Guy with no kids spends a night in Cinderella's Suite

[MassJester]

So, after all the fuss, thinly veiled insults (back and forth), and histrionics, doesn't this all boil down to some of us believe that the company is headed in the wrong driection, and some of us don't? And isn't really just a matter of opinion? And aren't we unlikely to convince those on the other side of the argument?

 

[exDS vet]

So, after all the fuss, thinly veiled insults (back and forth), and histrionics, doesn't this all boil down to some of us believe that the company is headed in the wrong driection, and some of us don't? And isn't really just a matter of opinion? And aren't we unlikely to convince those on the other side of the argument?

In other words, Disney has taken it's place right up there with religion, politics, abortion, gay rights, the war and Christmas.

 

[MassJester]

It's in interesting company.

 

[YoHo]

Well, some people have been convinced, for whatever that's worth.

Oh, and I was born and raised in Chicago. I had never been to Disneyland until the 21st century.

Went to WDW many many times though.

Thanks for making a really stupid assumption though.

 

[MassJester]

Thanks for making a really stupid assumption though.

I think you're really attractive when you're making personal attacks. Would you be available for internet dating?

 

[DancingBear]

With a meet & greet Cinderella room? The lines would be astronomical and there is no place to put a line like that currently at the castle in Florida.

Just to add a concrete thought here (hey, I made a pun!), there's a relatively unused path that runs from behind the castle toward Cosmic Ray's. Although I don't really see why the lines for Cindy at the Castle would be all THAT much longer than the other character meet and greets.

 

[speedyf]

Actually, unless you paid your friend, it has nothing at all to do with how much money you had. Further, you getting a tour from a friend has nothing to do with how Disney markets these "special perks", which is the point of the discussion.

I've enjoyed the banter back and forth between CanadianGuy and AnotherVoice. Excellent points on both sides.

About this "special perks" stuff....I have not seen one person argue the point about certain families being picked to be grand marshalls in the parades prior to this YOAMD. If every person that buys a ticket is equal and no one is supposed to get special perks, then why choose a random family to be in the parades?

Why does (pre-YOAMD) my family ask me how we could have been selected to be the family in the parade, and I have to look at them and say..."I guess it was just their lucky day"?

If the argument is equality for all who pay to enter the park, then compare the equality of that "perk" that has been going on for many years before all the promotions and the "perk" of YOAMD. What's the difference?

Speed

 

[raidermatt]

To me, its one thing to do things like that. Pick a family at random for something, be it a parade marshall, riding in the front of the monorail, or just giving a little kid some stickers.

Its quite another to build a temporary marketing campaign around it for the purpose of growing resort business at the expense of other strategies.

I think the "equality" change is better addressed with things like EMH, character breakfasts, "special" viewing locations, hard-ticketed events that close the park early, the resort structure, etc.

 

[Another Voice]

I have not seen one person argue the point about certain families being picked to be grand marshalls in the parades prior to this YOAMD. If every person that buys a ticket is equal and no one is supposed to get special perks, then why choose a random family to be in the parades?

As far as I'm aware, this is a recent development as well.

And you're comparing riding in a buggy for fifteen minutes to a thousand dollar, all night & dinner, front of the line, get your pictures in the paper, stand in the castle window and wave to the serfs prize?

Yes, some people get to ride in front of the monorail too - but there's a whole difference in scale is what we're talking about. The "night in the castle" is been advertised to every little girl in the country. There isn't a single one of them that isn't expecting to be the "special girl". To me that's a con jub using children and put's Disney on the level of cheesy "drink your Ovaltine" special coded messages ploys.

Real Disney would have figured out how to make every girl's dream come true. It's just a sign of how the company's changed.

 

[ChrisFL]

Its quite another to build a temporary marketing campaign around it for the purpose of growing resort business at the expense of other strategies.

