Chapek's comments - he doesn't want anyone on this board at WDW any more

[thomas998]

We used to go quite often, sometimes 3 times a year and always for at least a week and often during times of special ticket parties... but the greed was showing as those partied got more and more crowded to the point that it no longer seemed worth it. In a normal pre-excessive greed time we would do 2 or 3 special events on any given trip... but not anymore. Now it is one time only because why pay for a special ticket when the crowds are so high you spend half your time standing in a line... and guess what, they control how many tickets they sell to those partied and there is no influx of AP folks clogging the park it is all based on Disneys decision on how many tickets to sell. They don't care about guests experiences and haven't for a very long time.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I hate Chapek, but he is referring to annual passholders that go constantly, not necessarily "superfans", right?

 

[fiji271]

Chapek interview with the Hollywood reporter when talking about "Superfans".

"But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure that there’s room in the park for the family from Denver that comes once every five years. We didn’t have a reservation system and we didn’t control the number of annual passes we distributed and frankly, the annual pass as a value was so great that people were literally coming all the time and the accessibility of the park was unlimited to them and that family from Denver would get to the park and not be let in. That doesn’t seem like a real balanced proposition.”


This is why we do not go any more.......They dont want us there! These are the very people that brought the parks back to life after the Covid closures and now WDW is just saying "Thanks, but we don't need you any longer"

And then he had the balls to say if our plan doesn't work out, we will let you peasants back in.........

"We have a real high-class problem: We have much more demand than there is supply. What we will not bend on is giving somebody a less than stellar experience in the parks because we jammed too many people in there. If we’re going to have that foundational rule, you have to start balancing who you let in. … Our ticket prices and constraints we put on how often people can come and when they come is a direct reflection of demand. When is it too much? Demand will tell us when it’s too much.”

This is everything that is wrong with this current management team. Disgrace what it has become

Chapek interview with the Hollywood reporter when talking about "Superfans".

"But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure that there’s room in the park for the family from Denver that comes once every five years. We didn’t have a reservation system and we didn’t control the number of annual passes we distributed and frankly, the annual pass as a value was so great that people were literally coming all the time and the accessibility of the park was unlimited to them and that family from Denver would get to the park and not be let in. That doesn’t seem like a real balanced proposition.”


This is why we do not go any more.......They dont want us there! These are the very people that brought the parks back to life after the Covid closures and now WDW is just saying "Thanks, but we don't need you any longer"

And then he had the balls to say if our plan doesn't work out, we will let you peasants back in.........

"We have a real high-class problem: We have much more demand than there is supply. What we will not bend on is giving somebody a less than stellar experience in the parks because we jammed too many people in there. If we’re going to have that foundational rule, you have to start balancing who you let in. … Our ticket prices and constraints we put on how often people can come and when they come is a direct reflection of demand. When is it too much? Demand will tell us when it’s too much.”

This is everything that is wrong with this current management team. Disgrace what it has become

Lot to unpack here.

Who is “we” exactly? AP holders brought the parks back to life after Covid? Not saying you are wrong, but I would love to see the stats you are using to come to that conclusion. Seems to me that the parks are still coming back to life. It will take YEARS to recover the lost income that Covid caused and the majority of the park’s revenue is being generated by non AP guests. I would argue that guests who by multi day tickets, Genie +, and stay on property are the people that are bringing the parks back to life.

I disagree with a lot of what Chapek has done so far as CEO, but if APs produced decent profit margins, Disney leadership would bend over backwards to get AP holders in the park more often. But that obviously is not the case.

It’s a disgrace that Disney wants to increase out of state visitors and decrease the number of local AP holders? My family and I live out of state and honestly the absolute worst thing about a Disney vacation is the crowds. We went to Disneyland last summer and it SUCKED. Why? Because you could hardly even walk without being shoulder to shoulder with other people. Many of whom are AP holders who go all the time. We have had the same issue at Disney world.

I get it. If I lived in Orlando and had an AP I would not like these decisions, but Chapek is spot on with his assessment and the numbers are bearing that out. Park revenue is up and attendance is down. Prices are still too low in my opinion.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

This sounds similar to Selim Basouls comment about Six Flags..

 

[fiji271]

WDW is evolving to a place that is not for everyone.

I do think they will end the AP products.

There are plenty of visitors who are willing to pay top dollar for tickets and rooms, plenty enough to crowd the parks.

Time will tell.

Not directed at you, but I will vent. Haha. WDW has not been for everyone since 1971. It has always been an expensive vacation that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population has never and will never be able to visit. People don’t whine about when they can afford it, but the second it is too expensive for them they start crying about how Disney doesn’t want the average family to visit anymore. Drives me crazy!

 

[phil hair]

Chapek interview with the Hollywood reporter when talking about "Superfans".

