Fun With Numbers: MK Maingate Blackout Edition

s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
It's how cast-as-guests travel. They're concentrated at Space, Splash, Big Thunder, and Mine Train. They don't visit Hall of Presidents or stroll through Tom Sawyer Island.
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As a former cast member and a local I completely disagree with this. When I go into a park during a busy time of year I am so accustomed to being able to go anytime I want that anything over 15 minute wait is just to long. During the busy times if I go into the park I stick to the less crowded things like Hall of Presidents and Tom Sawyer Island. The only exception to this is if I am visiting with family or friends who are there for a Disney vacation. In the past I did this frequently as as I could use my main gate to get them in free. Now with MK blocked out all summer they would have to buy tickets instead.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
s8film40 said:
As a former cast member and a local I completely disagree with this. When I go into a park during a busy time of year I am so accustomed to being able to go anytime I want that anything over 15 minute wait is just to long. During the busy times if I go into the park I stick to the less crowded things like Hall of Presidents and Tom Sawyer Island. The only exception to this is if I am visiting with family or friends who are there for a Disney vacation. In the past I did this frequently as as I could use my main gate to get them in free. Now with MK blocked out all summer they would have to buy tickets instead.
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And while it is busier than last year, I dont see where adding 5% to the crowd is going to make a huge difference....
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219 said:
And while it is busier than last year, I dont see where adding 5% to the crowd is going to make a huge difference....
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I would guess that 5% is not consistent across the year also. My trips to the park were/are far more frequent in the slower time of year the same is true for most cast members I know. It's probably more like 10% during non peak times and 2% during busy times it just averages out to 5%.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
s8film40 said:
I would guess that 5% is not consistent across the year also. My trips to the park were/are far more frequent in the slower time of year the same is true for most cast members I know. It's probably more like 10% during non peak times and 2% during busy times it just averages out to 5%.
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Like I said, IDK.... its what Ive been told is thrown around inside Traditions Classes.

I know as a passholder, I didnt come when It was hot & busy. I'd find a watering hole and enjoy a cocktail or two.
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219 said:
Like I said, IDK.... its what Ive been told is thrown around inside Traditions Classes.

I know as a passholder, I didnt come when It was hot & busy. I'd find a watering hole and enjoy a cocktail or two.
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Yep, and I wouldn't put much faith in information from that class. As someone who's taken it three times I had to bite my tongue quite a few times to keep from correcting the instructors.
 
John

John

Well-Known Member
Want to chime in here.....I am a family member of a retired CM with a Silver pass. IM...not so humble opinion. I believe part of the reason there are more blockout dates has to do with.......what else....MONEY! Just last year the CM's won a small pay increase via the labor unions. I have seen this coming for years. I also think this isn't the end of it either....of course unless there is huge push back......but Disney will push this envelope as far as it will go....same with "surge.....snicker snicker....pricing" .

Somebody, somehow is going to pay for those pay raises. I believe this is how.....its the sharp pencil guys who are at the bottom of this. They say....look how many people are getting in for free....all that lost revenue. If we limit them during peak season they will just have to buy a ticket.....chit ching!

OH yea.....Disney is a business. Should I have to write the word sarcasm?

I know many older Cm's that work for the company. Cm's who are darn good employee's. This perk is not only a big reason why they work there but for some...believe it or not, the only reason. Its a way to bring their families together once a year to see Gamps....

The number of Cm's and their guest is marginal at best. There are actual CM's who wouldn't be caught dead in the parks on their off time......more then you would think.

Its just a spit in the eye of the CM's.
 
ULPO46

ULPO46

Well-Known Member
I'd say it also depends on who or what position the CM is at. For instance anyone at the ABC-Television Group that makes a nice salary can come in as they please. ESPN the same way. Forget Corporate they run the place so they get tickets just by saying the word. But lets face it more and more companies outside of Disney are buying nights for their employees to stay and enjoy themselves so the night factor applies to literally everyone. However the influx of so many tourist in the post 9/11 Era has made the addition of black out dates increase. Don't forget after the mouse, Disney is a major company that wants to make it's $180 billion a year somehow. So since most of these cast members bring their families and don't have to pay for anything Disney doesn't allow them to go to the parks on days Disney Data Collectors have deemed "Peak Capacity" days.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
John said:
Want to chime in here.....I am a family member of a retired CM with a Silver pass. IM...not so humble opinion. I believe part of the reason there are more blockout dates has to do with.......what else....MONEY! Just last year the CM's won a small pay increase via the labor unions. I have seen this coming for years. I also think this isn't the end of it either....of course unless there is huge push back......but Disney will push this envelope as far as it will go....same with "surge.....snicker snicker....pricing" .

Somebody, somehow is going to pay for those pay raises. I believe this is how.....its the sharp pencil guys who are at the bottom of this. They say....look how many people are getting in for free....all that lost revenue. If we limit them during peak season they will just have to buy a ticket.....chit ching!

