Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
Cue the “They’re not speaking to the public, they’re speaking to INVESTORS. BIG DIFFERENCE!” defenders.
The investors are listening, which is why it’s down 40% over the last year.
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Hey Ap'ers, how does it feel to know you are a contingency plan?
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The investors are listening, which is why it’s down 40% over the last year.
phillip9698
Well-Known Member
APs gotta stop acting like they were doing Disney a favor by purchasing passes. It was a business transaction that worked for both parties at the time.
Plenty of people have moved to that area simply to visit the park more often, not to mention all the magnets you see living in the surrounding states. It’s not a hard sell.
Plenty of people have moved to that area simply to visit the park more often, not to mention all the magnets you see living in the surrounding states. It’s not a hard sell.
The Colonel
Well-Known Member
Name another business that complains about how many people are in their loyalty program, dining club, frequent visitor program, rewards program, etc. Usually you get a status badge and perks. I can't think of another business that disparages their loyal in favor of infrequent customers. That can't be a valid long-term strategy. I guess the DCL designation for 10 cruises will be changed from Platinum to
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TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
This is an excellent point. I can’t imagine Hiltons CEO saying some resorts would have better per-guest spending if “unfavorable guests” such a Hilton Diamond members wouldn’t use their benefits.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
She’s wearing half a Scottish terrier in that photo.
And this was the best photo they got during the photo shoot....
I mean she's more than half way to full blown Cruella Deville, just give her a pack of Winston slims and a fur coat and you have complete and real life IP synergy!
1) what I paid for is in the eye of the beholder. Disney is a service based business and what they sell is a premium experience.
2)would you refer that company?
If Walt built the company based on that kind of philosophy from the start, Disney would be 6 flags - a transactional amusement park with rides.
In a company like Walmart, that philosophy can work because even if ppl don’t wanna go there; they do, because Walmart is cheaper. It’s the low end price and because of that; transactional thinking works.
You can not be in the business of a premium experience, service based product and go around making your most powerful assets - your Ambassadors and raving fans - feel like they are not appreciated and then confirm it verbally. It is the polar opposite direction of what made Disneyland successful in the first place and lead to WDW. By the time these boneheads figure it out, the parks segments are gonna be chopped up and given to the highest bidder.
phillip9698
Well-Known Member
Airlines have been finding ways to limit who can access their lounges. Too many people gained access through credit cards and other programs so they are dialing it back.
The people Disney wants to have passes, the ones who run the blogs and drum up excitement, they won’t have an issue with access. Otherwise, infrequent visitors are worth more now than APs under normal business operations.
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AP holders are the most loyal ambassadors. They are the ones who raise their hand and say
“I wanna spend my entertainment money with you and even though the crowds suck sometimes and the food at cosmic ray’s is insanely over priced, I’m gonna see what you have to offer and post about it and share and invite my friends”
We are the most active word of mouth army Disney has. And they don’t see that becuse they are arrogant and think they can rest on their laurels without their most loyal fans supporting them. Until the economy tanks..then we’re the contingency plan! Let’s just see how that works out if/when that happens.
The ones who have blogs are stuck becuse even if they don’t want to deal with it anymore; that’s their business so they put up with it. how many out there are REALLY happy right now with putting up with the AP restrictions and genie+ insanity?
phillip9698
Well-Known Member
APs have been called filler for years. Hell go back on this board and read some of the posts from passholders, they acknowledged they were fillers.
APs bought passes because they feel the business transaction was a fair one for them. You went to the parks when they were crowded and the food was overpriced because you decided you would rather spend your time doing so as opposed to other entertainment options. Nobody forced you to. If you ever felt you were not getting what you paid for in the transaction you were free to not renew.
This isn’t some startup that needs small word of mouth to sustain itself. They get free publicity every second from social media. The bloggers have a symbiotic relationship with them, they push the wares, and the clicks fill their pockets. If one decides to quit trust me another would love the increased traffic. The random soccer mom with an AP magnet on the mini van is not driving Disney dollars.
Nobody was doing Disney a favor by attending their parks.
