First the napkins, now the cups?

[TowerOfTerror]

I really hope you're not comparing two entrepreneurs (i.e. the Disney brothers) who founded a company with their own sweat and money, who took numerous risks along the way, who redefined at least 2 industries (animated film & theme parks), and who nurtured a business for almost 50 years with a TV weatherman who rose through the corporate ranks and his doing his 9-year stint as CEO before he runs for governor.

Yeah your right he has done nothing the last 12 years if you count the COO days. I guess Pixar, Marvel, and leading a discretionary income company through a global economic recession mean zilch. NBD

 

[Rescue Ranger]

the burned out light bulbs

I CAN'T STAND this. This is a major issue to me that there is just no excuse for. Just like chipped and badly damaged painted surfaces. Like the Aligators at Port Orleans. You would never see this years ago.

I was shocked on my last two trips to see so many burnt out bulbs at resorts I visited. Signage, walkways, etc. It was sad. Even some where they were clearly acting lazy and put in a different color bulb. During the day, its obviously not so bad. But at night, it just stands out and it looks so poorly on the resort and its maintenance. Something you would never see years ago.

I expect the absolute best from Disney, because thats exactly what they demonstrated from the very beginning and continued to create for their guests. The best.....and FAR beyond the best, was the Disney standard.

Remember (1:50):

 

[draybook]

So are the park maps and time sheets. Are you ready to trade those in for black and white xerox copies?

Do you wipe your face with the maps? Seriously, do you just go looking for posts from me to argue with? Maps are not even close to being comparable to napkins and cups. Maps and other literary items are supposed to be keepsakes. How many people have collections of napkins and cups? Now how many people collect FP's and maps and other literary items from theme parks?

 

[draybook]

My theory remains that people who don't think such things are important can't really afford WDW so think these cuts coupled with the constant discounting will allow them continue to go..,

Wow, just wow.

 

[GoofGoof]

I wish you could see my daughters' collection, which they started when they were 4 years old. They noticed things that went right past me. They've got mouses & WDW patterns on all sorts of "free" items from WDW including a large number of different cups and napkins.

P.S. And as so many like to remind us on these threads, isn't WDW supposed to be better than Universal?

P.P.S. Our twins are now 14 years old and still were adding more of those "silly little details" to their collection during our last trip less than a month ago. No napkins though. Those are all plain brown now.

You may have swayed me some with this. I thought the napkin thing was just silly when i first heard about it, but I can see your point. We still use our Disney bags all of the time around the house. My kids do love them and I would be sad to see them go. If the napkins go and then the cups go, maybe they will go with plain white bags next.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Yeah your right he has done nothing the last 12 years if you count the COO days. I guess Pixar, Marvel, and leading a discretionary income company through a global economic recession mean zilch. NBD

So The Walt Disney Company couldn't have purchased Pixar or Marvel without Iger? You mean Iger is the only executive in the entire world who could have done it? There aren't hundreds of additional executives at TWDC managing the details to drive discretionary income? No other one of thousands of executives in the world could have done it without Iger?

Now imagine TWDC without Walt and Roy Disney.

Iger is an easily replaceable cog in a gigantic corporate machine. Walt and Roy are, well, priceless.

P.S. Let's hope the cups come back!

 

[unkadug]

I couldn't agree more.

The bolded bit in your quote is what I think Disney's rationale is. The cost cutting is not the print. The financial incentives I think are selling the cups as marketing space to Coca-Cola. And, secondly, there seems to be a policy to remove all free Disney collectibles from the parks - let the people buy their souvenirs instead of taking them home for free. Because your parents loved the cups so much that they collected them, they are removed.

It remains to be seen if parents will remain as eager to show WDW to the next generation when so many special childhood memories are removed from WDW.

This seems to be the ongoing rationale.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Do you wipe your face with the maps? Seriously, do you just go looking for posts from me to argue with? Maps are not even close to being comparable to napkins and cups. Maps and other literary items are supposed to be keepsakes. How many people have collections of napkins and cups? Now how many people collect FP's and maps and other literary items from theme parks?

My DS (now 16) likes the maps the best. Even now he's got a few lying about in his room. On the other hand, my DD's think the maps are too functional, think they lack a certain artistic simplistically. They much prefer some of the more mundane food items. Napkins were nice when they had different ones for each restaurant. For some reason, they obsessed over a tinfoil package with Mickey Mouse that they got a hot dog in. I remember making them throw out the one with mustard on it and going back up to get a couple of unused ones. They really like those tiny Mickey shaped metallic things they throw around during the parades, kind of like pixie dust. We've got lots of those over the years. I'll be really bummed if those disappear.

They never were big fans of the free stickers. To them it seemed forced. They always enjoyed finding things, not having them simply handed to them.

We definitely have collected a bunch of WDW paper cups over the years. It's amazing how all these simple free things seem to have more meaning than the things we purchased. By searching for these little hidden treasures, they've become more significant to us whereas as all the purchased merchandise seems so artificial.

