Losing cusstomers

[dkrauss]

Interesting comments but given the current park attendance figures, the hotel occupancy levels at almost FULL OCCUPANCY, etc...........you're not going to see Disney change.

Everyone has their individual limits and I don't doubt that many have fallen away..........but that seems to have no impact to the bottom line........which is what its all about. Until Disney starts to lose some money..........there's no reason to change how they operate. Again those who don't like the new ways........have every right to take they're money elsewhere. But complaining about it won't change it. What many sometimes forget is its 2015.......not 1955 or 1985.........and its all about the bottom line.

Doug

 

[DisneyTasha]

My family went for the first time this past September. I went once as a very young child, and going was like stepping back in time for me. It just almost erased the 35 years in between trips. My husband and two children however had never been. They enjoyed it a good deal, but they're not dying to go back like I am. To me, it brought back my childhood. They had never been, so for them, it was just another great vacation, pretty much like all the other vacations we take. I was planning another trip when school lets out this year, but I was outvoted. We are either going back to the Smoky Mountains (haven't been in 6 years) or we're going to go visit my brother's family in the Rockies.

Evidently, while it's now a great place to visit, it's not the same thing it was to us in the 70's and 80's. It's just another of many great places to visit, not THE place to visit.

 

[ghoulardi]

We are repeat customers and this year staying longer than we ever have. Had a great time last year.

 

[flicx]

You are either a leader or a follower in business amongst your competitors, and right now disney is a follower at best and is simply relying upon their previous achievements (I am talking 80' and 90's achievements) to remain competitive and that will work to a point with the market capitalization and brand that Disney has. Realize that if Disney did nothing it would be YEARS until it truly chipped away at their market share to a noticeable point. They are simply that established and large.

This exactly. Disney IMO is now standing on the shoulders of past achievements and milking it for all they can!

 

[brockash]

There has been a lot of talk about how Disney is making people upset with all the changes. Long time goers are staying home more often, because of cost, people are not staying as long.But I wonder if they have thought of the people who have not booked a trip yet. My nephew was in the area last week, and decided to head to DTD for the night. Between parking nightmares and construction, he said he would never enter Disney again. Granted they were not prepared for the crowds, and waits for dinner without reservations, but he said what a mess it all was. His kids will never experience Disney. Another family just got back. Large group. They did not like it. Wont go back. I know attendance is up. But I think they are going to loose a lot of repeat business in the next five years. We are going in Oct. Only doing two days, then heading to the beach for the week. I dont see us going back in the near future after that. I am going to wait until they get done with a lot of the construction. Hopefully all the new things will be done by the time we go back. I think they are ogin gto see a lot of one time and done families.

It has become pretty clear to me that Disney has really become less and less interested in repeat customers and is really focused on the new, once in a lifetime customer. Disney seems to feel that there's not enough bang in the repeat customers buck. They don't want customers who want "discounts" or who want to do things on any kind of budget; they seem to almost be trying to weed those customers out, as they only really want to deal with those customers who are going all out, staying at the more expensive resorts, spending the most money etc. That is at least the perspective I, and many others that I've talked to, on the situation. It stinks for us personally, but obviously Disney thinks it's working for them. I do think there will come a time that they may regret it, but I think that will be quite a while from now.

 

[Buffalo2Disney]

We have been 3 times in the last 5 years and are just as excited as ever for our upcoming trip in May. The magic is still there for us. I like everything they are doing with MM+, The Magic Bands, FP+. Maybe it's because I'm 28 years old and my wife is 29 and we grew up in the technological age, but I'm fascinated by the whole program and excited for what else they can do with it in the future. I also know that while yes there is a lot of construction going on, that means great new things are eventually on the way.

Here's the way we look at it. We never plan for the perfect vacation, where everything goes right. That's just not gonna happen in Disney nor any other place you vacation. Your only setting yourself up for disappointment if you truly think everything will go right. We would rather save and spend our hard earned money going to Disney World still knowing that we are going to have an amazing time rather than spend a massive amount of money to go somewhere else and not enjoy as much. As always, this could change in the future and that's ok. There could come a time when Disney is not worth it to us anymore, but we don't see that in the immediate future.

