Florida Theme Park Roundtable: Increasing Capacity, Travel & Awareness
Governor Ron DeSantis held a Florida Theme Park Roundtable today with top leaders from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld…plus the manager of Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, for some reason (maybe they were the sponsor?). In this post, we’ll offer some key takeaways and commentary from the meeting.
The roundtable was broadcast on the Florida Channel; we joined a bit late, potentially missing key information (like why Toothsome was involved?) but it didn’t seem like a particularly info-dense or revelatory session. Essentially, DeSantis asked questions of Central Florida theme park leaders, with a brief Q&A that was cut short because–I kid you not–Professor Doctor Penelope Tibeaux-Tinker Toothsome interrupted the event to deliver milkshakes.
For the most part, the Florida Theme Park Roundtable was devoid of substance and didn’t really offer any insight into the specific forward-looking plans of Universal, SeaWorld, or Walt Disney World. We were hopeful that there’d be something offered on that front–perhaps a mention of holiday plans or discounting strategy. Nevertheless, here are some things we found interesting from the panel…
One message that was fairly pervasive: Visit Florida. It’s very, very safe for you to come and spend money at any of our state’s theme parks. All of the park leaders said that in one way or another, and the need to raise ‘awareness’ about the safety measures the parks are taking and their track records thus far.
This was essentially the salient point by the theme park reps: greater efforts should be undertaken to spread the “good word.” They feel that once that happens, more people will visit the state and each of the parks. Various leaders spoke to the frustrations and discomfort of being stuck at home, and posited that Florida could be marketed as the antidote to these troubling times.
Generally speaking, DeSantis was supportive of this, pointing to decreasing case numbers following the reopening of Walt Disney World and other parks. However, nothing particularly actionable was discussed–just that a better job could be done of marketing Florida as a destination and its theme parks as safe places.
It could just be the fairly superficial nature of the roundtable, but it struck us that leaders from all three parks identified the obvious issue with attracting visitors from out of state, but only addressed it as a marketing matter. We’re a bit too close to the topic to view it from an outsider’s perspective, but it’s very clear to us that messaging isn’t the sole barrier to better attendance. There are a number of reasons people are not booking theme park vacations right now, and marketing won’t overcome many or most of those.
In terms of specifics, only SeaWorld offered any concrete steps for enticing more guests to visit. Their interim CEO mentioned things they’ve learned while reopening based on guest feedback. This led SeaWorld to offer extended evening hours, adding fireworks and bringing back fan-favorite festivals with plans for more Halloween and Christmas events.
DeSantis was asked about the parks increasing capacity, and said that he would be comfortable with Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal allowing more guests to visit. There wasn’t a ton of specificity in this response, but he did point out that physical distancing requirements are less than 6 feet in some other countries.
We should note–and it was noted elsewhere in the panel–that capacity caps are not the limiting factor on attendance right now. Even if these parks removed all limits, there’s still a lack of organic demand. In fact, aside from a couple of weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World has yet to run out of Disney Park Pass reservations (meaning all three buckets being empty–not just the AP one, which happens regularly). To our knowledge, Universal’s two theme parks and SeaWorld are not hitting capacity with any degree of regularity, either.
The first actual test of the Disney Park Pass system and park capacity might come over Labor Day weekend. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is fully booked for September 4-7, 2020 and other parks are nearing their reduced limits, too (except Magic Kingdom, which has availability all days of the long weekend for theme park ticket holders and resort guests).
In attempting to address issues with visitation, DeSantis spoke about travel restrictions. He noted that Florida originally didn’t allow visitors from certain states with higher numbers (a hot topic on our Quarantine Rules for Walt Disney World Travelers) and that there are intuitive but irrational fears surrounding air travel.
This dovetailed into DeSantis mentioning measures to allow and facilitate travel from Brazil, which has seen a drop in cases. I didn’t catch everything he said here, but it’s worth noting that in the past DeSantis has been delicate when discussing Brazil, undoubtedly recognizing the country as one of Florida’s biggest sources of international visitors.
Each of the parks also discussed what they were doing to bring back employees. Universal stated that they’ve brought back around 85-90% of full-time employees, but they also have a “vast supply” of part-time or seasonal employees and there currently are not opportunities for the vast majority to come back. Universal’s hope is that increasing visitation, park hours, and capacity, they can bring more employees back.
