They did adapt. After a parade or Wishes, the parade routes & popular viewing areas look like a war zone. So Disney adapted with Bradley Fighting Hoovers.
Ah, yes. Very magical contraptions, and I have the video (and audio) to prove it.
By the way, interesting use of terms from somebody still "earning their ears" around here.
lllovell, I'm almost with you, but I still get the sense that you are at least somewhat justifying the areas of slippage. This is not a company strapped for capital. What burdens there are have come through a series of questionable investments and underperforming units other than the parks.
Cuts began in ernest at the parks in the 90's, when attendance was still building towards the record levels of 2000. Why? Disney was not cutting things because they couldn't afford to do otherwise. They simply made a decision that they could get a better return than what they were getting.
Then, in the post 9/11 environment, the cuts came hot and heavy. On the surface, with obvious justification. But as time wore on, investors and analysts were told that the company would come out of this period in better shape because some of those cuts and "margin improvements" would become permanent.
Which brings us to where we are today. Some things were restored, others were not, just as the company said would happen. A new park management team seems to at least have a better handle on what the parks are about than the previous Pressler-lead team, but still, we are left to wonder why there have been areas of slippage in Disney's famed customer service.
Other destinations are fully back from the recession and post 9/11 issues. In fact, Central Florida itself is seeing a record number of visitors.
Yet WDW is not seeing those record numbers, and is revamping its pricing and marketing strategies to try to get there. In fact, they are telling us that this is the primary method they will use to achieve their growth targets, not capital investment.
All I ask is that you consider the possibility that the impacts of all of the cuts of the past decade or so are starting to be felt. After all, when a place like WDW makes cuts, guests who have already planned trips aren't likely to cancel. Many only visit every few years, some even less often. It takes time for those cuts to really be felt and understood by its guests (fanatics like us aside).
Of course that doesn't mean nobody likes the place anymore. But its a fine line between what will generate a 3% increase in attendance and a 3% decrease. Yet that kind of difference can be tremendous for the company fiancially.
Yes, they are trying different pricing structures in an event to convince people to visit, stay on-site, and visit longer. This is all well and good. But one can't help but wonder if this has been made necessary at least in part from their own decisions.
Its simple economics. If you decrease the value of what you are offering, in any way shape or form and in even the slightest amount, you risk experiencing a corresponding drop in demand for your product. The consumer isn't going to care if its because more of their brethren leave hamburger wrappers on the table, or if the company has promised margins of over 20%, or if ABC is only just now reaching a point of profitability.
Disney knows, or at least knew, how to do this right. That part of it is not a learning process.
They are trying to fill the hotels, which leads to more income which gives them more to spend on maintenance and other items.
But see, this is a problem. The implication here is that if they aren't making as much money, then they can't spend on maintenance and other related items. That simply hasn't been the case. The company has money for these things, its just a case of deciding what the priorities are.
Beyond that, when you let these things slip, customers will notice and respond. Some will complain on the internet, but most simply say nothing. You don't even know they didn't quite get what they wanted from their trip until its time to plan the next one and they choose another destination, or a shorter WDW trip.