For $2 Billion Disney could have built 16 major attractions instead of fast pass+

[tim123]

I seem to recall that perhaps 3 were the most E-tickets you could get in a ticket book?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.......

except that dumbo is now one of those three!

 

[Davey Jones II]

Their newest shop, Memento Mori, sure enhances MY experience. It also parts me with my money, but I wasn't complaining in October.

They seem to be building a lot of new DVC time-shares. If I could afford one it would definitely enhance my experience in staying closer to the MK at deluxe-level accommodations.

The newest ride being the Mine Train, personally I like it. It adds value in an area where there was nothing before and enhanced my experience too by giving me something new to enjoy.

Sure, anyone's mileage may vary on any of the above, but the thing about WDW is to have something for everyone, and all the additions add value for those who use them.

I wasn't trying to single out Mine Train. In fact, I like that ride a lot, and we enjoyed New Fantasyland on our last trip.

My point was that most of the additions are put in for cash generation, not enhancing the guest experience. Even when they put in a new attraction, sometimes it is a mediocre one, hampered by budget cuts or Disney's obsessive need to synergize with some IP.

Disney does get it right at times, for example with Cars Land. But there is a lack of consistency; sometimes it just seems like they are doing the minimum they can get away with. Simple question: why can't this company treat their parks the way the Oriental Land Company treats Tokyo Disney Resort? By all accounts, the OLC consistenly goes all out to create something great. Their second gate was DisneySea. Disneyland's second gate was DCA 1.0.

And please don't tell me that Disney lacks the resources to take the OLC approach. As Fuzzlogic noted, this company is awash in a sea of money.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Paper airplanes?

Are you suggesting that paper airplanes AREN'T the obvious precursor to computers?

 

[jade1]

Agreed,
I go to hang at the Poly or Wilderness Lodge on my balcony. I love to eat on top of the Contemporty. I like to cruise around the Lagoon in a little boat.
I like to ride the monorail nowhere. I like to walk around Ft Wilderness.
WDW was always a RESORT destination FIRST and for most. Golf anyone, horseback riding….shopping and dining….
It is not at the end of the day "just a theme park".
DisneyLand? OK….
But Walt designed and envisioned WDW as a RESORT with muti-use from the get go.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Yeah, they're buying up the whole freakin' world, and making gobs of money all over the place.

Then, when it comes to going all out to maximize the potential of their parks...they cry poverty and impose arbitrary budget cuts.

Meanwhile, Universal IS going all out to maximize their parks. Why can't their primary competition, the mega-billion dollar media conglomerate, do the same?

you may want to read the latest on UNI............they announced they are making big cuts on the new water parks and cutting other projects to reduce their budgets.

Came out today




AKK

 

[tim123]

I wasn't trying to single out Mine Train. In fact, I like that ride a lot, and we enjoyed New Fantasyland on our last trip.

My point was that most of the additions are put in for cash generation, not enhancing the guest experience. Even when they put in a new attraction, sometimes it is a mediocre one, hampered by budget cuts or Disney's obsessive need to synergize with some IP.

Disney does get it right at times, for example with Cars Land. But there is a lack of consistency; sometimes it just seems like they are doing the minimum they can get away with. Simple question: why can't this company treat their parks the way the Oriental Land Company treats Tokyo Disney Resort? By all accounts, the OLC consistenly goes all out to create something great. Their second gate was DisneySea. Disneyland's second gate was DCA 1.0.

And please don't tell me that Disney lacks the resources to take the OLC approach. As Fuzzlogic noted, this company is awash in a sea of money.

You simply can not compare the Japan park to WDW …

My experience there was mind boggling….the Japanese culture and service and attention to detail is night and day…head over heals…
The worst CM at Disney Sea (if you could actually find one who wouldn't loose their job for repeated complaints or infractions) are/is so beyond the rank and file in the USA…its cultural. Its just the way it is. Even if they built an exact copy of Disney Sea at WDW they could never in a million years duplicate the guest experience when it came to interacting with CMs on a par with Japan.

