When will Disneyland go back to operating at 100% capacity?

[Foxhound3857]

I was at Disneyland on Monday the 19th for my 35th birthday, for the first time in 17 years, hadn't been there since Grad Nite in 2006. Loved every moment I was there, from building a Lightsaber and a Droid to the new Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs attractions and the remodeled Guardians Tower and Incredicoaster. Even the older rides that haven't changed had received updates and look far more impressive now, Indiana Jones in particular. Aside from the crowd (which I was told was actually pretty calm compared to some days my siblings go), there wasn't one thing I was disappointed with, save for the reservation system.

I had such a good time that I'm strongly considering getting my own Magic Key at some point to make it a semi-regular thing, likely an Enchant Key when and if they resume sales. However I've also been told that the park, despite the heavy crowd I saw that night, is still somehow not operating at full capacity, which contributes to the difficulty of getting reservations and how quickly keys sell out whenever they go on sale. My sister and BIL won't be going back until September likely, so I'm not sure if I'd be able to secure a key by then, but besides that, I'm wondering why the park is still not operating at 100% capacity despite COVID restrictions being all but history at this point, and when/if they go back to 100% capacity, will the reservation system go away?

 

[Foxhound3857]

Oh man, just realized this is in the wrong subforum. Could someone move it for me please, thank you.

 

[MillauFr]

What does 100% capacity mean anyway?

 

[DizMe]

I'm also unsure what is meant by the "100% capacity" term. Things have changed, but I think that's primarily operational. I really don't know!

 

[foolish_mortals]

It seems like they run at close to 100% capacity for the amount of staffing they have for that day. Christmas week and some weekdays recently definitely feels like they are at 100%

The reservation system isn’t going anywhere for a while. It is for them to staff the parks according to the amount of crowd. They use it since they will prefer to understaff the park on a busy day rather than overstaff on a slow day. At best we will see them open same day reservations/entry for MKs on slow days.

 

[Lm3js]

I was there Monday and thought it was more crowded than I have seen it in years. Sunday was super chill, but Monday, ride lines for tier1 rides were already 2 hours at 9am, POTC was already wrapping around the bridge and LL's were already in the evening for Indy.

 

[DizMe]

Oh, I completely misunderstood the term. I was thinking it meant the parks themselves weren't at 100%, as in not everything was up and running yet or fully staffed.

 

[MillauFr]

I was there Monday and thought it was more crowded than I have seen it in years. Sunday was super chill, but Monday, ride lines for tier1 rides were already 2 hours at 9am, POTC was already wrapping around the bridge and LL's were already in the evening for Indy.

Monday is typically the busiest day of the week.

 

[DLgal]

Well, Bob Chapek said the parks would never go back to pre pandemic crowd levels. This is by design at this point. But the high prices are going to keep the crowds somewhat self regulated. But Bob Chapek was also fired, so...

The problem isn't the crowds, it's the staffing levels.

 

[joseph821]

Well, Bob Chapek said the parks would never go back to pre pandemic crowd levels. This is by design at this point. But the high prices are going to keep the crowds somewhat self regulated. But Bob Chapek was also fired, so...

The problem isn't the crowds, it's the staffing levels.

It is the staffing levels for sure. Attendance must be soft: California Ticket Deals and adding Tier 0 ticket days in August and September. They would rather make more money with lower staffing costs and the minimum amount of guest attendance.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Is there a lot of staff turnover at the moment or something? My siblings have Believe Keys and they had a hard time reserving the Monday we went, over a month in advance even.

I'll be shooting for an Enchant Key when and if sales resume (assuming it's not a 10 hour wait just to get on the darn website), but if it's always going to be this difficult to book a day to go regardless of your pass tier...eh, I don't know.

Well, Bob Chapek said the parks would never go back to pre pandemic crowd levels. This is by design at this point. But the high prices are going to keep the crowds somewhat self regulated. But Bob Chapek was also fired, so...

The problem isn't the crowds, it's the staffing levels.

They never plan to return to 100% capacity? What's the calculation behind that?

 

[Steven G]

The below is my opinion and watching how the reservation system works, I am not saying I am definitely correct below:


I am going under the assumption that they are not at 100% capacity, and using the definition of 100% capacity as that they will allow as many people as possible into the park until the fire marshall says no more can enter (i.e. some legal limitation). However, at this point they are probably pretty close to this level. Please note that this 100% capacity level is RARELY if ever met (think Christmas).

