News Disney plans to accelerate Parks investment to $60 billion over 10 years

[Stripes]

I will say, Disney definitely comes across as a premium product compared to the others. We got our luggage tags in the mail today, I forgot that they did that still. Pretty much all of the other cruise lines just send you an email and have you print them off. Disney has a lot of little things that set them apart. They come at a cost, but there's a lot of them.

Regarding the rotational dining, yes, all modern cruise ships have specialty dining, what I love about Disney's basic rotational dining though is that you have the same people serving you each night. They learn about you and by the end of the cruise, at least for us, offer amazing accommodation without even asking. I have yet to receive the level of dining service that I get on Disney anywhere else. To be fair, I haven't done Celebrity because while kids can go on them, it's not the most interesting brand for families with kids - definitely a more adult oriented brand (although not adult only like Virgin). Maybe when I'm older (and if they keep up their status match with Royal Caribbean).

Karl Holz, the former President of DCL posted this just a few weeks ago:

This past December, one of my neighbors stopped me and said "I just booked the Disney Treasure and was surprised at how much it cost me". He went on to mention he'd do anything for his grandkids! Well this morning I rode my bike in the neighborhood and saw him. I stopped and asked about his Disney Treasure cruise. To quote him... "we were blown away... we already booked our next trip on the Treasure... it was worth every penny and more!" He went on to explain that he'd sailed on Celebrity and Princess but he'll never go back there. He specifically mentioned the understated elegance of the ship, the countless reminders of his own childhood... growing up with Disney and what he really liked was that he and his wife enjoyed Palo Steakhouse and The Rose while the grandchildren wouldn't leave the kids clubs. Most of all, what sealed the deal for him were the tears streaming from the two girls eyes as they departed. It became clear to me that Disney Cruise Line remains a very special part of the Disney Experiences portfolio. I may be biased having been a part of it for ten years before retiring, but experiencing the Disney Treasure has made for another believer. The Difference is truly Disney.

 

[Stripes]

I would like to see Burbank turbo-charge and accelerate the maintenance and daily operations budgets of Disney parks FIRST. Spend money, fix and properly maintain what you already have before you build anything new.

Burbank, how can you say you are doing all these great things in the future when you don't even have the money yet to properly maintain what you have right now?

Well, let’s see.

They’re completing refurbing Big Thunder Mountain, the ice skating figure has returned to It’s a Small World after years of being missing, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin has just received digital projectors, they’ve recently repainted the ground in Pandora, given Adventureland a fantastic themed pavement, the Space Mountain RCA dog animatronic is moving for the first time in over 20 years, carpet was just replaced at Walt Disney Presents, Swiss Family Treehouse was just refurbed, many of the World Showcase pavilions are being refurbed, the Mission:Space exterior is being refurbed, the Astro Orbiter is being refurbed, the Tower of Terror queue water leak effect has returned being missing for 25 years, the Journey Into Imagination water cooler effect is working again after being broken for a couple years, Imagineering has fixed the cannons on Rise at Disneyland which suggests the fix will be implemented at DHS soon, Test Track is getting an update, Gran Fiesta Tour is getting a refurb, one of the Sebastian figure’s eyes was recently repaired on Under the Sea, Space Mountain’s exterior was recently repainted (and I do suspect the interior will be gutted and replaced after Big Thunder reopens), Muppetvision’s seats replaced Etc. etc. etc.

By expanding the capacity of the parks, which they’re in the process of doing, it’s also easier for park operations to take an attraction offline for an extensive refurb.

I genuinely think maintenance has improved a lot recently.

 

[dmc493]

Test Track is getting an update

not to be that guy, but this is not coming out of WDW's pocket

 

[peter11435]

not to be that guy, but this is not coming out of WDW's pocket

Well. Not entirely.

 

[JD80]

Well, let’s see.

They’re completing refurbing Big Thunder Mountain, the ice skating figure has returned to It’s a Small World after years of being missing, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin has just received digital projectors, they’ve recently repainted the ground in Pandora, given Adventureland a fantastic themed pavement, the Space Mountain RCA dog animatronic is moving for the first time in over 20 years, carpet was just replaced at Walt Disney Presents, Swiss Family Treehouse was just refurbed, many of the World Showcase pavilions are being refurbed, the Mission:Space exterior is being refurbed, the Astro Orbiter is being refurbed, the Tower of Terror queue water leak effect has returned being missing for 25 years, the Journey Into Imagination water cooler effect is working again after being broken for a couple years, Imagineering has fixed the cannons on Rise at Disneyland which suggests the fix will be implemented at DHS soon, Test Track is getting an update, Gran Fiesta Tour is getting a refurb, one of the Sebastian figure’s eyes was recently repaired on Under the Sea, Space Mountain’s exterior was recently repainted (and I do suspect the interior will be gutted and replaced after Big Thunder reopens), Muppetvision’s seats replaced Etc. etc. etc.

By expanding the capacity of the parks, which they’re in the process of doing, it’s also easier for park operations to take an attraction offline for an extensive refurb.

I genuinely think maintenance has improved a lot recently.

Don't forget the new seats at CoP and Muppets theatre.

