Changes for Galaxy's Edge Temporarily On Hold

[WDW Pro]

Per a reliable source, I'm informed that an upcoming meeting in two weeks to determine potential changes / expansions for Galaxy's Edge has been put on hold with a tentative meeting in April that exists more as a placeholder than anything. This meeting was to be attended physically or via teleconference by Bob Chapek, Megan Crumpacker, Vanessa Morrison, Kris Theiler, Josh D'Amaro, Phil Holmes, and Kareem Daniel (among others). The cancellation of this meeting is directly due to the closure of parks in Asia, which is placing a hold on all potential future expansion expenditures for domestic parks until a more firm outlook in that region can be determined. Furthermore, I was told that a contingency plan is in place should Asian parks remain closed for significant durations that would see one of the water parks at WDW closed for the spring, as well as all mini-golf venues, and reduced hours at the parks (think opening times of 10 am for non-MK parks). All of these changes are ONLY on the table if Asian parks stay closed for months. The belief is that WDW can absorb cuts much better than DLR, which is already being run on lower staffing due to the summer "Close the Gap" initiative. Regardless though, any changes for Galaxy's Edge at either US park is now on hold.

 

[marni1971]

DLR, which is already being run on lower staffing due to the summer "Close the Gap" initiative.

Disneyland was hit hard last summer. I had a chat last week with someone who went into detail about how badly. This would be a double whammy that would also have a knock on effect on the east coast.

 

[monothingie]

Get ready, because the only thing more contagious than the Corona Virus is going to be the spread of price increases all across the Disney properties...

 

[easyrowrdw]

Disneyland was hit hard last summer. I had a chat last week with someone who went into detail about how badly. This would be a double whammy that would also have a knock on effect on the east coast.

Some execs make bad decisions on park design and attendance block-outs and now we all get to suffer? Ugh.

 

[Steph15251]

Some execs make bad decisions on park design and attendance block-outs and now we all get to suffer? Ugh.

I am block -out at HS til April

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

Disneyland was hit hard last summer. I had a chat last week with someone who went into detail about how badly. This would be a double whammy that would also have a knock on effect on the east coast.

Great! I was hoping for another price increase. It has been too long since the last one. All will be right with the world again.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Disneyland was hit hard last summer. I had a chat last week with someone who went into detail about how badly. This would be a double whammy that would also have a knock on effect on the east coast.

Have they concluded, in their minds, what they believe cause of all that was?

Lots of seemingly "easy answers" have flown around over the past 8 months or so - everything from to "they're waiting for Rise to open" to "people were so scared of the crowds that they all stayed home" to "#PriceIncreases" to "people just hate Star Wars now!"

None of those seem to hold enough water for one reason or another. The crowds seem to have been lighter than usual ever since Galaxy's Edge's opening, and the park isn't packed to the gills even now with Rise online. I'd be very curious to hear what the higher ups have decided was to blame for DL's attendance taking such an unexpected dark turn, and how they plan to combat that going forward.

Everyone seemed to think Galaxy's Edge was going to bring Disneyland to its knees, but no one thought it would happen like THIS.

 

[techgeek]

Final exam question -

You run a massively successful theme park complex. Due to outside forces impacting revenue, your parent organization demands an increased contribution effective immediately. To achieve their financial mandate you should:

A) Raise prices.
B) Cut operating hours and staffing.
C) Shelve indefinitely all new attractions not already under construction, 'slow roll' projects already in the pipeline.
D) Innovate. Rush new entertainment and devise temporary offerings to increase attendance and guest spending.
E) A, B & C. Definitely NOT 'D'.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Final exam question -

You run a massively successful theme park complex. Due to outside forces impacting revenue, your parent organization demands an increased contribution effective immediately. To achieve their financial mandate you should:

A) Raise prices.
B) Cut operating hours and staffing.
C) Shelve indefinitely all new attractions not already under construction, 'slow roll' projects already in the pipeline.
D) Innovate. Rush new entertainment and devise temporary offerings to increase attendance and guest spending.
E) A, B & C. Definitely NOT 'D'.

F) Cupcakes and After Hours.

And maybe Mickey's oh so lovey valentines party? Not so boozy spring break party?

 

[techgeek]

F) Cupcakes and After Hours.

And maybe Mickey's oh so lovey valentines party? Not so boozy spring break party?

Extra credit for ‘F’, but minus points for too much creative thinking with new party concepts.

 

[SaveDinosaur]

Per a reliable source, I'm informed that an upcoming meeting in two weeks to determine potential changes / expansions for Galaxy's Edge has been put on hold with a tentative meeting in April that exists more as a placeholder than anything. This meeting was to be attended physically or via teleconference by Bob Chapek, Megan Crumpacker, Vanessa Morrison, Kris Theiler, Josh D'Amaro, Phil Holmes, and Kareem Daniel (among others). The cancellation of this meeting is directly due to the closure of parks in Asia, which is placing a hold on all potential future expansion expenditures for domestic parks until a more firm outlook in that region can be determined. Furthermore, I was told that a contingency plan is in place should Asian parks remain closed for significant durations that would see one of the water parks at WDW closed for the spring, as well as all mini-golf venues, and reduced hours at the parks (think opening times of 10 am for non-MK parks). All of these changes are ONLY on the table if Asian parks stay closed for months. The belief is that WDW can absorb cuts much better than DLR, which is already being run on lower staffing due to the summer "Close the Gap" initiative. Regardless though, any changes for Galaxy's Edge at either US park is now on hold.

