Too Many Hotels, Not Enough Parks

[jhaig]

I just listened to this week’s podcast and the rumors regarding all of these different hotels going up. With all of these additional rooms going in, won’t this make the parks even more of a crowded mess than they already are now? Yes, there are more attractions on the horizon which should help a little. However, I’m getting claustrophobic just imagining what Main St USA will be like. I would think that nothing short of a 5th gate would help disperse the massive crowds that are already present and the even bigger crowds to come.

 

[rteetz]

No adding more hotels won’t make the parks even more crowded. Not everyone that goes to WDW is staying on property. Many are locals or are staying off property.

Disney’s occupancy rate is at 90% domestically. You can’t get much higher than that overall. Building more hotels won’t increase crowds much if at all.

 

[disneysteve]

I agree that building more hotels onsite won't affect the crowds in the parks. Most guests currently stay offsite due to the limited capacity onsite. More Disney hotels just means more onsite guests and fewer offsite.

What more hotels could mean, though, is more crowding of the onsite transportation system. More crowded buses. More crowded boats. More crowed gondolas (if new hotels are on that system). More crowds at Disney Springs potentially. More crowded restaurants onsite since those staying onsite tend to stay onsite while those staying offsite often do at least some of their dining offsite as well.

So yes, more onsite hotels will lead to more crowding, just not in the parks necessarily.

 

[rteetz]

I agree that building more hotels onsite won't affect the crowds in the parks. Most guests currently stay offsite due to the limited capacity onsite. More Disney hotels just means more onsite guests and fewer offsite.

What more hotels could mean, though, is more crowding of the onsite transportation system. More crowded buses. More crowded boats. More crowed gondolas (if new hotels are on that system). More crowds at Disney Springs potentially. More crowded restaurants onsite since those staying onsite tend to stay onsite while those staying offsite often do at least some of their dining offsite as well.

So yes, more onsite hotels will lead to more crowding, just not in the parks necessarily.

Yes and no to that. Disney is adding more transportation. Now if Disney added new hotels and didn’t do anything about transportation it certainly would be a problem. The gondola system should be much more efficient than a bus system which will help.

 

[disneysteve]

Yes and no to that. Disney is adding more transportation. Now if Disney added new hotels and didn’t do anything about transportation it certainly would be a problem. The gondola system should be much more efficient than a bus system which will help.

True. It may not mean more crowded buses. It may just mean more buses overall although fewer cars which might help. It could mean more crowds waiting for boats because there is a practical limit to how many boats they can run on a particular route. And if the gondola is a big success, that might actually cut down some bus traffic from those resorts so it could all balance out to some extent.

 

[rteetz]

True. It may not mean more crowded buses. It may just mean more buses overall although fewer cars which might help. It could mean more crowds waiting for boats because there is a practical limit to how many boats they can run on a particular route. And if the gondola is a big success, that might actually cut down some bus traffic from those resorts so it could all balance out to some extent.

As far as I’m aware you will have no Epcot/DHS buses from the gondola resorts to those parks. Much like there are no buses for yacht, beach, and boardwalk as you have the boat or walking. Yacht and beach will have the advantage of having both boat and gondola.

 

[disneysteve]

As far as I’m aware you will have no Epcot/DHS buses from the gondola resorts to those parks. Much like there are no buses for yacht, beach, and boardwalk as you have the boat or walking.

Ah. I didn't realize those resorts didn't have bus transportation currently.

 

[OKW Lover]

With all of these additional rooms going in, won’t this make the parks even more of a crowded mess than they already are now?

No. People don't come to WDW to stay at a resort. They come to WDW to go to the parks. Where they stay (Disney or off property) won't affect how crowded the parks are.

 

[disneysteve]

No. People don't come to WDW to stay at a resort. They come to WDW to go to the parks. Where they stay (Disney or off property) won't affect how crowded the parks are.

I do wonder, though, if more onsite rooms won't mean more guests overall. I would think that most of the people who currently stay offsite, like my family, do so for a reason, not because we couldn't get a room onsite. No matter how many hotels they add on property, we will continue to stay offsite, but somebody will fill all of those new rooms. Attendance at the parks has been steadily climbing. Will more rooms just further spur that growth? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I just don't think new Disney hotels will solely be occupied by people who formerly stayed offsite.

 

[rteetz]

I do wonder, though, if more onsite rooms won't mean more guests overall. I would think that most of the people who currently stay offsite, like my family, do so for a reason, not because we couldn't get a room onsite. No matter how many hotels they add on property, we will continue to stay offsite, but somebody will fill all of those new rooms. Attendance at the parks has been steadily climbing. Will more rooms just further spur that growth? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I just don't think new Disney hotels will solely be occupied by people who formerly stayed offsite.

Even without the new hotels onsite Orlando continues to grow. They have been breaking tourism records nearly every year. Hotels are being built at universal and other properties as well. Disney hotels have been filled to the brim. Orlando overall is just a very crowded/popular destination no matter where you stay.

