When the bubble bursts.......

C

Claudia1

DIS Veteran
DIS Lifetime Sponsor
Joined
Aug 18, 1999
....Disney may appreciate the AP holders, DVC members, Florida residents, and all the rest of the loyal Disney fans that helped make WDW the trendy place to be and the money machine it is today.

Don't get me wrong. I love Disney and will keep going back. It's like home to me and my family. After 100+ trips plus 19 DVC years and counting with APs, we are not throwing in the towel. In fact, I'm posting this on my flight home from our Sping Break trip and have already made notes for our next trip. I've gotten over my dislike of FastPass+ and have learned to deal with the MDE glitches.

We felt a difference this trip and the perks are going to the highest bidder, not the loyal guests. Like Pete has said many times.....that Disney is going after the new money and new guests. The parade viewing area at the MK train station (now VIP only) and the announced 3-hour extra night MK tickets are two examples. The better or best experiences cost extra and there are lots of guests that will pay for it now. I remember when the loyal guests got more of these perks years ago.

I was particularly dismayed with the growing list of blackouts for Tables in Winderland this trip. Yes, I know there have always been some but the list was quite large this week. Since TiW is only available to APs, Florida residents, and and DVCers, it takes a jab at those of us that have invested the most.

Eventually, the bubble will burst and the new stream of money will slow down. Remember 911? The economy could tank or a number of things could happen When I read about the possibility of resort charges, gasp at the price increase for meals, and see all of the VIP & specialty packages, I wonder how long this cash bubble will last. Virtually every business relies on repeat customers and they nurture those relationships. Except Disney, that is and that makes me sad.

Just my thoughts.
 
Yep, us Florida residents and DVC were what kept Disney going during that time after 9/11, when there was talk of shutting down one park each day and they were giving away rooms at the Contemporary for less than $150 (I personally got one for $121, and some people got a $99 rate, which was unheard of even back then in 2002). I hope that they remember that during the next downturn.
 
I hadn't heard about the 3-hour extra night MK tickets 3-hour extra night MK tickets. Do you think they are trying out having EMHs only for a charge? If this is true (and I really don't know what I'm talking about ) then they are eliminating benefits from loyal guests who prefer staying on site.
 


pampam said:
I hadn't heard about the 3-hour extra night MK tickets 3-hour extra night MK tickets. Do you think they are trying out having EMHs only for a charge? If this is true (and I really don't know what I'm talking about ) then they are eliminating benefits from loyal guests who prefer staying on site.
Click to expand...

Nothing has been done to EMH and the ticketed events are taking place on nights that did not have evening EMH at the MK.

Personally I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner, since they have the parties from September to Jan but nothing the rest of the year.
 
I completely agree with this. I don't have as many trips under my belt, but I have been a loyal guest. I just don't understand how people can keep affording these increased nickel-and-dime add-on things.

My whole beef with the Disney corporation right now is that they continue to post record earnings from the Theme Parks division and the executives continue to get paid astronomical bonuses. But how, exactly, are they hitting these numbers? There's only two ways to increase profits - increase revenue and decrease expenses.

Increased revenues:
  • So many hard ticket events that there are more party dates than non-party dates and packing in more guests than are comfortable (at least from what I hear anecdotally - I, personally, won't pay extra to go to a jam packed party event)
  • VIP experiences for what used to be available to everyone - ex. train station during the parade, as stated above
  • Increased ticket pricing with decreasing benefits - doing away with non-expiring tickets, tiered ticket pricing, etc.
  • Extra MK hours for a cost - hopefully this doesn't lead to charging for EMH
Decreased expenses:
  • Decreased staffing/hiring more CP (i.e. lower paid cast members) - again, just from what I've read and heard on these boards
  • Decreased entertainment - ex. HS Citizens of Hollywood
  • Shuttering of attractions without replacements for years at a time
These are just some of the things that pop into my head when thinking about this. And before people get all over me, I understand that Disney is a for-profit business. I was a Finance major - I get it. But we all know that Disney has always set itself apart from other brands out there because it has always held itself to a higher standard - and we've all come to expect that and enjoy it.

Will I keep going to WDW? Definitely - as long as we can afford it. But we're also the people that would go when the economy isn't good either. I just think at some point, the revenue per guest will hit a tipping point where management can't squeeze out another dollar from the guest and they will lose future customers. And on the other end of the equation, the number of cuts they make to expenses will be so extreme that the guest experience will not be the Disney way.

But, hey, good for Bob Iger, I guess. In 2014, his comp package consisted of a $2.5 million salary, $8.9 million in stock awards, $8.3 million in option awards, $22.8 million in non equity incentives, $2.8 million change in pension value, and $1.1 million in other compensation. Just a small donation of his non-equity incentives probably could have kept the Citizens of Hollywood around for a few more years - and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have even noticed. :worried:

Wow. So sorry this got so long. o_O
 


Claudia1 said:
....Disney may appreciate the AP holders, DVC members, Florida residents, and all the rest of the loyal Disney fans that helped make WDW the trendy place to be and the money machine it is today.

Don't get me wrong. I love Disney and will keep going back. It's like home to me and my family. After 100+ trips plus 19 DVC years and counting with APs, we are not throwing in the towel. In fact, I'm posting this on my flight home from our Sping Break trip and have already made notes for our next trip. I've gotten over my dislike of FastPass+ and have learned to deal with the MDE glitches.

