What is the SWAM? I'm pretty sure you mean the Swan (as in the Swan and Dolphin), but when I saw it in all caps, I thought maybe there's a nearby dining / shopping area with that abbreviation?
It's not that at all. Rather, this is a discussion thread and so all sides of the issues can be discussed here. Let's stick to the topic (Disney, value, etc.) please. You can PM me if you want to get more insights into my posting inclinations.
The word "gouging" seems angry to me. Perhaps it wasn't meant that way.
To me, "gouging" implies that Disney was setting out to scam peoples' money with some sort of illegal or unethical intent. As you said, semantics. I never said that someone having a gripe automatically implies anger. Although people with a gripe are rarely happy about it!
I never said they weren't "important." In fact, I'm not sure I even used the word "important" in the post. I did say that those items were matters of opinion and subjective. I don't think that means they're unimportant -- just that it didn't seem like they fit into the conclusion she was trying to make.
There have been a lot of posts on this thread, IMO, that were a bit uncalled for, by all sides. Alas, not all of us have defenders!
What is the SWAM? I'm pretty sure you mean the Swan (as in the Swan and Dolphin), but when I saw it in all caps, I thought maybe there's a nearby dining / shopping area with that abbreviation?
I'll agree that places like Sweet Tomatoes and Ponderosa are great deals, but I find their food to be pretty yucky. Sweet Tomatoes has some nice salads, but everything else is just not to my taste. Ponderosa is okay with the kids, but I'd never choose to eat there when there are places within WDW. I can eat at Sweet Tomatoes and Ponderosa any time. But then I tend to look at Disney (Epcot and the Resorts, in particular) as a dining destination as much as anything else. Love the restaurants. The only two buffets I've eaten at are in the Germany Biergarten and at Chef Mickey's so I can't really speak to those.
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Glad the Y&B redeemed the Wilderness Lodge. I hope you'll put your comments in a letter or e-mail to WDW so that they know that you were dissatisfied. They can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.
What is the SWAM? I'm pretty sure you mean the Swan (as in the Swan and Dolphin), but when I saw it in all caps, I thought maybe there's a nearby dining / shopping area with that abbreviation?
I'll agree that places like Sweet Tomatoes and Ponderosa are great deals, but I find their food to be pretty yucky. Sweet Tomatoes has some nice salads, but everything else is just not to my taste. Ponderosa is okay with the kids, but I'd never choose to eat there when there are places within WDW. I can eat at Sweet Tomatoes and Ponderosa any time. But then I tend to look at Disney (Epcot and the Resorts, in particular) as a dining destination as much as anything else. Love the restaurants. The only two buffets I've eaten at are in the Germany Biergarten and at Chef Mickey's so I can't really speak to those.
Glad the Y&B redeemed the Wilderness Lodge. I hope you'll put your comments in a letter or e-mail to WDW so that they know that you were dissatisfied. They can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.
Yup, I totally know that. So, the whole market sementation thing is new here - they haven't ever utilized this type of long running promo before. Is this the wave of the future for Disney?
Regarding a weak tourism industry - I'll agree there. And, it has obviously been hurting them, and they are projecting it to hurt them, since they have announced a year long promo.
I think both of these in combination might be at play here, but only a weak tourism industry and loss of dollars for Disney would cause Disney to make drastic changes in dining and housekeeping, for instance.
If you want to keep your market share, as marget segmentation would imply, you would be adding more foods to the buffets, instead of taking them away, and you surely wouldn't surcharge people to death when eating there. But, you can get away with this if everyone or a large portion of your audience is on the Dining Plan, and if it's free, even better!
Tiger
As my husband often says, "I never leave Disney feeling like 'WOW - what a bargain!' -- but I always leave feeling like it was worth it." 
I don't personally think this is the wave of the future for Disney, exactly. I think it's an easy way to "dial up and down" based on the economic environment. I would also expect them to continue to think up new and creative ways to tinker with their offerings -- ways that serve various segments and can be adjusted as easily as possible.
