Chapek out - Iger back

[starlite_]

Third time replying here - maybe third times a charm? First 2 replies got eaten by the boards.

Even though DLP is doing this - I don't think park goers here would have the appetite for a $100+ "skip the line" pass, essentially doubling the price of your ticket. People would also have the expectation of being able to ride every single ride and "front of the line" access for that price - which potentially eats into VIP tours.

So even though you don't care - I suspect many many others will care.

If they did introduce such a pass though - don't you think lines for the older rides would still be insanely long? The Lightning Lane might be more empty, but more people would be in the standby line.

Can't wait for the "disney is pricing out average families of four" articles if they ever increase the price of Genie+ so much.

 

[HopperFan]

Ding ding ding. No matter what they do there will always be unhappy ppl.

EXACTLY and that is why Disney is always going to do what is best for them, as they should. They've had no trouble filling hotels and parks for YEARS so if someone doesn't like how they operate the old "someone will fill your space" when you leave holds true. It is up to the guest to make their trips work and if it doesn't they should find a place that makes their vacations happy.

I was the personification of the terrible twos as a toddler. My parents stopped going to restaurants because I was too squirmy and it was a painful experience for everyone involved. But at Disney? I behaved because I knew otherwise we would simply leave. Bless my parents and their awesome parenting tbh that were able to keep me entertained and happy on lines.

KUDOS to your folks! I don't care how young you are a child can learn to behave. I have three, one who is disabled and they all learned from infancy that Mom (or Dad) will remove them and they would no longer be part of the fun they are disrupting. Didn't take too many times for them to decide they'd like to stay around. If you are not committed to walk out that door with them, they know it and will continue on their "terrible" path. And for those years that it's just too much work, change where and what you do.

Thats where I do wonder if a hybrid approach could make more people happy - something similar to how DAS Advance works now maybe?

For example maybe resort guests get the option of choosing 2 rides in advance. Maybe it even works like DAS Advance in that no ILL$s are allowed and certain rides which were ILL$ but are now part of Genie+ cannot be selected too (like MMRR, and Frozen Ever After). If it were limited like this - then I would hope it would be an included perk for resort guests. Make sure that capacity is limited to 50% or less of the total Lightning Lane capacity. But if it were not limited, maybe it is a paid option that resort guests only can buy Genie+ ahead of time and get this 2-ride pre-selection as a perk.

Then continue Genie+ the way it is today except make it when you scan into the park?

I'm just thinking of ways to help satisfy a larger percentage of park goers Sure adding an onsite perk will make local APs and ticketed guests who won't get the onsite perk unhappy, but it would at least provide more options.

Advance booking is in contradiction to dynamic pricing of Genie+. They already got rid of the in advance FP+ when Genie+ came, I don't see them going back.

Honestly I don't think they need advance for DAS (my DS uses DAS). I don't even know why they added all the extra work if they weren't going to try to tidy up the program.

Disney resorts have very high occupancy rates. Disney has proven they can take away stuff and they will still come. I don't see them adding anything. They should look at getting the DP back first.

Only 1/3 of park guests are Disney hotel guests. So the "larger percentage of guests" do not stay in Disney hotels. Parks offerings need to be to the broad audience to get the income they want.

As crazy as it sounds it seems to be true! I've had some weird ppl here say the don't like my favorite Disney snacks! Almost beyond comprehension

Please don't say it is the Turkey Leg, I will have to judge you then.

People think he RUINED the Company ….which isn’t true of course. Maybe he ruined their IDEA of the Company -like taking away free dining or something(which IMO free dining was one of the worst things that ever happened at Disney)

THIS^

Iger took the company from the creative park centric that it was with Eisner to the diverse, movie studio that it has become. Park centric folks got mad at the shifting of focus and funds to other areas. But it can all work hand in hand. Look at what Pixar has given to the parks, look at what Star Wars has added and the Marvel Universe to the movie studios. Who knows if Disney movie studios would have survived without all three. Yes, much of what people hate lately were ideas and plans under Iger. I honestly don't think the hate would be so strong if Chapek had implemented them better.

