Iger admits to Disney's been ripping off guests

[Mle8308]

I think it's too expensive but when was Galactic Starcruiser ever $20,000?

I thought the same thing. I guess the big suites can run that much, however I think it's only one (the really large one). A little "click baiting".

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm not going to read this article.

However, Iger DID make comments to this effect at a convention hosted by Morgan Stanley, yesterday. You can read the transcript if you want. He made it clear that the pricing strategies in the THEME PARKS was too aggressive, and that he didn't agree with it, and they are pulling back on that now with changes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1633925912843386880

Then I wonder when the price cuts will be announced.

 

[NotUrsula]

The "price cuts" are already there, but they are nowhere near where "fans" want them to be to restore the previous value-for-money status quo.

-The offer of the "dining card" looks great to someone who never took full advantage of the previous dining plan. Compared to that, it's not worth the plastic it's printed on.

-The elimination of parking charges at the resorts is a good marketing point for AP holders (who didn't need the resort stay to get free parking at the parks) but let's not overlook the secondary reason that resort parking charges were instituted in the first place: to encourage use of Magic Express so that you wouldn't leave the Disney bubble during your stay. With ME gone, the bubble has returned to it's previously porous state, so returning to free resort parking is an easy bone to throw. ( And while we're on the issue of parking, when in the name of Florida Sunshine will full tram service be restored?)

-Photopass is now included with Genie+, which is great if you're going to use Genie+, but a lot of long-time guests draw the line at paying extra for quicker ride access, just on principle. This, again, is meant to please the OIAL guests. As an AP holder it's useless for us; we've been so many times that we really don't care much how many rides we do in a day, so we don't use G+.

I have been getting offers for room discounts, but unless and until they bring back late-hours access to all resort guests (or at least AP resort guests), &/or eliminate the park reservation and park-hopping restrictions for resort guests, then I'm spending my lodging dollars offsite, where they go much further.

Also, about APs. I can definitely see where the AP situation was out of control at DLR (I personally saw locals using the parks as the equivalent of summer day care on a couple of occasions: there used to be a huge crowd at the drop-off gate in the morning and about 5:30, with carloads of kids being dropped off for the day in the care of a teen while their parents went to work.) However, WDW is different. (For one thing, there is no good public bus service to the parks from the middle-class parts of Orlando, and the property is so large that it would take a parent close to an hour to detour in to drop off kids.) Unlike DLR, at WDW you can't reach offsite restaurants with a 10 minute walk. WDW also has water parks, which are a huge attraction for the local and nearly local (my son drives up from St. Pete for them frequently.)

At WDW you really have to want to go to the parks to make the effort to get to them and (these days) hike in from parking lots in Florida heat. As long as they crack down hard on the folks who use AP status as a license to make a living reselling merch in quantity on eBay (and you can't convince me that they don't have the data capacity to do it), there is no reason whatsoever to limit AP sales to this level in Florida.

And lastly, let's talk about the mac-daddy of solutions to the overcrowding problem; the one that they know full well works because it worked for years: free park-hopping. When it existed, crowd levels evened out on their own, when folks switched parks routinely to escape crowds. Now that there is the app to use, it would happen even more smoothly. I know that the argument against it is staffing, but we all know the answer to that, too: pay more and they won't have nearly the difficulty getting staff. With inflation the way it is in Florida, hordes of retirees and students are looking for part-time jobs.

 

[mom2rtk]

The "price cuts" are already there, but they are nowhere near where "fans" want them to be to restore the previous value-for-money status quo.

-The offer of the "dining card" looks great to someone who never took full advantage of the previous dining plan. Compared to that, it's not worth the plastic it's printed on.

-The elimination of parking charges at the resorts is a good marketing point for AP holders (who didn't need the resort stay to get free parking at the parks) but let's not overlook the secondary reason that resort parking charges were instituted in the first place: to encourage use of Magic Express so that you wouldn't leave the Disney bubble during your stay. With ME gone, the bubble has returned to it's previously porous state, so returning to free resort parking is an easy bone to throw.

-Photopass is now included with Genie+, which is great if you're going to use Genie+, but a lot of long-time guests draw the line at paying extra for quicker ride access, just on principle. This, again, is meant to please the OIAL guests. As an AP holder it's useless for us; we've been so many times that we really don't care much how many rides we do in a day, so we don't use G+.

I have been getting offers for room discounts, but unless and until they bring back late-hours access to all resort guests (or at least AP resort guests), &/or eliminate the park reservation and park-hopping restrictions for resort guests, then I'm spending my lodging dollars offsite, where they go much further.

Yeah, none of those impact me. I stay value so any dining card offer was minimal at best. We buy Photopass for the full range of photos, so getting ride photos is worthless. And we never brought a car so parking doesn't matter.

This is tinkering at the edges. Bob hoping to get credit for big changes while offering up next to nothing.

 

[GAN]

Folks, we really need to exercise some critical thinking when it comes to our news items. Do you really want to believe everything you read? Let us not give in to such Croc-ery!




Besides, why are you all concerned about Bob Iger when we're faced with more pressing issues:

C'mon... straight news can be so boring. Besides, who did fake news ever hurt anyway....

