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jrad32
10-10-2008, 12:19 PM
Just curious if any of you APers who visit often have noticed any attendance shifts due to the current economic melt down. I think people plan their trips to Disney pretty far in advance for the most part, so it may not be having much of an effect.

I wonder if we'll see lighter than normal crowds in the Spring because people now are worried about the economy.

curtsinore
10-10-2008, 12:49 PM
Actually, you will see it more crowded in the spring as folks are forgoing their winter visits. Though I read of a lot new folks coming to Christmas for the first time so maybe they are not planning on spring visits. Sounds like fall is currently low, but again I think because of the folks waiting for Christmas. And the melt down? if it isn't over by Oct 31 then expect Disneyland and hotels to go into post 9/11 vacation mode.

Disney Donna
10-10-2008, 01:01 PM
Question for APers: Are you going less because of the economy? Or do you still go but just buy less? What changes are you making?

Question for Non-Apers: Have you cancelled or postoned any trips to Disneyland?

This economy needs to turn around and soon.

curtsinore
10-10-2008, 01:14 PM
I made a second reservation for thanksgiving at the the Motel 6 for the week for 500.00, if funds for travel budget won't do for the Marriot Maingate for 1100.00. We are still on a green light, with train tickets purchased and Cash at hand for AAA hoppers. I am waiting for a antique show at the end of the month to make my final decision on hotel. Oregon is doing fine because we don't have a sales tax based state budget and we are still harvesting crops and in a building boom.

Bytebear
10-10-2008, 01:18 PM
I just renewd our passes. Both premium APs this year. It was cheaper than dealing with blackout tickets, and we ended up spending more on Deluxe last year than if we had bough Premiums. And given how often we go, it's really a lot of entertainment for not so much money over the year. I think the new payment plan will work for a lot of people too.

backsthepack
10-10-2008, 03:17 PM
The Economy hasn't hurt us yet....I say yet because you never know. We have pretty stable careers thank goodness. Again though, I say "yet" because it is always in my mind with seeing it hit everyone around us.
We are not changing our trip plans. We are heading over at Christmas time and starting to plan our June trip as well.
I can see how a larger family might need to budget more or cancel. We are lucky, it is just the 3 of us so the cost is not all that big. The largest expense is the fuel for us, we drive a rather large 4x4 truck.

yohomama212
10-10-2008, 03:27 PM
We haven't changed our routine yet. We still plan playdates and we still go most Fridays. I had already been influenced to start packing lunches when we go, so that's not a big deal there. If anything changes immediately, we'll make dinner at home and then go to the parks. Otherwise, we'll keep having dinner at the park and enjoy our evenings there like we have done in the past.

Elizabeth

Marasmama
10-11-2008, 05:30 AM
Other than the weekend of September 27th-28th I've noticed a decrease in attendance every weekend we've gone down. We even went down in July and August since there were some days that weren't scorching hot. The crowds were much lighter than usual all summer. I love the shorter wait times, but hate the cutbacks. For example, If my daughter gets one more bag of mealy, brown Tree Top apples at Plaza Inn or any other food service location that switched from the previous fresh fruit selection, I will take the time to go to City Hall and complain after taking it up with the lead at the restaurant. I know I'm skewing off topic, but how much really is saved by replacing a dozen delicious grapes and 2 strawberries with less "green" prepackaged chemically tasting "apple" slices. Charge me a quarter more, heck a dollar more for a kids meal if the take at the gate is hurting rather than cut back on quality.

janell
10-11-2008, 06:26 AM
I still go as often as I would normally. I just eat outside the park to save money and we want better food then the park offers.

Right now we have AP for WDW and the economy is effecting us to where we aren't traveling to WDW. So I would say yes, if we had to travel far we wouldn't be going.

Empico
10-11-2008, 07:00 AM
I go almost every year, sometimes more because my Mother and sister live in Anaheim. This year we're going in December for the first time. We're are only spending one night on property at the Paradise Pier Hotel and the rest of the week I got really good deals at close off property hotels. Since the food prices have gone up again in the park I've decided we will be grocery shopping and eating some meals in our room and we won't be buying as many sourvenirs. And I'm pretty sure we won't be going in the Spring or Summer next year.

Rockchalker
10-11-2008, 08:30 AM
We have APs. The airfares between Denver and LA or Orange County have afforded us multiple 4 night trips this year. If it is just my DD and I (husband stays with the nearly 2 year old DS) it normally costs us $1000 for the trip including airfare, hotel and eating in the park. We have one more DL trip planned for early December with my mother. We also did a 10 day September stint at WDW (that was originally planned for DL) because of the free dining progam.

carolyn
10-11-2008, 11:59 AM
I'm going more. We don't usually spend money when we go so DL is a free outing for us.

ham
10-11-2008, 12:19 PM
I'm going more. We don't usually spend money when we go so DL is a free outing for us.

