Another example of “pay more, get less”..water park hours reduced

[Docmum]

It is not only this thread but also many others on the DIS, that tend to be so very negative! They are full of "I won't come back..." or " ... this is the end of magic..." and countless other things like that.
Yes, I understand frustration on cutbacks, and yes, I would love to have the option to be in the waterpark 8-10, in all the other parks 8-1am, to park front rot at no extra charge, if I am lucky. But that is not realistic in my opinion. Disney is one of the world's leading business companies, they have to re-evaluate the market, adjust to certain changes, and still need to create new magical things/places/attractions to attract people. From what I see so far (we are international visitors, coming once a year and yes, it is expensive for us!) they do a great job in planning and creating new additions to the parks, no matter if this is Star Wars ( we definetely are not a SW family though) or the new morning and evening events, which I would not pay for, by the way. But this is my point: I am not forced to so so! Great, some people will use that and have fun, so be it and thanks for letting me choose if I want to do so myself. I could easily have a blast without SW, and rather have a Cars land, but that's just me, so I will definetely be honoring all the additions to the park and look forward to each and every new experience! This is for uns part of the magic, that we by the way still feel, always to find something new - some of it great, some not so, for us! To each their own. Going to WDW is for us the excitement, to feel light-hearted, to forget the real world, to forget every days struggle, to have pure family time, to create memories - no way would I want to ruin that feeling beforehand by comparing last years park hours, EMH and what else and pity myself because of changes to what used to be! We play it by ear, find out what will be, when we are there and will definetely look forward to every Disney vacation we will be able to have. Universal, Aquatic! Wet'nWild are absolutly no options for us because we "need" that special Disney vibe, the atmosphere, the magic..... For us, it' s still there!

 

[newdeal]

Disney is pissing a lot of people off with this stuff. The record attendance they have now is great but I believe that they are wrong that the public will tolerate continued service cuts and price raises. Once people start to push back on this then it will be a bit of a snowball for Disney and could take years to recover from it. I will certainly not be renewing my annual passes this year and am considering selling my DVC contract over the constant price increases and service reductions as well

 

[a742246]

Docmum, if Disney doesn't have push back, they will do whatever they want. From your angle as a international visitor, you see what you want to see and I respect that! But Disney has been doing a lot of questionable things lately and people are getting frustrated. Things like having skilled workers train foreign workers their job then laying off the existing workers only to save a few bucks. Many of us are stockholders, DVC owners, workers, partners, customers of Disney who don't agree with this "New Disney" and objecting on these disboards is the only place to show their emotions. But you have to understand and respect that as well.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We've had 18 trips to Disney since 2003. We were booked again for Augusy but I cancelled and switched to a Universal/Discovery Cove trip

I went along with ticket price increase, DDP steady increases etc. for some reason the extra charge for the new morning hours and extra hours evenings just pushed me over the edge.

We are taking a break this year. I'm not saying we are done with Disney but I need a break to get this bitter taste out of my mouth. Seems like there is less and less of a "magical" feeling

 

[capegirl]

It is not only this thread but also many others on the DIS, that tend to be so very negative! They are full of "I won't come back..." or " ... this is the end of magic..." and countless other things like that.
Yes, I understand frustration on cutbacks, and yes, I would love to have the option to be in the waterpark 8-10, in all the other parks 8-1am, to park front rot at no extra charge, if I am lucky. But that is not realistic in my opinion. Disney is one of the world's leading business companies, they have to re-evaluate the market, adjust to certain changes, and still need to create new magical things/places/attractions to attract people. From what I see so far (we are international visitors, coming once a year and yes, it is expensive for us!) they do a great job in planning and creating new additions to the parks, no matter if this is Star Wars ( we definetely are not a SW family though) or the new morning and evening events, which I would not pay for, by the way. But this is my point: I am not forced to so so! Great, some people will use that and have fun, so be it and thanks for letting me choose if I want to do so myself. I could easily have a blast without SW, and rather have a Cars land, but that's just me, so I will definetely be honoring all the additions to the park and look forward to each and every new experience! This is for uns part of the magic, that we by the way still feel, always to find something new - some of it great, some not so, for us! To each their own. Going to WDW is for us the excitement, to feel light-hearted, to forget the real world, to forget every days struggle, to have pure family time, to create memories - no way would I want to ruin that feeling beforehand by comparing last years park hours, EMH and what else and pity myself because of changes to what used to be! We play it by ear, find out what will be, when we are there and will definetely look forward to every Disney vacation we will be able to have. Universal, Aquatic! Wet'nWild are absolutly no options for us because we "need" that special Disney vibe, the atmosphere, the magic..... For us, it' s still there!

