News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?

[Tha Realest]

I have been a Disney fan since my first childhood trip in 1971... I could not even begin to count how many times I have been to WDW... Seriously... I was an annual pass buyer, member of D23 since it's inception. We are also DVC members, Tables In Wonderland...etc.
It began a few years back with the new Fastpass Plus system, then the Covid reservation systems ramped it up, but it is just not that much fin anymore....with all the planning and constant time-watching and reservations for everything but restroom breaks...It has taken the spontaneity out of our trips and made them generally less fun. Quality of attractions has dropped, With many shuttered attractions, badly replaced attractions and crowd levels that are ridiculous, We are just not feeling it anymore... I see them ruining their own brand by watering it down... Doing very Un-Disney things... Dumbing down the theming throughout the parks and resorts...It is discouraging.
We have a trip planned in June as we have for decades....then I think it is time to take a prolonged break. Maybe use our DVC points at Aulani...or sell them off completely... not sure right now.

We went a ton when I was a kid. I took a break for a few decades until we had kids of our own, and once old enough, have been going consistently (and increasingly, especially in the early days of COVID when there were no crowds and DVC points could be bought for cheap - we had the entire Poly pool to ourselves over multiple days). We have figured out ways to make it work for us (e.g., choosing party dates when the attendance is limited and lines are short, or utilizing extended evening hours with a stay at a cheaper DVC on that date) but it is increasingly hard to justify. Plus our kids are getting older now, and probably more into Universal's offerings and, soon, national parks or college visits.

 

[Bocabear]

Don't give them any ideas

we keep joking about having already booked our Fastpass Plus toilet reservations....

 

[Beacon Joe]

Don't give them any ideas

I floated the Doody+ system here last month and am counting down the days until Chapek excitedly announces it.

 

[kalel8145]

we keep joking about having already booked our Fastpass Plus toilet reservations....

I thought the hole in the Epcot bathroom was virtual queue and ILL only.

 

[mightynine]

I floated the Doody+ system here last month and am counting down the days until Chapek excitedly announces it.

If they offered bathroom reservations, all they need to do is change one letter in Fastpass to have a name for it.

 

[Vinnie Mac]

Was just reading about the Project Gemini stuff from 2006 and found it interesting how much of it made it into the current 2023 project (or was going to).

Spaceship Earth WAS going to change in some way (even the concept of the coaster is very loosely similar to Cosmic Rewind)

Yes, a lot more trees were planted in EPCOT.

Yes, lighting was made more colorful.

Little Mermaid ride never happened but it's just Nemo and Friends

Wonders of Life was going to be changed.

We did get a new restaurant and store.

I'm assuming the hedge maze became Journey of Water.

West Communicore's building structure is still being changed.

Fountain of Nations is removed.

And yes, EPCOT DID get a new coaster, just not two new coasters.

I'm just sad that we didn't get those Bellagio Style spine fountains

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Miss me ?

Not if I’m gonna agree with you 100%…that freaks me out

 

[MisterPenguin]

Don't know about the majority. But, we'll be visiting Florida in September with no visit to WDW. I don't think we've been to Fla without visiting the Mouse for over a quarter century. We're quitting cold-turkey. We've skipped the last few releases from Disney and Pixar (kids saw the last two MCU movies though). Between the price hikes, destruction of epcot, and the culture wars, we're done -- at least for a while. I hope they change direction. But, I have my doubts.

I actually think Disney has taken a step back and has been licking their Woke Wounds! Notice there hasn't been any follow up stat

For the next several weeks, most of WDW's parks' reservations are full. There are no reservations available for the 23rd.

That's what the majority are doing. That's the kind of wounds Disney is licking.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

For the next several weeks, most of WDW's parks' reservations are full. There are no reservations available for the 23rd.

That's what the majority are doing. That's the kind of wounds Disney is licking.

Resservations “filling” two weeks out may not be the victory you think it is…

 

[SplashJacket]

Resservations “filling” two weeks out may not be the victory you think it is…

I somewhat disagree. I’m currently planning a trip at the start of June, but haven’t bought tickets. There’s a reservation shortage for all but a couple days on our trip, which discourages us from going. The more the reservations fill up, the harder they become to fill. So the fact they fill up at all is pretty impressive, because Disney is making their desired amount of money that day

 

[MisterPenguin]

Resservations “filling” two weeks out may not be the victory you think it is…

Peak yield. Peak efficiency of resources. Increased perceived value due to rarity, which can be leveraged into higher ticket prices.

It is exactly the business victory it appears to be.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Peak yield. Peak efficiency of resources. Increased perceived value due to rarity, which can be leveraged into higher ticket prices.

It is exactly the business victory it appears to be.

Are you sure they’re not closing them/scaling them down for staffing at the cutoff line?

Absolutely nothing stopping that - before you alert the SEC.

