Disney statement on Walt Disney World entertainment

[nickys]

I'm always amazed by the things I read on these Disney fan boards. Why don't you people just go to Six Flags if it's so much better than WDW? YES, Disney World will eventually return to normal. I'm sure that y'all will still hate it then as well, pining for a time in your mind that never existed in reality.

I'll be at WDW in a month-and-a-half, and I can't wait!

I doubt people will travel from Europe, Australia, Asia without much of the entertainment reinstated. If they want their international guests to return next year they’ll have to have a plan in place by January or so, otherwise people will just not book for 2021. The way things are going it’ll be 2022 before they start getting new international bookings. And that’s before you even consider air travel restrictions.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Don't know, has WDW ever restarted say three discontinued entertainment offerings in one park?

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I doubt people will travel from Europe, Australia, Asia without much of the entertainment reinstated. If they want their international guests to return next year they’ll have to have a plan in place by January or so, otherwise people will just not book for 2021. The way things are going it’ll be 2022 before they start getting new international bookings. And that’s before you even consider air travel restrictions.

Speaking as an Australian living in Europe, no-one is thinking about a WDW vacation anytime soon regardless of the live entertainment.

I don't like these cuts and suspect they are far too deep, but I would more or less count international travel out of the equation for WDW for at least the first half of next year. In Europe a second wave is gathering strength and a whole new series of lockdowns are being announced across the continent. Australia, meanwhile, has opted to more or less close the borders until further notice. There is talk of opening them to New Zealand and some Asian countries that have minimal cases, but I can't see anything beyond that until well into next year.

For the foreseeable future, it will be the domestic market and perhaps Latin America sustaining WDW.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

I like your avatar! I stayed at the Dutch Inn on our first trip to WDW in 1980. I still have their matches!

We stayed there on my first trip, in 1976, when I was seven years old. My mama called the Contemporary every night we were there, hoping for a room opening. We were rewarded on our last night there, and stayed one night in the Contemporary. It's still my favorite.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

You are in for a rude awakening, from my experience the parks under current conditions have no soul. Even the rides are less enjoyable without the added atmosphere. The whole experience is very sterile.

I understand. I expect something like this actually. I've been to WDW in every time of year; when it was practically abandoned, and so full that you couldn't move. I'm looking forward to experiencing "pandemic" Disney World.

 

[doctornick]

So I am very split on this. I very much agree that Disney has been declining by degrees for years and these cuts have massively accelerated that. I do not begrudge anyone who has reached the “tipping point” and would not return.

I totally get Disney not doing big scale stuff like fireworks or parades to avoid big congregations. For better or worse, Disney has far more risk in running stuff than Dollywood or Sea World or even Universal. Just for PR reasons alone. But I do remain optimistic that the nighttime shows and entertainment will return in a post pandemic world. Not sure when or how, but there’s a limit on what they can get away with and not have a serious impact. Yes I know they cut back a number of parades in the past but still continued to at least have nighttime spectaculars (at least projection shows) and I feel like that would return.

And honestly the character cavalcades actually seem kinda cool. I’d like to see them continue even when regular M&Gs return though I’m skeptical.

I also think stuff like Hoop Dee Doo or Spirit of Aloha should return or have replacements as they be able to directly monetize them. Maybe I’m naive.

I think that many situations like the theater shows in DHS and the street entertainment in Epcot are pretty critical to those areas functioning for crowds and guest satisfaction. That I think is the most critical aspects that are of concern. I’ve got to think that some stuff should come back, I’m worry as to how little might though.

Stuff like the Orchestra at GF I suspect are gone forever.

I’m mixed on all this because largely we didn’t do much of the stuff that has been cut. The parades and nighttime shows would definitely be an issue and big loss for my family. I tend to prefer the AA or video shows (which are still going on) over live entertainment. The Epcot stuff in WS we like but usually just happen to do as we walk around and run into them, not planned. The resort stuff is just things we never did - maybe we should but it’s hard for us to complain about those cuts when they really don’t change anything for us.

We really go for the great rides, the indoor shows and the parades and nighttime spectaculars. We love just walking around and just enjoying the environments. Our favorite activities are doing the games like POTC and Agent P (I’m hoping Ducktales is still happening and soon) - looking forward to playing around in Galaxys Edge when we finally go and see it. We like doing the water parks some trips.

I guess we’re just the jerks that will keep going even at the same prices and feel it’s fine. I know that sucks for the rest of you that will be torn apart from these cuts. I can only say I’m sorry.

