Does Familiarity breed contempt?

[Roakor]

MLB full season ticket holders buy 81 tickets/season. NFL buy 10, maybe more. College football is around 8 Home. Gator tickets can seemingly be had for a little over $500/seat - almost the cost of an AP. The more you go to Disney, the more you spend on hotels and food, but your per-park-Day cost for the AP goes down.

If you want vitriol, check out college football forums for a team that leads underperforming.

Food at hotels is notoriously overpriced. When I mentioned our bill for breakfast today my wife was shocked.

I stopped going to MLB games some time ago because they were way over priced. For what it cost one person to go to a MLB game I could take the whole family to the minor league game, have seats close enough to talk to the players, get hot dogs drinks and $1 beers (on select nights) and still have money left over. Also I have found the minor league games to be more entertaining. If you live in a place that has a very high standard of living (LA, New York, Seattle) then Disney prices aren't that bad. But you also have a much higher salary to go with that higher standard of living. For where I live my salary puts me very comfortably in middle class, perhaps a bit above the average. However at Disney I feel like I'm making minimum wage. It hasn't made me change my mind about going yet, mainly because I have gone from 4 people to 2 people over the years as the kids have grown and moved out. but I am now paying as much. for 2 people that i was for 4 people about 12 years ago.

A few years back we were talking about trying a deluxe once the kids were to old to come, that isn't happening now. We decided on our next trip to just get the counter service dinning plan to save some money. Each trip it seems like we are cutting back on something, at this pace it may not be too much longer before we just decide to do something else instead, always wanted to see Europe.....

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

YUP! If you go back to a place repeatedly, inevitably you will find things that you "liked better the way it used to be." It's just human nature. Disney World is no exception.

 

[Roakor]

to respond to the original question. I do think there is some relation to how frequently you go to how much your disapproval of things rises. That is true of all things not just Disney though. and as in all things its not something you can just apply to every person. Rather I think those people who do find issue with things at the park, going more frequently only intensifies those issues. They also are liekly to post about them every time they go so others hear about those issues more frequently, from the same person. Its like a pothole in the road. If you only drive that road once every few years you might say something about it or just write it off as a minor inconvenience. but if its on a road you travel daily then it becomes a much bigger issue for you. Your more likely to complain about why they haven't fixed it yet.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I completely agree...
...and I 100% disagree

 

[jloucks]

So it's obvious that there are a lot of unhappy campers with the world lately, do you think that the frequency of the visits contributes to the dissatisfaction?
Do you naturally notice more and more "little" things that are not up to snuff if you go a lot?
Do you go other places besides the mouse world?
Where are some other places you feel you get more bang for your buck.


For us, we are huge beach lovers, luckily we also live fairly close (1 hour drive) to some really great beaches, so that is also our happy place.
My late Father in law was European so when the kids were little we spent a lot of vacation time in Lisbon and Paris. not sure if I thought of them as family vacations as it usually meant staying with "family"
I really want to try Yellowstone or Yosemite though.

That is a tough question....

Only if changes do not mesh with opinions.

Familiarity = time
Time = Wisdom
Wisdom = A heightened knowledge or sense about something. This includes change. Good or bad.

Alas, this is where opinions take over. Some people are not bothered by stuff, where others might be.

My heart says the more you go, the more annoyed you become with it all. ...because I am.

My brain says this is completely false, based on my personal observations of the every growing sea of visitors that cram the parks full.

Life has taught me, my brain is usually right. Therefore, I would say "no, on average, familiarity with WDW does not breed contempt"

 

[jloucks]

I think the issue is complex and a simple yes/no answer doesn't fit.

Yes, to some degree, if you go to WDW often, then the specialness of the place decreases with each visit. The more you go, the less special it feels. I'm not saying the enjoyment decreases but the sense of awe and "magic" if you will.

Add in the fact that while we see commercials showing a magical time (with no crowds) reality is a bit different

View attachment 296814View attachment 296812

Third issue is the cost, we're paying thousands upon thousands to spend a week at disneyworld, and so given the high dollar amount, borderline issues, can easily become bigger headaches because of the high cost.

That looks like a living nightmare. IMHO.

 

[jloucks]

Like I said in my thread last month... the only way to go and enjoy yourself is to TURN OFF YOUR BRAIN when it comes to prices.. because there is no escape or justification for the levels they charge. They do it because they can still get away with it.

