Disney World still drawing crowds after Don’t Say Gay bill battle – The Florida Times-Union
We went to Disney over the weekend.
I cannot write about exactly why we went there. Let’s just say while Disney never has been my idea of the happiest place on earth, and while Halloween never has been my favorite holiday — I’ve told the story before about being held up at gunpoint for my candy while living in Reno (actual story, not a country music song) — I was quite happy to go to Magic Kingdom for one night of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
Let’s also just say that my wife, Toni, and I were particularly excited to see one of the characters in the “Boo to You” Parade.
To my dismay, we weren’t alone.
What happened to that Disney boycott?
I mean, the main reason I’ve been the Disney curmudgeon in our family is I don’t like crowds and lines. Through the years, my wife and daughter always embraced both, expertly and excitedly navigating the parks, maps and apps.
More than once, they have said something like, “It was only a 45-minute for this ride.” This has led me to suggest that if we walked up to a restaurant and it was a 45-minute wait for a table, a place where we’d sit at a table for hours, we’d likely move on – but a 45-minute wait for a 3-minute ride is good news?
I know such a comment only confirms that I’m the Disney curmudgeon.
So I was hopeful that this time there wouldn’t be crowds, partly because Disney sells limited tickets for the nightly Halloween event, partly because of the Disney boycott.
Disney in middle of 2022 culture wars
You may recall what happened earlier this year. It made a bit of news.
After the state passed HB 1557 — known as the “Parental Rights in Education” law (and dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics) — Disney CEO Bob Chapek made several remarks opposing the bill.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers responded by revoking the 1967 arrangement that basically allowed Disney to self-govern its 25,000-acre Orlando complex. (Florida has more than 1,800 special districts, most of which will not be affected.)
Florida Sen. Rick Scott was one of the politicians who joined in, saying he canceled his subscription to the Disney+ channel and would not be going back to Disney World.
As Disney World continued to celebrate its 50th anniversary, picketers gathered near one entrance and the co-founders of Moms for Liberty called for a boycott.
Fox News did a story titled “Woke Disney” that detailed the views of “10 Families Who Are Swearing Off Disney.” And the governor’s press secretary shared a letter from a parent somewhere in the Midwest who said they would never return to Disney World — which since it opened in 1972, had become the most visited theme park in the world.
So with all of this in mind, I headed to Orlando looking forward to experiencing “It’s a Small, Empty Disney World After All.” I envisioned driving on Orlando’s interstates — for the first time in history not getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic! — and pulling right to the front row of the parking lot, enjoying a quiet ride on the ferry, walking into the park and seeing a wait time sign that said “0 Minutes.”
It didn’t quite happen like that.
We got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way there. When we arrived at the parking lots, there already were thousands of cars. We parked next to another car from Duval and saw other license plates from all over the country, including the Midwest.
That evening’s Halloween party, like pretty much every other one for months (with tickets starting at $109 plus tax), was sold out. And Disney’s daily attendance is back to near pre-pandemic levels, even though international visitation (typically about 20 percent of all visitors) remains below normal.
And revenue has increased.
Don’t say pay?
It turns out that, despite the boycott efforts, a lot of people still are happy to spend their money at Disney.
Disney parks earn $7 billion in quarter
The Orlando Sentinel recently reported that the dispute with the governor seems to have had little effect on Disney’s bottom line. In the third quarter, Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division earned nearly $7.4 billion in revenue. For perspective, that’s about five times the City of Jacksonville’s annual budget. In one quarter.
And if my experience is any indication, the fourth quarter is going to be bonkers. The night I was there, not only were tickets sold out, when a gift shop began selling Halloween-themed merchandise at 7 p.m., the place quickly took on a “Black Friday at Walmart” ambiance, with people seemingly grabbing everything they could.
Not that for all my grumbling about crowds and costs, I would’ve preferred to have Disney empty instead of full of families, many of them dressed for Halloween.
While I think I’ll always prefer a national park to a theme park, I’ve come to appreciate how happy Disney makes my wife and daughter, now a junior at the University of Central Florida.
Knowing that I don’t like dressing up for Halloween, Toni came up with a compromise. We wore T-shirts that said “UCF Mom” and “UCF Dad.”
And let’s just say that watching the parade, spotting one particular character and seeing that character blow us kisses, made me say something that I don’t typically say. I was happy to be at Disney.
mwoods@jacksonville.com
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