Looks like it was one of the best days of the past year to visit the Studios.
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For years we avoided this holiday because of crowd levels. The shift is crazy…I may opt for a trip over the fourth next year! Never thought I would do that. Doesn’t look like any of the other parks were that bad either .
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@len, how does this compare to Universal? I was looking at Universal wait times yesterday too. Do you think Disney was impacted this weekend and other major attractions still drew crowds? I know a lot of guests showed up last night for the fireworks. Is the heat impacting attendance, prices, or political climate?
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I am kinda surprised the numbers are that high yesterday considering many of the times I saw mid-day (but of course the multiple very low wait attractions might not be considered for the CL). I also saw someone reported VC closed when Universal said it was open.
Since yesterday was lower maybe the heat did impact the day?
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I’ve never heard of a high temperature impacting a specific day that much more than others. Guest behavior over time can change things seasonally. Like people changing there vacations from summer to a cooler time of year when traveling south.
The specific day of July 4th is always lower crowds than the days around it. The tradition of bbq’s at home is still strong.
In 2022, UOR July 4th CL was 2 notches lower than July 3rd.
Adding: According to TP, Monday’s high was 98 and yesterday’s (4th) was 96.
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I ask because this was a big topic of conversation on WDW chat yesterday. It was noted that the heat seemed to be a factor yesterday. I am curious if that was real or perceived. Of course there were other posts that also said it was other factors (three of these identified in my question),
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I can attest to the heat being real yesterday 
I’m also a little surprised by the low CL. CM’s I know said morning was light but it did get busy enough to have crowd control in FL to keep guests moving. But that was after the stats for CL hours.
Maybe everyone that had an APR just waited for the sun to go down?
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Nevermind my post earlier were talking about DHS 
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I think it helps because I was originally asking about HS but added in Universal.
It can’t be the heat. If you had a trip planned you’re not canceling because it’s hot. And when you go in summer you should know it’s hot. I think everyone who goes every few years went last summer as part of revenge travel.
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I wonder if people are starting to run out of money? Student loan payments are restarting soon and inflation is cooling, but interest rates and food prices are still high.
I think there’s a few things going on here:
- The end of COVID revenge travel
- The overall WDW value prop has declined, with higher prices and increased complexity leading to…
- Angering of legacy WDW fans. Liners overcome, but the rest of the Disneysphere doesn’t or can’t.
blurred for political
- Political fallout from the battle with DeSantis. WDW is in an uncomfortable situation, being perceived as a blue brand in a red state. Some red supporters don’t want to patronize “woke” Disney, while some blue supporters want nothing to do with Florida right now.
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I agree with all of these reasons. I wonder how long it will last. If we see low holiday crowds it may last awhile.
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And at the same time, inflation, higher interest rates, and maybe even the student load forgiveness mess are reducing the amount of money people have for spending on things like expensive vacations.
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I’m surprised at just how quickly the demand has fallen. Disney has started to pull some very big levers (sizable discounts with long windows), so they definitely are concerned.
Our local airport (MSP) was expecting the single biggest travel day since 2019 this week. So it’s not that people aren’t traveling, I’m interested in seeing if it’s just Disney.
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Thanks for this. Looking at year-over-year CL’s at UOR vs WDW, I see that UOR is about the same, while WDW is down significantly. Something is up when your crosstown rival is outdrawing you to this extent.
Can anyone with access to DLR historical CL’s see how that compares, this July vs last year?
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Is it possible the blackout dates for certain AP’s are playing a small part. This is our first year with the Pirate and we’re blocked 1-4. Was there always a FL resident pass blocked on the 4th?
I think CL’s were low over memorial weekend too, when Pirate was blocked.
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