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

[el_super]

First you have to understand what Disney actually did in the recession of 2008 in Orlando.

Isn't their discounting strategy usually just tacking on free days to a booking? That would make a lot of sense, because they could continue to increase pricing while simultaneously offering a time sensitive discount. That would work well with a general reduction in AP benefits and numbers.

 

[AEfx]

Right…but they never added/changed a scene since 1989.

It was a great ride….but it needed a change.

That's just it - there was absolutely nothing wrong conceptually with GMR, it could have easily had portions updated every few years, and remained the flagship, only-one-in-the-world attraction it was.

I have a feeling that it came down to the fact that there were non-Disney IPs in there, and someone decided that was no longer desirable - which, was short-sighted as heck, especially now that Disney owns Fox and between that, what Disney already had, and other acquisitions pretty much gives them free reign to half the movies Hollywood ever made.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That's just it - there was absolutely nothing wrong conceptually with GMR, it could have easily had portions updated every few years, and remained the flagship, only-one-in-the-world attraction it was.

I have a feeling that it came down to the fact that there were non-Disney IPs in there, and someone decided that was no longer desirable - which, was short-sighted as heck, especially now that Disney owns Fox and between that, what Disney already had, and other acquisitions pretty much gives them free reign to half the movies Hollywood ever made.

I think it was non Disney IP AND hydraulic fluid and gears for AAs that did it.

The “replacement” came out of nowhere…but they B!tched about maintaining the ride since pretty much the day the park opened.

Coulda found another way

 

[TQQQ]

Sure.... but what if... no?

They are all but saying that their product is undervalued and under-priced right now. I could definitely see the lesson being learned from 2008 was that deep discounting has long term impacts that need to be carefully considered prior to being implemented. At Disneyland, the no-interest financing of Annual Passes was a huge mistake that continues to this day, because the audience has just grown to expect that level of discount.

A recession might give them the opportunity to "reset" things again. Offer a kind of short term discounting program that can easily be discontinued, but also encourages fewer visits and more specifically repeat visits. Use it to convince the people who want to pay the least that they really don't want to come for a couple years.

And then when they ARE ready to come back, three or four or five years later, maybe they will be willing to pay more.

Europe is a big problem. Energy costs in the UK, Germany, etc are through the roof. This is going to be a difficult winter for them. This will 100% spill over to park attendance

 

[graphite1326]

So why not just get rid of annual passes? But they still sell them. So he will make money off people who buy annual passes but don't want them there.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Isn't their discounting strategy usually just tacking on free days to a booking? That would make a lot of sense, because they could continue to increase pricing while simultaneously offering a time sensitive discount. That would work well with a general reduction in AP benefits and numbers.

No…that’s universal

Disney has done the “buy X, get Y” in the past as well..but it’s usually a base percentage discount somewhere in the line.

You are more Disneyland focused…so I get the concentration on APs…
But what Iger did in Florida was offer temporary coupons and gags while increasing base prices for the post period. And it worked like a charm…aggregate prices have tripled or more on the outside.

So basically your prediction has already come true…in 2015-present.

I always like to post this commercial from 2008 as reference…look at prices after the crash…and today…

That’s not “inflationary”

He got them.

 

[John park hopper]

Europe is a big problem. Energy costs in the UK, Germany, etc re through the roof. This is going to be a difficult winter for them. This will 100% spill over to park attendance

European countries will be subsidizing those that can't pay their energy bills. So where does that money come from --those that work and they will have less to spend on vacations ----Disney parks

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So why not just get rid of annual passes? But they still sell them. So he will make money off people who buy annual passes but don't want them there.

Who says they aren’t going too?

They could can Florida’s today and it wouldn’t be a blip.

The problem is California. Not so easy

 

[Spookie2018]

My real question is, why do people continue to go? What is the incentive to stay on property now? It baffles my mind why people continue to pay these exorbitant prices while getting less of a product:


Here is a partial list of cuts and negative changes made just since Covid (I'm sure I am missing some, i saw this list on another site)
Magical Express
free Magic Bands
Live entertainment like GF Orchestra, street performers
Housekeeping
Extra Magic Hours
FP+ - Genie+ and not being able to pre book ride
shorter park hours
smaller food portions
increased ticket prices
higher crowds
waking up before 7am every day
having to be on my phone constantly
No dining plan
no Tables In Wonderland..............

Magic Bands don't really cost that much
Genie + - Are you still crying over $15 per day? And if you're local (caring about Tables in Wonderland suggests that you are), you should know that FP+ was awful
Smaller food portions - Beside reading a comment about this, where have you really seen it?
Increased Ticket Prices - Name a time when ticket prices didn't increase. This is not exclusive to the last few years
Higher Crowds - This is Disney's fault?
Waking up before 7AM every day - Don't do it. You'll miss the first Genie + reservation of the day. It's not the end of the world
Having To Be On The Phone Constantly - This one is laughable. People's heads are buried in their phone 24/7, whether it's a Disney app or not.
No Dining Plan - Everyone complained that the Dining Plan dumbed down menus. Now that it's gone, everyone wants it back. It wasn't really a good value. It just had you eating more food.

