"Greedflation" at Disney?

[Sparrow'sLady]

Disney is most definitely greedy. If this was just about inflation they would not have cheapened literally everything and found a way to nickle and dime us to death. The quality has dropped so much, so this is not about maintaining what they have been offering, but instead cheapening and inflating.

I miss what Disney was. I will not be a Disney apologist and I will not defend their decisions or greediness. I do not see the need to attack people for the sake of defending a corporation; they have changed drastically from what they were 5 years ago. We just took a large, ridiculously expensive trip in March, which I posted about, so I can speak from my personal experience.

 

[Pooh's World]

I'm a longtime Pop Century fan, but it's been hard to justify once it went over $200/night. That's just ridiculous.

It’s priced ridiculous and you don’t even get extended evening hours at Pop

 

[Pooh's World]

I'm a longtime Pop Century fan, but it's been hard to justify once it went over $200/night. That's just ridiculous.

It’s priced ridiculous and you don’t even get extended evening hours at Pop

i think the convenience of being on property can make the All-Stars more sought after which would draw up the price. I think a massive part that people leave out of the value equation for Disney hotels is that you cannot just look at them at face value, the power of being on property means an awful lot to an awful lot of people

all stars at $200 is absolute ripoff. Not value.

 

[MillauFr]

Disney is most definitely greedy. If this was just about inflation they would not have cheapened literally everything and found a way to nickle and dime us to death. The quality has dropped so much, so this is not about maintaining what they have been offering, but instead cheapening and inflating.

I miss what Disney was. I will not be a Disney apologist and I will not defend their decisions or greediness. I do not see the need to attack people for the sake of defending a corporation; they have changed drastically from what they were 5 years ago. We just took a large, ridiculously expensive trip in March, which I posted about, so I can speak from my personal experience.

You are going to Disneyworld aren't you? Yes I agree with you that the value just isn't there. We have only go to California now because the magic is still there, the parks are superior, and it is much cheaper.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Disney is most definitely greedy. If this was just about inflation they would not have cheapened literally everything and found a way to nickle and dime us to death. The quality has dropped so much, so this is not about maintaining what they have been offering, but instead cheapening and inflating.

I miss what Disney was. I will not be a Disney apologist and I will not defend their decisions or greediness. I do not see the need to attack people for the sake of defending a corporation; they have changed drastically from what they were 5 years ago. We just took a large, ridiculously expensive trip in March, which I posted about, so I can speak from my personal experience.

You see this happen with a lot of products and businesses. Years or decades of building a reputation as a premium product that leads to a premium price. Customers stay with them because they are willing to pay that premium because they feel the product is worth it. Then, along comes poor leadership that cashes in on that reputation, cheapening the product while maintaining or even raising the price. Eventually customers catch on and the reputation is stained, but by then, the poor leadership that made those decisions have headed off into the sunset with their millions, or hundreds of millions, of dollars.

 

[Pooh's World]

You see this happen with a lot of products and businesses. Years or decades of building a reputation as a premium product that leads to a premium price. Customers stay with them because they are willing to pay that premium because they feel the product is worth it. Then, along comes poor leadership that cashes in on that reputation, cheapening the product while maintaining or even raising the price. Eventually customers catch on and the reputation is stained, but by then, the poor leadership that made those decisions have headed off into the sunset with their millions, or hundreds of millions, of dollars.

This is what happened to the American car industry. They started cutting corners, planned obsolescence, arrogant dealers, making money off repairs. Ended up losing the market to Japan and Europe.

Or Maytag which used to make washers that lasted 20-40 years. whirlpool bought them and they stopped making the Maytag quality washers and instead put the Maytag logo on whirlpool quality washers that last only 4-5 years.

Blockbuster video same thing. Became arrogant and didn’t think they needed to adapt or please the loyal customer base.

AOL.

 

[BrianL]

This is what happened to the American car industry. They started cutting corners, planned obsolescence, arrogant dealers, making money off repairs. Ended up losing the market to Japan and Europe.

Or Maytag which used to make washers that lasted 20-40 years. whirlpool bought them and they stopped making the Maytag quality washers and instead put the Maytag logo on whirlpool quality washers that last only 4-5 years.

Blockbuster video same thing. Became arrogant and didn’t think they needed to adapt or please the loyal customer base.

AOL.

In the case of Blockbuster though, it wasn't quite their fault. The VHS market was controlled by "rental pricing" which basically kept tapes priced too high for the average consumer to purchase when they first came out (they were about 100 bucks). Only Dinsye and family movies would be priced at a reasonable sale price (about $20) because they felt there was a market for them. This allowed Blockbuster and otehr rental chains to thrive. When DVD came out though, the studios were swayed by the arguments of the big retailers like Walmart and Best Buy to price them at an attractive level to purchase. They could encourage people to collect them since they took up less space and had more features. People no longer wanted to rent a movie for 4 bucks when they could own if for 15 or 20. I suppose Blockbuster could have adapted to become more of a seller, but they would have just been one of many in the market, and not as large as the Walmart/Target/Best Buy type places.

