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Posted on 06/30/2019 12:25:50 PM PDT by jeannineinsd
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is turning Disneyland into a virtual ghost town, and the park is now scrambling to boost attendance this summer.
The highly anticipated new land debuted on May 31, but with a reservation-only system in place, the big crowds never showed up. When Star Wars Land officially opened to the general public on June 24, the expected onslaught of massive crowds didn’t arrive either.
The line for Disneyland’s newest attraction, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, now struggles to reach even a 60min wait throughout the day, while the rest of a nearly-deserted park musters waits of only 10-20min for most rides. In fact, many of the days since the opening of Star Wars Land are some of the least crowded days this year, according to the Disneyland Crowd Calendar. Now less than a week after its public debut, crowds are still at historical lows and the park is making major moves to fix it.
So, what exactly is going on? The lackluster attendance so far may be to blame on the extreme precautions the park took ahead of the opening. Disney expected chaos—and so did everyone else.
Crowds “blocked out”
An empty Disneyland after the opening of Star Wars says more about the popularity of the annual pass program than anything else, including the new land. With so many annual passholders, especially locals (SoCal Select), the parks tend to attract more crowds on days when passes are valid. On days when more APs are blocked out, Disneyland tends to be less crowded. Disney just recently launched the Flex Annual Pass to counter this problem, but the effect passholders have on bringing down attendance levels is on full display early this summer thanks to a surge of AP blockout dates. Just over a year ago, Disneyland made the decision to block out all annual passes (except the very highest tiers) for the summer season this year, anticipating record-breaking attendance for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Disney even introduced park-specific blockout dates to steer crowds away from Disneyland and into California Adventure for the summer.
Now, less than a month into the new land’s opening, Disney is trying to attract those passholders back to Disneyland.
Please come back, APs! (and bring your friends!) Demand for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has yet to live up to expectations, but Disneyland is already taking drastic measures to try to reverse the trend before the summer is over.
Disneyland is bringing back the “Bring a Friend” promotion for annual passholders. Now through August 30, 2019, APs can bring a friend with the purchase of a 1-Day Park Hopper ticket for $99. There’s also a major change from last year’s “Bring a Friend” deal: if your pass is blocked out, you can still purchase the ticket at $99 for both yourself and your friend. You can buy up to three tickets per passholder.
Still, the promotion stops short of unblocking passes for the summer—something many passholders have been clamoring for after seeing a near-empty park. “At this time, blockout dates are not being lifted,” Disney says.
If the return of discounted tickets isn’t enough to bring in the crowds, park officials are hoping that the return of a Disneyland classic will. The Main Street Electrical Parade is also making a surprise return to Disneyland for a “limited-time encore engagement” beginning August 2 through September 30, 2019. A quick glance at Disneyland’s wait times tells you all you need to know about why the park is making big moves this summer. Light crowds and short lines was the norm throughout June, and when the reservation requirement was lifted on June 24, attendance just never picked up. While the average wait for Millennium Falcon hovers around a modest 60min or less throughout the day, the rest of Disneyland enjoys minimal wait times and even walk-on’s for many rides.
The short lines may not last for long though, as the AP ticket promotion kicks in and word spreads that Disneyland is actually not crowded at all for once. Late June/early July is also historically more manageable at the Disneyland Resort, so crowds are expected to pick up later in the summer season.
It’s also important to keep in mind that not all of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open yet, as the land is being opened in two phases. The new land’s other major attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, is set to open in the next phase “later this year,” according to Disney. Disneyland—and just about everyone else—expected the worst from Star Wars Land, but the precautions the park took early on to handle any capacity issues are proving to be working a little too well. It’s still too early to tell exactly how much of an impact the new summer promotions will have on crowds, but if attendance doesn’t pick soon, more changes may be on the way.
For the best and worst days to visit Disneyland, be sure to keep an eye on the Disneyland Crowd Calendar. The forecast is updated regularly, so check back often.
What do you think of the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge so far? Are you planning on visiting Disneyland soon?
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Disneyland? In Orange Co.? Haven’t they heard? Pablo and his chica say: “Disneyland? We don’t need no steenking Disneyland?”
I think it may be a cultural problemo maybe?
No moat middle class seem to go every other year and slap it on the credit card. I have no idea how people afford these resort trips.
Oh, so you mean every second day?
It was about 30 years ago that I crossed theme parks off my list and have never been back. We took our son to six flags over mid-america outside St. Louis. Rude and crude does not even approach what the “children” were. Can’t imagine things now.
If they make it less expensive can you imagine the caliber of people who will show up then?
No thanks.
It’s like going to a baseball game. Yes I know about inflation, but it used to be a family could go to a ballgame several times a year without breaking the bank. Disneyland was a couple of times a year thing for my family in the late 50s, early 60s—not a major expense.
The E tickets were something. The A & B tickets, not so much. They had shooting galleries in the early days if you can believe it.
At D Land yesterday. Went in before officially open. Cool part was being greeted by tons of cast members on way into Galaxys edge. Liked Kylo”Ren “Chewie and Re walking around. However I do think many will wait until there’s more to do there. If you want a cheaper Star Wars thrill try the virtual reality experience at Downtown Disney called The Void. I get motion sick so this was better for me than the Millenium Falcon. Hard for me to pilot a starship while suppressing heaves.
I know freepers like to disparage Californians but they do have a practical streak. They will largely stay away until the new ride is in and they can use their passes.
I bought a brand new Plymouth Satelite for $3700 in 1969!!!
“...Disney has lost their way....”
Yep. In more ways than one.
Destroyed by libs.
Liberalism destroys everything it touches...including Disneyland.
I had read a report that Star Wars lost about 95% of its valuation under her. Going from $4 billion dollars valuation to about $300 million valuation
I actually overheard a family mention that today (at Cal Adventure). I have seen some rainbow people around but more regular folks and some overtly patriotic folks. I must say that the 4:30 flag take down ceremony at D Land yesterday was amazing. The recognition of audience members from each branch of service was touching and the music a vocal quartet and a marching band. Thry did beautiful, classic patriotic songs and Sousa marches. The old men who take down the flag are clearly veterans who do the job with reverence. It was beautiful.
I bought a brand new Plymouth Satelite for $3700 in 1969!!!
yep. Kathleen Kennedy managed to destroy Star Wars with her SJW nonsense. She will end up costing Disney billions
I am glad you had a good time yesterday. What was your experience with lines and wait times.
I am from Southern California as well.
Ping
I remember going to Disney World in Orlando way back in ‘92 and it was around $50 for one day. That was a lot of money back then. Equivalent of $91.27 today. But back then, people did not spend as much money on things like we would do today.
God intelligently designed the woof to have a robust genome with lots a room for selective breeding.
The dog is God’s gift to us in the DNA of the woof.
Well, middle class Whites have the income and the time to go to a Disney park. Families are usually cash strapped and time is a luxury for them.
He did a great job. My dog makes his own
Vitamin C and I can’t. Makes me wonder who
he really likes...
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