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

[marni1971]

I still have to wonder how we know that. Why can it not be possible the the record profits and record attendance have not been influenced by MM+. !

Yes, it's amazing isn't it.

 

[marni1971]

Of course it could be that as MM+ went so far over budget that is one reason they are cutting the CM hours now. But I suspect the Shanghai overspend is more closely linked.

Shanghai and MM+ I'm told. Avland was the icing on an ugly cake.

 

[raven]

Nah remember that it's Political Silly season and that's a moneymaker for the networks, I expect this will probably break in the summer before the conventions and then the fun will begin.

Shanghai DL will be open by then.

 

[raven]

Shanghai and MM+ I'm told. Avland was the icing on an ugly cake.

@marni1971 I've always trusted your input and I thank you for keeping us informed. Have you any reason to wonder why this hasn't had more news coverage as well?

 

[marni1971]

@marni1971 I've always trusted your input and I thank you for keeping us informed. Have you any reason to wonder why this hasn't had more news coverage as well?

I've certainly wondered it.

I also marvelled how it began to leak a few weeks before the Disneyland/ Star Wars TV special. Takes Friday afternoons to a whole new level.

 

[RonnieHare]

Don't waste your time. This is a tunnel vision topic. No one seems able to see the bigger picture and instead focus on the small portions or put on their "tin hats" and imagine some sort of armageddon that would happen if MM+ were to be used at it's original level.

I still have to wonder how we know that. Why can it not be possible the the record profits and record attendance have not been influenced by MM+. How do we know how close to the 11% they have come with no other real explanation about the cause of those increases. No real added attractions, nothing of huge significance to bring people in, the only change being MM+! How does that mean it hasn't worked at least to the people that decided to go with it to begin with. There is a big difference between what is made the scapegoat for cuts and what may actually be the reason.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just asking for some proof that it is the big waste of money and failure that it has been made out to be other then some suspected things that didn't come about... yet!

If you believe guests are coming to Orlando for the MM then you are silly. It's been an abysmal disaster for what it costs.

You do realise for what it cost Disney could have built an entirely new park, or four new Harry Potter type worlds. When you look at it like that, it really do make you angry.

 

[RonnieHare]

Why not make cuts to other divisions in the Disney Empire then ?

Why make cuts to the one profitable area ? Why not make cuts to the Movie division or the tv division to help the company overall ?

 

[RonnieHare]

Whose idea was Shanghai Disneyland ?

 

[marni1971]

Why not make cuts to other divisions in the Disney Empire then ?

Well, all in - including his whole corporate package - Iger is on about $863,000 per week.

 

[Jon81uk]

@marni1971 I've always trusted your input and I thank you for keeping us informed. Have you any reason to wonder why this hasn't had more news coverage as well?

A guess would be that its lots of small cuts, so they don't add up to anything newsworthy. If they made 1000 staff redundant, it might make the news. But employees not getting overtime, no one cares about.

 

[raven]

r

Well, all in - including his whole corporate package - Iger is on about $863,000 per week.

Hmm. Anyone else see where a drastic cut could be made?

 

[raven]

A guess would be that its lots of small cuts, so they don't add up to anything newsworthy. If they made 1000 staff redundant, it might make the news. But employees not getting overtime, no one cares about.

Although DVC employees are raking in OT still. Go figure.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That being the case it is even more absurd that back of house upgrades - which are obviously needed - should cause park funding to be cut. More so with record profit. Not naming you specifically please understand, just using your post to quote.

They still didn't find their 11% MM induced increase in spending did they?

Even if every part of MyMagic+ was loved by guests, there is a serious issue with infrastructure improvements needing to produce significant jumps in revenue in order to be approved. It's a vicious cycle as the new stuff will likely need even more consistent upgrades.

OK. I've been thinking more and more about this whole "Shanghai Is Over Budget And They Need More Money" thing.

Has anyone confirmed this? I mean other than internet stories? Is that the real reason for all the cuts? Or are they using that as a cover for something else to just make cuts in general and overcharge guests even more? Do we take what was reported on the internet as the truth?

This thing is getting bigger and bigger and it almost seems like it's effecting employees lives now. I'd really like to see something on a national news level at this point because it's starting to look fishy.

As has been mentioned by some who have mostly ignored for more often defending these decisions, the reaction is not just against the cost to build the Shanghai Disney Resort. While Disney's ownership of the Chinese parks is a minority share, they are operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The cost to run all of the parks is going to jump and so cuts are being made to soften that blow.

Whose idea was Shanghai Disneyland ?

Eisner's. It's what Disney was fishing for the 1990s with Disneyland Asia, the project that became Hong Kong Disneyland.

 

[raven]

As has been mentioned by some who have mostly ignored for more often defending these decisions, the reaction is not just against the cost to build the Shanghai Disney Resort. While Disney's ownership of the Chinese parks is a minority share, they are operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The cost to run all of the parks is going to jump and so cuts are being made to soften that blow.

Then one must ask if they aren't financially stable enough to run the parks they already have, why are they building another one right now?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Then one must ask if they aren't financially stable enough to run the parks they already have, why are they building another one right now?

It has nothing to do with stability; just avoiding sticker shock.

 

[FullSailDan]

I'm lost... there has been mass hysteria in these boards the last week it seems. As someone intimately connected with the FL parks and corporate operations, I haven't really seen anything to warrant this? In fact I have seen nothing but the opposite, new castle show being pushed, new fireworks show being announced for studios, a push to speed up construction on the springs, announcements about the new lands in the studios... Are we seeing the same thing here? Are certain attractions and shops going to reduce hours when they aren't drawing crowds and making a profit? Yeah... and I would think the influx of new concepts shows they are committed to generating new experiences.... We're in a transition point in WDW. Iger meant it when he said he wants the parks to turn themselves around, and he's shown investment.

I'm seeing freak outs over China and Paris, yet Paris is doing pretty well. And let's not forget that the way the Chinese parks operate means they face less liability for them. And China consistently shows they can build fast, so while it's tight, I don't think anyone is panicked. Let's also examine ticket pricing for a bit... would anyone be shocked if prices change this week or soon? The parks can deal with a dose of raised prices. Even with the stealth increase of an annual pass when they changed the structure it still is a damn good deal for us locals. A little thinning of the herd so to speak wouldn't be the end of the world. On that note, I just spent the weekend in 'Land (there are a lot of reasons for us to be jealous of some of their detailing) the FL parks haven't hit anywhere near the level of insanity that Land was. Crowd control was needed at 10am to get people moving through Tomorrowland.

Overall though, everything is normal folks, in fact, there seems to be a push to make things better?

 

[raven]

IOverall though, everything is normal folks, in fact, there seems to be a push to make things better?

Employees getting hours cut in order to fund a project in China isn't "normal."

 

[lazyboy97o]

Employees getting hours cut in order to fund a project in China isn't "normal."

It'd be no different if the park was at Walt Disney World. The issue isn't the dirty foreigners. It's that Disney isn't prepared to stand up for larger operating expenses because they now have larger operations.

 

[FullSailDan]

Employees getting hours cut in order to fund a project in China isn't "normal."

I've seen NOTHING to suggest that is actually occurring. We've seen people post on the forums that hours are changing or being cut, but I've not seen anything to suggest this is widespread or strategic beyond normal re-allocation of resources. Believe me, if there were big cuts taking place and the labor was being slashed in a big way, the unions would be LOUD right now. I'd love to see a list of EXACT cuts anyone knows about.

 

[Mike S]

1. How much do you keep milking the cow before you feed it?
2. How about stop expanding international and focus on the domestic parks that are funding the international parks.
3. This site is more informed than the vast majority of the company. Given the discussion points we're having right now, this site was vehemently against My Magic+ and partially against Shanghai. There are enough intelligent people on these boards that if they were place inside an executive board room could have told the executives that these last two major decisions were poor ones. I'm not going to pretend I have the business experience as Bob Iger, but that doesn't make him a good CEO. He has made good decisions and he has made poor decisions. Most of his poor decisions involve the theme parks where I feel a number of people on this site could have and did make better suggestions.

I could've told them that. Now where do I go for my Disney branded Golden Parachute?

Fair points! I did not intend to draw counter arguments with my post, but I see where you are coming from.

1. I think my original post answers that; there is no need to feed the cow when people are still coming to the US parks in droves. When attendance and revenues start dropping, then we will see changes (hopefully).
2. This is honestly up for debate, so I can't say that your opinion is right or wrong.
3. I agree, many people on the boards are very informed, but I think it is still a stretch to think that all of us are expert executive consultants (I certainly am neither informed or an expert lol). Whether or not Shanghai and MM+ are complete failures also remains to be seen.

I would feed my cow before it got to the point that it was skin and bones and practically starving to death but that's just me. You know, while it's still healthy.