All the raging against Disney

[Timandalicia]

I see thread after thread complaining about Disney and how they aren't offering this and that and speculating about bad things to come.

Two months ago in my state Covid cases were still Sky high. We are just turning the corner in this thing. I pray it lasts.

To expect WDW or DVC to turn on a dime in this market with supply chain and staffing problems seems unrealistic and unreasonable.

And as a reminder, people were unhappy with crowds and lines in early 2019.

Yes, things will likely be different going forward. They were certainly different on our trip last month, but we had a fabulous time in spite of diminished shows, etc.

Over 50 years WDW has found a way to wow people. I think they are not done yet.

Here here!

 

[Grumpy Mouse]

As long as the thread stays with int guidelines, and doesn’t turn into arguments, not sure why you think the thread would be closed.

Because every thread on these boards that discusses "Disney Policy" (hint: this is another thread on Disney Policy) has resulted in death of the thread.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

My favorite thing about Disboards is that (most of the time) people are able to discuss and debate without getting out of control (looking at you FB). Most of us on here will gladly admit these are "first world problems" but that doesn't mean we can't recognize a loss of real or perceived value, and at the same time handle the pressures of the last year's dumpster fire. I'm still heartily in the pro Disney camp but appreciate the vast majority of the commentary I've read.

 

[RivShore]

I have shocking news for you though. It doesn't need to be because Disney's profits will be through the roof once the park capacity is at 100% and the 50th hits.

You also have limited to no availability over the next 30 days for AP, resort, offsite guests.

Also again if these were outlined as temporary changes then people wouldn't have the same issue. When they pull massive profit next year its unlikely we see those things returned so they are doing nothing more than trying to hide the fact they are cutting more simply to make more money.

Completely agree that the communication on what a post-covid World looks like has been horrible and it just makes it look like a money grab.

Don't forget that there may be limited availability at the resorts but there are still many large ones shut down, no?

And we don't know what kind of lending agreements they have and what metrics they are based on. A few really bad quarters could send a company into a (lack of credit/cash) tailspin they can't get out of. From my own experience, I was working for a Fortune 75 company back during the banking crisis of '08-'09, we were not directly involved with any of the industries that were at the center of the crisis but, I only found out a few years later, we came very close to not making payroll one week. This company had 150k employees and was over 100 years old and they came that close to disaster thru no fault of the company. That kind of stuff has to be going thru the heads of execs at any company impacted by the pandemic.

 

[sethschroeder]

Don't forget that there may be limited availability at the resorts but there are still many large ones shut down, no?

I am not saying resorts I am saying the parks have limited availability. Yes there is a limit on capacity but point is its not like they are at 40% capacity and can't even fill that up. Its not about right now, they should have certain things closed because of reduced capacity, I am just pointing to nothing is really showing that long term they need to make cuts (except to simply make more profit).

I only found out a few years later, we came very close to not making payroll one week.

Thats fine but Disney has just over $16b in cash on hand in addition to the $1b in profit they made last quarter which likely will be much higher in Q3 likely and keep going up over the next 6+ quarters. So they are a long long long ways from being in that same position.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Sustainable for what? Companies that make $0 profit are doing ok in the stock market so Im not sure how a company making $1bn would not be ok.

As for the cuts, I have no issue with them so long as they eliminate the cost to guests. Disney rooms cost what they do because of things like magical express, fastpass and extra magic hours.

Bingo.

Well, honestly… on site Disney rooms were super expensive well before DME, extra hours, and fast passes.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Well, honestly… on site Disney rooms were super expensive well before DME, extra hours, and fast passes.

More than offsite but really it wasn't that bad.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

More than offsite but really it wasn't that bad.

Well, I can remember back when the Poly and CR was it… you had to book 6-12 months in advance. I was a kid, but was well aware it was out of my parents price range.

 

[Stargazer65]

a decadent chocolate dessert (calories vs. craving) to changing your first born’s dirty diaper (the pride/the stench)

This is a great analogy (chocolate and a dirty diaper).
I'll still be thinking about it when I have my next hot fudge brownie sundae.

 

[AvidDisReader]

I always considered MDE to be a genius move that only an entity with economy of scale could pull off. Making guests prisoners to the mouse seems like a dollar generating boss move.

I cannot fathom why they should want to do away with it except to think surely they have a reasonable alternative planned. But if so, why on earth would they suffer the incredible bad press by not rolling it out?

And that’s just it. It’s not the moves they’re making so much as the absolute silence about what the future looks like.

MDE. FPs. Fireworks.

Covid isn’t preventing Disney from being more transparent about what the near future will look like.

It’s not like THEY don’t know what they’re planning.

Here in lies the real question. Does Disney really know which direction they are going? Or do the decisions change as fast as the weather. Whatever was planned just 15 months ago could be out the door (for instance the long rumored ride in Epcot England pavilion). Any plans in the making today may never see the light of day. This in my opinion is why Disney stays so closed mouth on their plans.

 

[jodifla]

Well, I can remember back when the Poly and CR was it… you had to book 6-12 months in advance. I was a kid, but was well aware it was out of my parents price range.

We stayed at the Garden Wing of the COntemporary in Feb. 1972. It was $29. Hotels in our city were going for like 10 bucks a night.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We stayed at the Garden Wing of the COntemporary in Feb. 1972. It was $29. Hotels in our city were going for like 10 bucks a night.

So triple the price…

I remember when I started visiting WDW as an adult, I paid roughly $200/NF for a room at the Poly. This was before the aforementioned benefits. An offsite hotel was around $65, so again, about three times the cost.

