I am beginning to lose hope...

[Laketravis]

Yes, it is kind of funny isn't it? Everything is great.

After all, it's fine that they take jobs away from Americans and outsource to India. I wonder how they're doing with teaching their Indian IT department to end each conversation with, "Have a magical day!" ?

Nope, that part isn't funny at all and it meshes with their longer term objective to reduce labor and benefits costs as much as possible. Anecdotal impressions from other social media is that there is growing discontent among Disney employees.

 

[Cormoran]

I guess we've been lucky and we've never encountered Epcot drunks. We just love the flowers, so we go to the spring festival. I do wish they hadn't brought in the food booths

 

[cakebaker]

Just as aside- not all the layoffs were due to outsourcing. Ignore it though, because it doesn't help the "cause".

" Many of them apparently were involved with the creation and roll-out of the MyMagic / MagicBand technology, so some of these may actually just be part of the wrap-up of that program's installation phase, as it is now fully installed throughout Walt Disney World and whatever extra staff they took on to launch it, may not be needed. The news however reports that some of it may also be due to the growing outsourcing of a lot of Disney's IT needs to India with the signing of a contract with a company called HCL back in 2012."

And I'm absolutely positive that Universal has never outsourced anything. Just sure of it.

Disney isn't perfect by any stretch, but outsourcing is something most major companies have been doing for a long time. I don't like it either- but it's just the way it is.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I guess we've been lucky and we've never encountered Epcot drunks. We just love the flowers, so we go to the spring festival. I do wish they hadn't brought in the food booths

I don't think there is anything wrong with the festivals esp the flowers. But when they can get people to pay to pay to eat and drink, not much incentive to fix the park.

 

[Planogirl]

I already decided to skip DHS and Epcot when we go back to WDW. Not sure if we'll have time to do Universal yet since our trips will now be shorter, but it was an easy decision to make DHS and Epcot the first casualties.

And I don't think they really thought they had to do anything in lieu of an arms race. I think they just assume the guests will always be there. Or they would not have resorted to ride rationing while US is ramping up.

We're skipping DHS and Epcot too. We almost skipped the other two parks but I'm not quite ready for that yet.

 

[Cormoran]

Just as aside- not all the layoffs were due to outsourcing. Ignore it though, because it doesn't help the "cause".

" Many of them apparently were involved with the creation and roll-out of the MyMagic / MagicBand technology, so some of these may actually just be part of the wrap-up of that program's installation phase, as it is now fully installed throughout Walt Disney World and whatever extra staff they took on to launch it, may not be needed. The news however reports that some of it may also be due to the growing outsourcing of a lot of Disney's IT needs to India with the signing of a contract with a company called HCL back in 2012."

And I'm absolutely positive that Universal has never outsourced anything. Just sure of it.

Disney isn't perfect by any stretch, but outsourcing is something most major companies have been doing for a long time. I don't like it either- but it's just the way it is.

This is the company that waves the American flag at every opportunity: the American pavilion, Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, and the daily Flag Ceremony to name just a few. Agreed that other companies outsource, but Disney exploits patriotism. I just don't understand why you are trying to find excuses for this crap behavior.

 

[crostorfer]

We're skipping DHS and Epcot too. We almost skipped the other two parks but I'm not quite ready for that yet.

We're only going to EPCOT to eat. We are sacrificing DHS and the AK, or as it shall be known to us for the time being, "Mickey's Construction Zone with Random Animal Walkthrough".

We're only doing 2 park days at WDW out of a 5 day trip, and we're only doing this trip because we have two days left on our Disney tickets from our October trip, and annual passes to Universal.

 

[cakebaker]

...Disney exploits patriotism...

LOL- Disney exploits patriotism....that's a new gripe I haven't heard before. You get points for originality.

 

[Cormoran]

LOL- Disney exploits patriotism....that's a new gripe I haven't heard before. You get points for originality.

Actually saying that Disney exploits patriotism is not a gripe it's a reality. I notice how you avoid mentioning the various examples I provided of this. Also, you get points for making any excuse imaginable for Disney's Crap behavior. Next you'll be saying that Disney outsourced jobs to India, due to guest demand!

 

[cakebaker]

Actually saying that Disney exploits patriotism is not a gripe it's a reality. I notice how you avoid mentioning the various examples I provided of this. Also, you get points for making any excuse imaginable for Disney's Crap behavior. Next you'll be saying that Disney outsourced jobs to India, due to guest demand!

