Can Disney admit that FP+ and MDE are a fail?

[River Country]

I dont think its a fail after all MDE seems to work just fine. FP+ its more like a swing and a miss.

 

[Laketravis]

I dont think its a fail after all MDE seems to work just fine. FP+ its more like a swing and a miss.

I think that's a great way to put it. We all want Disney to win the game, some of us are just disappointed with how they've handled the first half yet intrigued with what their strategy will be for the second half.

 

[kbelle8995]

I do wonder what is the future of this new program. I don't see it working at Disneyland and I wonder if it would work at their parks oversees. Perhaps overseas it would work.

It does seem like they threw it at WDW because programs like DDP and packaging vacation have worked well.

I have never used DDP nor any of the packaged vacations and don't feel like I have missed anything. I think that I am in the minority.

Regardless Disney will never discuss it as a failure. Positive spin will be the order of the day as with most corporations.

 

[sethschroeder]

Sending one person to ride A while the rest moseyed on over to ride B worked for a decade

I am only 29 but:
Ah that shared home phone line with my neighbors worked great
Well I never need anything other than a dictionary and encyclopedias
Eh the car getting 25 mpg worked great for years
Cell phone? People can leave a message at home
Smart Phone? Why do I need to do this google thing while in my car
Why in the world do I want this thing called a PC that connects to the internets or whatever it's called

Things changed and it's go electronic or die. Could they had it work just like old FP? Yes but in the end it's here to stay because this was invested in as infrastructure for the next decades. They will make enhancements and adjustments and cave to public demands for things but you will never pull a FP paper ticket again unless they acquire "Back to the Future" and have a day honoring that by bringing out the FP kiosks.

 

[mom2rtk]

I am only 29 but:
Ah that shared home phone line with my neighbors worked great
Well I never need anything other than a dictionary and encyclopedias
Eh the car getting 25 mpg worked great for years
Cell phone? People can leave a message at home
Smart Phone? Why do I need to do this google thing while in my car
Why in the world do I want this thing called a PC that connects to the internets or whatever it's called

Things changed and it's go electronic or die. Could they had it work just like old FP? Yes but in the end it's here to stay because this was invested in as infrastructure for the next decades. They will make enhancements and adjustments and cave to public demands for things but you will never pull a FP paper ticket again unless they acquire "Back to the Future" and have a day honoring that by bringing out the FP kiosks.

When cell phones first came out, you had strict limits on the number of minutes you could talk and texts you could send. It wasn't until the minutes and number of texts were available in a nearly unlimited fashion that they really took off.

Some people can look at a situation and not be "wowed" merely because it is a technological step forward. Some value the content as much as the delivery vehicle.

 

[wisblue]

I think that's a great way to put it. We all want Disney to win the game, some of us are just disappointed with how they've handled the first half yet intrigued with what their strategy will be for the second half.

I think this is more like the first mile of a marathon than the first half of a sprint. The testing that has been taking place in stages over the last few months are setting the stage for what is going to come for several years. Which is why I think drawing conclusions that what is happening now is the way things will be for the next several years is kind of ridiculous.

 

[DividedSky]

Sending one person to ride A while the rest moseyed on over to ride B worked for a decade

"worked" is subjective.

the old system didn't work for me. the new one does.

 

[MrInfinity]

OK, the wording of the post is a little weird, so if anyone has a better wording, let me know and I will change it.

Is there a possibility that Disney will just give up at one point and say that MDE and FP+ are an epic fail? For example, Coke gave up on New Coke, even after pouring $$ into it. McDonalds has given up on many new products even after massive testing and promos.

Do you think Disney will just man up and say that guests are plain unhappy and angry about this system? That commandos, one-timers, off-sites, APs, and locals are all pretty upset? (OK, some loved it, but then again, some people loved New Coke.) That its sucking $$ from other needed projects?

Will Disney backtrack on FP+ and MDE, or will they keep steamrolling the product and telling us that we must love MDE. It's so high-tech and how Walt always wanted to be innovative; that he would love this idea.

Are you serious?

I love it. "I don't like it so Disney should call it a fail."

How about some facts:

This just from Wednesday as Disney reported on 4Q 2013 results:

******

Reporting earnings after the close, Iger told CNBC the quarter was an "across-the-board success story" with record attendance at Disney World in Florida as well as its Hong Kong and Tokyo parks.