 

[HoustonHorn]

Our first cruise was a group of 12 - 6 adults, 6 children. The adults did Enchante, and the night before, we told our team we wouldn't see them the next night and that we'd just take the kids to the buffet. Our lead server said to just send the kids (4-10 at the time) to them, and they would take care of them and get them to the kids' club after. We thought he was joking, but that's exactly what we did. The kids absolutely loved it, and we were able to have an awesome meal with no worries.

Fast forward a year, and we did another cruise with the same families, and the main thing that the kids cared about was whether they were going to get their kids' dinner without us.

The other thing I like is that by night 2, they would just bring our drinks and knock stuff off of dishes that we didn't like without being reminded. So I'm a big fan of the rotational dining.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We haven't cruise a lot but we have done Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Viking.

There are definitely things that DCL does better/very good (service, included food, entertainment, etc) plus has the Disney characters, etc - so if the things they do well are important to you I can see it being worth it.

We find for our family Royal Caribbean is the best as there is a lot more variety to the offerings, especially entertainment (some of the stage shows are just as good/better than what Disney does) and it is quite a bit cheaper (though newer ships are getting a bit pricier). Just every time I price out a Disney Cruise I just can't justify the price.

We are a family of 5 so either need two rooms or cram in a family room (which are more expensive) so that is probably part of it, but still ... I get them being at a premium price but for us just not worth *how* much more it is - for people that think it is worth it for them though I do get it

 

[BrianLo]

We haven't cruise a lot but we have done Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Viking.

There are definitely things that DCL does better/very good (service, included food, entertainment, etc) plus has the Disney characters, etc - so if the things they do well are important to you I can see it being worth it.

We find for our family Royal Caribbean is the best as there is a lot more variety to the offerings, especially entertainment (some of the stage shows are just as good/better than what Disney does) and it is quite a bit cheaper (though newer ships are getting a bit pricier). Just every time I price out a Disney Cruise I just can't justify the price.

We are a family of 5 so either need two rooms or cram in a family room (which are more expensive) so that is probably part of it, but still ... I get them being at a premium price but for us just not worth *how* much more it is - for people that think it is worth it for them though I do get it

Definitely. DCL’s problem remains market share. They can get away with their prices because they are such a niche line. Royal (just the line, not the parent company) has like 5.5X more tickets to sell. Therefore price budges.

I don’t want to say I foresee them becoming cheaper, just that I foresee the delta between them and maybe Celebrity to become more similar again.

DCL historically wasn’t that out of lock step, but they (until now) haven’t had an expansion plan to keep up with their growing demand.

I very much expect we’ll see them still have new ships annually even beyond 2031.


Royal I think is definitely the best for families, especially with slightly older kids. Unfortunately (a me problem) they are really exclusively going for that demo these days and it’s making their itineraries way too short and repetitive. Hard product I want them to be my favourite line, but the soft product doesn’t match. But that’s what Celebrity covers nicely.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Royal I think is definitely the best for families, especially with slightly older kids. Unfortunately (a me problem) they are really exclusively going for that demo these days and it’s making their itineraries way too short and repetitive. Hard product I want them to be my favourite line, but the soft product doesn’t match. But that’s what Celebrity covers nicely.

Definitely found that with Utopia that was more of a party vibe and just doing the 3 adn 4 day sailings and Icon and Star are really just doing a lot of repeat ports ...

I am glad they announced their newest Icon class ship, Legend of the Seas, will be doing some different options - starting in Europe for a few months and then will do 6 day western and 8 day southern Caribbean. Not amazingly unique but at least different options form where the other mega ships are going - so I think they have got the hint they need to mix up the ports a bit

 

[MR.Dis]

I have cruised with my daughter and her 2 kids three times (fourth this May). The 2 boys are 6 years apart. The younger goes to the kid's club and gets upset when we come to get him for dinner because he is having too much fun. The older one who is now a teenager, goes to the Teen club, makes friends, and disappears for hours doing whatever teenagers do. They look forward to going, which if anyone has a teenager is very strange since they normally complain about everything- LOL.

 

[Indy_UK]

I haven't really been around for a little while... Are they Turbocharging investment and building yet?

 

[DisDude33]

I haven't really been around for a little while... Are they Turbocharging investment and building yet

There is some stuff being torn down in AK and word on Main Street is that prep work is about to begin in MK. So, yeah?

 

[wannabeBelle]

Definitely. DCL’s problem remains market share. They can get away with their prices because they are such a niche line. Royal (just the line, not the parent company) has like 5.5X more tickets to sell. Therefore price budges.

I don’t want to say I foresee them becoming cheaper, just that I foresee the delta between them and maybe Celebrity to become more similar again.

DCL historically wasn’t that out of lock step, but they (until now) haven’t had an expansion plan to keep up with their growing demand.

I very much expect we’ll see them still have new ships annually even beyond 2031.


Royal I think is definitely the best for families, especially with slightly older kids. Unfortunately (a me problem) they are really exclusively going for that demo these days and it’s making their itineraries way too short and repetitive. Hard product I want them to be my favourite line, but the soft product doesn’t match. But that’s what Celebrity covers nicely.

I agree, I tend toward Celebrity but like Royal for a lot of it's offerings as well. It is a tough choice but a good one to have!! With the status matching between the two lines though, it is an easy choice to select one of those two lines. Marie