Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yep, as with most of society now, It's all about money, bottom line. Getting money out of people for the least amount of effort.

For Disney, unlike other smaller businesses, they never really lose.

If 25% of people decided against going again because of their poor practices, they just raise the price by 25% to counter.

It could soon be a place for the financial elite only.

Ask for more ? Need to add - Mother may I? To the execs in Burbank or new WDW President whose previous role was in charge of all of maintenance of WDW.

Those are the cliche answers

But not exactly what’s going on in accountants office these days…

The cracks are expanding

 

[some other guy]

tbh if modern mouse tried to intentionally malfunction they'd probably find a way to screw that up somehow and suddenly get good at upkeep

 

[celluloid]

That’s basically what the entire parks philosophy has been for a decade plus

Indeed. Walt got away from carnivals and charged a premium for it. It was premium and honest. It works. He never went to Vegas.

Now we have carnies in leadership. Going into sports betting and other desperation.

 

[el_super]

It is done by choice of priority. A byproduct of business decision(s) is not incompetence. To me that is Malice.

What if, by keeping costs down, they are able to meet their financial targets with lower admission prices? Would making the product more available be worth the reduced costs?

Or the flip side to that: would people be willing to pay higher and higher admissions costs to cover a higher level of experience?

I'm guessing Disney knows people would prioritize cost to enter over any other factor.

 

[celluloid]

Or the flip side to that: would people be willing to pay higher and higher admissions costs to cover a higher level of experience?

Historically, this is the only one that worked for Disney and worked for any premium business.

There is always a market for a higher price if people get a superior product/service.

Disney is still raising the prices, so it should still be covering that. And yet, operations are worse.

That is kind of what made Disney, Disney in the theme park world.

 

[el_super]

And They may even be having trouble finding people who have the hands on skills. Every repair person/contractor/ etc I've run across lately has the same complaint.

Yep. And this is going to be a continuing problem as people prioritize college and white collar careers over trade schools and machine skills. Eventually it will make the cost of custom machine work prohibitvely expensive for a theme park.

But also worth pointing out: delayed attraction openings can happen for many reasons, not just machine maintenance. If a ride requires a set number of CM positions to be staffed to open, and there are multiple call-outs, it can take awhile to either call in other CMs or move the from other areas.

 

[celluloid]

Yep. And this is going to be a continuing problem as people prioritize college and white collar careers over trade schools and machine skills. Eventually it will make the cost of custom machine work prohibitvely expensive for a theme park.

But also worth pointing out: delayed attraction openings can happen for many reasons, not just machine maintenance. If a ride requires a set number of CM positions to be staffed to open, and there are multiple call-outs, it can take awhile to either call in other CMs or move the from other areas.

That means the company is charging the right amount of money from the guests to make the company/execs happy, but not paying their but also prioritizing saving money by not appealing enough to employees and effecting the guests to not be able to staff it appropriately for the guests. They have been in the theme park business for about 7 decades now. The delays and all day breakdowns are not isolated once in awhile incidents anymore. All of the things you describe are not the fault of the consumer, but only the fault of the business.

 

[el_super]

They have been in the theme park business for about 7 decades now. The delays and all day breakdowns are not isolated once in awhile incidents anymore. All of the things you describe are not the fault of the consumer, but only the fault of the business.

Not all consumers want the same thing.

Some would complain about price increases and not even notice attraction downtime. Their current practices are serving some consumers over others.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What if, by keeping costs down, they are able to meet their financial targets with lower admission prices? Would making the product more available be worth the reduced costs?

Or the flip side to that: would people be willing to pay higher and higher admissions costs to cover a higher level of experience?

I'm guessing Disney knows people would prioritize cost to enter over any other factor.

What is: “signs you are unaware of the entire history of Disney parks” for $1000, Alex?

 

[DisAl]

…7 $56 buffets for your 9 year old

And if you have a picky eater 9 year old who gets only mac & cheese, fries, or chicken fingers it makes the buffet, and especially the dining plan, a stupid choice.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And if you have a picky eater 9 year old who gets only mac & cheese, fries, or chicken fingers it makes the buffet, and especially the dining plan, a stupid choice.

…as most 9 year olds are

But to be fair and has been pointed out: they haven’t raised the fees for kids that much now

2019 standard plan:
$75 for adults, $28 for kids

Family of four about $225
$1575 for the week

2024 standard:
$95 for adults, $30 for kids

Family of four $267
$1870 for the week.


Plus tips - of course. Cause Jay rasulo said neither the waiters nor the customers wanted those included.
Why would they?
Same with appetizers

 

[eliza61nyc]

And if you have a picky eater 9 year old who gets only mac & cheese, fries, or chicken fingers it makes the buffet, and especially the dining plan, a stupid choice.

But if you know you have a picky eaters wouldn't you skip it??

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But if you know you have a picky eaters wouldn't you skip it??

You would skip the dining plan…I would say?
But those darn characters and all

 

[AEfx]

They have been in the theme park business for about 7 decades now. The delays and all day breakdowns are not isolated once in awhile incidents anymore. All of the things you describe are not the fault of the consumer, but only the fault of the business.

I agree that this is beyond giving them slack because "unexpected stuff happens".

Less "unexpected stuff" happens when you test and maintain rides and attractions daily with preventative maintenance, as they used to do.

Less "unexpected stuff" happens when you schedule more than just the bare minimum bodies needed to run a shift, to account for call-outs or unanticipated needs, as they also used to do.

When people are spending thousands and thousands of bucks to visit these parks, with all the pre-planning and limited park hopping options making revisiting something that was closed very difficult, things being closed down should be much more rare than it seems that it is these days.

WDW has always had to deal with unexpected ride closures, that clearly is a given since the place is open 365 days a year, but the frequency is certainly exasperated by all the above factors, which they could very much be in better control of.

 

[celluloid]

Not all consumers want the same thing.

Some would complain about price increases and not even notice attraction downtime. Their current practices are serving some consumers over others.

It is fair to say that all customers that go to a theme park expect the attractions to be open for their operating day with minimum downtime and not related to skimping on upkeep? safety?

Again, you said not even notice. To not notice something is not the same as not reasonably expecting.

So yes, Disney can get away with things, that is not really a stance.

Or do you just want to be difficult?

 

[celluloid]

Ok Christine

Trams are arriving back. She is probably ticked and concerned for the people of the world and their weight.

 

[DisAl]

But if you know you have a picky eaters wouldn't you skip it??

Exactly.

 

[el_super]

So yes, Disney can get away with things, that is not really a stance.

Disney isn't getting away with anything. They have to make a compromise between what their customers want. Again some customers might be willing to pay more for better service, and some will prioritize cost above all else.

You think it would be wise for Disney to keep raising prices to increase the service levels?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney isn't getting away with anything. They have to make a compromise between what their customers want. Again some customers might be willing to pay more for better service, and some will prioritize cost above all else.

You think it would be wise for Disney to keep raising prices to increase the service levels?

Your imagination is working…That’s for sure

 

[celluloid]

Disney isn't getting away with anything. They have to make a compromise between what their customers want. Again some customers might be willing to pay more for better service, and some will prioritize cost above all else.

You think it would be wise for Disney to keep raising prices to increase the service levels?

How many customers, on average do you think Disney is servicing having Tower of Terror down all day or the Unload in Haunted Mansion cause a sudden two day closure?
They are not helping Joe twice in a life time with his daughters when Frozen or Rise of the Resistance are down hours into park opening.
They are not providing the service that a theme park daily operations should when upkeep is cut.

Get real.