Agree to Disagree! DISUnplugged Show March 22!

[rteetz]

Is it weird that I agreed with EVERYONE during today's show?

I know that's strange, but Steve would say something and I'd be like "YEAH!" Then Kevin would say something and I'd be like "YEAH!" Ditto for Techols, Pete, John, and Kathy. I even agreed with what Craig said, for crying out loud.

I guess that's the sign of a good debate. Even when you disagree with the other viewpoint, you can at least appreciate the sentiment/thinking behind it.

Good show.

That's how I felt. Everyone had great points and I think his was one of the best dis debates I have ever listened to.

 

[rteetz]

~53,000 guests come to the Magic Kingdom every day. Lets say they charge $50 for any guests sitting in special viewing and they have 200 seats for this special area. That means Disney brings in $10,000 extra that they didn't before. How about they just charge everyone $1 more to their park ticket and that area is first come first served? Everyone wins Disney makes $53,000 instead of $10,000, and no one has to hear me complain about it.

Just playing devils advocate but why not do both? Disney can charge that extra $50 and raise ticket prices so now you have $63,000. That's the reality of the business. It's unfortunate but it is what it is.

 

[JJZMgailey]

To me that is the bigger issue - with removing characters, dirty bathrooms, asking chefs to use cheaper ingredients ... they are making their product less great at the same time charging more for it. Fully agree that Magic costs money and I have no problem spending money on Disney as it has given me an experience and time with my family, etc. I haven't gotten elsewhere - but I worry that things will become (or have become) less magical in the cause of increasing profits and/or offsetting overruns at Shanghai

I'm one of the lucky ones who has never walked into a dirty bathroom as folks have described on the boards and the show. But, here's the thing - I don't believe that Disney is *intentionally* making their product less great. There's so much room for human error with things like cleaning and such.

I'm also not convinced about the asking chefs to use cheaper ingredients, although I will say that when I worked in the restaurant industry, we always used to try to save money wherever we could. I think that's something that any for-profit company will do.

I always tell my kids that there's only so much money and we have to choose wisely on where we decide to spend it.

 

[GAN]

how close are we to having to pay to meet Mickey? When will a "bronze level" ticket only allow me to watch Hall of Presidents from the back row?

Geez Steve ...did you really need to go and mention it? You know Iger creeps on this Forum....

 

[TheMaxRebo]

My point is that they donated A LOT of money - no bragging needed. Tax write-off or not, if they were money-hungry hounds, they wouldn't give it away at all.

Oh I think they do a lot of great things and I'm not throwing shade on it (no idea if I used that term properly) ... just saying an example of people even looking at that with a negative light and take every act Disney does cynically.

 

[GAN]

Is it weird that I agreed with EVERYONE during today's show?

I know that's strange, but Steve would say something and I'd be like "YEAH!" Then Kevin would say something and I'd be like "YEAH!" Ditto for Techols, Pete, John, and Kathy. I even agreed with what Craig said, for crying out loud.

I guess that's the sign of a good debate. Even when you disagree with the other viewpoint, you can at least appreciate the sentiment/thinking behind it.

Good show.

Sure ...now Iger shows up. Softer and agreeable even....

 

[mnra]

Please don't take offense. My point was simply that they donate mostly for PR reasons. I glad it helps the kids get to enjoy what we all enjoy. I just think right now Disney is a hot item and the management will and is capitalizing on it(shareholder here ). It has brought magic and happiness to my family and we will still go but maybe just not be able to attend some of the special events.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm one of the lucky ones who has never walked into a dirty bathroom as folks have described on the boards and the show. But, here's the thing - I don't believe that Disney is *intentionally* making their product less great. There's so much room for human error with things like cleaning and such.

I'm also not convinced about the asking chefs to use cheaper ingredients, although I will say that when I worked in the restaurant industry, we always used to try to save money wherever we could. I think that's something that any for-profit company will do.

I always tell my kids that there's only so much money and we have to choose wisely on where we decide to spend it.

I agree that they aren't intentionally making their product less great - just you hear stories from the olden days when Walt would spot a scuf mark and have someone out their to repaint it before the park opened, etc. I know whenever I ride It's a Small World and look up there are missing ceiling tiles, etc. .... Just that same level of ensuring everything is perfect and going above and beyond is not necessarily what it once was

And your last point is very wise - I am sure I have more money than some and a lot less than others ... and we can't do it all and we need to pick what is a priority and what we spend that on. Some people think we are crazy to spend any money on anything Disney related and then others find a ton of value on it and all the VIP experiences and upgrades and staying deluxe, etc. and choose to spend their money there.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sure ...now Iger shows up. Softer and agreeable even....

Of course he's agreeable ... he just got a great idea from Steve to start charging money for meeting Micky!

 

[rteetz]

To me that is the bigger issue - with removing characters, dirty bathrooms, asking chefs to use cheaper ingredients ... they are making their product less great at the same time charging more for it. Fully agree that Magic costs money and I have no problem spending money on Disney as it has given me an experience and time with my family, etc. I haven't gotten elsewhere - but I worry that things will become (or have become) less magical in the cause of increasing profits and/or offsetting overruns at Shanghai

BTW - I actually saw some posts of people putting down the Make-a-wish donation saying that it was a tax benefit, etc. and didn't really cost them much, etc.

