
It’s Pumpkin Spice season, A.K.A. fall. It’s that time of year when you start to bust out your flannels and ingest those oddly flavored pumpkin things. You can find everything from body wash to trash bags in a pumpkin spice scent, but there’s always Starbucks for those craving even more. Admittedly, most companies started rolling out their fall flavors in August, but now the weather is beginning to change, and America is ready for Fall.
But more than just America, the Walt Disney Company is hoping for a massive fall and winter season. After a disappointing summer at the box office with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) and The Haunted Mansion (2023) failing to garner an audience, Disney Studios has high hopes for Wish (2023) this November.
But this Fall is especially important for the Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida. This summer, the predominant story surrounding Disney World was that the parks were empty and that Disney was bleeding money from losing guests.
As Walt Disney World is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, it has introduced some new events to draw in the audience in September. It started two weeks ago when Chairman of Disney Parks, Entertainment, and Products Josh D’Amaro announced at the D23 Expo that the Figment meet and greet would be opening the next day.
Figment fans swarmed EPCOT, causing the line to swell to nearly five hours. But even with the line, people still showed up for the attraction. EPCOT was packed again this past Friday as Disney changed Soarin’ Around the World back to the original Soarin’ Over California. This brief update for the 100th anniversary brought large crowds to EPCOT for the weekend.
But will temporary ride changes and new meet and greets be enough to keep the crowds coming? Maybe it’s already starting to work. Disney has seen increased groups this Fall, and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom is completely sold out for the remainder of September and all of October. The only remaining open date is November 1.
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom Park is nearing a sellout. Only one date (Nov. 1) is still available. pic.twitter.com/xpJhOF7zio
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 23, 2023
Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant, told the Wall Street Journal:
I have seen through the years where Halloween has made or broken a season. They knew they needed to start thinking ahead and hanging their hat on Halloween.
As we get later into Fall, EPCOT will have the opening of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, to once again bring in the crowds. And as soon as Halloween ends, Disney World is getting ready for Christmas. Tickets are already on sale for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and the first two nights in early November are already sold out.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers the new Jollywood Nights starting in November for adults looking for a more upscale way to celebrate the holidays. The first date is also already sold out.
Storm Clouds Coming
Despite all this good news, some storm clouds are brewing for the Walt Disney World Resort and the theme park industry as a whole. Despite what Walt Disney Company C.E.O. Bob Iger said, there’s still the cost of a ticket to consider.
Even with discounts, a Disney theme park vacation isn’t cheap. And there are significant economic issues to deal with. There are 18,600 auto workers on strike, and America is days away from a government shutdown, which would temporarily put more than 700,000 people out of work.
And then there’s the big one. Student loan repayments begin again on October 1. Disney fans will have another financial burden to balance before deciding to splurge for the Disney Genie Plus.
Despite the struggles of the summer, the Walt Disney World Resort is off to an excellent start to the fall. Now, all that’s left is to see if it can keep it up for the year’s final three months.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.