Why Are Star Wars Land Crowds So Low?
It’s been almost a month since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened, and we’re back with crowd observations and predictions for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. We’ll talk about the phenomenon of low attendance and wait times in California, whether that trend is likely to continue, and how likely it is to repeat itself in Florida. (Updated June 26, 2019.)
We’ll start with Disneyland, since that version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the one is now open. As noted in our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Opening Weekend Recap, we couldn’t have been more wrong in our crowds prediction for Disneyland. We were shocked by just how quiet the parks were. In fact, Disneyland was busier the days leading up to the debut than it has been in the weeks after.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has now been open for almost a full month, and crowds have yet to pick up. Many people, us included, expected a boost once the reservation system ended and open access began. Now that we’ve seen a few days of that, it’s pretty clear that is not going to be the case, at least not on weekdays…
To their credit, some people did see this coming. We had a handful of readers who were skeptical that crowds would materialize as predicted. One likened it to Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympics, which was quiet because many locals left town after weeks of apocalyptic traffic predictions.
Our response to that small minority of you would be: lucky guess. Clearly, Disneyland being a veritable ghost town is not what Disney management was predicting. On the first day of the boarding pass/virtual queue system, Disneyland actually had temporary turnstiles ready to go (these never were even remotely necessary).
Enough Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening day park maps were printed that they were available for over a week, same with merchandise for the debut. Every single bag-check station was fully staffed, ditto Mickey & Friends parking structure toll booths. Speaking of parking, Mickey & Friends opened unnecessarily early for a while, and other precautions were taken.
The fears were not unfounded. This is the height of the summer tourism season for Southern California, and when Star Wars Land debuted, most Annual Passes were not blocked out, Grad Nite was scheduled, and a huge travel conference was being held at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Plus, Disneyland locals usually turn out in full force for the debut of anything, especially big-budget additions with limited edition merchandise. All of the these variables form the objective basis for what would typically be a crowded day at Disneyland.
Now as the virtual queue and boarding group system are in use and July approaches, Annual Passholders are blocked out, Grad Nites are over. There are still no crowds. This is the least busy we’ve seen Disneyland since the 60th Anniversary, and that includes during the doldrums of January and February.
Regardless of the great PR and very strong word-of-mouth buzz generated by the excellent guest experience during the last week, it’s tough to say that Disneyland experiencing low crowds was the plan all along. First, there’s all of the above as Exhibit A. Disney management was obviously concerned that locals would turn out in full force for the unveiling of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, overwhelming park and resort infrastructure.
Second, there’s the motivation for moving forward the opening dates of Star Wars Land in the first place, which was to buoy attendance projections and hotel occupancy. As a reminder, the opening date was not changed because everything was ahead of schedule (see Rise of the Resistance). It was moved because numbers were looking soft for the summer and fall at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, respectively.
Accordingly, it would make little sense for Disney to move forward the opening dates to help with numbers…only to create a system that discouraged attendance to the point that it hurt numbers. That’s impossible to reconcile.
The only plausible scenario is that Disneyland wanted to discourage overcrowding and making negative headlines on the local news, but never expected turnout to be this low. Quite simply, they overcompensated. That, plus online fear-mongering on social media and blogs like this one, scared people away. (There’s also the subplot of Burbank leadership’s goals versus Anaheim leadership’s goals, but that’s another story for another day.)
A lot of readers have remarked that they are contemplating a quick weekend trip to Disneyland to experience these low crowds. When this post was first drafted, we cautioned against that. We pointed out that Disneyland has a huge base of Annual Passholders and other locals living in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Just as easily as they avoided Star Wars Land’s opening for fear of crowds, they could adjust their plans and start visiting as social media reports show Disneyland as a ghost town.
However, that has not happened–at least not yet. By midday yesterday, the virtual queue and boarding passes weren’t needed at all, and Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run had a ~30 minute wait for much of the day. This weekend (June 28-30, 2019) will be another test, and we’d expect a bump in crowds. Weekdays are another story entirely.
