Disney Theme-park issues highlighted in Wall Street Journal article today

[FourFourSeven]

Today's (March 6) Wall Street Journal had a significant article about the issues Disney is having with theme park attendance. It essentially is similar to what Steve posted on WDWMagic today - earnings estimates are being lowered, Jay Rasulo talking about "flexing employees' hours," "clos(ing) down portions of its hotels," etc.

Unfortunately, the article isn't free for viewing online (you need a paid subscription), so I can't post it here, but it is more confirmation that things are not all happy in Mickeyville.

If you do get a copy of the paper, the article is on page B7.

 

[Epcot is my fav]

closing portions of the hotels??? have they ever done that before...like because no one is going

Also my uncle was down there yesterday and he said they had 5,000 cancelations over the last week....which was winter break..thats crazy

 

[Katherine]

What kind of cancelations? Like people not going that might be b/c of the weather. Or is it things inside the park that are getting canceled?

 

[Lee]

It's all about that dang war.

 

[Michael72688]

Originally posted by Lee
It's all about that dang war.

yea, the war we dont need (yet) I still think people should come! We need all you darn tourists to come and make the parks crowded again!!!

 

[disneydancer2]

I don't doubt that many people may be scared to go anywhere when there's possibility of war..plus many families have been split up suddenly because of military deployment and had no choice but to cancel their travel plans. My dad is a big disney fan and is unable to go in April cause of that.

Hopefully issues can be resolved soon so that families once again can visit "Where Magic Lives"

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by Michael72688
yea, the war we dont need (yet)

(Ever)

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by Epcot is my fav
closing portions of the hotels??? have they ever done that before...like because no one is going

Also my uncle was down there yesterday and he said they had 5,000 cancelations over the last week....which was winter break..thats crazy

They have shuttered buildings. I know they did it at Port/Dixie. There I think they closed one entire part. They've closed individual buildings at certain resorts.

I could see all of Trinidad South getting closed, maybe other sections of resorts such as Coronado, with individual buildings of other resorts.

 

[burbur]

Originally posted by CAPTAIN HOOK
(Ever)

while i agree with your sentiments to an extent, i still am a follower of this quote from former president jimmy carter...

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, it is always evil."
~Jimmy Carter

 

[JeepGuy77]

i think people are making things worse eg: the media by making people panic. I think the whole eco=nomy and war and terrorism issues have been so overly covered that the media is making things worse. anywya. Also I heard areport that the WDW park crowds were low and they were as low as they were 2 years ago. OK is it just me or is tha NOT really a bad thing? 2 years ago was the millennium celebration and I thiought the parks had a greater attendence. This was also pre 911. The reason why the park crowds are low is that A. the treat of war, economy, etc. B. disney hasnt produced anything new in about 2 years thats worth a return trip for. Yes, they had a few 100 YOM events but there werent any new attractions. You cant expect people to put money into your parks if you dont pust teh money into the parks yourself. Im thiking over the next few years we will see an increase in attendence from what it is now, with mission space opening, phimharmagic, and whatever else they can come up with. But of course people wait to visit disney when they have something new to see. Maybe I'm crazy but this is just my opinion.

 

[EchoOfOphelia]

Of course its all fueled by the media, its what drives our society. If someone says we're in a recession, people believe and start spending less. It's almost like the power of suggestion. I myself am trying to spend more money. Not that I could help it, we just bought a new house and are planning a big wedding and honeymoon (to DisneyWorld).. it just kinda happened! :lol: But I'm doing my part for the economy

 

[jmarc63]

Thats all true the media blows things our of proportion and focus on the negative an we intelegent adults fall into the trap of beliving it. every 8 years or so we hear of thingd goping down ahd guess what it does because we belive it, ther changing the perception of reality

 

[MinnieFan]

Well, We will be doing are part to help the economy... I'll be in the World in less than 3 weeks for 17 days!!!! YIPEE!!!:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[strobe]

Originally posted by CAPTAIN HOOK
(Ever)

Yeah, let's wait until a cloud of VX gas is rolling down Main Street. :hammer: I agree, not yet, but definitely not 'ever'.

 

[DMC-12]

Originally posted by JeepGuy77
i think people are making things worse eg: the media by making people panic. I think the whole eco=nomy and war and terrorism issues have been so overly covered that the media is making things worse.

Uhhhh...ok... Blame and bash us in the Media Makes sense... but also pass some of the blame to the Ari Fleischer hype machine and his daily drivel he gives to the media. :wave:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/briefings/

 

[WDWFREAK53]

*cough NO POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS cough*

 

[FourFourSeven]

Originally posted by WDWFREAK53
*cough NO POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS cough*

Here's a question - I know there's a "no political discussions" guideline for these boards, but what about when the politics directly affect Disney? I agree that some posts here are solely politics-based, but many talk about the effect of the possible war on Disney. I'm assuming that this is allowed?

This is actually a quite civil discussion in my opinion, which is refreshing to see when the topic is as combustable as potential war (and the effect on Disney).

Frankly, I think anyone who cancels their vacation because of a possible war is crazy. You've got to go on with your lives! A trip to Disney can lift your spirits when the national mood is so grim. As far as the risk, it's still true you have a many times higher risk of dying in an accident at home than you are from a terrorist attack on a theme park. Of course, people are not always rational about these things.

 

[Eeyore]

Originally posted by FourFourSeven
Here's a question - I know there's a "no political discussions" guideline for these boards, but what about when the politics directly affect Disney? I agree that some posts here are solely politics-based, but many talk about the effect of the possible war on Disney. I'm assuming that this is allowed?

Posts directly related to Disney are fine. It's when we start getting into peoples opinions on political leaders and other related issues that we run into trouble. So keep it Disney related and hopefully we won't have any problems. If any one feels a burning desire to give their own insight into war and politics I'm sure there is someplace out there for you to do so, a Disney forum is just not that place.

An internet search for political debate message forums brought up quite a few results.

http://www.google.com/search?q=political+debate+message+forum&btnG=Google+Search

 

[FourFourSeven]

Originally posted by Eeyore
Posts directly related to Disney are fine. It's when we start getting into peoples opinions on political leaders and other related issues that we run into trouble. So keep it Disney related and hopefully we won't have any problems. If any one feels a burning desire to give their own insight into war and politics I'm sure there is someplace out there for you to do so, a Disney forum is just not that place.

Good clarification. As I reread these posts, I see what you mean - we have opinions on whether or not to go to war, not even mentioning Disney. I agree there are other forums that would be better suited for those sorts of posts.

I am willing to cut people some slack - it's a very trying time now. However, many people probably use this board as an escape - to talk about Disney instead of the world. Therefore, it's probably a good idea to keep these limits.

 

[Disneyanna0521]

i know this sounds WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY insenstive but just so u know i have a cousin in the miltary so i know how stress is on everyone but

do u think they would offer better deals so more people would come?