Disney's FY20 Q3 Earnings (8/4/20)

GoofGoof

Premium Member
I agree that's part of it. Many people are also not interested in going to any theme parks.
True, and it’s not just a spike in FL. When the opening date was announced back in May it looked like the whole country was on a downward trend. The more cases anywhere or everywhere the less likely people want to venture too far from home.
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
True, and it’s not just a spike in FL. When the opening date was announced back in May it looked like the whole country was on a downward trend. The more cases anywhere or everywhere the less likely people want to venture too far from home.
Even then some places have parks open and many can't be bothered to visit them
 

flutas

Well-Known Member
Interesting. I looked and the $79 one said it had free breakfast. So that couldn't be Pop, right?

It may have changed to a different hotel by now.

If you do the bonnet creek area and look for a hotel with free airport shuttle it is 100% a disney hotel.
 

KikoKea

Well-Known Member
These two contrasting images show that there's a middle ground. Both were taken on a Sunday (early) evening.

I took the first one in late September 2019:

View attachment 489212

My son took the second one in the middle of July 2020:

View attachment 489213
I agree. DH and I have become unhappy with the crowds in the past few years to the point of debating whether or not to renew our APs. We love WDW, but agreed that there are more places to visit (and spend our $$ on) than WDW several times a year. For us, the crowds and long lines due to FP+ have taken some of the enjoyment out. The current crisis gives TWDC a chance to rethink their strategy and make changes to give visitors a better experience. Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
Edit: corrected typo
 
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doctornick

Well-Known Member
I agree. DH and I have become unhappy with the crowds in the past few years to the point of debating whether or not to renew our APs. We love WDW, but agreed that there are more places to visit (and spend our $$ on) than WDW several times a year. For us, the crowds and long lines due to FP+ have taken some of the enjoyment out. The current crisis gives TWDC a chance to rethink their strategy and make changes to give visitors a better experience. Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
Edit: corrected typo

Serious question (Assuming we return to "normal" at some point): what strategy should Disney do that would make things more enticing to you? I guess getting with of FP+ would be an argument to make lines more along more. But what would they do to make things less crowded? Jack up prices seems like the only plausible solution to me which they've been doing; I guess they could be more aggressive.

Building lot of new rides to spread out crowds would probably draw in more people than the new capacity would accommodate. I guess they could intentional build a bunch of C-tickets that are uninspiring so they don't draw extra people. Like a bunch of Little Mermaid level rides (high capacity but meh experience). Of course, doing that would get Disney pelted with criticism for not building better stuff.

I'm being serious that I'm not sure what is a good solution to the "problem" of park crowding.
 

Thelazer

Well-Known Member
I agree that's part of it. Many people are also not interested in going to any theme parks.

"Most"...
Disney's daily attendance is made up of mostly folks flying in.
It's not that they are NOT interested.
It's that there is no flights, silly travel restrictions and other hoopla that prevent them from going.
And of course the fear factor.

The question is, at what point does TDO Orlando wake up from there work at home slumber
and figure out that the situation won't change anytime soon, and thus they need to start courting the locals
now and HEAVILY! No daily caps, no blackout dates, no Nada, nothing... Just let whoever wants to, come on in.

(Hint, even doing that, it STILL won't be busy)
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
"Most"...
Disney's daily attendance is made up of mostly folks flying in.
It's not that they are NOT interested.
It's that there is no flights, silly travel restrictions and other hoopla that prevent them from going.
And of course the fear factor.

The question is, at what point does TDO Orlando wake up from there work at home slumber
and figure out that the situation won't change anytime soon, and thus they need to start courting the locals
now and HEAVILY! No daily caps, no blackout dates, no Nada, nothing... Just let whoever wants to, come on in.

(Hint, even doing that, it STILL won't be busy)
I disagree. It has nothing to do with the things that prevent people traveling. People just don't feel safe going to theme parks right now and they don't have the money to go. As far as opening more spots for AP holders good luck. Lex Luthor already said they don't really care about those people. They aren't the highest spenders.
 

Thelazer

Well-Known Member
I disagree. It has nothing to do with the things that prevent people traveling. People just don't feel safe going to theme parks right now and they don't have the money to go. As far as opening more spots for AP holders good luck. Lex Luthor already said they don't really care about those people. They aren't the highest spenders.

