Disney World with Fewer Guests . . . But More Profit

[Mickey of the Villages]

Anyone here see the movie "Jerry Maguire"? Remember the tagline that came out of his fed-up-with-it-all fever dream: "Fewer clients. Less Money." Well what if Disney World's goal was fewer guests but more money (and profit), would you be onboard?

Anyone remember Disney World before free dining? The restaurants were part of the attraction, and not just character dining. I remember eating at Tony's Town Square in the late 90s and it had a menu as long as your arm. Now it's menu is a joke (mostly spaghetti and pizza) - if it were a restaurant anywhere but Disney World it would have failed years ago. Which is true about a lot of the halls, and warehouses in which people are fed at the parks. Why is the food so bad? Because it is free.

And don't get me started on the crowds in the hub and down Main Street during "Happily Ever After." It is physically unsafe to be in a crowd that size. If there was a fire or emergency many people would be injured in the ensuing stampede. I've only seen crowds that size in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Why is the crowd so ridiculously large? Because the crowd is getting the show for free (well included in park admission but you get my drift).

But in the immortal words of the Delta fraternity member in "Animal House": "We need the dues." Or at least Disney does. So Disney packs in the folks as much as they can in hope that more and more profit will be generated. And we don't mind because we've become used to the crowd. If we're fortunate enough to be able to afford the ways Disney let's us off the hook like Fast Passes (by staying on property with the extended booking window), "After Hours" or staying on property for Extra Magic Hours or for the truly fortunate getting a Disney Ambassador to whisk them through a VIP Tour then maybe we put up with it all.

At some point thought maybe even all that doesn't work. Disney must show more profit every year and each division including Theme Parks must play its part. Has the time come for Disney to turn away from "Enough is never enough" and towards "Fewer clients. Less Money."? Gosh, I hope so.

I've mentioned in a previous post that my wife and I stayed at BWV last week. We had a good time though I want to share some of our experiences in this forum; I've already shared one related to the Skyliner line at park closing. While we were there we watched the taped "Happily Ever After" showing in our room. At the end you can see the size of the crowd (I've been in that crowd many times). It's as frightening as the Skyliner line. My wife and I discussed how "Happily Ever After" wildly drives up "dwell time" in the park holding hordes of people in the park but we wondered at what cost.

I'm a lifelong fan of the whole enchilada. I love almost everything about visiting the parks. But if it continues in the direction of more, more, more, people and less, less, less service than my wife and I need may need to find a new hobby. Maybe it will be Disney cruising where the number of people on the ship is fixed (or relatively so) but Cabanas (ughhhh).

How does Disney get there? Gently, slowly raise the cost of coming: take away Magical Express, take away free dining, keep raising the price of annual passes . . . This kind of pressure could remove 10% to 15% of the park census with no impact on the bottom line. This could lead to a cycle in which it continues raising prices and continues marginally lowers the guest census. Maybe this has already started.

 

[Sandisw]

I did wonder if one blessing in disguise is that less people will come and some of those old favorites would come back. Honestly, we loved this last trip without worrying about getting to an attraction for FP. We visited, went to what we wanted, passed on rides we didn't want to wait and so on.

We only at at Crystal Palace, but honestly, I realized I prefer the non buffet experience. It was lovely and relaxing. For us...me especially...I have been a fan for 40+ years and simply enjoy being there and soaking in what we can. Even my adult children who have gone since they were little like a much more relaxed trip and we joke about how the commando styles we did when they were young wasn't all the fun compared to now.

So, whatever they decide to do I will go with it and make it work. I do not have any desire to visit Universal...did it once and wasn't a fan...if APs are ever stopped, then I will see more resort only trips.

But, to have less people as a model would not be so bad, IMO!

 

[Donna M]

I´ve been to the parks since the ´70s, and bought into DVC in 2005. Lots of changes. Fast passes on Magic Bands was a good one, but the planning has gotten insane. We never were big park goers, maybe twice a trip and only one trip a year. The crowds have gotten ridiculous, and we just cancelled a March trip due to lines, crowds, and masks.

It would be great to have lower park attendance; I don´t see it happening when covid is no longer an issue. Money is too important for any business. There will come a point where the masses just can´t justify the cost of a week at WDW.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

The problem is greed. It will never be enough profit.

I pay for the parties (dessert, special events, etc), so I don't have to fight for spots at fireworks, etc. But many of the events are already overcrowded and the dessert parties are getting elbow to elbow, too. I love these parties. I will give them a shot again post-covid, but if they are not going to offer a more exclusive experience, I'm out.

It will only get worse IMHO. Obviously, cuts were necessary for COVID circumstances, but they will want to make up what they "lost" and then some when people start coming back.

I HOPE people respond by witholding their $$$. But it seems there is always someone willing to pay it and we DVC owners are probably the worst enablers.

In short, I am 100% on-board for paid events and (though I loved my dining plan days) if paying through the nose means I can walk up to a restaurant and get a seat, so be it. No buffets? Good riddance. But this is a dream. They'll raise the prices and the service / quality will still borderline suck.

 

[Savagekids]

The world is getting more crowded. My dream solution is more Disney Parks spread around the US.