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Cuts coming to every area of parks and resorts - thanks to Shanghai and Paris
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Part of the problem is the wave of uber-fans who arrived in the last 10 years -- they don't realize what's been lost in terms of value, corporate identity, show quality, guest service, etc. To them, as long as Space Mountain's running its rickety cars that never even received on-board audio (hey, it was state-of-the-art fifteen years ago!), everything's magical as can be.
Oh, and they like to throw these in:
That makes everything better.
asianway
Well-Known Member
Gotta go with the logoed napkin question
DVCOwner
A Long Time DVC Member
I do not think Disney is perfect, but you are overlooking everything positive that Disney has and is doing in the last few years to turn things around. So everyone that believes all the woo, post over and over about cuts that have not even happened yet. Don't you remember this same thing about cuts two years ago because of the Magic Band program and almost none of it happened. Walt Disney World is finally getting so new things and all you want to do is wine about possible cuts that may or may not effect my next visit. If Disney is really as bad as everyone is saying, then find somewhere else to spend you money and time complaining about something (in your opinion) is never going to be great again.
brb1006
Well-Known Member
Or anything related to Sanrio in general.
If QTR1 revenues and earnings beat projections and park attendance is at record levels, what was the reason behind cutting park hours and staffing? I see that P&R QTR1 2016 was up from QTR1 2015. Is the media networks division (make that ESPN) really having a drag on overall growth as has been reported? Year to Year growth as been reported at -6%.
Or are other problems in P&R behind this decision?
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Oh how I want to quote the rest of this....
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
We were getting too optimistic about the domestic parks as of late, they clearly felt the need to put a stop to that... *sigh*
I do wonder though if this is a hiccup along the way. Things really, really hinge on SDL. Either the executives inner fears will be relieved or things will get a whole lot worse this summer.
I do wonder though if this is a hiccup along the way. Things really, really hinge on SDL. Either the executives inner fears will be relieved or things will get a whole lot worse this summer.
hopemax
Well-Known Member
^^This. It's the same where I work, and my wife, and most people I know. Things also change every time there is a change in upper management, and for me, that's every few years. I seem to recall that some of your posts the past few years have not been such that people could term you a pixie dusted fanboi
And both of you work for companies whose reputation is built upon delivering, in Disney's own word's when they raised AP prices, "a world class experience?" Companies that spent much of 2015 allowing media outlets to run with the stories that the customers they are now interested in is those families in the top 10%, not middle class. I guess I have missed where families with money expect to have to consult an operating hours schedule to find out which attractions, shops and restaurants are opening late, or closing early vs everything simply being available when they desire it. I suppose these people don't value services where there are CM's waiting curbside to assist them or any of the other things like additional characters to meet, second Fantasmic shows, etc.
DVCOwner
A Long Time DVC Member
And as far as you know it is all true. Everything I am reading here is not based in fact, because none of it is happened yet. I is all just "Disney Hate Speak".
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
According to Disney website, Typhoon's refurb has been extended. It will now be closed my week in March.
I'd imagine as a cut, not bc work is continuing. :-(
I'd imagine as a cut, not bc work is continuing. :-(
[QUOTE="TalkingHead, post: 7089027, member: 60358"]From the article:
Disney said hours traditionally fluctuate and that the company is not responding to concerns about ESPN or a delayed Shanghai opening.
"We are adding new attractions and entertainment offerings this year in addition to significant expansions opening next year and beyond," Disney said in an emailed statement. "As our business continues to grow, we regularly make adjustments in our operations to ensure we are able to deliver great Guest and Cast experiences in the most efficient way possible"
What a load of Disneyspeak...[/QUOTE]
Seriously? Someone in Disney PR said that? How can you, with a straight face (or keyboard), cut operating hours and front line staff, what most of your guests experience and interact with, while saying you will be "able to deliver great guest...experiences in the most efficient way possible" [my emphasis].
Disney said hours traditionally fluctuate and that the company is not responding to concerns about ESPN or a delayed Shanghai opening.
"We are adding new attractions and entertainment offerings this year in addition to significant expansions opening next year and beyond," Disney said in an emailed statement. "As our business continues to grow, we regularly make adjustments in our operations to ensure we are able to deliver great Guest and Cast experiences in the most efficient way possible"
What a load of Disneyspeak...[/QUOTE]
Seriously? Someone in Disney PR said that? How can you, with a straight face (or keyboard), cut operating hours and front line staff, what most of your guests experience and interact with, while saying you will be "able to deliver great guest...experiences in the most efficient way possible" [my emphasis].
No Name
Well-Known Member
So many people are saying that overseas parks are a bad idea. And then saying that people in other countries just aren't as receptive to theme parks. And that Disney should stop building elsewhere after Shanghai. I disagree.
