The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world, it’s not like it used to be. No wonder Disney World is also getting affected by this worldwide change. If you are planning to go on a trip to Disney World or just a curious fan then the question may arise, what is the average daily attendance at Walt Disney World in 2021?
According to Themed Entertainment Association, Disney World’s average daily attendees are 57 thousand at Magic kingdom, 38 thousand at Disney’s Animal kingdom, 34 thousand at Epcot, and 31 thousand at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (Reported in The OCR)
But the coronavirus era has made a significant change to these numbers. Walt Disney World is still not running with its full capacity and you might be wondering what Disney World is like in 2021. You might also think about if the park is attracting visitors like before or if it is safe to visit the park during the pandemic. In the article, I will explain all these in further detail.
Average Daily Attendance Report of WDW in 2021
Walt Disney World is one of the most visited theme parks in the world. Millions of people from different countries visit the park each year. Disney world never fails to entertain its attendees with a fascinating environment and delightful rides. It always gifts its attendees with an amusing and memorable experience.
But the ongoing pandemic has affected the attendees’ number to a great extent. According to a report by Insider, the attendance of Disney World has dropped almost 80% compared to last year in 2020. This is a huge dropout and it has affected the yearly revenue of Disney World.
As stated in another report by Orlando Sentinel, although the crowd is growing and ride waiting times are increasing after the reopening of the WDW still the number of attendees is not as it used to be.
After the global pandemic started, Disney world shut down in March and reopened in July. People were not quite satisfied with the decision of reopening at that time. There was a lot of criticism in various news outlets and social media on this controversial topic.
- According to an article published in News13, Disney World reopened in mid-July and was operating at 25% capacity initially.
- As reported by Blog Mickey, Walt Disney World increased its capacity to 35% in October.
Visitors I have talked to have since assumed that daily capacity has increased again. You can get an idea as to when Disney increases capacity by looking at the park pass availability calendar. Back at the end of June the availability for July was almost completely gone for annual passholders. Then once they announced fireworks would return it was noticed that availability came back. There were also more park passes made available for October 1st 2021 for the 50th Celebration. Those however were booked quickly.
A report of CINEMABLEND shows that on a weekend day, with a peak of 19 thousand visitors visit Magic Kingdom, which is one of the most visited theme parks of WDW. The report also states that an average of 11 thousand people visit Hollywood Studios on a weekend day.
Disney world does not share its actual capacity nor the number of attendees they get daily. But as stated above, the estimated number of average daily attendees was 57,000 before the pandemic started. So, at present, it might be welcoming a maximum of 35,000 guests daily running with a 35% capacity.
WDW was closed for a long time in 2020 and still is not running with its full capacity. This as well as the fear of Covid-19 has changed the number of daily visitors coming to the park. But the good news is a notable number of attendees is booming in 2021. There are quite a few reasons behind this increasing number of crowds. I will discuss them further in the article.
Why Attendance is Increasing in 2021
It has been over a year now since the pandemic started. People are starting to go back to their normal life and vaccines are also available widely for those who want it. Following this, the number of attendees is also increasing in Disney World.
Several reports show the increasing number of attendees in WDW.
- An article published in Click Orlando shows that as per the online ticket reservation source Disney World hit its bounded capacity on the Labor Day weekend.
- As per the source of Blog Mickey, WDW again hit the capacity limit except for EPCOT just before new year’s eve.
- According to a report by Insidethemagic.com, average daily attendees grew dramatically from Q4 to Q1. This has been a piece of good news for the Chief executive officer Bob Chapek as well as other officials.
- As reported by Orlando Sentinel, spring break is steadily bringing tourists back to Disney World.
Disney World is going to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. So, 2021 is a very special year for WDW. The world will see the most magical celebration this year. Also, people are getting bored with this long-term pandemic. That’s why the increasing number of attendees in WDW is not a big surprise.
Whereas, people were worried over the reopening of Disney world in this era of coronavirus. But nothing alarming happened because of the proper safety measures taken by Disney World. Some of the reasons behind the growing attendance are given below-
- Long-term quarantine is making people fatigued.
- People are getting less afraid of coronavirus at present time.
- Even if people are afraid of the virus they are still getting fed up with being stuck in their homes.
- The reopening of WDW has not affected the situation of COVID-19 that much.
- Disney World is having a good reputation for following safety protocols.
- People are getting vaccinated to a great extent.
- People are feeling safe to visit the park.
- WDW is increasing ride efficiency.
- Many rides are opening for its attendees again.
- People like to visit parks on their weekends and holidays.
Disney World will still have to wait to get back its previous picture. As a fluid situation is ongoing around the world, WDW cannot fully recover its parks right now. Disney will also have to make some important changes to get back its lost number of attendees.
If you are planning to visit Disney World in 2021. Try to keep in mind a few things:
- There are still some limitations to experiences like shows and character meet and greets.
- As the capacity has been limited, expect a less crowdie park.
- You have to book your reservation as early as possible.
- Park hours are still fluid.
The average daily attendees are increasing in WDW day by day. You can’t get the full experience of visiting Disney World if it is not crowded. Who likes to roam around an empty park? As much as short wait times are wonderful, Disney doesn’t feel like Disney unless its crowded right? Thus, the increasing number of attendees is great news for the visitors as well as the officials.
Disney is hoping that this number will keep rising as more people are feeling safe and interested to visit the park. If the pandemic stays in control and the crowd number continues to rise, the park will soon get its old busy environment back. Everybody is looking forward to that.
Conclusion
No matter when you come back to Disney World for your next vacation, it will still be a magical place to make family memories to last a lifetime.
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