Is it "here we go again" !!!!!!with recent low attendance? update 3/11

[rwodonnell]

Is there anywhere online where we can actually see attendance figures? It would be interesting to see the raw numbers.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by gcurling
This was a costly debacle for Disney. Thing is, most of us knew it early on, how could they not?

And my point is ... they probably did. But when you're faced with needing to make cuts -- when the edict from upper management is to make cuts, save money, lower expenses, you do it. But at the same time, you're working to find something else that you can introduce to sort of make up for what you have to cut. But whatever you develop still has to be within the new financial structure you find yourself in.

So ... You cut EE and bring in CC and then put the most positive spin possible on it. And you go in knowing that it's probably going to tank, but you do it anyway because it's the best decision you can make at the time, considering all the factors around you.

You guys seem to be looking at the one single decision to cut EE and bring in CC as if it were made in a vacuum. It wasn't. That's all I'm saying.

 

[crusader]

Actually the number one complaint is "you guys charge too much!!!", but that question doesn't make it onto all those PowerPoint presentations used in the budget meetings. What people really say, and what they say in answer to a structured quetionnaire, are very different things.

Exactly -

There is a problem with the 4 park ticket pricing structure; the food costs; and the taxes. The resorts do have pricing discounts which a smart traveller can take advantage of. That just will not be enough to get someone down there.

The real strategy here is shifting the sales pitch from: "look at all we have - for that heavy price tag" which appears very hectic and expensive to: "look at how relaxing and affordable it can be for you and your family". I have yet to see a great promotional ticket pricing campaign. As long as it costs hundreds of dollars per person to go to these parks it will deter visitors.

 

[raidermatt]

But when you're faced with needing to make cuts -- when the edict from upper management is to make cuts, save money, lower expenses, you do it.

Maybe this is where the disconnect is...

From a guest and/or shareholder view, it doesn't matter if the edict came from upper management. I'm sure this was WDW management's way of trying to meet the demands of corporate.

If so, yeah, WDW had to do SOMETHING. And yes, they messed up, but at least one can understand what they were being forced to accomplish.

But in the big picture, that doesn't really matter. We're not evaluating the perfomance of individual managers here. We're talking about the overall philosophy used to run the parks and make its decisions. So in looking at this ill-conceived and poorly executed plan, you could, I suppose, cut WDW management some slack on the poorly executed piece, since they were likely under tremendous pressure to reduce costs. But there can be no slack given for the ill-conceived portion, which begins with ordering cost cuts within a service company, with no regard to how those cuts will impact the long-term health of your most reliable assets.

When plans like this actually make to implementation, there is a problem or problems in the methodology, no doubt. The only real question is where the problem lies.