How far will Disney go?

[foxfire]

With all the cutbacks lately, and more on the way, just how far are things going to go? I find it hard to believe times are tough for them when I was just there and found 2+ hour waits for some attractions, not to mention the lines at the restaurants. Just how much are they willing to sacrifice to save money? And what about the "other" park, are they taking a similar approach? I'm anxious to see my Disney stock holder report...to see just how bad things really are and if the cutbacks are helping to balance the operating costs.

 

[Sansaarai]

Talk about beating a dead horse............

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I don't know, what bad things are really happening. It seems that we are getting more back than we lost. So you don't have EE...big deal!! If that is the worst thing to happen to you today, consider yourself lucky.

 

[MKCustodial]

Originally posted by foxfire
With all the cutbacks lately, and more on the way, just how far are things going to go? I find it hard to believe times are tough for them when I was just there and found 2+ hour waits for some attractions, not to mention the lines at the restaurants. Just how much are they willing to sacrifice to save money? And what about the "other" park, are they taking a similar approach? I'm anxious to see my Disney stock holder report...to see just how bad things really are and if the cutbacks are helping to balance the operating costs.

Well, you have to consider that what they call "busy' really has to do international guests. And I don't think those were there during Spring Break, specially because most countries don't have that. We gotta wait till Summer to see if the noisy Brazilian groups and all the other internationals will be trusting airplanes again...

 

[foxfire]

Well I'm not saying things will get worse for sure, I'd just hate to see Disney(and in turn, its guests) suffer. It's no one's fault, mind you, but we're seeing effects already, i.e. all the ride closings, construction delays, etc. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Actually, disney has extended its hours a bit, is reopening the closed resorts, looking forward to the opening of 6000 additional rooms, and actively working on three construction projects, two of which are major (Mission: SPACE, PhilharMagic--Journey Into Imagination being the smaller project). The economic situation is certainly not ideal, with unemployment running at about...7%, 2-3% higher than it ought to be. As for hours still being lower than they used to be, this is because the economy is still a bit sour. Disney lost a lot of money post-September 11th, so they want to milk as much money as they can before having to increase hours. Basically, people know the economy is bad and can handle the reduced hours. Once the economy improves, more people will complain and prices will rise. While disney may be making a lot of money now, it has not cancelled out what they lost. Regardless, disney is spending money on new assets.

 

[DisneyHog6]

I gotta say, I think that things are looking up at WDW too. While there are still some cutbacks, for the most part, things are almost back to normal. Not to mention, like DogsRule said, all the new attractions on the horizon are really something to look forward to. I think things are looking up indeed.

 

[Craigw]

Speaking of Mission Space, has anyone else heard that it is on hold??

I heard it was because Compaq are merging with HP, and HP sponsor some animation studio which competes with Disney. Compaq are the major sponsor of the ride I believe, but the new bosses at HP aren't keen to pay the money now they own Compaq.

Apparently the countdown clock has been taken down, and the whole project is up in the air.

Apologies if this is old news:veryconfu

 

[Davis224]

Foxfire, talk about beating a dead horse to death.

We all know disney is in trouble, but its starting to pick up. Dow Jones reporst suggest that Disney is in line to have one of their best summers ever, so concurs MSNBC, and CNN reports on the problem. SO It makes sense to hold on some of the cutbacks. If they spend less money and make more money they turn out larger revenue so that at the end of their largest market summer period they can be back to where they are suppose to be.
It's simple microeconomics. .

 

[Dwarful]

How far will they go???As far as the public lets them! and now here is my two cents for the dead horse LOL
I think they are making alot of cutbacks..that do effect public satisfaction....who wants to wait in long lines at eatteries? Also its not just EE days its the fact that they list E RIde nights on the website then cancel them. Its the fact that in a 10 day space of time they have ONE SpectroMagic Parade. And that is during the Memorial Day Weekend (which they should expect to be busy). I dont expect 15 hour days but it would be nice to have a once a week parade. THey could stop that stupid Character Caravan ...save that money and use it for something better....they always have the same easy to find characters in the caravan anyway! well I guess thats more than two cents so i will stop

 

[ToTBellHop]

Mission: SPACE is definitely not on hold. They just began building a corporate lounge for Compaq this week.

