HennieBogan1966 said:
Again, when SHOULD Disney cut budgets?
Are you honestly surprised hardly anyone has responded?
Lynx has already touched on a few instances, i'll add a few off the top of my head, some may be redundant....
From the perspective of a publicly traded company, the most straight-forward answer is when profits are nowhere to be found.
Maintenance/Engineering: Nope, its the backbone to this business, witness the BTMR incidents due to these types of cuts.
Food/Beverage: There are plenty of ways to make cuts here, from finding cheaper purveyors, to personnel cuts based on rushes and low points. There isn't much that can be done on the front end of the quick service counters though. At Disney they tend to be busy from morning til night at the same clip as a McDonalds. So i don't think there's a personnel overflow there in most instances.
Merchandise: There are a ton of shops/kiosks that are dead most of the day due to theming, flow, or simply the merchandise itself. They could stand to shave off this dead weight in favor for strategically planned high-flow shops that have sections that incorporate such theming, similar to the feel of the emporium and other larger shops. Yes i understand in a case like adventureland you have to feel like you're in a middle-eastern bazaar et al, but this can be done without sacrificing wasted cast members drooling as they watch all the guests walk by outside these shops. I think they do a poor job of paying attention to what themed merchandise sells well and adapting to it. This means the stockers have less work to do, when they aren't constantly replenishing what's been sold. Again, i'm referring to the niche/themed merchandise locations throughout property that don't do much business at all. Ambiance is great, but if these CM's are just standing around, not having to fix displays, replenish displays, or even use their register, then a change is needed. The "Emporiums" of property are the polar opposite, and do xmas season business almost everyday.
Attractions: I think having certain parameters for guest flow should, and it seems already does, dictate whether an attraction goes seasonal or is eventually scrapped. The electricity and manpower involved, from the person that puts you on it, to the person who inspects and fixes it, to the person who picks up that gum wrapper you threw costs money. So while many on sites like this get flabbergasted over COP closing for awhile, if 5-10 people are sitting for each rotation, then its not worthwhile to keep open. A business exists to make money, how they attract you is marketing. Saying Walt would want this or that is based on marketing over the years. The only time they're going to cave in to an argument like "but Walt's vision..." is when the negative press incurred by an uprising would project to a greater revenue loss than if they were to keep it open for those few people every so often through that season to go on it.
Recreation: Again, its seasonal flow. Disney already makes these cuts by alternating which water parks are open throughout the year, and closed RC down permanently.
The easiest cut to make is personnel, since its the most expensive. What you said about hiring, for example 10 people to do the job that 5 people could do, and therefore cutting all ten of their hours in half is a good point. But like any company, its dictated by the economy and how well you're doing. Sometimes that job is going to take 10 people, hence seasonal employment.
