One thing Disney could learn from Seaworld

A

Arthur Wellesley

Well-Known Member
mergatroid said:
Decided to boycott Seaworld after the whale killed the trainer and I saw the film 'Black Fish' :mad:
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Oh. This is going to get ugly.

Nothing against your stance, but there is a general, unspoken rule around here:
-You can criticize Disney
-You can criticize Universal
BUT, if you criticize or question Sea World's practices...it usually leads to VERY heated attacks from others, accusations of trollish agendas, and ultimately, closed discussions when things get too out of hand.

So just keep that in mind: Don't agree with Disney? That is just your opinion. Don't agree with Universal? That is just your opinion.
Don't agree with Sea World? You're a troll pushing a political agenda, and you should be banned for life or killed.

(Just going by past observations on the Sea World board).
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Arthur Wellesley said:
Oh. This is going to get ugly.

Nothing against your stance, but there is a general, unspoken rule around here:
-You can criticize Disney
-You can criticize Universal
BUT, if you criticize or question Sea World's practices...it usually leads to VERY heated attacks from others, accusations of trollish agendas, and ultimately, closed discussions when things get too out of hand.

So just keep that in mind: Don't agree with Disney? That is just your opinion. Don't agree with Universal? That is just your opinion.
Don't agree with Sea World? You're a troll pushing a political agenda, and you should be banned for life or killed.

(Just going by past observations on the Sea World board).
Click to expand...

Well I won't be drawn into arguments that mean the thread needs locking (seen some great arguments on here but never Seaworld related battles), I'll leave that to others.

I'd been going to Seaworld for many years and thoroughly enjoyed every visit, thought all the animals were well cared for and looked happy. I saw 'Black Fish' and decided that it wasn't for me anymore but will let others make their own minds up on the issue.
 
GrumpyFan

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Not sure why people can't just discuss the topic at hand, instead of devolving into a mass dumping on SeaWorld.
Personally, i don't care what people think of them and this wasn't meant to be a discussion about that. It was in reference to some in park perks they're adding for their AP holders.
 
rucifee

rucifee

Well-Known Member
It's obvious if you're a local that SeaWorld needs their passholders, and they take good care of them. I have friends that go to SeaWorld every weekend because there's always something for the locals to do there. Unlike Disney, SeaWorld knows that locals actually do spend money as long as you don't knock on their back door.
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
GrumpyFan said:
Not sure why people can't just discuss the topic at hand, instead of devolving into a mass dumping on SeaWorld.
Personally, i don't care what people think of them and this wasn't meant to be a discussion about that. It was in reference to some in park perks they're adding for their AP holders.
Click to expand...

It's not a mass dumping on Seaworld, I was merely pointing out that I used to go but don't anymore. Sorry if you feel I've derailed your thread and that wasn't my intention.

I suppose for AP holders at Seaworld that's good for them, somewhere to sit and charge their phones..
 
ShareBDwithMickey

ShareBDwithMickey

Active Member
Having visited Sea World over Halloween I was struck by just how low visitor numbers were. I suspect this has a considerable part to play in why the perks are so good for annual ticket holders, frankly they need the business. I for one know I probably wouldn't have bothered had I not got my entrance tickets as part of my Discovery Cove package.

Disney simply does not have this issue & as such doesn't need to woo locals in the same way. In reality Disney, in Florida at least, sees locals as nice, but not essential to have as they get most of their income from the holiday makers both domestic & international & as such unless this changes I see no realistic chance of significant improvements to the current annual ticket holders perks.

Regardless of whether we agree or not I'm sure we can all except that there is currently no economic benefit to Disney to change how things are. They get far more return on their investment by offering the exceptionally good deals enjoyed by those of us in the European & Antipodean markets. I can't comment on deals in South America but suspect they get similar incentives as well.

Disney in Florida can currently fill almost 80% of its rooms year round & rarely has space in any sit down restaurant on any given night, that being said what incentive is there to offer any concessions to locals?
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
mergatroid said:
Well I won't be drawn into arguments that mean the thread needs locking (seen some great arguments on here but never Seaworld related battles), I'll leave that to others.

I'd been going to Seaworld for many years and thoroughly enjoyed every visit, thought all the animals were well cared for and looked happy. I saw 'Black Fish' and decided that it wasn't for me anymore but will let others make their own minds up on the issue.
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I prefer to think for myself and not let some biased filmmaker decide what I should think.
 
Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
mergatroid said:
Decided to boycott Seaworld after the whale killed the trainer and I saw the film 'Black Fish' :mad:
Click to expand...

There is a seperate discussion on this in the SeaWorld forum.

This topic is in the DisneyWorld forum so please keep it on topic, ie what can Disney learm from they way SeaWorld treating Annual Passholders.

But this is one area I don't think Disney need to change what they do. As the article notes, Passholders spend less than other guests, so why give them a place they can spend even less. If they can get free soda in the lounge, where is the incentive for a passholder to buy a drink.

But SeaWorlds guest numbers are low, Harry Potter has hit them hard and they need to do everything they can to get and retain guests. Disney don't need more guest, they have too many, Disney needs to get each guest spending more.
 
docdebbi

docdebbi

Well-Known Member
i think the difference is, as others stated, sea world needs the annual passholders now. WDW does not.
since the bad press, whether warranted or not, (topic for elsewhere not here) i believe their attendance is signficiantly down. they need to get attendance up.

not only for the price of the admission tickets sold, and the food/beverage while there, but to make the park look active. people go to an empty park and say to themselves, there must be something wrong with this place, no one comes. even if it is subconscious it clicks.

WDW has more guests than they can handle and wants to decrease the crowds by decreasing APs. once they have the new attractions up and running and can handle more capacity, they may need the APs back. that is yet to be seen, if the new lands bring in enough guests to still fill the place, the APs will still be on the back burner. IMHO
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
There is a reason that SeaWorld treats it's AP holders so well.

They have to.

Unlike WDW, they don't have legions of people coming from all over the world willing to pay darn near full price to visit the parks, stay at their resorts and eat in their restaurants.

mergatroid said:
Decided to boycott Seaworld after the whale killed the trainer and I saw the film 'Black Fish' :mad:
Click to expand...

You might want to give the articles linked below a read. In short, if all you are basing your opinion on is the movie "Blackfish", your opinion will be woefully misinformed. Not unlike most documentaries these days the makers of Blackfish started with the conclusion and edited the data to fit it.


https://skeptoid.com/blog/2014/04/23/blackfish-documentary-or-propaganda/

https://cetaceaninspiration.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/why-you-shouldnt-buy-the-blackfish-backlash/
 
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Chef Mickey

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
SeaWorld realizes their AP holders are important because essentially no one else wants to go to SeaWorld consistently.

Everyone wants to go to Disney, so AP holders are looked at as second tier versus higher spending visitors.
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
I really don't think Blackfish had much of an impact at SeaWorld Orlando, It certainly did in San Diego though. The real issue is Universal. Orlando vacations for most people are WDW+ something else, some people choose Universal some choose SeaWorld some choose both. With all the new offerings at Universal and the lack of anything new that's good at SeaWorld there's really not much of a choice for most people. Not many people are going to choose SeaWorld over Universal or even a second day at Universal as 2 park tickets are now required for Potter. I think they're on the right track now with the new coaster, and until then taking good care of the pass holders makes sense to keep things from slipping too much.
 
rucifee

rucifee

Well-Known Member
docdebbi said:
i think the difference is, as others stated, sea world needs the annual passholders now. WDW does not.
since the bad press, whether warranted or not, (topic for elsewhere not here) i believe their attendance is signficiantly down. they need to get attendance up.

not only for the price of the admission tickets sold, and the food/beverage while there, but to make the park look active. people go to an empty park and say to themselves, there must be something wrong with this place, no one comes. even if it is subconscious it clicks.

WDW has more guests than they can handle and wants to decrease the crowds by decreasing APs. once they have the new attractions up and running and can handle more capacity, they may need the APs back. that is yet to be seen, if the new lands bring in enough guests to still fill the place, the APs will still be on the back burner. IMHO
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I visit SeaWorld often, and I know a lot of others who do as well, like I mentioned I know someone who goes every weekend. I've seen very busy days there, and not so busy days. One thing people aren't saying, at least not while they are on property is "what's wrong with this place". I do overhear that often at Magic Kingdom, seriously, just a few days ago I heard someone yelling at a CM about how "magical" their vacation to stand in lines and deal with crowds was. They're too busy having fun at SeaWorld, although the Shamu show is a joke everything else is great. Disney's telling people that they want to reduce bodies in the park by reducing APs but that's not what's really happening or what they desire, they want to make more room for tour groups who spend more money than those of us who only spend "a few grand" a year there. They're trying to force a demographic change, and it'll work but only for a while. Disney is making an enemy of their population of locals, that's never good business.
 

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