News Round Up 2019

[middlechild]

Thankfully staff now makes 15 an hour, so cuts of hours per week does not leave them hungry.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

NEWS

https://www.facebook.com/319427608175545/posts/2278275948957358

 

[rteetz]

News

https://blogmickey.com/2019/07/new-...buses-now-traveling-around-walt-disney-world/

 

[mikeamizzle]

Here's the good news - if they have truly run the prices up too high and see it's effect on the bottom line. (Disney has partly raised prices as quickly as it has because it knows the parks are overcrowded, and they actually don't want increases in people, but increases in spending. But at a point they would have to roll back prices (or offer deep discounts) to get people to come back again.

I'm not holding my breath yet that Star Wars land isn't going to cause a pop. It may be a phenomonon of "avoid the opening crowds + the main ride isn't there yet anyways." I think we have to wait until early 2020 to really declare that they are having an attendance issue.

I totally agree. Thank you for pointing this out. I also think the “Disney has reached the price limit” talk is hyperbole.

Attendance has been up year over year with multiple years of large price hikes across the board and the stock price is holding steady at $143.00

Let’s take a breath and see how the fall plays out at WDW, I’m not convinced that it will be a DLR situation.

 

[SG131]

I would love to do Europe but I can’t get past the flight cost. We would probably have to drive several hours to a major city to get anything decently priced.

And I can’t get over the flight time! I don’t particularly like to fly so the 2.5 hr flight to Florida is plenty.

 

[soniam]

I think WDW attendance could be down, but it absolutely won't be dead. It will still feel crowded to many people, especially people who used to go a long time ago. I think certain seasons have been down, like summer, but others are filling in the gaps. For this year, however, I don't know how it's going to pan out, but I feel confident saying that we won't be seeing a plethora of 1 and 2 crowd levels like DLR, and that's at the new definition of 1 and 2. We won't be seeing any "old" 1 or 2 level crowds.

When you do the math, with the economic woes in Europe, you can do Europe for the price of a Disney trip right now. A lot of things have to hit (time to go, kids old enough, interest, etc). My Facebook is filled with friends overseas right now. My theory is that Disney raised their prices too high, and some of the quality has been dropping (customer service a big one).

Granted, they had to in order to lower attendance. It will take some creativity, and they’re certainly not hurting.

I would love to do Europe but I can’t get past the flight cost. We would probably have to drive several hours to a major city to get anything decently priced.

Exactly!!!! You might be able to get hotels, apartments, and travel within Europe pretty reasonably. However, if you don't live on the east coast or a midwestern hub, you are going to pay outrageous prices for flights. This isn't just true for Europe either. We just returned from Barcelona, and our flight from Austin was the most we have ever paid for a European flight in coach. We didn't buy these last minute either. We booked tickets for Chile trip around xmas and are paying even more than the European flight. That's with Dallas and Houston being major South American hubs. Even our flights to Orlando cost significantly more now than when we started going in 2012, and that's with more options from Austin now. Flights are just going up and up

 

[hertamaniac]

Thankfully staff now makes 15 an hour, so cuts of hours per week does not leave them hungry.

I thought the contract did it incrementally?

In March 2019, starting rates will rise to $12 an hour; $13 an hour in September 2019; $14 an hour in October 2020; and finally, $15 an hour in October 2021.

 

[OKW Lover]

I thought the contract did it incrementally?

In March 2019, starting rates will rise to $12 an hour; $13 an hour in September 2019; $14 an hour in October 2020; and finally, $15 an hour in October 2021.

So these are starting rates? Wonder what the average CM with a couple of years in actually makes.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

not sure of the significance of this, but it is different/new so thought I would post:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1150058306175717376

 

[YesterDark]

I just got back from Paris. Single tickets from Philadelphia all the way up to Boston ranged from 900 to 2500 on various days heading over and back.

Family of 4 in the summer is pretty hefty. Then again I was over there during the woman's world cup.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I totally agree. Thank you for pointing this out. I also think the “Disney has reached the price limit” talk is hyperbole.

Attendance has been up year over year with multiple years of large price hikes across the board and the stock price is holding steady at $143.00

Let’s take a breath and see how the fall plays out at WDW, I’m not convinced that it will be a DLR situation.

There was a drop in attendance in 2016 from 2015 for all 4 parks and though those numbers were marginal it was still a decrease.

In 2017 Pandora totally helped with the attendance (+15%) with MK being +0.2%, Epcot +4.2%, and DHS dropping -0.5%.

In 2018 TSL I'm assumping helped a bit for DHS(5%) but the main increase was again at AK (10%) likely still due to Pandora, MK was 2.0%, with Epcot at 2.0%

Now this is just me pondering out loud but if you had removed Pandora from ever being there and TSL from ever being there and if Star Wars wasn't happening would a more than just marginal increase in attendance have occurred with large pricing increases among other things? Impossible to answer but I think it's worth thinking about.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

You guys think tickets to Europe this summer were bad, try one to Africa I'll be paying that one off for a while.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You guys think tickets to Europe this summer were bad, try one to Africa I'll be paying that one off for a while.