 

[TQQQ]

Magic Bands don't really cost that much
Genie + - Are you still crying over $15 per day? And if you're local (caring about Tables in Wonderland suggests that you are), you should know that FP+ was awful
Smaller food portions - Beside reading a comment about this, where have you really seen it?
Increased Ticket Prices - Name a time when ticket prices didn't increase. This is not exclusive to the last few years
Higher Crowds - This is Disney's fault?
Waking up before 7AM every day - Don't do it. You'll miss the first Genie + reservation of the day. It's not the end of the world
Having To Be On The Phone Constantly - This one is laughable. People's heads are buried in their phone 24/7, whether it's a Disney app or not.
No Dining Plan - Everyone complained that the Dining Plan dumbed down menus. Now that it's gone, everyone wants it back. It wasn't really a good value. It just had you eating more food.

We will agree to disagree......Are you Chapek? Sounds like it

 

[Chi84]

Some people miss the things that were cut more than others. The question is whether those cuts affect you to the point that you'll no longer visit.

FP+ and Tables in Wonderland were both great and I miss them quite a bit. We're not local, but we are DVC and generally visit twice a year. That doesn't mean everyone will miss them. We are happy with a few rides a day as long as they are at convenient times, so FP+ worked great for us. Tables gave us 20% off some pretty expensive bottles of wine.

We noticed smaller food portions at Tangierine Cafe and Flame Tree (pre-COVID) and Satuli (during COVID), but not really anywhere else. The only reason we noticed is that the portions used to be so large that my husband and I split one entree for lunch.

You can still get Genie+ if you don't wake up at 7am, but it's likely you will miss the most popular ride - the one you want. $15 a day isn't bad except we're now paying for a much inferior product. We hate park reservations; they limit flexibility.

We didn't use Magical Express, but we greatly miss the resort airline check-in. I'm sure others don't care at all about this. People are different. And I do feel terrible for families with kids who were able to rely on ME. We don't buy the dining plan, so that doesn't affect us. But we are paying more for food because of the absence of Tables in Wonderland.

Not all people's heads are buried in phones all day, so that just doesn't apply to everyone. Ticket prices do increase everywhere, so that's not so much a factor.

On balance, WDW is moving away from the all-inclusive feel that made it so much fun for us. We've already decided to take the family elsewhere for next year's vacation and are adopting a wait-and-see attitude after that. People absolutely do consider value when planning vacations and they do vote with their wallets. They just may not be voting the way others think they should. It happens.

 

[John park hopper]

We will agree to disagree......Are you Chapek? Sounds like it

Gotta be on Bob's payroll

 

[Andrew25]

I (and I think most people) have no problem with Disney charging a premium for an express/Fastpass system... if it wasn't taking so much capacity away from regular guests.

Perfectly fine with Universal (and every other theme park) charging $150+ a day for Express when significant capacity isn't being taken away from regular standby lines... but the lightning lane to standby ratios are absolutely horrendous.

 

[Chi84]

I (and I think most people) have no problem with Disney charging a premium for an express/Fastpass system... if it wasn't taking so much capacity away from regular guests.

Perfectly fine with Universal (and every other theme park) charging $150+ a day for Express when significant capacity isn't being taken away from regular standby lines... but the lightning lane to standby ratios are absolutely horrendous.

There aren't enough rides at any of the WDW parks that would justify charging $150 a day. Many of the guests at Universal who are using Express Pass are not paying $150 a day.

 

[Andrew C]

There aren't enough rides at any of the WDW parks that would justify charging $150 a day.

That doesn't matter!

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Grandparents be damned!

LOL. I don't know if you are a grandparent, but "older" citizens who are grandparents spend A lot of money. Also, most older people have a lot of disposable money to spend, much more than they did while working. It's a fallacy to think that older people don't spend a lot of money. LOL, I wish that were true - I could have saved a bundle

 

[Chi84]

LOL. I don't know if you are a grandparent, but "older" citizens who are grandparents spend A lot of money. Also, most older people have a lot of disposable money to spend, much more than they did while working. It's a fallacy to think that older people don't spend a lot of money. LOL, I wish that were true - I could have saved a bundle

I laughed out loud when I saw the "stingy old people" comment. We also pay for the WDW family vacations.

 

[Andrew25]

There aren't enough rides at any of the WDW parks that would justify charging $150 a day. Many of the guests at Universal who are using Express Pass are not paying $150 a day.

There are more than enough people willing to purchase a premium $150+ option. It would obviously be dynamic per each park, but its definitely workable.

 

[GSP Guy]

LOL. I don't know if you are a grandparent, but "older" citizens who are grandparents spend A lot of money. Also, most older people have a lot of disposable money to spend, much more than they did while working. It's a fallacy to think that older people don't spend a lot of money. LOL, I wish that were true - I could have saved a bundle

Yep! My daughter was looking at when to take my grandson for his first visit and was a bit taken aback by the pricing! Of course I told her to hang onto their money.....Paw Paw's got this!

 

[Spookie2018]

I (and I think most people) have no problem with Disney charging a premium for an express/Fastpass system... if it wasn't taking so much capacity away from regular guests.

Perfectly fine with Universal (and every other theme park) charging $150+ a day for Express when significant capacity isn't being taken away from regular standby lines... but the lightning lane to standby ratios are absolutely horrendous.

So you'd be happier if they charged you more?