While it is good to have such a positive attitude, it is important to remember that we are all here because we love Disney. If we did not care about the 'magic' we would not make an effort to hold Disney to the standards that are important to us. You may be the definition of Disney's dream customer, and some of us may be Disney's worse nightmare.

 

[Docmum]

Docmum, if Disney doesn't have push back, they will do whatever they want. From your angle as a international visitor, you see what you want to see and I respect that! But Disney has been doing a lot of questionable things lately and people are getting frustrated. Things like having skilled workers train foreign workers their job then laying off the existing workers only to save a few bucks. Many of us are stockholders, DVC owners, workers, partners, customers of Disney who don't agree with this "New Disney" and objecting on these disboards is the only place to show their emotions. But you have to understand and respect that as well.

I totally understand criticism on e.g. laying off workers, reducing paychecks, cutting back on insurances and so on and things like these need to be addressed, be it Disney or any other company. In fact, this is a different level of criticism. From what I see on this board, most of the people are complaining about there very own situation if it comes e.g. to riding SDMT right after RD, which might now not be guaranteed because of the Extra Morning Events. Or people complaining park closure at 10pm, while other paying guest may stay longer because of the Magical Evening Events. Scrolling through those posts I have not found one of them, who adressed the need of workers who have been laid off, but rather the personal "need" to ride one or the other attraction multiple times before the crowd hits the park....
Former Disney employees who lost their jobs could and should be supported, but this will certainly not happen by emailing to Disney and requesting extended park hours. There are loads of other, real options in adressing the workers subjects instead of posting on a private board that one or the other plans not to renew their AP.
Maybe you are familiar with the Great Britain mineworker situation in the Eighties - then you know what I mean with "real support".
One random question: why would I as an international visitor only see what I want to see?? This I totally don't get.

 

[gorkt]

Until attendance actually goes down at the parks, they can make whatever changes they want without it making much difference in the long run. Sure, some repeat visitors may stop going, but demand is still high because WDW is kind of a bucket list destination for most people so many people go at least once. DVC also serves to lock down repeat visitors in a way they can easily track and calculate. I think they know this and are counting on high demand regardless of price.

 

[msdroz]

Until attendance actually goes down at the parks, they can make whatever changes they want without it making much difference in the long run. Sure, some repeat visitors may stop going, but demand is still high because WDW is kind of a bucket list destination for most people so many people go at least once. DVC also serves to lock down repeat visitors in a way they can easily track and calculate. I think they know this and are counting on high demand regardless of price.

Disney is a marketing GENIUS

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I would be dissapointed if I were a local resident and purchased one of those afternoon annual passes to the water parks if they still do them!

 

[maxiesmom]

Just for the record. I checked my end of August trip last year and the tentative hours posted in March(creation of my plan) for 9/2/2015 was 10-5 mid week. (Just like this year posted hours same time Wed before labor day) They ended up being extended 10-6. This is when florida schools are already back so not surprising that hours werent as long as normal summer hours but they were extended after they were originally posted. Other weeks were also posted with shorter hours last year and then extended. I'm not saying they arent cutting back things but I am saying that they have in previous years posted shorter hours and then extended them as they get closer to the summer months.

No guarantee and they may not extend them, but Disney usually puts out shorter "core hours" and then extends them as they get closer.

Exactly. I don't find this much different from the outcry when Disney announced their rules for costumes. So many were positive they wouldn't even be allowed at the parties. And lo and behold, they are allowed. Disney adjusts things all of the time. It is more than likely the hours will be extended as the dates become closer.

It also strikes me that many of the complaints are from people who liked going early because the water parks were not busy. How does it make good business sense to be open and not have many guests? It doesn't make sense to pay all of the park CMs and the bus drivers when there is not much of a demand for them. Again, as the dates become closer and if the parks trend to be more busy, the times will probably be extended. But it makes no good sense for a company to be open when there is not much demand for them to be open.

 

[a742246]

Docmum. It would be the same as if I visited Great Britain and seeing what's in front of me and making negative comments. As an international visitor to your country I would only see what I wanted to see because I wouldn't have the time to fully understand the complete picture.

 

[capegirl]

Scrolling through those posts I have not found one of them, who adressed the need of workers who have been laid off, but rather the personal "need" to ride one or the other attraction multiple times before the crowd hits the park....

The subject of Disney's job cuts have indeed been discussed at great length on other threads; I know because I posted on the subject myself. To suggest that all anyone cares about is their own Disney experience is grossly unfair.

