Disney World Sees Previously 'Unfathomable' Sign of Fans Jumping Ship Over July 4 Holiday
Disney World, which is used to selling out tickets and dealing with large crowds, is now faced with a challenge it hasn’t seen in a while — low attendance.
Disney’s theme parks in the U.S. have faced several issues in recent months, according to travel analysts and advisers.
Due to the low crowds, Disney is scrambling to find ways to attract new customers, including offering hotel discounts around Christmas time this year, which is typically a peak period for the company.
Travel advisers and analysts attributed the slowdown to Disney’s price hikes and park modifications, arguing that such factors have turned families away from visiting, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A data-tracking company recorded that Disney was met with its lowest crowd turnout in 10 years during Independence Day weekend.
According to Thrill Data, Disney’s average wait time for all its theme parks from July 1-4 this year was around 21-23 minutes, marking a 16-minute drop compared to last year.
Disney’s Magic Kingdom, the Journal reported, experienced its lowest wait times during Independence Day in years. On July 4, the park’s average wait time was 27 minutes, compared to last year’s wait time of 31 minutes and 47 minutes in 2019.
Touring Plans noted this was the “third-slowest day” in the past year.
“It’s something that nobody would have predicted — just unfathomable,” a computer analyst told the Wall Street Journal.
Disney and its competitors can modify wait times for rides to either steer visitors toward or away from certain areas inside the parks, the Journal reported.
Former Disney finance chief Christine McCarthy said the company knew it would experience lower crowd turnouts for its U.S. parks because of the end of Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Disney fans expressed their shock over the small lines at the theme park.
Jaime Brown, a Walt Disney World annual pass holder, visited the resort three times during Independence Day weekend.
As Brown walked into the theme park, she saw something she had never seen before: small lines.
“I couldn’t believe how light the crowds were,” Brown said, adding that Disney was far more packed during summertime 2021.
Since 2021, however, Disney has gone fully “woke,” which some attribute to the decline in visitors.
Disney decided to challenge Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education Act, which banned lessons on “sexual orientation or gender identity” for children under 10 years old.
Disney also decided to integrate woke messages in its films, including adding characters representing the LGBT community.
Such a decision, however, has cost the company over $900 million in its past eight films, as reported by the U.K. Daily Mail.
Disney Shareholders absolutely dumbfounded by massive drop in movie sales & theme park tourists.
It’s almost as if parents don’t wish to expose their kids to a perverse woke groomer corporation……
Go figure. pic.twitter.com/hL61rsV4o9
— Concerned Citizen (@cotupacs) July 10, 2023
Independence Day weekend is one of the busiest holiday weekends in the U.S. Disney, however, which rarely had to worry about attendance in the past, struggled to attract visitors.
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