Disney shares fall on recession worry

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I think that Disney better start treating us "regulars", those of us within 100 miles of the resort a little better. The "bennies" always seem to go to others until things like a slow economy, and such horrors as 9/11, slow their business to a trickle. We will still travel that 100 miles or less to go to WDW, while a lot of others will not. What I'm saying is a slow Disney is a blessing for us. The crowds, which as of late have been almost unmanageable, really slack off during bad times which brings us there in droves to shore the place up.

DH and I think Disney takes the frequest WDW guests for granted. They won't give away anything unless they have to.

It always made sense (to me at least) that Disney would reward it's most loyal - but it seems the perks we once had, have slowly been eliminated.

When you think of it the new "Anaheim" way, however....as long as they can entice the "less informed"...they can charge full rack rates for hotels, expensive ticket packages, etc.

I discovered two friends traveled to WDW earlier this year. They didn't talk with me first so they did not know about specials, etc. They paid full price for everything they did - stayed at Riverside - tickets with entrance to water parks (which they didn't use)....etc. They became uncomfortable during the 5 days because ... "Disney is always looking for a way to get more money from your wallet".

We know the codes, we all have tips to share to save $$$ when we travel to WDW. I think the current rulers of the kingdom prefer the full-paying guests.

If the economy hits Disney hard....they will eventually remember us....and it makes sense that the people who live close will benefit!

 

[Jimmy712]

No need to worry, Disneys earnings for the first quarter this year were the highest in the companys history.

 

[mitros]

DH and I think Disney takes the frequest WDW guests for granted. They won't give away anything unless they have to.

It always made sense (to me at least) that Disney would reward it's most loyal - but it seems the perks we once had, have slowly been eliminated.

When you think of it the new "Anaheim" way, however....as long as they can entice the "less informed"...they can charge full rack rates for hotels, expensive ticket packages, etc.

I discovered two friends traveled to WDW earlier this year. They didn't talk with me first so they did not know about specials, etc. They paid full price for everything they did - stayed at Riverside - tickets with entrance to water parks (which they didn't use)....etc. They became uncomfortable during the 5 days because ... "Disney is always looking for a way to get more money from your wallet".

We know the codes, we all have tips to share to save $$$ when we travel to WDW. I think the current rulers of the kingdom prefer the full-paying guests.

If the economy hits Disney hard....they will eventually remember us....and it makes sense that the people who live close will benefit!

Yea, it would be nice to see the greedy Disney corp. get a good swift kick in the ***. And, God forgive me, I almost want to say, bring back Eisner......

 

[raidermatt]

Yea, it would be nice to see the greedy Disney corp. get a good swift kick in the ***. And, God forgive me, I almost want to say, bring back Eisner......

Let's not get nuts.

Disney makes these decisions in an extremely analytical manner, but they take a relatively short term view. No need to reward frequent guests because they are already frequent guests. Why give somebody something if they are already planning to visit 20+ days next year?

The question of course is will the guest continue to visit for the next 20 years, and can you make that more likely by giving them things that might not help the bottom line today?

With executive compensation based on shorter term perfomance, there is very little benefit in sacrificing any short term profit for long term gain. A problem not unique to Disney of course.

Then again, the entire discussion would be a moot point under the classic Disney philosophy, which took a much longer term view of things.

 

[mitros]

Let's not get nuts.

Disney makes these decisions in an extremely analytical manner, but they take a relatively short term view. No need to reward frequent guests because they are already frequent guests. Why give somebody something if they are already planning to visit 20+ days next year?

The question of course is will the guest continue to visit for the next 20 years, and can you make that more likely by giving them things that might not help the bottom line today?

With executive compensation based on shorter term perfomance, there is very little benefit in sacrificing any short term profit for long term gain. A problem not unique to Disney of course.

Then again, the entire discussion would be a moot point under the classic Disney philosophy, which took a much longer term view of things.

Sorry, I lost my mind for a minute....... :}

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Let's not get nuts.

Why give somebody something if they are already planning to visit 20+ days next year?

Then again, the entire discussion would be a moot point under the classic Disney philosophy, which took a much longer term view of things.

Well, their failure to follow that original philosophy has indeed caused me to let my AP lapse with no plans for a renewal. If I need a theme park fix while in Orlando, Universal and Sea World both seem to cherish my LOCAL status much more.

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

BOTH of my points are kinda OT:

How will the economy affect YOUR travel plans? Will you go less often but stay longer? Will you go every other year? Will you drop down a resort category? Will you stay off property......or the worst choice.....can you no longer afford to travel?