Thanks, that was helpful. It's good to know the economy isn't impacting your free outings.

:rolleyes::confused:

Anyway...this is a pretty good question. I'd think Disneyland would compensate for economic downturn by offering more deals and whatnot. My guess would be things aren't bad enough YET for there to be a real difference in crowd size. Sure attendance might be lower, but I doubt it'll be enough to have any serious impact on people's experiences in the park. Traditionally busy days will still be busy, and traditionally light days will still be light.

mouseymama
10-11-2008, 01:00 PM
We live pretty close (20 mins. or so) to DL and have been APs in the past. We are considering buying passes for our family for Christmas as it does make for "pre-paid entertainment".

We are a large family, the price of eight passes would have prohibited us from buying them at all again this year, but the new payment plan is a BIG draw. We still have to consider the gas to get there, which may be too much of an expense for us. Things are that tight for us right now.

When we were APs, we never spent much money there. On birthdays and such we might buy an icecream or something, but as a norm, we spent nothing there. We ate before we went, packed food and drinks, etc.

**insert money saving/back saving tip here...
We used to lug water bottles in our back packs. one day we ran out of water. it was hot. we asked for a cup of water at a restaurant on main street and were given a large cup of ice water. we don't pack so much water any more, knowing that we can get a cup if we need it. (My kids have brought in the single drink mixes to add to their cup of water on occasion, which they thought was the best idea ever ;) )

I love disney so much. I do hope that it works out for us to get the passes... we will have to see. But, I would hate to be making monthly payments on a pass that we couldn't afford to use.

On a side note.. it would also seem strange to be making payments on the passes during the blackout months wouldn't it?

mouseymama
10-11-2008, 01:05 PM
expect Disneyland and hotels to go into post 9/11 vacation mode.
can you explain what you mean by this?? thanks so much.

jenniebean
10-11-2008, 01:05 PM
I go at least once a week with my AP & basically have cut back on the shopping... no more wandering into stores! I try to leave my credit card at home so I won't be tempted. Also, I stopped buying water in the park & just bring my own bottle.

nbaum
10-11-2008, 03:37 PM
We are actually going more. DH works for a company that owns rental properties so their business is doing very well since more people are renting. Depending on how much gas is, we will sometimes pack a lunch.

GrumpyUTboi
10-11-2008, 05:46 PM
they have payment plans now for the AP passes? How much do you have to pay each month? I wonder if they have it for WDW.

kiowa
10-11-2008, 06:08 PM
I just got the Anaheim Marriott for 5 nights for 29.50 a night. Yes, that's 29.50 a night. Nice deal

samkj
10-11-2008, 06:53 PM
I just got the Anaheim Marriott for 5 nights for 29.50 a night. Yes, that's 29.50 a night. Nice deal
More details please!

Mooshu
10-11-2008, 07:14 PM
I think compared to 9/11...it's not as bad. We were able to get AP's dirt cheap, hotels were no problem and airflight were plentiful.

With the economy now...AP's are more expensive, gas is more expensive...thus making airflight more expensive and hotels are about the same.

jMom
10-11-2008, 07:46 PM
We are going less. I have a PAP but the rest of the family does not. Too expensive. Also kids are not under 3 anymore.

We booked one family vacation at the DLR as opposed to two or more. Future visits to the park will almost certainly be off property for the next few years.

I did manage a day trip with my daughter only this summer to Disneyland. I used my Visa rewards $ to buy her ticket and explained we were just doing Disneyland and no souvenirs. We still had a wonderful time.

If the economy was better I would be down at the parks 1-2 times more often during the year. So it goes. We can't afford the costs of higher gas, food, admission tickets, hotel rooms (even with the AP rates), combined with stagnant income and no stock market money to play with.

We need to save our money for schools, speech therapy, and housing/living costs, which are rising too.

curtsinore
10-11-2008, 08:53 PM
post 9/11 found my son and I two months later at thanksgiving at the jolly roger for 48 a night to include tickets for three days ( son was 6 then so he was free under airline program). There was a banner to welcome us for traveling under the conditions and the park was empty, with no DCA.

I tried the marriot search, it had no rooms for my upcoming Thanksgiving visit so the 30.00 rate must be immediate or a long ways out with strings attached. And if the Marriot has no rooms for Thanksgiving, then just as I suspected, folks are doing Christmas holiday and skipping another season to visit.

kiowa
10-12-2008, 08:10 AM
More details please!

Oh, a friend of mine works for Marriott and we are allowed to use their discount. Lucky us.

Malcon10t
10-12-2008, 08:51 AM
Oh, a friend of mine works for Marriott and we are allowed to use their discount. Lucky us.OK, so no open deal. We do a similar thing with Hilton (Friends and Family deals.) Have a great stay!