Walt Disney World indicated that with all four parks and many hotels up and operating, they’ve brought “tens of thousands” of Cast Members back, and hope to continue to do more as volume and demand increase moving forward. Otherwise, there wasn’t much discussion of unemployment measures, furloughs, or job assistance–all of which seems like a major oversight given the circumstances.
Personally, I found the most interesting portion of the roundtable to be the kind words exchanged between SeaWorld and Walt Disney World. They discussed their animal care and rescue efforts during the closure of Animal Kingdom and SeaWorld. Leaders for both noted that even though their respective parks were closed to visitors, they were continuing many of their normal animal operations and conservation initiatives.
SeaWorld specifically noted the birth of a baby manatee that had to be shared via social media. I missed this story when it happened back in May, so I was glad to hear about it now (see above video). Disney and SeaWorld emphasized that they were “collaborators, not competitors” during the closure.
Ultimately, the big thing that stuck out to me was reiterating that message of safety and that being a necessary first step to tourists returning. Theme park leaders all stressed this repeatedly, and it felt as if it’s a message they somehow want the State of Florida or some other third party to convey.
As we’ve noted in the past, Walt Disney World’s reticence to release general public discounts for fall and winter likely stems from the negative PR surrounding their reopening and a fear of backlash for “luring” tourists to what was previously a global hotspot. If this panel was any indication, these parks absolutely do want out-of-state tourists…but perhaps they don’t want to be the messengers that people should visit Florida?
Other than that (and even with that), nothing major was discussed. Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting with this Florida Theme Park Roundtable, but more than what was presented. Given that it was a public-facing panel, I wasn’t anticipating trade secrets or granular calendars of events or pricing strategies to be unveiled. Nevertheless, plans for enticing guests to return (beyond the vague notion of “let’s market our safety”) would’ve been nice.
Hopefully there are also behind-closed-doors meetings taking place between Governor DeSantis and these same leaders, so the parties can discuss what needs to happen in real terms to bring back tourism, jobs, and more to Central Florida–and how the state can facilitate that. Oh, and I’d also love to get to the bottom of the mystery about Toothsome’s presence at this event.
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Your Thoughts
If you watched the Florida Theme Park Roundtable, what did you think of it? Any feedback on Governor DeSantis being comfortable with the parks increasing capacity? Does that concern you, or do you think it’s a non-factor for now? Thoughts on increasing marketing/messaging about Florida and the parks being a safe place to visit? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I literally laughed out loud at the image of all these high powered individuals getting interrupted to deliver milkshakes. Did anybody else find that hysterical? Omg even the name “Professor Doctor Penelope Tibeaux-Tinker Toothsome'” was funny to me!
Tom, your analysis is dead on. I just canceled a trip in September that had been planned for almost a year. My decision had nothing to do with feeling safe. I’ve been to Six Flags 5 times in the last 45 days and frankly, Disney’s safety protocols are as good or better. I cancelled my trip based solely on value.
If Disney World increases capacity without bringing back some core features (fireworks, expanded dining options, entertainment, special hours, etc.), I’ll likely cancel my mid-September trip. The primary benefit in traveling to WDW right now is the lower crowds.
We did visit from out of state earlier this month and won’t be back for a while. Mask wearing was not a problem at all for us (I’m still amazed that so many adults have tantrums about wearing them when my three small children didn’t complain once with 100 degree temps each day–people really need to quit the whining and suck it up)–though it was a source of a lot of frustration for us that so many others around us disregarded the rules without any consequences besides having a staff member tell them to pull their mask up (which they promptly ignored). It was also frustrating having limited dining options (both in terms of dining locations and menu choices) when we were paying so much more out of pocket for food that we would on the dining plan, and we also missed the fireworks and evening/early morning hours at the park which we previously loved as a way to avoid the midday heat.
We did not experience the “walk on” wait times so many people reported–waits were at least 20-30 minutes on most attractions (even prior walk-ons like small world or magic carpets) which was annoying given the reduced hours meant we typically did much less in a day than we were able to with serial fastpasses.
