stinkpickle
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
As long as they're making the same amount of money by catering to fewer people, we can expect this to continue.
I think that Iger had sources in China that warned him about the virus starting to spread quickly.Yeah - I suspect the same - hard to know if they truly had a succession plan - maybe they just threw in Cheapek to fill the seat and keep it warm as Iger leaving did not seem well planned at all.
Id assume much of this stuff was already being thought about before Cheapek took over and COVID accelerated it.
Im sure he was involved in the discussions and planning of it all, but there were many others involved in it - he just takes the blame as he is an easy target.
Now with the actual introduction of the Genie and Genie+ I'm starting to think that they might have been talking about this system before the Pandemic roared in. I almost feel bad for Bob #2 because all the anger and hate for this system is going to fall directly on #2. Bob #1 knew that and dodged the bullet while he was off trying to firm up the creative department.Yeah - I suspect the same - hard to know if they truly had a succession plan - maybe they just threw in Cheapek to fill the seat and keep it warm as Iger leaving did not seem well planned at all.
Id assume much of this stuff was already being thought about before Cheapek took over and COVID accelerated it.
Im sure he was involved in the discussions and planning of it all, but there were many others involved in it - he just takes the blame as he is an easy target.
1) Magical Express. I am sure they will save quite a bit of money on this relatively benign perk. After all, will anybody really cancel or not book their trip because Magical Express is gone? No, they wont.
And that's probably exactly how that boardroom meeting went.
2) Extra Magic Hours. In the past, guests at all Disney resorts were eligible for morning and evening extra magic hours. Now, only guests at Deluxe resorts will be eligible for evening extra magic hours. If Disney were truly concerned about Covid safety, wouldn't they leave the evening hours perk in place to help cut down on crowds during the day? I know that for me, personally, I would arrive at the park much later in the day knowing I can stay later, making everyone's experience more tolerable. Leaving that perk in place would be for the greater good of everyone.
3) FastPass+ retirement, Disney Genie. This is perhaps the worst of all offenders. Disney got rid of the FastPass when they reopened during covid, citing "covid" as the reason.
4) The Special events are getting shorter and more expensive. We all understand that prices go up over time, but the quality and quantity doesn't need to be reduced as well.
*IF* I agree on Genie - and I am not sure I do since I have not used it yet and think it may have some nice benefits.... But even IF I agreed.... Genie+ has been in development for YEARS. So this is not a Chapek move by any means.
"Magical Express without the baggage is just a very expensive bus ride that takes 2-3 times longer than an uber and thus does not leave a good experience and that's what ME was becoming - a bad experience with no possible guest benefit."
Maybe I am misunderstanding you, if so I apologize. But saving the expense of Uber'ing a family seems very much a guest benefit. I know we valued it as such.
"Personally, I am happy with the new perk. There was a considerable erosion of benefits for deluxe resorts. So I am glad they are starting to bring those back."
I don't think eroding moderate and value resort benefits and NOT eroding deluxe resort benefits can be fairly considered "bringing back" deluxe resort benefits. To be sure, it reestablishes some differentiation between deluxe and other resorts, but by yanking benefits from the others, it's not "bringing back" deluxe resort perks.
"In any event, I think it's also dubious to assume that Chapek was personally responsible for this decision."
Chapek may not have been involved in any particular decision, but if he is unaware of the overall perceived trend of diminishing guest value he should be ashamed for being that out of touch. Disney U.S. parks and resorts account for nearly 30% of corporate revenue. He should be concerned and needs to get engaged when guests are perceiving a reduction in value.
I'm not so sure about that.
I'm starting to think that they might have been talking about this system before the Pandemic roared in.
"Magical Express without the baggage is just a very expensive bus ride that takes 2-3 times longer than an uber and thus does not leave a good experience and that's what ME was becoming - a bad experience with no possible guest benefit."
Maybe I am misunderstanding you, if so I apologize. But saving the expense of Uber'ing a family seems very much a guest benefit. I know we valued it as such.
"Personally, I am happy with the new perk. There was a considerable erosion of benefits for deluxe resorts. So I am glad they are starting to bring those back."
I don't think eroding moderate and value resort benefits and NOT eroding deluxe resort benefits can be fairly considered "bringing back" deluxe resort benefits. To be sure, it reestablishes some differentiation between deluxe and other resorts, but by yanking benefits from the others, it's not "bringing back" deluxe resort perks.
"In any event, I think it's also dubious to assume that Chapek was personally responsible for this decision."
Chapek may not have been involved in any particular decision, but if he is unaware of the overall perceived trend of diminishing guest value he should be ashamed for being that out of touch. Disney U.S. parks and resorts account for nearly 30% of corporate revenue. He should be concerned and needs to get engaged when guests are perceiving a reduction in value.