If you’re thinking that maybe the rest of the park was worse…you’d be wrong. Above is a screenshot at that same time when Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run had a 30 minute wait. The longest wait in the entire park was Hyperspace Mountain (just out of the frame to the right), which had a 35 minute wait.
At this point, it seems unlikely that summer weekdays will suddenly become crowded. Contrary to popular belief, summer weekdays are predominantly tourists (due to a mix of AP blockouts and it being California’s peak visitor season) and this demographic mostly cannot change their vacation plans at the last minute. Anaheim hotel occupancy is down year over year for June through mid-August, and we expect that to mostly remain the case.
With all of that said, continuing low crowds still are not a sure thing. Disneyland could take the bold step of lifting Annual Passholder blockouts. This has already happened with Cast Members, who quickly had their summer blockouts through September lifted in an effort to boost attendance.
Likewise, the Disney Flex pass (although still a new offering) could be leveraged to help with numbers. Disneyland could also quickly roll out SoCal ticket specials, as they frequently (and effectively) do in January to boost off-season attendance.
With so many Los Angeles and Orange County residents, this could definitely have a big impact…but we still don’t see it impacting the early mornings. For the most part, locals are not going to fight rush hour traffic to get to Disneyland early. They’ll show up at noon or, more likely, around 6 p.m. Remember, LA is the same place that’s notorious for Dodger Stadium being half empty (even during the playoffs!) until the third inning because fans don’t want to fight traffic.
The result of this has been the first couple hours of the day at Disneyland being pure bliss for the past week. Save for Peter Pan’s Flight, every Fantasyland dark ride has been a walk-on for at least the first hour of the day. Fantasyland wait times are driven by families, so this is one trend we anticipate being fairly sustained. (We cover some new Fantasyland strategy here.)
At this point, if we hadn’t already spent a couple of weeks at Disneyland to see Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in June, we’d absolutely be booking a last-minute trip for July. Even if more blockouts are lifted, we think it’s worth rolling the dice. Seeing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with low crowds, nice weather, low humidity, and no storm season is worth the potential gamble.
If you are thinking of doing that, the good news is that Disneyland is offering some (rare) summer ticket specials. Likewise, many hotels within walking distance are offering deals (except weekends when there are events at the Anaheim Convention Center), including ‘free night’ offers. (See which ones we recommend in our Disneyland Area Hotel Rankings & Reviews.)
As for what Galaxy’s Edge crowds at Disneyland thus far mean for Walt Disney World, it’s still difficult to draw any strong conclusions. There are just so many differences between Disneyland and Walt Disney World, especially between Disneyland (park) and DHS. With that said, one big parallel that does exist is in terms of the potential attitude of tourists towards the large crowds that are/were projected.
You might recall from our 2019 Walt Disney World Crowd Predictions Post-Star Wars Land (posted back in April) that we think September will be the best month to visit Walt Disney World from the time Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens through the end of the year. This remains our position; if anything, the experience at Disneyland has further solidified our perspective on this.
As noted, hotel occupancy among the Good Neighbor/Harbor Boulevard hotels near Disneyland is down year over year. Last we heard, hotel occupancy for Walt Disney World through September was also down. This is why a ‘second wave’ of Free Dining and other discounts were released that ran through late August. (Expect more room-only discounts in the very near future.)
There also has been a chorus of Walt Disney World fans angered by the early opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. While we’ve had literally hundreds of comments to this effect on various blog posts, we largely wrote it off as selection bias (readers of this blog are more likely to be planners who are averse to crowds), and the reality that people who are displeased about something are more likely to be vocal than those who are pleased.
September is historically the least-busy month of the year at Walt Disney World. This is because it’s storm season and right after school goes back into session–two things that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge won’t change. On top of that, a lot of people are clearly worried about crowds at Walt Disney World in the immediate aftermath of the land’s opening. A historically slow month coupled with some people intentionally avoiding what they anticipate being a busy time could create a favorable window.
