NOTE: this thread is not in any way intended to be political.
Here goes: Disney is all about "Opportunity Cost", in so much that "Opportunity Cost" largely speaks to time and to a lesser degree money. This isn't about the money aspect per se, because regardless of how much or little one spends you're ultimately there on site at some point and cost becomes subordinate to time. But paradoxically is not entirely absent, read on to see what I mean. For those who I've interacted with in various threads touching on these subjects you've heard me state this before.
In the various threads going on right now in the General Forum there are topic being discussed like Autism and accommodations, the ever popular stroller and EVC scooters mashups. Hell, someone even resurrected an 11 year old thread about people putting diapers on their older (i.e. closer to 10 year old kids) to save time in terms of bathroom breaks....(WTH is that)? There are various recriminations usually leveled pro and con in this debates, but a while back I started to wonder the "why" of it rather than the "who" of it.
So what is "Opportunity Cost"? Every day at the park, on premise or at a restaurant... the clock is ticking from the time you get there to the time you board the return Magical Express. Tick, tick, tick. It is my contention that "Opportunity Cost" explains a lot of the various behaviors we see at WDW. From running through fountains, to drunks staggering around after "Drinking around the world" etc, kid temper tantrums, rude behavior, etc, you name it. Its not the sole reason, but its up there. The overwhelming sense I get from the forum and direct observation while on site is that whether consciously or not people are aware at some level that the clock is running and they have to cram everything in during the relatively short time allotted.
Now here is where it gets slightly political and ties into "Opportunity Cost" and intersects with money, stay with me.
Take any recent political event or cause of your choosing since the advent of Facebook (I self edited this so the point doesn't get lost). If you were pro <insert issue here> what did it really cost you if it did not directly effect you? For most people the expenditure of a couple of calories to clicking/tapping to change your avatar on Facebook, so in other words not much. Yeah I'm on the "good guy" side, I feel better about myself!
Now contrast this to something that does effect you directly, especially in terms of time at WDW... say waiting for someone and their party to get in line with DAC card for autism or some other disability or on a bus? If it means you're waiting no more than say 2-5 minutes is that really a lot? I think most people will agree that its not. Like the example I gave above, at this point it doesn't really "cost" a person anything other than a small bit of time. But as the "Opportunity Cost" increases and it starts to directly impact you at what point does it become an issue? Or in other words where does your activism check out and your own self interest ratchet up?
"Opportunity Cost" starts to really rear its ugly head quicker than one might imagine. Lets use my example above of 5 minutes. What happens if its 10? Most people are still probably OK, but what about 20,30, 40 or on top of the 10 you've already spent in line? To the bus you just missed? At some point it breaks down unless you're Mother Theresa. Is it always going to be an extra 30 minute wait? Probably not, nor is it going to always be just 2 or 5. Expand this out to waiting in line for QS or a restaurant or character meet and greets. Everyone has to wait (at least to some degree) but in the back of their minds? And if that adds up over the duration of your stay? Tick, tick, tick, the clock is still running and its not stopping.
Add to this cost and length of stay; now money makes a reappearance when time was/is far more important while you're there. The "accountant" of the family is now keenly aware of "just how much this is costing" in relation to time or my personal favorite I've heard in the parks: "Do you know how much I spent for this vacation?" To which I think or reply: "Yes within the same ball-park you did and a good chance I may have spent more." I've even heard it from one poster in a thread on this site who came out and said that she wanted to rush from thing to thing, beat everyone and if she could get a leg up on everyone else and she was entitled because of "how much she spent on the vacation" to which I replied with my statement above. In May 2017 we were fortunate to stay 11 days; that certainly took the pressure off. But a hypothetical family of 4, staying 4 days with you kids its even more pronounced and its during peak times because that was the only time you could get away? Tick, tick tick.
Now add tourism from around the world with different social norms. Add in other large groups, tick, tick tick. Every time you're waiting for something and someone else isn't that's "Opportunity Cost". As I noted in another thread there is very much is a Lord of the Flies quality to it.
To round it all: time is the one thing all of us in life are constrained by: no one gets more of it than anyone else in say a week which is roughly the length of a vacation, more or less. Regardless of how much you spend, where you stay etc you're constrained by the amount of a time that a park for example is open and by how much the interations of others around you impacts that time allotment.
I'm not condemning anyone for their views nor am I endorsing any behavior, this thread is more of a "it is what it is" statement of the way I see it right now: people will talk a good game on their actions especially when the personal cost to them is low. But when it starts to impact them personally? That's were people start falling by the wayside and where the disagreements start. And with the human condition being what it is every one draws the line differently. And to bring it full circle, tick, tick, tick... the clock is running.