 

[GAN]

Why? Do you buy and read the actual newspaper every day?

ford family

Anyone who "reads" the Daily News raise your hand.....

 

[Mornin'all]

Too late. Many of the most devoted former Disney fans have moved on to other destinations and won't easily be won back.

Dunno, I think I could be wooed like a long neglected spouse still in love with the crafty use of a second Honeymoon and a few bling baubles.

Hopefully, the Disney execs are doing the math are realize that those of us who were the growth base in the 90s are now sliding into the demographic of empty nesters and with grandparenthood on the horizon.

 

[BrianL]

Folks, we really need to exercise some critical thinking when it comes to our news items. Do you really want to believe everything you read? Let us not give in to such Croc-ery!




Besides, why are you all concerned about Bob Iger when we're faced with more pressing issues:

Best investigative journalism on the planet. Now, look here:

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Thankfully for this devoted fan, it's been just as fantastic (if not more so) than ever the last few years. I feel bad for those who feel differently.

I'm with you. I am still bowled over by the magic - just a bit saddened by the huge prices.

 

[Genie+]

I don’t believe any of the sentiment here as it pertains to WDW. What I glean is they’re forecasting a dip, and they’re trying to milk goodwill out of better deals and packages. Any deals or packages are because demand is dipping.

We still love Disney and haven’t stopped visiting WDW but it does sting that we have to pay serious prices to help the rest of the company.

If they really cared AT ALL, they would’ve thanked guests who continued to support Disney Parks at full prices while the experience was significantly reduced. Instead they just patted themselves on the back.

 

[georgina]

Shocking! Sure the Galactic Starcruiser is a rip-off in my mind, I would never pay for it. Some people did and enjoyed it. To me, Disney's most expensive resorts like the GF are also rip-offs and I wouldn't pay for them either. Lots of people do and seem happy. I will pay higher ticket prices, but stay offsite and eat only low and moderately priced meals. I agree if they see lower attendance they may offer more deals, not holding my breath.

 

[GAN]

Dunno, I think I could be wooed like a long neglected spouse still in love with the crafty use of a second Honeymoon and a few bling baubles.

Hopefully, the Disney execs are doing the math are realize that those of us who were the growth base in the 90s are now sliding into the demographic of empty nesters and with grandparenthood on the horizon.

They've done the math ...trust me. And it tells them they don't really need the empty nester with grandparenthood on the horizon. Although I don't disagree with you. Why? Because they know that there will be loads of new, young parents wanting to share time with their children at WDW. Unaware of what the price used to be, or what great perks, or entertainment have disappeared ...they will have no point of comparison. I've been going regularly since the 80's and with parents in the 70's ...I understand what has changed over the years. Many here have no clue how good the 80's were ..MUCH better than the last couple decades! And yeah ...it was "expensive" relatively those days -there were few families visiting every year, not like today. So honestly, they aren't at all concerned about "us." IMO....

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Would it be fair to say that Disney ARE making significant investments in their parks? Like the Tron ride, re-making the Log Ride, Journey of Water - Inspired by Moana, Dreamer's Point, introducing Pandora World and so on?

 

[MillauFr]

I don't see why Disney would lower prices. The parks are still too crowded. Annual passes even at $1,500 are still a screaming good deal. Plus their food prices at least in the signature restaurants at Disneyworld are reasonable.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Okay. Daily Mail still should not taken seriously in any way regarding actual news.

IIRC I've had the same discussion with that poster before related to that source. The online version of Daily Mail is very suspect but that poster also is from the UK and may view things differently. From an U.S. standpoint it's where you go to get sloppy, click-bait, iffy at best with accuracies and more. That's the reputation and for a reason. Information from them should always be fact checked with other sources.

This is the way

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think they've known for a while that they were going too hard too fast. It's not the end of the world to appeal to those who have no issues parting with their disposable income but spreading it out makes it easier to deal with and keeps people hooked. They had too many changes (leading up to the pandemic and then throughout the pandemic) in too small of a time period that it turned off people not in a "we'll have to save for longer now to afford to go" but in a "Why keep going, this isn't enjoyable anymore, this is too much work, everything is too expensive, etc" and that latter group is harder to get them back once the illusion is broken.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Folks, we really need to exercise some critical thinking when it comes to our news items. Do you really want to believe everything you read? Let us not give in to such Croc-ery!




Besides, why are you all concerned about Bob Iger when we're faced with more pressing issues:

 

[Genie+]

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Depending on your taste in news, UK sources vary. The Telegraph is very right wing (The ToryGraph), Daily Star and Sun are rather trashy. Daily Mail is often referred to as the Daily Fail. I like the Guardian, BBC and Sky News. Financial Times is very good, but soooo dry.

 

[GAN]

IIRC I've had the same discussion with that poster before related to that source. The online version of Daily Mail is very suspect but that poster also is from the UK and may view things differently. From an U.S. standpoint it's where you go to get sloppy, click-bait, iffy at best with accuracies and more. That's the reputation and for a reason. Information from them should always be fact checked with other sources.

This is the way

You have spoken….