No, really I'm just ignoring most of what you say at this point. The only question I have left is why you still go to WDW at all.

 

[Cormoran]

No, really I'm just ignoring most of what you say at this point. The only question I have left is why you still go to WDW at all.

There are things I enjoy at Disney, but that does not mean that I accept everything they do without question. FP+ was to benefit Disney, MDE was to benefit Disney, Employee layoffs and outsourcing jobs benefits Disney. I'm not going to find excuses for some of the decisions they've made and I don't understand why you feel compelled to find excuses for things that even you admit are wrong. It is not required that guests pledge undying devotion to Disney before entering the parks. All Disney cares about is our money.

 

[Laketravis]

I go a lot. I mean, an awful lot. Seems like I'm there all the time. And I want to keep going. But I have to admit that there are things I've seen that sadden me. I know it's a business and it has to be run like a business, it's just hard to see the Mouse acting like a Wharton MBA.

This isn't just about MM+/FP+ it's about employees and benefits and infrastructure costs and overhead and the cheapest way out. It's about room inventory being turned into DVC inventory, hospitality being outsourced to the lowest bidder, squeezing the most utilization out of fixed capacity as possible, and paving the path from MCO to Mainstreet and back with nothing but Disney owned or subcontracted bricks.

Not that I think there's anything wrong with that. It's how Walmart and McDonald's and GM do business. I just don't want to be reminded of it at every point of my visit like some Blade Runner segment.

 

[angelmav]

Wow, this is the first thread I have read on here in quite some time! I had to walk away from the madness that is FP+ and the mouse as a result, and only recently with the Poly announcement have I started to wonder how this was shaking out. Pretty much as I expected from the looks of things.

Blech.

 

[Silock]

It's how Walmart and McDonald's and GM do business.

And while those businesses are certainly successful, none are shining examples of outstanding quality.

 

[Cormoran]

And while those businesses are certainly successful, none are shining examples of outstanding quality.

When I think of quality, I think of Costco and I am never disappointed. I never feel cheated. I used to feel the same about the Disney parks. I was getting quality for the price I was paying. Over the past few years, I have seen the quality at the Disney parks eroding. It's disappointing, they used to be shining examples of outstanding quality.

 

[Silock]

Over the past few years, I have seen the quality at the Disney parks eroding. It's disappointing, they used to be shining examples of outstanding quality.

That's the point I was getting to, and I think LT was getting at, as well.

It's really silly, but I'm actually a little angry about it. Sad, certainly, but I'm mad because it's a place that holds so many great memories for me and my family, and they're making me not want to be there anymore.

 

[Cormoran]

Agree with how you feel. Sad and angry about sums it up. I also think they are scrambling to recoup the money spent on MDE and FP+. Every cut back is indicative of this strategy. I think they are driving more guests into the Universal parks, because DHS, Epcot and AK are stagnant as far as new attractions. As a vacationer, I don't care about what Disney is planning to open in 2- 10 years, I care about my experience in 2 months.

 

[mom2rtk]

Agree with how you feel. Sad and angry about sums it up. I also think they are scrambling to recoup the money spent on MDE and FP+. Every cut back is indicative of this strategy. I think they are driving more guests into the Universal parks, because DHS, Epcot and AK are stagnant as far as new attractions. As a vacationer, I don't care about what Disney is planning to open in 2- 10 years, I care about my experience in 2 months.

....... especially since my kids will be grown and gone by the time that stuff opens.

Oh...... and because prices will continue to rise over that timeframe.

 

[Thundarr]

I find it interesting reading through this thread that people think that the magic solution to all this is just Disney building new attractions. While I do agree that Disney should have added more new attractions over the last 10-15 years, what I disagree with that it would "fix" crowd management issues. It is not like attendance figures will stay static when new attractions are built. Especially attractions built based on popular IPs. New attractions "attract" more people. It is not like they build new attractions and crowding is lessened.

 

[mom2rtk]

I find it interesting reading through this thread that people think that the magic solution to all this is just Disney building new attractions. While I do agree that Disney should have added more new attractions over the last 10-15 years, what I disagree with that it would "fix" crowd management issues. It is not like attendance figures will stay static when new attractions are built. Especially attractions built based on popular IPs. New attractions "attract" more people. It is not like they build new attractions and crowding is lessened.

Welcome to the DIS!

So which is better for crowd management...... attendance growth with the addition of new attractions?

Or attendance growth with minimal addition of new attractions?