 

[CarolMN]

As long as the thread stays with int guidelines, and doesn’t turn into arguments, not sure why you think the thread would be closed.

Because every thread on these boards that discusses "Disney Policy" (hint: this is another thread on Disney Policy) has resulted in death of the thread.

It's not a DVC topic, so it's a candidate to at least be moved elsewhere. I'm leaving it be for now as long as it doesn't turn into an argument or raging debate .

 

[jodifla]

It's not a DVC topic, so it's a candidate to at least be moved elsewhere. I'm leaving it be for now as long as it doesn't turn into an argument or raging debate .

I guess I was thinking of it in terms of blue card benefits in addition to the broader idea of what makes Disney parks worth the cost and what makes staying on site worth the cost.

My family sees that yes, there's less offered at WDW now; but everywhere we've got for the past 15 months has been a shadow of itself, not offering the full experience.

And nowhere is fully back up yet.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I'm quite certain I have paid for my right to complain.

 

[dez1978]

Let's not kid ourselves though, Disney had the cost of ME baked in to the cash rooms from day 1. ME was also likely baked in to the transportation line items at each DVC resort. I know I was never foolish enough to assume I wasn't paying for it somehow, somewhere (room rate, resort fee, etc). A one-way trip, assuming full busses, probably cost Disney $5 to $7 per guest, each way including the additional fees paid to BAGS. Charter bus rentals run about $2,000 per day, including a driver. That's the cost to you and me, renting one bus. If Disney is chartering 100 busses per day from Mears, you can be sure there is some serious economy of scale going on there.

I just don't see the benefit of eliminating a service that guests PERCEIVE as free, in lieu of assuming that those guests will be equally fine paying $40-$50 each way for an Uber, especially familes with kids and luggage that aren't going to fit in the cheapest Prius Uber/Lyft. It would be much easier (and look much better) if hotel rack rates were bumped up say $10 per night (discretely and incrementally) and the service (ME) continued.

I get that the original premise was likely to keep guests "in the bubble", but it grew into something that benefitted the guest more than Disney, and in sunsetting the service, it's the guest that feels like someting was taken away.

It absolutely was baked into the costs of those things. And what irks me is the taking it away without eliminating that cost for the consumer or dvc, and expecting them to fork over more $ for transportation. It would be different if the room prices or dues decreased because of the loss of ME and the other things. But instead its increased while offering less. Thats my problem with it. I understand the cutbacks 100%. I don't understand raising prices, offering less and raking in 5B and that being acceptable to us or them

 

[TeamRiley]

Disney is not just about fun, and taking care of the visitors. It is about the money as well.

In general, I think that Disney could squeeze WAY more money out of their visitors if they wanted, and they would still be crowded. If they doubled the ticket price overnight people would still go.

To their credit, I think they really do try to keep the magic around for us, even though it costs them tons of money on their bottom line.

 

[The Jackal]

Let's not kid ourselves though, Disney had the cost of ME baked in to the cash rooms from day 1. ME was also likely baked in to the transportation line items at each DVC resort. I know I was never foolish enough to assume I wasn't paying for it somehow, somewhere (room rate, resort fee, etc). A one-way trip, assuming full busses, probably cost Disney $5 to $7 per guest, each way including the additional fees paid to BAGS. Charter bus rentals run about $2,000 per day, including a driver. That's the cost to you and me, renting one bus. If Disney is chartering 100 busses per day from Mears, you can be sure there is some serious economy of scale going on there.

I just don't see the benefit of eliminating a service that guests PERCEIVE as free, in lieu of assuming that those guests will be equally fine paying $40-$50 each way for an Uber, especially familes with kids and luggage that aren't going to fit in the cheapest Prius Uber/Lyft. It would be much easier (and look much better) if hotel rack rates were bumped up say $10 per night (discretely and incrementally) and the service (ME) continued.

I get that the original premise was likely to keep guests "in the bubble", but it grew into something that benefitted the guest more than Disney, and in sunsetting the service, it's the guest that feels like someting was taken away.

Yes the cost is in every room. Let’s say it is $10 per room. They now get rid DME and the room price stays the same. Now they made an extra $10 per room. Granted they cannot do that for the DVC rooms. If the cost of transportation goes down they have to give credit for it. Assuming they don’t increase the price for something else.

 

[The Jackal]

Disney is not just about fun, and taking care of the visitors. It is about the money as well.

In general, I think that Disney could squeeze WAY more money out of their visitors if they wanted, and they would still be crowded. If they doubled the ticket price overnight people would still go.

To their credit, I think they really do try to keep the magic around for us, even though it costs them tons of money on their bottom line.

Doubling ticket prices would drastically reduce park attendance. I can say for us, if the AP price were to double we would definitely be going less often. Bank points and do longer stays. Disney is starting to get a little too greedy and that can backfire really quickly. The fewer the people go, the fewer the amount of hotel rooms get used. We did an after hours event back in 2019, a CM told us there was about 4,000 people at the event. The food carts were begging you to take soda, water and chips since they were included in the price of the ticket. I can’t remember the ticket price it was around $100. If Disney is making money on that for 3 hours. Then they are making a lot more when 35,000 are there all day at $100-150 a ticket with no free soda, water and chips. 35,000 is about 33% capacity for the MK. In 2019 they averaged on out 56,000 per day at the MK.

 

[CarolMN]

I'm quite certain I have paid for my right to complain.

Not to do it here, though!