 

[doctornick]

They absolutely could drop ticket prices right now without causing a stampede of guests (because there aren’t that many guests who can/want to go right now). They choose not to.

How would that work? Serious question given a lot of people have prebought tickets (whether for canceled/postponed trips or APs or AP vouchers, etc) - would those people be able to get refunds on already paid tickets?

What about when they do bring back some parades or fireworks, etc and prices go back up? Do they allow the discounted tickets to provide entry? Do they make guests pay an up charge?

Are other parks discounting (regular single day) tickets? I’m being serious cuz I don’t know how other places are handling it.

My gut would tell me that the best way to handle the concept you are saying is to still sell at full price but allow guests to apply for a refund (say online to minimize staff costs) for any day they go and entertainment is not running. That would allow them to cut it off at a whim whenever they feel the “stuff” has reached a threshold to warrant full ticket prices.

 

[Dan Deesnee]

If you take the pandemic out of the equation, they have been cutting entertainment and raising prices for years. I think everyone understands that layoffs were inevitable this year although I don't think cutting their entertainment staff was smart. It just gives people even less incentive to visit WDW. They also haven't done any thing to mitigate their losses in the parks.

Disney needs volume to work. Find ways to get people in the parks. Lower prices. Offer special entertainment. Make hopping available again. Offer special ticket offerings to locals and neighboring states. Something.

Right now, they have literally cut everything except rides and expect people to pay thousands to do it. I can go to Dollywood, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and many other regional parks for a third of the cost if I only want rides. That's the whole point. The are killing the "Disney Difference" that distinguished them from other parks.

It was mentioned that people will still go. Yes, they will. But will they go back? Will they post on social media about the magical experience or will they complain they wasted their time and money waiting in line? Will they mention Joy frolicking in the grass or will be they angry that their daughter didn't get to meet Belle and Cinderella? The idea that all publicity is good publicity no longer holds.

I have a hard time understanding mentality like this. Many people are very afraid of the virus and yet they want Disney to pack people in for shows, crowd people together for street entertainment, and have all these other things going on that could potentially cause bottlenecks and lead to the disease spreading easier.

We're also criticizing an organization for their decisions made during a situation we've never faced in modern times. Of course it won't be perfect and I would suspect 90% of what got cut will come back in some form or another. Some of it might be better than before.

Disney is in survival mode. Like it or not.

How would that work? Serious question given a lot of people have prebought tickets (whether for canceled/postponed trips or APs or AP vouchers, etc) - would those people be able to get refunds on already paid tickets?

What about when they do bring back some parades or fireworks, etc and prices go back up? Do they allow the discounted tickets to provide entry? Do they make guests pay an up charge?

Are other parks discounting (regular single day) tickets? I’m being serious cuz I don’t know how other places are handling it.

My gut would tell me that the best way to handle the concept you are saying is to still sell at full price but allow guests to apply for a refund (say online to minimize staff costs) for any day they go and entertainment is not running. That would allow them to cut it off at a whim whenever they feel the “stuff” has reached a threshold to warrant full ticket prices.

I mentioned this as well. Reducing ticket prices is not as simple as many seem to think. It could get them into a huge mess of trouble for those with pre bought tickets, AP's complaining that since ticket prices are lower their AP price should go down, etc.

As for the atmosphere, I understand that. I do think a lot of people on here are not giving Disney enough credit though. They still ran food and wine, they still have tons of holiday treats for Christmas, they're still decorating for the holidays, doing holiday cavalcades, etc. When I was there a few weeks ago the singers were still on Main Street in magic kingdom, and I've heard that there's going to be some entertainment and things like that at least in Epcot for the holiday season.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The Epcot stuff in WS we like but usually just happen to do as we walk around and run into them, not planned

That’s the idea. The “atmosphere” entertainment adds to the atmosphere of the park. It’s something you stumble upon. It’s not something you seek out. I’m not saying this to debate you but it’s like saying “I don’t care if they paint the building or keep it looking nice, I don’t seek out nice paint.”

I think that many situations like the theater shows in DHS and the street entertainment in Epcot are pretty critical to those areas functioning for crowds and guest satisfaction.

I agree but I also think the entertainment that was cut from galaxies edge was also very critical for crowds and guest satisfaction especially with rise being so far behind (it’s still not running reliably...)

 

[Sir_Cliff]

That’s the idea. The “atmosphere” entertainment adds to the atmosphere of the park. It’s something you stumble upon. It’s not something you seek out. I’m not saying this to debate you but it’s like saying “I don’t care if they paint the building or keep it looking nice, I don’t seek out nice paint.”

