Independent data desk · Walt Disney World

The numbers
behind
Disney World.

STANDBY is a data-driven look at Walt Disney World — attendance, prices, and the business underneath the magic. The numbers, not vibes.

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Live data for every open Disney park — free, no signup.

Primary sources
Every chart traces to audited filings, public data, and our own collector.
Cited on screen
If a number isn't sourced, it doesn't go on screen. No exceptions.
Conservative framing
We always use the smaller number. We'd rather underclaim than oversell.

What STANDBY is

Most Disney coverage runs on feeling: it's busier, it's pricier, it's not what it used to be. Maybe. But "maybe" isn't a number.

STANDBY exists to replace the vibe with the figure — to take the questions everyone argues about and answer them with data you can check. Each episode is a single question with a measurable answer: How empty are the parks, really? Did ticket prices actually outrun inflation? How much of a Disney day used to come free in the box?

We pull the numbers, show our work on screen, and tell you exactly where each figure came from.

The rules we don't break

01
Primary sources only
Audited filings, public datasets, and our own wait-time collector — never a screenshot of someone's guess.
02
Cited on screen
If a number isn't sourced, it doesn't go on screen. Every chart names where it came from.
03
Conservative framing
When there's a range, we use the smaller number. We'd rather underclaim than oversell.
04
Seams out loud
When data changes hands or a definition shifts, we say so — instead of papering over it.
05
No fabrication
An honest gap beats a confident guess. If we don't know, we say we don't know.
06
Only what's on the chart
We claim what the data shows — not what it implies or would be convenient to add.

The numbers,
not vibes.

New data on Walt Disney World — every episode.

Watch on YouTube