Do You think DISNEY has gone down hlll the last few years?

[Snape]

I'm betting that with the current management, if people stop going to Disney parks and resorts, all they will do is cut more corners.

I agree. I really don't think they care.

 

[ZeroMyHero]

This is what we've done. While we still buy park tickets, we stay offsite and refuse to give Disney the money until they fix some of the things that have drastically slipped.

But you really haven't, Snape, because you're still buying tickets to the parks, you're still eating meals there (I'm guessing, since you didn't say you're eating offsite exclusively). You are withholding some, but Disney is still getting a good measure of your vacation dollars, so they still see it as a win. There's a Six Flags near my house, but I haven't been back there since 2000. The guests were pushy and obnoxious, the employees were surly and lacked communication skills, and the place was dirty. They won't get another dime from me anytime soon, even though I love thrill rides. From what I hear, the place is improving, but I'll need lots of positive reviews from people I trust before I even think about going back. If Disney is that bad, they should be treated the same: not a dime until you fix what's broken. From what I see, there just aren't enough people who are dissatisfied enough to do that, and so it's unlikely that Disney will fix the things so many complain about.

 

[brunette8706]

Hey All!

I just logged on I'm currently at the Yacht Club after after LEAVING the WILDERNESS LODGE out of DISAPPOINTMENT!

Yes, some of Disney is in decline, but there arer some improvements.

Here is a quick trip report so far:

WILDERNESS LODGE

Pro's
Gorgeous Resort
Gorgeous Landscaping
Gorgeous Architecture
Beautiful Interior
Nice Pool
Great Theme
Great Location
Exterior upkeep (does have scaffolding though)
Very authentic
Very serene
Artist Point looked very nice (did not eat there)

CONs

Rooms/accomodations are horrendous
- vanity bulbs out
- chest drawers kept coming open
-head board chipping
-bedding dirty
-bed skirt (faded, worn, and frankly gross!!)
-Room had a very TIRED LOOK TO IT.
-Room needs to be updated BAD.
-Mousekeeping is less then PAR
-Ketchup on small table on deck
-paper wrappings on floor near bed
-Flat Screen TV -- Remote did not work
-Roaring Forks --Tight on food offerings
-Roaring Forks- Very Expensive on Sandwiches/Salads $9-$10 for an "okay" entree

Now, please don't flame, me. I'm just giving you an honest opinion on my first experience at the WL. We will not return. This was our first night. On the second day, I asked my husband if he wanted to move to another hotel. He said yes. So with that we stayed at the Yacht Club. We did this not knowing what to expect! All I can say is:



WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This place is spectacular, gorgeous, awesome and just GREAT! We will be returning here no questions asked! LOL!

PROs

-Beautiful Surroundings
-Beautiful stunning lobby with a Yacht theme (ships, nautical)
-POOL- OH MAN! WOW FACTOR-
-POOL - They also check your key before entering pool
-Sandy bottom pool, slides, very large, gorgeous and relaxing!
-Accomodations- STUNNING, GORGEOUS, Large balcony (12 feet x 5 feet) just guessing on that though.
-Bedding - white, crisp, clean, beautiful. Blue Bed Skirt, very upsale
-White french doors leading to large balcony as stated above
-Lobby, very nautical, ships, stunning
- Interior - very clean, new paint, carpet upscale

CONs

- Bartender at bar closest to lobby VERY RUDE
-Marketplace - where you get fast food about a 10 minute walk. It's located at the Beach Club
-CM at Market place wasn't very friendly.

We're having a GREAT TIME! We're checking out on the 14th. Just finished viewing EPCOT fireworks from balcony. I can't say enough good things about this place.

With that said, you and your family shouldn't have to spend a fortune to provide your childrern the opportunity to experience the "magic" of Disney World. That's not to say it should come cheap either, but just an acknowledgement the past few years it seems the priority is not the "magic" of Disney but the profit alone. After all per CNN Disney profit INCREASED 40 percent last quarter.

If anyone has any questions/comments/suggestions let me know. I'm still at the world so I'll be happy to answer them.

Thanks ALL!
Brunette

 

[flicx]

This is what we've done. While we still buy park tickets, we stay offsite and refuse to give Disney the money until they fix some of the things that have drastically slipped.

We skipped disney this year and most of it has to do with price increases and quality slipping,also lack of new attractions.Las Vegas will be getting our vacation dollars and if disney doesn't improve it may be a few years till we come back.I must admit there will be alot of things I will miss! When we do go back I would venture to say disney will get a least one day less as we will go to universal for a day to see potter and alot of the other newer rides they have installed the last few years.If it is true what one poster said on here about disney quarterly profits, the company should be embarassed(assuming they are just for the magic kingdom.) If true they need to put some money back into the place and try to remedy the situation.Just my two cents!

