Free Dining for the Fall tied to crowd predictions?

[Capsin4]

Yes, it goes both ways, which I tried to clarify but maybe focused on the food aspect too exclusively.

There is 'free dining' and 'room discounts', but people really need to assess the different packages based on overall price and their personal travel plans.

For my last trip, I didn't want park hopper tickets. I was content with a table service meal every second day or so. Taking a room discount made sense for my situation. For someone else, the free dining would make more sense.

Yeah, park hopper didn’t used to be a requirement. One more way to get more out of you. It usually comes down to room cost and party size for what’s worth it. Smaller parties in more expensive rooms generally favoring the room discount.

 

[bUU]

Okay.. I'm glad you changed your tune and now agree with me, but what you posted above is a complete 180 from what you posted here:

I should have labeled the first comment as /sarc. Sorry for the confusion

The fact is Disney was hoping and planning to not offer room and dining discounts, because they were anticipating a full house of guests for Galaxy's Edge.

You are using the word "fact" in a manner inconsistent with its definition.

You assume what Disney was hoping and planning, and you assume what they were anticipating. Odds are (see above) you're incorrect.

 

[bUU]

Business management is a lot more art than your textbooks have led you to believe.

That's just a vapid rationalization for trying to pass off your opinions as more important than they are.

Business is a science, especially when we're talking about Disney.

 

[dreday3]

The parks and resorts segment does not think that far ahead. They look at the current and next quarter, and they are deeply concerned at summer and fall numbers. I agree that next year will likely be more crowded (if RotR is actually good and they can open MMRR and Rat at some point).

WWoHP could have opened with just Ollivander's and there would have been a line out the park gate. Disney seems to have over-estimated the current level of Star Wars obsession and I believe it was a misfire to focus on the sequel trilogy and to largely build locations that are not iconic in the films. When you build a land based upon a beloved series, people show up to visit places that were previously only imagined on screen. It is as if they built WWoHP but had us visit the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The switch from Hogwarts to Beauxbatons would move the avid fan from "OMG! They built it and it looks so real and we will book it yesterday and we will spend $4000 and we will get robes and wands and owls and butterbeer!" to "oh, cool. I'd like to see that some day. I bet it's neat."

Such a good post. Second paragraph mirrors my thoughts. Especially the last line.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

You are using the word "fact" in a manner inconsistent with its definition.

You assume what Disney was hoping and planning, and you assume what they were anticipating. Odds are (see above) you're incorrect.

There's a significant amount of evidence, including comments straight from the lips of the CEO joking that they won't even need to promote the new Star Wars addition, to suggest that they were hoping not to give these discounts.

Historically WDW drops room rate discounts for the fall in late April, with a second wave of deeper discounts in mid-June... yet here we are in mid July and we are thrown the first discounts, which are fairly constrained compared to what they typically offer.

You can also look at DL and see how they have handled AP blackouts for the SW:GE opening period with a significant reduction in booking incentives as well.

You can ignore all this if you want. I don't care.

 

[bUU]

There's a significant amount of evidence, including comments straight from the lips of the CEO joking that they won't even need to promote the new Star Wars addition, to suggest that they were hoping not to give these discounts.

He didn't say "we won't be offering discounts."

So basically you just made something up to try to cast your personal opinion as if it were some how more factual than it really is.

You can ignore all this if you want. I don't care.

Then why object to what I wrote? Someone doth protest too much, methinks.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

He didn't say "we won't be offering discounts."

So basically you just made something up to try to cast your personal opinion as if it were some how more factual than it really is.

Then why object to what I wrote? Someone doth protest too much, methinks.

I cared to enough to respond with what we do know as fact. I presented the facts, and you're choosing to ignore them rather than address them. In light of this... I really don't care what you have to say. Ball is in your court, and it looks like it's staying there.

 

[bUU]

I cared to enough to respond with what we do know as fact.

Again: Not facts. He didn't say that they wouldn't offer discounts. You made that up. You've convinced yourself that your fabrication is fact - that's a problem.

 

[monothingie]

I'm told DLR hotel occupancy is down > 10% YoY. Trying to figure out what WDW is at.

I'd be surprised if these promos can move that much volume. If they don't, there may be another round. That's a total guess.

I was actually kinda thinking this too. The inventory of discounted rooms seems very small to previous promotions and the added weekend blackouts for October seem underhanded because unless you're looking at the details, you don't know you're paying rack rates.

I kinda wish they'd open this up a bit more, but given how late this dropping I doubt it.

 

[LSLS]

I should have labeled the first comment as /sarc. Sorry for the confusion

You are using the word "fact" in a manner inconsistent with its definition.

You assume what Disney was hoping and planning, and you assume what they were anticipating. Odds are (see above) you're incorrect.

Why would you think Disney would wait SO much later this year than other years to put out discounts? If they have the discounts built into their annual business model, wouldn't they stay consistent with their discount announcements?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Fake Theme Park continues to deliver comedy gold:

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If they have the discounts built into their annual business model...