Eisner took Disney to a new level and then Iger continued to take it to a another new level, just in a different way. Ultimately it is a diverse company that all parts need focus, not just the parks. Chapek moved into Parks President was the beginning of the end for him. He's cold, uncreative and never looks up from the spreadsheets to see if the cogs were all working. He was doomed from the beginning. You just can't be the face of a creative company if you are a stick in the mud. Eisner and Iger are vibrant personalities that have a heart in the creative company.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I get that. luckily for me my parents live relatively close so I don't count airfare in the price I pay, only tickets and hotel. Last time I went I payed like $500 I think total. With dining packages included.

That's similar to my situation with WDW. I have family that lives within an hour of WDW property so many times I stay with them and go to the parks. With the money that I would have to shell out for DL for the rides to break down all the time, I would rather go anywhere else. I hope above all else, the new management addresses constant ride breakdowns but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Jwaire]

Third time replying here - maybe third times a charm? First 2 replies got eaten by the boards.

Even though DLP is doing this - I don't think park goers here would have the appetite for a $100+ "skip the line" pass, essentially doubling the price of your ticket. People would also have the expectation of being able to ride every single ride and "front of the line" access for that price - which potentially eats into VIP tours.

So even though you don't care - I suspect many many others will care.

If they did introduce such a pass though - don't you think lines for the older rides would still be insanely long? The Lightning Lane might be more empty, but more people would be in the standby line.

That's the point. It's the point of Express Pass at Universal. The pricing bar is set so high it becomes an exclusive add-on that many people won't purchase and therefore it works. Versus now where you have a pile of people purchasing Genie+ (at what $145+ per day for a family of 5?) and getting stuck with a lightning lane to Mad Tea Party or The Magic Carpets of Aladdin at 10 a.m.

The problem with FastPass+/Lightening Lane on the older rides is they weren't designed to be loaded like that. Cast members are constantly starting and stopping loading. It would be much faster to load Haunted Mansion, for example, using just one line.

There are a few attractions like Everest (and maybe Test Track?) that were specifically designed for FastPass, but it's few and far between.

If you look at Disneyland, they don't do this. They don't have Genie+ on a lot of their older rides.

 

[GAN]

For good reason, there’s lots of discussion about impact on the Parks. If things don’t change, assuming D’Amaro stays in the same function, then it’s all on him not Iger. One, Iger isn’t really a “Parks” guy(although he WAS very hands on with Shanghai). Secondly, his style of management is to delegate decision-making to his VP’s. I really don’t expect much change though…

 

[starlite_]

EXACTLY and that is why Disney is always going to do what is best for them, as they should. They've had no trouble filling hotels and parks for YEARS so if someone doesn't like how they operate the old "someone will fill your space" when you leave holds true. It is up to the guest to make their trips work and if it doesn't they should find a place that makes their vacations happy.

...
KUDOS to your folks! I don't care how young you are a child can learn to behave. I have three, one who is disabled and they all learned from infancy that Mom (or Dad) will remove them and they would no longer be part of the fun they are disrupting. Didn't take too many times for them to decide they'd like to stay around. If you are not committed to walk out that door with them, they know it and will continue on their "terrible" path. And for those years that it's just too much work, change where and what you do.

....

Please don't say it is the Turkey Leg, I will have to judge you then.

...

Every year that passes I get more appreciative of my parents tbh. One day I hope I'm as awesome a mom as mine is. And no hahah, I have had turkey legs which I didn't hate but my heart belongs to the Mint Juleps and beignets hahaha. I don't care if they aren't the best of beignets, there is just something about them that make me go

That's the point. It's the point of Express Pass at Universal. The pricing bar is set so high it becomes an exclusive add-on that many people won't purchase and therefore it works. Versus now where you have a pile of people purchasing Genie+ (at what $145+ per day for a family of 5?) and getting stuck with a lightning lane to Mad Tea Party or The Magic Carpets of Aladdin at 10 a.m.

The problem with FastPass+/Lightening Lane on the older rides is they weren't designed to be loaded like that. Cast members are constantly starting and stopping loading. It would be much faster to load Haunted Mansion, for example, using just one line.

There are a few attractions like Everest (and maybe Test Track?) that were specifically designed for FastPass, but it's few and far between.

If you look at Disneyland, they don't do this. They don't have Genie+ on a lot of their older rides.

I did notice the other day that so many fantasyland style rides are Genie+ over at WDW. It looks kinda desperate on Disney's part to me tbh.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I did notice the other day that so many fantasyland style rides are Genie+ over at WDW. It looks kinda desperate on Disney's part to me tbh.