I dunno, a LOT of folks would LOVE a vacation right about now.

Maybe I'm dreaming.. this could be Lex's undoing finally.
 

robhedin

Well-Known Member
The majority of folks that would LOVE a vacation are opting for ones near their home.
Probably true-- I suspect most of those 50% of non-Floridians are driving there. Most people I know have no desire to hop on a plane but will gladly make the drive. If i'm correct, then most of those people are from the south-east (GA, AL, MS, SC, NC, and TN).
 

el_super

Well-Known Member
The majority of folks that would LOVE a vacation are opting for ones near their home.

Seriously... these poll numbers are terrible:


A new poll by the Morning Consult research company and the Hollywood Reporter found that 68% of American parents aren’t ready to take their kids to the Happiest Place on Earth once the Anaheim theme park reopens.

The survey polled 2,200 Americans between July 23-26 about how safe they feel returning to Disneyland and other U.S. theme parks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey found that 78% of American parents want nothing to do with a U.S. theme park this year. Next summer looks more promising when more than twice as many parents (47% in 2021 vs. 18% in 2020) will be interested in visiting a theme park with their kids.

Disney World (26%) fared better than Universal Orlando (25%), Disneyland (24%), Universal Studios Hollywood (24%), SeaWorld Orlando (23%), Hersheypark (19%), Legoland Florida (18%), Dollywood (17%) and Cedar Point (15%) when it came to parents’ interest in going to theme parks this summer, according to the survey.




I disagree. It has nothing to do with the things that prevent people traveling. People just don't feel safe going to theme parks right now and they don't have the money to go. As far as opening more spots for AP holders good luck. Lex Luthor already said they don't really care about those people. They aren't the highest spenders.

I actually think they will eventually figure this out. I think the early failings they are having, aren't related to the demand (which Chapek said was initially strong) but rather a little quirk of the reservation system itself. As long as they are allowing people to change/cancel reservations without penalty (which is good guest service!) they are going to have this percentage of people who booked reservations with only a minimal intent to follow through with it. Since the (to borrow the phrase) burden of entry is so low for an AP/local visitor to book a reservation and drive over, it's easy for them to change their mind day-of because its raining and they need a nap or what have you.

We saw this same thing happen out here at Disneyland with the Galaxy's Edge reservations. They were gone within minutes, but only a small percentage of those people actually showed up. They just can't gauge how many people will abandon a reservation until they have a few months worth of data. Then they can make the needed adjustments.
 

senor_jorge

Barbara Eden+? Bring it!!
"Most"...
Disney's daily attendance is made up of mostly folks flying in.
It's not that they are NOT interested.
It's that there is no flights, silly travel restrictions and other hoopla that prevent them from going.
And of course the fear factor.

The question is, at what point does TDO Orlando wake up from there work at home slumber
and figure out that the situation won't change anytime soon, and thus they need to start courting the locals
now and HEAVILY! No daily caps, no blackout dates, no Nada, nothing... Just let whoever wants to, come on in.

(Hint, even doing that, it STILL won't be busy)

Different animal but Six Flags Over Texas has reduced hours, and closed a couple of days per week since reopening. It attracts visitors locally and from the region for the most part. The demand just isn’t there for them, even from locals. Maybe Disney and Orlando are different, but I doubt it’s that different.
 

KikoKea

Well-Known Member
Serious question (Assuming we return to "normal" at some point): what strategy should Disney do that would make things more enticing to you? I guess getting with of FP+ would be an argument to make lines more along more. But what would they do to make things less crowded? Jack up prices seems like the only plausible solution to me which they've been doing; I guess they could be more aggressive.

Building lot of new rides to spread out crowds would probably draw in more people than the new capacity would accommodate. I guess they could intentional build a bunch of C-tickets that are uninspiring so they don't draw extra people. Like a bunch of Little Mermaid level rides (high capacity but meh experience). Of course, doing that would get Disney pelted with criticism for not building better stuff.