******

But its cable, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive divisions all saw double-digit gains during the period that ended Dec. 28

******

•Disney (DIS) blows past profit estimates for Q4 on solid revenue gains across segments.
•Disney segment revenue: Parks and Resorts +6% to $3.98B; Studio Entertainment 23% to $1.89B; Media Networks +4% to $5.29B; Consumer Products +11% to $1.13BM; Interactive +388% to $403M.
•Frozen and Thor: The Dark World boosted studio revenue and the company noted a boost from SVOD. Marketing costs were lower during the period with Disney placing just a few high-stakes movie bets.
•Theme parks saw increased guest spending and higher ticket prices. The rate of growth for the segment beat Universal's handily for an overlapping period.
•DIS +1.9% AH.

******

In summary:
Disney jacked theme park prices thru the roof.
Disney jacked dining plan prices thru the roof.
Despite all that, Disney is DESTROYING Universal and posting 6% increase in revenue.
Disney World in particularly was called out for having record theme park attendance.

This is so *NOT* a fail. Disney hit a home run this year. Get over it! FP is here. Enjoy the facts.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Are you serious? I love it. "I don't like it so Disney should call it a fail." How about some facts: This just from Wednesday as Disney reported on 4Q 2013 results: ****** Reporting earnings after the close, Iger told CNBC the quarter was an "across-the-board success story" with record attendance at Disney World in Florida as well as its Hong Kong and Tokyo parks. ****** But its cable, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive divisions all saw double-digit gains during the period that ended Dec. 28 ****** •Disney (DIS) blows past profit estimates for Q4 on solid revenue gains across segments. •Disney segment revenue: Parks and Resorts +6% to $3.98B; Studio Entertainment 23% to $1.89B; Media Networks +4% to $5.29B; Consumer Products +11% to $1.13BM; Interactive +388% to $403M. •Frozen and Thor: The Dark World boosted studio revenue and the company noted a boost from SVOD. Marketing costs were lower during the period with Disney placing just a few high-stakes movie bets. •Theme parks saw increased guest spending and higher ticket prices. The rate of growth for the segment beat Universal's handily for an overlapping period. •DIS +1.9% AH. ****** In summary: Disney jacked theme park prices thru the roof. Disney jacked dining plan prices thru the roof. Despite all that, Disney is DESTROYING Universal and posting 6% increase in revenue. Disney World in particularly was called out for having record theme park attendance. This is so *NOT* a fail. Disney hit a home run this year. Get over it! FP is here. Enjoy the facts.

Thumbs up! Facts are good.

 

[rastuso]

I am only 29 but:
Ah that shared home phone line with my neighbors worked great
Well I never need anything other than a dictionary and encyclopedias
Eh the car getting 25 mpg worked great for years
Cell phone? People can leave a message at home
Smart Phone? Why do I need to do this google thing while in my car
Why in the world do I want this thing called a PC that connects to the internets or whatever it's called

Things changed and it's go electronic or die. Could they had it work just like old FP? Yes but in the end it's here to stay because this was invested in as infrastructure for the next decades. They will make enhancements and adjustments and cave to public demands for things but you will never pull a FP paper ticket again unless they acquire "Back to the Future" and have a day honoring that by bringing out the FP kiosks.

You are really comparing all of those changes to one that limits the amount of fun you can now have at WDW?

If anything, FP+ is like taking your smartphone, limiting the number of apps you can put on it to 3, and limiting your monthly bandwidth to 30 MB.
It would be like having to choose which three Encyclopedia volumes you want to have.

FP+ is limiting. That's not an opinion. And if you are saying FP+ increases ANYTHING, you are flat out wrong.

As I've said before the FP+ lovers love it pretty much solely because they want to go to a park for a very limited amount of time, ride 3 rides, and leave to eat. To that very small portion of WDW guests, I guess FP+ makes it easier. But to the other huge percentage that feels like if they pay a few hundred dollars for their family to get into the park, they want more than 3 rides without long lines.

And all the FP+ lovers now are really just ridiculous. To say FP+ is why you can really enjoy lots of rides on a trip to WDW in early February is just crazy.

-Jason

 

[MrInfinity]

You are really comparing all of those changes to one that limits the amount of fun you can now have at WDW?

If anything, FP+ is like taking your smartphone, limiting the number of apps you can put on it to 3, and limiting your monthly bandwidth to 30 MB.
It would be like having to choose which three Encyclopedia volumes you want to have.

FP+ is limiting. That's not an opinion. And if you are saying FP+ increases ANYTHING, you are flat out wrong.