We felt a difference this trip and the perks are going to the highest bidder, not the loyal guests. Like Pete has said many times.....that Disney is going after the new money and new guests. The parade viewing area at the MK train station (now VIP only) and the announced 3-hour extra night MK tickets are two examples. The better or best experiences cost extra and there are lots of guests that will pay for it now. I remember when the loyal guests got more of these perks years ago.

I was particularly dismayed with the growing list of blackouts for Tables in Winderland this trip. Yes, I know there have always been some but the list was quite large this week. Since TiW is only available to APs, Florida residents, and and DVCers, it takes a jab at those of us that have invested the most.

Eventually, the bubble will burst and the new stream of money will slow down. Remember 911? The economy could tank or a number of things could happen When I read about the possibility of resort charges, gasp at the price increase for meals, and see all of the VIP & specialty packages, I wonder how long this cash bubble will last. Virtually every business relies on repeat customers and they nurture those relationships. Except Disney, that is and that makes me sad.

Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, the cash bubble will last as long as guests like you and me allow. In one post, you voice your displeasure about a number of different items and don't feel appreciated by Disney, but at the same time you indicate that you are already making notes for your next trip. Disney is a company that is trying to make the maximum amount of money possible. If Disney continues to cut staffing and services while continuing to raise prices and "nickel and dime" people and people continue to come to the parks, they're only going to continue to do it more. Until Disney starts to feel the effects of their bad decisions in their wallet they will not stop. I've been going to WDW since the Magic Kingdom was about 4 months old and I was in a stroller. I had a reservation for a package booked for June, but after hearing about all of the cuts they've made to save money coupled with tiered pricing, I finally said enough is enough. I cancelled my booking and emailed my concerns to Disney. This summer we will be in Florida for a cruise and it will be the first time that I've been in the state of Florida without going to WDW. I realize that my individual cancellation does not mean anything and it will be strange to be in the neighborhood and not stop by Mickey's house to say hello, but we need to draw the line somewhere.
 
parkluvr said:
Unfortunately, the cash bubble will last as long as guests like you and me allow. In one post, you voice your displeasure about a number of different items and don't feel appreciated by Disney, but at the same time you indicate that you are already making notes for your next trip. Disney is a company that is trying to make the maximum amount of money possible. If Disney continues to cut staffing and services while continuing to raise prices and "nickel and dime" people and people continue to come to the parks, they're only going to continue to do it more. Until Disney starts to feel the effects of their bad decisions in their wallet they will not stop. I've been going to WDW since the Magic Kingdom was about 4 months old and I was in a stroller. I had a reservation for a package booked for June, but after hearing about all of the cuts they've made to save money coupled with tiered pricing, I finally said enough is enough. I cancelled my booking and emailed my concerns to Disney. This summer we will be in Florida for a cruise and it will be the first time that I've been in the state of Florida without going to WDW. I realize that my individual cancellation does not mean anything and it will be strange to be in the neighborhood and not stop by Mickey's house to say hello, but we need to draw the line somewhere.
Click to expand...

I agree with this exactly. Disney will continue to raise prices and create up-charges fro things on-site guests are used to receiving as included in their package until the return starts to decrease. I love Disney, but our last trip was when I noticed the no longer magical place was increasingly becoming just like any other vacation destination.

I know that the things they have started or are considering charging more for are things that you usually pay extra for elsewhere, but the difference is that in Disney the price of hotel room is already (IMO) extremely high for what you get. we have taken our vacation budget elsewhere and I honestly can't see us going back.

We cruise and it is usually out of Port Canaveral and always went down a day early to visit Downtown Disney (Disney Springs), but our cruise next February we will be visiting other Orlando destinations. For us (right now) the cons outweigh the pros.
 
This hit on something emotionally I think for me. All of us 'insiders' who put in the time and did the research, kept up with the latest changes and news, and had discovered really good value or insider tips have had this stolen from us and sold to noobs! LOL I don't know why that upsets me so bad but Disney has devalued my intellectual property that took many years and trips to build. FP+ was really the start of it but it's just getting ridiculous.
 
nilla said:
Is that a recurring thing? The page has next to no info.
Click to expand...

I just checked again, it seems the Disney site is working intermittently, no surprise there. The information was gone on my phone but displayed properly on my computer. Too bad they still can't even get their website to work properly...
 
The bubble could burst at any time, so why not make as much money as you can now?
 
nilla said:
Is that a recurring thing? The page has next to no info.
Click to expand...

If you expand each section, all the information is there, with the exception of the price,which is $150. For now, it is scheduled for 7 dates this spring. I'm sure they will reevaluate whether to extend it after seeing the popularity (or lack-there-of) of this ticketed event. It is essentially a hard-ticket event like the Halloween, Christmas and dessert parties, but with a "limited number of tickets."
 
A couple days ago my mother overheard a handler say to a character, as they were going onstage, "As of today, there are no more Magical Moments."

I think that sums up the entire situation at WDW as of late. I will still go as long as I can afford it, and I will still find the magic in it, but it's becoming increasingly apparent that Disney is not interested in making magic anymore, unless there's an extremely hefty price tag attached, which to me reeks of classism more than capitalism. There's an economic class that Disney is after, and unfortunately I'm not a part of it.

I am not in the camp that WDW has always been this expensive, because I know better. I have records of all of our WDW vacations going back to the 80's, with exact prices for everything purchased on those trips. An average, blue-collar middle class family certainly could afford WDW back then, without the extreme scrimping and saving that it takes now.
 
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