A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Cesar R M]

Have you ever taken even a high school level economics course? "Value" is no more and no less than a customer's willingness to pay. If people are forking over $400 to stay at the Poly, then that's exactly what it's worth.

as opposed to what? to DVC? other deluxe hotels near magic kingdom?

Um. Yes, that's absolutely what it means. Someone BOUGHT it for $2,000. That's what "worth" means. How much is it worth? How much is someone willing to pay for it? Those questions mean the exact same thing.

that's worth for THE BUYER because he is interested in that thing, not for everyone.

Also not the first time people buy expensive things because they do not know better.

How many people still buy in a local store even when they can get way better price and guarantee online?
In some cases is ignorance.
When I was first researching my Disney Vacation, I Was trying the best I could balance out of service, price..etc..
But I was trapped in the magical disney trap out of cheer ignorance for my first trip.

I know better now and I know what I can get from all what Orlando has to offer.

Plus, paying a gigantic price hike out of cheer ignorance.. fraud or monopoly != real value.
(akin to someone claiming X product is a limited piece and costs 2,000 USD, when in reality the "limited" is a gigantic number and in major stores they sold the same for 500 USD )

 

[Cesar R M]

I'm pretty sure the confirmation of Nintendo for KidZone pretty much kills any hope for TMNT or more Spongebob. Heck, I'd be surprised if the Spongebob store is still there when Nintendo moves in.

I always wondered if they were gonna make TMNT exclusive for Nick resorts.
I mean. After the purchase of the entire franchise by Nick.

I could still see Universal using SpongeBob, TMNT and Dora for a Toon Lagoon revamp/retheme. All three are still around and relatively popular. Popular enough to warrant a replacement for Dudley, Marmaduke and Hagar the Horrible.

Toon Lagoon has so much unused space.
Put a TMNT dark ride next to Spidey (family-friendly)
Bulldoze Dudley and build a SpongeBob mini-land from scratch (E-ticket, flat ride, restaurants, facades of famous locales, M&Gs)
Dora show closer to front section

Sweet Haven could be its own mini-land for whenever the Popeye reboot is released. I just love the ride too much to retheme it to Nick.

I just hope the dark ride could be from Nick's TMNT.. and not IDW's TMNT.
the comic is VERY BLOODY lol.

 

[Cesar R M]

Then obviously you're not the kind of person who would get value out of a Disney deluxe resort. If all you care about are clean sheets and a clean bathroom, obviously you'd be overpaying for a castle view at Bay Lake Tower. But for people who simply think it would be awesome to stay in a hotel with a train running through it, or one with a grand wilderness themed lobby, or one where you can dine with Stitch, those are the reasons people pay. Just because those reasons for high prices aren't reasons that appeal to YOU personally doesn't make them illegitimate.

I agree with you on some degree. but I think the Poly is a bad example considering how bad it as been recently (with the awful pizza huts blocking the water view and even blocking the pageant almost completely ).

I went there in feb, and the huts are as obnoxious as having to be next to the kardashians mid fight.

 

[Cesar R M]

New interview with Nintendo chairman Satoru Iwata gets into the Universal deal. Nintendo was sold on the idea from Universal's elaborate pitches and the success of Harry Potter. Iwata immediately started talking with Miyamoto after that meeting and Universal designers have already been actively meeting with Nintendo devs and officials on the various projects.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/events/150508qa/index.html

If Miyamoto gave the A-OK to the plans.. then We must really agree that It will be amazing.
Miyamoto is a perfectionist. Perhaps more than Rowling.

 

[Cesar R M]

Really? I was under the impression that every guest at the Four Seasons has a personal asswiper that follows them around with 2,000 thread count Egyptian butt tissue and a spritz bottle of mint Poopourri.

Pff, thats walmarting the place. They follow you with a full sequito(entourage) army of butlers and helpers.. who will not only wipe your butt, but also perfume every cavity.

I'm sure some people are into it.

suddenly the creepy dude:

"this is my fetish..."
"I want this for reasons.."

