Chapek's comments - he doesn't want anyone on this board at WDW any more

[TQQQ]

Some of these are real, some of these are bullcrap, some of these are actually good, some of them are neither good nor bad, they're just different, and some of them are temporary COVID measures that aren't sticking around.

Magical Express... that's a cut, plain and simple, I'm with you.

Free MagicBands are a cut, I suppose, but when MagicBands were free, everyone complained "why can't we just do this on our phones?" Well now you can.

Live entertainment is a mix of temporary COVID cuts that haven't come back yet, temporary COVID cuts that have come back, and some actual cuts.

Housekeeping is a temporary COVID measure.

30 minutes of Early Entry in every park is actually an expansion of the resort benefit from 60 minutes in a single park.

Everyone bitched and moaned that they "had to" pre-book their rides with FastPass+, now they and moan that they can't.

Park hours are not shorter.

Portion sizes have not shrunk.

Crowds are not larger.

People were walking around on their phones all day long before Genie came out.

Everyone complained constantly about the dining plan, now they complain that it's gone, then they'll complain again when it comes back (because it's also a temporary COVID measure)

You need to show some critical thinking skills and realize that you lose credibility when you lump good points with silly points. Disney couldn't control COVID, they can't control runaway inflation, including for labor costs and food costs, Disney can't control customs and immigration, and Disney can't control the labor market.

Fair enough.....But i dont think all of your comments are accurate, they are more opinion vs fact, so the same standard applies, loss of credibility

Housekeeping is a temporary COVID measure = I dont think this ever comes back

Portion sizes have shrunk = And McCarthy even admitted it

Crowds are not larger = agree, but it's more crowded

People were walking around on their phones all day long before Genie came out = True but relatively it's a lot more now


Everyone complained constantly about the dining plan, now they complain that it's gone, then they'll complain again when it comes back (because it's also a temporary COVID measure) = I've never heard one complaint of the dining plan in my life

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Housekeeping is a temporary COVID measure = I dont think this ever comes back

I guess we'll just see about that.

Portion sizes have shrunk = And McCarthy even admitted it

McCarthy said they were considering reducing portion sizes in lieu of racing F&B prices when she was asked specifically about inflation of food costs.

Crowds are not larger = agree, but it's more crowded

I'm not sure what this means.

I've never heard one complaint of the dining plan in my life

Are you new here? I personally like the dining plan once in awhile and want it to come back, but Disney is losing money by not having it right now, so it completely goes against your narrative that they're somehow screwing the guests by not offering it. They're not offering it because they can't, because they don't have the bodies to staff all of the restaurants for all of the meals.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Disney's master plan is already giving them their desired results. Damn what the unfavorables & superfans have to say about it..

Theme park spending up despite lower attendance this summer

Recently released quarterly reports from Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Six Flags and Cedar Fair paint a financial picture of increased visitors spending despite lagging attendance levels.

www.ocregister.com

 

[TQQQ]

I guess we'll just see about that.


McCarthy said they were considering reducing portion sizes in lieu of racing F&B prices when she was asked specifically about inflation of food costs.


I'm not sure what this means.


Are you new here? I personally like the dining plan once in awhile and want it to come back, but Disney is losing money by not having it right now, so it completely goes against your narrative that they're somehow screwing the guests by not offering it. They're not offering it because they can't, because they don't have the bodies to staff all of the restaurants for all of the meals.

“We aren’t going to go just straight across and increase prices. We’re going to try to get the algorithm right to cut where we can and not necessarily do things the same way,” McCarthy said.


Yes this is my first thread

 

[networkpro]

Fair enough.....But i dont think all of your comments are accurate, they are more opinion vs fact, so the same standard applies, loss of credibility

Housekeeping is a temporary COVID measure = I dont think this ever comes back

Portion sizes have shrunk = And McCarthy even admitted it

Crowds are not larger = agree, but it's more crowded

People were walking around on their phones all day long before Genie came out = True but relatively it's a lot more now


Everyone complained constantly about the dining plan, now they complain that it's gone, then they'll complain again when it comes back (because it's also a temporary COVID measure) = I've never heard one complaint of the dining plan in my life

Lots of companies in Orlando are all competing for the same scarce labor.
Its crowded because not all attractions and shows are back so people either wander or wait in lines.
Those same people had a deeper relationship with those phones for the past few years than they did with flesh and blood.

You can't please all of the people all of the time for the dining plan. The main complaints against it were people ordering the most costly items to maximize their spending when combined with the compensation rate per meal led to lower quality ingredients to maintain a profit; dining availability was minimized for anyone who didn't make those reservations 180 days out; and that the menus became bland so that the dining plan people could get their nuggets and burgers.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Chapek interview with the Hollywood reporter when talking about "Superfans".

"But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure that there’s room in the park for the family from Denver that comes once every five years. We didn’t have a reservation system and we didn’t control the number of annual passes we distributed and frankly, the annual pass as a value was so great that people were literally coming all the time and the accessibility of the park was unlimited to them and that family from Denver would get to the park and not be let in. That doesn’t seem like a real balanced proposition.”


