Fantasmic gets cut to just 2 shows per week

[unkadug]

^When Haunted Mansion was refurbed nobody called it a "cut back" as they spent multi-millions of dollars on the upgrade. Same thing with Fantasmic is my guess.

I'm not following you, unless I missed something completely. How is this comparable to a refurb?

TSM and AI were approved long ago when everything was rosey. Once you commit to projects of those sizes, there is no going back. unkadug - "Pop Century?:lookaroun"(devil's advocate)

The cut backs we are seeing now are things that can be done quickly and easily. It's fairly easy to turn off a show with a few months notice.

My concern is that this will become the standard and not the exception.

 

[I-4Warrior]

It's Eisner's fault! Oh... sorry... gut reaction... I'm just so used to him being the reason for everything bad on Earth over the last several years that I couldn't resist.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I will save Fantasmic show together who will help me to save Fantasmic show! Are you with me to Save Fantasmic!

 

[DMC-12]

I did not read the whole thread... but :shrug:

To me this is not a big deal... I never really liked Fantasmic... and I have skipped it for the past few years. So... "meh". :lol::lookaroun

The only bad news (IMO) is that Illuminations and Wishes will be more crowded on those nights that Fantasmic is not running.

 

[dreamscometrue]

TSM and AI were approved long ago when everything was rosey. Once you commit to projects of those sizes, there is no going back.

The cut backs we are seeing now are things that can be done quickly and easily. It's fairly easy to turn off a show with a few months notice.

Good point Steve.

BTW, if you read my post (#171), I'd like to know what you think about my 'arguement'.

In particular I wonder how you believe travel from the UK might be affected with rising oil prices. As a Canadian, I know that our airlines, which typically charge relatively high fares, have not had to raise prices much even in the face of incredible fuel price increases. As a result, I don't see the number of Canadians visiting WDW changing much in the near future.

I appreciate that international visitors don't account for the majority of WDW patrons, but it was the decline in these international visitors in 2002 that was responsible for most of the decrease in attendance. (Many Americans refused to be terrified after 2001 and began to travel again with a renewed resolve.) If we international travellers continue to visit in record numbers, will that keep the numbers at par or even continuing the trend of growth?

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

You nailed it, people are in panic mode. WDW is not cost cutting for the most part. It is more re-strategizing how they do business from the top down in an attempt to create better guest experiences. Patience will be rewarded.

I, too, think it might be because of the AI opening. Maybe they want to toy around with that attraction before they get Fantasmic going again.

But for attendance "dropping", it has to go down sometimes. Attendance can not go up forever.
Plus, it means lighter crowds!!!

 

[epcotpalms]

I dont think it's a big deal if Disney is doing this because of low attendance. Honestly, I have allot of friends who work for the mouse so I'd rather see less Fantasmic and them keeping their jobs during this rough time!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Good point Steve.

BTW, if you read my post (#171), I'd like to know what you think about my 'arguement'.

In particular I wonder how you believe travel from the UK might be affected with rising oil prices.

According to a recent report from UK travel agents body, bookings are fine for summer and are pretty healthy. One thing I noticed is that Florida has been the No1 long haul destination for years, this year it appears to be Egypt. Now that could mean that Florida is still high, there are more scheduled flights now than when we first went, but the Med holiday crowd are going a bit further as Spain and the Balearic's are swamped by the young crowd on booze n bird breaks.
Winter package holidays are also looking healthy at this stage, but the low fare carriers are cutting flights, but this maybe to do with their dispute with the crooks, sorry the company that now owns BAA who run all the UK s main airports and their high charges to land and poorly run and maintained airports.

I know we are paying a fuel surcharge, but thats been on the go for the last couple of years.

 

[DisneyWales]

As far as i can tell, the economy isn't really affecting UK holiday plans, i just think that the average UK family are spending less than they would tend to.

I just come back from DLRP and spent next to nothing in the parks as the Euro is so much stronger that it just wasn't in my favor at all.

But with America the Dollar is still in our favor, so apart from the flight cost (Which as Pumbas mentioned) hasn't really moved too much, airlines are just cutting back on in-flight facilities, i.e. less baggage and charging for meals etc.

I would love to see the silver lining here, and I really hope that its down to a reworking of Fantasmic, but the PR spin on this makes me think Disney are really going to cut back on Fantasmic.

Its the whole 2 nights thing that gets me. Why just 2 nights why not a more positive 4. It's going to be hell to get a seat now on Monday's and Tuesdays. Also if this is a EMH night I will Boycott the Studio's. I have an issue with entertainment being available only (or limited to) EMH nights. It just makes it unpleasant to enjoy the shows (well all bar illuminations).

I want to believe Disney have something up their sorceress hat, but I'm starting to feel the recent cuts and changes are the start of a massive change in the overall 'concept' of WDW as we currently know it, maybe its too big a change too soon for most of us to take in.:veryconfu

 

[Missing20K]

So without any real confirmation, are we all jumping the gun just a bit here? Isn't it possible they have something in the works to either replace F! or complement it on the nights it's not showing?

