Chapeks Bloomberg interview satisfaction comments

[Nubs70]

Oh Bob, I beg to differ.

 

[Twirlnhurl]

Express pass will never work at Disney. Disney has to many resort rooms to offer free express service to. Attendance is also not as heavy in Universals parks as it is at Disney so yes it doesn’t disrupt most guests except on busy days.
As for a Paid express service through Disney that is already offered through VIP services and will cost you about $425 an hour.

I think Express would work at Disney just fine, with a few minor tweaks. You are probably correct that they couldn't offer it as a benefit for all deluxe hotel guests, because you are right that there are too many rooms even with Disney's larger ride capacity. But I could definitely see it being a perk for staying at a concierge level room. Or it might not come bundled with the price of any room.

Regardless, I do not see the free Express Pass as a part of some Universal hotel rooms to be the defining feature of the system. Instead, the defining features of Express Pass are that it is a much smaller percentage of a rides capacity (Fastpass is approximately 75% of a rides capacity, while Express Pass is usually less than 20% of a rides capacity) and that it has a fixed number of guests who get the benefit and the price adjusts based on demand. So some days, Universal Express Pass is about the cost of a day ticket, while other times it is more than twice that.

I imagine that Disney would need to charge even higher than Universal, but I don't mind if Disney makes more money while improving the experience for the average guest.

 

[MickeyCB]

The only thing I actually don't mind, and I'll get flamed for saying it, is the park reservation system.

We were there in October and I literally resented the park reservation system. It was so constraining and sucked any possible spontaneity out of the trip. (This was before they opened the 2pm ability to hop which would have made a huge difference).

Also, on another topic, people here have commented on how FP slows things down, but it was a real pain with having no opportunity for a few shorter lines. We rope dropped frequently (and did when there was FP), and that helped a little. In October, when crowds weren't supposed to be high, we waited 70 minutes for SDD. The rest weren't so bad, but I definitely missed the ability to decrease a few wait times.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney has been looking for an effective method for controlling attendance for years and had been trying variable price park admission up to the closure. Reducing the amenities and entertainment is just a side effect of the closure (not just WDW, but all of the parks globally). I would venture that when the College Program begins again, there will be more offerings, but the reservation system will be with us for a while longer.

yeah...and they’re prepping for new aggressive price increase

It’s not shocking. Crowding is one of the biggest contributors to guest satisfaction and Disney has spent decades pushing people to the edge of misery instead of investing in capacity. Visitation is now more in line with capacity so people are naturally happier.

you ain’t kidding (somebody repost...I’m on blast )

 

[Twirlnhurl]

Also, on another topic, people here have commented on how FP slows things down, but it was a real pain with having no opportunity for a few shorter lines. We rope dropped frequently (and did when there was FP), and that helped a little. In October, when crowds weren't supposed to be high, we waited 70 minutes for SDD. The rest weren't so bad, but I definitely missed the ability to decrease a few wait times.

Don't get me wrong, it is really nice to walk on to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Frozen, or Flight of Passage. But we know how to use the FP system to our fullest benefit. Remember that a side effect of us walking on to Frozen is that we ride Frozen more often than we might if we always had to wait in standby. So there are actually fewer seats available for people who are infrequent visitors. But also, the 7 lines the average guest waits in Standby are longer and slower moving than they used to be. Before Journey into Imagination had fastpass, it's line was never more than 5 minutes, except on Christmas week and July 4th weekend. But with Fastpass--while park attendance was flat or slightly down--the average wait jumped up to 15 minutes. Journey is only an OK ride, but worth the occasional visit when it is a walk on. But wait 15 minutes for it? That is definitely a less good use of that time than before it had FP. This principle applies to all the rides and it impacts the average guest more than the repeat guest. That doesn't mean the removal of FP would be a net decline in satisfaction for the smaller class of guests who knows how to get the most of it. But the original claim was about average satisfaction, not satisfaction within all plausible subgroups.

 

[mikejs78]

But with Fastpass--while park attendance was flat or slightly down

Where have you gotten park attendance being flat or slightly down? Attendance has skyrocketed since the introduction of FP+.

