OK... Now I'm mad about something

[crusader]

OK -

But I didn't see any endorsements over here so am I to assume this is happening elsewhere?

I did make a side comment in reference to that interview if you look back a page but not with respect to attendance. I found it interesting he dropped that line before the spike and was thinking a bit out loud.

 

[KNWVIKING]

***"The difference I see is the fact that many (most?) locals are AP holders. The restaurants may lose out but Disney does not stand to gain added ticket sales from local AP holders who stay home because it rains. I wonder if season ticket sales are as prevalent at the regional parks?"***

I would be inclined to agree with this statement somewhat if we were talking dollars and cents and not park attendance. Disney relies on local AP holders to spin the turnstiles. A rainy day in Florida will keep them home just the same as anywhere else.

But going back to your original statement : We have AP's. They are a curse and a blessing. I know that if I wonder into a park, It will cost me at least $75.00. Between Toll House Ice Cream Cookies, Coffees, lunch, glazed pecans,maybe an eyecatching bobble,Ned's shrunken head boats,various arcades,etc, I'm coming out poorer then I went in. Maybe the locals don't have the same spending habits, I haven't a clue as to how they visit the parks, but I know that Disney loses money when I'm not in the park.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I would be inclined to agree with this statement somewhat if we were talking dollars and cents and not park attendance.

That highlights an interesting aspect I haven't spent much time thinking about. I guess attendance is measured by the click of a turnstile and not the sale of a ticket. If theme park revenue (from admission sales) is not down by roughly the same percentage as admissions then one could summize that it is the AP holders who have stayed away. On the other hand, if that revenue is down by more than the percentage drop in attendance it could be that AP holders are propping up the numbers and the bottom line impact of any declines could be worse than attendance figures might indicate. Anyone know how revenue is tracking vs. attendance?

 

[raidermatt]

I'm VERY late to the party on this one, and haven't completely caught up, but did want to comment on an exchange back on page 1...

HB2K said:

***"And that's the tragedy....people who have never been to the park aren't getting as much of what hooked us all in the first place."***

Vike responded:

That's a great comment. I'm still not close to being in Car 3 or 4, but your one sentence has enlightened me more then page after page of philisophical rants others post.

And to that I say GREAT! I'll admit, its somewhat disappointing to see someone else say something you think you have conveyed before, and have the reader respond as if it had never been said. But that disapointment is only in my personal ability to communicate.

Even so, everybody has different styles, and everybody responds differently to different styles... So if HB2K was able to successfuly convey to Vike in one sentence what I and/or others couldn't, I think that's great.

If it fosters understanding, its a positive.

 

[Jasminesmommy]

If they are losing money they should stp building things. People are comming there for there current rides and by closing them and having poor quality they are losing alot of the new people who came to see what the fuss was about when FTP became available. if anything with FTP they should be working there @#$ off to make people want to come back at the non FTP rates. They also have to remeber right when school starts alot of people such as myself come for the low crowds because its alot of money to spend to see just a few rides and hours of waits in lines.

 

[lucky_bunni]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
My Disney history started in '95, about the time the "great decline" began.

You know I took a trip in 1986, then my great return trip was in 1995.. the year you first went. I was a little younger then, but I swear, that 1995 trip was the golden trip of a lifetime. I have never been "disappointed" either... but things, little things, do seem to slip a little on each subsequent visit... the paint peeling here, the bathroom there looking a little outdated/worn, etc. I don't know, but I do agree that things are slipping. There could be many answers. My answer, quit spending hundreds of millions on new attractions until you can properly maintain the resort as it is. Hey, if Disney World stay exactly as it is today, but was maintained to perfect, I'd be happy. I know that wasn't Walt's vision, he envisioned a park that would constantly be changing. But he was also maticulous and a perfectionist. I can't say that the parks are still being held up to what would have been Walt's standard of perfection. By letting that standard slip, they are losing guests, and letting the gap get narrower between them and the competition.