Griping about the cutbacks

[lg3]

We went to WDW in March and are cruising in July. We all have to remember that EVERYBODY is cutting back... even at home. If Disney is cutting back, you better believe Universal is cutting back. If DCL is cutting back, so is RC and Carnival. Disney sets the standard, they are the Premium. It's easy to point fingers, say they have done this or that, but "MAGIC" and "PIXIE DUST" are a state of mind. Disney will always be Disney.... Disney will always be the standard for which most companies aspire and Disney will always be the industry leader in service. I read about portions... please, we are the most overweight country in the world! I read about long lines... please, we are the most impatient country in the world! I read about discounts for everbody.... please, we are the most selfish country in the world! We have all chosen Disney for a reason... lets not lose sight of that. It sounds like some are "blaming" Disney for the economy, the recession and making business decisions. We didn't skip Fantasmic in March because it was only offered 2X, we just planned accordingly. It didn't change our impression or experience, just our schedule of night time shows! For my family.... Disney IS the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH... Happy vacationing everybody....

Did you get a chance to read the Disneyland Paris thread regarding people in lines there? That would really change your mind.

 

[mmackeymouse]

I am in marketing and appreciate the strategic cuts/adjustments that Disney is making. I assume they are doing their research and doing their best to cut where it can save them the most and make the smallest impact on the public.

I still love Disney and am amazed by the brand they have built!

I got my degree in marketing as well, and I still maintain that in a bad economy, you ask any company out there, and the only way to stimulate is to slash prices. As the other poster said, look at some of the sit down restaurants offering unheard of value meals. Also, if you read which companies are faring best in an economy such as this, it is consistantly the ones that are keeping their prices low, OR going even lower.

I also love Disney with all my heart, but I think the way they are currently running the company is not in line with the philosophy that made their brand as magical as it is.

The issue is the cutbacks, cheaper cuts of meat, etc. at the same time as big price increases. We are paying high premiums for Disney and getting LESS?
That's the issue.
Not our weight, our country, etc.
I think Disney is being greedy. Sorry.

I wholeheartedly agree. If they were cutting back and charging more to keep from going in the whole, that would be one thing. But, I believe they are doing it to increase their profits for the bigwigs. I could be wrong, I don't know. Sadly, I think it has crossed the line from running a business to make money into the area of pure corporate greed.

Like you said, smart businesses are trying to offer MORE for the money. And what these companies realize is even if they have to break even or take a loss for one quarter a year, in the end, it is to their benefit to keep portions the same, offer more discounts, etc etc. I will tell you this much. I never have gone to TGIF much, but I am ten times more likely to go now (with their discounts) than I was 2 months ago. And, by gaining my business, they will likely have a regular customer when the economy does bounce back. And that, my friends, is marketing.

Sometimes, you have to take a loss, in order to make a wise long term investment for the greater good in the future.

 

[jilljill]

Did you get a chance to read the Disneyland Paris thread regarding people in lines there? That would really change your mind.

This was my first thought and I haven't even read the thread and don't intend to, but have been to D'land Paris twice where the concept of standing in a line to wait for an attraction or to see a character isn't understood at all. To make it worse, both times I was there it wasn't even crowded and people were line jumping and butting in front of others.

 

[tvguy]

I got my degree in marketing as well, and I still maintain that in a bad economy, you ask any company out there, and the only way to stimulate is to slash prices. As the other poster said, look at some of the sit down restaurants offering unheard of value meals. Also, if you read which companies are faring best in an economy such as this, it is consistantly the ones that are keeping their prices low, OR going even lower.

Well, I respectfully disagree. Disney, like a lot of premium product companies has a long range plan. You are correct, they could lower prices now, and earn a dollar today, but at what long term cost? $2 ? $3 ? 4? People are going to resist price hikes when the economy turns around. Look how Disney runs Disney Vacation Club. THEY have to approve the price you are selling your membership for, and THEY have a right to disallow the sale and buy your membership back at that price. The reason, to keep the prices up to protect the perceived value of their product..
Is Deveres cutting diamond prices to keep the product moving? No way. It's more important to keep prices up in the future than make money today.

