So I e-mailed about the cost of the Mnsshps...

[MermaidMommy]

I have googled it. Most of the discussions point to layoffs and repeat two specific layoffs as proof. Last year Disney laid off 250 IT workers but replaced them with foreign workers spurring an ongoing legal battle. Then this year Disney laid off 100 painters at the end of February but those jobs are seasonal and the layoff occurs almost every year. There have been stories in papers such as the Sentinel that talked about hours cut but those cuts do not equal cuts made to reduced park hours and shows, thus the labor for rides etc. is still there. The layoffs being repeated over and over had nothing to do with ride staffing. What I am seeing is the internet rumor mill in full swing with reports such as above spun into something they never were. On visits I have yet to see anything I haven't seen over many years....rides partially shut down at various times. Been like that for a long time.

Here are a variety of articles detailing the cuts that I found when I googled "Disney staffing cuts" -- of which the painters are a very small part (and the IT layoffs were so long ago that they're completely irrelevant to the current cuts):

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-disney-cuts-20160304-story.html

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/02/break...ncial-strangle-hold-on-domestic-disney-parks/

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/18/disney-world-is-cutting-costs-at-the-worst-possibl.
Additionalky, check the DIS threads starting at the beginning of March, when the spring break hours were released, and see what the "first-hand" reports are of reduced hours and entertainment, during one of the busiest times of year, including during Easter. Or, just go and look at this what this year's hours and entertainment were compared to last year's. It's cold hard facts. But, I'm starting to think that no amount of proof will make you believe they've happened, other than Disney admitting to the cuts -- and they aren't ever going to do that.

 

[Disneymom1126]

- Crowds last year were noticeably bigger.

Here's my glass-half-full hope for this year -- last year they reduced the number of parties (starting in mid-sept instead of early sept) and seemed to increase number of tickets sold for each party...maybe they heard complaints about the crowds so they went back to the 2014 number of parties and less tickets allocated per party...and hoped the price increase might help further lower the crowds?

Okay...reality says this isn't likely, but a dream is a wish your heart makes...right? Lol

 

[Angel Ariel]

Probably a result of the couple found in a Disneyland Paris hotel with explosives. I haven't heard an update who they were or what they intended to do.

The metal detectors were in place prior to that incident.

 

[anneboleyn]

Here's my glass-half-full hope for this year -- last year they reduced the number of parties (starting in mid-sept instead of early sept) and seemed to increase number of tickets sold for each party...maybe they heard complaints about the crowds so they went back to the 2014 number of parties and less tickets allocated per party...and hoped the price increase might help further lower the crowds?

Okay...reality says this isn't likely, but a dream is a wish your heart makes...right? Lol

I am hoping the same thing! Prayer circle! lol

 

[Angel Ariel]

Here are a variety of articles detailing the cuts that I found when I googled "Disney staffing cuts" -- of which the painters are a very small part (and the IT layoffs were so long ago that they're completely irrelevant to the current cuts):

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-disney-cuts-20160304-story.html

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/02/break...ncial-strangle-hold-on-domestic-disney-parks/

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/18/disney-world-is-cutting-costs-at-the-worst-possibl.
Additionalky, check the DIS threads starting at the beginning of March, when the spring break hours were released, and see what the "first-hand" reports are of reduced hours and entertainment, during one of the busiest times of year, including during Easter. Or, just go and look at this what this year's hours and entertainment were compared to last year's. It's cold hard facts. But, I'm starting to think that no amount of proof will make you believe they've happened, other than Disney admitting to the cuts -- and they aren't ever going to do that.

I also found articles on other sites like Bloomberg, etc. as well. Many CMs on this board have made similar statements about their own hours being cut. I have no reason to think they're being anything less than totally honest. Attendance is down, and yet wait times are the same or increased...*something* is causing that. Reduced capacity seems to be the most likely culprit to me, given the evidence that many have presented to support it. But no, it's not official. Nothing ever will be, as Disney is never going to go on record about it.

 

[Huff]

Attendance is down, and yet wait times are the same or increased...*something* is causing that.

Attendance estimates suggest a 1% drop at WDW. Not really noticeable for wait times. The increased wait is due to FP+ which consumes 70% of a typical rides capacity thereby increasing the standby wait significantly.