 

[Laketravis]

It's a good thing while Disney was having to build all of those DVC resorts because people are just plain tired of paying per-night to stay onsite and insisted that they help Disney subsidize the cost of construction that they also continued to develop the rest of HS with soon to be classics like Jack Sparrow and open a completely re-imagineered Odyssey in EP, all while simultaneously upgrading the monorail system because people were really starting to complain about the condition of the cars and oh what about......

(Lake, wake up.....)

 

[Reddog1134]

The reason Disney isn't building attractions like Universal does is because they don't have to.

Now, I'm not saying that's an excuse, but it's most definitely the reason.

Universal needed to build those attractions to compete with Disney. Disney already had the guests coming, they just needed ways to get guests to spend more money.

Did Universal increase guest experience by building those attractions? Absolutely.

Did they do it because they love us? No, they did it because they needed people in the parks spending money.

Just look at their ticket prices. In 2010 (pre-Harry Potter), I got a 7-day ticket for $99. Today, a 4-day ticket costs nearly $200.

 

[tim123]

It's a good thing while Disney was having to build all of those DVC resorts because people are just plain tired of paying per-night to stay onsite and insisted that they help Disney subsidize the cost of construction that they also continued to develop the rest of HS with soon to be classics like Jack Sparrow and open a completely re-imagineered Odyssey in EP, all while simultaneously upgrading the monorail system because people were really starting to complain about the condition of the cars and oh what about......

(Lake, wake up.....)

They are making a killing on DVC…and they hacked the POLY from an esthetic and historic point of view…In a few months they will bulldoze the last little open area in front of Aotearoa and cram in a five story building a stones trow from the GF villas and call it the Polynesian Villa 2 bedroom….
That about says it all in terms of how much they really give a rats **** about history or the quests experience. Its $$$$$$ and only $$$ that moves and shakes the Disney Company…The theme parks and its quests are just consequential side issues to be ignored at will.

 

[Davey Jones II]

you may want to read the latest on UNI............they announced they are making big cuts on the new water parks and cutting other projects to reduce their budgets.

Came out today



AKK

We'll see what the future brings. If Uni disappoints us with future projects, they will certainly hear about it on these boards.

I just know that Diagon Alley is all that, and a cup of butterbeer.

 

[Robo]

I prefer the new uses of technology to be IN new attractions.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We'll see what the future brings. If Uni disappoints us with future projects, they will certainly hear about it on these boards.

I just know that Diagon Alley is all that, and a cup of butterbear.

Davey, my point was that its not just Disney in the budget cut ball game............Uni is having big money issues and so is Sea world.

I do not understand ......*Diagon Alley* is a cup of butterbean?

I liked the first HP, but have not seen Diagon Alley yet....I have heard things.

AKK

 

[Davey Jones II]

You simply can not compare the Japan park to WDW …

My experience there was mind boggling….the Japanese culture and service and attention to detail is night and day…head over heals…
The worst CM at Disney Sea (if you could actually find one who wouldn't loose their job for repeated complaints or infractions) are/is so beyond the rank and file in the USA…its cultural. Its just the way it is. Even if they built an exact copy of Disney Sea at WDW they could never in a million years duplicate the guest experience when it came to interacting with CMs on a par with Japan.

Cultural differences aside...Disney could pay their CMs more. These poor people have to deal with us for barely more than minimum wage. They could train them better (numerous threads have discussed how Disney has cut corners in that area).

Disney could spend whatever it takes to make an attraction as good as it possibly can be. They could fully develop new gates, instead of opening a "barely half day park" with the intention of adding to it slowly over the coming decades.

Maybe WDW can never be TDR. But the Japanese set the bar, and Disney ignores it.

 

[FlipHipster]

Same for me - seldom worked. The "We are experiencing technical difficulties" error message was more common than not.



Somewhere on 27,000 acres - maybe even some of the unused space in Epcot.