 

[tvguy]

Hmmmmm......well, I do not think 10 o clock is THAT late myself. I guess if you think about it, at WDW, little kids make it through a long exhausting day at Magic Kingdom and somehow make it through the parade. Or they make it through a long exhausting day at the Studios and somehow make it through Fantasmic.
.

No 10 is not late for most folks or on most other cruise lines. But on Disney, the ADULTS are in bed by 10 pm I have never seen anything like it in 8 cruises. Our Disney cruise was sandwiched between a HAL and NCL America cruise. We (including our kids age 11 and 15 on the first cruise) rarely were in bed before 1:30 am on the other cruise lines, there were shows, and midnight buffets that went to 1:30 am to go to.
But when we go to Disneyland, we often are in the park at 6:30 am with early admission, and don't leave until 1 am. Of course, my wife, before we were married, had a different Disney experience. He family always went at 8 am and left at 6pm. She always wondered why they always showed fireworks on TV when talking about Disneyland .....she's never stayed until 9:30 pm to see them!!!

 

[Pennyb123]

I noticed in October that my Pirate bandana had shrunk to like 1/3 of the size! I was a little dissapointed, simply because i couldn't figure out how to get it to tie and stay on because the ends wouldn't meet. And I have a small head!! I hope they don't cut them out completely on the Magic! But I'll pack my full size one just in case! And I can't stay awake to see the Pirate deck party and fireworks or the chocolate buffet!! After my 2nd seating dinner is over, it is all I can do to roll myself (it feels like I have to roll because I ate too much good food!) down the passageways to my room and I feel like I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow! I'm going to try to stay awake this october. I'm working second shift now. Instead of being used to waking at 3:45am, I get up at 9am. Hopefully that equates to staying up later. We will see....

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

I still love Disney and am amazed by the brand they have built!

Hi OP, I think this was a great discussion, but I think candlemakers quote says it all. Oh, and Go Eagles! (Please )

Disney has built such a brand that people will go, no matter what. As far as paying a premium, Disney has never been a cheap vacation. I do, however, understand your point that you are still paying full price, but you are experiencing/receiving less. Well, ice cream is no longer sold by the gallon, but you pay for a gallon. I guess they thought no one would notice .

However, there are also Disney deals to be had that never were there before. The whole cruise industry is hurting, and even DCL has had to offer deals to fill their ships. My family was lucky to get kids sail free (maybe that's why I'm feeling so magnanimous towards Disney right now). Once the economy recovers, and it will (it better), and if Disney is still offering less for a premium, I would re-introduce this topic. That outta be fun!

 

[cmash95]

....recently raising prices (approx May 9th forward) on a sit down meal in the WDW parks; from approx $27 to approx $31 - a lot of WDW park people are upset over this and are pointing fingers at the "Buy 4 get 3 free" promo.

Me? Shoot....I am just "plain" happy that my body temperature ain't 'room temperature'.......yet.

those are the seasonal prices for buffets. they run through july.

 

[RedSox68]

We are going to WDW 4 days and on the Magic 2 weeks this summer (July).
I am going to be very upset if the prices have indeed gone up while the quality/quantity has decreased.
I agree...Raise the price but do not decrease the quality/quantity at the same time.
That is how to lose customers.

As for the amount of food...I am SURE if you tell them you would like 3 Chicken Fingers or 2 pieces of Pizza they will give it to you.
In the past...My kids have gone up to get Pizza and said they wanted 2-3 slices and they give it to them.

What I am concerned about the the quality. If the quality goes down they will lose us as customers. We are really easy going but had more than just a few issues on the EB Panama. Our bed had hair all over it between the sheets and blankets. EWWWW... Got that fixed ASAP!!!! And the bed was in bad shape and uncomfortable. The bathrooms were dirty with hair and dirt as well. Issues we have not encountered before.

