Excuse Me, “Legacy Fans”? We Might Just Be Disney’s Only Way Forward.

[Smugpugmug]

As good as those movies are, they have never been represented in the parks much if at all

Shanghai Disneyland is getting an entire Zootopia area, but you're right in terms of the US parks. In WDW I could see Disney doing something with Encanto or expand on Moana (outside of the water exhibit).

 

[Jrb1979]

Shanghai Disneyland is getting an entire Zootopia area, but you're right in terms of the US parks. In WDW I could see Disney doing something with Encanto or expand on Moana (outside of the water exhibit).

I have always wanted a Wreck it Ralph ride or land. IMO the Play Pavilion is the perfect opportunity to use the IP.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I too don’t like the term “Legacy Fan”. It insinuates moving on.

Certainly, we Legacy Fans don’t want to move on from Disney, so that only leaves the other option… Disney moving on from us. So do they 1) want to somehow push us aside, or 2) take us for granted (we’re guaranteed sales)?

My wife and I are solid Gen Xr’s. We are at the age where we now have much more earning power and more disposable cash (even with two kids’ college tuitions). I wonder what target audience Disney would go after if it WASN’T Gen X and older, the legacy fans? I could see perhaps the later age groups of the Millennials (mid 30’s to 41), but that’s a narrow window and anything younger just doesn’t have a lot of disposable income yet.

I know I was 37 before we even considered going to WDW. We were just focused on other things before that… buying a house, raising the little kids… maintaining and furnishing the house, there just wasn’t a lot of extra dough on the table. So who IS Disney going after? Obviously they want the big spenders, spending more per day, but the only age groups in general that can afford that kind of thing ARE the legacy fans, right?

I don’t see Gen Z having much impact at all yet. It’s only the later half of the Millennials and older that I see having the capacity to fork over the cash for a significant Disney vacation.

• Generation X (born 1965–1980), Ages 42 - 57
• Millennials (born 1981–1995), Ages 27 - 41
• Generation Z (born 1996–2010), Ages 12 - 26

The whole term “Legacy Fan” just confuses and saddens me. Hopefully we get more clarification soon.

Dan

The Term "Legacy" is actually an incredible honor when working for the company.

The Disney Legacy award is handed out annually to Cast Members and is quite the award I'm told.

 

[DCLMP]

I too don’t like the term “Legacy Fan”. It insinuates moving on.

Certainly, we Legacy Fans don’t want to move on from Disney, so that only leaves the other option… Disney moving on from us. So do they 1) want to somehow push us aside, or 2) take us for granted (we’re guaranteed sales)?

My wife and I are solid Gen Xr’s. We are at the age where we now have much more earning power and more disposable cash (even with two kids’ college tuitions). I wonder what target audience Disney would go after if it WASN’T Gen X and older, the legacy fans? I could see perhaps the later age groups of the Millennials (mid 30’s to 41), but that’s a narrow window and anything younger just doesn’t have a lot of disposable income yet.

I know I was 37 before we even considered going to WDW. We were just focused on other things before that… buying a house, raising the little kids… maintaining and furnishing the house, there just wasn’t a lot of extra dough on the table. So who IS Disney going after? Obviously they want the big spenders, spending more per day, but the only age groups in general that can afford that kind of thing ARE the legacy fans, right?

I don’t see Gen Z having much impact at all yet. It’s only the later half of the Millennials and older that I see having the capacity to fork over the cash for a significant Disney vacation.

• Generation X (born 1965–1980), Ages 42 - 57
• Millennials (born 1981–1995), Ages 27 - 41
• Generation Z (born 1996–2010), Ages 12 - 26

The whole term “Legacy Fan” just confuses and saddens me. Hopefully we get more clarification soon.

Dan

I'm a gen X'r too. We also didn't start traveling or taking big trips until our late 30's. I have two gen Z'ers. They may end up making a lot more money than I did in my 20's. We'll see they are both in college, but I don't know if it will matter with the cost of living being so high. I feel like I make a pretty decent salary, but even at my salary I don't think I could afford Disney if I was just starting out. Rent is ridiculous in our area and if your not in a decent area you are surrounded by homeless people and crime.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I have always wanted a Wreck it Ralph ride or land. IMO the Play Pavilion is the perfect opportunity to use the IP.

I remember there being a rumor of a Wreck it Ralph ride replacing Stitch's Great Escape and tbh I would've taken that over the nothing that is currently occupying that space. The IP being irreverent doesn't seem to matter to Disney as they made an entire land in AK based on a movie barely anyone cares about and there is a coaster themed to Tron.

I'm fine with IP in the parks as long as it fits and is a good ride/experience.

 

[DisneyFive]

The Term "Legacy" is actually an incredible honor when working for the company.

The Disney Legacy award is handed out annually to Cast Members and is quite the award I'm told.

I agree, and I thought of that too, but I don't think Disney calculated the response that "legacy" would create when projected onto guests, especially with how they used it in the context of that WSJ article.

Legacy, while an honor within Disney, doesn't translate well outside when referring to guests. Hopefully they will clarify.

