Crowds/bookings are low because Disney broke this core rule of running a business

[JPKnapp]

Disney is run by brilliant business people with no less than 1/2 of the senior leadership having MBAs or graduate degrees (mostly from Harvard). Yet they ignored a business case they studied covering the most important rule of talking about your companies future. DON'T SHARE TOO MUCH AHEAD OF TIME. There is a very specific business case studied called "The Osborne Effect". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect) where people stop buying your current product because they fear it will be obsolete in the very near future. Then it kills your business - ever hear of Osborne Computers? This is why!

Luckily, Disney isnt a sole product company like Osborne, so their business isn't dead. It's just massively delayed. They've announced so much in advance that people fear they are spending their money on a less-than-ideal experience. Disney has announced huge plans out to end of 2021 (Tron, Epcot, etc). People are just making the decision to vacation cheaply this year for a better spend of their Disney Dollar next year or beyond.

If you want to learn more, just google a couple examples. Industry is littered with them. Sorry Disney management, you need a refresher course.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's kind of hard to hide big construction projects.

Besides, announcing things ahead of time wouldn't have such an impact if your product was reasonably priced and people could afford to come back now and also later. You can't underestimate the impact of price increases in this equation.

I think what they're experiencing right now had a lot of contributing factors. Opening with only one ride and a bunch of expensive shops certainly played a big role.

 

[NickC]

Those are both good thoughts. This is just my personal theory, but it seems to me that WDW is now imitating instead of innovating. I can't help but think that they are trying to keep up with Universal and losing what people love about WDW.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Disney is run by brilliant business people with no less than 1/2 of the senior leadership having MBAs or graduate degrees (mostly from Harvard). Yet they ignored a business case they studied covering the most important rule of talking about your companies future. DON'T SHARE TOO MUCH AHEAD OF TIME. There is a very specific business case studied called "The Osborne Effect". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect) where people stop buying your current product because they fear it will be obsolete in the very near future. Then it kills your business - ever hear of Osborne Computers? This is why!

Luckily, Disney isnt a sole product company like Osborne, so their business isn't dead. It's just massively delayed. They've announced so much in advance that people fear they are spending their money on a less-than-ideal experience. Disney has announced huge plans out to end of 2021 (Tron, Epcot, etc). People are just making the decision to vacation cheaply this year for a better spend of their Disney Dollar next year or beyond.

If you want to learn more, just google a couple examples. Industry is littered with them. Sorry Disney management, you need a refresher course.

This is certainly one of half a dozen factors contributing to the empty DL parks. Lack of the RotR being open adds to it. As does of course AP blackouts for the majority if SoCal pass holders. And just general fear of crowds there if you aren't a SW fan. Its a combination of multiple factors. WDW is a completely different beast so it will be interesting to see how it plays out there but its hard to make predictions there based off of DL SGE.

 

[skysmom99]

but it seems to me that WDW is now imitating instead of innovating.

Isn't this the same thing we are seeing in Disney movies? Everything is either a sequel or a live action remake lately. Where are the original ideas?

 

[Brett Wyman]

People are suffering Star Wars fatigue for sure. But NO ONE cared about Avatar and look how popular Pandora is. Disney fans will come out just to see the new land with the Disney touch regardless of IP. I dont think Star Wars popularity is one of the main factors in the low turnout. The fact that its basically one(maybe not so cutting edge) ride, some mediocre to okay food, and some very good shopping may be keeping people away though.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We were going to bring our Grandson who loves Star Wars this fall to see the new land. Then when we heard they were only opening part of the land we said to ourselves lets wait to the whole land is open. I think a vast majority of visitors are thinking the same thing. Disney should of just waited and opened the whole land at once. Look how well that worked for Pandora when they opened the whole land at the once. Can you imagine if they had opened Pandora without Flight of Passage? Disney saw $$$ and that was all that mattered. They figured that fans would make more than one trip. Well there finding out that is not the case.

 

[DLgal]

Disney has seemingly made a slew of bad decisions at the executive level lately. I imagine there will be many layoffs in the coming months.

The constant price hikes at a time when we, as a country, are talking about wage stagnation and ever higher costs of living are just bad optics, and lead to a sense that Disney doesn't really want the middle and lower classes to come to their parks. The push towards more and more upcharge experiences just adds insult to injury.