Will that affect Walt Disney Studios Park? It's set to receive huge expansions... And do they already know if that version of Galaxy's Edge will be based on the OT or the Sequels?

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Disneyland was hit hard last summer. I had a chat last week with someone who went into detail about how badly. This would be a double whammy that would also have a knock on effect on the east coast.

What was the "close the gap" initiative?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Some execs make bad decisions on park design and attendance block-outs and now we all get to suffer? Ugh.

First day on the planet, huh?

Have they concluded, in their minds, what they believe cause of all that was?

Lots of seemingly "easy answers" have flown around over the past 8 months or so - everything from to "they're waiting for Rise to open" to "people were so scared of the crowds that they all stayed home" to "#PriceIncreases" to "people just hate Star Wars now!"

None of those seem to hold enough water for one reason or another. The crowds seem to have been lighter than usual ever since Galaxy's Edge's opening, and the park isn't packed to the gills even now with Rise online. I'd be very curious to hear what the higher ups have decided was to blame for DL's attendance taking such an unexpected dark turn, and how they plan to combat that going forward.

Everyone seemed to think Galaxy's Edge was going to bring Disneyland to its knees, but no one thought it would happen like THIS.

The answer is that they have pushed all the prices to their effective ceiling to generate anything resembling new attendance...so they’re recycling frequent offenders and locals Mostly...

And frankly, they’ve mishandled Star Wars almost entirely...which would kill any organic push for people to shell out for a trip just for that.

Not that tough to deduce, really

 

[TP2000]

What was the "close the gap" initiative?

It's the tagline given to this phenomenon that has been mentioned on Disneyland fan blogs for at least a decade. The term "Close The Gap" is what TDA execs call tightening their belts, and they do it every few years for various reasons. It involves cutting labor costs, going really lean on salaried management, and removing any costly perks or expenses that aren't at the core business of running Disneyland.

They did it most recently in the summer of 2019 when they opened Star Wars Land and no one showed up. Disneyland had one of its slowest summers in decades, which was the complete opposite of what they thought would happen when Star Wars Land opened. So they slashed and burned the budgets and never added anything back this fall and winter when modest crowds returned for Halloween and Christmas.

WDW runs very differently than Disneyland, and often uses huge amounts of hourly employee labor and overtime and keeps their salaried management ranks bloated and fat and fed empty carbs in endless cubicle farms from Lake Buena Vista to Celebration.

God help the economy of Central Florida if the closures of Shanghai and Hong Kong drag on past 30 days and genuine panic sets in with the Burbank set, as the WDW execs have so much fat hanging around their necks that Mr. Chapek would probably die of excitement if he realized how much waste there is to cut out there.

 

[Tavernacle12]

Will that affect Walt Disney Studios Park? It's set to receive huge expansions... And do they already know if that version of Galaxy's Edge will be based on the OT or the Sequels?

I would hope not. That park needs the expansion more than any park has needed any expansion.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I would hope not. That park needs the expansion more than any park has needed any expansion.

Yeah...still. I was there in 2006 and it was Midwest defunct shopping mall caliber laughable. I can’t remember a single thing there. It was a cop out to honor a government contract.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Per a reliable source, I'm informed that an upcoming meeting in two weeks to determine potential changes / expansions for Galaxy's Edge has been put on hold with a tentative meeting in April that exists more as a placeholder than anything. This meeting was to be attended physically or via teleconference by Bob Chapek, Megan Crumpacker, Vanessa Morrison, Kris Theiler, Josh D'Amaro, Phil Holmes, and Kareem Daniel (among others). The cancellation of this meeting is directly due to the closure of parks in Asia, which is placing a hold on all potential future expansion expenditures for domestic parks until a more firm outlook in that region can be determined. Furthermore, I was told that a contingency plan is in place should Asian parks remain closed for significant durations that would see one of the water parks at WDW closed for the spring, as well as all mini-golf venues, and reduced hours at the parks (think opening times of 10 am for non-MK parks). All of these changes are ONLY on the table if Asian parks stay closed for months. The belief is that WDW can absorb cuts much better than DLR, which is already being run on lower staffing due to the summer "Close the Gap" initiative. Regardless though, any changes for Galaxy's Edge at either US park is now on hold.

Will the work that is already in progress all around the Walt Disney World resort, especially EPCOT will continue and stay on schedule or will all that pause too due to the coronavirus?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Will the work that is already in progress all around the Walt Disney World resort, especially EPCOT will continue and stay on schedule or will all that pause too due to the coronavirus?

To be clear...I’m not buying this bs excuse (nor should anyone - ever)

...but to your question, YES...they very well could use this type of excuse to cancel, trim, extend timelines or cheapen budgets on Florida projects.

Why wouldn’t they? The same people are coming...or not coming...no matter what they do to prices, upsells and values...why spend more?

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

To be clear...I’m not buying this bs excuse (nor should anyone - ever)

...but to your question, YES...they very well could use this type of excuse to cancel, trim, extend timelines or cheapen budgets on Florida projects.

Why wouldn’t they? The same people are coming...or not coming...no matter what they do to prices, upsells and values...why spend more?

But hey now there is an excuse to NOT build that barstool in the middle of Epcot. I think that is something most people would like to see happen.

 

[dizneycrazy09]

How did we get from "Changes for Galaxy's Edge Temporarily on Hold" to EPCOT Redevelopment gripes pre-20th post in the thread?