O o this doesn't look good.

[LuvOrlando]

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[mitros]

I have a hard time feeling bad for the tightening of WDW's belt considering how the organization has been raking people over the coals the past few years regarding higher prices for less substance.

The company used to operate treating visitors like we were guests making catering to our every whim an art form. The whole place was a magic theatrical set as evidenced by calling employees 'Cast members'. But for the past few years it has become impossible for me to forget that WDW is nothing more than a money making arm of a huge corporate megalith. If this downturn causes a shake-up in management that brings my old beloved happy place back than so be it. I miss the old Disney charm.

I agree with you, 100%!
Guests are more like cattle these days. And we thought Ei$ner was bad...........

 

[CandyMandy]

Sorry, but I still do not see any "slacking off" of crowd levels at WDW.

I think it's still far too early to see change. That's because the overwhelming majority of guests at WDW plan their trips far in advance, so most of the people you see there right now booked early this year or even further out. And given the rules on discount airfares, many couldn't easily cancel without losing money. So the crowds will likely stay big through the holidays and into early 2009.

Wait until late February or so and then I predict you will see the drop off. Crowds may jump up around Easter (again, more year or more in advance bookings), but will crash going into the late Spring. By next summer, all these "the crowds haven't dropped" posts will be a dusty memory.

 

[gymnastgirlflips]

I've always wondered why I never see the same CM twice whenever I visit. The turnover rate must be ridiculous. Working at the most magical place on earth carries a heavy price.

Yeah, it is weird how you never see the same ones more than once. i only saw one CM twice, but he worked in the UK and I saw him back to back days, and he remembered my name! It was pretty cool, wish I could see him again I guess he doesn't even count since he was actually from UK anyways.

 

[Cassie Dean]

I think it is really sad that people who sit in an office and don't do much of anything make so much money. And yet the ones who are out there busting there butts to get the job done get barely anything. Hopefully things will turn around.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

DL doesn't have the dining plan (they have one, but it isn't as explosively popular as the WDW plan). Yet, their menus have been changed in the same way. It's a company-wide standardization.

Anaheim reducng operating budgets is the REAL reason.

Why do you see Mousekeepers cleaning rooms at 5 or 6 pm.....because there are fewer Mousekeepers.

 

[mitros]

I think it's still far too early to see change. That's because the overwhelming majority of guests at WDW plan their trips far in advance, so most of the people you see there right now booked early this year or even further out. And given the rules on discount airfares, many couldn't easily cancel without losing money. So the crowds will likely stay big through the holidays and into early 2009.

Wait until late February or so and then I predict you will see the drop off. Crowds may jump up around Easter (again, more year or more in advance bookings), but will crash going into the late Spring. By next summer, all these "the crowds haven't dropped" posts will be a dusty memory.

I still predict, and you can quote me on this, You will NOT see any noticeable drop off in attendance unless something genuinly horrible happens, as it did on 9/11.
After that horrific event, which an awful lot of people seem to have forgotten, WDW was like a ghost town for quite a while.

 

[BamaEd1]

Sure, there are segments of our economy that are hurting, and hurting badly, I might add. However, in my sphere of friends, I know 1 person who has lost his job. That's it; yet everyone seems to say that they aren't worried about their own situations, but about their neighbors. I've got a plan for this recession. DW and I have stable jobs with good, well managed companies. We are not worried about our future. As for this recession that "the media" keeps talking about; we have decided not to participate. If others want to have a recession, we will of course let them. And we will do well. When the market bottoms out, we'll buy. When resales on DVC points get cheaper, we will add on. To paraphrase Buffet (Warren not Jimmy), Panic when everyone else is exuberant and be exuberant when everyone else is panicked. We're not planning on panicking when everything comes roaring back though. Be good everybody and keep your chins up. Recessions are as much psychological as they are real.

 

[DisFlan]

Wow, BamaEd1 - I don't know where your bubble is located, but you are very fortunate to be able to "choose not to participate" in this recession. I know people who have lost jobs and others who very likely will be losing jobs. I'm pretty sure they (and their families) would love to be able to "choose not to participate" in this recession.