Here goes: Disney is all about "Opportunity Cost", in so much that "Opportunity Cost" largely speaks to time and to a lesser degree money. This isn't about the money aspect per se, because regardless of how much or little one spends you're ultimately there on site at some point and cost becomes subordinate to time. But paradoxically is not entirely absent, read on to see what I mean. For those who I've interacted with in various threads touching on these subjects you've heard me state this before.
In the various threads going on right now in the General Forum there are topic being discussed like Autism and accommodations, the ever popular stroller and EVC scooters mashups. Hell, someone even resurrected an 11 year old thread about people putting diapers on their older (i.e. closer to 10 year old kids) to save time in terms of bathroom breaks....(WTH is that)? There are various recriminations usually leveled pro and con in this debates, but a while back I started to wonder the "why" of it rather than the "who" of it.
So what is "Opportunity Cost"? Every day at the park, on premise or at a restaurant... the clock is ticking from the time you get there to the time you board the return Magical Express. Tick, tick, tick. It is my contention that "Opportunity Cost" explains a lot of the various behaviors we see at WDW. From running through fountains, to drunks staggering around after "Drinking around the world" etc, kid temper tantrums, rude behavior, etc, you name it. Its not the sole reason, but its up there. The overwhelming sense I get from the forum and direct observation while on site is that whether consciously or not people are aware at some level that the clock is running and they have to cram everything in during the relatively short time allotted.
Now here is where it gets slightly political and ties into "Opportunity Cost" and intersects with money, stay with me.
Take any recent political event or cause of your choosing since the advent of Facebook (I self edited this so the point doesn't get lost). If you were pro <insert issue here> what did it really cost you if it did not directly effect you? For most people the expenditure of a couple of calories to clicking/tapping to change your avatar on Facebook, so in other words not much. Yeah I'm on the "good guy" side, I feel better about myself!
Now contrast this to something that does effect you directly, especially in terms of time at WDW... say waiting for someone and their party to get in line with DAC card for autism or some other disability or on a bus? If it means you're waiting no more than say 2-5 minutes is that really a lot? I think most people will agree that its not. Like the example I gave above, at this point it doesn't really "cost" a person anything other than a small bit of time. But as the "Opportunity Cost" increases and it starts to directly impact you at what point does it become an issue? Or in other words where does your activism check out and your own self interest ratchet up?
"Opportunity Cost" starts to really rear its ugly head quicker than one might imagine. Lets use my example above of 5 minutes. What happens if its 10? Most people are still probably OK, but what about 20,30, 40 or on top of the 10 you've already spent in line? To the bus you just missed? At some point it breaks down unless you're Mother Theresa. Is it always going to be an extra 30 minute wait? Probably not, nor is it going to always be just 2 or 5. Expand this out to waiting in line for QS or a restaurant or character meet and greets. Everyone has to wait (at least to some degree) but in the back of their minds? And if that adds up over the duration of your stay? Tick, tick, tick, the clock is still running and its not stopping.
Add to this cost and length of stay; now money makes a reappearance when time was/is far more important while you're there. The "accountant" of the family is now keenly aware of "just how much this is costing" in relation to time or my personal favorite I've heard in the parks: "Do you know how much I spent for this vacation?" To which I think or reply: "Yes within the same ball-park you did and a good chance I may have spent more." I've even heard it from one poster in a thread on this site who came out and said that she wanted to rush from thing to thing, beat everyone and if she could get a leg up on everyone else and she was entitled because of "how much she spent on the vacation" to which I replied with my statement above. In May 2017 we were fortunate to stay 11 days; that certainly took the pressure off. But a hypothetical family of 4, staying 4 days with you kids its even more pronounced and its during peak times because that was the only time you could get away? Tick, tick tick.
Now add tourism from around the world with different social norms. Add in other large groups, tick, tick tick. Every time you're waiting for something and someone else isn't that's "Opportunity Cost". As I noted in another thread there is very much is a Lord of the Flies quality to it.
To round it all: time is the one thing all of us in life are constrained by: no one gets more of it than anyone else in say a week which is roughly the length of a vacation, more or less. Regardless of how much you spend, where you stay etc you're constrained by the amount of a time that a park for example is open and by how much the interations of others around you impacts that time allotment.
I'm not condemning anyone for their views nor am I endorsing any behavior, this thread is more of a "it is what it is" statement of the way I see it right now: people will talk a good game on their actions especially when the personal cost to them is low. But when it starts to impact them personally? That's were people start falling by the wayside and where the disagreements start. And with the human condition being what it is every one draws the line differently. And to bring it full circle, tick, tick, tick... the clock is running.
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It is a very confusing topic and one that I dare say would only be a conscious thought of those of us that have way to much time on our hands. Even commando's don't do it based on costs per event, they do it with goal motivation. Just to do as much as they possibly can.