I remember when we went to DLR in 2019 that was something we noticed, yeah there were rides that had MP that probably shouldn't but there were just a lot more rides at WDW that had FP. Pirates I remember at DLR ran fairly smoothly with 1 standby line split in 2.

 

[Liquidice]

Can't wait for the "disney is pricing out average families of four" articles if they ever increase the price of Genie+ so much.

Don't we already have those articles that with pricing for 1-day tickets at MK getting up near $200/day during the holiday break?

 

[Liquidice]

Can't wait for the "disney is pricing out average families of four" articles if they ever increase the price of Genie+ so much.

Don't we already have those articles that with pricing for 1-day tickets at MK getting up near $200/day during the holiday break?

 

[Liquidice]

Can't wait for the "disney is pricing out average families of four" articles if they ever increase the price of Genie+ so much.

Board keeps eating my posts...

Don't we already have those articles that with pricing for 1-day tickets at MK getting up near $200/day during the holiday break?

 

[Liquidice]

Can't wait for the "disney is pricing out average families of four" articles if they ever increase the price of Genie+ so much.

Maybe 4th time is a charm this time around? Board has eaten the last 3 posts I made...

Don't we already have those articles that with pricing for 1-day tickets at MK getting up near $200/day during the holiday break?

 

[Liquidice]

Advance booking is in contradiction to dynamic pricing of Genie+. They already got rid of the in advance FP+ when Genie+ came, I don't see them going back.

Honestly I don't think they need three in advance for DAS (my DS uses DAS). I don't even know why they added all the extra work if they weren't going to try to tidy up the program.

Disney resorts have very high occupancy rates. Disney has proven they can take away stuff and they will still come. I don't see them adding anything. They should look at getting the DP back first.

Only 1/3 of park guests are Disney hotel guests. So the "larger percentage of guests" do not stay in Disney hotels. Parks offerings need to be to the broad audience to get the income they want.

I forgot about the newly introduce dynamic pricing - but if they can do dynamic pricing for park tickets ahead of time, they can do it with Genie+ as well. I'm just thinking if there are a significant amount of complaints about Genie+ and inability to pre-plan, there is maybe a middle ground they can come to which would potentially raise customer satisfaction, which I think Disney may sorely be in need of after Chapek.

DAS only gets 2 in advance not 3 and you have to chat with a CM to add them, it isn't like you do it yourself like the way FP+ was. I guess you can get a third one as soon as you enter the park with the normal DAS system. While DAS Advance may not be a big deal to everyone, it may depend on your disability, I do think it does help some people who need the ability to plan their day a little better. I know I've heard from a few people who have children that utilize DAS and have said it really helps them as their children (again it likely depends on the disability) stay at the parks the entire day for one reason or another and it helps to be able to get those 3 rides and then go back to their resort.

Part of my thinking on adding a staying on-site benefit is the assumption that next year will be a different year in regards to travel, the economy and unlimited demand at Disney parks. Disney has already seen a slowdown in their Q4 parks number, they were roughly $100M off analyst expectations ($815M vs an expected $919M) - so if the slowdown has already started, its feasible to think they won't be able to fill the hotels up next year.

Since on site guests are some of their most profitable guests, I would think in a recession, Disney would want to do everything to attract those guests first - through perks, etc. Selling AP's again might be another way to get more people into the parks - I know Disney has been at war with APs, but that was a Chapek thing - I wonder if Iger will take the same issue with APs, especially in a recession economy.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

Maybe 4th time is a charm this time around? Board has eaten the last 3 posts I made...

Don't we already have those articles that with pricing for 1-day tickets at MK getting up near $200/day during the holiday break?

A single day parkhopper ticket today at WDW is $224. Add another $29 for Genie+.

 

[Liquidice]

That's the point. It's the point of Express Pass at Universal. The pricing bar is set so high it becomes an exclusive add-on that many people won't purchase and therefore it works. Versus now where you have a pile of people purchasing Genie+ (at what $145+ per day for a family of 5?) and getting stuck with a lightning lane to Mad Tea Party or The Magic Carpets of Aladdin at 10 a.m.

The problem with FastPass+/Lightening Lane on the older rides is they weren't designed to be loaded like that. Cast members are constantly starting and stopping loading. It would be much faster to load Haunted Mansion, for example, using just one line.

