I'll preface this by stating that this is neither a bifurcation to justify my position, nor blind compartmentalizing. The reality is that there are two Disney's that we experience as Disney timeshare owners.
One is the Disney product itself (inclusive of the timeshare component). It's a good product if you enjoy the splendors of pure escapism. I have an 7-year old who's 6-year old self was convinced that there was a Disney ride where he actually flew through trees on the back of a dragon. My family enjoys going to the parks. We enjoy staying at nice resorts that allow quick access to world class theme parks. We also enjoy the opportunity to come back on a regular basis. After my son was wished a happy birthday by one CM, I shared with him how my son held off wearing his button all week until it was ACTUALLY his birthday. After boarding the monorail, the same CM came running in and gave my son a trading card of the black monorail and, short of breath, wished him happy birthday again.
That's the magic we love about Disney. It's the frontline cast members, it's the state of the art attractions, and it's the pure joy I see on my son's face when the Mayor of Hollywood encourages him to stay in school, to get a degree, and to go into politics if he's so intent on making school go away. That's what many refer to as "magic."
As an adult, to me, all the aforementioned is a well thought out process of creating an environment conducive to suspending disbelief for the sake of enjoying the experience. For this, I love Disney.
But like any large organization, that monorail CM is not making policy. The people put in place to engineer policy were not hired to make people feel good, or feel part of something magical. They're there to make the company money. That's their job. It's what every shareholder expects. I don't begrudge them for doing their jobs. If they failed to do this, they would lose their job.
What I do take issue with is when, in "doing their job" they fail to implement safeguards or checks to determine how their actions start to affect the part of Disney that I pay to experience. As a shareholder, I should be very concerned when the park-goer in me is reminded of this divide.
So when executives eliminate the Sunset Boulevard CMs because it's more cost effective to not have them, I will lament this business decision. When Disney leans so heavily on the college program that most CMs are overworked, poorly paid college kids who will in turn be sometimes bitter, and by nature of being transient, fail to feel committed to playing the role, I will bemoan the failure of training in customer service. And when the board of the management company at Disney's timeshare decides that increasing the lockoff premium - defying what every member knows to be true - that 1BRs are readily available, I will write letters and have conversations with them about how this has the markings of a pure money grab.
Disney is not a big evil corporation. That's an oversimplification of a complex system. But to believe that every decision made is to serve the interest of the guest is equally oversimplifying The Walt Disney Company, Inc. To suggest that they're trying to do everything at a reasonable cost is naive. Their job is to see how far they can push the line until we decide we don't want to play. They tried it with the Star Wars DVC event at Epcot. I don't see how anyone can look at that and possibly suggest that this was a decision to deliver good entertainment at a reasonable cost. The membership voted with their wallets and the event was canned.
The love it or leave it position does nothing for my family. I'm not going to punish my son because I feel Disney timeshare management taking steps to increase their bottom line is antithetical to the "welcome home" smiles they train their employees to exude. More importantly, the love it or leave it position does nothing to improve the product. If it weren't for people who decided, "No, I'm not going to love it or leave it.", you wouldn't have had the one year reprieve you did on the
point charts (yeah, they'll be back).
Like most relationships in life, my relationship with Disney is a nuanced one. And the same way I love the country that gave my penniless, immigrant family real opportunities to climb the socio-economic ladder - where I'll pay my taxes, vote, and be vocal about policies I feel are against the core of what makes America great; I'll pay my dues, I'll attend the dog and pony in December, and I'll voice when I feel there are policies being implemented that are detrimental to the magic.
And you can bet I'll turn here to this community to vent.