 

[mikejs78]

Don't get me wrong, it is really nice to walk on to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Frozen, or Flight of Passage. But we know how to use the FP system to our fullest benefit. Remember that a side effect of us walking on to Frozen is that we ride Frozen more often than we might if we always had to wait in standby. So there are actually fewer seats available for people who are infrequent visitors. But also, the 7 lines the average guest waits in Standby are longer and slower moving than they used to be. Before Journey into Imagination had fastpass, it's line was never more than 5 minutes, except on Christmas week and July 4th weekend. But with Fastpass--while park attendance was flat or slightly down--the average wait jumped up to 15 minutes. Journey is only an OK ride, but worth the occasional visit when it is a walk on. But wait 15 minutes for it? That is definitely a less good use of that time than before it had FP. This principle applies to all the rides and it impacts the average guest more than the repeat guest. That doesn't mean the removal of FP would be a net decline in satisfaction for the smaller class of guests who knows how to get the most of it. But the original claim was about average satisfaction, not satisfaction within all plausible subgroups.

At this moment, there is no FP in the parks. Yet the wait time for Journey into Imagination is currently 20 minutes. (For context, Spaceship Earth is 30 minutes).

 

[Twirlnhurl]

Where have you gotten park attendance being flat or slightly down? Attendance has skyrocketed since the introduction of FP+.

At this moment, there is no FP in the parks. Yet the wait time for Journey into Imagination is currently 20 minutes. (For context, Spaceship Earth is 30 minutes).

You have a very compelling argument there. Theoretically, I am sure that the presence of FP or FP+ must increase average wait times. The theory is explained here:

Each party has a maximum wait time X under which they would be willing to get in line for each ride. Without FP, a ride with an equilibrium wait time longer than X is a ride that a given party would not ride. If FP is offered, 70% of the ride's capacity is given to people who don't have to wait the equilibrium wait time. Therefore, the number of people willing to ride the ride is greater than it would be without FP, so the equilibrium wait time has to increase due to the number of seats taken by parties who ride despite the fact that the wait time is greater than X.

But you are right, the current wait time of Journey into Imagination with Figment is potentially evidence that my model of how theme park ride lines works in missing something important.

So, I decided to check the average wait times before and after FP+ was added to Journey into Imagination with Figment sometime in 2013. I checked the TEA Theme Index attendance numbers and attendance at Epcot was approximately 11.1 million in 2012, prior to any form of FP being offered at the ride and 11.4 million in 2014, the first full year of FP+. In a day with average attendance in 2014, there was approximately 31,233 people in the park, 2.6% more than 2012. The attendance difference works out to an increase of approximately 821 guests per day.

In a given hour, the park's total ride capacity not including shows or movies was approximately 13,500/hour (source). From 2012 to October 2014, park attraction capacity remained the same (Maelstrom closed in October 2014).

Because I had to manually total the hourly average wait times for Imagination from TouringPlans, I decided to compare the daily average wait times for a single month in 2012 to 2014. I selected June because it is a month without a movable major holiday and it only has 30 days.

In June 2012, the average daily wait time for Journey into Imagination with Figment according to TouringPlans was 5.6 minutes. In June 2014, the average daily wait time for the ride was 9.7 minutes. This was an increase of 73%.

TouringPlans did change their methodology of collecting the data between 2012 and 2014. So, I checked June 2013, after the TouringPlans data format change when I am pretty sure that FP had yet to be installed at the ride. (The TEA Theme Index attendance for Epcot in 2013 was 11.2 million.) In June 2013, the average daily wait time for Imagination was 7.9 minutes, making the increase in wait time between 2013 and 2014 to be 24%.

This was a less definitive comparison than I was hoping for. So I may somewhat reduce the conviction with which I believe this is a large effect. But it is definitely an interesting question!

 

[mikejs78]

You have a very compelling argument there. Theoretically, I am sure that the presence of FP or FP+ must increase average wait times. The theory is explained here:



But you are right, the current wait time of Journey into Imagination with Figment is potentially evidence that my model of how theme park ride lines works in missing something important.

So, I decided to check the average wait times before and after FP+ was added to Journey into Imagination with Figment sometime in 2013. I checked the TEA Theme Index attendance numbers and attendance at Epcot was approximately 11.1 million in 2012, prior to any form of FP being offered at the ride and 11.4 million in 2014, the first full year of FP+. In a day with average attendance in 2014, there was approximately 31,233 people in the park, 2.6% more than 2012. The attendance difference works out to an increase of approximately 821 guests per day.

In a given hour, the park's total ride capacity not including shows or movies was approximately 13,500/hour (source). From 2012 to October 2014, park attraction capacity remained the same (Maelstrom closed in October 2014).

