The Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts magic may be waning.
The Disney theme parks’ wait times are significantly less, indicating that attendance is down, according to new travel analysis reports.
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Touring Plans, a company that collects waiting time data from information provided by the Disney parks’ mobile apps and measures it against historically average wait times, said the average posted wait time on the Fourth of July at Disney’s Magic Kingdom park in Orlando, Florida, was 27 minutes, down from 31 minutes in 2022 and 47 minutes in 2019.
“It’s something that nobody would have predicted — just unfathomable,” Len Testa, a computer scientist who runs Touring Plans, told the Wall Street Journal.
Fans who frequent the park regularly also said they noticed the drop in attendance.
“I couldn’t believe how light the crowds were,” annual pass holder Jamie Brown said, noting that she was able to easily enjoy attractions that are typically in high demand, such as Spaceship Earth and the Topolino’s Terrace restaurant.
In September, Disney enthusiasts said they were skipping trips to visit the theme parks due to rising prices and cash grabs.
A Time2Play poll showed that out of nearly 2,000 “self-described Disney World enthusiasts,” 92.6% said a vacation to the resort was out of reach for average families. Nearly 70% said they believed the price increases made the theme park feel like it had lost its magic.
Earlier this year, Disney rolled back some of the parks’ price increases and reinstated some free services, including guests no longer being charged to download photos from rides. Disney also reportedly announced it would increase the number of days tickets would be sold at their lowest price.
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In response to the low attendance numbers, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) told the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show that he believes Disney’s “woke” agenda is “impacting” ticket sales.
“What made Disney the all-American company under Walt and beyond was a focus on family, a focus on traditional pro-American values,” DeSantis said. “They would never have wanted to sexualize children the way Disney has gone down this.”