Disney sees decrease in wait times at parks on Fourth of July

Disney had notably shorter posted wait times for its U.S. theme parks on the Fourth of July, indicating foot traffic was down, according to data from Touring Plans.

Data provided to FOX Business by Touring Plans showed how long guests had to stand in line on average at Disney’s four parks in Florida and two in California decreased quite a bit on Independence Day when compared to the previous year. Those times, which it calculates based on times available on Disney’s apps, can often signal how big of crowds the park is hosting, according to the company.

Hollywood Studios saw the largest decline in its average posted wait time on July 4, going from 44 minutes in 2022 to 18 minutes this year, according to Touring Plans. In 2019, it hovered around 33 minutes.

Independence Day, which fell on a Tuesday, ranked as one of the park’s slowest days in the past 365, the company found. In 2017, when the holiday also coincided with that day of the week, data indicated it was the 23rd slowest. 

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Disney’s other parks in Florida saw varying decreases in average posted wait times on July 4 as well, with EPCOT falling 8 minutes from 2022 to 27 minutes and Magic Kingdom dropping by 9 minutes to 25, according to Touring Plans. Animal Kingdom went from 34 to 25, it found.

The wait times for those parks were 33, 47 and 37 minutes in 2019, according to the Touring Plans data.

In California, average wait times at Disneyland and California Adventure came in at 22 and 29 minutes, respectively, on Independence Day, equating to 11- and five-minute drops from 2022, the data showed. Disneyland’s average posted July 4 wait time in 2019 was the same as it was last year, while California Adventure Park’s matched 2023’s, per Touring Plans.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on the Disney theme park waiting times. Disney, which introduced a reservation system in 2020 to manage attendance numbers, declined to comment.

Len Testa, the president of the research team at Touring Plans, told FOX Business that some factors that affected the wait times on July 4 included it being a Tuesday and extreme temperatures, as well as pricing. The surge of “revenge” travel from 2022 has also cooled, according to Testa.

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The Walt Disney World parks were much busier the Wednesday and Thursday following the Fourth of July, according to Touring Plans.

Testa also noted other parks in central Florida experienced year-over-year declines in their posted wait times for July 4.

The two parks at Universal Orlando Resort had posted wait times that came in at 28 and 25 minutes on Independence Day, compared to 38 and 30 the prior year, Touring Plans found.

Travel agency MickeyTravels co-owner Greg Antonelle told the Wall Street Journal that “from what we’re seeing with our bookings, that pent-up demand has somewhat transitioned to cruises and Europe.”

In a report released last month, Bank of America found that spending for cruises via credit card in April had gone up 36% compared to the prior year, a signal that “pent-up demand is still going strong” for the sector, which experienced a delayed recovery from COVID. Lodging, on the other hand, has experienced a slowdown in spending, something the bank said could stem from hotel price inflation and more people working from the office.

Meanwhile, Bank of America reported that international travel demand “remains resilient,” with American consumer spending outside the U.S. climbing 21% from April last year to April this year. International travel based on bookings has seen more than a 200% increase year over year, according to AAA.

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In a Monday research note previewing Disney’s Q3 earnings, UBS said it believed Disney’s parks revenue “grew 14% you vs. 20%+ in the last two quarters,” something it attributed to “tough comps in Orlando (lapping 50-yr celebrations/strong per capita spend/attendance) while international park/cruise trends remain strong.” Domestic park foot traffic fell 23% year over year through June 24 in the third quarter, UBS said, citing UBS Evidence Lab data.

Disney noted in May as it reported its second-quarter earnings it could see some moderation in demand at its domestic parks in the rest of the fiscal year due to 2022’s “incredibly successful 50th anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World.”