can you give me the origin and department codes off your ID card?
in all seriousness...don't believe the hype.
If the culture evolves beyond disney...which is possible when you factor in technology and economic factors....nobody is going to lay the kind of money that they want on "memories".
If they maintain the property and adapt to the evolution of the market place and make people feel that WDW is still unique or "one of a kind"...i guess you can classify that as "memories"...then they'll always be fine.
If they don't or other factors well beyond the importance of travel and amusement enterprises...then they are just as vulnerable. They are NOT vulnerable to the competitors in orlando - by and large - but that's not what i'm getting at.
Disney is...as Roy e. Disney said in 1984: "A motion picture company that also is in the theme park business"
Now its a media conglomerate that uses all the business tactics at its disposal to push volume of PRODUCT....primarily off the chinese assembly line but also in travel, media, and intellectual property content.
There's your memories...carefully calculated to make you buy more.
All mention of "wishes, dreams, and memories" are the PR curtain to gain what they want at parks: revenue, operating income, and recurring business (more revenue).
These are the facts of the case...and they are indisputable.
I have fantastic memories (on many levels) at WDW...but that sure as heck isn't why i keep going. It's to do more. That's not memory...its the opposite.
How many people you know say "i went for the memories and loved it!"
Not many...and if the scheme works right...they take their memories (and their visa) and book another trip.
And that's what TWDC wants...and they are good at getting it...because they use the psychology of memory to get what they want.
Real World = You are right and correct on all points.
Disney Magic = is like paying off a mortgage, do the numbers always make sense? No. However is the warm and fuzzy feeling of not having a house payment real. You bet it is.