Emphasis mine and that what the big problem seems to be with people, however Im not sure this campaign is that bad. I do think most kids don't dream of getting free ice cream since they don't usually pay for it anyway, their parents do. Im also guessing that paying the $1,600 +++ they pay for the trip, one free drink, etc. or fastpass isn't going to seem that big of a savings.

Besides castle stays and the world tour, what other major prizes are there?

Its my sense that those of us who are not happy is because Disney seems to be doing just enough to get guests to visit, year after year. If it only costs a few million in advertising to get the same attendance instead of that new blockbuster ride, so be it. Add a few animatronics to Pirates then throw separate admission pirate parties to make more money, sure, sounds like a great corporate decision.

 

[raidermatt]

Its my sense that those of us who are not happy is because Disney seems to be doing just enough to get guests to visit, year after year. If it only costs a few million in advertising to get the same attendance instead of that new blockbuster ride, so be it. Add a few animatronics to Pirates then throw separate admission pirate parties to make more money, sure, sounds like a great corporate decision.

Except that they could do much better by giving more substance with the flash.

Part of it is an aversion to risk, which is I think at least part of what you are getting at. If we can spend x amount and get this result, which is fine for now, why try to do more?

Not exactly what made the real Disney though, is it? Its capitalizing on what was done before, something Eisner was fond of telling investors/analysts, and while Iger doesn't say it as much, it does appear the strategy is the same.

But even that strategy only achieves its goals if the current promotion is indeed a success, which is yet to be determined. Last quarter, WDW attendance was up, but DLR was down.

Further, it assumes that year after year of this stuff will sustain growth in the coming years and decades.

That sounds riskier to me in the long run than giving talented people a chance to create and innovate.

 

[wdw4us2]

Remind me tho.. when they did the 25 years of WDW in Florida.. did they make it about ALL the parks.. or just Florida? What about 30 years of WDW in Florida? All the parks or just FL?

Back in 1995.. was the 40th anniversary all about DL or about all the parks? And did they celebrate 45? How was that focused?

IIRC .. the 2005 celebration for Disneyland was the first time they didn't make it ALL about Disneyland for a DL celebration.

After all our whining and complaining about the magic - it's a business. It's gotta make a buck. So if giving away free churros and nights in the castle keeps people more loyal to the Disney brand for their vacation spending -- I'd suspect you'll see more of it in the years to come... and not just till this promotion ends.

J

The WDW 25th was celebrated in Florida. The DL 40th was celebrated in DL. There was no celebration for WDW's 30th, just some merchandise.

Then along came the 50th of DL which was celebrated everywhere and centered in WDW! Insanity! I had so many people asking me about that. They knew WDW had not been around that long and it was ridiculous to have to explain the Disney marketing logic to them.

People don't need some forced celebration to make them interested in going to a Disney theme park. New, quality attractions are a better way to spend $$ to keep people interested in the parks.

 

[exDS vet]

The WDW 25th was celebrated in Florida. The DL 40th was celebrated in DL. There was no celebration for WDW's 30th, just some merchandise.

Then along came the 50th of DL which was celebrated everywhere and centered in WDW! Insanity! I had so many people asking me about that. They knew WDW had not been around that long and it was ridiculous to have to explain the Disney marketing logic to them.

People don't need some forced celebration to make them interested in going to a Disney theme park. New, quality attractions are a better way to spend $$ to keep people interested in the parks.

DL also had a 45th celebration that ended before DCA opened. There were no new attractions, but they did introduce "Believe..." and the parade of stars. Perhaps if Disney had a company-wide celebration for DCA centered in Florida, DCA would be a bigger success today.

 

[SoCalKDG]

The whole YOAMD reminds me of a Publishers clearinghouse giveaway. The nasty part is they are praying on kids dreams and expectations for that I have really been turned off.

I don't see that they are praying on kids dreams. As a parent I control everything that my 5 year old daughter watches. She has no idea about YOAMD. She does know that she sometimes gets things free(pins, necklace, etc.) at DL but that was even before YOAMD. She and I also recently won FP for both parks which was exciting at first.