I remember how much Aaron's company had to pay to send him to Toyko in 2014

Do you think it would have been cheaper though if you had gone from Austin as opposed to KC? Being in the middle of the country can have its advantages but not for international travel really.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Hmmmm, it's interesting about the softness at WDW in the fall. I can see DLR having problems because they barred too many APs, but WDW? We've been talking for 15 years how Disney is someday going to price out too many people - I wonder if they are finally seeing it happen? I've always said that Disney is positioning themselves VERY poorly for the next recession by pricing out so many people - but maybe it won't even take a recession.

Too soon to say. Obviously. But that hasn't stopped people over the years.

They have so many things coming on line in the coming months... wonder how many people are waiting for ALL the big announced attractions before visiting if they're not frequent visitors (RotR, Rat, MMRR, GotG, Tron, what else??)?

Agree with you here btw:

Here's the good news - if they have truly run the prices up too high and see it's effect on the bottom line. (Disney has partly raised prices as quickly as it has because it knows the parks are overcrowded, and they actually don't want increases in people, but increases in spending. But at a point they would have to roll back prices (or offer deep discounts) to get people to come back again.

I'm not holding my breath yet that Star Wars land isn't going to cause a pop. It may be a phenomonon of "avoid the opening crowds + the main ride isn't there yet anyways." I think we have to wait until early 2020 to really declare that they are having an attendance issue.

Bingo!:

I totally agree. Thank you for pointing this out. I also think the “Disney has reached the price limit” talk is hyperbole.

Attendance has been up year over year with multiple years of large price hikes across the board and the stock price is holding steady at $143.00

Let’s take a breath and see how the fall plays out at WDW, I’m not convinced that it will be a DLR situation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Too soon to say. Obviously. But that hasn't stopped people over the years.

They have so many things coming on line in the coming months... wonder how many people are waiting for ALL the big announced attractions before visiting if they're not frequent visitors (RotR, Rat, MMRR, GotG, Tron, what else??)?

I was heavily considering going for the 50th but if Epcot is going to still be under construction and if things will be opening after the big celebration for the 50th I can easily wait.

If going by my 'normal' but not intended schedule 6 years from my last WDW visit wouldn't be until 2023.

I do think though if you take your average unassuming guest they probably don't realize all of that is coming..an attraction or two maybe but all of that probably not. If I asked my neighbor for instance he'd have no clue any of those attractions are coming. He took his kids a few years ago to WDW and would love to go back but he doesn't know what's coming. Now TSL has been covered in our local news and Star Wars has been and Pandora has been but all of those are new lands. I don't know that our local news has ever even mentioned these new rides. I think what keeps a non-frequent visitor from coming is likely more on the cost and available time off/schedule. Purely my thoughts.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Now this is just me pondering out loud but if you had removed Pandora from ever being there and TSL from ever being there and if Star Wars wasn't happening would a more than just marginal increase in attendance have occurred with large pricing increases among other things? Impossible to answer but I think it's worth thinking about.

Why? How is it relevant? They did add those things. And other large additions are on the way that I'd argue justify the price increases. I don't understand...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Why? How is it relevant? They did add those things. And other large additions are on the way. I don't understand...

I'm not sure you understood my comment. I pondered if those things hadn't existed and Disney still increased pricing rapidly and by a lot along with the other things we've been discussing as cons or negatives if attendance would have gone up. Of course those things physically exist..I thought it was ok here to hypothetically think..is that not acceptable?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I'm not sure you understood my comment. I pondered if those things hadn't existed and Disney still increased pricing rapidly and by a lot along with the other things we've been discussing as cons or negatives if attendance would have gone up. Of course those things physically exist..I thought it was ok here to hypothetically think..is that not acceptable?

I just didn't understand your point (as I said) -- so I asked. Still not sure I get the relevance given that they ARE adding to the parks... but I would guess that the attendance would not have spiked as much -- at least not for AK -- without the Pandora addition.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I just didn't understand your point (as I said) -- so I asked. Still not sure I get the relevance given that they ARE adding to the parks... but I would guess that the attendance would not have spiked as much -- at least not for AK -- without the Pandora addition.

I'm not certain how else to explain it. Like "if this didn't exist would this have happened?" That's all I was saying. Apologies you don't find any relevance in my pondering out loud comment

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I remember how much Aaron's company had to pay to send him to Toyko in 2014

Do you think it would have been cheaper though if you had gone from Austin as opposed to KC? Being in the middle of the country can have its advantages but not for international travel really.

We checked flights out of Dallas and they were a bit cheaper, but not really that much.