 

[foxfire]

Well pardon me if I am beating a dead horse...just expressing some concern. I'm sure things are slowly picking back up, I'd just hate for them to have to scrap/close more attractions before the crowds pick up.

 

[MKCustodial]

Originally posted by Dwarful
How far will they go???As far as the public lets them! and now here is my two cents for the dead horse LOL
I think they are making alot of cutbacks..that do effect public satisfaction....who wants to wait in long lines at eatteries? Also its not just EE days its the fact that they list E RIde nights on the website then cancel them. Its the fact that in a 10 day space of time they have ONE SpectroMagic Parade. And that is during the Memorial Day Weekend (which they should expect to be busy). I dont expect 15 hour days but it would be nice to have a once a week parade. THey could stop that stupid Character Caravan ...save that money and use it for something better....they always have the same easy to find characters in the caravan anyway! well I guess thats more than two cents so i will stop

What's a Character Caravan? The thing that replaced Early Entries?

 

[Dwarful]

Yes with Character Caravan they bring a few characters around to the resorts on certain days..for example maybe monday and thursdays would be all star time. then Tues. & friday be the moderate resorts..not sure of the exact scheduel but its a mad house at 8am for a few characters that are already easily available at all of the parks...like Chip N Dale, Donald etc...not the hard to find ones like Peter Pan or the Villans etc. Disney is saying that this is what the guests WANTED INSTEAD of EEntrys...and to me that is a total lie because none of the guests i have talked to like it, esp. not more than the EEntry days...it seems like they are taking all the perks away from resort guests without taking away the high prices...I mean to me the all stars would be fair at $55 a night...the moderates at about $75. We stay in alot of hotels mostly Double TRee or Embassy Suites and never pay more than $75 and get suites, with fridge, microwave, coffee makers, etc. We are paying $70 a night per room (2 rooms) for Movies. NOt a bargain in my opinion but we co uldnt affoard to do ten days/nights at the moderates with 8 people...it would have cost us over $3,000 just for hotels...even w/ disney card discount or AAA discount or AmericanExpress or even on mousesavers.com...believe me I did my homework for this trip! sorry didnt mean to rant!

 

[WDWGarden]

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CRAIGW:
I heard it was because Compaq are merging with HP, and HP sponsor some animation studio which competes with Disney. Compaq are the major sponsor of the ride I believe, but the new bosses at HP aren't keen to pay the money now they own Compaq.

Apparently the countdown clock has been taken down, and the whole project is up in the air.



This info is from the Orlando Weekly...a great source of info if you're looking to see a good band at a club downtown, but definitely NOT a reliable source for Disney info. Calling it a rumor would give it way too much credit! :brick:

 

[figmentmom]

We just got back from a week at WDW, and I thnk things are looking up again. I posted some of this info elsewhere, but it's germane to this thread, too. The Disney employees we talked to were ALL courteous, and went out of their way to restore that Disney magic. Whether this is the result of a corporate decision, or simply a generally more upbeat atmosphere, it was obvious.

The place was packed when we were there, and some lines were horrendous, but there are ways and means of maneuvering around that, as we all know.

I think American tourism took a greater hit than anyone realizes after 9/11, and Disney has been characteristically conservative in response to that.

My personal feeling is that tourism is back on the upswing, and Disney is getting the message. The summer will tell the story better, but I am optimistic.

 

[foxfire]

I'd like to be as well. With the P.C. resort construction picking up money has to be coming in from somewhere. As long as CoP doesn't wind up being sold piece by piece on eBay we should be okay.