Of course this day at DL was the least crowded in the whole year thus all the FP were turned off because there were no lines(Wednesdays are a great day to go). She enjoyed wearing it around her neck, although I actually went into Cityhall and mentioned my dissatisfaction with winning something that was completely useless and that there should be an option for exchanging it. She gave me the "you should be happy there are no lines". So whats worse then not winning a prize? Winning a prize that you can't use. I guess I could sell them on EBAY as I've seen the price close to $10.

The positive things I've read about YOAMD haven't been the official prizes but the nice things that CM's have been able to do from meals being comped to special viewings of shows and private meetings with characters, etc. This is something that should always occur and if YOAMD revitalizes this aspect of customer service and continues after YOAMD officially ends then I'll deem the promotion a success.

I like the idea of the castle suite tour, with Cindi being there a big bonus. Sadly I'm afraid it would somehow lead to the same problems that the DL castle walkthrough used to have. They could always include a tour of the suite with your character breakfast. Hmm, breakfast in bed with Cindi.

So for anyone thats experienced both YOAMD and at least one of Disney's previous giveaways(which were usually based on when you came in through the gate), which is better? Since I never thought I'd win one of those cars but now feel there is always a chance to win something now I'll go with YOAMD. But only because of the enpowerment they have given to the CM's. Lets hope that continues.

 

[MassJester]

I saw some interesting statistics on visitors to Florida. I was struck by this as another poster earlier mentioned that WDW and DL were not amusement parks, but rather vacation destinations.

FLORIDA Historic Visitor Numbers (in millions)
Year Domestic Overseas Canadian Total
1999 51.4 5.8 1.7 58.9

2000 64.7 6.0 2.0 72.8 +24% (I wonder about this #)

2001 62.3 5.3 1.9 69.5 -4.7%

2002 67.9 4.4 1.6 73.9 +6.3%

2003 68.7 4.2 1.6 74.6 +.9%

2004 73.4 4.4 1.9 79.7 +6.8%

2005 77.2 4.4 2.0 83.6 +4.8%

2006 78.2 4.3 2.1 84.6 +1.1%

I did not see, but honestly didn't look hard, how the attendance at WDW compares year over year. If it is keeping pace with Florida as vacation destination, perhaps that is an indication of the organization's success--if not, perhaps an indication of its failure.

Do any of you have the comparable Disney stats? (I guess I do have several years of the Unofficial Guide spread around the house...but that's a lot of work.)

 

[MassJester]

This may have been covered in another Thread, but it's my impression (and just my impression) that there has been a consistent history of imaginative development at WDW (I am, admittedly, less familiar with the goings on at DL, and the other parks internationally).

I haven't seen a real timeline, but since I was hooked on Disney quite young (the Sunday evening TV show in the 60's and 70's got me), it was never the marketing that kept my attention. However, I do remember being drawn back to see new things.

Is there a good timeline? If there is, I would be very interested in learning which of the developments along the timeline are viewed as really innovative and in the Disney tradition, and which ones fall short of the mark.

 

[raidermatt]

I did not see, but honestly didn't look hard, how the attendance at WDW compares year over year. If it is keeping pace with Florida as vacation destination, perhaps that is an indication of the organization's success--if not, perhaps an indication of its failure.

Do any of you have the comparable Disney stats? (I guess I do have several years of the Unofficial Guide spread around the house...but that's a lot of work.)

There are no official stats because Disney doesn't release attendance figures. They give general indications in their investor calls, but that's in terms of approximate +/- %'s. Sometimes its as general as "up mid-single digits", or even just "up" or "down". This last quarter they said attendance was up at WDW and down at DLR.

There are estimates from Amusement Business that run through 2005, but they have since stopped publishing those estimates. I don't have them with me, and I don't want to try to go from memory.

