2009: WDW SPENDING DROP LARGEST SINCE 2001...

[daguru]

A closer look at how Walt Disney World fared in 2009

Spending on tickets, food and merchandise at Walt Disney World fell in 2009, the first annual drop at the Orlando resort in nearly a decade and yet another example of how it has been squeezed by the global recession.

Guests at Disney World spent an average of 4 percent less in the resort’s theme parks during its 2009 fiscal year, according to a new regulatory filing from the Walt Disney Co. Park spending last dropped at Disney World in 2001, during the country’s last recession.

Disney’s year-end filing provides the most detailed glimpse of how the company’s biggest theme-park has resort fared through what Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger called probably “the weakest economy in our lifetime.”

In addition to the in-park drop, guest spending at Disney World’s hotels and time shares dropped 8 percent, from a per-room average of $223 to $205. That was the lowest level since 2005 and the first year-over-year decrease since 2003.

Both drops reflected Disney’s use of heavy discounts — including promotions featuring either seven hotel nights for the price of four or free dining — to keep travelers coming amid the brutal environment.

Attendance for the year was essentially flat with 2008. Hotel occupancy slid 3 percentage points, to 87 percent.

Spending at Disneyland also dropped, as in-park spending fell 9 percent and hotel spending dropped 7 percent. But attendance at the Anaheim, Calif., resort, which draws far more local traffic than Disney World, jumped 7 percent.

Disney’s fiscal year ended Oct. 3. The company’s fiscal 2009 had an extra week in it because of a timing quirk; every six years or so, Disney has a 53-week fiscal year in order to the ending date of the year close to Sept. 30.

Source: The Daily Disney Blog; http://thedailydisney.com/blog/2009/12/a-closer-look-at-how-walt-disney-world-fared-in-2009/

The economy is just a red herring... the real reason (IMHO) is the new philosophy on Disney merchandise. If you have the EXACT same items EVERYWHERE, then no one is going to buy as much. Every gift shop will have the exact same stuff, with few variations. And the recent changes to resort gift shops, the removal of resort specific merchandise, is a horrible decision! Disney is suffering from over saturation of everything!

Pins fall into this category... but don't get me start on pins, I may never stop!

The other problem with Disney merchandise is that it seems to fall into two categories: affordable stuff looks cheap and high end stuff that is priced WAY TOO high. Most of the "affordable" merchandise just looks like cheap, knock-offs, that you could find at any department store or tourist trap store... At the other end of the spectrum are the high-end merchandise, which is priced so high it is out of the price range of most people. This kind of merchandise are the items you find at the Art of Disney stores, snowglobes, figurines, etc... These items have been priced so high lately, that the casual (and even some report/resident/APs) guests can't afford to spend their trip budget on these high price items. Maybe that is why the Walt Disney Classics Collection is rumored to be closing down (can't seem to find the link to the rumor)...

Of course, Disney is going to blame this on the economy... I'm am sure that the economy is part of the blame, but I think the lack of quality merchandise is a bigger reason. I know that personally, we were amazed by how little we have purchased over the last year or two, compared to what we used to purchase. When we see the same thing over and over, whether we are at different parks, DTD, or even at a resort, there is no reason to buy anything...

Ok.... time to calm down and step off my soap box... Am I close to the mark or am I insane in the membrane?
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Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!

[WDWFan]

I have to agree with the comments.

Same thing everywhere, either very cheap or very expensive, over saturation

[daguru]

And when you give away a ton of food (free dining offers), of course your dining revenue is going to go down... Even more when you raise prices to help offset the free dining...

Yeah this all helps keep your attendance numbers up, but revenues actually go down... Very difficult situation they were put in, very slippery slope... recession is a major factor, but I think Mgmt may have made some poor decisions... But WDW has been down this road before, it comes in cycles... Just need to see when the cycle starts to come back up.
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Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!

[alsirrap]

Yeah, listening to the 4th quarter shareholders meeting, even though the discounts filled the resorts and the parks, it didn't help the restaurants and gifts shops at all. That's makes me feel bad for the parks and at the same time makes me smile at the irony of how people still manage to get to enjoy the parks without going broke to do so. I heard so many stories about people bringing in their food coolers, that I couldn't believe it.