Because I had to manually total the hourly average wait times for Imagination from TouringPlans, I decided to compare the daily average wait times for a single month in 2012 to 2014. I selected June because it is a month without a movable major holiday and it only has 30 days.

In June 2012, the average daily wait time for Journey into Imagination with Figment according to TouringPlans was 5.6 minutes. In June 2014, the average daily wait time for the ride was 9.7 minutes. This was an increase of 73%.

TouringPlans did change their methodology of collecting the data between 2012 and 2014. So, I checked June 2013, after the TouringPlans data format change when I am pretty sure that FP had yet to be installed at the ride. (The TEA Theme Index attendance for Epcot in 2013 was 11.2 million.) In June 2013, the average daily wait time for Imagination was 7.9 minutes, making the increase in wait time between 2013 and 2014 to be 24%.

This was a less definitive comparison than I was hoping for. So I may somewhat reduce the conviction with which I believe this is a large effect. But it is definitely an interesting question!

TouringPlans has done a lot of analysis on this. The general conclusion, I believe, (correct me if I'm wrong @lentesta) is that average standby times across all attractions stays about the same with or without FP. What happens is a) you see standby times at headliners go down a little, b) you see standby times at second tier attractions go up a little, and c) you see peak wait times go down and off peak wait times go up (in other words, the curve of the day for attractions flattens because FP spreads out the demand).

So instead of waiting 120 minutes at Test Track at mid day peak, you may wait 80 minutes, but you'll wait 75 minutes in the evening instead of 65. And you'll wait 15 minutes instead of 10 at Imagination.

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

I mean this is the guy who said they were knocking down old Epcot bc people demanded more trees in Future World, and that surveys showed everyone wanted Disney stores inside of Targets instead of separate mall stores. He makes it all up.

 

[WDWLOVER1957]

https:///2021/03/bob-chapek-guests-satisfied-kc1/

“Well, in addition to all the health guidelines that we’ve been following across the world, you know masks, temperature checks, increased hygiene, six-foot social distancing, we’re also going to be introducing a new reservation system that’s going to enable our Guests to have a great time no matter when they choose to come to Disney. Of course, nobody ever wants to go through a pandemic, but our teams here have been hard at work making sure that when we reemerge that we’re going to do so in a way that’s actually going to improve the Guest experience even versus a pre-pandemic situation.”

“And our Guest satisfaction score since we’ve reopened across the world have shown that indeed our Guests are even more satisfied than they were prior to the pandemic. We’ve learned some things, we’ve learned to operate under constraints all the time by delivering this great same Disney magic that you expect, but you know we’ve been in a fortunate situation where we’ve had a lot of demand in the past in any case that has exceeded what we can actually supply in terms of how many people we can put in a park and there’s been no situation that’s been more like that than we’ve had upon reopening and really having to operate under some really tight constraints, but we’ve gotten even better and better at it and I think it’s going to create a reemergence scenario where magic is going to be even greater for our Guests when they do come back to our parks.”

From the sham-man himself

The man's an idiot how can it possibly be the same great Disney magic when half of the things that make it magical are shut. I don't believe a word he says.

 

[TTLUTS]

The man's an idiot how can it possibly be the same great Disney magic when half of the things that make it magical are shut. I don't believe a word he says.

The guest satisfaction statement is disingenuous. There's no way people like fewer offerings more than a greater number of offerings or wearing masks vs not wearing masks. The data is skewed due to the attendance numbers being low and the lack of tourists traveling.

 

[Nubs70]

All depends how surveys are written.

 

[TTLUTS]

All depends how surveys are written.

Not really. Would you rather fireworks, yes or no?

see how simple that is?

 

[TTLUTS]

Not really. Would you rather fireworks, yes or no?

see how simple that is?

I don’t know one person who would say no

 

[donsullivan]

The man's an idiot how can it possibly be the same great Disney magic when half of the things that make it magical are shut. I don't believe a word he says.

The reality is that most (or at least many) here are regulars and after multiple trips over time had learned to optimize the 'system' to their best advantage. Now that everyone is on a level playing field- many of those same people feel disenfranchised as all of their 'perks' have been taken away.

But those who visit multiple times a year, or every single year are only a small percentage of the total number of guests who visit WDW on an annual basis. Most guests are one-and-done, or every 3-5 years. Those visitors have no clue about all the 'optimizations' and hyper-planning the regulars take advantage of and end up not having nearly as positive an experience. My Disney Experience has evolved into a tool where only those with experience and knowledge benefit from and all others end up with a less positive experience.