As I've said before the FP+ lovers love it pretty much solely because they want to go to a park for a very limited amount of time, ride 3 rides, and leave to eat. To that very small portion of WDW guests, I guess FP+ makes it easier. But to the other huge percentage that feels like if they pay a few hundred dollars for their family to get into the park, they want more than 3 rides without long lines.

And all the FP+ lovers now are really just ridiculous. To say FP+ is why you can really enjoy lots of rides on a trip to WDW in early February is just crazy.

-Jason

Gosh these arguments are so tiresome. Do you not read the facts? See above! 16 million visitors hit the MK in a year. There are only 100'ish users who are actively posting on this board about it negatively. And they are the same 100 that I see over and over and over. Even if you call it 1000... That means some 15,999,000 other people are visiting the MK and couldn't care one iota about disboards or new FP+. Read the press releases! WDW is sporting RECORD TURNOUTS. Revenue is UP. This is huge. FP+ was such an incredible success story across the board.

Yes, I get it, a small group of ppl are annoyed, those that come out here. But it's not going to change because it was so incredibly successful for so many millions of people.

Embrace it, figure out how to enjoy WDW with FP+, cuz you know it's coming to other parks as soon as WDW is done.

 

[rastuso]

Gosh these arguments are so tiresome. Do you not read the facts? See above! 16 million visitors hit the MK in a year. There are only 100'ish users who are actively posting on this board about it negatively. And they are the same 100 that I see over and over and over. Even if you call it 1000... That means some 15,999,000 other people are visiting the MK and couldn't care one iota about disboards or new FP+. Read the press releases! WDW is sporting RECORD TURNOUTS. Revenue is UP. This is huge. FP+ was such an incredible success story across the board.

Yes, I get it, a small group of ppl are annoyed, those that come out here. But it's not going to change because it was so incredibly successful for so many millions of people.

Embrace it, figure out how to enjoy WDW with FP+, cuz you know it's coming to other parks as soon as WDW is done.

WOW, I now realize I should not even attempt to respond to you. If this post was your idea of facts, I think you and I just need to ignore each other from now on.

-Jason

 

[JimmyV]

They have been and will continue to experiment to get the thing tweaked to what they want to accomplish. If 3 FP's are determined to not be achieving what they were trying to achieve, they they will change that. It won't be because a small group of people complained that they didn't get the number of FP's that they wanted.

This point is non-sensical. You are suggesting that Disney will continue to "experiment" and "change", but you deny that such experimentation and change will come at the behest of those who have complained about the current system. It simply doesn't work that way. Picture these two scenarios in the boardroom:

Head Honcho: "How is our new FP+ system trending? What do people on the ground have to say about it."

Underling: "No complaints that we can discern. Everyone seems to be happy and the chat rooms and Face Book postings are all positive."

Head Honcho: "Great. Seems like we nailed this one. Pull back funding on all future changes."

versus....

Head Honcho: "How is our new FP+ system trending? What do people on the ground have to say about it."

Underling: "Mixed results. Unfortunately, many of our most ardent supporters and most frequent guests are complaining loudly in the chat rooms and on Face Book. Others say that they aren't really affected and can live with the changes. But few seem to be declaring this to be a measurable improvement over the old system."

Head Honcho: "Hmmm. Seems like we've got some more work to do. Let's keep tweaking this rocket ship until it flies to the moon!."

You seem perfectly willing to accept the fact that changes are likely, but unwilling to accept the point that said changes are driven by customer reaction. At best, that is Pollyanish. Listen to (or watch) the 2/4 Dis podcast. The owners and operators of this site have no doubt as to the general impact that FP+ is having and no doubt as to the impact that the noise on this board is or will cause.

 

[sonofanarchy]

No, because it is not a failure.

The overwhelming majority of people who are stating their opinions seems to say otherwise.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Are you serious?

I love it. "I don't like it so Disney should call it a fail."

How about some facts:

This just from Wednesday as Disney reported on 4Q 2013 results:

******

Reporting earnings after the close, Iger told CNBC the quarter was an "across-the-board success story" with record attendance at Disney World in Florida as well as its Hong Kong and Tokyo parks.