Now, this is not to say that we’re suddenly expecting opening weekend of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World to be a ghost town on par with Disneyland. The hammering home of ‘reservations required‘ and all of the protocol about accessing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is probably the biggest factor in spooking guests away from visiting Disneyland this summer.
As much as so many planners hate the fact that Walt Disney World has released scant details about how it’ll handle crowds on opening day and thereafter, this might actually be beneficial (to Disney, not to you). Announcing so many crowd control measures sends a message that heavy crowds are anticipated, and scares people away. Saying nothing at all about crowds certainly worries super fans about a “crowdpocalypse” situation, but there are fewer of us.
With all of that said, there’s still the real possibility that Disney’s Hollywood Studios will do enough to mitigate fears of opening day chaos. There’s also the possibility that enough guests who booked ‘calm before the storm’ vacations will have canceled. Or locals will stay home, fearful of crowds in a new land that “isn’t going anywhere.” Finally, tourists postponing trips to “wait out the crowds” is a very real phenomenon, and will undoubtedly happen to some extent here.
All of this is why we’re fairly confident in saying that, relative to other months in late 2019 and early 2020, September won’t be that bad. Note that this is not the same as saying “it’ll be uncrowded or dead!” This is a comparison to other months of the year–September could still be a 9/10 in terms of crowds (I really doubt it’ll be that bad–my guess is around 4/10 from the second week of September on), but if October through December are 10/10, our prediction is vindicated.
We already know that hotel occupancy is high for December 2019 (and has been for a while). November, January, and February are shaping up similarly, which suggests that people think those months will be a sufficient amount of time to “wait out” the Star Wars crowds. (They’re wrong.)
Mid-September through early October are likely to be busier than normal, but we still think they are unlikely to be chaotic. (At least after opening weekend of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge–we make no predictions as far as that is concerned.) Before relying on any of our predictions, just remember: we got it really wrong for Disneyland. 😉
Finally, there’s been a lot of discussion about what Walt Disney World can do to ensure its debut of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge goes as well as Disneyland’s. Many commenters have pointed to the reservation system, specifically the guaranteed entry for hotel guests. One thing worth noting here is that Disneyland Resort has under 3,000 hotel rooms, whereas Walt Disney World has over 30,000.
In other words, Walt Disney World has too many hotel rooms to guarantee Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge entry to every single resort guest. To compound matters, Disney’s Hollywood Studios arguably doesn’t have enough capacity outside of Star Wars Land to use a virtual queue; where will all those guests go while waiting to enter Galaxy’s Edge? (With exponentially more attractions to soak up crowds, Disneyland doesn’t have this problem.)
With that in mind, we feel the most reasonable solution is utilizing the existing FastPass+ infrastructure to open advance reservations for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The system could be handled exactly like FastPass+ for attractions, except with entrance to the land itself. Have a 60 day window for resort guests, and 30 day window for off-site guests.
Obviously, land entry FastPass+ would ‘sell out’ quickly–probably before off-site guests would have their window open. However, this would generally be an equitable solution for on-site guests (and in reality, Walt Disney World primarily cares about its hotel guests most, anyway). It would fulfill the goal of encouraging on-site hotel bookings, which would be another win for WDW.
It would also discourage people from visiting and over-crowding Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As we covered in our Huge Hollywood Studios FastPass+ Changes post, there are serious concerns about the park’s ability to absorb crowds and distribute attendance. These problems are unique to DHS, which has the fewest attractions of any Disney theme park (as compared to Disneyland, which has the most).
Moreover, Walt Disney World management could monitor attendance in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and add same-day land FastPasses to the real time inventory if crowds didn’t materialize as expected. This is something Disneyland could not do with its system; instead they’ve been emailing people with existing reservations that are not full and allowing them to add more guests to their reservation (something that they previously warned would not be allowed).