There are a few attractions like Everest (and maybe Test Track?) that were specifically designed for FastPass, but it's few and far between.

If you look at Disneyland, they don't do this. They don't have Genie+ on a lot of their older rides.

Again what happens to VIP tours then? VIP tours start at $350 per person per hour with a minimum of 8 guests and gets you front of the line access to most rides. I still don't see Disney doing an Express pass style pass at WDW, even though it might seem attractive. I'm sure they also ran the numbers, is it more lucrative if 30% of all guests buy Genie+ at $30 per person per day or is it more lucrative if only 5% of guests buy a Premier Access pass at $100 per person per day.

Haunted Mansion's issue actually is the stretching room in WDW. Since it isn't really an elevator, if they just bypassed that room like they did during the pandemic, the line moves significantly faster - even with a Lightning lane. As an Omnimover attraction it has a pretty high number of guests per hour that it can handle at roughly 3000 guests per hour.

New rides such as RoTR can only handle about 1700 guests per hour - so even with it being designed for Lightning Lane, it isn't like the lines work better for this ride.

DLR has the advantage that they have a lot more rides per park than WDW does - so they can afford to have some rides that don't use Lightning Lane.

 

[Liquidice]

A single day parkhopper ticket today at WDW is $224.

Wow, I was not thinking about park hoppers but rather a single day non-hopper ticket for Magic Kingdom (using the new park specific tickets) which ranges from $124-189, but I guess you can easily go over $200 a ticket if you add on park hopper

 

[superme80]

Curious why not? (I really don't know much about either)

I dislike his acquisitions, I dislike his attitude in general, and his focus on the movies over the parks. You need a good balance. I really hope they look outside the company for a new CEO. My dislike of Iger is nothing new. Trust me I am no Chapek fan. I loved Eisner in the early years. I was a kid during them. As an adult I can see where he went wrong, but do appreciate what he brought to the parks. Iger has done some GREAT things, DCA redo. But his lack of park management is evident. Chapek just highlighted them even more.

 

[matt and beth]

Return:
Dining plan with tip included (remember when)
Tables in wonderland
Magical express
DVC benefits for all owners
H2O products
Fast pass+
Extra magic hours
Regular room cleaning service
Disney Quest


Eliminate:
Genie
Lightning lane
Involvement in politics
Restrictions on new DVC resorts

This would be heading in the right direction!

 

[BrianL]

I dislike his acquisitions, I dislike his attitude in general, and his focus on the movies over the parks. You need a good balance. I really hope they look outside the company for a new CEO. My dislike of Iger is nothing new. Trust me I am no Chapek fan. I loved Eisner in the early years. I was a kid during them. As an adult I can see where he went wrong, but do appreciate what he brought to the parks. Iger has done some GREAT things, DCA redo. But his lack of park management is evident. Chapek just highlighted them even more.

The first part of the Eisner years was great but that was when he had Frank Wells with him. As a team they were great! Alone, Eisner wasn't as strong. Iger is a much stronger CEO, but he did let his department heads have a lot of autonomy, and that includes Chapek over the Parks. Granted, he did allow it, and Iger isn't perfect, but he's a very capable CEO and a huge step up from Chapek.

 

[superme80]

The first part of the Eisner years was great but that was when he had Frank Wells with him. As a team they were great! Alone, Eisner wasn't as strong. Iger is a much stronger CEO, but he did let his department heads have a lot of autonomy, and that includes Chapek over the Parks. Granted, he did allow it, and Iger isn't perfect, but he's a very capable CEO and a huge step up from Chapek.

I totally agree about Eisner. As a kid I really didn't "GET" why somethings got canceled and what was going on with Euro Disney. As an adult, I really get it. For Iger, I honestly see him more as politician and more interested in himself than the company. That is why Disney needs a new CEO.

 

[GAN]

Return:
Dining plan with tip included (remember when)
Tables in wonderland
Magical express
DVC benefits for all owners
H2O products
Fast pass+
Extra magic hours
Regular room cleaning service
Disney Quest


Eliminate:
Genie
Lightning lane
Involvement in politics
Restrictions on new DVC resorts

This would be heading in the right direction!

There isn’t much on that list, either way, that will change. Maybe try to fine tune it a little…