 

[Jrb1979]

I agree, and I thought of that too, but I don't think Disney calculated the response that "legacy" would create when projected onto guests, especially with how they used it in the context of that WSJ article.

Legacy, while an honor within Disney, doesn't translate well outside when referring to guests. Hopefully they will clarify.

I don't see how anyone can view the term legacy fans in a positive light. It's along with the unfavorable mix at Disneyland. Make no mistake they prefer the once in a lifetime guest over legacy fans.

 

[Love Tink]

This article is literally the best example of proving Disney's point and why they're not trying to appease those who have been coming to Disney for years. Newsflash: its because WON'T happen.

Disney is a business, not a charity. Trying to appease long time guests (often ridiculous requests) due to "How long they've been coming to disney world" always makes me laugh because no matter what they do, the "legacy guests" are never happy. They can add new resorts, new rides, new ships, new you name it and the "we have been doing this for XX number of years and this isn't what I wanted" crowd always shows up to complain while the first time guests explore and enjoy because they aren't so busy trying to compare it to everything else.

Every time they try to remove a ride for a new attraction, etc. People complain non-stop. They want new rides, but also want all of the old rides to stay (Maelstrom, Great Movie Ride, etc.)

Instead of trying to pander to the lowest money bringing group that complains the most, they are moving away to the people who spend without complaining.

Makes perfect sense to me.

I've seen hundreds of variations on this theme on the DIS over the years..."It's a business! It's about making money, not making people happy!" How exactly do you think businesses make money? They make it by recruiting people to their product, and then (much more so) by keeping people happy with their product and coming back.

If Marriott or Outback Steakhouse or Honda or your dermatologist decided to ignore customer dissatisfaction and only focus on customers who don't "complain," how long would they keep making money? These moves do not make perfect sense to me, and are, frankly, incomprehensible when viewed as a business strategy.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

As a human being who works hard and does considerable research ahead of their travels, I can assure you that I feel no shame about the money I have spent and will spend at Disney Parks. Or money spent anywhere really.

Of course not. IMO, you shouldn't be ashamed of your money & how you spend it. I've worked really hard & clocked well over 50 vaycays at WDW & probably close to 200 more "days" there. Plus vaycays elsewhere.
I'm not ashamed of that. I'm grateful.
...Which is why I believe people like me should not think only of ourselves, but be concerned for so many others being shut out of the wonderful experiences & memories my family enjoyed for 50 years.
And it's why I will continue to protest all of it however I can....Like voting AGAINST the Board & Chapek, signing petitions & trying to support those being left behind.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

The Term "Legacy" is actually an incredible honor when working for the company.

The Disney Legacy award is handed out annually to Cast Members and is quite the award I'm told.

Yes!!! But that isn't the way the term was used in the WSJ article.

 

[Pickles516]

I do not understand, with the crowds and capacity issues are what they are, why any fan would look down on the desire for Disney to add instead of replace. They badly need more of those non headliner moderate wait attractions at at least 3/4 parks.

They don’t though, honestly. Attendance numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels even with the revenge trip surge. It has seemed like higher levels because of decisions Disney has made.

Disney could open more rides and attractions to eat up people, but they say they can’t because of staffing shortages. Disney could hire and retain more people by paying them better, but they won’t. Instead, they increase prices, make more money off of less people, and laugh all the way to the bank.

Check out these numbers:





From June 2021 to June 2022 they made like 81 billion or something like that.

People seem to think Disney is losing money or something and they aren’t. Not even close. They don’t need to do anything different honestly. As sad as it is to say, their job isn’t to find out how to make things better, it’s to find out how to milk the most money as possible out of the infrastructure they currently have in place.

 

[toontoy]

I've seen hundreds of variations on this theme on the DIS over the years..."It's a business! It's about making money, not making people happy!" How exactly do you think businesses make money? They make it by recruiting people to their product, and then (much more so) by keeping people happy with their product and coming back.

If Marriott or Outback Steakhouse or Honda or your dermatologist decided to ignore customer dissatisfaction and only focus on customers who don't "complain," how long would they keep making money? These moves do not make perfect sense to me, and are, frankly, incomprehensible when viewed as a business strategy.

To even take it one step further, GM used to be the worlds largest car company. It was almost laughable in the early 2000's that people suggested Toyota or Honda could overtake them. Look to today and there is a new king with the crown so to speak. This should be a warning to Disney as well as I think in a few years they could be GM and Universal could be Toyota.

 

[raidermatt]

Zootopia (2016) is Disney's 4th-highest-grossing film ever (per several sites I checked: $1.024 billion), yet Disney did zero to exploit this movie's popularity. The movie is practically begging to have a fantasy train ride made from it.

Coming in at #8 all-time (2018) is Ralph Breaks the Internet, another really terrific movie that Disney didn't follow up with in the parks. But this movie made merely (hah!) $529.3 million, so maybe Disney considers that a failure!