Yes I agree. We should be worried about the lower quality in things like dirty bathrooms and smaller food portions that cost more. This exclusive event isn't something you have to do. You do have to pay for a hotel or park ticket at Disney. With that you are getting a decline in value for your money when they don't clean those bathrooms or use cheaper ingredients. Your $50 character breakfast buffet really isn't worth that anymore. I understand paying more for being in a theme park but the food quality should also be good when paying that much.

 

[pontikes67]

Also, I want to stand up and applaud @WebmasterPete for his comments during the show .... when filming things you have to hold your phone horizontally! Forget charging people premiums - just start fining people that don't know the proper way to take video!

You WIN the internet!

 

[Tonyz]

these decisions being made are more about crowd control than they are about Disney wanting more money.

To me that is the bigger issue - with removing characters, dirty bathrooms, asking chefs to use cheaper ingredients ... they are making their product less great at the same time charging more for it.

This is the entire debate right here. Jackie is absolute right, it's crowd control, and there's nothing wrong with that. They gotta get control of these crowds somehow until a 5th gate opens. BUT... if you're charging more, while also cutting staff and services, that is awful. I have zero problem with Disney raising costs, but you damn well better be putting that money back into the parks. I want to see more cast members, cleaner bathrooms (although I've actually never seen a bathroom that was really dirty), better food.

 

[rteetz]

I'm one of the lucky ones who has never walked into a dirty bathroom as folks have described on the boards and the show. But, here's the thing - I don't believe that Disney is *intentionally* making their product less great. There's so much room for human error with things like cleaning and such.

I'm also not convinced about the asking chefs to use cheaper ingredients, although I will say that when I worked in the restaurant industry, we always used to try to save money wherever we could. I think that's something that any for-profit company will do.

I always tell my kids that there's only so much money and we have to choose wisely on where we decide to spend it.

I can't say I've walked into dirty bathrooms either but the food thing doesn't surprise me. Disney has a mess in Shanghai right now and are trying to cut corners everywhere they can. Disney keeps increasing food prices but the food quality isn't increasing.

 

[Tonyz]

I can't say I've walked into dirty bathrooms either but the food thing doesn't surprise me. Disney has a mess in Shanghai right now and are trying to cut corners everywhere they can. Disney keeps increasing food prices but the food quality isn't increasing.

Shanghai seems to be the reason for this entire mess. The sooner they get that thing open the better for us all.

 

[rteetz]

This is the entire debate right here. Jackie is absolute right, it's crowd control, and there's nothing wrong with that. They gotta get control of these crowds somehow until a 5th gate opens. BUT... if you're charging more, while also cutting staff and services, that is awful. I have zero problem with Disney raising costs, but you damn well better be putting that money back into the parks. I want to see more cast members, cleaner bathrooms, better food.

I'm not a believer in a 5th gate solving problems. They need to spread out crowds to the other parks. Magic kingdom has a capacity issue. There are 19+ million visiting MK, 12 million at Epcot, and 11 at DHS and AK. Almost double the amount at MK than at DHS and AK. That's a problem. Yes MK will always have more but not 9 million more.

 

[rteetz]

Shanghai seems to be the reason for this entire mess. The sooner they get that thing open the better for us all.

Even then it won't be fixed. Shanghai won't be profitable until late 2017 at the earliest. It's likely that some things won't be finished for opening day. And with the Chinese economy it very well may not make a lot of money at all.

 

[Tonyz]

I'm not a believer in a 5th gate solving problems. They need to spread out crowds to the other parks. Magic kingdom has a capacity issue. There are 19+ million visiting MK, 12 million at Epcot, and 11 at DHS and AK. Almost double the amount at MK than at DHS and AK. That's a problem. Yes MK will always have more but not 9 million more.

Yeah, I think the 5th gate is the ultimate plan but probably a decade or more away from happening. But if you say they need to spread out crowds to the other parks (as they do), wouldn't a 5th gate help that?

But again, as for right now, the 5th gate thing has no importance to the discussion. If you're charging more to fight crowd control, you better put that money back into the parks.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm not a believer in a 5th gate solving problems. They need to spread out crowds to the other parks. Magic kingdom has a capacity issue. There are 19+ million visiting MK, 12 million at Epcot, and 11 at DHS and AK. Almost double the amount at MK than at DHS and AK. That's a problem. Yes MK will always have more but not 9 million more.

My wife had the idea that they should just build a second Magic Kingdom - exact mirror of the other. That way you split the crowds up

 

[Tonyz]

Even then it won't be fixed. Shanghai won't be profitable until late 2017 at the earliest. It's likely that some things won't be finished for opening day. And with the Chinese economy it very well may not make a lot of money at all.

Dear god, what the hell happens if Shanghai fails? That's gotta be their ultimate nightmare.

 

[pontikes67]

For my family, while we love the parks, we have found 'value' in the cruiseline. That's funny, I know, because it expensive, and I understand it's a different vacation all together (Anyone who's an Airplane! fan, now jumps in with "It's a different vacation") but what we've found is amazing memories, fun dinners, characters, shows, experiences that we LOVE and while the pools remind us of arriving at 11am at MK, the rest of the cruise is amazing and we feel everything is available to us. I've found an anticipation for the cruiseline much more than the parks as of late. Disney still gets my money, regardless, but I feel the "magic".