I honestly do wish you continued luck. But please open your eyes to the very real misfortunes of many Americans right now.

DisFlan

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Sure, there are segments of our economy that are hurting, and hurting badly, I might add. However, in my sphere of friends, I know 1 person who has lost his job. That's it; yet everyone seems to say that they aren't worried about their own situations, but about their neighbors. I've got a plan for this recession. DW and I have stable jobs with good, well managed companies. We are not worried about our future. As for this recession that "the media" keeps talking about; we have decided not to participate. If others want to have a recession, we will of course let them. And we will do well. When the market bottoms out, we'll buy. When resales on DVC points get cheaper, we will add on. To paraphrase Buffet (Warren not Jimmy), Panic when everyone else is exuberant and be exuberant when everyone else is panicked. We're not planning on panicking when everything comes roaring back though. Be good everybody and keep your chins up. Recessions are as much psychological as they are real.

I especially like your "We are not worried about our future..." comment. It's amazing to find someone so isolated, so insulated and so confident that even worrying about their future isn't even on the table. Good for you...Oh, and good luck when the chickens come home to roost.

 

[KYMickey]

BamaEd has it right, the American people have let the media talk us into a recession! The media keeps telling us we're going into recession so people don't spend as much, guess what? If people don't spend as much we go into recession. Because we're not spending as much, businesses don't sell as much and thus are forced to lay off people. If people ignored the media and didn't change their lifestyles we wouldn't be going into recession.

The media has become way too powerful for the American people. They control economy, elections and people's minds. In the old days when the media was a newspaper it was a little less powerful and people formed their own opinions. Now when we see the media on TV and on the Internet people tend to believe it more and react faster.

If the American people choose not to participate in the recession we will not have one!

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

BamaEd has it right, the American people have let the media talk us into a recession! The media keeps telling us we're going into recession so people don't spend as much, guess what? If people don't spend as much we go into recession. Because we're not spending as much, businesses don't sell as much and thus are forced to lay off people. If people ignored the media and didn't change their lifestyles we wouldn't be going into recession.

The media has become way too powerful for the American people. They control economy, elections and people's minds. In the old days when the media was a newspaper it was a little less powerful and people formed their own opinions. Now when we see the media on TV and on the Internet people tend to believe it more and react faster.

If the American people choose not to participate in the recession we will not have one!

I'd like to agree...But I can't. Even though I'm (so far) doing well the fact is that homes in foreclosure proceedings are up 100.01% over last year and 1 in every 196 homes in the US are under some type of foreclosure proceeding. This is too great to assume we can just "blind" our way through it and this doesn't take into account the auto industry fiasco or the fact that the war is still a cash sucking proposition.

It will hit Disney as soon as the holidays are over, IMO. To be sure, things are already not as busy as usual but it will continue to look OK through the holidays. But by next Christmas things will be pretty bad unless things turn around and I sincerely hope they do. It's your chance to shine Mr. Obama!

 

[BamaEd1]

Folks, after reading my comments, I can understand how it could have been taken as flippant. That was not my intent at all and I certainly have sympathy for anyone who has lost their livelihood. However, I refuse to let a spirit of fear that, in our cases, would be a completely irrational cause stress in our lives. If a completely unanticipated, world rocking event does happen in our lives, we will participate in the recession for sure. If it does not, then we stressed about nothing. A very wise person once said, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

As pointed out (rather rudely), we do live in somewhat of a bubble here in our city. Our two main industries are the seat of state government and a large Air Force base. Our local economy does not swing nearly as much as many other areas of the country do; up or down. When the rest of the nation is soaring we grow slowly and steadily and when the rest of the nation is in a downturn, we don't shrink that much, even going back as far as the Carter administration which was the worst recession that I can remember (although not that well).

I wish everyone well. If my fellow DISer's are affected by the recession negatively, I truly hope that you come soaring out of it as a better person, financially, yes, and in many more important ways, like emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Tough times always make me stronger on the other side. As a combat veteran who has seen friends die from very close range and even being shot at and wounded by an IED myself, it will take a little more than the distant potential of losing a job or even my house to make me scared. I've seen chickens come home to roost, Peter Pirate, and a recession isn't even the feather off of a chicken's butt. Have fun making your chicken salad, buddy

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

OK! cluck, cluck, cluck.