Yeah, maybe he's thinking of the Test Track refurb. Although $2B could buy a massive amount of plywood cutouts and fluorescent paint. Impressive how when given an opportunity to show what they can do in terms of applying "technology that isn't silly, unnecessary, and wasteful" that's what Disney came up with.

His analogy compared investing in MM+ technology designed to squeeze maximum dollars out of guests to developing paper airplanes. I suppose some people could also compare Disney's investment in MM+ to that of purchasing an albatross.

Dude, we kept getting the same error msg. I even threw away several A&E and 7DMT FP's because the app wouldn't let me do anything with them and I wasn't going to spend all day fighting it. Sad, with legacy I would have given those tickets to someone in a heartbeat.

 

[kamik86]

That's what people said about computers! Fortunately for the world, not everyone bails on progress at the first sign of a bumpy or uninteresting ride. Some ppl even look past the hurdles to the future and succeed in building both an amazing and profitable theme park.

Haven't gotten past the front page but computers were a new technology. The idea of having a machine that can compute as if it were thinking for you was new.

However my magic plus is basically just a reservation system. Its not really new technology. Its a new use for what we have had for a long time. We have had online reservation systems for YEARS. We have had RFIDs for years, including at Disney it just used to be in card form.

The only thing that is new is the idea of reserving attraction times ahead of time. I don't really call that a technology. They are using technology to keep track of them but rese3rving attraction times is not a new tech.

 

[tim123]

Cultural differences aside...Disney could pay their CMs more. These poor people have to deal with us for barely more than minimum wage. They could train them better (numerous threads have discussed how Disney has cut corners in that area).

Disney could spend whatever it takes to make an attraction as good as it possibly can be. They could fully develop new gates, instead of opening a "barely half day park" with the intention of adding to it slowly over the coming decades.

Maybe WDW can never be TDR. But the Japanese set the bar, and Disney ignores it.

There was a time when the CMs at WDW were on a par with the then non existent Tokyo Disney resort..Id say from 1971 to somewhere in the 80s….
Wondering if you have been to DisneySea? Guessing you have.
Can't imagine WDW getting that caliber of talent CM wise….
Even if they paid em $25 bucks an hour…
Its cultural….surely if you have been there you will know what I mean..especially if you have stayed at the Ambassador or the MiraCosta.
Never happen here.

 

[agavegirl1]

While this is the umpteenth iteration of this particular conversation, I just wanted to pop into to express my disappointment in WDW. The $2B they reportedly spent on MM+ was unfortunate and unforeseen. I'm sure TDO had no clue what they were getting into. But because they used their considerable cash surpluses last fiscal year for massive stock buybacks, I'm a bit miffed. Stock buybacks are done to boost stock prices for shareholders and compensation packages for executives. At least MM+ has some customer facing components (Magic Bands, App, Website, FP+).

Parks and Resorts is considered a mature market for the Disney Company. They will do just enough to maintain its current base and grow their market by focusing on nostalgia and adding new things driven by their film division.

I plan to be back in about 2019 or so. Oh, and I did buy Disney stock a number of years back. I would rather have updated parks.

 

[mummabear]

Guessing you mean the repeat guest experience for surely there is enough to do resort wide in a weeks time to keep even the most narcissistic among us happy…..
Its when you go to the world several times a year or every year or so that our insatiable quest for entertainment boggles my mind at the nit picking that goes on here….
Amazing how many folks say 35 years ago were just plain ole happy as clams to ride JUST Space mountain and have a hot dog with the kids for a day or two…
Simpler time I suppose.

You didnt pay $100 a day to get in back then though did you

 

[Reddog1134]

Building new attractions brings in guests and builds revenue?



Building new attractions does not bring in guests and build revenue?

Building new attractions brings new guests but only builds revenue to a certain point. Disney has no problem with bringing in guests. They are looking for ways to get them to spend more money.

Universal was lacking in guests. They built attractions to bring them in.

