The most iconic theme park in the U.S. and the world is facing an unprecedented crisis right now. Walt Disney World typically sees millions of visitors every year, but things are remarkably different in 2023. Several reports expose that Disney theme parks are shockingly empty this summer, and there are several reasons contributing to the company’s ongoing downturn. With ticket prices reaching sky-high levels while Americans take another hit to their purchasing power this year, many families can no longer afford to visit Disney’s famous parks, and that means more financial losses for the entertainment giant. Today, we decided to expose what is really behind Disney’s growing problems.
According to an attendance analysis from travel company Touring Plans, Disney's flagship Orlando, Florida, theme park is seeing "shockingly low crowds" this summer. Analysts highlighted that the attendance levels over the July Fourth weekend "looked more like September crowds" and were the lowest in almost a decade. This is happening despite the holiday traditionally being one of the busiest times for Disney World. 
Touring Plans used numbers provided by the Disney park mobile app, which tracks day-to-day attendance by ride wait times, and it found that at Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which has been described by Orlando's tourism board as the "world's most famous theme park," the average wait time the Fourth of July holiday was 27 minutes. This was a stark change compared to 47 minutes before the pandemic. 
Meanwhile, Disney World's Animal Kingdom, saw Independence Day wait times of just 25 minutes, Touring Plans reported, roughly 10 minutes shorter than the 34-minute wait times seen last year. But the biggest drop was seen at the park's Hollywood Studios, which had an average July Fourth wait time of just 18 minutes. This was a massive decrease from 2022 levels, according to the travel company, when wait times at the park averaged 44 minutes. Overall, the Fourth of July holiday was the third-slowest day at Disney World in the past twelve months.
Undoubtedly, the thinning traffic is bad news for the entertainment giant, which is in the midst of a $5.5 billion cost-cutting spree that has resulted in over 7,000 layoffs across its divisions, including sports cable empire ESPN, so far this year. Although Disney is often thought of as the quintessential family holiday, and U.S. households of all stripes have been flocking to Walt Disney World for nearly five decades, exorbitant ticket price increases are playing a major role in the ongoing slowdown. Disney CEO Bob Iger also hiked the price of certain rides while imposing tickets on previously offered free attractions. Many parkgoers have been "loudly complaining about Disney raising admission prices and eliminating free amenities," the Journal reported. 
Now that a recession is at our door, and Americans’ saving rates are plunging, consumers are holding off on shelling out on expensive family vacations like visiting theme parks. Research from the Federal Reserve found that American households had completely depleted their pandemic-era excess savings by now. The entertainment giant hasn’t experienced such a severe crisis since its foundation, and deteriorating economic conditions will certainly complicate matters even further. The outlook remains cloudy for Disney, and with so many financial losses piling on, we can only hope its next production saves the day.