How WDW Co. spins ...

[UncleMike101]

I hope shanghai fails so badly that force resignations run rampant and the share holders point fingers....but that wont happen.

Likely not...
When WDW opened in October 1971 the parks capacity was rated at 100,000.
Only about 10,000 showed up on opening day.
I don't know the capacity of the Shanghai park but the opening day tickets were sold out within hours of going on sale today.

 

[Baloo62]

I see the number 3000 bounced around as how many guest tickets that will be sold for this "after hours" event. Me? I think they will sell as many tickets as they can. This is a way they can raise PGRS ie the bottom line. Why would they limit it? 3000 would be a blip on the radar as far as capacity is concerned in the MK. Oh no they will sell as many tickets that there are guest that want them.

This. I don't believe for a second that the money-grubbing maggots at Disney will turn away guest number 3001 waving $150 cash. I hope they pack the place to the freakin' gills. And lets have lots of unforseen technical difficulties. When we were there March 12-19, we were shocked at the number of rides that shut down. The Buzz side of Tomorrowland was particularly plagued with issues. At one time TTA, Buzz and CoP were all three closed. TTA had to be completely evacuated another time on the same day. We were stuck sitting in the Pirates queue for over 30 minutes and Splash closed for nearly 45. Thirty to forty-five minute closures aren't a huge deal during a 12 hour period, but during a 3-hour period they most certainly will be. So those willing to pony up $150 for 3 hours of magic, be sure and keep smiling when things suddenly shut down. Just go enjoy your 10th ice cream cone with the other 2999 (cough cough) guests.

 

[GoofGoof]

Even if it is "only" one hour, let's look at the MK per hour cost increase between equivalent days in Apr 2015 and Apr 2016, taking into account both the one hour decrease and the increase in ticket price:

Thursday Apr 30, 2015
One day MK ticket = $111.83
Hours 9am-11pm, or 14 hours
$7.99/hour

Thursday Apr 28, 2016
One day MK ticket (regular season) = $117.15
Hours 9am-10pm or 13 hours
$9.01/hour

Or an increase of 12.8% per hour from 2015 to 2016

Think it gets better with multiple days? Nope.

Thursday, Apr 30, 2015
10 day MYW $388.73 or $38.87/day
Hours 9am-11pm, or 14 hours
$2.78/hour

Thursday, Apr 28, 2016
10 day MYW $426.00 or $42.60/day
Hours 9am-10pm, or 13 hours
$3.28/hour

Or an increase of 18.0% per hour from 2015 to 2016

(Prices from http://www.mousesavers.com/regular-walt-disney-world-ticket-prices/
https://web.archive.org/web/2015041....com/regular-walt-disney-world-ticket-prices/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tickets/)

These numbers are interesting. Using 2015 prices probably skews things since ticket prices did go up either way. If you just compare 14 hours to 13 hours it's roughly a 7.5% increase in hourly price. Still a significant number.

Of course it assumes everyone wants to stay at the park from rope drop to close. If I plan on only spending say 10 to 12 hours in the park anyway then losing an hour is probably negligible. I might just need to arrive earlier or take a shorter break in the afternoon. Honestly I think the bigger impact could come in the last few hours when the special event guests show up. If they sell more than 3,000 tickets (which seems likely) there could be a major log jam similar to the nights they have the Christmas and Halloween parties. I've been there for those events and it's a mad house.

 

[brettf22]

These numbers are interesting. Using 2015 prices probably skews things since ticket prices did go up either way.

Yeah, I'm usually not a huge fan of quoting some percentage increase/decrease statistic, since one can usually calculate a statistic to "prove" just about anything. But I thought this was significant since some were saying there would be no impact on park goers who choose not to pay for after hours tickets. These calculations simply codify the double whammy problem of getting less while paying more.

 

[WDW1974]

I'd bet most FAQs are vetted to some degree and everything involves a certain amount of spin.

A FAQ sheet isn't news and you know that.

ALL FAQs go through communications and most today (don't want to say all, even though I am pretty sure of it) go through legal.

And, yes, I would say Disney's official responses to common questions and complaints absolutely IS news on a Disney fan site dedicated to discussing topics like this one. That is why it was placed here and why days later people are still talking about it.

 

[WDW1974]

You'd be amazed at the number of Plaids I saw on Monday in AK.

Not really. You didn't see me and Angie and our entourage this summer at DLR ... you just gotta know the right people and you get one and you don't even have to pay!

 

[WDW1974]

I thought it was slightly more complex than that for Tokyo. I thought that if a train line had 2 or more stops then it was considered a public line and you had to charge for it (and deal with other regulations regarding public transit). This is why the railroad inside the park only has one stop. If they had more than one, even though it's inside the park, they'd have to charge and deal with all of the transit regulations.

