Cuts coming to every area of parks and resorts - thanks to Shanghai and Paris

[Jon81uk]

Which is a shame since Disneyland Paris is one of the most beautiful Disney parks. However the Disney Studios Park which is Paris's version of Hollywood Studios is another story.

The Disney Studios Paris may not look that great but some of the attractions are pretty good. I loved Cinemagique and Crush's Coaster.
Its just a bit of a small and poorly laid out park.

 

[hopemax]

The question now becomes how much of a "pass" will Disney fans give current operations because of Disney's own poor business decisions. This isn't like the gas crisis of the 70s, the 80's recession, the recession following the Iraq War, 9/11, or the financial crisis. Those things went beyond economic class, beyond nationality. The "big picture" said, "things beyond Disney's control warrant periods of time where Disney must operate differently." The Shanghai situation was entirely within Disney's control. The decision to starve Paris so that they could stage a takeover later but need serious capital investment, was entirely within Disney's control.

This is going to be more than just longer lines, shorter hours. This is going to add significant stress to the front line CMs. You would have thought that after experiencing the strain adding FP+ to all guests to the system affected both guest service (they suddenly needed an army to deal with them) and CM turnover someone would recognize how close to the breaking point they are. But that would require an awareness of WDW operations that we have known for awhile that Burbank does not have.

So I guess we're in for another summer of frustrated and stressed out guests, and forum peeps blaming the guests for "not doing their research" and making assumptions based on how WDW operated before proper business management saved the company from themselves, so of course their vacation was "less."

But since this is all a situation of Disney's own making, I look forward to seeing how Disney's competitors who aren't operating under these sort of restraints, react.

 

[brb1006]

Similar to The Hard Rock Park.

I hope it turns out better for Disney than it did The Hard Rock Park.

What happened to the Hard Rock Park? I didn't know that existed.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I want WDW to be around for a long, long time... so I'm good with some cuts here and there, to keep 'er running.

After record Q1 profits?

What flavor is the kool-aid? Wanna pass a bit my way?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

What happened to the Hard Rock Park? I didn't know that existed.

The Hard Rock Park opened in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2008 during the beginning of the economic crash. It lasted just over a year before they closed up shop and sold off the attractions. It's a shame, it wasn't a bad park.

 

[Sans Souci]

I booked a repositioning cruise on the Magic for July, I was thinking of cancelling it and going to WDW for our vacation. I think I will keep that booking...

 

[epeterson]

I would be recommending to colleagues and friends as this point to skip any WDW vacations until after Avatar Land/Toy Story Land/Star Wars Land are all built, since not only are the parks (with the exception of Magic Kingdom) shells of actual theme parks, they are now going to be consistently understaffed with less 'magical moments' going on at the parks. Disney's assertion that they need to cut because Paris is losing money (not by alot) and that Shanghai went over budget (Disney's problem, and it will make this money up when it finally opens), is just them convincing attendees to accept less. Disney has more than enough money to keep its park staffed at 100%, it just knows with record attendance it doesn't have to.

 

[EpcotCenter82]

What happened to the Hard Rock Park? I didn't know that existed.

The Hard Rock Park opened in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2008 during the beginning of the economic crash. It lasted just over a year before they closed up shop and sold off the attractions. It's a shame, it wasn't a bad park.

...... and it didn't help that the summer it opened was when gas prices increased to $4.50 per gallon and that the park was built in one of the most congested areas of Myrtle Beach. A group of investors reopened the park in 2009 as "Freestyle Music Park" but that version didn't survive long either.

 

[jakeman]

The question now becomes how much of a "pass" will Disney fans give current operations because of Disney's own poor business decisions.

Respectfully disagree. The fans (assuming you are referring to the fan is they are described around here) is an extreme minority. The question is how much the standard guest notice.

 

[TalkingHead]

It's really interesting to see how a multinational corporation shortchanges some customers while pandering to others.

For more than a decade, the overseas parks (including TDL, which admittedly isn't owned by TWDC) have gotten the best and most innovative attractions; not to mention, guests generally pay less for more overseas.

The American parks, especially those at WDW, continue to operate as pay more for less.

I don't know about you, but it sorta makes me uninterested in patronizing any of the Disney parks anywhere.

 

[wdwfan100]

If I could cancel my trip at the end of the year I would. It will be my last for a while. I am sick and tired of pouring money into this company to consistently be disregarded as a customer. In the future I see my DVC being used as a home base, without really spending much time at the WDW resort itself. This is just pathetic and frankly I'm over it. I truly used to love going to Disney. It was worth the premium costs for the service. Not anymore. There are plenty of other options and my money will go a lot further somewhere else.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I wonder how much of these cuts will be made up for by College Program kids?

 

[The_Jobu]

Ugh.

My family is going on our first vacation in about 15 years, saved up our pretty pennies, and are going to arrive at understaffed/overworked parks?

I hope the impact on customer service wont be too noticeable.

[/vent]

 

[Disneydreamer23]

This is why my Usual 2 week Stay at Disney has gone down to 10 Days and Staying Onsite at Universal for a week, even when I go to Disney In September I am spending 4 days at Universal and Sea World.

 

[epeterson]

I wish I could take all the Disney fans on here to Tokyo Disney/Tokyo Disneysea. $60 a day for each park or $145 for a three day park hopper ticket. In the off season queues are nothing, the customer service is top notch, and Disney Sea is probably the most beautiful Disney park in the world (and has amazing rides!). The park is run by a private company, instead of Disney, so it doesn't have that 'how can I get as much money out of the guests while giving them as little as possible' feel that Disney World has.

 

[Next Big Thing]

I wonder how much of these cuts will be made up for by College Program kids?

The DCP kills part/full-time workers hours. DCPs get over worked for about 5-7 months, then a new batch comes in. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

DCP is great from a business side, but kills employee morale.

 

[The Hatbox Ghost]

After record Q1 profits?

What flavor is the kool-aid? Wanna pass a bit my way?

LOL, well I see you don't appreciate my optimism. That's cool (or should I say "kool"?).

This kool-aid drinker understands that most successful businesses reinvest their profits back into their business to make improvements that pay off over time. You know, like Disney is doing with their new lands/attractions at WDW. I agree much has been neglected and they should be doing more. But I see they are making progress.

To answer your question the flavor is grape- and my glass is half full (not half empty).

 

[PhotoDave219]

The DCP kills part/full-time workers hours. DCPs get over worked for about 5-7 months, then a new batch comes in. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

DCP is great from a business side, but kills employee morale.

I agree 100%.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Honestly...Has this turned into Roller Coaster Tycoon? Can we take the grabber and drown TDO In World Showcase lagoon While the Fireworks are going on...

 

[Rescue Ranger]

However this affects the parks, noticeable or not, glad I am waiting until 2018 at the very earliest to venture back.