"But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure that there’s room in the park for the family from Denver that comes once every five years. We didn’t have a reservation system and we didn’t control the number of annual passes we distributed and frankly, the annual pass as a value was so great that people were literally coming all the time and the accessibility of the park was unlimited to them and that family from Denver would get to the park and not be let in. That doesn’t seem like a real balanced proposition.”


This is why we do not go any more.......They dont want us there! These are the very people that brought the parks back to life after the Covid closures and now WDW is just saying "Thanks, but we don't need you any longer"

And then he had the balls to say if our plan doesn't work out, we will let you peasants back in.........

"We have a real high-class problem: We have much more demand than there is supply. What we will not bend on is giving somebody a less than stellar experience in the parks because we jammed too many people in there. If we’re going to have that foundational rule, you have to start balancing who you let in. … Our ticket prices and constraints we put on how often people can come and when they come is a direct reflection of demand. When is it too much? Demand will tell us when it’s too much.”

This is everything that is wrong with this current management team. Disgrace what it has become

He hit the nail on the head, 'demand outstrips supply'.
So what are they doing about it? Building more hotels....... They are not addressing the real problem, WDW is about 3 parks below what is required.
They had the chance when they decided to reopen the closed water park on one of the islands in the lagoon, but what did the decide? To build another hotel.

 

[eliza61nyc]

My real question is, why do people continue to go? What is the incentive to stay on property now? It baffles my mind why people continue to pay these exorbitant prices while getting less of a product:


Here is a partial list of cuts and negative changes made just since Covid (I'm sure I am missing some, i saw this list on another site)
Magical Express
free Magic Bands
Live entertainment like GF Orchestra, street performers
Housekeeping
Extra Magic Hours
FP+ - Genie+ and not being able to pre book ride
shorter park hours
smaller food portions
increased ticket prices
higher crowds
waking up before 7am every day
having to be on my phone constantly
No dining plan
no Tables In Wonderland..............

Very simple. People continue to go because they continue to have a good time.
Many of the cuts may or may not effect them. I wake up at 6 everyday so the 7 am thing?? Not a problem. People on their phones?? Sorry don't blame that on Disney, everyday in real life you see the evidence of our phone addiction.

My point is most people go for one reason, they have great vacations.

Okay my controversial statement for the day. I think the real issue with folks here is that we're more upset that people are still going

 

[eliza61nyc]

Not directed at you, but I will vent. Haha. WDW has not been for everyone since 1971. It has always been an expensive vacation that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population has never and will never be able to visit. People don’t whine about when they can afford it, but the second it is too expensive for them they start crying about how Disney doesn’t want the average family to visit anymore. Drives me crazy!

sums it up nicely

 

[Lilofan]

Not directed at you, but I will vent. Haha. WDW has not been for everyone since 1971. It has always been an expensive vacation that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population has never and will never be able to visit. People don’t whine about when they can afford it, but the second it is too expensive for them they start crying about how Disney doesn’t want the average family to visit anymore. Drives me crazy!

In general, our country has a bunch of ungrateful whiners.

 

[crazy4disney]

Ok…but you’re not paying for the food in this case…no matter how much you do or don’t eat.

But this has been rehashed like a zillion times…so good travels

Im confused how im not paying for food. Im getting the best of both worlds. I literally just got back and stated what it cost me vs what a dining plan would have and it was significantly more. Again simple math maybe it doesnt work for everyone maybe it doesnt work for anyone else but in my specific case just like the FP+ debate we have had countless times it worked for me and the savings were great…

 

[Goofyernmost]

Lot to unpack here.

Who is “we” exactly? AP holders brought the parks back to life after Covid? Not saying you are wrong, but I would love to see the stats you are using to come to that conclusion. Seems to me that the parks are still coming back to life. It will take YEARS to recover the lost income that Covid caused and the majority of the park’s revenue is being generated by non AP guests. I would argue that guests who by multi day tickets, Genie +, and stay on property are the people that are bringing the parks back to life.

I disagree with a lot of what Chapek has done so far as CEO, but if APs produced decent profit margins, Disney leadership would bend over backwards to get AP holders in the park more often. But that obviously is not the case.

It’s a disgrace that Disney wants to increase out of state visitors and decrease the number of local AP holders? My family and I live out of state and honestly the absolute worst thing about a Disney vacation is the crowds. We went to Disneyland last summer and it SUCKED. Why? Because you could hardly even walk without being shoulder to shoulder with other people. Many of whom are AP holders who go all the time. We have had the same issue at Disney world.

I get it. If I lived in Orlando and had an AP I would not like these decisions, but Chapek is spot on with his assessment and the numbers are bearing that out. Park revenue is up and attendance is down. Prices are still too low in my opinion.

