News Disney CEO Bob Chapek reiterates his belief that park reservations are now an essential part of Disney's theme parks business

[LittleBuford]

It’s probably because my stays are infrequent and short, but I have never associated WDW with relaxation, and I would never recommend it to someone looking for a restful time. Emotionally, Disney leaves me extremely contended, which I suppose is a form of mental relaxation, but physically and logistically, it’s extremely demanding, though the reward is worth it.

 

[flynnibus]

Will parkhoppers be "guaranteed" to be able to hop over to another park (or three) after 2pm if they've already tapped into their reserved park prior to 2pm? I don't see being turned away as a real problem-that-must-be-solved in terms of "guest experience" for Disney visitors, but has Mr. Chapek actually addressed this particular scenario?

Today this is only bound by park capacity - not park reservations.

Since neither are really transparent, we can't know which limit really is enforced... but this has not been an issue to date.

 

[Chi84]

Only to a degree.. like planning more spa stuff, reserving more optional meals. But even those are low stress because the environment is built out to minimize dead-locks between choices. There is enough duplication and variety in the majority of offerings that you literally can just decide in the morning what to do that day... and not be missing out on major elements of the product.

And this is all because they actually emphasize relaxing and being on vacation... not the inverse that is WDW which is promoting scheduling, scheduling, scheduling (because WDW is trying to squeeze and more and more into less)

We were actually able to have a fairly relaxing vacation last week, but probably because it was only two of us at a less busy time of year. The only thing that took away from it was the need to get up early and deal with Genie+/ILLs.

We were planning to try a cruise for the first time next year, but it looks like that won't work out - at least until 2024.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

We relax at WDW in cooler times of the year , not the brutality of heat and humidity of the summer.

We seem to spend less time in the parks every WDW trips and more time at the resort, at Disney Springs, and doing things like boating, etc.

Being in the parks in the summer heat and humidity isn’t very relaxing but sitting by the pool with a cocktail still is.

I also think you are comparing a bit of apples and oranges. If you are comparing a self-organized trip across multiple INDEPENDENT activities to a trip to a destination ran as a single unified entity. Yes, your comment makes sense to me. But it's also not a statement to justify WDW's complexity... it just means if you self-organize a trip over multiple places it takes effort. Compare WDW to other self-contained experiences like an all-inclusive resort, or a destination resort, etc which is more akin to a 1:1 and it stands out again.

If you want to travel elsewhere and have a unified experience, you can certainly travel as part of an organized program that takes all that self-organization out of the mix.. and then it operates more like a cruise where someone has sorted all the itinerary and sourcing for you. Yes, not everyone travels this way.. but I also don't think it's fair to knock those places down when it's HOW you are traveling, not where, that creates that situation.

TLDR - I think you're comparing more HOW you travel not really equating WDW travel anxiety to other vacations.

I'm going on a Disney cruise for NYE... 7 days... huge expense. My decision process involved
- Do I want to pay to ensure the specific type of room I want
- Learning what day I can make excursion bookings
- Spending an hour going through the options to decide with my wife which we wanted to do, see which were available, and picking them on the website.

I spent a total of about 2hrs to pick my dates/locations.. and about 2hrs to pick my excursions. Total. I still have to book airfare, but that's about the same for anything. I'll have nothing to deal with except weather going forward. And if I have a problem, there is a human willing to talk to me face to face about it on the ship.

That is easy... WDW jenga is not.

Cruises are a unique experience, which is why we have 2 cruises currently booked and only 1 Disney trip.

I was talking more about city travel, with all the flight logistics, hotel logistics, tour logistics, etc.

Paris is our favorite place in the World (so far) but it’s a lot of planning, Between getting there, trains between cities, getting hotel rooms in all the cities, getting tickets to the tours or places you want to go it can be a hassle… it’s absolutely worth it but sometimes you just want to jump online and book a room package (or room at DCL) and a flight and call it done.

 

[EdnaMode]

Today this is only bound by park capacity - not park reservations.

Since neither are really transparent, we can't know which limit really is enforced... but this has not been an issue to date.

That's exactly my point. If he hasn't addressed (read: resolved with a "guarantee") this issue, one could be, in theory, turned away at the second park of the day....thus negating the entire point of the park pass system which he suggests is to "guarantee" that guests don't have that experience of being turned away.

Again, I get that this isn't a problem that was looking for a solution in real life, but then neither is the park pass system a solution to a problem that actually existed in real life and was looking for a solution. It all seems pretty pointless if nobody is really getting turned away (outside of a small handful of guests being held back at the gate for a few hours on a couple of holidays a year.)

 

[wdisney9000]

The meme reply is no surprise

Neither is you missing the accuracy of it.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

What compounds the issue of planning for a Disney trip is the uncertainty of what the rules will be by the time you get there. In the months between booking and visiting, there's a good chance Disney will, on a whim, decide something else is required to do or pay.

Then there's the other end of the spectrum where you wait forever for them to release park hours, refurbishment schedules or details on the holiday parties.

Disney wants you to do the heavy lifting of extensive pre-planning, but also give them the time and flexibility to do things at their convenience. In both cases, the onus is on the consumer to just deal with it.

 

[flynnibus]

We were actually able to have a fairly relaxing vacation last week, but probably because it was only two of us at a less busy time of year. The only thing that took away from it was the need to get up early and deal with Genie+/ILLs.

You also have the luxury of so many visits you already know what you feel like spending time on and don't feel the need that anything is really essential that you couldn't just skip if push came to show.

Imagine being a family who comes once every 5-10 years... has so much more in front of them and being blasted with marketing about all the things they can do, or have been told about. They don't have nearly the same "oh I just skip it..." trade-off decision process that less frequent visitors have.

We were planning to try a cruise for the first time next year, but it looks like that won't work out - at least until 2024.

Cruises have some of their own quirks... but they will remind you of just how far the WDW experience has slipped. I still recommend them. And like I said, even after splurging for a Beach Club stay for my grown kids and wife last WDW trip... when given the option of what kind of trip to do again... they all said cruise.

We also did two days at USF after picking kid up from school in the spring... everyone loved the trip, but it was really just more about experiencing the attractions which were fantastic. Portifino Bay irritated me.

WDW I can sum up now adays as... when something goes wrong or is missed... everyone wants to first blame you for not doing something you should have BEFORE you got there. You're essentially blaming the customer for not doing enough work... That right there should be a tell that things are out of balance.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Don't blame COVID. The stumbling and cheapening plus increased charges downward spiral started well before 2019. COVID did exacerbate everything and provide management cover. It's current management's business style, planning and pricing models that suck.

I’ve been saying this for weeks. People actually think this is a pandemic thing with higher prices and lower service and maintenance and value. Value part is my opinion of course. This is a roller coaster that started in the 2000’s and is going down the hill every year.

 

[Chi84]

You also have the luxury of so many visits you already know what you feel like spending time on and don't feel the need that anything is really essential that you couldn't just skip if push came to show.

Imagine being a family who comes once every 5-10 years... has so much more in front of them and being blasted with marketing about all the things they can do, or have been told about. They don't have nearly the same "oh I just skip it..." trade-off decision process that less frequent visitors have.




Cruises have some of their own quirks... but they will remind you of just how far the WDW experience has slipped. I still recommend them. And like I said, even after splurging for a Beach Club stay for my grown kids and wife last WDW trip... when given the option of what kind of trip to do again... they all said cruise.

We also did two days at USF after picking kid up from school in the spring... everyone loved the trip, but it was really just more about experiencing the attractions which were fantastic. Portifino Bay irritated me.

WDW I can sum up now adays as... when something goes wrong or is missed... everyone wants to first blame you for not doing something you should have BEFORE you got there. You're essentially blaming the customer for not doing enough work... That right there should be a tell that things are out of balance.

I agree with just about everything you said. WDW is a good choice for us for several reasons that are very particular to our own circumstances and the way we vacation, not the least of which is DVC.

I don't recommend it for anyone who hasn't been there before. If someone new insisted on going, I suppose I would try to help them plan, but I have no idea of how I would even begin to explain the convoluted systems in place there.

The cruise was something we thought would be a great alternative for next year, but family circumstances of the happiest kind (expected grandchild) made it impossible for the time being. Maybe the year after. I appreciate your take on cruises and how they compare to WDW.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

We were actually able to have a fairly relaxing vacation last week, but probably because it was only two of us at a less busy time of year. The only thing that took away from it was the need to get up early and deal with Genie+/ILLs.

We were planning to try a cruise for the first time next year, but it looks like that won't work out - at least until 2024.

Book it. Cruises, especially Disney are IMO the best bang for your buck. Relaxing.. better service then you will ever get in the parks anymore.. and always can book a few days at the park before or after which is what we always do. After a cruise or two you may not miss the parks as much and probably will be spending less time in the parks and booking more cruises.

 

[flynnibus]

I’ve been saying this for weeks. People actually think this is a pandemic thing with higher prices and lower service and maintenance and value. Value part is my opinion of course. This is a roller coaster that started in the 2000’s and is going down the hill every year.

One thing that is true though... the pandemic's impact on screwing service and prices everywhere... give others a nice cover to do the same by choice.

Customer Service expectations are in the toilet across the board.... and people were taught to accept it because of everyone being constrained. Now, it's just the norm...

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It speaks to the point exactly... No one was building a 'light rail' to the WDW property.

To be fair…. Train vs. light rail vs. High speed rail is all a little interchangeable.

And this coming from a certifiable railfan haha

 

[lazyboy97o]

To be fair…. Train vs. light rail vs. High speed rail is all a little interchangeable.

And this coming from a certifiable railfan haha

Under what definition would Sun Rail and Brightline be considered light rail?

 

[Disstevefan1]

Don't blame COVID. The stumbling and cheapening plus increased charges downward spiral started well before 2019. COVID did exacerbate everything and provide management cover. It's current management's business style, planning and pricing models that suck.

Yes, the savvy guest knows this, but TWDC wants to use COVID to gaslight unknowing guests, "We do everything perfect, what you are experiencing is related to all the problems caused by COVID.

TEN YEARS LATER..

"We do everything perfect, what you are experiencing is related to all the problems caused by COVID..

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

Hilarious. No one cares what Bobby thinks: It's all "what does the paying customer think" .
For my family? DVC contracts sold off, visits canceled, No more APs (oh wait- not for sale anyway) - no more money for you.

Others are more than welcome to spend here, as they see fit. Good luck.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Under what definition would Sun Rail and Brightline be considered light rail?

To the general public it’s all the same.

 

[Disstevefan1]

So instead of a business ready for steady continued growth - now you have a business with a product that resists actual volume increases. Management has painted themselves into the corner that now the only way to sustain revenue growth is with continued monetization, price increases, and cutting expenses. The ability to actually organic growth is hindered by time and a mentality to squeeze every last drop out of the existing before actually growing. They don't have an elastic business - they have a business that if they don't keep raising prices, they look like they are failing.

It's a management mindset to resist increasing overhead while there is any area they could possibly drive growth without increasing costs. You can spin all you want about trying to paint critics as morons who don't understand what Disney really wants... but you can't actually retort the real observations of the company's strategy.

They can't grow because of cutbacks and operations
They can't efficiently renovate under utilized facilities, so instead they push customers to them with 'its the only thing open' incentives
They can't efficiently grow the product because their bloated budgets and timelines
They are creatively bankrupt in many areas
They've got little room left to 'fill in the gaps'

So what does that leave them with? Keep cutting and keep raising prices.

It's not customer surveys driving this behavior - it's the aggressive leadership strategy of believing the best PnL strategy is your success rather than a runaway product. They are trying to find every last nickle in the couch rather than trying to create things people will happily pay more for.

THIS! THIS IS TWDC Today!!!

 

[Disstevefan1]

To the general public it’s all the same.

I wonder how this is going to work.
You get off the plane, go over to the carousel to get your luggage drag it to the train (I guess) drag it to your seat?
The train drops you off somewhere around Disney Springs?
Then what? how do you and your luggage get to your resort? You use a ride service to get from the train station to your resort?

 

[doctornick]

I wonder how this is going to work.
You get off the plane, go over to the carousel to get your luggage drag it to the train (I guess) drag it to your seat?
The train drops you off somewhere around Disney Springs?
Then what? how do you and your luggage get to your resort? You use a ride service to get from the train station to your resort?

It’s not. Anyone who thinks that Brightline is going to be regularly used by airline passengers to get to WDW strike me as silly. The people using it to get to WDW would be folks coming from other parts of Florida that the rail services as an alternative to driving to WDW.

It would be a massive hassle for someone to use Brightline to go from MCO to WDW especially when there are multiple sensible alternatives for the same route.