This is why we do not go any more.......They dont want us there! These are the very people that brought the parks back to life after the Covid closures and now WDW is just saying "Thanks, but we don't need you any longer"

And then he had the balls to say if our plan doesn't work out, we will let you peasants back in.........

"We have a real high-class problem: We have much more demand than there is supply. What we will not bend on is giving somebody a less than stellar experience in the parks because we jammed too many people in there. If we’re going to have that foundational rule, you have to start balancing who you let in. … Our ticket prices and constraints we put on how often people can come and when they come is a direct reflection of demand. When is it too much? Demand will tell us when it’s too much.”

This is everything that is wrong with this current management team. Disgrace what it has become

I guess Bobby and the Disney data folks looked at the data and thinks the family from Denver that comes once every five years will make MORE MONEY for WDW than the people were literally coming all the time and spending money.

I am watching from the sidelines and I am SO ROOTING for them to be wrong on this one.

Time will tell and it will take a while, we may have to go through two years of revenge travel to find out.

 

[Andrew C]

Or, you know, expand supply.

Si!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Sounds like he’s talking about Disneyland here, given the annual pass comments and using Colorado, a western state, as an example of where an out-of-town family is coming from.

 

[el_super]

"We have a real high-class problem: We have much more demand than there is supply. What we will not bend on is giving somebody a less than stellar experience in the parks because we jammed too many people in there. If we’re going to have that foundational rule, you have to start balancing who you let in. … Our ticket prices and constraints we put on how often people can come and when they come is a direct reflection of demand. When is it too much? Demand will tell us when it’s too much.”

He's absolutely right with this.

There's no point in selling out the possibility of acquiring a new fan, so that an old fan can ride the Haunted Mansion 15 times per year. If you are Disney, you need to acquire new fans before the old ones become permanent residents of said mansion.

 

[TQQQ]

Sounds like he’s talking about Disneyland here, given the annual pass comments and using Colorado, a western state, as an example of where an out-of-town family is coming from.

I thought so too but the more I read, the more im thinking WDW. DL is less of a destination than WDW and I think AP will return there......

 

[gitchard]

He's nuts. I live less than an hour away from WDW. Our family has had at least 6 people with AP for about 20 years. We buy stuff at WDW for gifts. We go to F&W several times a year and buy all kinds of food.

You can't tell me that I spend less there then someone who goes only once every 5 years. I may not spend as much in one day but it adds up fast over time.

All I can say is that if they keep this up, Universal may start getting my money instead of WDW.

 

[GimpYancIent]

A message for Bob. OK! No problem. Oh yeah, have A Magical Day!

 

[Br0ckford]

What we will not bend on is giving somebody a less than stellar experience in the parks

Umm....too late?

 

[Californian Elitist]

I thought so too but the more I read, the more im thinking WDW. DL is less of a destination than WDW and I think AP will return there......

I’m going to have to read the entire interview, but based on what you posted, it sounds like DL, especially because he discusses annual passholders overcrowding the parks. We all know who’s notorious for doing that. This also lines up with the “unfavorable guest attendance” comment that was made about DL guests.

He could be referring to Disney parks in general.

 

[JoeCamel]

I’m going to have to read the entire interview, but based on what you posted, it sounds like DL, especially because he discusses annual passholders overcrowding the parks. We all know who’s notorious for doing that. This also lines up with the “unfavorable guest attendance” comment that was made about DL guests.

He could be referring to Disney parks in general.

Topeka was mentioned before Denver so bases are covered

 

[Stevek]

Disney's master plan is already giving them their desired results. Damn what the unfavorables & superfans have to say about it..

Theme park spending up despite lower attendance this summer

Recently released quarterly reports from Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Six Flags and Cedar Fair paint a financial picture of increased visitors spending despite lagging attendance levels.

www.ocregister.com

Unfavorables (time for our fanbase to get over that comment) and super fans will keep complaining but keep going. There is zero reason for Disney to do anything different until enough of these people stop coming. It won’t happen.

 

[esskay]

Sounds like he’s talking about Disneyland here, given the annual pass comments and using Colorado, a western state, as an example of where an out-of-town family is coming from.

Not surprising. WDW doesn't seem to exist as far as the current management is concerned. It's just some mythical thing that spits out a few billion into the coffers every few months.

 

[networkpro]

I’m going to have to read the entire interview, but based on what you posted, it sounds like DL, especially because he discusses annual passholders overcrowding the parks. We all know who’s notorious for doing that. This also lines up with the “unfavorable guest attendance” comment that was made about DL guests.

He could be referring to Disney parks in general.

There are 12.9 million people in the metro LA area and only about 85K max occupants per day for Disneyland, naturally, DL won't have as many APs for sale compared to WDW if they want customers other than AP holders.

 

[Stevek]

I honestly don’t have any problems with what he said. It’s accurate for the current state of the resorts. The problem I have is that Disney created many so many problems and created a significantly lower value proposition and guest experience for guests. That is what has influenced my decisions not to return to the parks. There just aren’t enough people making similar decisions to cause any worry with Disney.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Unfavorables (time for our fanbase to get over that comment) and super fans will keep complaining but keep going.

I want that word to be very well known, people need to understand what management thinks of the park fan.

But i understand some would argue it is already well known.