News Round Up 2016

[STLstone]

News/Rumor

Walt Disney World summer projections are not good. The Awakens Summer promotion didn't help much. The CM blackouts were for the most part dropped and Disney is about to drop the FL resident ticket blackout dates.

Frozen hasn't had an announced date. I've heard it will still open in June even if it is late June.

I thought Frozen was originally announced (way back when) as Spring of 2016. If that's the case, they only have until June 20... Ha!

 

[rteetz]

I thought Frozen was originally announced (way back when) as Spring of 2016. If that's the case, they only have until June 20... Ha!

Disney said June at the press event.

 

[rteetz]

News

Kipling welcome event at Disney springs this weekend.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/shopping/ki...oming-event-this-weekend-at-disney-spring.htm

 

[Maineiak]

I'm just gonna leave this here....

Have Disney fix TSA line problems, former senator suggests
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-...ne-problems-former-senator-suggests/291810506

 

[skier_pete]

I intended to say I would be disappointed if they made it Tarzan (implied- reasons you noted) but acknowledge that they are likely to do *something* to it. (Jungle Book Tree anyone?)

Gosh - I didn't think about the Jungle Book - but really even using THAT theme would be a stretch. At no point in the Jungle Book does Mowgli have any human devices at hand. Both Swiss Family Robinson and Tarzan have the situation where there are characters who live in a tree. Jungle Book doesn't. I suppose they COULD work it in though - I think the only reason it still exists at WDW is because it takes practically no effort to maintain and operate.

Lots of reasons why you don't keep raising prices to the tipping point...the biggest ones being you eventually lose large amounts of your customers as you fall over the cliff (unless you get it perfectly right - and no one ever does) and you destroy the image of your brand long term...Disney and money-grubbing should never be in the same image - it's so destructive to the brand of joy, being a kid, escapism, imagination they covet to keep...

Agree 100%, Raising prices 4-5% a year is just keeping up with standard rates. When you pull a move like raising it 15-25% like they did this year, well, that's a cash grab. (And mind you - this is not the FIRST time in the last 10 years they inflated the parties by > 10 %.) I really do hope it comes back to bite them

In the past, we've done the Party...but not this year. $100 for mediocre hot chocolate and cookies, surrounded by mobs of humanity, just isn't going to happen.

What's interesting is if enough people turn their backs on the parties - they could be become what they were originally intended to be - less attended "special" events.

However, you can bet if it turns out they are only getting a fraction of the # of people at the parties (and I'm suggesting even they lose 20-30% of attendance, which I think realistically could happen) the more than likely scenario is they will start handing out deeper discounts for the parties. Watch for this to see what the true effect becomes.

 

[skier_pete]

News

Kipling welcome event at Disney springs this weekend.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/shopping/ki...oming-event-this-weekend-at-disney-spring.htm

Wow, this place allows me to pull out one of the oldest bad jokes I can remember...I remember this one from when I was too young to get it.

"Do you like Kipling?"
"I don't know, I never Kippled."

 

[closetmickey]

I'm hoping the attendance drops at the Christmas parties so that they never make it to DLR, where the parade is still offered during regular park hours all season long. I can buy my own cocoa and cookie

 

[jade1]

blah. I hadn't finished my coffee before I made that post. I'm surprised I formed complete sentences. I intended to say I would be disappointed if they made it Tarzan (implied- reasons you noted) but acknowledge that they are likely to do *something* to it. (Jungle Book Tree anyone?)

Isn't Tarzan Anna and Elsa's brother? Oh boy.

 

[TexasKiwiPrincess]

I didn't even know this was a thing! I would definitely do this. I shouldn't really complain about proximity as one of the theaters is about 60 minutes away from me, but I would love if this was in a local theater. I could see myself going several times a week to see all the old movies on the big screen. Unless it's something very special, it's just too much of a PITA to drive out of Chicago into the burbs to see a movie. Maybe success will bring expansion. Thanks for sharing this!

We have to drive about 3 hours to the theater in Plano, Texas (outside Dallas) so we only go when there's a favorite movie playing. This month it's Mulan that is motivating us to make the trip. We will see either the movie before or after our 'main' movie, but we've never stayed all day to watch all 4. We go with friends and usually stay overnight, visiting people we know in the area. Most of the movies this month are animated, but they have live action movies as well, which is how we were able to watch Swiss Family Robinson. I agree with the PP about Hunchback in the theater! The amazing musical score would just be wonderful. And what about Aladdin on the big screen? The flight from the Cave of Wonders must be breathtaking!

 

[TexasKiwiPrincess]

Gosh - I didn't think about the Jungle Book - but really even using THAT theme would be a stretch. At no point in the Jungle Book does Mowgli have any human devices at hand. Both Swiss Family Robinson and Tarzan have the situation where there are characters who live in a tree. Jungle Book doesn't. I suppose they COULD work it in though - I think the only reason it still exists at WDW is because it takes practically no effort to maintain and operate.