We’ll end this by reiterating that our predictions and analysis should be taken with a grain of salt. We totally misjudged the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland, so it’s not like our recent track record on this matter should inspire a lot of confidence. We’ll also say that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is unlike anything you’ve ever seen–a true Space Morocco that can be appreciated by all Disney fans irrespective of interest in Star Wars. If you have the chance to experience it this fall, you should absolutely take advantage, even if that means getting up at the crack of dawn for Extra, Extra Magic Hours. If ever something at Walt Disney World were worth getting up super early on vacation, this is that thing.
If you’re planning on visiting the new land, you’ll also want to read our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide. This covers a range of topics from basics about the land and its location, to strategically choosing a hotel for your stay, recommended strategy for the land, and how early to arrive to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition.
If you’re preparing for a Disneyland trip, check out our other planning posts, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, tips for booking a hotel (off-site or on-site), where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our predictions regarding future Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge crowds at Disneyland and Walt Disney World? Think it’ll be better or worse than we’re expecting? Any questions? 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!
We’re going in early May 2020. D’you think the Star Wars attractions will have FP+ by then?
You mentioned you’d roll the dice on crowds being low in July… what about early August? I’m a local resident who might have family coming to visit in August and I bet my dad would LOVE galaxy’s edge… but as retirees in their 60s they would not love crowds. What are your updated predictions?
I’d expect early August to also be good, but perhaps not this good.
If you’re local, can you take a wait and see approach? That’d be ideal.
Creating two lands called Galaxy’s Edge might have something to do with the lack of crowds. Galaxy’s Edge could easily have been a unique destination only found at Disneyland in Anaheim (e.g. New Orleans Square). But instead, many see it as another attempt to create a revenue stream that can be duplicated ad nauseam at all the other Disney resorts. The illusion of a place like Galaxy’s Edge will be diminished by the opening of the Walt Disney World version. How hard would it have been to give the Star Wars Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios it own name and identity?
I honestly wish Disneyland had Galaxy’s Edge and WDW had a theme park dedicated to Star Wars and Marvel only. Star Wars is too big of a brand to have a small section in DHS.
@Marissa, I couldn’t agree more. Star Wars deserves its own Disney theme park, not just a land. I know its wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it have been great to see Epcot get a Star Wars overlay. Future World already has the Death Star (Spaceship Earth) and World Showcase would be home to all the Federation Planets. The Morocco pavilion would have been the perfect place for Tatooine or Galaxy’s Edge.
As Disney increases costs, it makes it a lot harder for a quick getaway trip. Speaking for myself – I planned on going in 2020 so i booked a cruise for 6 people in 2019 – that money’s gone. A weekend getaway to say Memphis is doable (checkbook wise) then a weekend trip to Disney. Essentially, as Disney as decided to profit off the “Once in a Lifetime” visitor, I think they have limited their ability to boost demand in the short term.
Tom – would love to know if you think a late January 2020 trip to Disneyland will face big crowds? We’ve already booked, so we’re SOL if it was a mistake, but I’d rather be prepared. With DL being so quiet at the moment, we’re worrying that most have delayed their trips to 2020.
They just announced the second ride in Galaxy’s Edge will open Jan. 17th…I’d expect crowds, especially on a weekend. If that is your concern, you could always try to adjust your reservation. Usually you can easily, except maybe with airlines, depending on which carrier you’re booked with.
This does not surprise me at all right now. Sadly Disney has been dropping the ball on people’s thousands of dollars trips. So many complaints of poor service and the over rated star wars hype not to mention increase in everything. Does Disney not believe there is a cap as to what people will pay? Shortening their trip time, if any trip at all for those who have mediocre or below income?!