In the end, we’ll be back either when they restore evening hours/fireworks/more of a full experience, or significantly reduce prices. I left wishing we had just done a nice beach vacation for a fraction of the price instead, which is something I’ve never felt on any other Disney trip. This trip we definitely felt like we paid much more and did much less than other vacations.
We went in late July/August and experienced many of the same things you mentioned above. We felt like there was no culmination to each day which is what we came to love and have traveled to Disney multiple times in the last few years. We have a trip in December scheduled but unless we go just for the nice weather, lots will need to change before we spend the funds to return.
No, DO NOT increase capacity at all, at least until after the 8th! But do extend evening hours and allow park hopping…
Maybe this push toward more/better marketing was a subtle nod to higher funding for Visit Florida? I mean probably not, but it seems like that’s where the burden of conveying this message to potential visitors lies. Their questionable spending and major funding requests have been a hot topic in the past, but it seems like now is the time for them to spring into action. That said, I have to imagine many of their staff have been furloughed or let go permanently.
Obviously marketing alone isn’t going to solve this problem.
Interesting updates! If the US-imposed UK/EU travel ban isn’t lifted by December, then I intend to extend my stay in Mexico over Christmas to 14 days to be clear of the restrictions in the proclamation and visit the US in January. At the very least it’s giving me something to look forward to!
We recently moved a trip from early October 2020 to Feb. of 2021, though we actually think we will still end up cancelling that trip. There were several reasons, but the main two are that our kids are going back to school in person (which we also don’t think will last the whole year) and we don’t feel it’s safe or responsible to travel to an area with much higher transmission rates than our area and possibly spread the virus and we didn’t want the kids to miss almost a month of school due to the trip and then quarantining. It’s not a matter really, of convincing people who love Disney that it’s safe at Disney or safe to travel, it’s a matter of convincing them there is a reason to spend $3K plus right now on a Disney trip. My husband and I had a discussion on what would get more people in the parks – relaxing the mask rule to, say, only wearing in queues and inside restaurants or to bring back fireworks or park hopping. I think if they brought back park hopping and fireworks at one park it would greatly increase attendance. I work in marketing, and I can already hear the Digital programming team yelling at me “it’s not possible” but I would like to think they could fast pass or have people “reserve” fireworks viewing spots. There are plenty of people who don’t care to be in the parks during fireworks (my kids hate the noise) but still get the magic from hotel room, California Grill or Narcoosees viewings. I also know they are saving a ton of money by NOT having fireworks, so it’s not an easy answer.
Lauren, when I was in College Program in 92, hey told us fireworks and associated stuff cost about $225k per night. Now that was a long time ago, and the shows were a lot less intensive. These days, it’s going to be quite a bit more. But I would be very surprised if Disney doesn’t buy out 100% of production from at least 3 factories to supply them. Having built a lot of shells and such, I know what it takes to make them and the care put into the effects is pretty intensive. They are likely saving well over a million bucks a day, but that’s not much in the bigger picture of operating costs.
A bigger impact right now is the recent overpaid NBA crybabies stalling out even the abbreviated season. While I doubt it will kill the NBA completely, it’s likely to hurt Disney. Is ESPN just showing reruns of past events all day or what?
Picture without crowds is depressing. No one wants an overcrowded park with one hour wait times or even worst, Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom parade. Yet visiting Disney without people is equally horrendous. Just want Disney to the normal that my family and I knew for the past 30 years. Wish all past and present cast members good health and a brighter future.
I didn’t listen to the call, but I read that WDW was asked about the status of Disneyland. WDW replied that DLR is ready to go as soon as the state gives the green light. Josh D’Amaro also made a similar statement earlier in the day. I take this to signal a couple of things: Disney execs are getting more vocal about putting pressure on California to issue guidelines for theme parks; those in theme park leadership (and the state of Florida) may think if west coast parks were open, that would push attendance in a more positive direction (as it might signal more confidence).
no constructive comment here, just enjoying the cheap parks and rec sweetums-esque laugh that the toothsome commentary gave me
People can disagree all they want and I’m sure many will but I promise you the reason people won’t return are the insane restrictions. One may argue that people are going because of them but I would argue the exact opposite. Their attendance would go up significantly if they lost the mask mandate and started offering at least some of the offerings they had pre covid. They can rack their brains and have these roundtables all they want but no amount of marketing is changing anyone’s minds. Until the masks are gone people will stay away and attendance isn’t going to improve.
