I understand what you are saying, but I have to disagree that this indicates an overall loss of something significant. Close down WoL without a replacement, shut down the original Imagination and replace it with something laughable, but not funny, have empty buildings and former attractions collecting cobwebs in DHS, those are the indicators of cost cutting and as such, should be disapproved of very vocally.
Napkins and Cups are disposable, one time use objects. The amount of money spent on them is, when compared with other expenses, almost unnoticeable. And it is unnoticed by just about everyone except those of us on the verge of treatable obsession with all things Disney. It is a disposable object, designed to hold a liquid or wipe waste food away from our faces, hands or objects. They may be collected by a few, but they are not collectables. I doubt if they would get much attention on e-bay. Either way, I doubt if printing on them or not pays any of Igor's bonuses. However, the use of inks on otherwise biodegradable items might be cause for concern. I don't know if it is or not, but I can see where it might be. Most inks are petroleum based.
Anyway, I think that is the crux of the disagreement. The magnitude of the problem in relation to the other, more important ones, just seems a little less then important to many.
All of what you write is reasonable and I don’t think our views are that far apart. I hope you’ll be patient as I provide additional thoughts.
First, it has been suggested WDW is eliminating items such as printed napkins exactly because there were too many people collecting these, effectively receiving “free” souvenirs (never mind that the price of these are already built into the prices of food & tickets so they are not really free) instead of buying them at the store. I have no idea if this is true but it is an interesting suggestion.
Second, as many previously have written, what is supposed to separate WDW from the competition (and which still does but only by an ever shrinking margin) is WDW’s attention to detail. WDW used to pride itself on getting the details right and did very well financially for decades by focusing on customer satisfaction, not on cutting corners. It was Walt Disney himself who believed quality was more important than money, who believed the money would be there if you gave your customers the very best, gave them a reason to spend their money. And he was right. Despite numerous doubters, DL was wildly successful financially because he created an entire new level of entertainment. (Yes, I know DL had problems when it first opened but these were nearly all resolved within a few months. In less than a year, DL was a huge financial success.) Walt was always trying to “plus” the DL experience (the word Walt used for continuous improvement), a philosophy those remaining at Disney continued for decades. It seems to be a lesson executives at Universal learned very well over the last few years. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a lesson current Disney management has remembered. For the last decade, current Disney management seems to be more focused on trying to “minus” the WDW experience.
Third, I do not believe Iger had anything
directly to do with the decisions to reduce maintenance budgets, eliminate the third EMH, get rid of WDW specific napkins, or any one of many other cutbacks. However,
indirectly he very much did. Iger decided to use the profits from theme parks to fund (among other things) more cruise ships and the Marvel acquisition. Iger decided WDW would still have to meet revenue and profit objectives without providing the funding necessary to grow the theme park through traditional means (i.e. building new attractions). Under these circumstances, it’s perhaps understandable TDO resorted to short-term gimmicks (demonstrated in business to adversely impact long-term success); layoffs, cutbacks, and price increases. (You mean customers aren’t happy to pay more for less? You mean in the recently announced 12.5% DDP price increase money couldn’t be found for printed napkins?) Worst of all, Iger decided to put himself ahead of his customers. Iger decided he and the rest of Disney leadership deserved astronomical bonuses more than WDW’s customers deserved new attractions, a working Yeti, a third EMH, or printed paper napkins. All these things and more. All the things that make WDW, dare I say it, a magical place.
It appears Disney leadership might finally be waking from their slumber. It looks like substantial WDW improvements are finally on the way, even if the best might not be completed until after Iger leaves. Let’s hope the cups will be back soon and the napkins won’t be far behind. Maybe we can get a working Yeti and some light bulbs replaced as well. (It might be a while before we get a third evening EMH again.) Let’s hope Disney leadership doesn’t use these long-overdue improvements as an excuse to raise ticket prices another 10% next year (sorry to all you AP holders out there) and DDP prices another 12.5%.