I agree, and I think that's particularly true of World Showcase. The live entertainment does a lot of the heavy lifting to elevate it beyond a fancy mall.

 

[doctornick]

I agree, and I think that's particularly true of World Showcase. The live entertainment does a lot of the heavy lifting to elevate it beyond a fancy mall.

agreed. That’s why I said Epcot WS and DHS’s stage shows are the biggest area where they need the live entertainment to function properly for guests. Otherwise they better fast track a heck of a lot of new rides for those places (Ha!)

I expect at least some of that to return post pandemic with “normal” functioning. The question is how much and I’m definitely concerned that it will be significantly less. But to be at least a little fair to Disney - even with past complaints they’ve tended to have replacements for most Epcot acts that were cut

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

This is just a post I saw elsewhere, I’m not saying it’s news or a fact but supposedly Jim from Casey’s corner was laid off as well. He’s been playing piano at magic kingdom for over 30 years and was at Disneyland before that.

I was hoping they were having him rotate with Carol at Epcot :-/

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

As a follow up comment... how much would it possibly cost to open up diamond horseshoe just on weekends and have Jim play? Or put a piano up on the roof of Frontierland or up on the Main Street Train Station.

 

[Gabe1]

I hope that I am wrong and all of the amazing entertainment that Disney is known for returns in force. History says I am not. Over the years many great acts have been removed, to be replaced by something of inferior quality, and sometimes not even at all. That is all pre- Covid so that isn't the problem. Then Covid hit and everything was magnified. Will we get back what made Disney special, and unique? I'm just not sure I can say yes, even given that statement from PR. I agree with @Notes from Neverland on failing PR101. Terminating thousands of CM's while reinstating executive salaries to pre- pandemic levels was just crazy. Marie

I get it. The emotions. But the world we live in this is Norm. Whether it is a pandemic, National emergency or a recession the high level executives under contract always survive. The positions that are in the moment go away. It isn’t unique to Disney.

There are board of directors to answer to and they answer to stock holders that make the financial survival of all these corporations necessary. No corporation can employ any level of norm when operating at 75% reduction of capacity And so many are, It is why so many businesses have already gone under during this pandemic. It isn’t different than than the survival of WDW post 9/11. Resorts closed then, parks had shorter hours and executives remained to guide for better days ahead.

Every time it is heartbreaking. We become attached to our favorite cast members in so many areas of WDW. It is what makes it special to us all. This thread the Equity Performers who have also frequently been not renewed for other business reasons; Off Kilter for example, an extinct group to Epcot that I adored but a business decision was made for multiple reasons not emergency geared. I have a young cast member as a young friend_ish nature that she and her boyfriend both Lost their positions as Guest Relations in the parks. How do you keep them all if the parks are running at 25 percent? I have another friend that returned to work at the Emporium this week after the announcement of these layoffs. The returning cast members this week-well I’ve seen no press on. So it goes.

 

[wannabeBelle]

As a follow up comment... how much would it possibly cost to open up diamond horseshoe just on weekends and have Jim play? Or put a piano up on the roof of Frontierland or up on the Main Street Train Station.

Diamond Horseshoe is being used as overflow seating for the Liberty Tree Tavern as of last Thursday when I was there. Marie

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It isn’t unique to Disney.

Interesting. What other theme parks laid off 90% of their in park entertainment employees this year?

This thread is specifically about entertainment.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Diamond Horseshoe is being used as overflow seating for the Liberty Tree Tavern as of last Thursday when I was there. Marie

So it’s already open! Perfect. Just give him a few 4-hour shifts per week. He’s been with the company almost 40 years.

 

[Gabe1]

Interesting. What other theme parks laid off 90% of their in park entertainment employees this year?

This thread is specifically about entertainment. Overall comments to

PLEASE. Cherry picking and yet wanting to discuss other theme parks? Note the post I responded to.

Six Flags Great America Theme Park Illinois never opened in 2020: Heard of Six Flags? if you wanta go there. What percentage is that Of employees? Closed 2020. Hmmm? They are all trying to survive And not kill their staff. The overall goal of all. Income zero For that theme park 2020:::

 

[Gabe1]

So it’s already open! Perfect. Just give him a few 4-hour ****s per week. He’s been with the company almost 40 years.

Remember You called me out as an entertainment thread. This would be dining correct?

Wow! Call it a night Already.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Remember You called me out as an entertainment thread. This would be dining correct?

Wow! Call it a night Already.

Huh? I was talking about a piano player working in a venue that he has worked before?

I also don’t consider six flags a theme park. But I guess that’s more cherry picking on my part.