The reservation system is not used to control capacity for COVID or social distancing purposes, at least not anymore.

It is used to:

1) Predict crowd level so they can staff accordingly.
2) Make sure that the more "desirable" guest is able to enter the park. The most "desirable" are disney hotel guests, the second most are regular ticket holders, and the 3rd are magic key holders. As far as other unusual ticket types, I do not know where they rank.

The fact that magic keys cannot get a reservation at this point in certain cases, is because they want to make sure the other type of guests can get in.

I assume if they "know" that they will have low staffing on a certain day or period of days, perhaps they lower the amount of reservations, however there is really no way for us to know if that happens, or how often it happens.

If we look today at the magic key reservation page:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/

we see that most (or actually, all in the case right now) days are completely open (as long as you have a key that isn't blocked for that day because of the type of pass it is).

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Is there a lot of staff turnover at the moment or something? My siblings have Believe Keys and they had a hard time reserving the Monday we went, over a month in advance even.

I'll be shooting for an Enchant Key when and if sales resume (assuming it's not a 10 hour wait just to get on the darn website), but if it's always going to be this difficult to book a day to go regardless of your pass tier...eh, I don't know.


They never plan to return to 100% capacity? What's the calculation behind that?

The calculation behind that is they are making more profit with fewer people so what’s the point in adding more people and having to increase staff, maintenance, etc?

 

[DLgal]

Is there a lot of staff turnover at the moment or something? My siblings have Believe Keys and they had a hard time reserving the Monday we went, over a month in advance even.

I'll be shooting for an Enchant Key when and if sales resume (assuming it's not a 10 hour wait just to get on the darn website), but if it's always going to be this difficult to book a day to go regardless of your pass tier...eh, I don't know.


They never plan to return to 100% capacity? What's the calculation behind that?

Parks were too crowded, according to guests.

 

[Foxhound3857]

The calculation behind that is they are making more profit with fewer people so what’s the point in adding more people and having to increase staff, maintenance, etc?

Because California's population isn't getting any smaller, so eventually demand will exceed supply by such a wide margin that they will have to accomodate.

I find it strange that they would consider Magic Key holders to be a lower tier than regular ticket buyers. People that are willing to lay out a wad of cash on the spot for an AP obviously means that they are loyal customers who keep coming back, whereas tourists just visiting California might only make one trip in their lifetime.

 

[Kit Jackson]

People that are willing to lay out a wad of cash on the spot for an AP obviously means that they are loyal customers who keep coming back, whereas tourists just visiting California might only make one trip in their lifetime.

My guess is that the people who are doing a once in a lifetime trip will spend more, because this is thier only chance to do everything, so they will pay for extras and special things. A regular AP vistor may not, because they can always do something next time, so they may not pay for something they know they can do another day.

 

[Foxhound3857]

My guess is that the people who are doing a once in a lifetime trip will spend more, because this is thier only chance to do everything, so they will pay for extras and special things. A regular AP vistor may not, because they can always do something next time, so they may not pay for something they know they can do another day.

To me that just sounds like AP holders are paying for a first class ticket to fly in the luggage compartment. That's a little unfair if that's how corporate really views it, all the money they made off of that person short-term to be given the lowest priority.

I wonder if that has something to do with how scarcely they sell Magic Keys anymore and how quickly they go out of stock. I haven't told my sister that I'm for sure getting a Magic Key yet but I probably am going to commit to it, depending on how often it happens and how bad the wait times get.

 

[Steven G]

A magic key holder has the POTENTIAL to spend a lot less per day than a day ticket holder.
once a magic key holder goes to the park more than the cost of the pass compared to a day ticket holder, they are then not as desirable. That is typically 5 to 10 park days Per year depending on various variables.

they also get various discounts in the parks and resort.

thus they get less priority in reservations.

I am not saying this is right or even good for disney, just that is how they are looking at things.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

I think the premise of this thread is that attendance is being restricted and that is making it difficult for Magic Key holders to make reservations. I don’t believe this is the case. We have never had an issue making reservations for days we wanted. Even though the relatives in this case said it was difficult to get the reservation, it still sounds like they did. I am not seeing this as a problem.

In terms of how Disney views Magic Key holders, at least under the former CEO it was seen as an unfavorable mix with too many key holders.

 

[DLgal]

I've never been "locked out" of a day I wanted to go to Disneyland in almost 2 years as a Magic Key holder.

And I go a LOT.