Are we just spoiled?

[JMcMahonEsq]

Yes, its absurd to think a company would add new things and increase overhead. Even if those new things result in revenues that significantly outpace the overhead. Which is what that company has done for 70 years to unprecedented success (or over a 100 years really, since the same applies to the studio).

As I wrote before, WDW is spending capex every year. . No company just keeps adding overhead and expenses year after year after year. Not when revenue can be increased by cheaper means and not when there are no drivers requiring it.

Disney is spending capex on new additions to parks every year…just not all of it at WDW every year.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Anyone who watched my real-time meltdown in the D23 thread knows what I think about that turd of a presentation. That said, I'm trying to look on the bright side and talk myself off the ledge. Sure, it looks like we're in for a bit of a dry spell in terms of new attractions, but I think we might be under-appreciating the things we've gotten in the last few years.

Let's compare two decades.

2003 to 2012:

Major Attractions
- Soarin'
- Expedition Everest

Minor Attractions
- Under the Sea
- Enchanted Tales with Belle

2013 to 2022:

Major Attractions
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Flight of Passage
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Rise of the Resistance
- Cosmic Rewind

Minor Attractions
- Na'vi River Journey
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Smuggler's Run
- Ratatouille

On paper, we should be looking back and saying "wow, what a great Disney Decade this has been at Walt Disney World," yet it feels like everything sucks. Why?

On this particular topic (not all, but this one) I think Disney has done a really good job. For one, the ante is constantly upped on what makes a ride great. If Disney released a ride akin to Jungle Cruise today, I think the response would be a collective “Wut?” It’s kind of like seeing a gold medal gymnastics routine from the 1960s vs now - standards really change. The prerequisites for that wow factor have been continuously increasing. For another, they hemorrhaged money during Covid and are trying to start a streaming service (which might be a fool’s errand, as no one has successfully monetized one of those yet, not one that relies on tons of self-produced content.) I think “new stuff” can still be called one of their strengths, overall.

Where I think they have declined is in the rush to nickel and dime while decreasing quality. (I’m still p***ed about the Magic Express.) I think they were on the right track with “magical extras”, which really felt like “extras”, not nickel and diming. Instead they dropped that to go all Thenardiers…. “extra for the mice, two percent for looking in the mirror twice… here a little slice, there a little cut, three percent for sleeping with the windows shut…”