 

[Docmum]

Docmum. It would be the same as if I visited Great Britain and seeing what's in front of me and making negative comments. As an international visitor to your country I would only see what I wanted to see because I wouldn't have the time to fully understand the complete picture.

The fun thing here is, that I am not visiting a foreign country and make negative comments, but the opposite: I only have positive comments on what I experienced in a foreign country.
Nevertheless, if I am interested in a certain subject, let it be a company like Disney or keeping orcas in captivity - thanks to the internet I have access to multiple different sources to be able to form my own opinion.
And just to come back to my one and only point in the first place:cutbacks, shorter hours, lesser character interactions e.g.will certainly affect us as well but we will wait and see how it finally turns out - after that, we will either still be happy or have some specific complaints ourselves. But so far we still will be seeing the magic and looking forward to any possible Disney vacation and not anticipate it to be a disappointment.

 

[Docmum]

The subject of Disney's job cuts have indeed been discussed at great length on other threads; I know because I posted on the subject myself. To suggest that all anyone cares about is their own Disney experience is grossly unfair.

Capegirl, I am referring to threads like this one, where only personal issues concerning Park Hours, rides and so on have been the point - nothing more, nothing less. And it is great to hear, that the workers needs have been discussed on other threads and that there are ideas, how to support them properly.
Again, my only issue is, that many,many people are already furios BEFORE they even know, if and how far changes will affect them. Instead of being positive and hopeful, that one might benefit from one or the other change, many people expect the worst and already threaten never to come back, before they know, how it finally turns out. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Why not think, it might still be half-full and look forward to the next Disney trip?

 

[a742246]

Docmum. You, I, and most people on these disboards have one thing in common and that is our like for Disney! I want to thank you for spending your vacation in the states. Disboards can sometimes sound like a bunch of negative people but most of the time its because we care and that's a good thing! Hopefully, you will spend more time on these boards and learn its members. The same people who put negative comments here are usually the same people who go out of the way to help people with their questions on WDW. Again, thank you for vacationing here!

 

[bcrook]

I have not been back to WDW since they started FP+. I have been getting my Disney fix at DLR. After hearing about all the budget cuts, I may not return for quite a while. Having said that, I wonder if WDW and DLR are less concerned about past guests, and instead are focused on first time and newer guests? If your family has never been to either (esp. WDW) resorts, They have no basis to compare during their first visit. To these newer visitors, it could feel like a true magical experience.

First timers and the built in contracted DVC owners who are obliged to return every year or not get the proper value out of their investment. (And possibly the locals with season passes. FP+ is tailored made for them with the ride three and get out nature of it).

 

[bcrook]

I know a lot of people think "it's only one hour on each side" or "I don't do the water parks anyway, so no bother to me". However, we don't do water parks and I still try to follow news like this. If fewer people go to the water parks, where will they be instead? At whatever park I was hoping to catch low crowds. These changes affect everyone, even when we may think they don't because of our touring patterns. Disappointing.

This is so, so true. They have to go somewhere. More and more of the ideal times to be in the parks are being snuffed out.

I guess we will see how successful Disney will be in funneling some of these people in to DAK all day, stay past 3:00 and even late into the night. But of course, that is needed to absorb the closures at DHS. My head is swimming with all the cutbacks.

 

[bcrook]

Capegirl, I am referring to threads like this one, where only personal issues concerning Park Hours, rides and so on have been the point - nothing more, nothing less. And it is great to hear, that the workers needs have been discussed on other threads and that there are ideas, how to support them properly.
Again, my only issue is, that many,many people are already furios BEFORE they even know, if and how far changes will affect them. Instead of being positive and hopeful, that one might benefit from one or the other change, many people expect the worst and already threaten never to come back, before they know, how it finally turns out. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Why not think, it might still be half-full and look forward to the next Disney trip?

I read this opinion all the time. I just don't understand it. As consumers, we need to constantly monitor what businesses offer. Currently, Disney is cutting back significantly and raising prices at a staggering rate. My AP jumped over $200.00 this year! The food prices at the Quick Service places jumped 20-30% this week! Hours are being cut across the board in a mind numbing way.

This is all great information to help me make the best decision for my family and budget. Escalating prices and cuts in services are very difficult to be rosy about (unless of course I had an unlimited income - then I wouldn't care).

 

[bcrook]

they will probably start selling a "special" after hours ticket for $129 that comes with frozen lemonade

Yup, you are probably right. AND if my salary was four times more than it is right now, I would do it! LOL!

 

[bcrook]

Yes! No starting date announced yet.

Of course not. Why would we need starting dates?