 

[jcmayid]

Originally posted by Dwarful
Yes with Character Caravan they bring a few characters around to the resorts on certain days..for example maybe monday and thursdays would be all star time. then Tues. & friday be the moderate resorts..not sure of the exact scheduel but its a mad house at 8am for a few characters that are already easily available at all of the parks...like Chip N Dale, Donald etc...not the hard to find ones like Peter Pan or the Villans etc. Disney is saying that this is what the guests WANTED INSTEAD of EEntrys...and to me that is a total lie because none of the guests i have talked to like it, esp. not more than the EEntry days...it seems like they are taking all the perks away from resort guests without taking away the high prices...I mean to me the all stars would be fair at $55 a night...the moderates at about $75. We stay in alot of hotels mostly Double TRee or Embassy Suites and never pay more than $75 and get suites, with fridge, microwave, coffee makers, etc. We are paying $70 a night per room (2 rooms) for Movies. NOt a bargain in my opinion but we co uldnt affoard to do ten days/nights at the moderates with 8 people...it would have cost us over $3,000 just for hotels...even w/ disney card discount or AAA discount or AmericanExpress or even on mousesavers.com...believe me I did my homework for this trip! sorry didnt mean to rant!

We pay the extra money to stay on property and it is damn worth it. You have to get in your car while I'm having breakfast and getting on the bus to the park. I think for this alone it is worth it. I pay an axtra $20 a night to stay on property just so I don't ahve to get in my car anymore. Did you think that they provide free transportation for you the whole time you stay on property? It isn't that bad at all, then the theming is another thing, are the HoJo's your staying in as nice as any of the all-stars? Come on, rant on, but not many will agree with you. You have to pay if you wanna play. And if you're going with 8 people,why doesn't everyone save up ahead of time and pay the resort stay befire you actually leave. It's what I do. Also not many were taking advantage of the early entry priviledges. You want a better idea? Get a cabin in Ft Wilderness Resort and Campground, you can sleep six there and probably get a 2 cots to sleep the other two. Also done and worth every cent I spent. Either way just wanted to clear my throat, I'll never stay off property again, not worth the traffic parkng and all that. When I am on vacation I don't even want to think of driving and that is just a beautiful thing.

 

[Chestermunch]

Lack of visitors

My Fiancee and I love visiting WDW and indeed tried to book again for next week. The cost of flying to the USA with the tour operators has DOUBLED in six months!! Perhaps airlines have booked less planes this year because of a lack of bookings or, as I suspect winding up their prices and using 9/11 as a convienient excuse.

On the subject of price, would it surprise you all to know that it actually cheaper to fly to Florida for 2 weeks from the uk than it is to go to Walt Disney Paris for a weekend?!

Sheeessh!

Still, I'm hoping all this madness has settled down by Christmas as I am told it's fantastic then.

 

[MKCustodial]

Originally posted by jcmayid



We pay the extra money to stay on property and it is damn worth it. You have to get in your car while I'm having breakfast and getting on the bus to the park. I think for this alone it is worth it. I pay an axtra $20 a night to stay on property just so I don't ahve to get in my car anymore. Did you think that they provide free transportation for you the whole time you stay on property? It isn't that bad at all, then the theming is another thing, are the HoJo's your staying in as nice as any of the all-stars? Come on, rant on, but not many will agree with you. You have to pay if you wanna play. And if you're going with 8 people,why doesn't everyone save up ahead of time and pay the resort stay befire you actually leave. It's what I do. Also not many were taking advantage of the early entry priviledges. You want a better idea? Get a cabin in Ft Wilderness Resort and Campground, you can sleep six there and probably get a 2 cots to sleep the other two. Also done and worth every cent I spent. Either way just wanted to clear my throat, I'll never stay off property again, not worth the traffic parkng and all that. When I am on vacation I don't even want to think of driving and that is just a beautiful thing.

Lemme ask you, JC, you guys just stay in property, I mean park-wise? You don't go off to Universal or something?
I was wondering because many people here seem to do just that, and even though I love Disney with all my heart, I'd never take trip to Orlando and miss stuff like Universal and IoA, Sea World, Busch Gardens, etc.