In the new live action version there is a lot of activity in the trees. Mowgli runs through them, Bagheera is frequently shown in a tree, the entire Kaa scene is in a tree, Mowgli use his "tricks" to make tools from vines and things, the monkeys kidnap Mowgli from a tree and carry him off through the canopy...and others. I agree it would be a stretch, and it's all merely fun speculation at this point. Why else would an attraction that takes practically no effort to maintain and operate be closed for 2.5 months for refurb unless they are changing something? Maybe they are just repainting the whole thing and replacing a few ropes.

 

[thepops]

We attended MVMCP in 2014 and I was terribly disappointed in the much hyped all-you-care-to-enjoy hot chocolate and cookies. Watered down Swiss Miss cocoa? I can do that at home! Pre-packed snickerdoodles loaded with preservatives? Not only were they gross, but you can get those at the Dollar Store. Did not feel special at all. Felt like a cheap racket. and the Mobs of humanity were not feeling the Christmas Spirit! Ruthless, rude, and flat out mean to each other. My youngest ended up with a black eye from fighting our way through the Hub. Her poor little eye is all swollen in our pictures of that night. I agree, we won't waste our money on that again.

So like The Santa Clause 2, it looks like MVMCP has been taken over by similar Jack Frost tactics.

 

[SJMajor67]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...f-Staff-reveal-s-REALLY-like-work-Disney.html

Pretty interesting piece that gets comments (good and bad) from former CMs that were characters.

 

[dlavender]

So like The Santa Clause 2, it looks like MVMCP has been taken over by similar Jack Frost tactics.

That was 3.......

Not happy with myself right now for knowing that.

 

[jlundeen]

That was 3.......

Not happy with myself right now for knowing that.

I know what you mean...and even not happier with myself for thinking about Santa Clause 3 at some point in almost every WDW trip. But I keep going back - what is that old saying about the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....?

"You can see Santa.... You must see Santa...!"

 

[luisov]

Attendance slowdowns...hmmm. Disney has been pushing excessive price increases the last few years - there is eventually going to be a breaking point where they start to lose customers by pricing out a portion of their customer base. Perhaps they are getting there. I keep thinking they'll be a response to the hard ticket events. I feel I am seeing WAAAYYY more "it's not worth it" responses to MNSSHP and MVMCP this year than ever before. It used to be 98% of what you heard was "this is such a great event" and now it's probably more like 60-70% positive. As I've said, if your Disney, why NOT keep raising ticket prices as long as people keep coming...but when they STOP...oh boy.

Well, they did say they wanted to control the crowds (yes, I know. Bear with me). If you can offer a less crowded park, and therefore a better experience, but still increase your revenue, it's a sacrifice some might be willing to make. For me the real problem is that even though the prices have increased significantly, the cost cuts have also increased and the overall quality has suffered a blow. Lower crowds? Perhaps. But where's the quality the Disney company became famous for?

Not that I think their intention was actually to have better crowd control as they claim, but it's still interesting to analyse it from that perspective.

 

[skier_pete]

Well, they did say they wanted to control the crowds (yes, I know. Bear with me). If you can offer a less crowded park, and therefore a better experience, but still increase your revenue, it's a sacrifice some might be willing to make. For me the real problem is that even though the prices have increased significantly, the cost cuts have also increased and the overall quality has suffered a blow. Lower crowds? Perhaps. But where's the quality the Disney company became famous for?

Not that I think their intention was actually to have better crowd control as they claim, but it's still interesting to analyse it from that perspective.

Well - it's a good point. For instance at DLR - they have a known problem of having too many AP holders, and a few years back drastically raised the price with the purpose of trying to reduce the # of AP holders. As you say, if you charge $100 per person and get 25,000 people at a party, or you charge $80 and get 31,250 people that's the same income - you still get $2.5 million per party.

The problem is - that's not the only piece of income to consider. Will those 25,000 spend as much in merchandise and food as the 31,250 people did? The answer is likely "No they won't". In fact the people paying $100 are more likely to spend LESS than the people spending $80. I think somewhere in this thread there was an article about that, that the problem Disney is seeing with rising rates is that while attendance has continued to rise, guest spending has been flat. So the problem is the family that was spending $5000 on a vacation and $1500 on merchandise is now still spending $5000 on vacation, but only $750 on merchandise. Or bringing more of their own food. Whatever the reason - it means that raising ticket prices isn't helping. And if they raise it enough that people stop coming...well then you have a problem.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We were there in February, and every kid and some adults had their light sabers out and wielding them on their whim........with many a parent looking on making sure their kid didn't inadvertently hit someone.

Curious...did you actually buy a lightsaber yourself in February? Both times we've purchased build-your-owns (the last time being in October), they were taped down and our children were specifically told NOT to deploy them in the park. This likely falls into the category of "rules that are rarely enforced" but they do give the warning that the light sabers can be taken away if they are deployed.

