Cuts coming to every area of parks and resorts - thanks to Shanghai and Paris

[JohnWD]

I love these threads! The doom & gloomers are and will have a field day! DISNEY IS DOOMED!! LOL

Now there will be more interesting discussions in the other threads!

 

[marni1971]

On a brighter note this may mean all viewing areas for fireworks maybe open to everyone all the time.

 

[GhostHost1000]

On a brighter note this may mean all viewing areas for fireworks maybe open to everyone all the time.

You mean even without booking a FP in advance?

 

[marni1971]

You mean even without booking a FP in advance?

Yup. A proposal I heard.

 

[ToTBellHop]

On a brighter note this may mean all viewing areas for fireworks maybe open to everyone all the time.

That would be a welcome change. I miss my favorite IllumiNations spot.

 

[drew81]

Fantasmic is going to one night a week....Saturday night
Kilimanjaro Safari's animal stock will all be sold to other institutions and zoos. Cardboard cutouts will be up in their place. Hopefully the guest won't notice.
Magic Words with Mickey will no longer operate as is. The photopass photographer will try to do their best Mickey voice impression while taking photos. Hopefully the guests won't notice.
Star Wars Launch Bay will operate seasonally. Right now the plan is to only operate it when a new Star Wars movie opens.
The plastic from discarded Magic Bands will now be sent to Central Shops to be melted down for new Small World dolls.
Festival of the Lion King will now require a $15 upcharge per guest to make a FastPass reservation.
Toy Story Mania will now operate as a "Premium Ride Experience". Only guests staying at 4Seasons will be able to ride.
Magic Kingdom will now charge a Festival of Fantasy Parade "In Front" Experience fee for all guests standing on route. If guests want to have memorable experiences with characters on parade route it will now cost them.
Bob "Chappie" Chapek and Tom Staggs will now be visiting the parks more often taking photos and signing autographs for guests but at the same time charging a "Executive Experience" $50 fee for any guest who approaches them. The thought is it will help the bottom line.
Most character dining will remove the characters and now require guests to use their imagination by imagining the characters being there visiting their table. If any guest questions the new "Imagine the Characters at Your Table" policy they are to be encouraged to be more magical and use their imagination more.




Satire........

Um the sad thing might be that some of this might actually come to fruition.

 

[ford91exploder]

At one point in my Disney posting timeline, I would have bothered, and I did. Got some phone calls too, and free copies of those souvenir vacation pictorial books too. But at this point I simply don't care. I feel more like being a Monk chronicling the fall of an ancient empire and recording it for posterity. To quote Kosh from Babylon 5, "The avalanche has started; too late for the pebbles to vote."

Interesting you also thought of that line from Babylon 5 when news of this hit.

 

[emcclay]

Im hearing RDP are being cut at the resorts. Things like movie nights, campe fires, and other activities hosted by CM's at hotels in order to entertain guests are all on the cut at least at Anaheim. I hope that Iger and Chappe and co are all taking hits to their paychecks in solidarity with their decisions. But something tells me that's unlikely. And that instead Cast members are paying the price for decisions in china that they did not make.

This is already happening in Florida. AoA has four movie nights a week now..

 

[Mike S]

Im hearing RDP are being cut at the resorts. Things like movie nights, campe fires, and other activities hosted by CM's at hotels in order to entertain guests are all on the cut at least at Anaheim. I hope that Iger and Chappe and co are all taking hits to their paychecks in solidarity with their decisions. But something tells me that's unlikely. And that instead Cast members are paying the price for decisions in china that they did not make.

They just won't stop until they've gone through every single possible option of something to cut will they? Eventually the average guest has to notice and I hope that day is soon.

PS. I hate Shanghai right now.

I still wonder why Iger seems to be trying to make these moves out of cheer desperation to prevent his "infallible" aura from exploding in the eyes of Wall Street. Its like he cannot tolerate even a singles downturn to "stain" his "legacy".
I seriously think his own ego will be his own fall.

His overconfidence is his weakness.

I love these threads! The doom & gloomers are and will have a field day! DISNEY IS DOOMED!! LOL

Now there will be more interesting discussions in the other threads!

You really don't care about all these cuts? They will all effect us directly. Less CM's operating attractions, less CM's at the QS registers, etc.

But who am I to take away your Kool-Aid. Enjoy your "all is sweet and sugary" beverage.

 

[matt9112]

Figures. I literally just booked our first trip in two years for this June after going 3-4 times a year for many years. I had all but said never again but the kids actually want to go back (Disney got our money anyway with an awesome trip to DLR last summer).

Even two years ago you could blatantly feel the cuts. I'm hopeful that things will bounce back after Shanghai gets going but something tells me that things are gonna suck until Avatar and Stars wars opens and then demands a return to prior levels of service and expectations.

How cone people think shanghai will just take off? With what money will they buy tickets?

 

[ford91exploder]

Wasn't that Eisner's downfall too?