 

[brunette8706]

We skipped disney this year and most of it has to do with price increases and quality slipping,also lack of new attractions.Las Vegas will be getting our vacation dollars and if disney doesn't improve it may be a few years till we come back.I must admit there will be alot of things I will miss! When we do go back I would venture to say disney will get a least one day less as we will go to universal for a day to see potter and alot of the other newer rides they have installed the last few years.If it is true what one poster said on here about disney quarterly profits, the company should be embarassed(assuming they are just for the magic kingdom.) If true they need to put some money back into the place and try to remedy the situation.Just my two cents!

*
Hi! I haven't been to VEGAS since 04. I think though, you can get some great deals on hotels and food (buffets). It's always a fun place to visit. I highly recommend the Mandalay Bay and Bellagio resort, their both top notch!

 

[flicx]

*
Hi! I haven't been to VEGAS since 04. I think though, you can get some great deals on hotels and food (buffets). It's always a fun place to visit. I highly recommend the Mandalay Bay and Bellagio resort, their both top notch!

We go a couple times a year and have a good time.Comp rooms and a vast choice of food suit us to a tee.Staying at the luxor, kinda reminds me of the contempoary with an egyptian feel.Seen better rooms in vegas but they are livable.

 

[flicx]

What ever you want to call it, greed or not investing in the business, apparently 3/4 of a billion dollars profit every quarter isn't enough for Disney. They continue to make cuts and changes that negatively affects the Disney that we had all loved for so many years.

Putting finance people in key corporate positions will change a company every time.

They need some dreamers to balance out the bean counters. Walt and Roy had their problems but they balanced each other out and built a business that people from all over the world fell in love with and that other companies admired.

Bill

I love this post!

 

[TLSnell1981]

What ever you want to call it, greed or not investing in the business, apparently 3/4 of a billion dollars profit every quarter isn't enough for Disney. They continue to make cuts and changes that negatively affects the Disney that we had all loved for so many years.

Putting finance people in key corporate positions will change a company every time.

They need some dreamers to balance out the bean counters. Walt and Roy had their problems but they balanced each other out and built a business that people from all over the world fell in love with and that other companies admired.

Bill

Disney's standards have declined...top to bottom. It's not just corporate positions and bean counters.

 

[chipscamping buddy]

Some food is down in quality, which disappoints me because I would rather pay for quality. I would at least like options that have the proper relationship between price and quality.
Resort maintenance is definitely down.
Ride maintenance is down.
Service overall is slipping I think, but mostly due to lack of staffing, not the quality of the employees. I don't like all the outside companies coming in to WDW to provide services that Disney is abandoning. The new kennel idea is expensive and inconvenient. NO thought to guests, just to reducing costs.
I would be more forgiving if they were having problems with profitability. However, we know that is not the problem.

 

[bicker]

From what I see, there just aren't enough people who are dissatisfied enough to do that, and so it's unlikely that Disney will fix the things so many complain about.

Precisely: Disney responds to what guests actually think overall, not what some guests on online forums try to imply that guests think overall. Disney, like all consumer service providers, care a great deal about how their customers perceive their offerings - the issue is that, despite all the doom-and-gloomers that abound online, customers perceive that the value of a Disney vacation has increased over time, not decreased.

 

[bicker]

The new kennel idea is expensive and inconvenient. NO thought to guests, just to reducing costs.

I'm sorry but that assertion doesn't make sense. Disney invested a large amount of money to create a Disney-quality facility. I can understand being frustrated that it costs more than you'd like to pay - it's natural for consumers to wish they could pay less for things - but there is no notion by which the construction of this facility could be conceived as matter of reducing costs. If that was their concern, they'd stick with the old kennel or closed the kennel down entirely and tell guests with pets to leave them at a kennel in LBV or at home.

I think this really hits on a major aspect of this discussion: I think guests are just sad that Disney knows how much what they're offering is worth to guests, and that Disney is charging what their services are worth, instead of Disney operating as a charity to its guests.

I would be more forgiving if they were having problems with profitability.

You shouldn't. You should only concern yourself with what they offer and whether it is worth purchasing or not. If it is worth it, then vacation at WDW. If it isn't worth it, then don't vacation there. ZeroMyHero hit on something last night: A rational person's appraisal of something should match their actions. If Disney wasn't worth what they were offering, then we wouldn't have all the threads clamoring about how hard it is to get this-or-that ADR; we wouldn't have any threads about "What happens when they close the Magic Kingdom due to capacity?" ... and so on.