Even if that's true, having predictable discounts become a part of your annual business model is not a good thing. It means your product has a hard time selling itself at asking price and your customer base won't pay until they get the discounts they've come to expect.

Disney said years ago that they wanted to pull back on discounts, but they've never really been able to stop for very long.

 

[blizeH]

Am I looking in the wrong place, or has the 2019 free dining expired/sold out already?

 

[DisneyOutsider]

Again: Not facts. He didn't say that they wouldn't offer discounts. You made that up. You've convinced yourself that your fabrication is fact - that's a problem.

Go back and read it again... slowly this time. That's not what I said

There's a significant amount of evidence, including comments straight from the lips of the CEO joking that they won't even need to promote the new Star Wars addition, to suggest that they were hoping not to give these discounts.

And while you're at it, re-read the other facts that you're conveniently leaving out

Historically WDW drops room rate discounts for the fall in late April, with a second wave of deeper discounts in mid-June... yet here we are in mid July and we are thrown the first discounts, which are fairly constrained compared to what they typically offer.

You can also look at DL and see how they have handled AP blackouts for the SW:GE opening period with a significant reduction in booking incentives as well.

Now... who's making things up?

 

[monothingie]

This is just silly.

Of course the deals are linked to bookings, which are lower than Disney expected for fall.

Bob Iger is literally on record confidently proclaiming that they wouldn't even have to market SWGE and people would show up in droves. That is not happening and does not seem likely in WDW, either. WDW won't be dead this fall, but it will not be slammed as they expected. And when you spend as much as they are on SWGE, you expect the parks to be slammed. These deals are somewhat meager as they anticipate they will be enough to get guests to pull the trigger. We will see if they are correct. If not, they'll tack on an extra 5% discount and beg APs and FL-residents to come.

Summary: they did not expect or want to offer discounts starting August 29. But they will anyway. Apparently opening one ride with middling reviews is not enough for us rubes. Maybe management will stop looking down on the bulk of guests but I doubt it. Unfortunately for them, merely marketing VIP events to the <5% of guests who are super wealthy does not actually turn significant profit when you alienate the rest of guests who are merely booking $700/night hotel rooms, buying $130 park tickets and $8 pretzels with plastic cheese (errr...$75/night dining plans...). So we will get a small discount on the over-inflated hotel rack rates or "free dining" where our perceived value is significantly more than what it actually costs Disney. $75/night LOL...I still can't wrap my brain around the idea that people actually buy that out of pocket.

The promos announced yesterday are just trivial crumbs being offered to few people starved to go. (Myself included) And as a feel good method for us (the rubes) to say “we’re getting some value here”.

In reality these discounts cost TWDC very little, except for the face saving cost of having to say they needed to have the discounts in the first place, SWGE to big to fail.

If what they are doing fails to move the needle, and they can tell very quickly from the data they get with bookings, they will add more inventory and additional discounts to the promos. If that fails look for the AP and ticket deals to start up. And then, using a little modified Star Wars lingo, the circle of executive leadership failure under Chapek is complete.

 

[monothingie]

Am I looking in the wrong place, or has the 2019 free dining expired/sold out already?

Very limited offerings and inventory. A lot of the deals were grabbed, again not because there were people storming the gates, but because there wasn’t a large quantity to offer.

 

[blizeH]

Oh I see, thank you! We’re only planning on spending 3 or so days in Disney parks so maybe it wouldn’t have been worth it for us anyway.

 

[Capsin4]

Why would you think Disney would wait SO much later this year than other years to put out discounts? If they have the discounts built into their annual business model, wouldn't they stay consistent with their discount announcements?

They’ve been trying to shake the free dining for years. I think it really came out strong after 911 and they’ve been watering it down and weakening the offer regularly. I think they saw this as a good time to try eliminating the fall promotion.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence it came out a short time after RotR opening date was announced. I’d guess that announcement didn’t give them the bump for December.

People have better things to do over the summer than wait for Disney to drop faux discounts on their obscene prices.

 

[bUU]

Why would you think Disney would wait SO much later this year than other years to put out discounts? If they have the discounts built into their annual business model, wouldn't they stay consistent with their discount announcements?

No. It is called a "model" because while its structure and artifacts are determined in advance the end result responds to environmental variables and analysis done continuously within the parameters of the model. So, in terms of discounts, while discounting is part of the plan, the model defines how to determine how many discounts and how much of a discount to offer.

 

[bUU]

Go back and read it again... slowly this time. That's not what I said

I knew what you wrote but also knew how you wrote it so as to imply something that is simply not factual. If you're going to engage in rhetorical tactics, be prepared to be called out on them. Putting the words "to suggest that" into a sentence doesn't give you a free pass to add whatever you want after that with impunity.

Let's be clear: With this reply you're clearly saying that you have no information about what Disney was thinking with regard to discounting.

Now... who's making things up?

You are.