FYI: More Cuts Coming

[Budshark]

Oh, I don't know -- you only have to buy the projectors and create the projection show once, vice paying performers every day... and they're already doing the fireworks (which I think is staffed by internal resources, not outsourced -- although I'm guessing they outsource the projectile production to China)... so that's an already sunk cost...

I'd say initial cost for the projection/fireworks might be a little higher than finding and training SWW performers, but you quickly equalize costs when you string them out over the SWW duration.

True but this is more than that.
Stage shows and battalion parade and the additional features of lighting and the tower of fire plus whatever the special effects are.

But realistically you are talking about 15 days a year versus a permanent show. The math won't work out.

 

[larryz]

But realistically you are talking about 15 days a year versus a permanent show. The math won't work out.

I'd be surprised if the show is permanent.

 

[Budshark]

I'd be surprised if the show is permanent.

Well multi-year vs permanent. How's that?

I think this is the show that will be the mainstay until at least Toy Story or Star Wars lands open...

 

[labattblue]

Out of the tens of thousands of guests who pass through the gates every day, how many do you think are even aware of the cuts ahead of time, or would even notice the impact of said cuts upon getting there?

While we(the most knowledgeable of disney guests) are not happy about the cuts, management for the most part could not care less what we think.

At the risk of repeating myself...it's just sad that the parks Walt built are now all about the bottom line. i.e. even though we turned a profit, it's not big enough...CUT CUT CUT etc..

 

[mom2rtk]

Out of the tens of thousands of guests who pass through the gates every day, how many do you think are even aware of the cuts ahead of time, or would even notice the impact of said cuts upon getting there?

While we(the most knowledgeable of disney guests) are not happy about the cuts, management for the most part could not care less what we think.

At the risk of repeating myself...it's just sad that the parks Walt built are now all about the bottom line. i.e. even though we turned a profit, it's not big enough...CUT CUT CUT etc..

They'll notice little things, especially if Disney maintains these cuts for very long.

Mostly I think they'll notice things like changes in entertainment. They'll be upset that Fantasmic is at capacity with no second show to come back for later. They'll notice that they can't find a spot for MSEP because everyone now has to squeeze in for the single show of the night.

Mostly, I think it will show up as a vague change in their feeling about their trip. They'll com home thinking "That was nice, but I just don't get what everyone has always said about Disney service being so top notch". And perhaps they won't have the drive to book another trip.

I would sure love to know the percentage of bounceback trips booked by guests over time. I think that would be really interesting.

 

[JimmyV]

Out of the tens of thousands of guests who pass through the gates every day, how many do you think are even aware of the cuts ahead of time, or would even notice the impact of said cuts upon getting there?

While we(the most knowledgeable of disney guests) are not happy about the cuts, management for the most part could not care less what we think.

At the risk of repeating myself...it's just sad that the parks Walt built are now all about the bottom line. i.e. even though we turned a profit, it's not big enough...CUT CUT CUT etc..

The question isn't "will they be aware of the cuts?". It is "will they notice the impact of the cuts?" As attendance grows and entertainment options shrink, how could they not? Just take F! as an example. There are countless threads here asking about strategies for F! viewing, and the most common workaround is always: "Go to the second show." But without a second show, entirely new strategies have to be employed. How could that remain invisible? Now, I suppose to someone who isn't as "in tune" with WDW the way folks here are, perhaps the answer is that when that family returns home and a friend asks them how they enjoyed F!, their answer might be: "We didn't see it. It was too crowded." To which their friend might respond: "Oh. I should have told you to go to the second show." Which then might result in: "There was no second show." So, no, they might not know about or notice the cuts when their boots are on the ground. But it will impact their trip in tangible ways.

And with respect to the bolded statement, can this really be true? Does any company not care what its most loyal customers think? And why does Disney send out so many surveys? I work in an industry where customer retention is the single most important factor in our success, so maybe I am jaded. But what do others think? Does anyone here work for a company that "could not care less" what its most loyal and knowledgeable customers think? And if no other such companies exist, do we really think that Disney Corp. is different? Anyone here ever sat in a strategy meeting where a top level executive expressed the idea that s/he doesn't care what the loyal customers think? Maybe that question deserves its own thread.

 

[ArwenMarie]

People know when something is a good value, ok value or a poor value, it doesn't matter what it is, or how familiar you are with the product. New people won't know that there used to be daytime parades at DAK and DHS for example, but maybe they will feel a lull in the middle of the day. I guess on the more positive side, if the parades were still there, they would get to enjoy them and their impression of the park might be, wow that was a really great day! versus something less enthusiastic.

 

[capegirl]

Back to the painter layoffs: my CM friend made her way back to our current CSR Business Class room by finding the door with the horrid gouges in it:
View attachment 152269

If I were a first time Disney resort guest, and I saw this mess on the door of my business class CSR room, I would not be happy, nor would I be staying there again. I would expect to see this on the door of a Days Inn; at a Disney resort my expectations would be much higher. Chipping paint may seem like small thing right now, but IMHO, Disney is on slippery slope to increased guest dissatisfaction if they continue down this path.

 

[Shanti]

I'm wondering how the article's author got all that specific information. He quotes another article from the same Disney-fan publication, but no other sources that I could see.