Well, yes, brain deactivation is what I do too. I do it way before I go to the park.

I disagree with them "getting away with it" tho, because it is not them. It is us. We support and encourage their decision on prices. The whole WDW experience, every aspect of it, is a luxury good. Not only do we not have to pay those prices, but we are in a privileged position when we do so.

To complain about a privileged position is weird to me. ...although I think brain shutoff is still fair.

WDW costs are not equivalent to gas prices, or the price of milk in a grocery store. It is more akin to the price of a Ferrari or yacht.

Burl wood used in yachts is extremely overpriced. You can get it much cheaper mail order, but they stick it to you when you have them install in in you new ship. That is what complaining about food prices at any venue (movies, amusement parks, sporting events, polo matches, rodeos, cars shows, etc.) sounds like to me. But, that is just my opinion.

 

[winstongator]

I stopped going to MLB games some time ago because they were way over priced. For what it cost one person to go to a MLB game I could take the whole family to the minor league game, have seats close enough to talk to the players, get hot dogs drinks and $1 beers (on select nights) and still have money left over. Also I have found the minor league games to be more entertaining. If you live in a place that has a very high standard of living (LA, New York, Seattle) then Disney prices aren't that bad. But you also have a much higher salary to go with that higher standard of living. For where I live my salary puts me very comfortably in middle class, perhaps a bit above the average. However at Disney I feel like I'm making minimum wage. It hasn't made me change my mind about going yet, mainly because I have gone from 4 people to 2 people over the years as the kids have grown and moved out. but I am now paying as much. for 2 people that i was for 4 people about 12 years ago.

A few years back we were talking about trying a deluxe once the kids were to old to come, that isn't happening now. We decided on our next trip to just get the counter service dinning plan to save some money. Each trip it seems like we are cutting back on something, at this pace it may not be too much longer before we just decide to do something else instead, always wanted to see Europe.....

I’m 41. In the last 10 years I’ve played in over 200 baseball games, been to probably 20 minor league games, 3 mlb spring training, maybe 1 regular season mlb game. I love baseball and never go to mlb games. Didn’t even renew my mlb.com account. Somebody’s going though. And buying those $12 beers.

I’ve only really been going to Disney a lot the past 3 years. We got one big AP price increase, and my way to stick it to the mouse was to go more! Spending more on hotels. WDW got me on that one. We are going to go back to the AP well in November, and I’m going to be more price selective hotel-wise. I tried to pack breakfasts, snacks, and water bottles/sodas (we’re now a soda-less household although we do sparkling water)

Universal APs are cheaper, but after getting a 3 day pass, I can’t see myself going there 10-20 days a year like I did to wdw, even though I prefer universal’s rides over wdw’s.

Both my wife and I got usair mastercards for the bonus miles, I got a fair number of miles from work travel, and we got 2 rt tix to Paris. Otherwise it can get expensive, although if you’re flying to wdw, that can add up too. Europe for me has been a mix of actually feeling immersed and doing prototypical tourist stuff. Immersion has been more memorable,although it’s hard with our young kids. What I’d rather do is hit as many national parks. I enjoy hiking a lot more than the rest of the family, so we have to work on that.

 

[larryz]

Well the difference is...
College FB isn't measured in customer satisfaction... winning is almost always directly coupled to increased revenues.. so winning = school is happy and fans are happy. Its almost a 1:1 link

Here, corporate winning is tied to dollars... and dollars and customer satisfaction linking are way more murky.

Corporate alignment to customer alignment... you can cheat that in so many ways... for at least the near term. Disney's nostalgia and spacing between it and immediate competition give a lot more buffer before those two worlds clash too.

Well, I can mix a metaphor as well as the next guy...

 

[flynnibus]

Well, yes, brain deactivation is what I do too. I do it way before I go to the park.

I disagree with them "getting away with it" tho, because it is not them. It is us. We support and encourage their decision on prices. The whole WDW experience, every aspect of it, is a luxury good. Not only do we not have to pay those prices, but we are in a privileged position when we do so.

There is a difference between overpaying because of constraints vs blindly and happily doing so tho.

I pay the prices... because that's what it takes. But at the same time, I go infrequently because of that. Me paying it once... is not enabling the same way as the person who spends all their disposable income on this fantasy. I also recognize the price for what it is.. vs the blind one that says "what else would it be??".

The prices change my behavior - there is more steps to that than simply 0 and 1.