I plan 4 trips this year!!!! I figure it like this: high gas = less drivers and high fuel = less airfares which = less people in the parks. No matter how you look at it there WILL be a lot of people who say "its a recession; no vacation this year just in case". And more still will say "I can barely put gas in my tanks, no vacation". Whether American or not, some of the other countries are hurting too. I heard on public radio of a big gas protest in France a couple days ago.

And, God forgive me, I almost want to say, bring back Eisner......

I never really got into WDW politics. What exactly did he do so bad that everyone seems to hate the guy? To keep the thread from taking a bad turn, you may PM me if you like, or if you feel more comfortable doing so on that one.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

No need to worry, Disneys earnings for the first quarter this year were the highest in the companys history.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Let's wait and see what the first quarter of 2009 will look like.

They are already behind in advance reservations for 2009.

You can't possibly think the current economic challenges we face will NOT hit WDW!!!

This is almost as funny as Disney going forward with development of DVC in Hawaii. Disney is way too smart to break ground on Hawaii DVC. (the poor castmember who pitched Hawaii probably lost his pretty window office and is now working in the basement!) Tourism is the primary market AND you cannot drive there...only by jet. Cruiselines are already cutting Hawaii visits. As of last month Hawaii flight costs had doubled. What do you think 2009 is going to look like out there?

Our friends from Europe will come here until airfare is simply too expensive for them. The airlines announced last week that they need to average $599 on DOMESTIC flights to break even as of last week (don't forget fuel costs for the airlines are about 6 weeks behind).

Quoting Disney's earnings in the first quarter of this year is like running a marathon......looking backwards.

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

Does any of this have to do with why they just shut down OUR Disney store and 3 others in NC?

 

[Luv2Roam]

We know long term reservations are down.

Considering 2009 packages are not being sold yet, that would make sense. Or by long term do you mean this year yet?
And do we really know they are down?

 

[mwehttam]

Does any of this have to do with why they just shut down OUR Disney store and 3 others in NC?

Nope. That was planned way back when Disney was going through the process or reacquiring the stores before this minor downturn in the economy happened.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

We were at WDW from June 8 to June 14, which is the same week that we went the last two years - 2006 and 2007. Although the parks were not empty by any means, it wasn't anywhere near as crowded this year as it has been the last two years. Our resort wasn't full either.

 

[crazy4wdw]

We were at WDW from June 8 to June 14, which is the same week that we went the last two years - 2006 and 2007. Although the parks were not empty by any means, it wasn't anywhere near as crowded this year as it has been the last two years. Our resort wasn't full either.

Rumor is that bookings at Disney are way down for 2009. Also sales of DVC units are reportedly "soft". It's will be interesting to see how the economy affects the sale of the new DVC properties - AKL and Contemporary.

There's been lots of rumors that Disney is looking at closing one of the four theme parks each day starting in 2009 if bookings continue downward. It's also being rumored that Disney is looking at a revamp of the bus system where the buses would run on a set schedule and pick-up and drop-off for the theme parks would only be every 30 to 45 minutes (with the exception of early morning and at park closing time). It will be interesting to see if any of these rumors become reality.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I remember the talk about closing a park 1 day a week after 9-11. I don't think that will happen no matter what. But shortened hours could be a real possibility. We are planning a 2009 trip and hope to make it happen. I am figuring we will end up driving as the air fare will go too high. We'll see what happens?!

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I remember the talk about closing a park 1 day a week after 9-11. I don't think that will happen no matter what. But shortened hours could be a real possibility. We are planning a 2009 trip and hope to make it happen. I am figuring we will end up driving as the air fare will go too high. We'll see what happens?!

IMO, this will be one of the first things they do (along with shuttering one entire resort...for refurbishment). It's the biggest savings and they'll only be closing AK & MGM.

 

[CherCrazy]

Bookings must be WAAAAAAAYYYYY down! I just booked today for January 09 and got 6 nights at the Beach Club in a 2BR!

WooHoo! I never would have got that last year.

Maybe the AP passes will come down in price.

 

[raidermatt]

...before this minor downturn in the economy happened.

While it's probably not a full-blown recession at this point (though we don't find out for sure until months later), it's a "bit" more than minor.

Well, their failure to follow that original philosophy has indeed caused me to let my AP lapse with no plans for a renewal. If I need a theme park fix while in Orlando, Universal and Sea World both seem to cherish my LOCAL status much more.

Unfortunately today's Disney only reacts when enough people have already become p'd off.

They seem to have forgotten the concept of it costing 10x as much to get a customer back as it does to keep them in the first place.