Not saying it couldn't be true, but I don't see any documentation to differentiate this "news" from a mere rumor.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

If I were a first time Disney resort guest, and I saw this mess on the door of my business class CSR room, I would not be happy, nor would I be staying there again. I would expect to see this on the door of a Days Inn; at a Disney resort my expectations would be much higher. Chipping paint may seem like small thing right now, but IMHO, Disney is on slippery slope to increased guest dissatisfaction if they continue down this path.

Absolutely. If a guest-driven business isn't going to maintain things during good times, when will they?

 

[chmurf]

They'll notice little things, especially if Disney maintains these cuts for very long.

Mostly I think they'll notice things like changes in entertainment. They'll be upset that Fantasmic is at capacity with no second show to come back for later. They'll notice that they can't find a spot for MSEP because everyone now has to squeeze in for the single show of the night.

Mostly, I think it will show up as a vague change in their feeling about their trip. They'll com home thinking "That was nice, but I just don't get what everyone has always said about Disney service being so top notch". And perhaps they won't have the drive to book another trip.

I would sure love to know the percentage of bounceback trips booked by guests over time. I think that would be really interesting.

I'll answer from the perspective of the French guy living just miles away from Disneyland Paris
I'm a passholder at Disneyland Paris. Over the years, I've seen our resort go downhill
Cuts everywhere, from hotel ammenities (pool hours reduced, housekkeping non existent, and son on) to maintenance (hooks galleon almost fell to pieces, too dangerous for guests to be allowed on. Rides so beat up that they become unrideable (we call space mountain ''the chiropractor'')
Cuts on meet&greets, with a grand total of 5 different characters present in both parcs, or characters removed and only meetable duri g EMH ... Cuts in shows with no live show for 2013 ... i mean no nothing. Stores along main street closed during park operations. Half CS restaurants closed, with absolutely no dinner options some days. After 5pm have a snack in the backpack or starve.

Still, try saying on european fprums that there is less to do in the european resort and that it used to be better, and your bound to get flamed and named a basher

Okay to be honest the all inclusive AP is $250 a year ... Compare to a DLR AP worth a Grand ...

Guests are still enjoying even though some days all of the headliners are down for part (if not all) of the day

Now the irony is that the euro resort is starting to get better (with billions injected by TWDC) and with its CEO removed ... The irony I say, it that the CEO who managed the eruopean resort so bad it almost went bankrupt (and already triggered cuts in the us resorts) is now in charge of ... shanghai ... See a pattern here ? ...

 

[rteetz]

Out of the tens of thousands of guests who pass through the gates every day, how many do you think are even aware of the cuts ahead of time, or would even notice the impact of said cuts upon getting there?

While we(the most knowledgeable of disney guests) are not happy about the cuts, management for the most part could not care less what we think.

At the risk of repeating myself...it's just sad that the parks Walt built are now all about the bottom line. i.e. even though we turned a profit, it's not big enough...CUT CUT CUT etc..

I really don't think the typical guest won't notice much except for maybe increased crowds.

 

[rteetz]

I'm wondering how the article's author got all that specific information. He quotes another article from the same Disney-fan publication, but no other sources that I could see.

Not saying it couldn't be true, but I don't see any documentation to differentiate this "news" from a mere rumor.

Disney really hasn't confirmed anything and they won't so thats all we have to base this off of. And I don't doubt it true.

 

[epcotty]

I think it's the assumption that the loyal customers will always come back no matter what so essentially they don't care because of that. However I think they definitely could stand to lose a lot of loyal customers with current strategies and possible future strategies in regards to cutbacks, pricing, etc

 

[Shanti]

Disney really hasn't confirmed anything and they won't so thats all we have to base this off of. And I don't doubt it true.

In other words, just gossip.

 

[Isildur's Bane]

 

[Robo]

Must


Not


Post

 

[rteetz]

In other words, just gossip.

I'm going to believe it. You don't have to if you don't want to but a company like Disney isn't going to openly admit to something like this because they don't have to. We have evidence from numerous sources that this is what Disney is doing.

 

[MermaidMommy]

In other words, just gossip.

They've already made dramatic cuts to entertainment and park hours for March, in addition to the recent spate of character removals. That's not gossip -- it's the current reality.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

You'd think that maybe they'd slow down some of the expansions like River of Lights, Norway, Star Wars Land, Toy Story Land, and Pandora since the immediate impact to guests wouldn't be there. I mean, long term they're spending a ton of money for these expansions. Short term, they're cutting back on painters. Seems odd.

Didn't the Frozen stuff in Norway already get pushed back to Summer? (Which could actually be September.) And we still don't have opening dates for anything in AK.

I'd be surprised if the show is permanent.

I'm thinking this is to replace the Frozen stuff they did last Summer. There is no indication that these will still be around in the Fall.

Out of the tens of thousands of guests who pass through the gates every day, how many do you think are even aware of the cuts ahead of time, or would even notice the impact of said cuts upon getting there?

While we(the most knowledgeable of disney guests) are not happy about the cuts, management for the most part could not care less what we think.

At the risk of repeating myself...it's just sad that the parks Walt built are now all about the bottom line. i.e. even though we turned a profit, it's not big enough...CUT CUT CUT etc..

They don't have to be returning guests to notice if the bathrooms are dirty.