Need to factor in inflation when ranking films from different eras. For example, adjusted for inflation, Disney's all time top animated films based on domestic box office are:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
The Lion King (1994)
Fantasia (1941)

Domestically, Zootopia doesn't even make The Disney/Pixar top 25.

 

[DCLMP]

I don't see how anyone can view the term legacy fans in a positive light. It's along with the unfavorable mix at Disneyland. Make no mistake they prefer the once in a lifetime guest over legacy fans.

I'm not disagreeing with you you may be right, but it makes no sense. You don't develop any feelings for a place visiting once. I've been to London four times the more I go the more familiar and comfortable I feel there. The more memories I make the more I want to go back. I visited Paris this Summer and I don't feel like it was a one and done trip. I can't wait to go back to Paris again. If you really enjoy something you want to go back don't you? Or is it just me?

Another favorite city of mine is Vancouver I love visiting there. I'm leaving tomorrow for a Disney cruise. I never get sick of Castaway. There are places I've vacationed that I enjoyed, but have no desire to go back. Why would any city or business want to be one of those places.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm not disagreeing with you you may be right, but it makes no sense. You don't develop any feelings for a place visiting once. I've been to London four times the more I go the more familiar and comfortable I feel there. The more memories I make the more I want to go back. I visited Paris this Summer and I don't feel like it was a one and done trip. I can't wait to go back to Paris again. If you really enjoy something you want to go back don't you? Or is it just me?

Another favorite city of mine is Vancouver I love visiting there. I'm leaving tomorrow for a Disney cruise. I never get sick of Castaway. There are places I've vacationed that I enjoyed, but have no desire to go back. Why would any city or business want to be one of those places.

That's how you and I may think but my guess is their data shows differently. I say that in that my guess is those who go frequently or are AP holders don't spend as much as your once in a lifetime guest. That's all that matters to them.

 

[greeneyedchick]

This article is literally the best example of proving Disney's point and why they're not trying to appease those who have been coming to Disney for years. Newsflash: its because WON'T happen.

Disney is a business, not a charity. Trying to appease long time guests (often ridiculous requests) due to "How long they've been coming to disney world" always makes me laugh because no matter what they do, the "legacy guests" are never happy. They can add new resorts, new rides, new ships, new you name it and the "we have been doing this for XX number of years and this isn't what I wanted" crowd always shows up to complain while the first time guests explore and enjoy because they aren't so busy trying to compare it to everything else.

Every time they try to remove a ride for a new attraction, etc. People complain non-stop. They want new rides, but also want all of the old rides to stay (Maelstrom, Great Movie Ride, etc.)

Instead of trying to pander to the lowest money bringing group that complains the most, they are moving away to the people who spend without complaining.

Makes perfect sense to me.

What they should have done was keep The Great Movie Ride and build Mickey's Runaway RR as a new ride. The parks need more rides to take in the crowds. The whole point of Walt buying all that land was to have room to expand, yet they pack everyone into small lands like Galaxies Edge and Toy Story.

 

[Love Tink]

Check out these numbers:



View attachment 700541

I'm not sure where you got this chart, but if WDW earned $67 million a year we wouldn't be having this conversation.*

* They make that in half a week.

 

[DCLMP]

That's how you and I may think but my guess is their data shows differently. I say that in that my guess is those who go frequently or are AP holders don't spend as much as your once in a lifetime guest. That's all that matters to them.

Perhaps? I don't spend as much on merchandise, but I'm paying the same price for tickets, hotel and food as somebody that's coming for the first time. I'm also more likely to stay onsite. I have never stayed offsite. I have a feeling most "legacy guests" are DVC or staying at onsite resorts.

 

[DCLMP]

They don’t though, honestly. Attendance numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels even with the revenge trip surge. It has seemed like higher levels because of decisions Disney has made.

Disney could open more rides and attractions to eat up people, but they say they can’t because of staffing shortages. Disney could hire and retain more people by paying them better, but they won’t. Instead, they increase prices, make more money off of less people, and laugh all the way to the bank.

Check out these numbers:



View attachment 700541

From June 2021 to June 2022 they made like 81 billion or something like that.

People seem to think Disney is losing money or something and they aren’t. Not even close. They don’t need to do anything different honestly. As sad as it is to say, their job isn’t to find out how to make things better, it’s to find out how to milk the most money as possible out of the infrastructure they currently have in place.

Who on this thread said Disney is losing money?

 

[lugnut33]

I'm a gen X'r too. We also didn't start traveling or taking big trips until our late 30's. I have two gen Z'ers. They may end up making a lot more money than I did in my 20's. We'll see they are both in college, but I don't know if it will matter with the cost of living being so high. I feel like I make a pretty decent salary, but even at my salary I don't think I could afford Disney if I was just starting out. Rent is ridiculous in our area and if your not in a decent area you are surrounded by homeless people and crime.

My other daughter is 25 and already makes more than me (six figures) and loves Disney, but I don't see her ever taking a trip to Disney World. She'd rather go to Europe, Mexico, South America and etc. Maybe if she has a kid she'll be ready to go to Disney again?