 

[whiporee]

It been well-documented in the mainstream press, as well as the Disney online community, that Disney made significant staffing cuts at the end of February/beginning of August. Around 20% reductions at both Disney World and Disneyland. Hours were cut, entertainment was cut, staffing levels were cut. It's really not something that's debatable -- just google it and you'll get dozens of hits. Not to mention, it's been all over the DIS. The cuts were all designed, apparently, to boost earnings short-term and are something completely different than the long-term capital investments. That's comparing apples to oranges. And, some of the staffing cuts were at attractions, which means some rides haven't been operating at their normal capacity.

That is simply not true. It is not true. It is not true.

The ONLY thing you'll find in mainstream press are repeats from a WDWinsider blog, who claims cuts have been made. The hourly reductions reported in int eh mainstream press say that 20 percent of workers saw a 2-4 hour reduction on their shifts. If you want the links take a look over at the community board -- we've got two threads about this right now.

2-4 hours a week is a ten percent reduction (just about). So the reality is that there have been no widespread layoffs and the hourly cutbacks have been about 2 percent.

A lot of bloggers have thrown around numbers, Josh included. Not one of them has provided anything other than anecdotal proof. No one -- except the one insider who his sources are -- has ever said anything about attractions being cut. And certainly there's been no direct connection between staffing cuts and rides operating at less than full capacity.

The parties are more expensive for the same reason Apple stock is expensive. There is a market, there is a limited supply, and the price goes up until people think the value is gone. I'm sorry some people now don't want to go to the parties because they are more expensive, but it really is silly to complain about a business doing what ever business has done since people lived in caves. You find out what people will pay, and then you stop.

 

[Tink575]

If it cuts down on crowds it is worth it to me. We went to the party in Oct. last year, foregoing our AP discounts, because the weather (rain) for most of the parties and the Sept. crowds put us off.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Not one of them has provided anything other than anecdotal proof. No one -- except the one insider who his sources are -- has ever said anything about attractions being cut

The Orlando Sentinel had an article with a quote from an attractions worker about his hours being cut. The attractions worker and the attraction he works at were both named in the article. Were they drastic cuts? No. I'm not claiming they are. But it is false that *no one* has reported on attractions cuts and that they've all been anonymous sources.

 

[Ser Arthur Dayne]

Attendance estimates suggest a 1% drop at WDW. Not really noticeable for wait times. The increased wait is due to FP+ which consumes 70% of a typical rides capacity thereby increasing the standby wait significantly.

No disagreement that FP+ has made a significant impact on lines, most noticeably at attractions that did not previously utilize FastPass. That said, it is not an either/or situation. Both FP+ and reduced capacity are capable of affecting wait times.

 

[whiporee]

The Orlando Sentinel had an article with a quote from an attractions worker about his hours being cut. The attractions worker and the attraction he works at were both named in the article. Were they drastic cuts? No. I'm not claiming they are. But it is false that *no one* has reported on attractions cuts and that they've all been anonymous sources.

That's not what I was commenting on, Ariel. The quote said its all over the internet that WDW had cut 20 percent of its workforce. That's not true. That would mean the equivalent cutting if 13,000 jobs, or the equivalent of cutting 91,000 hours a week. That would be giant news in the country, not just Orlando.

And yes, the Sentinel found s guy who said his hours had been cut by 2 or 3 hours a week. He also said this happens every year and he expected them to come back as the spring went on.

Had the reporter talked to 10 people and found them all in the same situation, that would be evidence. But they talked to two, both of whom sort of shrugged their shoulders and said "sort of."

You'll also notice that when they quote, they're quoting Tom Corless, who's also one of then logs cited. Tom wrote about these cuts in February, predicting the cuts where coming and saying that this came from "insiders." And then he himself is quoted as an insider. But if you read the bio on the blog, it says his qualification is that he goes to Disney a lot. But he's there on the 9news article -/ along with another person making assumptions based on what Corless is saying -- and he says this stuff without any quotes, without any evidence other than his own opinion.

But this is how blogs work. You say what you want, someone else reads it and passes it along. Then you get called an "insider" and suddenly what you say has more weight. Micechat quotes MiceAge and that's somehow fact.

It's not. That's all I was pointing out.