Is Disney trying to pull a "Great Coca Cola Classic" stunt with FP+?

[pktbMouse]

For those who love a good conspiracy theory...please google "The great coca cola conspiracy" and you will know what I am referring to. Could Disney possibly be trying to pull the same stunt with FP+ ? Do they have a need to get away from the old system and need a clever ploy to gain peoples favor?
You put something deliberately unacceptable...people throw their arms up...Disney appear to appease by claiming to go back to the old system ( when in truth its far from it)
Just a funny thought I had..lol...please do not take this serious...but what if...!!

 

[mesaboy2]

For those who love a good conspiracy theory...please google "The great coca cola conspiracy" and you will know what I am referring to. Could Disney possibly be trying to pull the same stunt with FP+ ? Do they have a need to get away from the old system and need a clever ploy to gain peoples favor?
You put something deliberately unacceptable...people throw their arms up...Disney appear to appease by claiming to go back to the old system ( when in truth its far from it)
Just a funny thought I had..lol...please do not take this serious...but what if...!!

The "New Coke" example has been brought up occasionally for months.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

It's funny you make the analogy because I have compared old FP to original coke and new FP to new coke.
I do not know what either one of them were thinking---if it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!

 

[pktbMouse]

The "New Coke" example has been brought up occasionally for months.

glad IM not the only one tho thinks it then...lol

 

[Srbright]

For those who love a good conspiracy theory...please google "The great coca cola conspiracy" and you will know what I am referring to. Could Disney possibly be trying to pull the same stunt with FP+ ? Do they have a need to get away from the old system and need a clever ploy to gain peoples favor?
You put something deliberately unacceptable...people throw their arms up...Disney appear to appease by claiming to go back to the old system ( when in truth its far from it)
Just a funny thought I had..lol...please do not take this serious...but what if...!!

Yes... if we were serious then there would have been cocaine in Coke and that's why they made the switch. That being said, there is something to the Coke theory.

As for Disney, the attendance numbers are growing every year. They are making a 1 billion expansion but that is all capital, the expense doesn't come until the items come in service and are depreciated over many many years. Capital doesn't affect their bottom line and their attenance levels are up.

As for us, we had a great time with FP+ when we went last year and look forward to staying on-site with FP+ again in August.

Stacy

 

[Jennasis]

I do not believe the New Coke "conspiracy". I believe Coke bet on the wrong horse and it was a very VERY bad move on their part.

 

[Planogirl]

I do not believe the New Coke "conspiracy". I believe Coke bet on the wrong horse and it was a very VERY bad move on their part.

They spun it well though. Disney could end up doing the same.

 

[bumbershoot]

I do not believe the New Coke "conspiracy". I believe Coke bet on the wrong horse and it was a very VERY bad move on their part.

A friend of ours collects CocaCola stuff and we had him check a couple years ago. The ingredients in real coke and "classic" coke were different. (sweetener, specifically) It's NOT the same stuff, if you've ever tasted a Mexican-bottled, or European, or bottled almost anywhere in the world that's not this insane country, Coke.


I'm totally with the OP, and taking it probably more seriously than she meant it. Close to my heart.

I truly do not know what they are doing with FP+. We own DVC and we seriously have no interest in going back. It's...not good. And it isn't even because we end up standing in huge standby lines. The whole nonsense actually is pushing us AWAY from the rides. We've barely made any of the FP+ reservations because it just turns us off so much. I'd rather wander.

And then spend my money at Universal.

It's a weird effect. (of course on our last trip DS and I were alone and got horribly ill, which kept us from the parks for most of the time we were in Orlando and we are irrationally angry with WDW for it all (seriously we know it's irrational), but even when we were in the parks we might have hit ONE of our FP+s).

 

[hoosll]

I think a lot of frustration arises from Disney using its visitors and their vacation dollars as "lab rats" while they develop and refine the new FP+ system. They can spin it any way they want but they set the "rules" which they continue to say they are "testing." They stand back and watch us react to the system and the rules.

In the end I have chosen "not to play" until Disney decides how the new system will work. Why should I waste my money to be part of their experiment. Disney is a victim of its own success, the crowds at the parks are too large, there are not enough e-ticket rides, they created a monster with "free dining" (again using their rules) and they are now forcing us to spend more days at Disney parks to ride the limited number of rides so that our dollars do not escape to Universal.

 

[RnbwSktles]

I think the FP+ issue is very similar to the New Coke issue, but not because it's a conspiracy.

I'm summarizing the Snopes article on this subject.

Coke was losing market share to Pepsi and even its own Diet Coke. They took a gamble and tried something new. In blind taste tests, many many people preferred New Coke over the other choices. It sounded like it would be a huge success. However, when New Coke was introduced and it was announced that Classic Coke would go away, people flipped out. The general public hadn't even tasted New Coke yet, but they already hated it (sound familiar?...FP+??).

Similar to New Coke, I think FP+ sounded great conceptually. When Disney surveyed people and asked if they would like to be able guarantee a ride on a top attraction before they even arrive in WDW, they said "of course!" Then when FP+ started to roll out and WDW vets learned about it, they protested. "Sure, this new system has some perks, but we love the old one! We grew up with the old system! You can't take it away! This will destroy Disney. I'm never going back!"

Sorry, I'm an awful writer. My point is that even though Disney seems to be doing well right now, they are a mature company. They can't sit around on their giant piles of cash and wait for the company to decline. They have to try new things. FP+ is one of those new things. No other theme park that I know of lets you schedule rides ahead of time. This could be their worst mistake ever (Coke survived theirs) or the system might be tweaked a little and it could end up being something we can't live without. Time will tell.

 

[Golf4283]

It's funny you make the analogy because I have compared old FP to original coke and new FP to new coke.
I do not know what either one of them were thinking---if it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!

If everyone had that mentality we would never have invented anything ever. Innovation is the key to success nowadays. Disney is just trying to get ahead of the curve with technology instead of being reactive to it.

I applaud what they're doing. I can only imagine how difficult it must be and what a logistical nightmare it is to set this new system up. In the long run the naysayers will have their opinions and the people who like the system have theirs.

I personally enjoyed our use of the system and look forward to using it again over easter.

 

[chartle]

I think the FP+ issue is very similar to the New Coke issue, but not because it's a conspiracy.

There is even more to it than that. One reason Coke fiddled with its formula was that they were losing market share in areas where people had a choice and were not locked into only buying Coke. Before the New Coke debacle you could buy Coke or Pepsi products on property after New Coke, Coke gave Disney an offer they couldn't refuse.

So you can blame New Coke on why you can't buy Mt Dew or Dr Pepper.

 

[ParrotBill]

I don't think this is a good comparison because there is no "Brand loyalty" to manipulate here. Disney had many ways to build more use of legacy FP if that were their goal. The MyMagic+ program is well documented and much bigger than just FP+.

 

[DavidNYC]

From the latest financials, the Disney Parks are doing exceptionally well. Revenue and guests are up. New Coke failed in the market. FP+ is not failing from Disney's point of view. For every person on this board who complains, there are probably 10 people who don't read this board, and who had no idea what the original fast pass was who think that being able to reserve these rides in advance is great!

 

[JanaDee]

From the latest financials, the Disney Parks are doing exceptionally well. Revenue and guests are up. New Coke failed in the market. FP+ is not failing from Disney's point of view. For every person on this board who complains, there are probably 10 people who don't read this board, and who had no idea what the original fast pass was who think that being able to reserve these rides in advance is great!

Recent financials are in no way an accurate representation of the impact of FP+. It will take at least a year, if not longer, to see the full impact.