 

[Cesar R M]

So, the topic du jour is what a concierge is and how WDW resorts fail miserably at this role?
I hate to page @TP2000 to the thread, but he has commented on this in the past far better than I can after a very trying weekend.

But let's just say you'd have to be a rube to actually think a WDW concierge (even on the 'club level') is anything special at all. Sure, they can give your kids stickers (maybe even a plush in special situations) and they can make sure you get extra rice krispie treats and an autographed picture from Princess Tangled or Princess Frozen.

It all starts and ends there, though.

If WDW were any place else, then you'd go to your concierge at noon and ask for a table for dinner at Le Cellier or Cindy's Royal Table and Photo Feast or 'Ohana and ... voila ... you'd be set.

If WDW were any place else, then you'd go to your concierge and ask for arrangements to be taken to UNI, perhaps even arrange a VIP Tour, and ... voila ... you'd have a car waiting ... or a cab.

If WDW were any place else and you wanted directions to the hottest local gay bar, then you'd go to your concierge and ... voila ... they'd hand you a piece of paper and ask if you needed dierctions.

If WDW were any place else ... well, it isn't. It shows.

And WDW concierges are interchangeable with almost any CM. And you get the same level of service at Pop Century (with no club level) as you do at top price 'deluxe' resorts. No special training. No special skills. No nothing. But lots of cookies ... and Cokes ... and even some wine (surprisingly decent in my recent experiences). Not a whole lot else.

What about your experiences with the "CONCIERGE" of DCL vs WDW's Concierge?
Pretty sure you already mentioned how its night and day.

 

[Goofywilliam]

Not saying Nintendo isn't missing out on significant $$ by ignoring mobile - they are, and they're taking steps to (hopefully) rectify it. But it's ludicrous to suggest that core console/first party handheld gaming is dying out any time soon. It's just not.

(And for the record - even the most avid mobile gamer will tell you that gaming on the phone isn't as fun or intuitive as gaming on a dedicated device.)

I am pages behind (ugh) on this particular forum but I figured I would drop this here....
http://www.todaysiphone.com/2015/05/nintendo-release-first-smartphone-game-year-5-titles-2017/
If its already been brought up, just ignore me but Nintendo is bringing games to the mobile market in the not to distant future.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You missed the elephant in the room... AEfx's point was the 'personal concierge' was just the same as everyone has access to.... yet WDW advertises the 'personal concierge' as some perk.... AND THAT is what the misleading portion is. The point of the screenshot was to show Disney does in fact advertise this additional perk. And you glossed over my added comment about the club labeling. I'm 99% sure that was a later change.. and that's why virtually every non-disney website refers to the tier as 'concierge' and why the lounge itself is often referred to as 'concierge lounge'

You can keep dancing... but you really think Disney lead the product rollout with just 'please pay us an additional 30+% a night so you can simply have access to free soda and snacks?' as the differentiation between it and the other room options?

So, the topic du jour is what a concierge is and how WDW resorts fail miserably at this role?
I hate to page @TP2000 to the thread, but he has commented on this in the past far better than I can after a very trying weekend.

But let's just say you'd have to be a rube to actually think a WDW concierge (even on the 'club level') is anything special at all. Sure, they can give your kids stickers (maybe even a plush in special situations) and they can make sure you get extra rice krispie treats and an autographed picture from Princess Tangled or Princess Frozen.

It all starts and ends there, though.

If WDW were any place else, then you'd go to your concierge at noon and ask for a table for dinner at Le Cellier or Cindy's Royal Table and Photo Feast or 'Ohana and ... voila ... you'd be set.

If WDW were any place else, then you'd go to your concierge and ask for arrangements to be taken to UNI, perhaps even arrange a VIP Tour, and ... voila ... you'd have a car waiting ... or a cab.

If WDW were any place else and you wanted directions to the hottest local gay bar, then you'd go to your concierge and ... voila ... they'd hand you a piece of paper and ask if you needed dierctions.

If WDW were any place else ... well, it isn't. It shows.