******

But its cable, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive divisions all saw double-digit gains during the period that ended Dec. 28

******

•Disney (DIS) blows past profit estimates for Q4 on solid revenue gains across segments.
•Disney segment revenue: Parks and Resorts +6% to $3.98B; Studio Entertainment 23% to $1.89B; Media Networks +4% to $5.29B; Consumer Products +11% to $1.13BM; Interactive +388% to $403M.
•Frozen and Thor: The Dark World boosted studio revenue and the company noted a boost from SVOD. Marketing costs were lower during the period with Disney placing just a few high-stakes movie bets.
•Theme parks saw increased guest spending and higher ticket prices. The rate of growth for the segment beat Universal's handily for an overlapping period.
•DIS +1.9% AH.

******

In summary:
Disney jacked theme park prices thru the roof.
Disney jacked dining plan prices thru the roof.
Despite all that, Disney is DESTROYING Universal and posting 6% increase in revenue.
Disney World in particularly was called out for having record theme park attendance.

This is so *NOT* a fail. Disney hit a home run this year. Get over it! FP is here. Enjoy the facts.

Let's see the numbers over the next 2 years if no changes are made to FP+. A bit early to be using FP+ as the reason for Disney's current success.

 

[TreyQ3]

Reporting earnings after the close, Iger told CNBC the quarter was an "across-the-board success story" with record attendance at Disney World in Florida as well as its Hong Kong and Tokyo parks.

******

•Theme parks saw increased guest spending and higher ticket prices. The rate of growth for the segment beat Universal's handily for an overlapping period.

Wait . . . how can this be? The people who hate FP+ are saying that these changes are driving hoards of people to Universal.

Thanks for the real information.

 

[JimmyV]

Gosh these arguments are so tiresome. Do you not read the facts? See above! 16 million visitors hit the MK in a year. There are only 100'ish users who are actively posting on this board about it negatively. And they are the same 100 that I see over and over and over. Even if you call it 1000... That means some 15,999,000 other people are visiting the MK and couldn't care one iota about disboards or new FP+.

Seriously? You think that the 2013 results were driven by a system that was rolled out in earnest in January, 2014? Holy time machine, Batman!

And you honestly believe that the 100 people (or 1,000) who have posted negatively are the only ones unhappy with 3 FPs per day with no opportunity to repeat and with tiering and no park hopping? That there are no dissatisfied people who do not visit chat boards or Face Book? So every other one of those 15,999,000 are jumping for joy?

Here are some "facts" (which are really nothing more than "assumptions", but I am willing to admit that fact.)

• The FP+ system as it is currently operating will not be the "final" iteration.
• The FP+ system will see changes, some as soon as two months, if not earlier.
• The changes to the FP+ system that will come in the future will be in direct response to the carping that is going on right now by the 100 (or 1,000, which, of course is nowhere near the true number of unhappy guests).
• The changes that will come will benefit you.
• If you enjoy FP+ now, you will enjoy it even more after the changes are implemented.
• When the changes come and you embrace them as being positive, offer up your thanks, if not an apology, to those who screamed the loudest and most frequently for said changes, for without their noted dissatisfaction, there is no reason to suspect that the changes would have been made.

 

[Laketravis]

I think this is more like the first mile of a marathon than the first half of a sprint. The testing that has been taking place in stages over the last few months are setting the stage for what is going to come for several years. Which is why I think drawing conclusions that what is happening now is the way things will be for the next several years is kind of ridiculous.

MM/FP+ began testing almost two years ago. Hardly the first mile.

 

[Eldon_Brasche]

Gosh these arguments are so tiresome. Do you not read the facts? See above! 16 million visitors hit the MK in a year. There are only 100'ish users who are actively posting on this board about it negatively. And they are the same 100 that I see over and over and over. Even if you call it 1000... That means some 15,999,000 other people are visiting the MK and couldn't care one iota about disboards or new FP+. Read the press releases! WDW is sporting RECORD TURNOUTS. Revenue is UP. This is huge. FP+ was such an incredible success story across the board.

Yes, I get it, a small group of ppl are annoyed, those that come out here. But it's not going to change because it was so incredibly successful for so many millions of people.

Embrace it, figure out how to enjoy WDW with FP+, cuz you know it's coming to other parks as soon as WDW is done.

My sentiments exactly!

 

[MrInfinity]

Let's see the numbers over the next 2 years if no changes are made to FP+. A bit early to be using FP+ as the reason for Disney's current success.

Right.

So... "New FP+ Sucks! People are leaving WDW in droves to go to Universal".

"What? Numbers are out? Disney is way up? Huge gains over Universal".

"Oh... well then it must be too early to tell".