Now that everyone is on a level playing field, these occasional guests are having a more enjoyable experience because they are no longer second class citizens for not hyper-planning their visit with knowledge they don't have. They can just book their hotel and park reservations and (with the exception of RotR) just show up and experience what they want to experience. These people likely find this a very positive experience and that's what is being reported in the guest satisfaction surveys.

 

[TTLUTS]

The reality is that most (or at least many) here are regulars and after multiple trips over time had learned to optimize the 'system' to their best advantage. Now that everyone is on a level playing field- many of those same people feel disenfranchised as all of their 'perks' have been taken away.

But those who visit multiple times a year, or every single year are only a small percentage of the total number of guests who visit WDW on an annual basis. Most guests are one-and-done, or every 3-5 years. Those visitors have no clue about all the 'optimizations' and hyper-planning the regulars take advantage of and end up not having nearly as positive an experience. My Disney Experience has evolved into a tool where only those with experience and knowledge benefit from and all others end up with a less positive experience.

Now that everyone is on a level playing field, these occasional guests are having a more enjoyable experience because they are no longer second class citizens for not hyper-planning their visit with knowledge they don't have. They can just book their hotel and park reservations and (with the exception of RotR) just show up and experience what they want to experience. These people likely find this a very positive experience and that's what is being reported in the guest satisfaction surveys.

That’s fine for FP+ but not for anything else. limited dining options, no dining plan, no shows, no live entertainment, no fireworks, no, EMH, etc. whether you’re a regular or not you will definitely miss all of those features.

 

[donsullivan]

That’s fine for FP+ but not for anything else. limited dining options, no dining plan, no shows, no live entertainment, no fireworks, no, EMH, etc. whether you’re a regular or not you will definitely miss all of those features.

Pandemic, 35% capacity.

- Dining Plans- With less than half of the table service restaurants open, and all the others at very limited capacity you simply cannot have a dining plan. You can't presell seats at tables if you do not know you'll have tables available when it is demanded. That is simple math.
- Dining Options- With only 35% capacity in the parks you do not need all the restaurants open so until the numbers can be increased, that will stay the same. The capacity is not needed to open more restaurants.
- Shows- This has multiple triggers from spacing of guests in audiences to Union performers refusing to return unless their conditions were met. As we are now starting to see increases in vaccination rates some live entertainment like Festival of the Lion King (lite) are coming back this summer. The bottom line is under COVID protocols you can't have large clumps of guests without distancing.
- Fireworks- This one is clear and obvious. There is simply no way to maintain safe distancing between parties in the dark in areas like the hub at Magic Kingdom so you can't have fireworks shows. That's pretty simple.

This is just the reality of operating Walt Disney World during a pandemic with the protocols and capacity constraints Disney must operate under. When you aren't bringing more than 35% of your capacity thru the gates on any given day something has to give.

 

[Nubs70]

I don’t know one person who would say no

Even when WDW is firing on all cylinders, they tend to build surveys that yield a predetermined result.

I was at the World last week. I will not be back until social distancing is over and construction is done. We skipped day 2nd at MK simply because the food sucked so bad. We ordered fajitas and Tacos. Both had the presentation, flavor and texture of prison food. Followed by 12 hours of burping with vapors caught in my mask. After a short time, I would rather fart and wrap my head in my underwear.

There are lines for everything. Lines for rides (anticipated), lines for shops, lines for bathrooms etc. It took me 30 minutes to get a coffee.

The CM's seemed to be more interested in chit chatting than facilitating guests. Never say a smiling guest in any park as everyone had a mask on. To me, it was a very solitary experience surrounded by many people.

RotR was fantastic. CM's were right in character which made the ride very immersive.

 

[Twirlnhurl]

This is just the reality of operating Walt Disney World during a pandemic with the protocols and capacity constraints Disney must operate under. When you aren't bringing more than 35% of your capacity thru the gates on any given day something has to give.

Furthermore, this is yet more evidence that more capacity equals higher satisfaction. If Disney wants to maintain this satisfaction rate as the capacity restrictions are lifted, they will need to add capacity. Once Disney's customers are comfortable with the idea that a fireworks show can be safe, that is a relatively inexpensive way to add an attraction that will be experienced by 20k guests per day. Same goes with parades and shows.