mmackeymouse
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2008
Secondly.
I have seen the following said:
Bob Chapek is cheap and/or doesn't understand or respect the Disney legacy or the lifers who make the brand what it is. Both of these are very likely true.
Disney has to do whatever it takes to re-coup the money lost due to the Covid situation. This is also likely true.
I don't think either of these are the reason for this decision.
I may be completely off base here, but I genuinely think the reason for all of this is Chapek and company want to turn Disney World into Disneyland. Look at the park prices Disneyland commands. I think they want WDW to be a locals park complex. For years, DL was for locals, WDW was for travelers. I think they want to change that narrative.
I think a couple of things happened: the influx of people moving to the Orlando area, especially those moving specifically to be near Disney World, has boomed over the last decade. And, I think they realize the local presence is much stronger than ever before. It's not just people who *happen* to live in Orlando who are wanting to go somewhere fun for the day or weekend or whatever. It's people who live in Orlando specifically because they will be going to the parks. And, I think Disney sees this.
I think they saw the demand when they re-opened the parks, which was carried primarily by local or in-state travelers. I think attendance, eventually, exceeded what they expected to come from a largely majority local audience. Park passes were consistently taken from the resort pot and distributed to the AP and day-of pot. Now...this was to be expected of course, that resorts would suffer because of people not traveling. But the fact that local traffic picked up so much of that slack...I think whatever hope there was for DME to continue probably died at that point.
I might be completely off. It's just a gut feeling that the powers that be are wanting to transition WDW into a more local destination, ala Disneyland.
I have seen the following said:
Bob Chapek is cheap and/or doesn't understand or respect the Disney legacy or the lifers who make the brand what it is. Both of these are very likely true.
Disney has to do whatever it takes to re-coup the money lost due to the Covid situation. This is also likely true.
I don't think either of these are the reason for this decision.
I may be completely off base here, but I genuinely think the reason for all of this is Chapek and company want to turn Disney World into Disneyland. Look at the park prices Disneyland commands. I think they want WDW to be a locals park complex. For years, DL was for locals, WDW was for travelers. I think they want to change that narrative.
I think a couple of things happened: the influx of people moving to the Orlando area, especially those moving specifically to be near Disney World, has boomed over the last decade. And, I think they realize the local presence is much stronger than ever before. It's not just people who *happen* to live in Orlando who are wanting to go somewhere fun for the day or weekend or whatever. It's people who live in Orlando specifically because they will be going to the parks. And, I think Disney sees this.
I think they saw the demand when they re-opened the parks, which was carried primarily by local or in-state travelers. I think attendance, eventually, exceeded what they expected to come from a largely majority local audience. Park passes were consistently taken from the resort pot and distributed to the AP and day-of pot. Now...this was to be expected of course, that resorts would suffer because of people not traveling. But the fact that local traffic picked up so much of that slack...I think whatever hope there was for DME to continue probably died at that point.
I might be completely off. It's just a gut feeling that the powers that be are wanting to transition WDW into a more local destination, ala Disneyland.