OH yea.....Disney is a business. Should I have to write the word sarcasm?

I know many older Cm's that work for the company. Cm's who are darn good employee's. This perk is not only a big reason why they work there but for some...believe it or not, the only reason. Its a way to bring their families together once a year to see Gamps....

The number of Cm's and their guest is marginal at best. There are actual CM's who wouldn't be caught dead in the parks on their off time......more then you would think.

Its just a spit in the eye of the CM's.
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Well someone needs to start pushing back.

And if this grabs some people's attention... So be it. If it makes certain executives uncomfortable before heading out for drinks in Celebration, even better.
 
John

John

Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219 said:
Well someone needs to start pushing back.

And if this grabs some people's attention... So be it. If it makes certain executives uncomfortable before heading out for drinks in Celebration, even better.
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Well you got the ball rolling....

One problem is that CM's in general fear for their jobs.....wont get much pushback there. Lately Disney has been finding any little thing to get rid of long time vested CM's......trust me on that one.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
John said:
Well you got the ball rolling....

One problem is that CM's in general fear for their jobs.....wont get much pushback there. Lately Disney has been finding any little thing to get rid of long time vested CM's......trust me on that one.
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We'll talk privately on that. Anyone in management who doesn't belong to the cult of spreadsheets is being forced out.
 
ULPO46

ULPO46

Well-Known Member
John said:
Well you got the ball rolling....

One problem is that CM's in general fear for their jobs.....wont get much pushback there. Lately Disney has been finding any little thing to get rid of long time vested CM's......trust me on that one.
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Boy tell me about it. It's not just at the Parks and Resorts Division. It's a growing problem all over the Walt Disney Company. They wanted to grow and buy out everyone but ever since the acquirement of Marvel and Lucasfilm, the company has been loosing it's job security for many people who have bee working for years.
 
s8film40

s8film40

Well-Known Member
The real affect of this is on the quality of employees. The type of person who's willing to take a lower paying job because they get the perk of getting themselves, friends and family into the parks is the type of person you want working there. Those people are going to slowly be more inclined to find a good job and just buy an AP. What this leaves you with as cast members is just the people who couldn't get a job at Walmart so went to Disney instead and could care less about anything other than their paycheck.
 
John

John

Well-Known Member
I have stayed away from really going after Disney....but this particular issue really has touched me and my family. My mother was one of those CM's that really cared about her job.....the parks and its guest. She was recognized a couple of times for her service. She held many jobs, everything from a concierge to renting strollers to food and beverage to training to be a bus driver......which she failed because she couldn't parallel park the bus....LOL

She worked for the company for 20 years, rarely missed a day. She loved her job. She loved seeing the smiles on the guest face. It wasn't a job to her.....it was something she enjoyed and was paid to do.

All you have to know about the state of things is seeing her visit POP century......you see one of the jobs she held was going to every new resort that opened and train the staff. Her last assignment for that job was POP. SHe considered that "her" resort. A couple years ago I stayed there. We toured the place together. She just couldn't believe how far the place had fell in maintenance....it literally brought tears to her eyes.

These CM's were the ones who created the Disney difference.....not some guy in a suit and tie.....these people are not stock holders. These are real people. Walt always said it was the people who made the difference....he knew it.....now CM's are collateral damage to the bottom line. This blackouts....is nothing more then increasing the bottom line.
 
ThemeParkJunkee

ThemeParkJunkee

Well-Known Member
Finally decided to wade into "Fun With Numbers" with Dave. Since I am not a CM, I will comment from the Disney Guest perspective. With the wages WDW pays to their CMs and so many Pixie Dust loving people who consider this a "dream job" because of the perks, the decision to greatly increase the number of blackout dates for Maingate tickets is a travesty. Now I do understand that predicting crowds is not an exact science and more and more special events are being added (many at an additional charge).

I personally met many, many CMs on my recent trip in October 2014 to WDW. The dates I was there were not all blacked out. Many of these CMs were staying at POP with out of town relatives. They were all cheerful and positive and everything but I'm sure that is because I was a guest. I can't help but wonder how they really feel.

I truly feel that Disney is lacking in capacity to do right by their guests and their employees so lets first mess with FP, then employee benefits, then we'll raise prices, and as a last resort, add capacity. What a load.

Also, Hope...I am female and downright shocked that some of these boys did not catch the symbol for "female" as your avatar.:confused:
 
hopemax

hopemax

Well-Known Member
ThemeParkJunkee said:
Also, Hope...I am female and downright shocked that some of these boys did not catch the symbol for "female" as your avatar.:confused:
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I changed my profile, after the upthread discussion, since PhotoDave mentioned it. But I was called sir again, today by someone else, so I don't know :)

We'll try profile pic. It's the one I have on another site, but I might change it to something WDW related, because that one is 1980 Disneyland.
 

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