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View Full Version : 50th anniversery ?'s



splashmtngurl
01-01-2005, 08:00 PM
So i was wondering.....

How do you think crowds will be during the 50th anniversery year? I mean sure, the first night they might be crowded and even the first few weeks but my family is planning to go anyway. But do you think it will it be crowded the entire 18 months? My family was planning a trip in may but of course that will no doubt be a peak period....

What will the ride closures be like? i was assuming they would be major because of the celebration but i have failed to find the exact closure dates and i lack the capacity to look for them any longer ;)

Other than that, i was wondering what hotel reservations would be like...Will we have to make them far in advance or should we only count on making it into good neighbor hotels? is there any chance of getting a spot in a disney hotel? will prices be jacked up?

Sorry for all the extensive questions, i havent been on here for a while and i believe i may have missed some of this info....

Thanks all!

Hayley

Terri
01-01-2005, 08:07 PM
I'm interested in seeing what others think.

We're booking our trip for the end of May - around memorial day as it's the only time we can go schedule-wise. We are booking our trip through Alaska Airlines (kids fly free!) and will be staying at the Disneyland hotel. I expect crowds and lots of them. So we are only doing 3 days in the park and spending the rest of the time relaxing by the pool. Still the disney adventure, but with relaxation thrown in! :p

stan4d_steph
01-01-2005, 08:17 PM
Sorry for all the extensive questions, i havent been on here for a while and i believe i may have missed some of this info....

Thanks all!

HayleyYou might try doing a search if you think you've missed some recent info.

I would suggest using the usual travel sites or Disney reservations to look up rates. I would expect that rates will be higher around the anniversary date and the May 5th date due to increased demand.

For info. on ride closures check the Disneyland Update every Monday on MousePlanet.

Darkbeer
01-01-2005, 08:23 PM
My personal opinions...

Crowds, I think Disneyland will be busier than the past few years, but not that much more busier, and I think it will be spread across the 18th months, remember that Disney is promoting this as a Company Wide celebration, so a lot of folks will be going to WDW instead. I think the day to avoid is July 17th, I think that day will hit capacity, especially being a Sunday. I think May 5th will be busy (about 40,000 or twice the normal attendance for that day), but being a weekday in May will prevent the park selling out.

I think the dropping of the "2 days free" Multi-day tickets will actually hurt DCA, and that it will have a small decline in attendance, as the main focus of the event in Anaheim is Disneyland.

As for ride closures, Disney is trying to get everything up and running by May (with the exception of Space Mountain), so I think you will find LESS planned closures, though larger crowds might create more wear and tear, and require rides to be shut down for a few hours or days due to mechancial problems. The September 2005 and January 2006 closures for Haunted Mansion Holiday have already been planned, and the water rides do need an annual drying out period, more than likely to be done during the slower off-season. But attractions like the Tiki Room will be back in all its glory, and I think you will find a lot less tarps and refurb walls during the 18 month period... but then, be prepared for multiple closures right after that....

Will Disney jack up its prices.. what a silly question that is!:p :fez:

Right now, there are deals on packages thru AAA, Walt Disney Travel and others, but just like the advance purchase ParkHoppers, don't expect a deal as good as 2004. If you are looking for a good deal, I would look into fall 2005 or early 2006, of course avoiding holiday periods.

Of course, the Good Neighbor Hotels also base their rates on supply and demand, so expect a small increase in rates.

One of my favorite tools is www.travelaxe.com (http://www.travelaxe.com/), this allows you to type in the dates you are interested in, and then get a list of the prices of all the hotels in the area, a great way to compare dates, and find out when the crowds will be less (better pricing = smaller crowds)...

Saratoga75
01-01-2005, 08:27 PM
I think park attendance in 2005, will be more than it has been in the past few years especially since post 9/11. I expect crowds during all the peak times - holidays (4th of july, summer weekends, labor day, etc) and when Space Mountain reopens. However i dont believe the crowd levels will be as outrageous as somepeople think. People are going to Disneyland whether or not it is the 50th anniversary, especially the tourists and out of towners (who either dont know about the 50th or dont care). There will be a sizable portion of people from this site that will go in particular because of the 50th anniversary, myself included :) . So will it be crowded the ENTIRE anniversary period? I dont believe so, but we will see. Ride closures? Well, I think during the anniversary they will be kept at a minamum (probably regular maintenance during off-season times: mid-late january 2006, late february 2006, etc). Hotels? I am sure you can get into a disney hotel during this time, however i do expect higher rates. We may go in June, but we will only go to dland if our Orlando/Dworld trip in mid-june falls through, which i dont think it will. So we'll probably end up going to DL probably in late July and August and end of year depending on space mountain's reopening. I see Darkbeer just posted, and I am in agreement with him once again on this.

