A Spirited 15 Rounds ...

[ford91exploder]

And your proof is?

This isn't even close to the Pressler era. Get back to me when you see them buying off-the-shelf carnival rides


I disagree with some of these points. As someone who has stayed at the Four Seasons in Chicago and the St. Regis in New York, I'd equally look forward to a trip to the Grand Floridian or Animal Kingdom Lodge 10-15 years ago. However, the problem at hand is that Disney has rested on their laurels, invested all their capital into DVC growth and failed by not keeping up with what luxury travelers in 2017 expect: pillow top mattresses, uniquely designed pool areas (Stormalong and Polynesian exempt), modern spas, etc.

Service has been on a downward spiral for years, with front desk became a genius bar for Magic Bands instead of a real hotel front desk and cast members experienced in hospitality being replaced by fresh-faced college programmers whose sole hotel experience is the one time they stayed at a Holiday Inn on their school band trip. When you pay $700 a night for a room at the Grand Floridian, you should be entitled to a better level of service than you would get at the All-Star resort. In 2017, unless you pay for concierge service, you don't.

Here's a quick tip as it relates to seeing how far service has plummeted: try calling the front desk from your Disney hotel room. Just try. Spoiler alert: you can't. "Guest Services" connects you to the WDW operator who has no working knowledge of your resort and must get special permission to connect you to your hotel's front desk. It can be beyond frustrating. The worst Motel 6 at least allows you to call the front desk from your room.

Disney found, rightfully so, that this was a mistake and it would take years to course correct. They also probably noticed that many of their would-be deluxe resort guests were staying at the Waldorf, Hilton, Ritz Carlton or other property. It is this reason they even gave FS the ability to build on property as a way to lure some of these people back in the Disney "bubble."

As to Pressler era Redux

The Toy Story Land rides are off the shelf carnival rides with a Disney paint job

 

[Kman101]

As to Pressler era Redux

The Toy Story Land rides are off the shelf carnival rides with a Disney paint job

So are Dumbo and Mad Tea Party. And?

 

[nevol]

This isn't even close to the Pressler era. Get back to me when you see them buying off-the-shelf carnival rides

Toy Story Land + Pixar Pier

 

[nevol]

I never felt Lasseter was the park savior that many wanted him to be.

He was a jungle cruise skipper, left disney and made a product disney couldn't resist, and once Pixar was owned by Disney, their first major project together was Cars Land. That all looked promising. But the cheap flat ride lands that we saw before Disney bought Pixar continued afterward, and I agree, they are a disaster. A gigantic brand withdrawal in every resort. Toy story land flat rides in Hong Kong Disneyland? When the original Disneyland has all of 4 flat rides? Good grief. Not that New Fantasyland is anything to write home about either. Frankly, outside of Star Wars, I'd rather disney make no changes to the parks at all until they are no longer managed by incompetent people. I don't trust this regime with Marvel, Pixar, a new fantasyland, NOS/club 33, or tomorrowland.

 

[Mike S]

So are Dumbo and Mad Tea Party. And?

And they're not all there is in Fantasyland.

 

[HMF]

I never felt Lasseter was the park savior that many wanted him to be.

Under Iger. No one can be. He did fight to get Cars Land as good as possible but that likely didn't make him any friends in the Executive Suite. Now they seem to just market him as "Crazy Uncle John"more than the visionary who brought Pixar to life.

 

[nevol]

Under Iger. No one can be. He did fight to get Cars Land as good as possible but that likely didn't make him any friends in the Executive Suite. Now they seem to just market him as "Crazy Uncle John"more than the visionary who brought Pixar to life.

Lol I hope they don't hate him for being the guy to save DCA. But who knows.

 

[HMF]

Lol I hope they don't hate him for being the guy to save DCA. But who knows.

They had saved DCA for about 5 years, then decided they wanted to break it again.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Lol I hope they don't hate him for being the guy to save DCA. But who knows.

Lasseter didn't save DCA. Weis saved DCA, and was thanked with lead design on SDL and now running WDI.

Lasseter gets credit for what he did do - save Walt Disney Animation Studios.

 

[lazyboy97o]

As to Pressler era Redux

The Toy Story Land rides are off the shelf carnival rides with a Disney paint job

No, they aren’t.

 

[Kman101]

And they're not all there is in Fantasyland.

And there's Toy Story Mania. DHA could use some flats (and dark rides)

 

[jpeden]

I don't think I've ever seen dispensers on a shower wall at any tier of hotel. It doesn't strike me as high-end versus low-end, just a new thing that hotels are introducing.

I've seen it at a campground and a local swim club by my house.

The SPG brands (Westin, etc.) have moved to them in some hotels. If it's a high quality product in the dispenser, I don't have an issue with it. My wife and I often run out of shampoo/body wash between the two of us so I actually prefer the pump station to the small bottles.

 

[gmajew]

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. Aside from Kevin Mayer (Harvard MBA), there's relatively little in terms of fancy college degrees in Disney's executive ranks.

Bob Iger went to Ithaca College
Bob Chapek went to Indiana University and Michigan State
Christine McCarthy went to Smith College and UCLA
Brent Woodford went to Michigan State and St. Louis University

Does he ever know what he is talking about. He just likes to hear himself complain.

 

[gmajew]

Ithaca and IU are very much in the 'right schools' category

Ithica college is a school for rich kids without good grades so they can get their sheepskin and is about 44k per year.

IU while a state school is highly selective and out of state tuition is about 46K


We are not talking low end schools here

Have you checked the prices of most universities lately. They are all pricey if out of state.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

No, they aren’t.

Well to be fair, the ones in HKDL and Paris kind of are. DHS could honestly use a couple of those on top of the Mater's clone and sadsack roller coaster they're building.

 

[Nubs70]

I'm not saying they're trash, but usually when people talking about the "right schools" for senior executives at a company the size of TWDC, they're talking about Harvard, Wharton, Booth, Stanford, Kellogg, Sloan.

Broad College of Business at Michigan State is the #1 ranked Supply Chain Management school in the country. Higher than #2 Sloan.

 

[asianway]

The SPG brands (Westin, etc.) have moved to them in some hotels. If it's a high quality product in the dispenser, I don't have an issue with it. My wife and I often run out of shampoo/body wash between the two of us so I actually prefer the pump station to the small bottles.

Toldja so. And DCL has had them in the Vista spa for years

 

[lazyboy97o]

Well to be fair, the ones in HKDL and Paris kind of are. DHS could honestly use a couple of those on top of the Mater's clone and sadsack roller coaster they're building.

Yes, the international lands all feature rides straight from the Intamin catalogue, but you can’t blame Chapek for rides opened before he was shuffled over to Parks and Resorts.

 

[WDWTrojan]

Toy Story Land + Pixar Pier

TSL has a custom-built coaster but Pixar Pier is just a cosmetic overlay of an existing asset - has nothing to do with a new development. Pressler never would have greenlit SWL or Tron.

 

[WDWTrojan]

As to Pressler era Redux

The Toy Story Land rides are off the shelf carnival rides with a Disney paint job

Slinky Dog is a custom-built coaster with two launches. It is many things, but off-the-shelf is not one.