Do You Think Non-Dis Vets are Beginning to Notice Penny-Pinching?

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I'm not sure I agree that Disney is gearing toward once-in-a-lifetime visitors over repeat guests. My theory is that they're gunning to make the average stay SHORTER but more costly per guest per day.

My family's ideal WDW trip pre-covid/Genie+ was 10-12 days. This means that our park tickets were, on average, cheaper than someone who bought only 3 days of park tickets. Disney wants more people paying the premium it costs when you only stay a few days, AND less people (like us) milling about an crowding up the parks for 10 day stays and paying less per day while we're at it.

In planning for our upcoming (11 day) trip, I realized that with Genie+ it *should* theoretically be possible for us to accomplish as much in 5 days with Genie+ as we used to in 10 days with FP+. We considered buying only 5-6 days of park tickets and keeping the others as rest days (we booked with dvc rental awhile back so adjusting our dates/timeframe is not an option, this time). Ultimately we chose not to do that - even though it would have in fact saved us money on park tickets - because it would have negatively effected the FEEL of our vacation. We've always liked to take Disney at a leisurely, vacation-like pace, spending only partial days in the parks, staying flexible, and minimizing time spent in lines. In general, we are not rope drop people, and we have little kids so full on park days are not an option. We need our afternoon breaks. We like vacation to feel like vacation.

Unfortunately I think what Disney is doing is pushing more of a get-in-get-out mentality. Disney is no longer a "vacation destination" as such. It's a place you go and do it all, fast, spend a billion dollars, and come home feeling exhausted. I'm already irritated with the Genie+ thing because in order to get the most out of it, you need to be in the parks for full days, which as I said, doesn't work for us. So now I'm stuck paying for Genie+ and either A) not getting the best value for our money, or B) pushing my little kids to the max with no time for rest or relaxation. Combined with the removal of DME, extra magic hours, etc, it begins to feel like the Disney magic is dwindling rather quickly. Those extras and perks went SUCH a long way to make Disney feel like so much MORE than just a theme park trip. It was that magical feeling that everything was SPECIAL and carefree, that the service was above and beyond - that made the exorbitant costs OKAY. I don't see anything special or magical about PAYING EXTRA for the "privilege" of rushing around like crazy people with our heads in our phones for days on end.

Suffice to say, I am unsure whether we will be returning after this upcoming trip. My HOPE is that it works out fine, Genie+ isn't as bad as I'm worried it will be, and we'll be back again come 2023. But my family's desire for a relaxing, fun, vacation far outweighs our interest in Disney parks. There are so many other places to vacation, and if Disney is no longer meeting our needs - or functioning as a place to actually go on VACATION - we'll just go elsewhere. I'm sure that's no skin off their teeth, because I'm getting the vibe that their target demographic isn't family vacations anymore.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

In the end they did the right thing. At first they thought they could get away with charging full price and saying the plastic bag counted as the carrying case included in the price. It was bad customer service and they deserved to be called out on that.

i think you're drawing your own conclusion, sometimes things go through as oversites. That is information that we will never know, so all you can do is look at it at face value and judge them based on that, to just assume they were taking advantage is just as wrong as giving them the benefit of the doubt

 

[jpeterson]

They're losing money relative to a fully priced lightsaber with the crappy bag, which probably had an internal cost of about 50 cents.

The implication in the OP is that Disney is lying about supply chain issues to eliminate the bag and increase profits. But eliminating the bag and discounting the lightsaber represents a reduction in profit per unit sold.

I don't think they are lying about supply chain issues, but I am disappointed that when the problem occurred they didn't see a problem with offering a reduced product for the same price. That's more an issue than a supply chain issue or a missing bag. The brazenness of it all really disappoints me.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't think they are lying about supply chain issues, but I am disappointed that when the problem occurred they didn't see a problem with offering a reduced product for the same price. That's more an issue than a supply chain issue or a missing bag. The brazenness of it all really disappoints me.

They LITERALLY didn't do what you're accusing them of doing.

 

[Minniesgal]

At least get your facts straight before complaining. The lightsaber plastic bag thing is due to SUPPLY CHAIN issues, not penny pinching.

Aye...If that were true. Disney would be offering refunds based on no case available.

 

[jpeterson]

They LITERALLY didn't do what you're accusing them of doing.

How so? They ran out of bags. They offered only a plastic bag and NO discount as a replacement. Only after a day or 2 of social media shaming did they offer the 10% discount. To my knowledge they did not apply that retroactively either.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Aye...If that were true. Disney would be offering refunds based on no case available.

do we know that they aren't?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

How so? They ran out of bags. They offered only a plastic bag and NO discount as a replacement. Only after a day or 2 of social media shaming did they offer the 10% discount. To my knowledge they did not apply that retroactively either.

I know this may surprise you, but frontline park operations cast members, including low-level managers, don't have unilateral authority to start discounting merchandise. These people are doing their best to respond to a *once-in-a-century-global-pandemic* in real time. I'm not upset that it took them a day to figure out "hm, what should we do in response to this situation that is entirely outside of our control?"

 

[jpeterson]

do we know that they aren't?

Early reports made it clear that they were not allowing people to cancel with a refund, nor were they offering discounts. Not sure what they are doing at this point.

 

[jpeterson]

I know this may surprise you, but frontline park operations cast members, including low-level managers, don't have unilateral authority to start discounting merchandise. These people are doing their best to respond to a *once-in-a-century-global-pandemic* in real time. I'm not upset that it took them a day to figure out "hm, what should we do in response to this situation that is entirely outside of our control?"