 

[puntagordabob]

New cups are coming soon. There is a two week change over to a new design.

Any idea on what the difference will be in size and artwork?+

 

[puntagordabob]

Do you guys collect the cups, cause then I see a reason to get all fussy. They're just cups, I throw them away. Sorry I just don't see the big deal, plus I usually eat table service and they use glass usually so maybe that's why I really don't care.

I enjoy the art on them....especially the holiday versions....and started keeping an unused one every Christmas season...cept last year since I never saw one (argghh!)

As for it being no big deal, that is Your opinion and you are welcome to it.. of course I Disagree and think it IS a big deal..... After all EVEN McDonalds has their own cups lol.....

 

[puntagordabob]

Aren't the same cups and napkins produced for both WDW and DL as part of the "one Disney" philosophy? The last incarnation and holiday ones have said " Disney Parks". Is DL still using them?.

Somehow I think the One Disney is going over like a lead balloon with the Locals in California..... they are not sheep out there.

 

[puntagordabob]

ladies and gentlemen... they are just cups and napkins - they don't have to have disney stamped on them somewhere - enjoy your disney vacation

Over 40 years of tradition at WDW and probably longer than that at Disneyland says that YES it does...

 

[puntagordabob]

Somehow I think we'll survive on our upcoming trip. I couldn't care less if the napkins or cups are decorated. They're throw away items, so why waste money making them look fancy? That's about the same as complaining because there's no logo on the toilet paper. If the cups hold my drink and the napkins wipe my face then I'm a happy camper.

Oh man.... we were agreeing lately.. Oh well that has come to an end lol

The napkins are not a super duper big deal to me... for me it has always been the cups.... but still I think people are right to speak up.... everyone has their point where enough is enough with the pointless cutbacks....

 

[RSoxNo1]

So are the park maps and time sheets. Are you ready to trade those in for black and white xerox copies?

Nope, but be ready to trade them in for digital versions of the same...

 

[draybook]

I agree, if people dig the designs then that's cool. I like them too, but my trip won't be ruined by it. Heck, I don't pay 4k on a vacation to look at cups and napkins. That being, the declining by Disney-TDO IS being noted by our family and is affecting our decisions to go elsewhere, including Universal and Disneyland.

 

[RSoxNo1]

So you wouldn't want a 13M bonus?

So I assume you're cool with sacrificing attractions/experiences so Iggy gets a bigger bonus? Hey I understand if you think he's doing a good job and he's worth it. I think Arian Foster is woth 40M if he wins the Texans a superbowl. So I get ascribing worth to people and their contributions.

But what about say a $6,000,000.00 bonus for Iggy and take the other 7 and clean up and maintain some attractions? Would that be so unacceptable?

I don't think it's class envy (although I'd gladly take a 13M bonus) I think it's WDW Envy ... I see that money that could be used and it's going somewhere else (to line an already fat bank account).

Can't we convince the Dodgers to take the Yeti, the Laughing Place and Stitch's Great Escape for a few hundred million dollars? It should fix everything.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Can't we convince the Dodgers to take the Yeti, the Laughing Place and Stitch's Great Escape for a few hundred million dollars? It should fix everything.

Fix everything except the Dodgers.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Bob Iger is doing an excellent job. The company recorded its largest quarterly earnings in history with revenue at $11.1 billion. So yes he is worth that much in my opinion.

And new cups are coming in.

However he has put the company in a disadvantageous position moving forward. He's shown that he can acquire intellectual property and make cuts. I'm not sure that's sustainable.

The best thing he did (and admittedly, this was a major thing) was repair the relationship with Pixar. Without that, the company could have been sold by now.

 

[disfan99]

Lets just hope this a temporary change. If its not I will definitely be complaining at the parks.

Really?? Smh. I love Disney and I could care less what's on the cups or napkins. I guess I'm in the minority. Why go looking for something to complain about?

 

[ParentsOf4]

I agree, if people dig the designs then that's cool. I like them too, but my trip won't be ruined by it. Heck, I don't pay 4k on a vacation to look at cups and napkins. That being, the declining by Disney-TDO IS being noted by our family and is affecting our decisions to go elsewhere, including Universal and Disneyland.

It's perfectly fine that you don't care about the napkins or cups. I don't care about the meet-and-greets. I have no desire to stand in a line just to get a photo with a grown adult dressed like a cartoon character. But I would never suggest that I'm fine with getting rid of them even though, to me, they are a waste of Disney money and I don't like them. Unfortunately, there have been too many posts earlier on this thread (and the napkin thread) that have said, in effect, "Since I personally don't care about it then it's OK to get rid of it and all of you are stupid for liking it." (draybook, please don't think I'm suggesting you're one of them.)

The point I'm trying to make is that each of us has something special, something different that we like about WDW. And when WDW takes it away without replacing it with something comparable, the entire WDW experience is diminished.