 

[Donut23]

I think this really hits on a major aspect of this discussion: I think guests are just sad that Disney knows how much what they're offering is worth to guests, and that Disney is charging what their services are worth, instead of Disney operating as a charity to its guests.

Could not disagree more.

Disney doesn't give a flying "poop" about the value of their product....only how much "$$$ they can separate from customers" <--direct quote from a first timer friend....who is also now a "last" timer.

DH and I feel sorry, truly sorry, for people who cannot afford to peek inside the magic. It's quite simple....greed.

The view from the inside...looking out.....has been a heartbreaking transition over the last 32 years.....especially the last few years.

Don't kid yourself. We are only dollar signs to Disney growunups, that's all. The people we meet face to face at WDW and DL are the people who do their best with continuing staff and budget cutbacks to bring magic to our experience.

 

[Planogirl]

Precisely: Disney responds to what guests actually think overall, not what some guests on online forums try to imply that guests think overall. Disney, like all consumer service providers, care a great deal about how their customers perceive their offerings - the issue is that, despite all the doom-and-gloomers that abound online, customers perceive that the value of a Disney vacation has increased over time, not decreased.

I think that it's possible that people in general will put up with less value from Disney due to the fact that it is Disney. I don't necessarily agree that the public thinks that a Disney vacation has increased in value but is instead still valuable enough.

However this is just conjecture since I'm not aware of any hard numbers that indicate the truth.

 

[bicker]

Could not disagree more. Disney doesn't give a flying "poop" about the value of their product....only how much "$$$ they can separate from customers" <--direct quote from a first timer friend....who is also now a "last" timer.

And a rather prejudicial way of wording it, at that. However, the contention is utterly self-contradictory. Maybe, as a frustrated consumer, it feels good to say something like that, but the fact that it is self-contradictory really highlights how little merit it has.

I think that it's possible that people in general will put up with less value from Disney due to the fact that it is Disney.

Perhaps a little, but not a significant amount. Guests aren't idiots.

I don't necessarily agree that the public thinks that a Disney vacation has increased in value but is instead still valuable enough.

Guests are paying more now than before, even adjusted for vacation. Again, guests are not idiots.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I think that it's possible that people in general will put up with less value from Disney due to the fact that it is Disney. I don't necessarily agree that the public thinks that a Disney vacation has increased in value but is instead still valuable enough.

However this is just conjecture since I'm not aware of any hard numbers that indicate the truth.

There are few vacation places that can compete with Disney in entertainment value, though. You can't visit DC, or even upper Michigan for the same amt. I just had to pay $85 for a Super 8 in Sault Ste. Marie, for Heaven's sake. Cedar Point is $50 a day, and there are no bargains to be had for hotels nearby.

I find that for my large family, I can visit Disney, renting points, buy tickets for less than it costs to visit most places.

Vegas for adults comes close if you don't gamble or go to shows. If you gamble you are bound to lose, and the shows have gone out the roof, sadly. I hated the Luxor, and wouldn't stay there for free. It was icky. So perception comes into play, too.

That all said, I think that things have changed. Some changes have made me sad. And sometimes I see a restroom that needs care. Some of that though, is more connected to nasty guests, rather than lack of care by Disney.

 

[brunette8706]

I'm sorry but that assertion doesn't make sense. Disney invested a large amount of money to create a Disney-quality facility. I can understand being frustrated that it costs more than you'd like to pay - it's natural for consumers to wish they could pay less for things - but there is no notion by which the construction of this facility could be conceived as matter of reducing costs. If that was their concern, they'd stick with the old kennel or closed the kennel down entirely and tell guests with pets to leave them at a kennel in LBV or at home.

I think this really hits on a major aspect of this discussion: I think guests are just sad that Disney knows how much what they're offering is worth to guests, and that Disney is charging what their services are worth, instead of Disney operating as a charity to its guests.

You shouldn't. You should only concern yourself with what they offer and whether it is worth purchasing or not. If it is worth it, then vacation at WDW. If it isn't worth it, then don't vacation there. ZeroMyHero hit on something last night: A rational person's appraisal of something should match their actions. If Disney wasn't worth what they were offering, then we wouldn't have all the threads clamoring about how hard it is to get this-or-that ADR; we wouldn't have any threads about "What happens when they close the Magic Kingdom due to capacity?" ... and so on.

**
Hi Bicker-


I think at the end of the day, you're missing the point. I've read through your many thoughtful posts laced with multi-syllable words and your own subjective conclusions. I take issue with some of your conclusions which you present as factual and "objective". They are not I assure you. They are as subjective as mine or many of the other folks who've responded to this point.

