The only thing that bugs me in this is the assumption of malice that a lot of people assign Disney in all this. I think they are just trying to do their best to live up to what they see as their mission statement as best they can. I don't think any of the changes that have been made have been made for any reasons other than to a) reward those who are willing to stay on site and b) maximize the park experience for the most people possible.
We can say things like they ought to build more rides to accommodate the traffic they get, but looking at the cost for amusement parks around the country, MK admission is in line for the number of rides they offer. Their on-site prices are high, but that's the case with every single resort I've ever stayed in, and in line with every theme park I've ever visited. If they doubled the number of rides, they'd be justified in doubling their prices if they want to stay in line with every other park in the country (and certainly in the Orlando area). No one wants that -- and even if it happened, there'd still be too many people and there would still be waits for the new ones. So I think they are caught in a very attractive trap -- more people want to come than can have a perfect day at any given time.
But when people talk about the current regime and its failings, I honestly have to ask what would you have them do? Cut attendance at the gate? Cap it at 50K? 60? You have to keep in mind that on any given day there are 100,000 resort guests on property -- if they split 40-20-20-20, that only leaves 10 or 20 thousand spots at the MK for off-site guests. It would be a mad rush at rope drop every day if suddenly the parks were going to severely limit entry to the point where the waits became more tolerable. Getting rid of FP wasn't (IMO) as much a limiting experiences as much as it was to make sure -- the most they could -- that as many guests as possible got a chance to do at least some of what they wanted to do. If they opened FP up to the public at the same time they opened to the resort guests, more and more resort guests (who are showing the most loyalty, at least with their purchases) would be shut out. And because the resort guests, for the most part, are making their reservations and travel plans well in advance of 60 days, they'd have a lot of disappointed people who are on site.
Do i wish the parks were cleaner? Sure. I think they've lost some of the magic, but I blame that more on the CMs than the overall philosophy (being a park CM used to be an entry-level first job for a lot of us. It was rarely a destination. But as the economy has changed, it's become more of a fall-back destination for many, and they lack the energy and the excitement that a lot of CMs used to show). I don't like the homogenization of the merchandise. And I don't like the crowds But I don't know what they can do about it without facing shareholder revolt.
So when these messages and these posts start turning to Disney operating out of male, I think that's unfair. it's not that I defend them without reason, or I think they are unfallable. I grew up thinking of them as the evil empire, and seeing how much advantage it took of my hometown. But you have to be fair,a nd I feel a lot of this criticism feels a little ruler than it needs to.
We can say things like they ought to build more rides to accommodate the traffic they get, but looking at the cost for amusement parks around the country, MK admission is in line for the number of rides they offer. Their on-site prices are high, but that's the case with every single resort I've ever stayed in, and in line with every theme park I've ever visited. If they doubled the number of rides, they'd be justified in doubling their prices if they want to stay in line with every other park in the country (and certainly in the Orlando area). No one wants that -- and even if it happened, there'd still be too many people and there would still be waits for the new ones. So I think they are caught in a very attractive trap -- more people want to come than can have a perfect day at any given time.
But when people talk about the current regime and its failings, I honestly have to ask what would you have them do? Cut attendance at the gate? Cap it at 50K? 60? You have to keep in mind that on any given day there are 100,000 resort guests on property -- if they split 40-20-20-20, that only leaves 10 or 20 thousand spots at the MK for off-site guests. It would be a mad rush at rope drop every day if suddenly the parks were going to severely limit entry to the point where the waits became more tolerable. Getting rid of FP wasn't (IMO) as much a limiting experiences as much as it was to make sure -- the most they could -- that as many guests as possible got a chance to do at least some of what they wanted to do. If they opened FP up to the public at the same time they opened to the resort guests, more and more resort guests (who are showing the most loyalty, at least with their purchases) would be shut out. And because the resort guests, for the most part, are making their reservations and travel plans well in advance of 60 days, they'd have a lot of disappointed people who are on site.
Do i wish the parks were cleaner? Sure. I think they've lost some of the magic, but I blame that more on the CMs than the overall philosophy (being a park CM used to be an entry-level first job for a lot of us. It was rarely a destination. But as the economy has changed, it's become more of a fall-back destination for many, and they lack the energy and the excitement that a lot of CMs used to show). I don't like the homogenization of the merchandise. And I don't like the crowds But I don't know what they can do about it without facing shareholder revolt.
So when these messages and these posts start turning to Disney operating out of male, I think that's unfair. it's not that I defend them without reason, or I think they are unfallable. I grew up thinking of them as the evil empire, and seeing how much advantage it took of my hometown. But you have to be fair,a nd I feel a lot of this criticism feels a little ruler than it needs to.
But then I do see what you are saying about Universal at least offering the opportunity to purchase an Express Pass and would not have a problem if Disney wanted to charge a price for offsite guests to access 60+ FP. Doubt I would buy it; but with that said, I will admit, you bring a good argument to the table.