Need the fireworks back, right now! Or at least before next Thursday. And the electric water pageant.
Agreed!
There is no “the” reason. There are like 30 different reasons, culminating in historically low crowds.
Requiring masks is undoubtedly a huge reason people are avoiding Walt Disney World right now. No denying that. However, unlike other causes (recession, pandemic, cut entertainment, etc), there is another side to that coin–if you eliminate masks, another subset of guests then would avoid Walt Disney World. By contrast, if you eliminate the pandemic, no one is going to say, “I was going to go, but without the pandemic I’m going to stay away.”
In any case, agree that marketing isn’t going to move the needle as much as these leaders might like to think.
Yes, it’s the masks. It’s not the travel restrictions. It’s not the economic disaster many families are dealing with, or even the economic uncertainty. It’s not the fear of disease. Just get rid of the masks and let the good times roll.
@Jody, I agree 100%. For every 1 person who appreciates the mask mandates, there are 10 who despise them & will avoid them whenever possible. Judging from what I see in everyday life, there are far more folks in the mask avoidance camp (if given the choice) than in the camp that wants them. That being said, this is also just a horrible time of year for anyone to wear a mask outdoors. There will be more people willing to tolerate masks in the winter months.
You’re also right that it’s not only the mask mandate – Disney needs to offer more. Disney has been expensive for as long as I can remember, however, there were all sorts of offerings that were unique to Disney or were so magical they justified the cost. What Disney is currently offering amounts to the same experience I could get at my local amusement park…but they’re charging double! That’s not even factoring in flights & hotel. I can’t really imagine how Disney execs are expecting people to agree to these terms?!? If any other business were to take this same approach, it would be a guaranteed failure. Sure, Disney has built up a reputation & a loyal fan base. But this is 2020 – the year of Covid, which has been an equalizer of sorts. Every business has been forced to “reboot” to an extent. Disney is no different. Whatever worked last year for them is not going to work this year, or for the foreseeable future. So Disney execs need to eat a big slice of humble pie and do whatever it takes to win back business.
I’d say Disney’s hotel costs are far more than double others’! That’s a massive issue and likely the best place to make deals to attract folks.
As an out-of-state individual who drove down in late July and have been thinking about going back, I have no problem with paying the full price for less crowded parks, even with wearing a mask in the unbearable Florida heat. Actually, the masks are an incentive to me, as I want to get out and have fun journeys and experiences, but need to feel safe while doing so.
However, I think SeaWorld has got the right of some of it, and same with your own thoughts: park hours need to be extended into the evening, and maybe cut from the morning if at all. I think Disney could also bring back fireworks at Epcot easily, since there is no need to ‘gather’ to see those, and Disney could use the attendance boost at Epcot anyway. Not…that…stating such in a comment on a blog is going to get Disney moving, but I feel the need to say it anyway.
I’m ready to come back. I’m staring at this 200$/night Boardwalk view Villa on DVCrental and salivating. But if they want people back they need to stop making cuts…unless, of course, we’re talking about Executive salaries.
Great post. We were also there in late July from out of state and I agree with everything you said. We already have a trip for early December booked.
“But if they want people back they need to stop making cuts”
You are spot on. Great points.
Disney should at least do what seaworld is doing and staying open later. Figure out some way that hopper can be used later in day so can go to other park and eat in Epcot.
How about a drop in ticket prices at WDW parks? I think back to the 2008-2009 time period and some of the fantastic offers out there.
Just can’t see spending right at 100 dollars a day for attraction reduction and reduced hours.
What were the fantastic offer in the 2008-2009 time periods?
$100?? It’s way more than that for a day ticket, I’m afraid!
I know, $100 a day hardly even covers beer! Ironically, I noted that some food and drink prices are more at Six Flags than at WDW!
