shot is that the areas that are empty on main street are in directly sunlight and as you pointed out, it has been very hot. There is no way I'd subject my family or myself to sitting in that sun to wait for the parade...notice that the shady side of the street is packed.

-Steve

[Darkbeer]

I noticed it was quite lite on 6/28 as well when I thought it would be packed. That being said it was very crowded on 6/26 when Pirates re-opened.

One thing I will say regarding your parade shot is that the areas that are empty on main street are in directly sunlight and as you pointed out, it has been very hot. There is no way I'd subject my family or myself to sitting in that sun to wait for the parade...notice that the shady side of the street is packed.

-Steve

The shady side was not packed, it was somewhat full, but had gaps in it.... I have seen at least twice as many folks in the same area of Main Street on a busy day. I did state that heat was a factor, but why only a 5 minute wait for it's a small world, the air conditioned ride that gets popular during hot days?

[MrsPooh]

Man, I hope it holds out for the trip we have coming up!

[nursemelis374]

I was at the DLR from Wednesday at about 5 until Friday at noon. I felt it was crowded, manageable, but crowded nonetheless. I will not choose to go at this time of the year again. It was hot and crowded. We still had a great time though.

We arrived at around 8:15 on Thursday and the park was already pretty full by 10:30. POTC lines were 35 minutes at this time.

DCA was also pretty crowded.

Just use FastPass, get there early and take a break in the afternoon. We noticed the crowds significantly smaller after the fireworks and the second Fantasmic! was MUCH less crowded!

[Gone2Disneyland]

I went on the 4th of July. Got there around 11am and there were no lines to get in, and it was HOT! "Crowds" remained non existant that afternoon.

Went after work last Friday night for dinner at Caf Orleans. It was warm and muggy in NOS, which I assume explained the cranky tone of guests there, and the very long wheelchair access line for PotC that extended halfway down toward Le Bat en Rouge did not help the crowded street. But after dinner and the two fireworks shows, it was back to normal.

IMO I blame the heatwave. Of course, that doesn't explain out-of-towners whom you assume would've made their plans before the heatwave hit us.

[SteveK]

The shady side was not packed, it was somewhat full, but had gaps in it.... I have seen at least twice as many folks in the same area of Main Street on a busy day. I did state that heat was a factor, but why only a 5 minute wait for it's a small world, the air conditioned ride that gets popular during hot days?

I'm not disagreeing with you...it does look alot lighter than usual for a summer day.

[Lekta]

It looks MUCH lighter then when I went in early March in the rain, so I'm amazed. Personally, I would never go in Summer unless I was local. I'd rather wait until the weather is bad in my part of the country and test my luck with SoCal weather (which didn't work out at all last year, but, it was great either way)

[Frogberto]

I was there this past Saturday, and since it was July, the same weekend as a holiday (which invites people to make a longer stay out of it), and a Saturday, I expected the worst.

The lines were relatively short, more so in the evening, when almost everything seemed to be 15 minutes or less, except for Pirates and Indiana Jones during the day, but even those dwindled.

The best line of the day was Space Mountain! I had a fastpass from the morning and then the attraction broke down. I entered the fastpass line at about 7:30 p.m., just as they reopened, and walked on, entered the car, and had a great picture taken of me as the only person in the car, and all five other screens with empty cars! Ha ha!

Overall, very light. I am suprised. I'd chalk this up to the passholder effect-- the academic studies don't show price of fuel to be a factor, and I doubt the heat would keep that many people away (it hasn't in the past, and it gets just as hot every year, global warming be damned).

[Malcon10t]

We were there all week last week, and I was very surprised at how light the crowds were, especially on the 4th.

And the wheelchair line for Pirates is actually not as bad as it looks. They no longer line up along the wall inside, instead only allowing in a few, then lining the rest up outside, and moving a few in at a time as the others leave. The line inside goes from the dock, to the drop where the ride comes off the lift. Everyone else is kept outside until there is room in this area.

[potzbie]

Sunday was the final of the World Cup, so one ought not expect crowds for a once-in-four-years event.
The game was 11:00 a.m. local time.

I don't know if World Cup people know how to party.
But it they are like SUPERBOWL people, they got their pre-game ritual, the post-game ritual, and the all-night celebration/commisseration.