And WDW concierges are interchangeable with almost any CM. And you get the same level of service at Pop Century (with no club level) as you do at top price 'deluxe' resorts. No special training. No special skills. No nothing. But lots of cookies ... and Cokes ... and even some wine (surprisingly decent in my recent experiences). Not a whole lot else.

To be clear: I think club level is a horrible waste of money and I'd never even consider it unless I was staying for free or on a Cast Member (or better) discount. Even then, probably not. My initial objection was simply that I don't believe Disney to be "tricking" people into thinking they're getting something that they're not from Club Level. They're pretty explicit with what it offers.

 

[Lee]

I'm just wondering...does anyone know if Disney caught wind of the Nintendo/Uni deal before it was announced?

If I did, surely they did.

 

[TalkingHead]

Excellent post and I agree with most of it, but I'd say there are far more groups:

1.) One and dones (right of passage/saved up for six years types);
2.) First-timers (may wind up as part of No. 1 or not);
3.) Relatively newbies (people who have been visiting largely since Y2K or slightly before ... they don't know a WDW that's all that different from this one);
4.) Locals/APers (visit regularly and may or may not have issues with the way the parks look or are run);
5.) Lifestylers/BRAND advocates (people who moved to O-Town to leech off the Mouse, many who have serious mental health issues, many who are just looking for freebies that seem available to anyone with a social media footprint);
6.) DVCers ( again, could be older Guests or people who visited for the first time in 2007 and bought right in. Some are happy with the place, others wonder how this WDW isn't a Bizarro version of the WDW they fell in love with);
7.) Internationals (who can fit into -- and do -- almost every category above);
8.) Long-timers/chronics (people like myself who have been coming since there wasn't a traffic light on property, since there was only one park in a forest of green that seemed to go on forever ... people who were awed by the sheer audacity of building EPCOT Center in the swamps in the early 80s when O-Town was much more a town than a city, let alone an urban sprawl zone. People who are incredibly unhappy with the way the resort has been run dating back to the end of the last century. People who, frankly, know better and realize that between rubes, Social Media whores and Disney PR, it will be tough to ever even approach the standards and quality that existed for WDW's first quarter century).

And the thing is, those groups all have sub-groups too. From CPers who move to the area to folks who love UNI and SW to folks who would never set foot in any of them to retirees etc.)

It's not simple. But I can tell you which group management has the most disdain for, and that speaks incredibly poorly of them not simply as custodians of the Disney Legacy, but also as simple business people.

I wonder what percentage of guests are people who are returning less than three years since their last visit.

Or what percentage are annual guests?

Those would be interesting numbers to peruse.

 

[culturenthrills]

I could still see Universal using SpongeBob, TMNT and Dora for a Toon Lagoon revamp/retheme. All three are still around and relatively popular. Popular enough to warrant a replacement for Dudley, Marmaduke and Hagar the Horrible.

Toon Lagoon has so much unused space.
Put a TMNT dark ride next to Spidey (family-friendly)
Bulldoze Dudley and build a SpongeBob mini-land from scratch (E-ticket, flat ride, restaurants, facades of famous locales, M&Gs)
Dora show closer to front section

Sweet Haven could be its own mini-land for whenever the Popeye reboot is released. I just love the ride too much to retheme it to Nick.

We still don't know what IP's are going into the water park. A betting man would say SpongeBob could be a major section in that park.

 

[Nubs70]

Every company does, Fortune 500 or Mom and Pop. Whatever positions that they can fill or whatever way they can pull the wool over people's eyes varies only by their needs. The phrase Caveat Emptor didn't just show up one day out of the blue.

However, I don't think Caveat Emptor is the mission statement WDW should be aspiring to.

 

[Cesar R M]

We still don't know what IP's are going into the water park. A betting man would say SpongeBob could be a major section in that park.

speaking of water parks...
There was one photo of a nick themed waterpark that had very detailed statues of TMNT.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Is that the primary criterion? So that you can go with your little sweet pea, dress her up and put makeup on her so that you can stand in line for hours to get her picture with a pimply teenager also made up to look like a princess? (And of course booking those character meals months in advance.)