At least Florida removed the quarantine from visitors from NY,NJ, and CT. I have 2 trips planned to DisneyWorld in the next 6 months. Would never have considered going without that removed. I am retired, so I don’t worry about the quarantine when I return. But people with jobs in these 3 states won’t be as lucky as me. Florida is still above the official Pandemic high risk threshold of seven day rolling average, of positive tests in excess of 10%, OR number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents. (Florida calculates positivity different than John Hopkin but that is another story). Anyone concerned about their health in the US knows this. Florida needs to work on testing and containment before widespread attendance will return. I have been to Disney parks at least 100 times in 50 years. I am a Disney addict with preexisting conditions and I am willing to take a risk . Disney looks like they have it under control. Most people won’t pay that kind of money for a reduced experience or take the risk or want to wear a mask.
Was anything mentioned about other countries being allowed back? We’re from the UK, and we moved our trip back to Feb/March 2021 (we did this months ago, thinking “surely we’ll be allowed to travel by Feb?”, but now getting a bit anxious!). Any mention of countries other than Brazil?
DeSantis said he thinks the European travel restrictions have served their purpose and could be lifted. He also said that’s up to the federal government and he has expressed this to them, but doesn’t have any say in the matter. Of course, the US lifting restrictions is just half the equation, the UK needs to also.
“DeSantis did point out that physical distancing requirements are less than 6 feet in some other countries.“ As knowledge of this virus evolves, naturally things that were discussed and recommended have changed over the course of the time. Scientists, chemists and medical professionals are now saying 6 feet of distancing is not likely enough because aerosol transmission is the most virulent cause of spreading. I’m not here to argue about these facts only to remind that one should be very careful about taking advice from people pushing agendas who are not specialists in the field. There will be a significant increase of cases as schools and sports begin.
“I’m not here to argue about these facts only to remind that one should be very careful about taking advice from people pushing agendas who are not specialists in the field.
Totally.
I still can’t get over Penelope being there. That’s just so wild and weird.
As for UOR it appears weekends are getting very busy but weekdays remain very light. Weekends Hagrid will get a two hour wait while weekdays it’s 10 minutes. I think Uni could reopen some attractions on weekends just to keep capacity up.
Do you know why Toothsome had a rep there? I assume it was (maybe??) covered at the beginning and I just missed it. No offense to Toothsome, but it’s not exactly on par with the parks themselves.
I’m not sure why both Universal and Disney haven’t tweaked their operations to align with the current realities of their guest demographics. If they’re going to cut EPCOT’s hours, do it from the beginning of the day, rather than the evening. Scale up on weekends when locals are off work. Find ways to cater to the post-work, dinner-in-the-park crowd. Navigating this is not going to be easy, but there’s some low-hanging fruit that neither (can’t speak to SeaWorld as I don’t know it well enough) have grasped particularly well.
I watched the whole thing and no, I have no idea why Toothsome was there. Seemed very odd to me as well.
You didn’t miss much at the beginning, just more of discussion of what you’ve already covered above.
I really don’t know what the expect. We have a pandemic spreading throughout the country, high unemployment, and low consumer confidence. Why would my family want to go to a theme park right now? We are doing RV trips not going to a theme park. I don’t care how many times per day they are cleaning stuff. Any group marketing go to a theme park right now will get major backlash. They are just going to have to suck it up and help get rid of this virus not be trying to lure people to a theme park right now. What all parents want is their kids to be able to go back to school. That’s the dream right now not DW lol
Honestly, people are going because they still want to be safe and the mask mandate. Yes, I know. Even though I am in a green state we still wear them. That’s fine and I am all for it. But not everyone wants to wear a mask in the heat and we are all leery about what is to come. Yes overseas the numbers have gone down greatly but the US is seen as not safe. We have a ways to go. I love Disney and Universal and am glad that they are taking a cautious approach. Personally, if DeSantis (and a few other states) had taken the issue seriously in the very beginning, he wouldn’t be hurting so much. Just my thought.
Everything in Florida shut down in March. This was done by the governor. Early on in the pandemic, Dr. Fauci said no masks were necessary. Hydroxychorquinone did not enter widespread use early, when it could have saved tens of thousands of lives, due to intransigence of the regulators at the FDA. DeSantis, unlike other governors, kept Covid patients out of nursing homes, possibly saving tens of thousands of vulnerable elderly nursing home patients. I don’t understand why you heap blame on DeSantis who went along with CDC guidelines from the start.