From where do you get your optimism?

[CasualObserver]

I appreciate the info.

C-O

 

[Bob O]

I also loved the Odyessey Rest!!! They had good food and Mickey/Minnie and friends put on a nice show and would then pose for pictures!!!
Disney is losing attendance either because they have done nothing to compel people to return by adding new attractions, or people have the attitude, been there/done that so find less reasonto return. Either way its bad for disney and reason for them to add things to give people a reason to return.
Add if the rumor of Horseshoe(MK) closing is true its another loss with no replacement named!!!

 

[DisneyKidds]

Originally posted by HB2K
How do you explain the drop in attendance???

Seriously

And please don't blame Sept 11 or the economy. Others are doing well and not cutting beyond belief.

I don't think the question you mean to ask is why the drop in attendance. All the Orlando parks experienced a drop in attendance in 200/2001. The question you really mean to ask is why hasn't Disney rebounded from that drop in attendance the same way some other parks have. Some theme parks were up in 2002, but some (not just Disney) were still down.

To answer your intended question , I really don't know exactly. If I had the answer to that question I'd have Mikey's job and I'd be making the big $$$$$. I would say it has to do with a lot of factors. Among them would be tourism (yes, as affected by 9-11), the economy, management decisions, the nature of individual companies business, and many things I probably don't even know about.

Let me say for the umpteenth time, I do think Disney could have made better decisions and could be in a better position attendance-wise than they are now. However, I really can't blame all the attendance problems on management decisions. To completely discount the effects of the current tourism market and the economy just because a few other parks are showing small attendance gains in 2002 (remember - they were pretty much all down in 2000/2001) would be as silly as completely discounting management decisions in the fray. They all have an impact, and all interplay in many ways.

Why is it that Universal or some other smaller destinations might be up in attendance in 2002 while Disney is still down? Good question. Again, some of it has to do with management. However, I also think some of it has to do with the nature of the WDW parks themselves. The way I see it, WDW is more of a destination resort than Universal or any of the other parks that might be up. I do think it will take a large destination resort longer to rebound from the effects of the tourism industry and the economy than smaller companies. How many Universal guests that are staying in a Universal hotel, or other Orlando area hotel? I'll bet you it is a far less than Disney guests staying in Disney and other Orlando hotels. How many Universal guests are day trippers? I'll bet that it is more than the day trippers at WDW. (Note - this is where the Disney management decisions hurt the most - if more day trippers choose Universal over Disney)While 9-11 doesn't seem to be much of a factor anymore and tourism is starting to come back, I think the economy still plays a large part. Have you checked the stock market lately? How about your 401(k)? Raises are down from previous years, as well as bonuses, etc. The economy is still shakey. Consumer confidence is very low. Do you think it is easy for many to drop the thousands of dollars it takes for a Disney vacation? I don't think so right now, and that has to be considered as a factor in Disney's attendance.

Or maybe not. Who the h-e-double hockey sticks knows?

 

[SnackyStacky]

To answer your intended question , I really don't know exactly. If I had the answer to that question I'd have Mikey's job and I'd be making the big $$$$$.

It'll be interesting to see if Baron will make the comment I'm expecting him to make. hehehe

But really, which parks haven't rebounded? I've heard that most major theme park destinations have had a rebound from their 9/11 losses. Maybe not back to original figures, but back up nonetheless.

Could it be that since people now have to be a bit more careful with their money, they're cutting vacations short and don't have time to see and do as much as they wanted?

Could it then stand to reason that since nothing new (and what is new isn't compelling enough) has come about, they've decided to try other things? Could that be why Universal's figures are steadily increasing? As well as Sea World?

 

[DisneyKidds]

But really, which parks haven't rebounded? I've heard that most major theme park destinations have had a rebound from their 9/11 losses. Maybe not back to original figures, but back up nonetheless.

Sorry Snacky - I don't have all the numbers. I'm sure the Raiders fan could help us out, but he has his mind on other things today . From previous discussion I do know (or have been told) that Disney and Sea World were down in 2002 (from 2001) and the Universal parks were up.

Could it then stand to reason that since nothing new (and what is new isn't compelling enough) has come about, they've decided to try other things? Could that be why Universal's figures are steadily increasing? As well as Sea World?

Wow, talk about a slant . Sea World isn't increasing at all (as far as I can tell), and Universal steadily increasing. Please!!! Even if you put aside all the implications that tourism and the economy in 2002 might have had on various companies, where do you get steadily increasing? Doesn't steadily imply a sustained trend over a period of time? Universal parks were down in 2000/2001. One year (2002), in a shakey economy, with a tourism industry that has just started to rebound (but is likely to be affected by things such as war with Iraq in the not too distant future) hardly makes a sustained trend that anyone can read into.