I'm being serious that I'm not sure what is a good solution to the "problem" of park crowding.
Good questions and I don't know what would be best, either. I remember about 15 or so years ago when we took our 2 sons to WDW, usually in the Fall or Winter. It was not nearly as crowded and it was much more enjoyable. I'm not sure what changed- heavy marketing to South America? Allowed more guests in? Special prices for resort stays? I know it's business so I cannot fault them for wanting more guests to come and spend $$$, yet there seems to be a point where it becomes too many guests and the experience is diminished.

I think getting rid of FP+ is a good start. It's amazing how fast the lines go during parties when there's no FP. I'm not crazy about the VQ as it is now- I think everyone should have a chance to ride, not just those who are fast on their phone. We usually end up waiting a year or two until we ride the new attractions, and we've gone to After Hours events just to have a chance to ride FoP- so guess that AH marketing ploy worked with us.;)

I feel designing attractions with more capacity would help a great deal, if they want to continue with the larger crowds. Perhaps a theater to attract a large audience or expand the parks but not increase capacity. They could jack up prices even more, but they better have great attractions or the cost will not be worth it.

In particular, it would be nice if they made the parks more guest 'friendly.' As we've gotten older (60s), we still love the thrill rides, but we also enjoy sitting and listening to the music and looking at what's going on. More benches and shade would be great, more water fountains for drinks, more 'atmosphere' additions such as water features or kid play areas, even more low-thrill attractions like TTA and CoP would be nice.

Lastly, they need to keep the parks up to date and not let attractions fall apart or get run down. Spaceship Earth is one of our favorite attractions, but clanking along like it's on its last legs is just disheartening. Space Mt is my favorite coaster and the rough ride adds to the thrill....but the numerous trim brakes don't. I won't even go into JII or Epcot- that's just inexcusable.

So, I don't know the solution, but I do know that we are looking at less visits and other places to vacation.
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
Good questions and I don't know what would be best, either. I remember about 15 or so years ago when we took our 2 sons to WDW, usually in the Fall or Winter. It was not nearly as crowded and it was much more enjoyable. I'm not sure what changed- heavy marketing to South America? Allowed more guests in? Special prices for resort stays? I know it's business so I cannot fault them for wanting more guests to come and spend $$$, yet there seems to be a point where it becomes too many guests and the experience is diminished.

I think getting rid of FP+ is a good start. It's amazing how fast the lines go during parties when there's no FP. I'm not crazy about the VQ as it is now- I think everyone should have a chance to ride, not just those who are fast on their phone. We usually end up waiting a year or two until we ride the new attractions, and we've gone to After Hours events just to have a chance to ride FoP- so guess that AH marketing ploy worked with us.;)

I feel designing attractions with more capacity would help a great deal, if they want to continue with the larger crowds. Perhaps a theater to attract a large audience or expand the parks but not increase capacity. They could jack up prices even more, but they better have great attractions or the cost will not be worth it.

In particular, it would be nice if they made the parks more guest 'friendly.' As we've gotten older (60s), we still love the thrill rides, but we also enjoy sitting and listening to the music and looking at what's going on. More benches and shade would be great, more water fountains for drinks, more 'atmosphere' additions such as water features or kid play areas, even more low-thrill attractions like TTA and CoP would be nice.

Lastly, they need to keep the parks up to date and not let attractions fall apart or get run down. Spaceship Earth is one of our favorite attractions, but clanking along like it's on its last legs is just disheartening. Space Mt is my favorite coaster and the rough ride adds to the thrill....but the numerous trim brakes don't. I won't even go into JII or Epcot- that's just inexcusable.

So, I don't know the solution, but I do know that we are looking at less visits and other places to vacation.
There is many other great amusement parks out there that I find are much better. If you look at the top 10 poll USA today put out recently no Disney park was on it. Silver Dollar City, Cedar Point and Busch Gardens Virginia were the top 3. Disney fans need to come the dark side more.
 

KikoKea

Well-Known Member
There is many other great amusement parks out there that I find are much better. If you look at the top 10 poll USA today put out recently no Disney park was on it. Silver Dollar City, Cedar Point and Busch Gardens Virginia were the top 3. Disney fans need to come the dark side more.
We are a 1.5hrs from Carowinds, 4 hrs from Dollywood & 6 Flags over Ga, and SDC & Busch would be doable, too. We like to travel and see history sites, so all would work for us. Thanks for the tip!

Do you think Disney was left off because their prices have gone up so much?
 

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