 

[maxiesmom]

It has become pretty clear to me that Disney has really become less and less interested in repeat customers and is really focused on the new, once in a lifetime customer. Disney seems to feel that there's not enough bang in the repeat customers buck. They don't want customers who want "discounts" or who want to do things on any kind of budget; they seem to almost be trying to weed those customers out, as they only really want to deal with those customers who are going all out, staying at the more expensive resorts, spending the most money etc. That is at least the perspective I, and many others that I've talked to, on the situation. It stinks for us personally, but obviously Disney thinks it's working for them. I do think there will come a time that they may regret it, but I think that will be quite a while from now.

I'm not sure how you can claim they are trying to week out customers who want discounts, when today they released yet another room discount. Right after the last one expired.

As to would they rather have customers who go all out, well, of course! Disney is a business and their reason for being is to make money. The more the better.

 

[IrishNYC]

Very nice

Seems rather cold and not in the Disney spirit

Oh, relax! It's a joke. Sheesh.

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

Oh, relax! It's a joke. Sheesh.

 

[JenniferinFL]

When legacy Fastpass went away and the whole fastpass+ debacle started, I was pretty annoyed and seriously considered not renewing our annual passes.

However, it's kind of grown on me. I like booking my passes ahead of time, changing them the night before if we decide we're not going to get up that early after all. I like that we don't have to be at Hollywood before 10 AM to get a Toy Story fastpass for 6 pm. I like that I can just book 6 PM a week or so in advance and arrive at the park at 4 pm.

The only thing I really don't like, is how the 4th fastpass is handled. Now that a lot of the fastpass stations have been closed, it means you do have to walk out of your way and wait for what can be a 10 minute line to get a fastpass. If they would just roll out 4th fastpass to the app, that would be awesome. I always end up stuck behind some goofball who can't figure out how to work a touchscreen or can't remember what ride they wanted. We were there last Sunday and at 7 pm we booked a fastpass for Space Ranger Spin for 10 minutes later when the line was 30 minutes. If I could do that from my phone, the new system would be awesome.

What's amazing to me is Disney dining availability. I remember just 15 years ago when you could pretty much pick any place in Magic Kingdom to eat. You could just walk up and eat at CRT. I don't think Disney can add dining fast enough! Though, they do have a couple lame ducks in the mix that need either new menu's, more characters or just something else to drive people to them.

 

[Cyrano]

Oh, relax! It's a joke. Sheesh.

i suggest you relax.

 

[disnut8]

There has been a lot of talk about how Disney is making people upset with all the changes. Long time goers are staying home more often, because of cost, people are not staying as long.But I wonder if they have thought of the people who have not booked a trip yet. My nephew was in the area last week, and decided to head to DTD for the night. Between parking nightmares and construction, he said he would never enter Disney again. Granted they were not prepared for the crowds, and waits for dinner without reservations, but he said what a mess it all was. His kids will never experience Disney. Another family just got back. Large group. They did not like it. Wont go back. I know attendance is up. But I think they are going to loose a lot of repeat business in the next five years. We are going in Oct. Only doing two days, then heading to the beach for the week. I dont see us going back in the near future after that. I am going to wait until they get done with a lot of the construction. Hopefully all the new things will be done by the time we go back. I think they are ogin gto see a lot of one time and done families.

Everyone has their own personal reasons why they go or not go to Disney World. In this example, having someone decide not to go to ever go back Disney World based on one experience at the current Downtown Disney situation, which is undergoing a huge transition seems to be a bit premature. That's one small area of Disney World that the entire population can experience for free and nothing else was experienced.