I personally have experienced very poor Disney experiences over the last 6 months of booking my 6 day trip. Missing day passes on the app, magic bands were wrong and limited to no availability of the “new upgrade” options of magic bands, Disney’s magical Express sending ONE in total yellow tag for 4 people flying Southwest. Then being told by the agent we can get our own bags at the terminal. No mam, in a round about way this is included in the thousands of dollars we paid to visit Disney. Disney needs to start stepping up their game if they’re going to continue raising their prices.. word of mouth is so much more powerful than any commercial or mass advertisement out there.
Kathleen Kennedy takes over Lucas Films and makes a bunch of sub-par Star Wars movies. Then Disney wonders why attendance is low at Star Wars attractions. Priceless…..
Agree. It’s such a HUGE mystery.
Especially when everything in the GE is themed to those subpar films and basically ignore the original trilogy.
We love Star Wars and had booked a “calm before the storm” trip that had us moving from Caribbean Beach Resort to Universal on August 27 and leaving Orlando August 30th. I was feeling 90% relieved about being away from the madness when the Galaxy’s Edge opening date was announced. After reading about the opening at Disneyland I started reconsidering it. Even though I think opening day in Orlando will be more like the opening day of the new Hagrid’s Coaster than the opening day of Batuu in Anaheim, my kids, husband and I all decided we wanted the option of experiencing the first day if it’s not too crazy. Plus our Universal Orlando tickets had 3 bonus days we weren’t using and that seemed silly. But reading your opening day reports from Shanghai also tipped the balance a bit.
Now our road trip to Florida is going to be a lot more direct (skipping the 5 nights we had allocated to Washington DC and Savannah) and we’ll hit Universal first for 4 or 4.5 days to free up the end of the trip for Space Morocco. The Caribbean Beach reservation has Free Dining so I couldn’t extend it and I decided it was worth using Bonvoy points to book a room at the Swan from the 27th to 30th and to be in walking distance if we want to head to Hollywood Studios around 4am on the 29th. And if not, we’ll have an afternoon of Food & Wine to walk or boat to.
“I decided it was worth using Bonvoy points to book a room at the Swan from the 27th to 30th and to be in walking distance if we want to head to Hollywood Studios around 4am on the 29th.”
I think that’s a better option than extending at Caribbean Beach, anyway. When it comes to big events at Walt Disney World, there’s a certain comfort in having to only rely on your feet versus transportation. The buses could be totally fine that morning, but you never know. Hope you have a great trip!
Thanks! Yes, being able to walk and just worry about lines at the park itself seemed worth the split stay. And I’m excited to experience the Boardwalk area. Thanks again for your excellent website, it’s helped a lot with the planning.
My real problem is this…opening day is my last day in the parks and my only chance to go to Galaxy’s Edge until I can save up enough to return. I want to see it and I am spending 10 days in the resorts so was upset to see that one ..there was no fast pass for it. and Then add insult to injury..The EEMH does not start until September 1rst which is well after I am gone so I don’t even get that little edge. I have shuffled my plans and parks around so much and now with the shift in fast passes for Hollywood I am not even sure I want to try as there is no way even if I did get there at 6am I could get in currently. Hoping Disney figures out something between now and August.
I think the analyses I’ve seen like yours, Tom, about the reservation system and why it “can’t work” at WDW are incomplete. On-site guests are not getting a reservation every day of their stay. They are getting ONE reservation per STAY. Now, DLR is full of locals and people who live close enough that 1-2 night stays are the norm. That isn’t WDW. Yes, there are 30,000 rooms, but they don’t turn over as quickly as DLR’s 3,000. Lots of people regularly spend a week at WDW, and if they got only one reservation for SWGE, it could work, putting DHS’s SWGE at capacity while letting on-site guests rest easy knowing that they traveled thousands of miles, as I will be, and will definitely get into the outpost without having to wait hours. WDW is already planning more operating hours than what DLR is offering, allowing for more reservation groups each day.
In short, it’s more, and more complicated, numbers to consider than just “3000 vs. 30,000.”