Disneyfreak
01-01-2005, 08:39 PM
The anniversary will be crowded with the hype this is already building. Many of the people who usually go to Walt Disney World will be attending Disneyland for the anniversary. I expect records will be broken this next year for how many guests visit the park.

Darkbeer
01-01-2005, 09:20 PM
The anniversary will be crowded with the hype this is already building. Many of the people who usually go to Walt Disney World will be attending Disneyland for the anniversary. I expect records will be broken this next year for how many guests visit the park.You have to remember that Disney has set up this marketing campaign to drive attendance to ALL its parks, WDW is getting 3 new attractions, including Soarin' from DCA....

They want to make sure people still go to WDW, since they control more area, and they get much more profit from hotel and off-park restaurant and other monies in Orlando.

I bet when all is said and done, that WDW in Orlando will end up with a higher percentage increase than the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. (That is taking the 2004 numbers, 44,200,000 from the Disney parks in Orlando and comparing it to the 18,990,000 at Anaheim, based on the AB/ERA numbers, and then looking at the percentage change in these number in 2005).

marktips
01-01-2005, 09:37 PM
I don't often agree with DB, but with 2 new major attractions open by May, WDW is probably gpoing to get the major surge of 50th folks. With DL opening Buzz and then Space Mountain later - it will be busy but I bet WDW will be busier.

In short - WDW will get the main "It's the 50th!" folks right at the start with more new stuff, but DL will have more pull in the winter with Space opening (which seems intelligently planned, WDW can't handle much more during the peak winter).

Saratoga75
01-01-2005, 09:38 PM
Yea, i agree with Darkbeer on his point. What am i saying, you always have good points, i am always agreeing with you! :) Hey, darkbeer care to guess on the WDW and DL attendance numbers for 2005?

Darkbeer
01-01-2005, 09:52 PM
^ Tough to call right now, would like to see how the changes in ticket media, etc. have an effect first...

But I do think both resorts attendance will go up, in fact I think ALL 4 Disney resorts will result in increased atttendance in 2005... as for percentages..

Gut call, the DLR up 5%, Paris up 4%, WDW up 8 %, and Tokyo up 6%.

marktips
01-01-2005, 09:56 PM
^ Tough to call right now, would like to see how the changes in ticket media, etc. have an effect first...

But I do think both resorts attendance will go up, in fact I think ALL 4 Disney resorts will result in increased atttendance in 2005... as for percentages..

Gut call, the DLR up 5%, Paris up 4%, WDW up 8 %, and Tokyo up 6%.


With Soarin and Motuers opening, I think the biggest single park jumps will be at Epcot and MGM, respectively.

marktips
01-01-2005, 10:10 PM
Just wanted to point out the above statement is because of the ability of WDW parks to symbioticly take from one another - well, okay, they can also cannibalize each other - but MGM and Epcot will both garner more park-hoppers than before, while MK will only see a small spike.

Darkbeer
01-02-2005, 03:24 AM
I know a lot more about Anaheim than Orlando, but what Marktips said makes sense, the parks with new attractions will get the higher percentages of the increases. I was talking more about how the Marketing progam, and the new attractions would help bring folks to the park..

If you asked me to break up the Anaheim percentages, Disneyland up 7%, DCA down 3%. (Remember you live and die by the sword, DCA attendance was helped with the opening of ToT in 2004, which won't be a big factor in 2005, and I really don't think that the Block Party will do much more than help entice a few additional AP visits).

Disneyland should get multiple boosts, the first is the beginning of the 50th in May and the opening of Buzz plus the 50th exhibit, the new Parade and Fireworks, and the return of the Tiki Room - mainly additional AP visits. Then the reopening of Space Mountain will bring a second boost of AP folks. The Marketing campaign in general will help to bring in "new" and occasional guests, but these guests will be spread out over the entire celebration, and not directly related to one new attraction or show.

Rememebr we have about 600,000 AP holders (estimate), and they will much more respond to new attractions and shows. I think that Disney would be smart to spread out some of the openings, starting with AP previews in April for Buzz, and maybe even Tiki Room events on seperate dates in March or April (whenever the building is finished). The Parade and Fireworks have to start at the same time, along with the 50th exhibit in the Opera House. Then another set of visits with the opening of Space Mountain in the late Summer or Fall, whenever the ride is ready. The more Disney can seperate things opening, the more they can drive attendance to the park, if they open "everything" together, then you give the AP holders less reasons to have multiple visits....