As for me, my husband and I are annual passholders. We live just over seven hours away so can easily drive. I just lost my job so I was concerned about being able to renew the passes but we're going to use the tax refund for that since we both feel that Disney World is an escape from our real lives. We can stay offsite and go to a park and ride nothing and still have a good time. Will there be crowds at times? Sure. Will there be problems at times? Sure. But, to us, Disney World is our Laughing Place. NOTHING at Disney World should be expected to be perfect. Remember, in order to get to his Laughing Place, Brer Rabbit still had to put up with Brer Bear and Brer Fox. But once he was there, it was heaven.

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

We are repeat customers since 2005. We love Florida and the Disney area. However our planning has changed significantly. We are at the point where we enjoy the resorts a lot more than the parks. The parks are just to expensive for a family of 5 now, and with fastpass+ we do not get our bang for the buck anymore. We have started the run Disney races now and go down for a week to run the race and just relax without the pressure of having to do everything in the parks, because I am one that if I pay that amount to be in the park, I will be there from open to close. Our three kids would rather go to the resorts now than have to go to the parks. There is a lot Disney has done that I do not like, but since we like the area and the atmosphere, it is hard to break away.

 

[JZCubed]

Rec

There has been a lot of talk about how Disney is making people upset with all the changes. Long time goers are staying home more often, because of cost, people are not staying as long.But I wonder if they have thought of the people who have not booked a trip yet. My nephew was in the area last week, and decided to head to DTD for the night. Between parking nightmares and construction, he said he would never enter Disney again. Granted they were not prepared for the crowds, and waits for dinner without reservations, but he said what a mess it all was. His kids will never experience Disney. Another family just got back. Large group. They did not like it. Wont go back. I know attendance is up. But I think they are going to loose a lot of repeat business in the next five years. We are going in Oct. Only doing two days, then heading to the beach for the week. I dont see us going back in the near future after that. I am going to wait until they get done with a lot of the construction. Hopefully all the new things will be done by the time we go back. I think they are ogin gto see a lot of one time and done families.

Record Occupancy rates and record attendance tell a very different story.

These types of Threads remind me of a wonderful Yogi Berra observation, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

Have you seen Disney's stock price lately? All of Disney's businesses are thriving and I am sure the shareholders aren't waxing nostalgic for Michael Eisner.
I've been to Disney 5 times in the past 5 years and I have only seen the crowds get bigger. We have always had superior service and friendly CMs--that is why we keep going back.

 

[minnie mum]

Losing cusstomers

Freudian slip??

I'm one of those repeat customers who won't be back for a while. I've been to WDW probably 25 times over the last 38 years, so my memory goes back a long way. I don't like the changes in recent years. It really seemed to affect our last trip. Now, r it wasn't a bad trip. But it certainly wasn't a great one, or even close to our past experiences. Construction had nothing to do with it, either. There is always SOMETHING under construction.

But we have always been travellers. There is a whole world of options that don't involve Disney. What some on these boards tend to forget is that for most people on this planet, a Disney park vacation isn't something they are even interested in.

MILLIONS of people go to WDW every year. The vast majority are one and done, or are infrequent visitors. Disney is not going to miss a few regular or semi regular visitors who choose to vacation elsewhere.

 

[prudence64]

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

 

[LoveMMC]

When I went in 1996 - I spent loads on merchandise - like a stuffed Brer Rabbit, die cast ride models of dumbo and hunted mansion. Last few trips we let my daughter pick one toy, my husband got a tshirt and I got a ride poster set. That's it. We don't spend much once we are there because they now sell a lot of the same crap. I loved they opened the coop and be our guest store. If they want to make more money off me- I hope they continue to get back to better merchandise!

 

[DizDaD7]

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

HuH

 

[silenttuba]

While I have no doubt that many of the complaints of long time repeat customers are valid (having myself gone for the first time in 2013, I can't say), there is an old saying that I think somewhat applies here: Familiarity breeds contempt.

When you go to the same place multiple times a year for many years, it's going to lose some of its appeal, and changes that inevitably happen have a good chance of disappointing you, as well.