I would suspect that the opening day and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games (summer and winter) would likewise draw people away from Disneyland.

I would suspect that the Major League Baseball WORLD SERIES opening and final game to be likewise light attendence for Disneyland.

Since the WORLD CUP has the equivalent of NCAA College Basketball's Sweet Sixteen, then all those games would keep people away from Disneyland.

[Klutch]

Sunday was the final of the World Cup, so one ought not expect crowds for a once-in-four-years event.
The game was 11:00 a.m. local time.

I don't know if World Cup people know how to party.
But it they are like SUPERBOWL people, they got their pre-game ritual, the post-game ritual, and the all-night celebration/commisseration.

I would suspect that the opening day and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games (summer and winter) would likewise draw people away from Disneyland.

I would suspect that the Major League Baseball WORLD SERIES opening and final game to be likewise light attendence for Disneyland.

Since the WORLD CUP has the equivalent of NCAA College Basketball's Sweet Sixteen, then all those games would keep people away from Disneyland.

I've read in multiple sources that, contrary to popular belief, major sporting events have absolutely no effect on Disney theme park attendence. (Same goes for ski resorts.)

[Koala Gurl]

Speaking for myself, I got the So Cal AP, since I figured there is no way I'd *want* to go in July / August.

The heat may be a factor too...just wouldn't want to bring DD down there in this weather (though it is even hotter where I am!)

[I Heart Disneyland!]

Everyone is 50th anniversaried out! ha!

[cstephens]

Sunday was the final of the World Cup, so one ought not expect crowds for a once-in-four-years event.

The number of people in the United States, much less of those who would be visiting Disneyland, who cared about the World Cup is completely not like the rest of the world. World Cup isn't a big deal here. There's probably less of an impact from that than from the Superbowl, and it's pretty crowded at the resort on Superbowl Sunday.

[Darkbeer]

Note, I have talked about the entire month of July so far, and not just one day... this has been a trend...

As for the World Cup, the ESPN Zone had folks in line 2 hours before the game, and ended up turning folks away before the game since they reached capacity.

[writerevie]

I hope the crowds stay light for the rest of July (I'm going there on the 23rd!) and early August (9-13). I live in the Bay Area, and every time I've gone the past three times, it's been ridiculously crowded. So do you guys think it'll be relatively uncrowded?

[raych30]

It will be interesting to see if August is crowded (or not) especially with many local schools starting. I guess time will tell.

[potzbie]

Maybe today will be a good test of DL attendence vs. sports event.
The Major League Baseball ALL-STAR GAME is on today at 5:00 p.m. locally.

Can a MousePlanet regular check out the early-afternoon crowd vs. the late-afternoon crowd?

I know, for me, that when the ANAHEIM ANGELES were in the World Series, I ducked out of DCA to the GRAND CALIFORNIAN so that I could watch the game on the television set in the bar.
*****
My hypothesis of low JULY crowds?

I think Annual Passholders are staying away.
The heat has been extreme.
*****
Re ADVERTISING

Unlike the opening of MONSTERS INC., I did not see a full page ad in the Los Angeles Times newspaper touting the opening day of the refurbished POTC.
All references to ...PIRATES... has been for the movie, not the ride.

Has anyone viewed the billboards on the Santa Ana Freeway?
Disneyland had been advertising MONSTERS INC.
Has Disneyland management changed the billboards to POTC?
That is, the RIDE not the MOVIE?
I have not seen the RIDE featured anywhere.

[mckygirl99]

I went on the 4th of July. Got there around 11am and there were no lines to get in, and it was HOT! "Crowds" remained non existant that afternoon.

Went after work last Friday night for dinner at Caf Orleans. It was warm and muggy in NOS, which I assume explained the cranky tone of guests there, and the very long wheelchair access line for PotC that extended halfway down toward Le Bat en Rouge did not help the crowded street. But after dinner and the two fireworks shows, it was back to normal.

IMO I blame the heatwave. Of course, that doesn't explain out-of-towners whom you assume would've made their plans before the heatwave hit us.

I agree. It has been too hot to go. I hate standing in a large crowd wet and sticky with other stinky people. I will wait until the crowds die down and most of the locals I talk to agree.