Not sure about your numbers…but DL is open far later and opens earlier than Hollywood Studios. The typical hours are 8a to midnight, while Studios is 9-9…so the extra hours actually only makes it about the same as DL.
I think we’re are beginning to see what happens when you raise your process too high. I know of at least 20-30 people who have refused to pay Disney’s exorbitant prices and have not visited for at least 2-3 years and some had annual passes that they have not renewed since they went to 500 each from 234. That’s been several years ago. I think Disney is losing its magic by being so greedy. They have made it impossible for a family of 4 or more to afford it.
Thinking about a trip in September, and I believe that the daily Extra Extra Magic Hours will really help distribute guests to early/late hours and help minimize the number of guests at the parks mid-day (though mid-day will still be the most crowded). Most people simply cannot do a 14+ hour day… so EEMH will force many mid-day breaks. I know Tom does it, and we did it when we were younger, but most people simply go the entire day straight through. And if they do, they will be SHOT the next day. I assume that >80% of people who do an AM EEMH will take a mid-day break…. thus reducing the mid-day crowds. Especially if you follow a strategy of arrive over an hour before the start of EEMH which is the wise move for FOP or GE.
The EEMH are exactly why I am considering a fall trip if I can convince my teen to miss a week of school. I agree 100% with your analysis because that’s what I plan to with my four kids, ages 5-14. Get them up early, be there for 6am RD, and leave at lunch, when we have already been awake for 8-9 hours. I think it could be the first time we might actually use our resort, as we’d be there all afternoon before going back for dinner and fireworks.
Opening earlier than originally stated plus opening with only one of the two attractions plus limiting crowds by reservations effectively made the May 31 – June 24 period a “soft opening” in my view. The real test will be crowds AFTER the reservation period. With that said I’m sure Disney did expect more people but my guess is they will come especially in Florida.
I just read an article this morning in The Mercury News. Seems like Disney is spinning the fact of low crowds this last week into something they knew was going to happen. They are saying because they added 14 acres to the park, it has seemed less crowded, but really isn’t. That basically this new land has absorbed so many people, the park just seems empty. While I would love to believe this is true, I just don’t think it is. Props to their PR department for this creative spin though.
We were there a few weeks ago, and the reservation system was over. While it seemed low crowds, once the fireworks or Fantasmic started, you realized there were more people there than you thought. While it may be less than they predicted, I do think they are right about dispersing the crowds into a larger area.
Having visited Galaxy’s Edge twice now at two different time slots, I will say that guest should also be prepared for the unfortunate possibility of Savi’s Workshop running out of supples and reservations by mid-day, as was our most recent experience, as well as, que reservations for Oga’s Cantina be completely elusive after the first 30 minutes. Hopefully, Disney will have a system in place to keep ‘Offworlders’ entertained and busy once the land goes public, as quite a few guests in this reservation period are feeling jaded and a little cheated out of the experience if they can’t enjoy one of the two most anticipated experiences. As a side note, I found that after the first 1:30hr of visiting that there is very little to do or interact with. Though Disney has incorporated the Play app into the land, I felt that it drew your focus away from interacting with family/friends in a such a visually creative environment and kept visitors staring at the ‘datapads’ in an attempt to feel immersed in the lore, but, by not truly being able to experience key activities outside of Smuggler’s Run. Here’s to hoping for more things to do and maybe a little less shopping on Batuu! Till the Spire…
This is interesting because it makes me wonder if people are expecting more from the new land than it is there to give, and if it doesn’t actually give quite a bit more compared to other “lands.” Again, interested in a discussion…does it not provide more to do than say Pandora, or even another land within Disneyland, and/or Magic Kingdom. (I think GE will possibly be strained more and expected to deliver more in Hollywood Studios given that parks current need of attractions) Is there an identity issue with what type of experience GE should be providing within the context of it being one of a few lands within a larger park? It’s interesting to me and it’ll be a good thing to watch over the next couple of years.