 

[MrInfinity]

I'm in advertising, so I always look for the "root" or the reasoning behind things. That may have come out very egotistical, but I couldn't find a better way to word it (ironic, I know.) It wasn't meant in that way, though..

Anyway..

I was excited about the roll-out of FP+ and MagicBand when it first came out. One trip down, it served us well. Now, on our first trip, they didn't have their "tiers" and still had paper FP - making the experience SO much better. It was crazy how fast we got everything done. This year will be the real test, and I'll gladly report back if my opinion changes.

But here's the deal..

The marketplace is quickly shifting to digital - I see it with advertising, marketing and e-commerce. Go to your local Starbucks and you won't see anyone reach for their wallet, but rather, pay with their phone. Google and Apple and making HUGE pushed to digital wallets. Think of the MagicBand as your digital wallet.

With that mindset - let's look at what brands are doing using these digital wallets. Starbucks has a famous rewards program. The more you buy, the closer you get to the coveted free drink. Where else would you spend $30 for a $4 drink? Aside from rewards, brands are using your purchasing habits to better serve you. With the Walmart app, you could see past purchases - so can Walmart! Walmart is tracking your purchases - as are many other brands. So, rather than sending you copious amounts of coupons and throwing (you know what) at the wall and hoping for something to stick - they're sending you coupons for brands and products YOU purchase. You're getting coupons for Diet Coke because you've purchased it before - not for regular Pepsi, which you never drink.

It's all part of marketing research. THey track consumers' purchases, spending and buying habits. It's similar to the reward program at your local grocery store. You sign up and "spend $100 and get a free turkey for Thanksgiving.." Grocery stores then use that data to re-stock shelves, see what is selling and who is buying it.

So now, think of the FP+ as that free turkey (what? My MagicBand is a smartphone and the FP+ is a turkey? ) Kind of.. Every brand needs an incentive to get consumers to use their "royalty" or "reward" program. In this case, Disney needs a reason for guests to stay on-site. The longer you're on-site, the more they can track your behavior. Hence - the 60-day FP+ window as opposed to one-day guests that have to secure FP+ the day-of or off-site that get only 30-days.

My family goes every year for Christmas. We'll be part of Disney's Q4 (or Q1 report?? I always forget their fiscal calendar..) I imagine a marketing team sitting around reporting to their superiors.

"well, people between the ages of 20-35 spend more time at Table Service restaurants and eating and drinking."

"X% of guests were repeat-riders of 7DMT" or "X% of adults 25-40 went on Tower of Terror"

and so on...

You won't see the $2Billion put to work right away. You may not even see it take effect for the next few years. But, in order for Disney to (1) Stay with the times and (2) remain competitive - it's necessary and mandatory that they digitize their platform. EVERYTHING is data driven now-a-days. You can't survive based on hypothesis and trial and error. By the time you implement something, there's already new findings.

So, in summation - FP+ wasn't bought for you - the MagicBands and MyMagic+ was. The FP+ is a perk (although many would argue it's not.) The MyMagic+ is the real foundation here. But, on a positive note for all you FP+ nay-sayers - because FP+ is just a "perk" they'll probably be more prone to change it and make it work for you. The key is to keep you happy, keep you coming back and keep collecting data.

What? No way. Starbucks should stop putting money into these digital payment systems. How does that help the customer - Do they get more coffee? NO. All it does is help them take more of my money, faster! Starbucks raised their prices and spent a boatload on payment systems and doesn't even give the customer more coffee? And there's longer lines since it's even more popular than ever?

Starbucks sure better go back to a paper system over this newfangled technology stuff... or they're doooomed! doomed I tell you! I will not go, and I'll post on the internet about it (then go anyways).

Oh wait - what? Starbucks stock is up 4-fold since 2010?

Erm...

Oh um. Well then they're lying. This sucks! Cut trees! Burn your smartphones! Maybe if I protest... we can get Starbucks-- and Disney to stop moving forward with technology and being the best most profitable forward-thinking companies in their respective markets.