csaguy said:
Why do we complain in the posts about over-prices, poor food, bad service but turn around and say "But it's Disney". Shouldn't we want the best of Disney. It doesn't matter which park you go to (WDW, Disneyland, Paris, Tokyo), it should all be good. Maybe after Eisner is gone someone we take notice of the people that pay their salary and give us back the best.
Well, if you don't agree with the prices, are you gonna stop going? That's not an option for many of us fans. But I'll tell you this: I've been planning to go to WDW for
3 years now, and that includes my future honeymoon, and I haven't been able to do it, and I
won't go on my honeymoon. The dollar-real rexchange rates are 3 to 1 right now, so that makes it 3 times
more expensive for me to go. Are the dollar rates Disney's fault? Of course not. But the fact that they charge 15 bucks for a burger and fries and a Coke kinda matters when you gotta add up all the expenses.
I've said many times here that what with the new immigration laws President Bush implemented, it's getting increasingly hard for non-Europeans to get tourism Visas. And the fact that the airlines haven't been doing good since 9/11 doesn't help things either. And many people may disagree, but WDW
needs its International Guests. It cannot live on Americans alone. It can survive, I think, but not thrive like in the mid 90's, when everyone would complain about the dreaded Brazilian groups. They were always around because dollar rates were one to one, and there were always reports on the news about how Brazilians were a huge part on WDW's income.
So having said all that, I
really think WDW should team up with an airline or two and come up with a good, heavy International campaign. We have the Disney Channel down here, Disney has contracts with non-cable channels to exhibit its movies and cartoons, and with stores to sell toys and clothes. We get DVDs and VHS, and comic books. But we
never see promos about WDW or DL (or DLP and TDL, for that matter) anywhere. The new generations don't even
know there's such a thing as a place where you can see Mickey and his friends. The fact that we had Mickey's House in a mall down here to celebrate the 75th birthday is a good thing, but
it's not enough.
Would the increased International traffic halt the prices from going up? Probably not, because suits love that cash. But it'd definately help, I think. After all, we all know it's impossible to spend a day in the park and not come out with a few shopping bags and a couple of snacks...
EDIT: After reading the
whole thread I realized my English got the best of me and I misunderstood its original idea. So I'm sorry about posting a totally non-related post like this. :lol: