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

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This wasnt an ITM report..........This was Theme Park Attendance Report, a reputable company


ITM just posted it on their website


It's real.....

It’s being discussed at length in its own thread, with the dozens of external factors at play during Covid it’s relevance is very debatable.

 

[LSLS]

Whatever stories are being posted in the media are being overwhelmed by FOMO. Generated in part by travel planning websites, youtube vloggers and instagram. None of those are having any discernible negative impact on demand.

I think it is premature to make that statement. Based on the 2021 data, it had a very large impact. Now, will it continue into 2022? That is the real question. Was it all still hangover from the pandemic, or has there actually been a drop? Now, it's not affecting their bottom line cause the price increases are outperforming the loss of customers,

 

[HauntedPirate]

This wasnt an ITM report..........This was Theme Park Attendance Report, a reputable company


ITM just posted it on their website


It's real.....

I know it's real, but anyone even mentioning ITM .... *shudder*. And it's also a misleading report, since it's been noted several times that the swamps were running at significantly reduced capacity for at least 1/3 of the year.

 

[The Colonel]

I wouldn't print out ITM's stuff to line a bird cage.

its just attendance figures

 

[HauntedPirate]

I think it is premature to make that statement. Based on the 2021 data, it had a very large impact. Now, will it continue into 2022? That is the real question. Was it all still hangover from the pandemic, or has there actually been a drop? Now, it's not affecting their bottom line cause the price increases are outperforming the loss of customers,

Nah. Bob will glowingly proclaim that the parks are healthier than ever because of the levers he put into place and pulled. Demand has never been higher. Prices need to increase to "allow for a better guest experience". Stop me if you've heard all his BS before.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

They could still be successful that way, but their revenue would decline significantly. That's a problem for investors/stock pricing.

There’s a happy medium somewhere between the two though, too few guests they lose money but too many guests they also ultimately lose money.

MK would probably be more profitable at 18-19 million happy guests rather than the current disgruntled 20+ million.

The trick is making enough changes to drive away 5-10% without alienating the 90% you want to keep.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Reservations are becoming more typical everywhere.

Movies tend to be reserved seating, I was looking up showtimes once and my local theater showed a 3D showing of a movie had sold very few seats. They noticed people were going for the lower priced option, so they lowered the price and the showing filled up.

I don't really care about reservations at Disney. With dining reservations and advanced Fastpass selection (back in the day) I've always known which park I'd be at on any given day.

Of the things I might have an issue with at Disney. this is low on my list.

 

[UNCgolf]

There’s a happy medium somewhere between the two though, too few guests they lose money but too many guests they also ultimately lose money.

MK would probably be more profitable at 18-19 million happy guests rather than the current disgruntled 20+ million.

The trick is making enough changes to drive away 5-10% without alienating the 90% you want to keep.

I agree, but the problem is that it's a moving target because the overall population is steadily increasing. Trying to hold attendance at a certain number means keeping out a larger percentage of the population every year.

 

[lazyboy97o]

There’s a happy medium somewhere between the two though, too few guests they lose money but too many guests they also ultimately lose money.

MK would probably be more profitable at 18-19 million happy guests rather than the current disgruntled 20+ million.

The trick is making enough changes to drive away 5-10% without alienating the 90% you want to keep.

Disney is in full control of their supply. They can meet demand if they desire. The problem is that in the 90s they got it into their head that they could offer just the bare minimum and they have never fully shaken that strategy.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Reservations are becoming more typical everywhere.

Movies tend to be reserved seating, I was looking up showtimes once and my local theater showed a 3D showing of a movie had sold very few seats. They noticed people were going for the lower priced option, so they lowered the price and the showing filled up.

I don't really care about reservations at Disney. With dining reservations and advanced Fastpass selection (back in the day) I've always known which park I'd be at on any given day.

Of the things I might have an issue with at Disney. this is low on my list.

When was the last time a theater made you reserve a seat and then share it with someone else? Reservations would be fine if Disney actually capped visitation at a level more in line with a standard design day model so that people were actually getting a desirable experience.

There’s also just the ridiculousness of the process. Movie theaters have their reservations as part of the ticketing process. You’re buying both at the same time. A theater wouldn’t even think of making people first buy a ticket and then try to get a reservation.

 

[UNCgolf]

Reservations are becoming more typical everywhere.

Movies tend to be reserved seating, I was looking up showtimes once and my local theater showed a 3D showing of a movie had sold very few seats. They noticed people were going for the lower priced option, so they lowered the price and the showing filled up.

I don't really care about reservations at Disney. With dining reservations and advanced Fastpass selection (back in the day) I've always known which park I'd be at on any given day.

Of the things I might have an issue with at Disney. this is low on my list.

The reservations seem vaguely annoying (haven't been there since they started) but it's the park hopping restrictions that are the real issue for me. And they go hand in hand, since unlimited hopping would make the reservations less useful for Disney (although only to an extent, since the majority of guests don't have park hoppers).

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

When was the last time a theater made you reserve a seat and then share it with someone else? Reservations would be fine if Disney actually capped visitation at a level more in line with a standard design day model so that people were actually getting a desirable experience.

True, and I was pointing out more so that these systems are designed to maximize attendance and are used in more and more places.

I wonder how many people consider the current Disney experience tolerable? Is it a small minority who miss the good old days of true off seasons and an efficient Fastpass system?

Maybe the majority are okay waiting in line an hour for attractions. That wasn't uncommon pre-Fastpass and we managed.

 

[el_super]

So why haven't they doubled the price on everything already? If they could easily shed half of their existing customers, doubling the price shouldn't be a barrier to accomplishing that goal.

Retention. If they had a plan to revalue their product, and I believe they did, the smart thing to do would be to implement it over the course of SEVERAL years. we saw bits and pieces of this plan rolling out in 2018/2019 but it was accelerated by the pandemic.

Which is also why Chapek is saying the reservations are here to stay: this is part of a long term strategy to revalue their product.

Ticket prices are one thing; F&B and merchandising are another. My guess is they make more money on merch/F&B than they do on admission, and it's much harder to double prices there to make up for a loss in volume.

It wasn't always that Food and Merch were the breadwinners. This exact scenario that the parks have been working with for the last couple decades, and in this scenario, you devalue attractions for having more food festivals and merchandise events. Fill the park with cheap admissions and make it up in overpriced food and popcorn buckets.

It works and it works really really well. You can run the place as a mall with rides for a long time, but can you really run it that way forever?

And once you hit your peak of 20 million guests per year buying cupcakes and magicbands, then what? Where do you go from there?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I agree, but the problem is that it's a moving target because the overall population is steadily increasing. Trying to hold attendance at a certain number means keeping out a larger percentage of the population every year.

Or build a third castle park elsewhere to capitalize on the growing population and spread out the demand a bit.

The castle parks have been struggling to keep up with demand for a decade, they’d be better off growing to meet demand rather than trying to drive people away through unpopular changes.

 

[Lilofan]

Retention. If they had a plan to revalue their product, and I believe they did, the smart thing to do would be to implement it over the course of SEVERAL years. we saw bits and pieces of this plan rolling out in 2018/2019 but it was accelerated by the pandemic.

Which is also why Chapek is saying the reservations are here to stay: this is part of a long term strategy to revalue their product.



It wasn't always that Food and Merch were the breadwinners. This exact scenario that the parks have been working with for the last couple decades, and in this scenario, you devalue attractions for having more food festivals and merchandise events. Fill the park with cheap admissions and make it up in overpriced food and popcorn buckets.

It works and it works really really well. You can run the place as a mall with rides for a long time, but can you really run it that way forever?

And once you hit your peak of 20 million guests per year buying cupcakes and magicbands, then what? Where do you go from there?

Somehow Chapek and long term strategy is not a relationship in what I see in the tea leaves.

 

[RSoxNo1]

If some are shorting the stock believing the price will fall someone is making some nice stock profits.

My father worked at a hedge fund years ago and made 5 figures in the market on his lowly accountant salary by doing the opposite of one of their lousy traders. It's a solid approach at times...

 

[Poseidon Quest]

I wonder how many people consider the current Disney experience tolerable?

I went to Epcot last week and it was telling how many people I overheard discussing their plans to park hop. It's clear that a lot of people didn't want to be there, but had to choose the park because they couldn't go where they actually wanted. At this point, it has become a transportation hub where people wait to get into Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I have friends with an 8 year old. Both are attorneys and they have loads of discretionary income, and I know the mom loves Disney films.

I asked them recently if they were planning a trip to WDW and was told they'd briefly looked into it but it seemed like a hassle/poor value. They'd rather do luxury ski resorts, tropical destinations, etc.

That's obviously just one family, which tells us very little, but a couple with a kid under the age of 10 and enough discretionary income to do essentially anything is exactly who Disney says they want (I don't think Disney is actually trying to court that customer considering their offerings, but that's at least the narrative).

And see that's interesting, my neighbors just brought a dvc membership, they went last year and fell in love. Now I always say they are young and of course don't have the history but they two are professionals, she's a PhD chemist. he's a orthopedic resident . 3 little girls .
They did buy resale but they are going it seems twice a year.

It's a wait and see game whether or not Disney loses.

Lol a good friend of mine just came back and loved it but I don't count them because 2 of those days they did a private skip the line access tourvwith their own guide. Obviously not the average jane

 

[Lilofan]

My father worked at a hedge fund years ago and made 5 figures in the market on his lowly accountant salary by doing the opposite of one of their lousy traders. It's a solid approach at times...

Many peoples failures is someone ‘s opportunity to bet on a collapse and cash in.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Retention. If they had a plan to revalue their product, and I believe they did, the smart thing to do would be to implement it over the course of SEVERAL years. we saw bits and pieces of this plan rolling out in 2018/2019 but it was accelerated by the pandemic.

Which is also why Chapek is saying the reservations are here to stay: this is part of a long term strategy to revalue their product.



It wasn't always that Food and Merch were the breadwinners. This exact scenario that the parks have been working with for the last couple decades, and in this scenario, you devalue attractions for having more food festivals and merchandise events. Fill the park with cheap admissions and make it up in overpriced food and popcorn buckets.

It works and it works really really well. You can run the place as a mall with rides for a long time, but can you really run it that way forever?

And once you hit your peak of 20 million guests per year buying cupcakes and magicbands, then what? Where do you go from there?

But why retain when there are endless millions of new consumers waiting to visit the parks for the first time who are presumably willing to pay double the price? That's what you and others have said ad nauseum - There are tons of people waiting in the wings to replace those who stop going. So why would they want to retain instead of just doubling prices across the board, dumping their existing customer base, and restocking with fresh meat? What could go wrong if the scenario so many have foisted as true, that there are millions just waiting to visit?