These are completely of my own thinking, but they could have a fireworks show, an illuminations type show, a nighttime parade, or yes, I hate to say it but an AI "finale" or whatever. It seems this move has everything to do with a new strategy of nighttime entertainment, and nothing to do with the economy or falling attendance. Disney is still making money hand over fist, check google finance. Granted, not all of their profits are from the parks, but they have good margins. And as I stated in another post, Bob Iger has repeatedly stated they don't feel that the parks are that vulnerable to economic downturns, because of their awesome competitive advantage.

Also, how long has F! been showing? If ROE is on the chopping block due to its age, couldn't F! be next?? And as JT stated it could be a refurb type deal. From everything I've read, DL's Fantasmic is far superior, any chance we get a better version??

 

[jt04]

So without any real confirmation, are we all jumping the gun just a bit here? Isn't it possible they have something in the works to either replace F! or complement it on the nights it's not showing?

These are completely of my own thinking, but they could have a fireworks show, an illuminations type show, a nighttime parade, or yes, I hate to say it but an AI "finale" or whatever. It seems this move has everything to do with a new strategy of nighttime entertainment, and nothing to do with the economy or falling attendance. Disney is still making money hand over fist, check google finance. Granted, not all of their profits are from the parks, but they have good margins. And as I stated in another post, Bob Iger has repeatedly stated they don't feel that the parks are that vulnerable to economic downturns, because of their awesome competitive advantage.

Also, how long has F! been showing? If ROE is on the chopping block due to its age, couldn't F! be next?? And as JT stated it could be a refurb type deal. From everything I've read, DL's Fantasmic is far superior, any chance we get a better version??

You just made me think, maybe they are going to add elements of the new "Disney's World of Color" that is going into DCA in a couple years. :shrug: Check out this link.....

http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneylandphotogallery/ss/DCAPre_5.htm

 

[MousDad]

It is not a "cut".

Trim? Snip? Clip? Slice? Shave? Help me out here.

 

[tnemgif]

You just made me think, maybe they are going to add elements of the new "Disney's World of Color" that is going into DCA in a couple years. :shrug: Check out this link.....

http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneylandphotogallery/ss/DCAPre_5.htm

I was thinking the same thing. It would be nice to see Fantasmic reach the same potential as Disneyland's Fantasmic. Disneyland's Fantasmic is also getting some serious work done later this year, so I assume that Florida's will also be getting some serious TLC in the near future. Maybe that's what will be happening in this timeframe.

 

[hauntdmansion79]

First off I want to ask the first 5-10 board members who responded to the OP how their humble pie tastes because the OP got it totally right.

I want to respond to the following quote that Disney officially made:

we have added significant new attractions and shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™, including Block Party Bash, Toy Story Midway Mania!, Pixar Place and Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Coming in October 2008 will be the recently announced “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” and later this year, Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ will host the annual Night of Joy event for the first time and welcome back ABC Super Soap Weekend. At the same time, we have continued to update existing offerings such as Playhouse Disney—Live On Stage! Next year, the park will unveil The American Idol Experience, host the first Grad Nite events at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and welcome back ESPN: The Weekend and Star Wars Weekends.

• Block Party Bash - OK, but it ain't no Fantasmic!
• Toy Story Mania - Good D-Ticket attraction
• Pixar Place - Same thing as Toy Story Mania at this point
• Journey Into Narnia - Give me a break
• High School Musical - Give me a break, please
• Playhouse Disney - Nothing new, just updated
• Night of Joy, ABC Super Soap Weekend, ESPN & Starwars - only 5% of annual WDW guests get to enjoy these because they are not weekly events.

I'm sorry but nothing listed there justifies taking away Fantasmic! 5 nights a week. Fantasmic! is so amazing. Plus, Wishes and Illuminations runs every night, so should Fantasmic!. It's going to make Hollywood Studios so packed on those 2 nights.

I think this is a poor decision and it worries me because I would think Fantasmic! would cost less to do each night than Illuminations and Wishes because the supplies to run the show are reusable unlike fireworks.

 

[Enigma]

Starting January 4th Fantasmic! will no longer be a nightly show at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It will only happen 2 nights a week.

What other cuts will the mouse be making, who knows!

I think its a shame.

But..but theres no recession, theres no pullback on spending, Disney is seeing record attendance....there must be something wrong with my rose colored glasses how can this be? *Sarcasm*

In all seriousness, expect to see MAJOR changes coming soon both good and bad in order to prepare for the next few years.

 

[sbkline]

First off I want to ask the first 5-10 board members who responded to the OP how their humble pie tastes because the OP got it totally right.

I want to respond to the following quote that Disney officially made:

we have added significant new attractions and shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™, including Block Party Bash, Toy Story Midway Mania!, Pixar Place and Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Coming in October 2008 will be the recently announced “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” and later this year, Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ will host the annual Night of Joy event for the first time and welcome back ABC Super Soap Weekend. At the same time, we have continued to update existing offerings such as Playhouse Disney—Live On Stage! Next year, the park will unveil The American Idol Experience, host the first Grad Nite events at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and welcome back ESPN: The Weekend and Star Wars Weekends.