But one thing I do remember for sure is that WDW's attendance in 2005 was still below its peak in 2000. If the numbers you posted were accurate, Florida in general was topping 2000 levels by 2002.

Still, just looking at Florida, you don't get the entire picture becuase WDW is a significant chunck of Florida's overall tourism. You have to look at places like Hawaii, National Parks, Europe, the Caribbean, etc. (and with international destinations you have to consider the relative strength of the dollar)

On those destinations, the only one I know about is Hawaii, and they were setting records last year for both numbers of visitors and spending.

 

[MassJester]

On those destinations, the only one I know about is Hawaii, and they were setting records last year for both numbers of visitors and spending.

Perhaps, but there is the relative growth in wealth of the pacific rim at play there, and I'm not sure we want to set the bar quite that high.

 

[raidermatt]

Perhaps, but there is the relative growth in wealth of the pacific rim at play there, and I'm not sure we want to set the bar quite that high.

That was a legitimate question, so I went back and looked at the 2005 Hawaii Tourism report:

2005 was a record-breaking year for Hawaii's visitor industry in terms of total visitor expenditures, visitor days, and arrivals.

Visitor expenditures reached $11.9 billion in 2005, a 9.6 percent increase from 2004. Expenditures increased from all markets, except the European market. Total visitor days increased 7.7 percent to 68.2 million days in 2005. This represents a daily visitor census of 185,445 (average number of visitors in Hawaii in a typical day). A total of nearly 7.5 million visitors came to Hawaii in 2005, of which 99.0 percent came by air. 2005 was the first year that visitor arrivals broke the 7 million mark.

This table shows changes in 2005 vs. 2004.

TOTAL VISITOR DAYS 68,241,986 63,343,173 7.7
Visitor arrivals by air 67,687,479 62,761,989 7.8
U.S. West 28,860,468 26,419,258 9.2
U.S. East 19,902,690 18,500,060 7.6
Japan 8,669,558 8,599,847 0.8
Canada 3,291,654 2,851,218 15.4
Europe 1,385,956 1,419,042 -2.3
Oceania 1,148,678 1,158,457 -0.8
Other Asia 824,928 761,834 8.3
Latin America 168,950 150,931 11.9
Other 3,434,597 2,901,341 18.4
Visitor arrivals by cruise ships 554,507 581,184 -4.6

The table may not look too great here, but basically it shows that the primary driver of the growth is the US West and US East. Japan was only up .8%. "Other Asia" was up 8.3%, but that only represented a raw number of about 63k days, a very small portion of the overall visitation number. Oceania is Australia and New Zealand (not exactly what Orwell had in mind I think).

What we seem to be seeing is not that WDW is doing "badly", but when you look at numbers like these, as well as the overall Florida number, it does at least suggest that they aren't doing as well as they could be. That does raise questions about the future.

 

[DisOrBust]

I congratulate you that you can screen everything your 5yo watches. Having a 4,9 an 11 yo I think its safe to leave the Disney channel on without being "screened". The YOAMD is constantly advertised and promoted. My 2 older DDs were completely pumped for the YOAMD when went in November after I had to burst their bubble many times telling them chances are very slim and the Cindy suite isn't even done yet. They were still very hopeful and I didn't like playing the heavy. Every day they would dress up their "baby" sister so she would look really cute and get "picked'. They got nada during our 12 days. It was a hard lesson learned. I got the benifit of not having to get my 4yo ready everyday,lol! Was they a major blow in their lives,no, but it did make me as Mom feel bad for my kids especially when other kids would tell them about the Fastpasses or wear the Ears at the bus stop. Not something I want to experience on vacation. If they were doing the giveaways without the promotion, where they were truely a surprise, that would be the pixie dust of the past everyone is so missing and angry thsats gone.

FYI: My first trip to DL was in 71 where I was "given" my first pair of ears. Although it might have been that the CM didn't understand my parents thick german accent,lol!