Disney CEO Confirms Lack of Demand for Disney World Vacations

    On today’s investor call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek fielded a question that asked about demand at the theme parks.

    When the theme parks closed, Disney saw “ample demand” to fill the theme parks, something that Chapek talked about in the previous quarter’s investor call as seen below.

    That said, Chapek noted that “COVID struck again” and as numbers increased in Florida, travelers became uncertain about traveling to the state. Disney went ahead with the plans to reopen the theme parks in mid-July, but we noted that there simply was a lack of demand for a Walt Disney World vacation. As it turns out, our observations on the ground and with the data available to us turned out to be correct. According to Chapek, Disney saw a higher than expected number of cancelations of existing reservations as the situation in Florida continued to deteriorate. Chapek noted that Disney is not meeting the daily capacity limits they have put in place, but is attempting to fill the parks by reallocating Disney Park Pass reservation availability.

    While Chapek didn’t talk about specific capacity numbers, he noted that the current mix of guests is about 50% of out-of-state guests, and 50% from local markets. Another piece of information from Chapek aligns with another observation we made about Disney continuing to shift availability to Annual Passholders to fill the theme parks. With out-of-state guests canceling reservations at a higher than expected pace, Disney is relying on Annual Passholders to fill up the unused theme park reservations.

    As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you on-the-ground reporting and analysis of the Disney Parks.

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    21 COMMENTS

    1. Primary reasons are full price. Half experience. While wearing a mask outside in 90+ degree heat.
      No one wants to go. Covid or not.

    2. I totally agree. Lower the ticket/hotel prices and people will come. Can’t justify paying full price for half the experience.

    3. Curious to see how the fall crowds will be as we’re still planning on our October trip — even IF prepaid tickets are good until September 2021. We just cannot wait any longer so from Easter to Autumn, here we come.

    4. I agree with Nick. Full price for half of the hours, fewer restaurants and no live shows. 100% mask wearing in summer heat outdoors is definitely not an encouragement to come.

    5. Wearing mask completely ruins the experience, period! I think it’s time to hand back the family yearly passes!

    6. Don’t forgot international guests will be at an all time low. Guests from the UK and the rest of Europe cannot visit, would be interesting to know the percentage they make up on a typical day.

    7. Plenty of APH’s want to go but zero availability for some parks for the rest of August. We miss being about to plan 1-2 days out and go.

    8. You want to bring people back to the parks? With the new restrictions? Lower the prices, make offers for people with Annual passes that would compensate for not being able to park hop.

    9. As someone who grew up going to Disneyland I am very disappointed they are re-open right now. We are required not to gather in crowds and that’s exactly what a theme park does, even with social distancing. And with the summer Florida and California heat, people will want to less likely wear a mask. Of course people will cancel their reservations! I love Disney but as a company and seeing the bigger picture, they only care about the money they are making being open vs the fact people can be getting sick at their establishment. Even if it isn’t said with words, the actions match up.

    10. Big part of the reason is 2 week quarantine. If I travel to Disney for a week, when I come back, I need to quarantine for 2 weeks. So, I would need to have 3 weeks vacation. There is your issue. I’m DVC and have plenty of points, because my April trip got cancelled. Just don’t have the time.

    11. We are DVC Members, Annual Pass Holders, and Florida residents. We will use our DVC points to stay in resorts, enjoy the pools and and cook in our villas. Our Annual Passes will go to waste, since we don’t do rides, only shows and fireworks. Wearing masks in summer heat outdoors is definitely not an option. Our governor doesn’t require it…why does Disney?

    12. I’d go if I could park hop- mainly to Epcot for the food festival and dinner time (so many great restaurants, but they’re closed/laying people off because no demand- meanwhile Disney Springs is reported a madhouse at night 🙄). That’s literally the one thing keeping this out of stater from going. Unfortunately I don’t think Disney will address that since they yanked BC & BWI completely from the reopening schedule. Guess they’re surprised people don’t want to pay a premium for Epcot resorts when hopping to Epcot isn’t allowed?

    13. No shows, no night time fireworks, reduced hours, no character interaction, limited restaurant availability but still same high prices. Never mind the heat and humidity as well as COVID 19 uptick in Fla. Hopefully this will be straightened out next April (one year after this year’s planned trip was postponed). One positive is no Fast passes!

    14. So, DVC member got back 14 days ago. No problems, followed the rules wore the mask, washed our hands, used sanitizer that was amply provided everywhere ,it was bearable and had plenty of opportunities to take a break. Yes some experiences were not open but still had plenary of rides and activities to keep us busy all week. Enjoyed the pools, lack of crowds and extra attention paid to us by the staff. Would recommend to some families, it’s not for everyone but it worked for us!

    15. I have reservations for October, but I am not looking forward to it if I have to wear a mask. Thinking about canceling because of that. We go to Disney to be in a fantasy world. Masks make for a weird, unfriendly atmosphere.

    16. Another reason families may not be coming to the parks is the mask requirement for everyone two and older. Expecting a two year old baby to wear a mask all day is unreal. You can not reason with a baby about this requirement. In the beginning of this nightmare, the scientists said do NOT put a mask on a child under six years of age. They explained it would be more harmful since a child would constantly be touching their face and mask increasing the possibility of contamination. Since there is a very slim chance of a baby or young child contracting this illness maybe the age should be changed to six and older.

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