That is truly disgusting about all the hair. Sounds like what we encountered on NCL last year. Geez, if Disney is going to be on that level, that WILL be disappointing and shocking!

I know we stayed at WL in December 2007 -- our first stay at a deluxe resort, and I could not believe how dirty the room and bathroom was! And two of the lamps/light switches didn't even work!

As for the amount of chicken fingers, I'm hoping that's to save waste? I've seen kids get chicken fingers, fries, etc. and take two bites and leave it all on the table and walk away! And as said earlier, you can ask for as much as you want. At Pinnochio's, we've actually ordered whole pizzas to take back to our rooms!

I'm nervous because we're bringing an elderly aunt on our cruise in October and she has NEVER cruised before -- I sure hope the Magic comes through for us after all our bragging about food and ambiance and service!

 

[RedSox68]

Regarding the 18-year-olds and above being allowed at Serenity Bay -- I can only speak from my family's experience, but I must tell you my daughter counted the years until she could join us there. Until she was 18, we always stayed on the family beach with her -- but even she got disgusted with the noise and out of control children and screaming. She was always a shy girl and never acclimated well to the clubs either -- she was either too old for the younger teen set, or uncomfortable with her "age group" because a lot of times it was the older teens and she was only 14 in a club with 17-year-olds!

My daughter has never liked being around kids who drink or smoke or are loud. She's 22 now and relishes her time in the adult pool and the adult beach. Maybe she was the exception at 18, but she was really ready to be in the "quiet zone"

However, I 100% agree with all the comments above about the clubs. I wrote on every comment card, and sent an email and a letter after our second cruise, about how we thought that there was too vast an age range in these clubs. We suggested they "tighten" up the groups and lesson the age ranges and add an additional group. For instance: 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and add a group for 15-17. Of course, that would require investing more money for a location and more staff

 

[MN_Cruz'n]

There are restaurants all over that are now offering half price appetizers to stimulate revenue, Fridays started a 5.00 menu, Outback has a less expensive options now, Houlihans was offering free dessert with lunch, etc. etc.
There are other ways to combat this recession, and IMHO, raising prices and offering less is going to make me run the other way.

Disney understands us and how we spend our money probably better than any company out there. With the amount of analysis they do, they would be the one company that I would truly believe would never make an irrational or uneducated change.

With that said, it is difficult to compare a restaurant cutting back prices with Disney and expect to equate the two. If Fridays charges too much for their California Burger (or whatever the call it), it is really easy for a consumer to drive to another restaurant to find an equivalent burger. The atmosphere and location are different, but bottom line is you are getting the same burger for less.

Disney is Disney. You can't go "down the street" or "around the corner" and find another place that is an equal replacement. They have cornered the market on being Disney, and no one else does Disney like Disney. Universal and Six Flags try, but it is still different. We have demonstrated for over 50 years that we (the Disney fan base, me included) are willing to pay a premium for the Disney experience. And, you are mistaken if you don't think Disney knows this.

So, while I believe that Disney does listen to their customers, and does a great job meeting customer expectations, until Disney fans stop being Disney fans and take their money elsewhere, they will continue operating as they do today.

 

[dunnhorn]

I think we are seeing the "price rollbacks" with all of these promotions being offered by Disney. First the kids sail free, then the 4-for-3, now kids are at 1/2 price and they are touting huge cash onboard incentives for cruise bookings in the SUMMER. This is unheard of! The problem is, though, Disney cruises are 2x the cost of RCL. When times are tough, do you think people are going to pay 2x for Dis cruise over RCL? It's one thing to say "there is no other WDW" but is the difference in "magic" in the cruise worth 2x the price over a RCL cruise? (Rhetorical question here - I know some on this list would say yes, others would say no. We haven't been on a RCL cruise, so I can't say from experience... but I have been weighing it, believe me!)

It also looks like Disney is wanting to give the deals to the people who do the total vacation buy-in. Stay onsite, get access to free meals. Buy a 10 day ticket, get a cheaper price. Meanwhile the 1 day tickets are going through the roof, and they are gouging those who want to buy a single buffet meal in the summer... yet this was "free" for people booking 4-for-3. It's all about playing the game.

