With all of the changes and restrictions that have been imposed since the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t help wonder if booking a Disney trip is worth it right now. Many guests are worried that the parks will close down again. Others are concerned with the cuts that have been made already, and more that could be made before their trip date. We’re not going to get into the argument that Disney is doing what they need to do right now to turn a profit. Instead, we are going to look at it from a “business” perspective for you, the consumer. With all the cuts, does the ticket have value? Are you going to get enough for your money right now to justify booking a trip to Walt Disney World? Of course we are going to compare the value of a ticket now to what was included in a ticket say six months ago, before the park closures. If you are an Annual Passholder, should you renew your pass or be reimbursed? Also, should you even book a trip with concerns Disney cannot afford to stay open or will be forced to shut down again due to a surge in COVID-19 cases?
We brought you an update on the new, shortened park hours last week and how it might affect guest loyalty in the future. Disney had already been cutting park hours before the shutdown and it had many guests on high alert as to the value of a park ticket. These shorter hours along with the elimination of fireworks, parades and other events has definitely left us skeptical. For many guests, their park strategy is to arrive early, take a mid day break, and return for evening hours. Some even return to a different park with a later closing time using their park hopper. But right now, there are no evening hours at any of the parks. Added to that, the new reservation system only allows you to reserve one park per day and there are no park hopping privileges for any guests.
The number one reason we would suggest a trip to Disney right now is the crowd levels. Even with the shortened hours, you can get more done in the parks than ever before. Most rides are walk ons and there is a relaxed feeling throughout the parks. The decision was made to limit park attendance to 20-30% capacity. Now don’t forget, the 20-30% is the number of guests Disney is allotting for. This is not how many people are actually showing up. In fact, it’s quite a bit less. Most days we are seeing maybe 10-15% of guest capacity. Many days it feels like cast members outnumber the guests. Some people book reservations and then don’t show up, and some of the reservations spots aren’t even used because no one booked them. The exception is Annual Passholders, who are the majority of the park attendees right now.
With such low attendance, will Walt Disney World remain open? We have to wonder if Disney is even turning a profit most days with the park crowds being so low. The operational costs of running the parks and keeping them opened combined with the lack of guests spending money, it hardly seems possible. Most of the guests are annual passholders. They are not paying for a resort stay and are not spending a lot of money in the parks. But according to a parks spokesperson, “At Walt Disney World, we ARE achieving our objective of driving a positive net contribution at current attendance levels.” This is good to hear for guests who are hoping Disney won’t close down again due to the lack of demand. They did go on to say though, “It’s worth noting that while Walt Disney World is operating at a positive net contribution level, the upside we are seeing from reopening is LESS than we’d originally expected, given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Florida.” When Disney originally announced the reopening of Walt Disney World, they experienced a large influx of reservations. But as the reopening date approached, those covid-19 cases were rising in Florida.This resulted in many long distance guests worried about traveling and the situation in Florida cancelling their trips. Right now, only about half of the guests in the parks are resort guests. The other half are annual passholders.
But passholders are not too happy right now. Most paid $1200 for a pass with no blackout dates and now they are lucky if they can get reservations for 3 days a month. You have to make your reservation in advance for the park you want to attend and on what day. Park hopping privileges have been revoked. The Disney Parks Reservation System has been somewhat of a nightmare lately. When you look at the reservation calendar, there are openings for resort guests and theme park ticket guests for the current month. It is wide open. But when you look at the reservation calendar for annual passholders, there aren’t many openings. For certain parks, the earliest reservations are as far away as two months. What’s crazy about this is the parks are dead, but there are no openings for APs. So, why does Disney leave all these spots open for resort guests and ticket holders when they could fill them with passholders? Bob Chapek explained the strategy recently, “Typically, someone who travels and stays for 5 to 7 days is marginally more valuable to the business than someone who comes in on an annual pass and stays a day or 2 and consumes less merchandise and food and beverage.” Ouch Bob! To recap, the more annual passholders they let in, the less money they can potentially make. But Disney can’t fill a park with resort guests right now. If they could, that is what they would be doing.
Disney thinks COVID-19 is the reason for the lack of resort guests. We think the lack of guests will long outlast COVID-19. Once the pandemic is over, families will be hard pressed to spend their limited income on a watered down version of what the parks once were. Room rates aren’t anything enticing right now, park hours have been cut and no parks are open at night. There are no fireworks, no parades, and no special events like the Halloween party. The amount of stores and restaurants open are limited. There are rides down with no news of getting them back up and running. Epcot has little to offer right now, it’s a mess. It’s ripped up and nothing is being finished. Drinking around the world is about it and if you aren’t into that, the dynamic it creates might not appeal to you. AK is only open 9-5. Without the wait times, it feels like a half day park again.
Here is the upside to planning a trip to WDW right now. The crowds are amazing, the flights are low and you would be in Disney. Walt Disney World executives and cast members are doing an impressive job of making the parks very safe to visit. They have been diligent in imposing their health and safety precautions. One could say you might be safer in WDW than anywhere else right now. For us personally, this would be a prime time to visit. We enjoy our resort stay as much as we do the parks, and the slower pace would be a welcome change to some of our previous trips. The downside is there are no parades, fireworks, character meet-and-greets or special events. It is sad to think about going to Walt Disney World in the fall with no Halloween party. Disney did announce they will be decorating for Halloween and Fall soon, and the cooler weather is always a pleasant experience.
Will your family be planning a vacation to Walt Disney World before the end of 2020? We would love to hear your thoughts and any insight you have on the topic. Leave a comment below or message us on the “contact us” page.