Getting inventory is outside their control, yes. But they are certainly capable of knowing current stock levels and realizing that number of booked customers > current supply. I'm a pretty big Disney apologist, but they certainly have the means to control their inventory, I'm confident they have invested heavily in just that. They also are capable of empowering staff at a level needed to get them through something like this. Swallowing a discount or 2 while they figured out a plan would have been a much better play than arguing with guests and offering nothing.

These are choices and oversights that the company has made as an organization. That reflects poorly on them.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Getting inventory is outside their control, yes. But they are certainly capable of knowing current stock levels and realizing that number of booked customers > current supply. I'm a pretty big Disney apologist, but they certainly have the means to control their inventory, I'm confident they have invested heavily in just that. They also are capable of empowering staff at a level needed to get them through something like this. Swallowing a discount or 2 while they figured out a plan would have been a much better play than arguing with guests and offering nothing.

In a world of just-in-time inventory, booked customers ALWAYS exceeds current supply.

 

[jpeterson]

In a world of just-in-time inventory, booked customers ALWAYS exceeds current supply.

Industries worldwide are learning the consequences of just-in-time inventory. They chose it to save a few bucks for years, and now they have to take it on the chin. I think they are perfectly capable of being able to pivot when things like this happens. They failed or chose not to and we are all drawing our own conclusions from that.

 

[EveV]

No. That's the timeline of how news reached the internet, but it's not the timeline of how things played out on the ground.

Confirmed. I only have my own, empirical evidence, but the discounts were given for a week before I read about it anywhere.

 

[bsmcneil]

No. That's the timeline of how news reached the internet, but it's not the timeline of how things played out on the ground.

How so?

 

[bsmcneil]

I don't think they are lying about supply chain issues, but I am disappointed that when the problem occurred they didn't see a problem with offering a reduced product for the same price. That's more an issue than a supply chain issue or a missing bag. The brazenness of it all really disappoints me.

Right, and the issue still exists with Droid Depot. So, if it was thought through in the manner @CaptainAmerica suggested - and not reactive - then why didn't a discount get implemented there at the same time, or since?

 

[bsmcneil]

i think you're drawing your own conclusion, sometimes things go through as oversites. That is information that we will never know, so all you can do is look at it at face value and judge them based on that, to just assume they were taking advantage is just as wrong as giving them the benefit of the doubt

I don't see most people saying it was an intentional taking advantage situation - it may have been, as you suggested, an oversight. But when the guests pointed out the issue to the staff, there wasn't an immediate solution (and should guests be the ones pointing it out - if, to use the metaphor Disney employees, you were at a play and didn't receive a Playbill, shouldn't the ushers know instead of having to be asked for it by the audience?). And still, they're not doing anything for Droid Depot and the boxes. So, even if it was an initial oversight, they're not actively solving the problem (to avoid there being one). And that's fine for a company to do - they just need to take the PR hit for not excelling at customer service (which is what's happening). I rarely think of people as apologists but when you expect a major company to have no consequences for the reduction of their customer service (over and over - not just in one particular situation), it says something about the person with really low expectations.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Right, and the issue still exists with Droid Depot. So, if it was thought through in the manner @CaptainAmerica suggested - and not reactive - then why didn't a discount get implemented there at the same time, or since?

Because we're talking about packaging! Packaging is not part of what you're paying for.

If I go to Foot Locker to buy a pair of Nikes, I'm not going to expect a discount if they tell me that they're out of the orange boxes and need to give me a plastic shopping bag instead.

 

[jpeterson]

Because we're talking about packaging! Packaging is not part of what you're paying for.

If I go to Foot Locker to buy a pair of Nikes, I'm not going to expect a discount if they tell me that they're out of the orange boxes and need to give me a plastic shopping bag instead.

If I buy an item, I expect it to be complete. It's the norm for even an "open box" to come with a discount. If it's missing the packaging (that was part of the advertised item), then yes you should expect some consideration.

 

[dez1978]

I know this may surprise you, but frontline park operations cast members, including low-level managers, don't have unilateral authority to start discounting merchandise. These people are doing their best to respond to a *once-in-a-century-global-pandemic* in real time. I'm not upset that it took them a day to figure out "hm, what should we do in response to this situation that is entirely outside of our control?"

But they do have the authority to give out vouchers for free shirts if some one isn't dressed appropriately (we've all seen those fb stories)? Or "pixie dust" someone and give a voucher for pants if their kid spilled something all over themselves? We see stories all the time on how CM gave someone something for free, or a discount. Suddenly this is where they draw the line???

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

I don't see most people saying it was an intentional taking advantage situation - it may have been, as you suggested, an oversight. But when the guests pointed out the issue to the staff, there wasn't an immediate solution (and should guests be the ones pointing it out - if, to use the metaphor Disney employees, you were at a play and didn't receive a Playbill, shouldn't the ushers know instead of having to be asked for it by the audience?). And still, they're not doing anything for Droid Depot and the boxes. So, even if it was an initial oversight, they're not actively solving the problem (to avoid there being one). And that's fine for a company to do - they just need to take the PR hit for not excelling at customer service (which is what's happening). I rarely think of people as apologists but when you expect a major company to have no consequences for the reduction of their customer service (over and over - not just in one particular situation), it says something about the person with really low expectations.

i would say that it depends on personal expectations with any company (for instance, your expectations probably aren't in line with someone like Jeff Bezos). People just hold Disney to a ridiculous level of standards right now, they seem to expect the same level of service they've always received, even though most every company on the planet is currently struggling, and Disney is no exception. I hold in strong belief that people just find things to complain about if something changes, period.
I just don't think a company deserves a PR hit for something that they caught, and addressed, in a quick manner.