 

[smile]

yes. toss a little ignorance is bliss in there, too, for the same view from another angle -
stick with it, tho, if so inclined... some weird stockholm symdrome love/hate things might develop

 

[smile]

justification for the levels they charge. They do it because they can still get away with it.

think you just may have answered your own question

a constant tug-of-war to gauge what can be gotten away with...
makes perfect sense for a normal company, but rubs some folks the wrong way when it comes from one who's constantly telling people they're grrreat(!)

imo, reward rabid loyalty and it will not only propagate, the bottom line should rise to meet it -
because i'd like to believe seeking to take total advantage at every available opportunity does not bare lasting fruit...

but, it's been going on for quite some time now, so.........

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

IMO the worst was London and Washington DC. I thought the food was extremely expensive in both places.

Try Zurich.

 

[mj2v]

We go regularly, but we live really close.

We don’t spend the time obsessing about everything like some do. I go to the parks to have fun, not get upset at everything that Walt would roll over about. (Spoiler, probably not much...).

Just spent 2 weeks in Hawaii, one of which was at Aulani, which was incredible.

 

[mj2v]

In the college football world, if a coach continually disappoints his fans, he gets the old heave ho.
In Disney's case, however, the CEO just keeps getting bigger bonuses...

Due to overall performance. Bob does not lose a penny if you are disappointed.

I won’t defend the amount, but look at the business now vs when he took over.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I think contempt breeds contempt. There is always a vocal minority that will find fault with anything. In fact, they go out of their way to find fault for trivial reasons..it just seems to be their "thing".

People have bad experiences everywhere, including their local grocery store.

I think what happens with Disney has to do more with consistency. Which is very hard to maintain. I've read (and experienced) many of what has been written on this board: an overflowing trash can, a less than stellar meal, poor service at a TS, overcrowded parks, rude guests, waiting an unreasonable time for a packed bus, a mix up on a reservation, so on and so forth.

These all seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

Some of these posts consistently paint WDW as a 2nd tier state fair, with garbage littered about, abundant with rude employees, neanderthal guests, malfunctioning rides, and safety issues galore.

Does Disney have a bad day? Sure. Have many of experienced some of these issues? Sure. Are there things Disney could do better? Sure.

But anyone claiming to have these issues each and every time visiting.....probably wants to re-evaluate their selection of a vacation destination. Hence should examine their participation on a "fan forum" for said destination.

 

[Disney4family]

No but an open anonymous forum does attract those feelings from some. Just consider this Dantes' inferno with various levels for destinations based on their judgment, but still all hell.

I used to work in one of the rings of Dantes' Inferno....

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Due to overall performance. Bob does not lose a penny if you are disappointed.

I won’t defend the amount, but look at the business now vs when he took over.

If you’re talking stock performance...that’s almost entirely tied to the rollercoaster ups and downs of boom and bust.

Did iger cause it to be $20 when he took over? No
Did he cause it to go down to $17 in 2009? No
Has he caused the entire market to go off the rails and triple in bubble insanity since 2010?

Not one bit. He’s made some good moves...and some short term bad ones Thad still provide immediate cash out that the street likes...from that standpoint he is going to be given high marks. Will those moves cause damage later? Almost certainly yes. It’s all context and perspective

 

[dieboy]

No I do not think Familiarity breeds contempt.

When I walk into my local lunch place (where I go, four out of five days a week), occasionally, its starting to get slammed, maybe my to go order doesn't come out in a few minutes. Maybe a takes five or six, sometimes ten. The staff looks tired, there is a line going out the door. But I don't think 'what the heck!, these people are horrible, my order came out late, i'm writing a letter to corporate'. I think 'dang, they are busy as heck and are trying hard to keep up'. I'm familiar, with this particular place, for well over a year, and it does not breed contempt when i have to ask for napkins because they forgot.

Then you tell yourself, well thats a lame comparison. It kind of is. But .. four times a week times about fifteen bucks a visit. cranks up to a few g's a year for lunch. So Yes I have some money invested here, and I care about it.

 

[HansGruber]

Why is there an obsession with comparing Disney with any other vacation destinations?

Yes, if you compare Disney to a vacation to Sydney, then Disney is a steal.
If you compare Disney to a vacation to Hershey Park, then Hershey Park is a steal.

There are so many factors and attributes to consider. It's next to impossible to quantify all of it.