Star Wars land was a brilliant idea, but the insistence on creating a new planet and using their newer Star Wars films as a central theme in the land was a huge mistake. (Stop trying to make "Rising Suns" happen Disney. That is not, nor was it ever, a Star Wars thing.) It was a plan no doubt devised by bean counters in meetings where the phrases "synergy" and "leveraging the brand" were probably thrown around enough to make a drinking game of it. The over reliance on experiences that cost money was a huge mistake as well. The land, as it stands, is boring if you don't want to pay to play. The one ride, thematically, is great, but the experience as a rider is underwhelming and inconsistent. The land lacks soul. It doesn't feel like Disney at all. It's missing music. It's missing kinetic movement. And worst of all, the "citizens of Baatu" are rude, under the guise of "We speak our own language and what is Disney, again? Never heard of it." It isn't working. I imagine in a few years time, we will see these lands undergo a retheme a la DCA and it will suddenly be a generic "Star Wars land" with a whole lot more of the Star Wars characters and locations that people actually care about along with a couple themed off the shelf rides for the little ones, who currently have NOTHING they can do in the land.

I also agree that they are announcing plans WAY too early and taking forever to actually open things. I like how Universal quietly starts construction and practically nears completion before making major announcements. It builds suspense while people online speculate and rumors fly. What happened with Hagrid opening was an operational nightmare, but look at the numbers of people that showed up to ride just one coaster! Nintendo land is going to be HUGE.

Disney should be embarrassed that the most anticipated land opening in theme park history has led to the lowest summer crowds in DECADES at Disneyland. They overestimated the draw and shut out their largest percentage of AP holders, and now they are up a creek. They were TOO proactive with the crowd control rather than seeing how it went and making adjustments to the blackout calendar as needed. That was a fatal mistake. In the process, they have likely lost a large number of AP holders who chose not to renew after the insane price hike coupled with aggressive blackouts all summer.

Finally, the media previews and subsequent articles full of hyperbole and way too much praise led to even higher expectations than could reasonably be met. People are jaded these days and if you are going to hype up something for months and months, you better deliver. Just ask the organizers of Fyre Fest...

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Sorry, I'm not jumping at the idea of paying $100+ to (potentially) stand in line for XXX hours.

I remember when Mission: Space was new and had long lines. Now, not so much.
I also remember when EE was new and had very long waits. Now, not as much.

The original SW trilogy was epic, but it also had a dark side: epic crowds and waits.
Too often WDW has ALSO courted long waits at SW events.

Um, no thanks.

I suppose many folks share the same negative association with the SW brand.

Sorry, I'm not jumping at the idea of paying $100+ to stand in line for 5(?) hours.

 

[erc]

Well, based on the headlines out of DL lately, I would say they haven't increased their ticket prices enough. I'm kidding. But in all seriousness, the stock market is soaring. Disney prices usually follow the stock market more than wage growth of the bottom 50% of wage earners.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

Isn't this the same thing we are seeing in Disney movies? Everything is either a sequel or a live action remake lately. Where are the original ideas?

EXACTLY. Disney seems to be losing its innovative spark. Everything is a sequel or live action remake because they're too scared to introduce anything new. Cash grabbing imo.

 

[DLgal]

Well, based on the headlines out of DL lately, I would say they haven't increased their ticket prices enough. I'm kidding. But in all seriousness, the stock market is soaring. Disney prices usually follow the stock market more than wage growth of the bottom 50% of wage earners.

What headlines? It currently costs $199 for a ONE DAY PARK HOPPER. And no one is coming.

Disneyland is only crowded when the APs are all unblocked and there is a ticket promo going on. That's pretty much it. Right now, most APs are blocked out of DL and there are no discounted tickets for sale with the exception of military discounts. At this point, the bulk of visitors is still probably upper tier AP holders on any given day.

 

[erc]

EXACTLY. Disney seems to be losing its innovative spark. Everything is a sequel or live action remake because they're too scared to introduce anything new. Cash grabbing imo.

I don't know. "Frozen", and "Moana" are two really good stories adapted to successful Disney movies, and they are not very old. But I have questioned this live action thing. Is it just because they have the technology to do it? I mean, I like cartoon worlds. Everything doesn't have to look like real life.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

I don't know. "Frozen", and "Moana" are two really good stories adapted to successful Disney movies, and they are not very old. But I have questioned this live action thing. Is it just because they have the technology to do it? I mean, I like cartoon worlds. Everything doesn't have to look like real life.

No complaint against the OG Frozen and Moana, although I'm skeptical about the sequels (as I am with anything Disney other than Toy Story). About the live action- probably just because they have the tech to make a "cool" new version tbh.