Yes it was, Unfortunately Iger has all of Eisner's flaws and none of his good qualities. And he has left NOTHING in the tank except trouble for the NEXT management team.

Some here in the past have said I've been over the top in what this management team would cut, Unfortunately it looks like I am correct. And if during the Good Times this much is being cut just imagine what will happen if the gate clicks drop. Goodbye Star Wars and all that pretty stuff. I've seen this picture show before in corporate land before and it always starts with a management team which does not understand their product and is obsessed with financial performance. It always ends with Warren Buffets classic line "Those who manage only for the bottom line. Soon will have NO bottom line".

 

[raven]

I honestly think Disney is loosing their foothold in Orlando and now they are focusing on foreign land to start a new "world."

 

[matt9112]

Agree. Besides, FW opens two hours before WS. The action shifts to WS in the evenings. With Soarin closed the only two attractions worth doing are TT and SSE which may still be open past 7 anyway, esp SSE which you could catch on your way out of the park.

You afraid of death on mars? I still ride it every visit.

 

[matt9112]

This is a pretty normal operating model for Epcot where World Showcase opens 2 hours after park opening and Future World closes 2 hours before park closing. For most of Epcot's operating life, that was the normal pattern.

Imagine.....if the hours could be the same and the attractions supported that.....

 

[PizzaPlanet]

PS. I hate Shanghai right now.

I know right. Instead of using their resourses on the highly successful American parks, they just have build another park in china. And if it flops, this will only be the begining of the cuts.

 

[ford91exploder]

How cone people think shanghai will just take off? With what money will they buy tickets?

Plus as @WDW1974 notes apparently Disney is on the the hook for a second gate at SDL which has not been funded yet something tells me that that probably has an arcane funding model where funding and ownership is asymmetric based on the success of the first gate. Designed to fleece the Chinese but as these schemes usually do they backfire on the Americans who think they are "The smartest guys in the room" which is never true because while American executives are usually high in social intelligence they frequently are not subject matter experts where their negotiating partners frequently are especially in Asia.

 

[matt9112]

Okay, I'll give you that during Spring Break...when crowd levels are insane. So, sure.

What I meant was that if the most significant thing I'll experience because of these these cuts will be F! and MSEP going to once nightly for awhile, it's not the end of the world.

Except that's not the only thing.....every little thing being cut back....alone these cuts are no big deal...together they can change a family's opinion on the mouse.

 

[matt9112]

Plus as @WDW1974 notes apparently Disney is on the the hook for a second gate at SDL which has not been funded yet something tells me that that probably has an arcane funding model where funding and ownership is asymmetric based on the success of the first gate. Designed to fleece the Chinese but as these schemes usually do they backfire on the Americans who think they are "The smartest guys in the room" which is never true because while American executives are usually high in social intelligence they frequently are not subject matter experts where their negotiating partners frequently are especially in Asia.

Its like making a deal with the devil no the Chinese don't want your soul and there not evil but your making a one way deal with zero leverage. There is literary nothing Disney can do except say OK and hope they see money someday. I don't think American priority will be saving a private company's melt down. The PLA could literary take control of the entire park and you would be able to do nothing. Of course that's extreme but the point is valid.

TWDC is powerless in china.

 

[CrescentLake]

I honestly think Disney is loosing their foothold in Orlando and now they are focusing on foreign land to start a new "world."

I would never call out a well respected member such as yourself (With much more inside information than me), but seriously? I don't buy it. Disney still has the lion's share of the market down in Orlando, and tourism is absolutely exploding. Why would they focus their energy elsewhere? It would be a horrifically poor business decision.

I think its more like, Disney is making cuts to Parks and Resorts as a whole (in order to compensate for Shanghai, because god forbid every section of the company not being profitable at all times), and since WDW is the biggest resort, it gets the most cuts. Presumably it is the most expensive to run, so that would be where they stand to save the most money. Not that I agree with this at all, by the way. I was so optimistic this year that things had finally turned the corner and then they roll this out? As much as I love WDW, this may be the straw that breaks the camels back after my trip this year. Maybe its time to finally visit DLR.

 

[ParentsOf4]

You really don't care about all these cuts? They will all effect us directly. Less CM's operating attractions, less CM's at the QS registers, etc.

It's difficult to imagine how any true fan of WDW can find comfort in these cuts. Clearly, some have grown so upset at the doom-and-gloomers that they'd rather see them suffer more than WDW become a better place.

In no way shape or form can these reductions be viewed in a positive light. It's not as if corporate Disney has any intention of ever passing these savings on to the consumer. To the contrary, prices can be expected to increase higher than ever.

I've been a lifelong fan of WDW ever since we kids in the neighborhood learned that Walt was building an "East Coast Disney". Decades later, I still believe in WDW and dearly want to see it become a better place.

To derive pleasure over WDW's decline so a few doom-and-gloomers lament is just sad.