While rival theme parks report falling visitor numbers, Disney's parks are quietly filling up. The reason is not a new ride or a blockbuster film — it's discounts.
According to figures reported by The Wall Street Journal, attendance at Disney's parks rose 3 percent in the most recent quarter compared with last year, the biggest jump since the post-pandemic surge of 2023, and the company expects the climb to continue through the end of the year. That's notable given what's happening elsewhere: Universal Orlando and SeaWorld have both reported fewer guests than last summer.
Universal's slump has been blamed on a mix of factors — expensive flights, high fuel prices and the timing of Epic Universe, which opened in Florida last year, meaning some visitors may have delayed their trips until 2025. SeaWorld points to July's poor weather and a drop in international travellers heading to the US. Disney, by contrast, has leaned into promotions designed to bring American families through the gates. CFO Hugh Johnson has said the focus is squarely on discounting and lower prices.
The deals are the story for travellers. Disney has expanded its Cool Kids' Summer programme, running from late May to early September, with kid-focused extras like dance parties and character meet-and-greets. At Disneyland Resort in California, children aged 3 to 9 can now get free 'park hopping' between the resort's two parks. And a year-round promotion launched at the start of this year lets young children eat for free when their party books a Disney-owned hotel room and buys a dining plan.
Why does this matter if you're planning a trip? Theme park holidays have become notoriously expensive, and the usual advice has been to book early and expect to pay full freight. Disney's current strategy flips that: the company is actively competing on price to keep crowds up during Florida's brutal summer heat, when it would normally coast on peak-season demand. In practice, that means families who travel during the summer slump may find dining credits, kids' perks and hotel-plus-ticket bundles that simply weren't on offer a couple of years ago.
It's also a reminder to shop around between resorts. With Universal and SeaWorld competing harder for a smaller pool of visitors, there's room to negotiate or at least compare packages before committing. For anyone with young children, the free dining and park-hopping perks are the kind of savings that add up fast on a week-long trip — often several hundred dollars for a family of four.
The catch: deals like these tend to be tied to specific dates and bookings, and they can be pulled as quickly as they appear. If a Disney trip is on your list for this year, it's worth checking the current promotions before you lock in dates — and considering the shoulder-season window when the discounts are deepest and the queues are shortest.