Leslie Ann

 

[mmackeymouse]

Well, I respectfully disagree. Disney, like a lot of premium product companies has a long range plan. You are correct, they could lower prices now, and earn a dollar today, but at what long term cost? $2 ? $3 ? 4? People are going to resist price hikes when the economy turns around. Look how Disney runs Disney Vacation Club. THEY have to approve the price you are selling your membership for, and THEY have a right to disallow the sale and buy your membership back at that price. The reason, to keep the prices up to protect the perceived value of their product.

Agree to disagree, eh? I think my concern is much like everyone else's. It is not the price. We expect to pay big bucks for Disney. The concern is in the decreasing quality and even the slightest hitch in the Disney Magic (aura, not the ship). I fear we will become complacent. We'll give Disney the benefit of the doubt, because it IS a bad economy (even though they could afford to take a loss rather than so many cutbacks) However, when the economy bounces back, will the extras be back? Probably not. So we will just get used to paying more for less. And that is definitely not the way Disney should be.

I liken it to the airline industry. They implemented controversial baggage fees, and had major cutbacks, and blamed it on the cost of oil. We as a society got used to it and reasoned that was the way it was going to be. Well, when oil prices plummeted, did they abolish the baggage fees? No. I don't want to be lulled into that sense of complacency again.

With that said, it is difficult to compare a restaurant cutting back prices with Disney and expect to equate the two. If Fridays charges too much for their California Burger (or whatever the call it), it is really easy for a consumer to drive to another restaurant to find an equivalent burger. The atmosphere and location are different, but bottom line is you are getting the same burger for less.

Disney is Disney. You can't go "down the street" or "around the corner" and find another place that is an equal replacement. They have cornered the market on being Disney, and no one else does Disney like Disney. Universal and Six Flags try, but it is still different. We have demonstrated for over 50 years that we (the Disney fan base, me included) are willing to pay a premium for the Disney experience. And, you are mistaken if you don't think Disney knows this.

You may have a point, but look at Subway. Now COULD you go to a different restaurant? Sure. But, I consider Subway to be the premium of the fast food and certainly the sandwich industry. It is the #1 franchise in the world and certainly heads and shoulders above other sub restaurants. It does not HAVE to offer value subs. It does not HAVE to offer discounts. But, it does. And I don't think it is to keep business there and not elsewhere. Because, it is Subway and the people will come regardless. I think it is to keep a good rapport among its base.

 

[BobandLee]

I've read thru the thread and I just shake my head at some of the posts.

You have to remember, whether you like it or not, Disney is a business.
A business that has to show a profit and value to those who invest in it.
Each division has to carry it's part of the load.

Now, if I thought that Disney was ripping me off, I just would not cruise with them.
However, the cruise we took in March was just as nice and just as exciting as many of the previously taken cruise. (the best cruises had nothing to do with DCL, it was more to do with who we were cruising with).
Despite what some "experts" on the board may believe, I believe that Disney tries very hard to maintain the quality and value we are used to.

As far as the late night. There does not seem to be a lot of loud noise roaming the decks late at night. That is one of the things I like about the Disney cruises.

I guess, (putting on the flameproof suit here) if you think that Disney is charging too much or not offering enough value, then don't sail with them. If the occupancy rate falls too much, Disney will make changes.

 

[cmash95]