The OP was presented as an opinion and the question directed at asking members what they "think". With all due respect, you are in no position to tell any of these guests that they are wrong in their "opinions". Bottom line, each one of us has a God given right of "free will".

I don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to know when service I receive is sub-par or when a corporation is taking advantage of it's customers. My basis is my years of experience visiting Disney. All of my own statements, such as the price increases and some less than good experiences with CM's, are real. Other members whom have posted offer similar experiences. You can paint it any way you like but at the end of the day, customers are becoming unhappy with the changes taking place at Disney World.

My DH works in the publishing industry and one facet of his industry, is advertising through 3rd Class Mail. A few years ago, the USPS decided to raise their rates on 3rd Class Mail with the obvious intention, of increasing their revenue by the 12% they raised costs. What they didn't take into consideration however, was the 50% loss in volume they would realize because of their gouging. Most 3rd class customers found other venues or simply went out of business because of it. The USPS later made a statement that "the economy" was responsible for the decrease in volume which at the time, was false as the economy was still growing. We all know now where the USPS stands in terms of profitability.

Point is, you can only increase prices so long and so much. Disney is following that same business model. They will continue to increase prices until they find the breaking point. A turkey leg in 2005 cost: $4.99. Today, it's: $7.69. The price of admission was approximately: $62.00. Today, it's: $82.00. Those increases are considerably above the rate of inflation and there are many more examples of how the prices are going up, inexplicably.

We love Disney and both my DH and I are doing well financially but at this rate, we will not be willing to patronize Disney the same as we have for years. It simply is getting too expensive.

 

[disneynutz]

I wouldn't mind the cost increases so much if Disney used the money to clean up the facilities, improve the food in the restaurants, and did a better job staffing. They made over a billion dollars profit last quarter and they are still cutting programs and increasing prices.

Bill

 

[Planogirl]

A turkey leg in 2005 cost: $4.99. Today, it's: $7.69.

That boggles my mind.

That stood out to me. I agree with the rest of your post. I do want to add that with "free" dining and other incentives that I don't necessarily agree that WDW costs more to many guests. How many I don't know but we have gone offsite to save money. (We get free hotel nights on points.) People have ways of coping....so far.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I have thought for several years now that Disney has very little use for repeat customers. They are after the first time tourist that will buy all the crappy merchandise, eat all the overpriced food and never know the difference! The touist will leave relatively happy, since Disney parks are still the best. And they will leave lots of money in Disney hands. All of us Disney freaks know how things have gone down and how to get the most bang for the buck out of our vacations. Disney would rather not have us around!!

 

[luckyprincess]

**
Hi Bicker-


I think at the end of the day, you're missing the point. I've read through your many thoughtful posts laced with multi-syllable words and your own subjective conclusions. I take issue with some of your conclusions which you present as factual and "objective". They are not I assure you. They are as subjective as mine or many of the other folks who've responded to this point.

The OP was presented as an opinion and the question directed at asking members what they "think". With all due respect, you are in no position to tell any of these guests that they are wrong in their "opinions". Bottom line, each one of us has a God given right of "free will".

I don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to know when service I receive is sub-par or when a corporation is taking advantage of it's customers. My basis is my years of experience visiting Disney. All of my own statements, such as the price increases and some less than good experiences with CM's, are real. Other members whom have posted offer similar experiences. You can paint it any way you like but at the end of the day, customers are becoming unhappy with the changes taking place at Disney World.

My DH works in the publishing industry and one facet of his industry, is advertising through 3rd Class Mail. A few years ago, the USPS decided to raise their rates on 3rd Class Mail with the obvious intention, of increasing their revenue by the 12% they raised costs. What they didn't take into consideration however, was the 50% loss in volume they would realize because of their gouging. Most 3rd class customers found other venues or simply went out of business because of it. The USPS later made a statement that "the economy" was responsible for the decrease in volume which at the time, was false as the economy was still growing. We all know now where the USPS stands in terms of profitability.

Point is, you can only increase prices so long and so much. Disney is following that same business model. They will continue to increase prices until they find the breaking point. A turkey leg in 2005 cost: $4.99. Today, it's: $7.69. The price of admission was approximately: $62.00. Today, it's: $82.00. Those increases are considerably above the rate of inflation and there are many more examples of how the prices are going up, inexplicably.

We love Disney and both my DH and I are doing well financially but at this rate, we will not be willing to patronize Disney the same as we have for years. It simply is getting too expensive.

Great post!! Well said
Oh, and the ignore function is awesome! just saying