• Block Party Bash - OK, but it ain't no Fantasmic!
• Toy Story Mania - Good D-Ticket attraction
• Pixar Place - Same thing as Toy Story Mania at this point
• Journey Into Narnia - Give me a break
• High School Musical - Give me a break, please
• Playhouse Disney - Nothing new, just updated
• Night of Joy, ABC Super Soap Weekend, ESPN & Starwars - only 5% of annual WDW guests get to enjoy these because they are not weekly events.

I'm sorry but nothing listed there justifies taking away Fantasmic! 5 nights a week. Fantasmic! is so amazing. Plus, Wishes and Illuminations runs every night, so should Fantasmic!. It's going to make Hollywood Studios so packed on those 2 nights.

I think this is a poor decision and it worries me because I would think Fantasmic! would cost less to do each night than Illuminations and Wishes because the supplies to run the show are reusable unlike fireworks.

And if it does cost less than Illuminations and Wishes, that would be all the more reason to think that this is not about budget cuts, but about something else. And I understand Steve's (wdwmagic) points in response to my previous post, but I still think that these new additions to DHS (or at least some of them) could be cancelled if they were so worried about the budget. Especially, since as your quote above shows, AI isn't even scheduled to be ready until NEXT year. That's 6 months away, assuming that it opens in January. So, IMO, they have had plenty of time to evaluate the numbers, the economy, projected attendance, etc, and decide to postpone or cancel AI if they were worried about the budget. Yet they haven't. So I still think this is about something else.

And let's not forget about the new DVC wings under construction at the Contemporary and AKL. Disney is expanding in several locations so I don't think we can take the cutback of one attraction and assume that the company is in panic and on the brink of financial collapse or something.

 

[Enigma]

I personally refuse to pay $66 for a 1 ticket pass to visit the parks right now. They are stale, the new additions are too modest, quality has gone down across the board, etc. in florida. Disneyland is doing really good and wisely investing in major attractions but florida is not and so when my Annual pass expires this september I will not be returning to the Disney parks for some time.

The best way to get Disney to start spending wisely in the parks is to stop going to Walt Disney World until they start building grand attractions again. Vote with your wallets.

 

[coasterphil]

And if it does cost less than Illuminations and Wishes, that would be all the more reason to think that this is not about budget cuts, but about something else. And I understand Steve's (wdwmagic) points in response to my previous post, but I still think that these new additions to DHS (or at least some of them) could be cancelled if they were so worried about the budget. Especially, since as your quote above shows, AI isn't even scheduled to be ready until NEXT year. That's 6 months away, assuming that it opens in January. So, IMO, they have had plenty of time to evaluate the numbers, the economy, projected attendance, etc, and decide to postpone or cancel AI if they were worried about the budget. Yet they haven't. So I still think this is about something else.

And let's not forget about the new DVC wings under construction at the Contemporary and AKL. Disney is expanding in several locations so I don't think we can take the cutback of one attraction and assume that the company is in panic and on the brink of financial collapse or something.

They aren't going to postpone a new addition that they've already sunk a ton of money and time into because they are expecting that addition to bolster the sagging attendence.

As much as some of us love Fantasmic!, it isn't going to bring new guests to WDW. It's just going to make guests spend more time at DHS and give people more value for their money. Without Fantasmic! the park loses out on crowds (very large ones, that just happen to be spending money, mind you) in the evening, but I'm sure Disney is thinking that they'll be able to avoid too big a drop with the long TSM lines and AI's finale.


Also, timeshares are still great business even in a tough economy (particularly ones on a monorail). Those things will sell no matter what.

 

[jmvd20]

I'm sorry but nothing listed there justifies taking away Fantasmic! 5 nights a week. Fantasmic! is so amazing. Plus, Wishes and Illuminations runs every night, so should Fantasmic!. It's going to make Hollywood Studios so packed on those 2 nights.


I think this is a poor decision and it worries me because I would think Fantasmic! would cost less to do each night than Illuminations and Wishes because the supplies to run the show are reusable unlike fireworks.

In your mind there is nothing to justify taking away Fantasmic because you think that it is "so amazing". Obviously WDW management disagrees with that and apparently many non-disney message board members do as well.

As far as making DHS packed on those 2 nights - perhaps that is part of their consideration and part of the plan... although I still seriously doubt the pull that many here think fantasmic has.

Ask the average guest what they remember about MGM/DHS and I would bet the vast majority will mention ToT and RnR which are the real attractions that draw crowds to the park.

If you are right and Fantasmic does cost less than Illuminations or Wishes (I have no idea how much the cast would make) then this decision would most likely not be due to monetary issues as many have speculated.

 

[BillsFanGabe]

I'm upset that Disney is going to do this to us. It's just plain ridiculous. What happens if I decide to go to Disney when this show is not playing, or if others go also. It's my favorite nightime show by far. I love seeing this show every time I go to WDW. They shouldnt have to do this to us, it really does upset me that it is going to be limited to 2 times a week, ARGHHH!!!!