since according to people I know at dcl, most dcl cruisers nave cruised on the dcl more than once, it makes sense to me that after this amount of time, they stop giving out bandanas on pirate night. Frankly I wish they would change out the pirate party for some other theme, as long as they shoot off the fireworks I really don't care what the theme is.
and according to these same people, there have been no cutbacks in the number of cms onboard the ships. Staff positions change from time to time, Another thing the mickey bars are made by dove, who also does several specialty ice cream bars for other theme parks and it's dove's decision, not disney's if they cut back on the size of the bars. I know this because I have a family member who works for a theme park who sells the specialty bars.
and finally, you can blame the quality of food on the fact that all disney parks as well as the cruise lines supplies are now being handled by one group instead of each park and the line dealing with individual suplliers. All procurements are now being done through the disney parks division under the direction of al weis. They are also now responsible for menu changes at the resorts as well as the cruiseline. This allows disney to order in bulk and saves them big dollars, unfortunately it means alot of homogination of food.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Just as some OT constructive criticism. I don't have any issue with complaints about cutbacks... some of them I agree with. I'm not sure about others, but it always bugs me when people try to justify their opinion by saying they go to Disney alot or spend a lot of money there, etc. Your opinion is your opinion... there is no need to justify it with the "I go there a lot". If you went there more or less, it doesn't give you less or more right to complain.

That's all. I agree with most of what you said. I understand the cutbacks... most restaurants are serving smaller portions at the same price to cut costs due to the recession. But it does suck.

Okay, I have my flame suit on. Here goes:

Let me start by saying I feel the need to say this because I go to Disney almost every year, I've sailed DCL 6 times, and I've spent almost every vacation dollar on Disney for the past 15 years. We don't make a ton of money. We do without a lot of things because we love vacations and save all year long for them. We also love Disney.But dang, the price increases and cut-backs are getting to me!

Just got off of the Wonder and noticed no more bandanas at pirate night. They give out 2 chicken fingers at the pool instead of 3. No big deal, just noticed it. The cuts of meat are not what they used to be and the food quality isn't quite as good, as you've read on the boards by many! And the Mickey Bars are so much smaller.
This isn't a big deal on the cruise, but at the parks, they charge the same for the smaller Mickey Bars. The food plan has gone up in price and they give you so much less (no appetizers and you have to pay tips now, AND they raised the price???) There were hardly any tram cars running to the parking lots. I rarely saw characters anywhere except the breakfasts, dinners and shows.
I know they had massive lay offs. Why? Because their stocks are down, certainly not because of the lack of vacationers. I was wait-listed for AKL and it never came through. The restaurants were packed, the lines were long and the locals tell me this has been the case all year.
Just venting.
Disney charges premium rates for their cruises and parks/restaurants. It stinks to see the price go up and the quality slip at the same time. I understand inflation. But come on, we're in a recession. I can't help but think they are being greedy.

 

[yitbos96bb]

I feel u If they are cutting back then they need to cut back the prices

That's kind of the point of the cutbacks though... to keep the profit level steady during the recession. This is not uncommon throughout the hospitality industry.

 

[lbgraves]

Didn't DCL try in 2008 to have the pirate party earlier in the evening and it didn't work out?

I forgot all about that! It only lasted a couple cruises before it was switched back.

OK, here is the thread. It happened one time on a 4 day cruise with major adjustments to dining times and was inbetween the seatings. Obviously it didn't work out since they have not done it since.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1873337&highlight=pirate

 

[kaykels]

Disney is Disney. You can't go "down the street" or "around the corner" and find another place that is an equal replacement. They have cornered the market on being Disney, and no one else does Disney like Disney. Universal and Six Flags try, but it is still different. We have demonstrated for over 50 years that we (the Disney fan base, me included) are willing to pay a premium for the Disney experience. And, you are mistaken if you don't think Disney knows this.

Sure, if you're comparing PARKS, but if you are comparing cruise lines, there are plenty of other cruise ships that are family oriented that are newer ships with lots more bells and whistles (rock climbing, ice rinks, bowling alley, etc.) AND cost less. So Disney should be careful.

 

[lg3]

Sure, if you're comparing PARKS, but if you are comparing cruise lines, there are plenty of other cruise ships that are family oriented that are newer ships with lots more bells and whistles (rock climbing, ice rinks, bowling alley, etc.) AND cost less. So Disney should be careful.

We cruise on DCL because it DOES offer something unique and special to us that other cruise lines don't. The Disney "Magic". I can stay at home and do plently of ice skating and bowling, etc. any day. Why would I want to pay money to do that on my only vacation time?