AdventureHasAName
Well-Known Member
I'm whatever the highest level on Carnival Cruises is called (I'm not sure if it's Diamond or Platinum or 777 Club). They do everything in their power to kiss my behind when I'm on that boat (my entire family). The same thing is true of Caesars/Harrahs hotels. They never stop calling begging me to come back, too.
If I said to the concierge, just after I walked on to the ship, "Hey, you know ... I think I might like to stand on stage during one of the nightly variety shows," I'm not sure there'd be a very long internal debate before they figured out which show it was going to be.
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Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Did they dub you an ambassador? Or did you appoint yourself? That’s the entitlement to which I’m referring.
If you drop off a bag of cookies at my house every morning, and I didn’t ask for them and don’t much care for them but appreciate the thought, don’t expect a holiday dinner invitation for it. You chose your actions. I believe in “no strings.”
I typically got AP’s 6 months to a year since the last ones expired, for the better part of the last 20 years (with smaller visits going back a bit longer.) Disney doesn’t owe me anything for that. When I get a room upgrade now and then, I appreciate it. When I get a dessert on the house here or there, I appreciate it. They don’t owe it to me. We just took our first DCL cruise and paid for a lower level cabin with a partial view. We were upgraded to one of the upper decks with a full view. We were ecstatic. They didn’t owe it to us, and we won’t expect it in the future.
If I’m not able to buy an AP now (?) but if things slow down and they offer me one at 2018-19 pricing as a FL resident - I don’t feel taken advantage of, I feel fortunate.
They. Don’t. Owe. Me. Anything.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
1) What we pay for is objectively quantifiable: one day admission, one dinner, one souvenir. Being able to experience every attraction is never promised. Once there, you choose to pay the dinner prices or go off property. You choose to buy gifts or get plenty of possibly lower priced Disney merch at Walmart. You can buy a $35 t-shirt in MK or a $12 one on 192.
They owe you what you pay for, and hopefully service with a smile. Extra is a bonus by definition.
2. If I got what I paid for and it was satisfactory, certainly.
In life, sometimes you’ll get extra, and sometimes you’ll experience disappointment. At WDW, disappointment is usually relative and minor. Expect it, and you have reasonable expectations and a better time.
My trip reports will mention when we just missed CoP before it closed or when we got drenched because the Main Street stores were roped off when it rained. They’ll also mention when we got to stay late, walk-on attractions, discover a new fave wine, etc. It’s all in context, and nothing ever “ruined” a trip! There was even a time we cut a trip short around 1/1 because it was too crowded and we’d rather spend our days off at a quieter time. Nothing was bad about that, it’s just the way things unfolded.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
Good point! They’ve used the “staffing issues” as an excuse for virtually everything they didn’t want to do. Now they’re freezing hiring?
Might need to implement those contingency plans soon!
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
Granted he mentioned the "synergy machine" I would venture these roles are not guest-facing park ops related roles.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
A week from now, Christine McCarthy is sitting in a darkened room with a fireplace just far enough to feel wisps of heat. An aide comes near, leaning over and, after hesitating a moment, whispers something in her ear. She waves her hand dismissively, reaches over to her Old Fashioned, and takes a drink, staring at the fire for a moment.
She picks up her phone, taps Bob C., which she does instinctively so many times in the day, and waits until he answers, which he does almost immediately each and every time.
“Deploy the AP Contingency,” she says.
She hangs up, putting the phone face down. She stares at it a moment before hurling her half empty cup at the fireplace.
She picks up her phone, taps Bob C., which she does instinctively so many times in the day, and waits until he answers, which he does almost immediately each and every time.
“Deploy the AP Contingency,” she says.
She hangs up, putting the phone face down. She stares at it a moment before hurling her half empty cup at the fireplace.
The Colonel
Well-Known Member
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
Bobspeak
I’m not saying I was doing Disney a favor by purchasing an AP. I was definitely doing them a favor by speaking highly of them and Referring them willingly without personal compensation, which makes me an Ambassador of - anyone - I choose to do so for
The whole point is you can’t make moves that makes your most loyal people feel like you don’t care about them with policy and then back it up verbally with statements like the CFO has made and not expect blowback.
It’s just another sign they are headed straight for the 6 flags level.
Meanwhile, Universal is showing the appreciation to APs, as is Sea World, and they are being rewarded with profits AND positive word of mouth.