 

[Mac30188]

Well, they did say they wanted to control the crowds (yes, I know. Bear with me). If you can offer a less crowded park, and therefore a better experience, but still increase your revenue, it's a sacrifice some might be willing to make. For me the real problem is that even though the prices have increased significantly, the cost cuts have also increased and the overall quality has suffered a blow. Lower crowds? Perhaps. But where's the quality the Disney company became famous for?

Not that I think their intention was actually to have better crowd control as they claim, but it's still interesting to analyse it from that perspective.

Well I think with pricing, Disney is a slave to the laws of supply and demand. The ideal price point is to be crowded but not a sell out. If Disney tickets were $3 a day and hotels cost $15 per night, they would instantly sell out every day within seconds of being available for purchase. Going to Disney would be similar to winning a radio contest of trying to get through the phone call would be the determining factor. People would be frustrated they could never take their son and daughter to Disney and would indicate they would pay 10 times the cost just of the ticket to get to go once. Side black markets would form where brokers would buy tickets at $3 and then sell them for $100 to those desperate to go to the park. In the end, most consumers would still end up paying the market price for the ticket, the only difference is the money would go to middle men and not Disney. Point being, while Disney does set the prices, but the value is still largely a slave to the demand of the market. If you go back to last October, the complaint were crowds were unlike anything that had been seen historically. Disney attendance in general was very high last year with continued anticipated growth. They set their ticket prices with the anticipation that this period of Disney consumer growth would continue to grow. Did they overshoot on pricing? maybe...

Personally, I still believe this is the lag of waiting too long before investing in new entertainment options and that is now playing against them. There are many items that have been or were going to be closed earlier in the year, while the opening of new rides has largely been limited to this point. There is a large wave of new entertainment in the pipeline, and I bet many are waiting to see some of these new service offerings. Once you get to the back end of this year where the pendulum starts to swing with Soarin, FEA, Rivers of Light opening, and then Avatar opening next year, I suspect the crowds will increase and all of a sudden the demand will match the new pricing. They just didn't have an accurate picture of the attraction opening schedule when they set pricing.

 

[luisov]

Well - it's a good point. For instance at DLR - they have a known problem of having too many AP holders, and a few years back drastically raised the price with the purpose of trying to reduce the # of AP holders. As you say, if you charge $100 per person and get 25,000 people at a party, or you charge $80 and get 31,250 people that's the same income - you still get $2.5 million per party.

The problem is - that's not the only piece of income to consider. Will those 25,000 spend as much in merchandise and food as the 31,250 people did? The answer is likely "No they won't". In fact the people paying $100 are more likely to spend LESS than the people spending $80. I think somewhere in this thread there was an article about that, that the problem Disney is seeing with rising rates is that while attendance has continued to rise, guest spending has been flat. So the problem is the family that was spending $5000 on a vacation and $1500 on merchandise is now still spending $5000 on vacation, but only $750 on merchandise. Or bringing more of their own food. Whatever the reason - it means that raising ticket prices isn't helping. And if they raise it enough that people stop coming...well then you have a problem.

It is a complicated situation with many different variables, that's for sure. A super crowded park means unhappy guests and bad word-of-mouth, and discourages guests from spending on merchandise and food. But at the same time, a super expensive park makes people be more wary about merch and food spending, sometimes even resulting in people staying off-site.

If Disney tries to operate over their optimal capacity, then they sure can't say the price increases are an attempt to have better crowd control.

Personally, I still believe this is the lag of waiting too long before investing in new entertainment options and that is now playing against them. There are many items that have been or were going to be closed earlier in the year, while the opening of new rides has largely been limited to this point. There is a large wave of new entertainment in the pipeline, and I bet many are waiting to see some of these new service offerings. Once you get to the back end of this year where the pendulum starts to swing with Soarin, FEA, Rivers of Light opening, and then Avatar opening next year, I suspect the crowds will increase and all of a sudden the demand will match the new pricing. They just didn't have an accurate picture of the attraction opening schedule when they set pricing.

For sure, and that's really their fault. MK wouldn't be so crowded today if the other parks were up to the standards of the MK as far as rides goes. Nowadays they are seeing more pressure to invest on new attractions, but since they waited so long and decided to take their time with the new additions, this might eventually have an impact on people deciding whether it's worth to spend that much money on three half-finished parks and one full park or not. Many people might as well postpone their trips until the new additions are all ready.

 

[cmash95]

attendance down this summer for a couple of reasons. people waiting for stuff to get finished before they come, and the economy in south america is in the toilet and early summer is brazil season. also they have the olympics in brazil, but mostly it's the political unrest and the rich brazialians are having big problems. things should pick up next summer with the openings animal kingdom. this slowdown is expected only for this year