 

[disneysteve]

Even without the new hotels onsite Orlando continues to grow. They have been breaking tourism records nearly every year. Hotels are being built at universal and other properties as well. Disney hotels have been filled to the brim. Orlando overall is just a very crowded/popular destination no matter where you stay.

Very true. The entire area just gets busier and busier. And when Galaxy's Edge opens, it will only get worse because it will attract guests who may not have been interested in visiting Disney previously, just as Wizarding World brought new people to Universal (like my family). And the Margaritaville complex is coming along and will draw in more people.

 

[hertamaniac]

I just listened to this week’s podcast and the rumors regarding all of these different hotels going up. With all of these additional rooms going in, won’t this make the parks even more of a crowded mess than they already are now?

I do think there will be an increase in the parks attendance due to the hotels expanding. But trying to quantify that, I cannot tackle.

If you have ~90% occupancy rates and you just expanded, say for example, 2000 rooms, I cannot see how the parks won't see an influx of guests.

 

[rteetz]

I do think there will be an increase in the parks attendance due to the hotels expanding. But trying to quantify that, I cannot tackle.

If you have ~90% occupancy rates and you just expanded, say for example, 2000 rooms, I cannot see how the parks won't see an influx of guests.

There won’t be any larger increase than there would be without any new hotels. People coming to Orlando are still coming to Orlando. These new hotels give people more options.

 

[hertamaniac]

There won’t be any larger increase than there would be without any new hotels. People coming to Orlando are still coming to Orlando. These new hotels give people more options.

Increasing the hotel bandwidth with more rooms in Orlando will certainly see more park visitors; the ceiling just moved upward.

 

[disneysteve]

Increasing the hotel bandwidth with more rooms in Orlando will certainly see more park visitors; the ceiling just moved upward.

That would be true if all hotels and other accommodation options were currently operating at capacity but I'm sure that isn't the case. It's simple to find a room in the Disney area. We are last minute planners and have never once had trouble booking a few weeks in advance and we have booked as late as 5 days in advance and still had no trouble. But we stay offsite. Folks who stay onsite probably have a different experience. Booking last minute isn't so easy because the Disney hotels fill up. Those people still come but they stay offsite. With more onsite hotels, there will be more availability onsite but that doesn't necessarily mean more guests in the parks.

In the big picture, of course, as more and more and more visitors come to Orlando, the crowds in the parks will continue to grow regardless of where those guests stay.

 

[hertamaniac]

In the big picture, of course, as more and more and more visitors come to Orlando, the crowds in the parks will continue to grow regardless of where those guests stay.

That is exactly my point. I'm pretty sure that any hotel can manipulate pricing/packages to drive an occupancy percentage. I think it stands to reason that if WDW has more rooms onsite, the lure and proximity of the parks will draw more guests; the offsite guests may still maintain status quo.

 

[disneysteve]

That is exactly my point. I'm pretty sure that any hotel can manipulate pricing/packages to drive an occupancy percentage. I think it stands to reason that if WDW has more rooms onsite, the lure and proximity of the parks will draw more guests; the offsite guests may still maintain status quo.

I guess the question is if you think there are a lot of people currently who want to go to Disney but decide not to because they aren't able to get a hotel room onsite.

 

[rteetz]

That is exactly my point. I'm pretty sure that any hotel can manipulate pricing/packages to drive an occupancy percentage. I think it stands to reason that if WDW has more rooms onsite, the lure and proximity of the parks will draw more guests; the offsite guests may still maintain status quo.

The proximity might lure people but not everyone can afford Disney’s price point. These new hotels Disney is building are not value hotels. These are expensive deluxe accommodations.

 

[rteetz]

I guess the question is if you think there are a lot of people currently who want to go to Disney but decide not to because they aren't able to get a hotel room onsite.

I don’t think that’s currently a problem. I think people just want to vacation in Orlando. Those who want to stay on property typically know about the on property hotels a bit in order to know when or how to book those rooms. People planning on vacationing in Orlando are going whether they stay at Disney or elsewhere for the most part.

 

[hertamaniac]

I guess the question is if you think there are a lot of people currently who want to go to Disney but decide not to because they aren't able to get a hotel room onsite.

I'm sure there are families in that bucket.

I look at the scenario where offsite hotels will be obligated to offer even deeper discounts/incentives to keep their inventory low. So perhaps for that family that was on the cusp and could not afford to stay onsite at Disney, now can afford a multi-park ticket because the additional deluxe rooms at Disney drove them offsite.

In my mind, the new deluxe WDW hotels will have a large percentage of guests that will go to the WDW theme parks. The "offsites" will need to further compete to the point where the pricing is such that those families planning to do a theme park WDW now can. In both scenarios, I see the theme park crowd level increases.

I think the OP concerns are warranted.