 

[mitros]

Folks, after reading my comments, I can understand how it could have been taken as flippant. That was not my intent at all and I certainly have sympathy for anyone who has lost their livelihood. However, I refuse to let a spirit of fear that, in our cases, would be a completely irrational cause stress in our lives. If a completely unanticipated, world rocking event does happen in our lives, we will participate in the recession for sure. If it does not, then we stressed about nothing. A very wise person once said, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

As pointed out (rather rudely), we do live in somewhat of a bubble here in our city. Our two main industries are the seat of state government and a large Air Force base. Our local economy does not swing nearly as much as many other areas of the country do; up or down. When the rest of the nation is soaring we grow slowly and steadily and when the rest of the nation is in a downturn, we don't shrink that much, even going back as far as the Carter administration which was the worst recession that I can remember (although not that well).

I wish everyone well. If my fellow DISer's are affected by the recession negatively, I truly hope that you come soaring out of it as a better person, financially, yes, and in many more important ways, like emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Tough times always make me stronger on the other side. As a combat veteran who has seen friends die from very close range and even being shot at and wounded by an IED myself, it will take a little more than the distant potential of losing a job or even my house to make me scared. I've seen chickens come home to roost, Peter Pirate, and a recession isn't even the feather off of a chicken's butt. Have fun making your chicken salad, buddy

Very well put!

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[mybestieismickey]

While we are by no means incredibly well off, I don't forsee us being greatly affected by this economy. My husband is in law-enforcement so he's pretty safe employment wise, and while they have not had to cut personnel, they have had some pretty sweeping budget cuts which means no overtime for us till at least next October. But we're doing well enough that we are going to be doing a lot of traveling in the next year, including a trip to WDW and at least one visit to DLR (hopefully more!), and a weekend in South Texas. I appreciate and feel for those that are struggling so much right now, but we are doing the best we can to help others do the best they can.

 

[KYMickey]

So you don't think that an entire country living on loan-shark like interest rates and credit that ran out because we (as a country) could no longer meet the minimums has had a real effect on things... its all the power of suggestion? An interesting perspective.

The interest rates were not at all like loan shark rates, the rates themselves were very reasonable which is a major part of the problem. People were encouraged to borrow far access all what they were capable of paying and were allowed to borrow 100% (or more in some cases) of a homes value. The problem was jointly cost by the lender's and greedy consumers. You used to have to have about 25% of the home's value for a down payment this slowly eroded to 10% and finally to 0%. When you have no vested interest in your home is easy to walk away, also when you borrow way beyond your means to keep up with the Jones's and the bubble bursts you're in trouble.

What bothers me is people who were financially irresponsible are going to end up getting government assistance but financially responsible individuals will get scr__ed! Why should those people (of which I'm one) not get credit for their financial responsibility instead of just getting taxed more to help the financially responsible?

Same goes for many other parts of our failing economy improving the auto industry. Companies that were financially responsible and consumer oriented are going to have to pay to help those that weren't.

 

[miprender]

BamaEd has it right, the American people have let the media talk us into a recession! The media keeps telling us we're going into recession so people don't spend as much, guess what? If people don't spend as much we go into recession. Because we're not spending as much, businesses don't sell as much and thus are forced to lay off people. If people ignored the media and didn't change their lifestyles we wouldn't be going into recession.

The media has become way too powerful for the American people. They control economy, elections and people's minds. In the old days when the media was a newspaper it was a little less powerful and people formed their own opinions. Now when we see the media on TV and on the Internet people tend to believe it more and react faster.

If the American people choose not to participate in the recession we will not have one!

I can't agree at all with this.... I know several families that are at risk of losing their homes. My dear friend and her family have lost everything and are struggling to keep their home they built several years ago, I have a bil who just lost two rental properties and just had the heat turned on in his house last week and might lose his main house and RI has the worst unemployement in the country, so I wish it was all made up but unfortanetly in this neck of the woods it is very much a reality for many people.

 

[LuvOrlando]

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