Do you think that the WDW opening being basically during Labor Day weekend will be a factor for crowds?
I think it’s a toss up, but I do think WDW will be more crowded than Disneyland was. Just waiting now to see how the DL virtual queue system works and how VIP tours will work for our D23 trip. Amazing pics. I especially love the Disneyland Hotel Sorcerer’s hat one.
We were there right after the reservations ended and the virtual que was only needed the first day. Even now it hasn’t been used. When it was, I heard from loads of those who used it that it was fine, and they were able to see what they wanted (other than Olga’s and making your own lightsaber, that you need reservations for). I think it’ll be a good system when the crowds do arrive to Batuu.
My mom and I were just discussing this the other day. We were talking about who should have dibs on getting into SWGE first (and how the FPs should work). First and foremost, the DVC members that have an on property reservation (excluding Vero Beach, unlike the DVC Moonlight Magic parties) . Next, any annual passholders that have an on property reservation. Anyone else that has an on property reservation (excluding those non-Disney Disney Springs hotels) that doesn’t have one of those two things should come next, then the locals/off-property hotel people.
DVC members especially get the short end of the stick and, speaking for us, we own at four different resorts: Boardwalk, Boulder Ridge, Bay Lake Tower, and Aulani. The DVC members I’m talking about are the ones that hold that coveted blue card to show that they bought directly from Disney (as we did with all four contracts). We pay so much for dues/maintenance and get very little in return.
A standard view room during the week at the Grand Californian will cost you over $800 per night with tax. At DH, it is over $650 without parking for a room with a parking lot view and a pool under construction. Perhaps, just perhaps, they just exhausted what most will pay? There is good availability for next week at these hotels. Even the lure or a GE reservation is not selling them out.
That’s probably part of it. I see the DLR hotels and their SWGE reservations having two groups of customers:
1) Locals who would only stay for 1-2 nights, so they might be able to deal with the on-site crazy-high prices…BUT they’re local, so they can easily decide to wait for the virtual queue and stay at a FAR lower-priced “off-site” hotel. I mean, you can literally get 4 nights at some nice places for what one night at an on-site place will cost you. Locals can decide to roll the dice on going after the reservation system.
2) People like me coming from far away. So we need a longer stay to justify the flights, but at those prices, 4-6 nights at an on-site hotel can cost as much as some full vacation packages at WDW. Those of us who have to fly can decide whether we go to Cali or Florida, and Florida gives you much more bang for your hotel buck, on site or off site. Not to mention that in Anaheim, many off-site hotels offer discounts, “free nights,” for people booking 3+ nights to help afford longer stays.
So those sky-high prices for DLR’s hotels failed to make a compelling offer to either people coming from near, who can wait to visit, or people coming from far, who can’t afford a week of those prices, especially when they have other Disney park options.
Also, by the time it was clear that this unofficial “soft opening” that the reservation system ended up being was allowing for AWESOME visits, it was too late for me to book a reasonably priced flight for my family, even though I was ready to pay DLH $1000/night for the suite our large family needs.
I agree, we go to WDW ever 3 years, but every time we go the price has gone up pretty drastically across the board. Hotels, Dining, tickets, parking, fee’s, etc.. Adding two new rides, an overpriced lightsaber and $42 souvenir drink at a themed bar doesn’t seem worth it. I have loved going to Disney over the years, but my Florida visit at the end of this year is looking at over$2k just for tickets for 4.
since my understanding was that SWGE at WDW would not have any FP+ or reservation type entrance situation I booked offsite in October. Not something I normally do but I got a free 3 bedroom suite at seaworld. If they change it so that my crew doesn’t have an equal shot at getting into the land that will be very disappointing. We may end up just doing food and wine instead.
You won’t have an equal shot. On site guests will have EXtra Magic hours(3hours!!!!) head start at HS every day in the fall.