 

[Brian Noble]

There was an interesting op-ed at NYT recently on a closely related subject: "The Real Reason Your Groceries Are Getting So Expensive"

The main thesis: Ending enforcement of laws requiring fairness in pricing led to consolidation of production and sales in a handful of companies who now have market pricing power.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

It’s priced ridiculous and you don’t even get extended evening hours at Pop

all stars at $200 is absolute ripoff. Not value.

I am out of the Northeast, and $200 bucks a night is standard around here. so in my mind that's not crazy, but i can understand other parts of the country thinking that is ludicrous

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

This is what happened to the American car industry. They started cutting corners, planned obsolescence, arrogant dealers, making money off repairs. Ended up losing the market to Japan and Europe.

Or Maytag which used to make washers that lasted 20-40 years. whirlpool bought them and they stopped making the Maytag quality washers and instead put the Maytag logo on whirlpool quality washers that last only 4-5 years.

Blockbuster video same thing. Became arrogant and didn’t think they needed to adapt or please the loyal customer base.

AOL.

I would say that Blockbuster and AOL had more to do with new Tech that they weren't hip to not so much arrogance as much as complacency

 

[HokieRaven5]

I would say that Blockbuster and AOL had more to do with new Tech that they weren't hip to not so much arrogance as much as complacency

Wonder how different the current landscape would be had Blockbuster actually purchased Netflix for the $50M that was proposed at one point in the early 2000s.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Wonder how different the current landscape would be had Blockbuster actually purchased Netflix for the $50M that was proposed at one point in the early 2000s.

the way blockbuster operated, i assume they would have squandered the opportunity and maybe streaming would look completely different today

 

[BrianL]

the way blockbuster operated, i assume they would have squandered the opportunity and maybe streaming would look completely different today

The thing about Blockbuster was that the stores were mostly franchised. I don't know that corporate would have known what to do with Netflix though.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

The thing about Blockbuster was that the stores were mostly franchised. I don't know that corporate would have known what to do with Netflix though.

didn't they try and run their own streaming service towards the end that went nowhere?

 

[Pooh's World]

Wonder how different the current landscape would be had Blockbuster actually purchased Netflix for the $50M that was proposed at one point in the early 2000s.

Seems reminiscent of Iger and Disney being too arrogant and passing up JK Rowling and Harry Potter which led to Universal being actual competition.

Also Ended up forcing Disney to spend millions on Avatar and Star Wars land to keep pace with Universal/Disney. In the end they probably spent a lot more reacting to Universal/Harry Potterland then if they had just created Harry Potterland at Disney.

But Iger type people only think short term. Never long term big picture which is why they have destroyed the loyal Disney World fan base.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Seems reminiscent of Iger and Disney being too arrogant and passing up JK Rowling and Harry Potter which led to Universal being actual competition.

Also Ended up forcing Disney to spend millions on Avatar and Star Wars land to keep pace with Universal/Disney. In the end they probably spent a lot more reacting to Universal/Harry Potterland then if they had just created Harry Potterland at Disney.

But Iger type people only think short term. Never long term big picture which is why they have destroyed the loyal Disney World fan base.

Every time I walk through Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, I feel relieved that Disney didn't get the theme park rights. The idea they had in the early 2000s was IMO terrible. Those lands look amazing because Universal gave JK Rowling creative control, something Disney did not want to do. I'm happy we got Pandora because of the boy wizard though.

 

[BrianL]

didn't they try and run their own streaming service towards the end that went nowhere?

I think they tried a mail-order thing like old-school Netflix, but not streaming. They also tried kisoks liek Redbox.

 

[gmi3804]

But Iger type people only think short term. Never long term big picture which is why they have destroyed the loyal Disney World fan base.

I think destruction of the "fan base" is greatly overstated. There are a lot more members of that base than participate on message boards like these. Even most of those here who are frustrated are hardly done with it all.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

I think destruction of the "fan base" is greatly overstated. There are a lot more members of that base than participate on message boards like these. Even most of those here who are frustrated are hardly done with it all.

the parks have been doing well up until recently, and at the first sign of trouble a lot of people are writing the death certificate. I think we need to give Disney the appropriate time to react, they have already started to, and i think they are going to do even more moving forward.

Companies don't make it 100 years without knowing how to react to adversity, they'll be just fine IMO.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

I think they tried a mail-order thing like old-school Netflix, but not streaming. They also tried kisoks liek Redbox.

That sounds correct. i wonder how Redbox is doing, with the amount of content available to people now i can't imagine they're doing great