Not that you're not right in that the money paid very likely goes toward the upkeep. I'd argue, too, that Tokyo Disneyland is kept to a higher standard. I've heard nothing but good things about the place in that the parks are impeccable and the service is over the top great.

I've never been there, though.

I have also heard the exact opposite about Disneyland Paris (ill-kept and rude employees that don't want to be bothered).

TDR is kept to a higher standard. Some of that is the Japanese culture. Some of it is the covenants of the licensing agreement between the OLC and TWDC. OLC is basically forced to keep its parks to standards that Disney gave up in the 90s (for some things, early 90s!)

DLP was incredibly poorly maintained until Disney forced control/ownership. They are now basically rebuilding the place and what is done has been done at a very high level. Oh, and enough of the rude employees deal. That is a BS complaint from Americans and Brits that believe CMs should be treated rudely, ignore rules for them and their angels and tell them to Have a MAGICal Day or Night multiple times. That isn't Parsian hospitality. It's BS Swamp Hospitality for Rubes. I was just there right after the New Year and the CMs could not have been nicer, friendlier or more helpful ... I think in all my years of visiting, I've had three bad CMs that I can think of (not counting the exec team) and I can generally get that in two hours at the MK if I am not lucky.

 

[WDW1974]

I didn't ignore it.. I pointed it out where I said "what is a significantly reduced version of the park experience for the guise of 'lower crowds'"

Strip a Magic Kingdom down.. and you won't find it will hold your interest as long. The novelty of the 'empty park' wears off relatively quickly and is replaced by frustrations like having to walk so far to get to the next thing.. (because everything is closed between point A and B and nothing to entertain you or draw you in).. or being hungry (and everything is closed).. or finding attractions that are over in 5mins rather short because you ran out of things to do (because you are churning through rides so fast, and there is nothing else to soak up time).

Just think about how people say "if you only have ever used FP, you missed out on alot the attraction offers in the queue, etc" - Now amplify that and apply it to the entire park. Look at how bothered people are when they goto DAK and say "we were done by mid day and had nothing left to do..." - re-riding Disney attractions over and over generally isn't that fun.. and that's why at DAK they don't, even tho they could in that half day.

I'm sure plenty of people will jump into this.. and if its their replacement for visiting the park normally.. I feel sorry for them. I look forward to this experiment going away quickly.

Sadly tho, the reside of it will live with us forever as Disney continues to build upon the idea that people will pay for that elevated access and will continue to expand and exploit that ****.

Its as if the idea of "even tho you COULD do something, doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T"has been completely lost.

The idea that Disney could have charged anything they want to have people stay in the castle, etc.. or be part of the show.. and for decades they said NO. It wasn't because they COULDN'T do it... its because they knew they SHOULDN'T do it.

Yup. I was thinking yesterday of the last Easter I spent at WDW. It was either 2003 or 2004. We dined at a special brunch offered at Spoodles. Not only was it reasonably priced, not only was there no 'holiday gouging surcharge' added, but I was allowed to get my 20% DDE (now TiW) discount on the meal. That was Disney exceeding expectations. Now?

Now, dinner starts at the Crystal Palace at 11:30 in the morning ... at dinner prices. And there are vast periods where you can't use your discount. And you have surcharges and higher prices across the board.

Yesterday's Disney could have mistreated their customers too, but they knew they shouldn't and they didn't.

 

[WDW1974]

I should also note that my comments were moderated out of the Frozstrom announcement blog wherein I explained that Maelstrom held a special place in my families heart since my eldest was conceived on the ride. I think my description of the boat ride portion of the ride being shorter than we remembered, our troubles exiting the ride vehicle, and the safe haven we found in the empty theater were a bit "graphic" for the stuck up sticky wicks that monitor the blogs. What's more family oriented than the making of one?

I wish I knew why I had such bad luck. *sigh*

Sounds like you had plenty of luck ... unless you want to send the kid back!

 

[WDW1974]

Disney wouldn't need to have reactive FAQs if they were open and transparent. If what they were doing was good for their patrons.

A reactive FAQ is a shield. It's a bullet point of witty retorts to support bad operating practices. It's a defense that was carefully crafted for some poor front line Cast Member who is being yelled at since the Magic Kingdom is closing at 7pm.

Phrases like "constantly reevaluating our offerings" really help to ease the pain when they decide to cut something. Or when you get the "looking to improve the guest experience" - hide your wallets! We've found a new focus tested way to fleece and milk every last dime out you.

By creating these inane and overtly complex ways to get more money, they've created customers who in turn are trying to do the same from Disney itself. And in the middle of it you have Cast Members who don't get paid enough to justify some no nothing executive who is trying to make constantly increasing profits.

Yup.

I'm wondering if I should place Chappie's interview from the last Eyes and Ears out here for interpretation from fans. That was one funny read.