Do people in other countries just not like to have some good family fun? No. Everyone likes theme parks. There are successful parks all over the world. But notice that most of these were built by companies native to that country. Disney's overseas parks were delivered very poorly which has led to their less-than-successful state.
Disneyland Paris was and still is too American. And it was built in a bad economic period. In Hong Kong, at least they had the decency not to fly American flags on Main Street, but that park was too small. The castle is tiny, and all forced perspective is ruined by those mountains in the background. Both parks did not cater to their audiences well and were built largely on assumptions that what worked in the US would work in these countries. Among these problems were names that didn't appeal, different eating habits, different patterns in pretty much everything they do. It's tough to have Americans design a foreign park becuase there will always be problems, but hopefully lessons have been learned.
Disney is fine in America becuase nearly everyone who's made decisions here is American and knows how people here behave. Yes there are tourists, but when you go on vacation in another country, you expect and adapt to different patterns. Not to mention Walt built something completely different and greater than anything before.
In Shanghai, have they gotten in right? Who knows? I sure hope they have. But Bob Weis is not Chinese, and while most of the park looks like it does cater to Chinese interests, I just assume there will be problems or a lack of "magic" becuase of some factors that even I won't understand. I'm American. I've been to China but I'm certainly no expert.
So are international parks a bad idea? No. Disney needs to expand to keep up with their competitors, and growth is important. If a quality park can be built that caters to its audience, it will be successful. But Disney has not done that yet. Hopefully they put a ton of effort and money into Shanghai in these next few months to make sure it gets off to the right start.
Do people in other countries just not like to have some good family fun? No. Everyone likes theme parks. There are successful parks all over the world. But notice that most of these were built by companies native to that country. Disney's overseas parks were delivered very poorly which has led to their less-than-successful state.
Disneyland Paris was and still is too American. And it was built in a bad economic period. In Hong Kong, at least they had the decency not to fly American flags on Main Street, but that park was too small. The castle is tiny, and all forced perspective is ruined by those mountains in the background. Both parks did not cater to their audiences well and were built largely on assumptions that what worked in the US would work in these countries. Among these problems were names that didn't appeal, different eating habits, different patterns in pretty much everything they do. It's tough to have Americans design a foreign park becuase there will always be problems, but hopefully lessons have been learned.
Disney is fine in America becuase nearly everyone who's made decisions here is American and knows how people here behave. Yes there are tourists, but when you go on vacation in another country, you expect and adapt to different patterns. Not to mention Walt built something completely different and greater than anything before.
In Shanghai, have they gotten in right? Who knows? I sure hope they have. But Bob Weis is not Chinese, and while most of the park looks like it does cater to Chinese interests, I just assume there will be problems or a lack of "magic" becuase of some factors that even I won't understand. I'm American. I've been to China but I'm certainly no expert.
So are international parks a bad idea? No. Disney needs to expand to keep up with their competitors, and growth is important. If a quality park can be built that caters to its audience, it will be successful. But Disney has not done that yet. Hopefully they put a ton of effort and money into Shanghai in these next few months to make sure it gets off to the right start.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Many parks built by foreign companies have their parks designed by Americans, this is especially true of the big parks in China. Disney's parks are troubled because the company still is not interested in actually building themed experiences. The focus is on the other activities such as hotels, retail and dining.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
I'm surprised they didn't have the nerve to say:
"...deliver great guest...experiences in the most magical way possible."
You know they were tempted to.
Well that's just a non-sequitur. The first part has about as much bearing on the second as if I asked..."Since you're here in Chicago for the annual meeting, what is the average airspeed of an unladen sparrow?" The cuts are about the future, not the past. Is this question just intended to be a softball for them?
I'm sure that Bob Iger and the other executives will compliment my ability to read numbers and determine which one is larger.
That's a real question, but I thought you wanted me to ask about parks.
Other problems? What was the first one?
So far, I'm not feeling like this will go well.
HauntedMansionFLA
Well-Known Member
The US will be next.
I once worked for a state agency that was merged with another that was twice the size but had half the revenues. As part of that merger process, both agencies included stakeholders in discussions about streamlining duplicate processes so that decisions made wouldn't negatively impact those stakeholders. Also provided the opportunity for employees in each agency to understand programs they weren't familiar with. My point is whether it is a corporation or governmental agency, you cannot dismiss your customers or stakeholders or whatever you want to call those individuals who purchase your service or commodity and expect those customers to continue to patronize whatever it is you are providing. Even if you have a built in fan base and brand like Disney. Just look at what happened to Blackberry. And Sony.
That is a very easy thing to say. If the number of cast that are needed to deliver great guest experiences is "X" are your current staffing levels are "X+4", you aren't providing great guests experiences in the most efficient way possible. Get rid of the "+4", and you're doing it.
We may very well disagree with that PR person as to whether the company currently delivers great guests experiences and, if so, whether they can continue to do so with these cuts, but it's certainly easy for a corporate person to assert that is the intention.