Maybe I agree with you, that this is more and more Disney's target audience. But I despair that that there are so many toddlers and tiaras parents out there, and that Disney is ignoring so many other demographics.

That is a statement that I truly do not understand.. Disney's target audience is kids! Duh! Of course it is, however, very few 5 year olds can go there by themselves. The point is that if people go there for the kids and they see that it is fun for them as well, then they have gotten a Disney Fan that didn't previously exist. So they are also targeted via the kids.

You can target adults and get them to come one at a time or two at a time. Target the kids and you have them and the rest of the family. It would be stupid to do otherwise. Adults are not being directly targeted, but, they don't have to be. They are not Disney's bread and butter audience. The adults will see what is there and want to return even after the kids have grown. The sooner we all realize that the sooner we can look at the situation in the light of day and not the "why don't they want me" way.

I got hooked on the place when I brought my young children there. I was a subsequent 44 time visitor because they (the kids) were targeted at that time. Not a bad return on their investment, actually. Targeting the kids also exposed them to something that was good enough that when they grew up they brought their own children. And still enjoyed it. We don't have to be the center of attention to still enjoy the experience. And, let's remember, it is the peripheral edges of that target that are carrying the cash. A very good lesson in how to miss the target and get a bulls-eye anyway.

 

[Goofyernmost]

However, I don't think Caveat Emptor is the mission statement WDW should be aspiring to.

Probably not, and for the most part, you get what you pay for or are willing to pay for. If things are overpriced and you know it, yet, you still spit out the cash necessary to buy into it, then it is not Disney's fault and the true meaning of Caveat Emptor. There is another old time saying that goes with that as well, you can charge whatever the public is willing to pay for whatever you are offering. As long as you are not held at gunpoint, there is always another option.

We really have to stop putting this mantle of sainthood on the words Disney. There was a time when the parks had a different motivation. Back when Walt was alive and running the company it was his project and his dream. Walt is dead. To my knowledge there are no other Disney's currently directly linked to the company. It's mission is completely different then back then. But, that's internal. If they still supply us with a worthwhile experience then whatever their motive is not really our concern. If that experience stops then we can become focused on it.

 

[Nubs70]

Probably not, and for the most part, you get what you pay for or are willing to pay for. If things are overpriced and you know it, yet, you still spit out the cash necessary to buy into it, then it is not Disney's fault and the true meaning of Caveat Emptor. There is another old time saying that goes with that as well, you can charge whatever the public is willing to pay for whatever you are offering. As long as you are not held at gunpoint, there is always another option.

We really have to stop putting this mantle of sainthood on the words Disney. There was a time when the parks had a different motivation. Back when Walt was alive and running the company it was his project and his dream. Walt is dead. To my knowledge there are no other Disney's currently directly linked to the company. It's mission is completely different then back then. But, that's internal. If they still supply us with a worthwhile experience then whatever their motive is not really our concern. If that experience stops then we can become focused on it.

Please don't misunderstand, I am not implying a Waltism.

I am inferring to any provider of a good or service. If the organization's fall back is Buyer Beware, that organization is in trouble. Caveat Emptor belongs to used car salesmen and Wild Steve's Stereo.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Please don't misunderstand, I am not implying a Waltism.

I am inferring to any provider of a good or service. If the organization's fall back is Buyer Beware, that organization is in trouble. Caveat Emptor belongs to used car salesmen and Wild Steve's Stereo.

I prefer Buck's super cool stereo store. Where they give you the TK 421 modification for free.

 

[Nubs70]

So I'm eating lunch while eavesdropping on the conversation of two ladies across the way.

One lady asks the other in excited voice, " How was you Disney trip?"

The other responded, "It was fun but......" and ended with "I think I did not get what I paid for"

Caveat Emptor

 

[PhotoDave219]

Some day I'll post a list of all the movies I reference. Until then I'll be in the Islands with Louis & Billie Ray.

 

[dstrawn9889]

ill bet you the usual amount that only a handful of people know this