So, this is an interesting thought to me. I hear it a lot on this board that once post-pandemic demand starts to dry up, that they will have squandered all their PR and good will and they will be ruined in some sense. History says differently though. They've weathered multiple storms of people saying they are outraged and done with Disney when they've made changes or taken things away, yet the crowds remain immense. But, when I really think about that, even if they start to see significant drops in demand, they'll do what they've done in the past and start offering varying incentives and discounts to entice people back. Also, if crowds drop off significantly, the issues of long wait times go away and the G+ proposition changes. I seem to remember too that somewhere Chapek publicly stated that one of their strategies is to find ways to reduce demand while retaining profits. If all that is true, then G+ may be working exactly as they hope. If they see lower demands but maintain profits, they will be thrilled. I'd like to believe that they care about the good will of long-term fans, but I think that's a fantasy.
Ultimately, I also don't believe that they are doing irreparable harm. If they do need to juice back up attendance numbers they can do so relatively easily by offering discounts or other perks. I also think many of the people on this board would be some of the first to rush to book a trip in that event. Long and short from my perspective (obviously just opinion since I have no insider info) is that they have relatively little to lose by doing what they are doing. It sucks for long-term fans and consumers like most of us on this board, but from a business perspective, I suspect Disney is perfectly happy about where things sit today.