 

[matt9112]

Likely not...
When WDW opened in October 1971 the parks capacity was rated at 100,000.
Only about 10,000 showed up on opening day.
I don't know the capacity of the Shanghai park but the opening day tickets were sold out within hours of going on sale today.

Communism for you.

 

[sublimesting]

Annndddddd... this is my tipping point. We love Disney but part of that love was the magic I felt. Even though they are a company that needs to make a profit I always felt special. I always felt like Disney cared. No longer. I now feel like Disney is no longer the magic that Walt created. Disney is a bunch of greedy, Type A, board room executives who see the parks solely as a way to line their pockets. The love is gone. The family friendly vibe is gone. The magic is gone. We used to go several times per year. We can't any more. Now we go once every two years. We do Universal now too. We are trying new things. As our daughter gets older I think Disney is going to be phased out to once every 5 or 6 years. This makes me sadder than you can imagine and I never would have imagined it, but I can't afford to go any longer nor do I wish to support greedy executives and line their pockets. Sorry Disney but we've gotta keep movin' along....

 

[ford91exploder]

I hope shanghai fails so badly that force resignations run rampant and the share holders point fingers....but that wont happen.

Oh yes it can, Look at the article in MiceChat about the Shanghai Surprise, It stated EXPLICITLY that the cutbacks in the US parks were to 'paper over' their words not mine the financial impact of the Shanghai Problems in the Q2 results. In the world of Wall St it's not gonna take long for the blind squrrells to find the nut.

It's gonna turn ugly real fast for Iger and company because everyone is NOTICING the cutbacks in the US parks and if business is so good why are they cutting back. All it's gonnna take is for ONE analyst to have a 'Less than MAGICal experience' at WDW or DL and it's GAME OVER for TWDC.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Biggest Disney fan around here!......but it will be a cold day in hell before I pay the new night hours money grab!


AKK

 

[ford91exploder]

Yup.

I'm wondering if I should place Chappie's interview from the last Eyes and Ears out here for interpretation from fans. That was one funny read.

Yes you should, Also I'm sure you've seen MiceChat's 'Shanghai Surprise' piece looks like DL and DCA are getting hit hard as well.

 

[RobbinsDad]

This. I don't believe for a second that the money-grubbing maggots at Disney will turn away guest number 3001 waving $150 cash. I hope they pack the place to the freakin' gills. And lets have lots of unforseen technical difficulties. When we were there March 12-19, we were shocked at the number of rides that shut down. The Buzz side of Tomorrowland was particularly plagued with issues. At one time TTA, Buzz and CoP were all three closed. TTA had to be completely evacuated another time on the same day. We were stuck sitting in the Pirates queue for over 30 minutes and Splash closed for nearly 45. Thirty to forty-five minute closures aren't a huge deal during a 12 hour period, but during a 3-hour period they most certainly will be. So those willing to pony up $150 for 3 hours of magic, be sure and keep smiling when things suddenly shut down. Just go enjoy your 10th ice cream cone with the other 2999 (cough cough) guests.

Tomorrowland's rides are in bad shape. Every ride except the People Mover shut down on us in December.

 

[Rutt]

While I am not sure I would pay this, my DW is all over it. She hates lines, crowds and when we go, does our fastpasses and spends the rest of the day shopping.
People like her are exactly what they are looking for. We are not rich by any means, but I work many hours to pay for little extras on our vacations like this. (And the Spa, and BBB, and all the other little things that it takes for her to do the annual trek with me).
I guess it all depends on what's being taken away (if anything) to make it happen. If EMH is not being touched, and the hours are the same (or similar) then all the power to them. There seems to be some conflicting stories on the hours though.

I'm still not sure how the FAQ qualifies as spin, but some people need to gripe about anything right? Disney spinning, despising foreign tourists, etc have all been very accurate (and not sensationalist at all )

 

[Rutt]

I hope shanghai fails so badly that force resignations run rampant and the share holders point fingers....but that wont happen.

I think Shanghai failing could be very bad news for the parks here. I'd hate to think what kind of cuts would happen this side of the globe to make up for that.

 

[UncleMike101]

I think Shanghai failing could be very bad news for the parks here. I'd hate to think what kind of cuts would happen this side of the globe to make up for that.

Yup.......
The only real upside to a Shanghai failure would be that the stockholders would hold Iger, et al, responsible, as they surely would be.
Disney is banking on the 300,000,000 Chinese, that live close enough to the park to get there easily, to be the main income flow. (AKA Cash Cows)
That, however depends on how much discretionary yuan those people have and if they're inclined to spend it on "Western" entertainment.
My guess is that the younger people will do that but the older ones who've lived under Government oppression for most of their lives will visit once, maybe.

 

[TeriofTerror]

How WDW Spins: Headline for an article on the Disney Parks Blog reads: " Tremendous Excitement for Shanghai Disney Resort Start of Ticket Sales". The only response I can think of is, "Oh, honey; bless your heart."