They had full hotels booked to 99% capacity for months during the ole millennium bout a year in advance. I’m just saying…

Is “for the 50th” not so magical?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I somewhat disagree. I’m currently planning a trip at the start of June, but haven’t bought tickets. There’s a reservation shortage for all but a couple days on our trip, which discourages us from going. The more the reservations fill up, the harder they become to fill. So the fact they fill up at all is pretty impressive, because Disney is making their desired amount of money that day

It’s may 10th…just saying you’re talking about an international location with a traditional 12-18 month booking window.

Times are strange - of course - and chapek still sucks, However

 

[MisterPenguin]

Are you sure they’re not closing them/scaling them down for staffing at the cutoff line?

Absolutely nothing stopping that - before you alert the SEC.

They had full hotels booked to 99% capacity for months during the ole millennium bout a year in advance. I’m just saying…

Is “for the 50th” not so magical?

They've been squeezing more money per person continuously for a while now. This is how they have higher revenue than ever before. And by capping the capacity at parks, they're staffing only as much as they need, keeping costs down.

They don't want "volume, volume, volume!" That just makes the parks supper-packed and lowers GSAT and hurts the brand. A packed park means people can't ride rides, can't pay premium at TSRs, and can't fit into a store to buy merch, not that they'd feel the love to do so with the unpleasant experience of an overcrowded park.

The "brand" makes Disney a premium experience (even if some other theme park is offering better service and a better experience [and no, that is *not* Uni, from personal experience]). And people are paying more. And they pay even more when there's less people crowding them. That leads to bigger net profits.

Yes, the 50th is a bust. But it's not stopping WDW from hitting full parks goals.

 

[HauntedPirate]

What makes the Mouse more money - 100k people each paying $125/day, 50k people each paying $250/day, or 25k people each paying $500/day?

The answer is another question: Which price point has the larger pool to pull from long-term AND keeps labor costs as low as possible?

They have zero intention of actually limiting crowds in a meaningful way. Unless, of course, they figure out how to replace the profits from the parks in another line of business.

 

[raymusiccity]

For the next several weeks, most of WDW's parks' reservations are full. There are no reservations available for the 23rd.

That's what the majority are doing. That's the kind of wounds Disney is licking.

Yes. Silence is golden in more ways than one!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They've been squeezing more money per person continuously for a while now. This is how they have higher revenue than ever before. And by capping the capacity at parks, they're staffing only as much as they need, keeping costs down.

They don't want "volume, volume, volume!" That just makes the parks supper-packed and lowers GSAT and hurts the brand. A packed park means people can't ride rides, can't pay premium at TSRs, and can't fit into a store to buy merch, not that they'd feel the love to do so with the unpleasant experience of an overcrowded park.

The "brand" makes Disney a premium experience (even if some other theme park is offering better service and a better experience [and no, that is *not* Uni, from personal experience]). And people are paying more. And they pay even more when there's less people crowding them. That leads to bigger net profits.

Yes, the 50th is a bust. But it's not stopping WDW from hitting full parks goals.

yeah…but you’re kinda “overlooking” how those parks are built, work and how the profit is made.

I know there’s an “illusion” that they can just have 10,000,000 people at 5X the price and make way more boo-coo bucks.

But that is an illusion.

They are maximizing every cent - of course. We have crossed the rubicon there…

But park “reservations” filling up 2 weeks out doesn’t support the “everything is great!” Narrative all the time.

Things are better with some skepticism. It’s a name tag…not a needle that injects truth serum into the person wearing it. Be wary.

How goes it on Wall Street?

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Don't know about the majority. But, we'll be visiting Florida in September with no visit to WDW. I don't think we've been to Fla without visiting the Mouse for over a quarter century. We're quitting cold-turkey. We've skipped the last few releases from Disney and Pixar (kids saw the last two MCU movies though). Between the price hikes, destruction of epcot, and the culture wars, we're done -- at least for a while. I hope they change direction. But, I have my doubts.

They’re just greedy on top of it all. I’m happy to be super selective with their product in this season.

 

[GladToBeHear]

It seems to me that we're still in the midst of "revenge traveling" post-pandemic -- so I expect the parks to stay full for a while. But we know inflation is only going to get worse -- with a very likely recession headed our way. Or possibly worse. With the ever-increasing prices, lower ROI, and disenfranchisement with the brand -- I think things are going to start slowing down in the near future.

 

[GladToBeHear]

Don't know about the majority. But, we'll be visiting Florida in September with no visit to WDW. I don't think we've been to Fla without visiting the Mouse for over a quarter century. We're quitting cold-turkey. We've skipped the last few releases from Disney and Pixar (kids saw the last two MCU movies though). Between the price hikes, destruction of epcot, and the culture wars, we're done -- at least for a while. I hope they change direction. But, I have my doubts.

Same. We cancelled our first WDW trip this past February for the first time in about 15-20 years. We're done for a while.