Heard on the news this morning...

[Ratpack]

that Disney stock is down 12% due to the lack of visitors. Maybe the upcoming codes will be even better for this summer and the rest of the year.

 

[marybdisney]

I also saw that more families are traveling by car than by plane this summer. Given that Florida is too far for many to drive, that may also help keep down the vistors (and hotel prices!).

 

[hightown]

With stock down, quarterly revenue down, reports of park attentance down, ADVANCE BOOKINGS DOWN, they need to do something fast and something big to fill those hotels and get park passes sold!

I just wish they would offer some good discounts from now to the end of year! Disneyland resort seems to do that. I would think Disney would want to get those deposits in and increase capital right away and deposits would do that. Plus advance bookings are down. People are into more last minute things than before. Offering discounts to end of year would do wonders for bookings.

We can only hope....

Sharon

 

[puffkin]

I would assume that Disney's most recent financial quarter ended on March 31. That means that the financial data is usually available to the execs by the middle to end of April. If their revenue is down that much, and bookings aren't looking great right now for the rest of the year, I would think some decisions will be made soon. I have a feeling that they have a whole slew of people working on various plans and ways to draw in visitors and revenue for the rest of the year. Giving the timing, they are probably in the middle of that process now. I know it is difficult, but I think we need to all sit back and wait. I think that there are going to be some excellent discounts for the rest of the year. They want to make sure the discount is enough to draw people in, but they also don't want to have released huge discounts and then have the tourism industry rebound. Trust me, I am desperately waiting for July and Early December discounts, but looking at it from a business stand point, they probably need a little more time to work things out. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[hmerritt]

I don't know why b/c we are going next week and everything is slap booked. Couldn't change our rooms, couldn't even get an extra night, and couldn't get food ressies. So I don't know why it's down..... lol~

Heather

 

[Ratpack]

I did see on another thread that a CM told someone that they were launching a big marketing campaign and that everyone should check this Sunday's paper. We'll see what happens.

 

[Sam8512]

Originally posted by hmerritt
I don't know why b/c we are going next week and everything is slap booked. Couldn't change our rooms, couldn't even get an extra night, and couldn't get food ressies. So I don't know why it's down..... lol~

Heather

Don't some resorts close entire blocks of rooms when crowds are down to consolidate staff and cut back on heating/cooling? That's what I've heard is happening now. Doesn't the Poly and PO have sections down for a rehab. Can any one confirm some resorts have sections closed for any other reason than a rehab?

 

[Rneighh]

I would love to see them offer a big discount on room/pass packages. I never book packages because the are not a good deal usually. Rooms are discounted but I never see discounts on passes unless you are a Florida resident.

Renee

 

[Sam8512]

I'd like to see them bring back the "Food and Fun" package. It was a coupon book that had two meal coupons (breakfast/lunch and lunch/dinner) and coupons for 'Fun', things like boat rentals (even the pontoon!),parasailing, waterski, bike rental..etc. It was pretty reasonable too--$58/pp day. With the meal coupon you got appetizer, main course and a desert. They should have called it the "food and fat" plan. The 'fridg in the room came in pretty handy by the end of that trip.

 

[PatriciaH]

Actually Food -N- Fun was about $48pp per night. You could do that in one meal! You got a drink, app, entree, dessert, coffee, tax and tip included. The first year we did it it was breakfast and dinner. The second year you could do lunch if you wanted instead of breakfast and then dinner. What a savings! They also let you use the "Fun" coupons for Breathless, pontoon boats, Illuminations cruises, horseback riding, etc...

 

[doombuggy]

The Walt Disney Company is made up of many divisions, the Parks & Resorts being just one. Usualy the finger gets pointed at Consumer Products, and not the Parks & Resorts division.

The fiscal year ended September 31, so Q2 did end on March 31. I have not checked my stock lately, but to be honest, a majority of stocks are down, as evidenced by the market & economy.

 

[sm4987]

I too have thought about that. If Disney keeps closing down resorts and resort parts, then things will seem as if they are booked completely. However, I think that the discounts will be great for the rest of the year. I sure hope so as I want to go back later this year.

 

[obsessed]

Dh and I were just talking about the Food and Fun Package which we used in 1997. It cost $50 per adult, but you received $55 per day credit per adult and could use it wherever you wanted and split it any way that you wanted. If we bought water bottles, ice cream for the kids, etc. it got put onto our tab. We ended up having to pay for a part of our last character breakfast and it covered tips, too. We had unlimited use of boats, bikes, etc. for the fun part. Since we only eat 2 meals a day when we travel, we were able to eat at some very nice restaurants and enjoyed wine with dinner each night.

We really wish they would bring this package back.

 

[PamOKW]

Disney stock is not down 12%. Disney's net income this year compared to last year is down 12%. Disney revenues are actually up. And this news caused Disney stock to take a jump up today.

Theme park (including resort) performance is not as good as Disney would like but it is better than what they anticipated.

Here's a link to an article regarding Disney's current situation.

Disney's Market Watch

 

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by obsessed
Dh and I were just talking about the Food and Fun Package which we used in 1997. It cost $50 per adult, but you received $55 per day credit per adult and could use it wherever you wanted and split it any way that you wanted. If we bought water bottles, ice cream for the kids, etc. it got put onto our tab. We ended up having to pay for a part of our last character breakfast and it covered tips, too. We had unlimited use of boats, bikes, etc. for the fun part. Since we only eat 2 meals a day when we travel, we were able to eat at some very nice restaurants and enjoyed wine with dinner each night.

We really wish they would bring this package back.

Yes, that is what happened to the Food N Fun package towards the end. They wound up giving credits. When it first started you payed a flat $48pp per night and also got the Fun coupons. The food part was keyed on your room card so all you had to do was hand it to the server. It was awsome because you could order anything on the menu. The servers loved it and told you to get frozen drinks, lobster-whatever One person could spend $60+ on dinner alone (and you still had it for another meal!) Example-$4.95-drink, $8.95-app, $32.00-entree, $5.95-dessert, $7.50-tip.) It worked out better than the credits and I think they learned that so they went to the credits and then even did away with that! We did it with breakfast and dinner in 93 and lunch and dinner in 94 and 96. The Fun coupons were great also because you coud use them on Breathless ($100+) and the pontoon Fireworks cruises ($85+.)

 

[NCRedding]

As someone posted above, Disney stock is on the rise. In Januarym I believe it was trading at about $14 a share; on Friday, it was trading at about $18.

 

[eeyore0062]

Yes, stock is rising, and with the end of the war, people are becoming more confident, therefore we will likely see a surge in attendence and bookings at WDW.

My advice is take advantage of the codes because if things happen like they did after the Gulf War, attendence may hit peaks, resorts will fill, and those codes will be history.

I hope that history does repeat itself, and WDW sees a return to its glory days!!!