Wrt Disney wanting to "keep its market share"... that's an interesting one, actually. What matters to a company serving multiple segments is still ultimately the same thing that matters to a company serving one segment: the bottom line -- the total take has to meet a threshold for shareholders, etc.. The difference for a company like Disney - one whose strategy does depend on segmentation - is that they never want to TOTALLY LOSE a segment... messes with the overall image as a company that is "for everyone".
At any point in time, they can make a segment cranky, if you will. They just have to not LOSE them. I don't personally think that they are in danger of doing this.
Wrt adding more items to the buffets, etc. to fill out the market segmentation concept... I tend to disagree here. The "high-end" consumer will perhaps go to V&A if he/she perceives that other offerings have gone downhill, for instance. I don't think that an economic crisis is the time to add offerings that at that time in particular, fewer people will be able to pay for.
One thing that I do think is critical: given the money put into building this brand, Disney can only ever skimp so much on service. The key is that the guest leaves feeling that they got what they paid for... NOT a meal... NOT a hotel room, NOT a trinket, but rather a magical experience!
This is a very interesting topic, though, and I thank you for hashing some of this out with me! I'm not one to get nasty about stuff... exchanging ideas is fun, though, I think.
Did it just get quiet in here? Or is it my imagination???
Excellent points all-around!
Buffets - I mentioned adding items, or at least not removing items, as a way of keeping a good quality product. I come from a restaurant family, and when there are tough economic times, like now, they have to make sure that each and every food item is of the highest quality, and this is with an over $10.00/hour minimum wage to pay to staff - they don't remove items, they add items, so that new and loyal customers feel they are getting a good quality product. But, Disney does the opposite, and if it's because they aren't making money, then something isn't right! Turkey legs $8.00, buffets upwards of $40.00/pp during peak seasons and servers who make like $3.00/hour. They have to be making pretty good profits here.
Magical Experience - You are so right! But, this entails many things. For some, it's meeting characters, for others it's eating well, and for others it's getting a chocolate on their pillow. And for some, it's a combination of all of those things, but, since Disney is such a big empire, they can remove and shrink areas if you will, as for the most part, most guests do feel a very magical experience on the whole. What we are discussing here are separate items that contribute to this magical experience.
Losing guests - I don't think Disney will lose guests in such a way that it will be detrimental to the bottom line, but I do think that us loyal and repeat guests are getting a bit 'cranky' (love that!) with certain aspects of our magical experience. You are so right, that it is a slippery area here, especially for Disney, as they are the masters of magical experiences!
Interesting discussion and great points to add! Tiger
) for a 'neighborhood restaurant' are likely quite different from those for Disney restaurants, where the dining experience is only one piece of a very LARGE offering. Disney has several different things in can dial up and down... hopefully still creating what on net is a magical experience for the majority of guests. The neighborhood restaurant just doesn't have this option. If Disney restaurants do the same, and they are even skimping in a few other areas, then I'll do... ... what instead? If it gets "bad enough", then maybe I'll jump ship and plan a different vacation altogether. 
)! Thanks - you make excellent points as well!
Few more thoughts...
Buffets: I see your point. I would only say there that the "key success factors" (forgive the MBA in me showing!
The example that came to my mind... If the Italian restaurant in my neighborhood cuts its offerings while raising prices, I'll go to the other Italian restaurant in my neighborhood - no biggie.
This comes back to the idea of it getting "bad enough" and ensuring that the experience is still magical... I think we agree that Disney has to be careful here... has always had to be careful here since the company's inception. I guess that based on their track record, I would bet on them finding the best possible balance... or at least correcting quickly if they misjudged (see Euro Disney
Tiger
I think you are 100% right brunette,My question is if this isn't called gouging what creative name should we use for it,maybe taking advantage or an unmagical charge!
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Thank you! I haven't but I will. I'm not sure if that would do anything but it's worth a try.
Brunette
Tiger