I really don't think that an argument can be made that AP's are good for the Disney company. That brings people to the parks but not necessarily money. The more that AP's are used the lower the daily rate is going to be for them. That is good for the AP holder but can be negative for Disney. From my limited observation AP's holders, are usually people that live close to the parks. They don't usually utilize the hotels, they eat most of their meals either before they arrive or after they leave, they have already collected massive amounts of swag so they don't buy a lot. All they really do from the view of Disney is increase the numbers in the park, not the income. That is one of the reasons why I never understood the logic behind promoting AP's especially in Disneyland where so many of the guests are local.

I don't know exactly what an AP costs now but hypothetically lets call it $1200.00. That means that if the daily non-AP rate is $120.00 then after 10 visits they are getting in free. That might work for WDW where the majority of visitors are not local, but in Anaheim it is a huge loss of revenue for Disney. Something that Bob and the stockholders do not want to see. It's causing overcrowding in the parks and nothing much else.

 

[Jrb1979]

Very simple. People continue to go because they continue to have a good time.
Many of the cuts may or may not effect them. I wake up at 6 everyday so the 7 am thing?? Not a problem. People on their phones?? Sorry don't blame that on Disney, everyday in real life you see the evidence of our phone addiction.

My point is most people go for one reason, they have great vacations.

Okay my controversial statement for the day. I think the real issue with folks here is that we're more upset that people are still going

I'm not upset people are going still. I find funny so many waste money on a diminished product.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Nobody told this stiff the Danger in saying “the quiet part outloud”?

 

[Disstevefan1]

Not directed at you, but I will vent. Haha. WDW has not been for everyone since 1971. It has always been an expensive vacation that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population has never and will never be able to visit. People don’t whine about when they can afford it, but the second it is too expensive for them they start crying about how Disney doesn’t want the average family to visit anymore. Drives me crazy!

Agreed, WDW was indeed never for everyone, and I my first visit was as an adult as growing up, our family could not afford it, come to think of it, our first trip 30 years ago was paid for on a credit card Yes, I was paying for that vacation long after it was over.

But what's happening now is different in my mind as we have the superfans (who can clearly afford it) are now seeing it's not worth it.

Today, I can afford it and before the pandemic, my family of three had platinum APs for about 13 years, not sure we are the "superfans" Bob speaks of, but our last visit was 2019 ironically at a hard ticket Christmas party.

We never did renew our APs.

Well, the good news is it will be better for the family from Denver that comes once every five years.

 

[mightynine]

In general, our country has a bunch of ungrateful whiners.

So are you whining right now about the alleged whiners….?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Im confused how im not paying for food. Im getting the best of both worlds. I literally just got back and stated what it cost me vs what a dining plan would have and it was significantly more. Again simple math maybe it doesnt work for everyone maybe it doesnt work for anyone else but in my specific case just like the FP+ debate we have had countless times it worked for me and the savings were great…

Character meals aren’t a $60 “value”…they increased the prices of those in particular (but all places) as they escalated the dining plan prices as well.

It’s not what you’re “saving”…it’s just that everyone is paying a lot more. But again…this has been well pointed out on forums for 15 years with numbers.

$18 prices in 2002 are now $60. That’s not “inflation”.
We ate at California grill, space 220, flying fish, tusker, Crystal palace…bunch of other places…some quicks…snacks…an adult aperitif or 20…in June
And I believe the final tally was around or even less what the last price of the DDP would have cost me for 4…and we were a travel with so I absorbed some costs for 2.5 others.
But you couldn’t do much of that on the DDP…would have blown it.

In the end…of you’re happy with it…I’m happy for you.

 

[Disstevefan1]

In general, our country has a bunch of ungrateful whiners.

The USA is the greatest country on the planet.
This is just a discussion board where we complain about WDW. Nothing more.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In general, our country has a bunch of ungrateful whiners.

That starts right at the top. Which is probably what escapes you.

 

[monothingie]

You have to make a theme park reservation now. Should there be none left for the family from Denver because locals want to go ride X again? You need balance.

BS PR spin.

Anyone can visit a Disney park at anytime. The family from Topeka has always been able to set foot in any Disney Park.

Instead Bob and Josh can make the super fans out to be the bad guys because their MBA bean counters say they’re less profitable. Surely this golden age will last forever!

Of course it distracts from their utter failure to run the parks in a way in which they didn’t have to turn one group against each other.

 

[Disstevefan1]

He’s right.

Some people went overboard (especially on the West coast, from what I understand.)

You have to make a theme park reservation now. Should there be none left for the family from Denver because locals want to go ride X again? You need balance.

There’s probably a better solution than just raising prices (more creative passes, especially for locals) but I don’t take any personal offense as if I’m not an appreciated guest.

As always in real life: the bottom line is the bottom line.

So Bobby got rid of those nasty, filthy, unfavorable APrs.

When this does not improve anything at the parks, I wonder who he will blame next?