Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[DisneyNittany]

My comment was that I did not think 90 percent of folks pay for their WDW with CCs they they intend to pay with monthly CC minimum payments, that's all.

I don’t think it’s far fetched that ~90% visitors have to stretch a WDW vacation over several billing cycles and/or are unable to contribute to savings/investments upon completion of a WDW trip.

 

[UNCgolf]

So in the context of ... "just money" being the blocker here... why hasn't Universal or Sea World or another company jumped on the chance to offer a service Disney doesn't?

It's probably not that easy.

It wouldn't have really made any sense for SeaWorld or Universal to offer it. Universal might be there once EU opens, since they'll have three parks and a water park, plus two dining/shopping areas (at least I think they're supposed to building something like CityWalk outside EU) and a relatively large number of hotels. But up to this point neither really offers enough to keep people on-site for an entire trip, although current Universal is much closer than SeaWorld.

It's certainly possible Disney wants to bring it back and is trying to work out logistics/contracts/cost -- it wouldn't be as simple as just flipping a switch and now Magical Express exists again -- but I kind of doubt it.

 

[peter11435]

I don’t think people realize the logistics and cost involved in offering a service like Magical Express. There’s a reason nobody else does it.

The factors that contributed to Magical Express being a good idea when it originated changed over time. Some of its intended benefits for Disney eroded away and the cost was no longer worth the benefit.

 

[Jrb1979]

So in the context of ... "just money" being the blocker here... why hasn't Universal or Sea World or another company jumped on the chance to offer a service Disney doesn't?

It's probably not that easy.

Universal has a shuttle to their resort. While not free you can add it on.

 

[Jrb1979]

I don’t think people realize the logistics and cost involved in offering a service like Magical Express. There’s a reason nobody else does it.

The factors that contributed to Magical Express being a good idea when it originated changed over time. Some of its intended benefits for Disney eroded away and the cost was no longer worth the benefit.

Agreed. Add in that the majority of Disney guests actually come from off site.

 

[Splash4eva]

I don’t think people realize the logistics and cost involved in offering a service like Magical Express. There’s a reason nobody else does it.

The factors that contributed to Magical Express being a good idea when it originated changed over time. Some of its intended benefits for Disney eroded away and the cost was no longer worth the benefit.

Try me. What are the costs? Logistics were never an issue but now they are? But im curious whats the cost pp?

 

[JoeCamel]

Try me. What are the costs? Logistics were never an issue but now they are? But im curious whats the cost pp?

I have no idea what they paid the vendors but like most of Disney suppliers I'm sure Mears and Bags Inc. billed at the top of the scale with a premium because it was for the mouse and maybe that just got to be too much pp when they crunched the numbers. The Mears contract was up for renewal so like an annual pass it was a luxury that wasn't worth it any more.

In other words the money grab got too much for the mouse's sensibilities

 

[Splash4eva]

I have no idea what they paid the vendors but like most of Disney suppliers I'm sure Mears and Bags Inc. billed at the top of the scale with a premium because it was for the mouse and maybe that just got to be too much pp when they crunched the numbers. The Mears contract was up for renewal so like an annual pass it was a luxury that wasn't worth it any more.

In other words the money grab got too much for the mouse's sensibilities

I was specifically asking the person who said it cost a ton of money.. either way there is a thing called the cost of doing business and Disney felt this had NO direct cash flow/monetary gain so they nixed it and again another decision that was moronic….

 

[Tha Realest]

I was specifically asking the person who said it cost a ton of money.. either way there is a thing called the cost of doing business and Disney felt this had NO direct cash flow/monetary gain so they nixed it and again another decision that was moronic….

It should be obvious to all that the strain of launching D+ coupled with the “opportunity” that the pandemic prompted enabled Disney to retrain its park guests.

As I said before, what used to be free now costs money, and what used to cost money now requires more money.

Paid Fastpass, ramped up variable pricing, reduced benefits to APs, reduced benefits to DVC, reduced housekeeping, slashed entertainment and streetmosphere.

 

[Tha Realest]

And back to the topic of the thread.

The attendance is clearly down at WDW, unless you believe they are lying in their quarterlies.

 

[Splash4eva]

It should be obvious to all that the strain of launching D+ coupled with the “opportunity” that the pandemic prompted enabled Disney to retrain its park guests.

As I said before, what used to be free now costs money, and what used to cost money now requires more money.

Paid Fastpass, ramped up variable pricing, reduced benefits to APs, reduced benefits to DVC, reduced housekeeping, slashed entertainment and streetmosphere.

I agree but fact is the retraining may have back fired as we are seeing now…

 

[peter11435]

Try me. What are the costs? Logistics were never an issue but now they are? But im curious whats the cost pp?

Logistics and cost were never an issue because the benefits were greater than the costs. They didn’t start Magical Express out of the goodness of their hearts. They created it to achieve a specific outcome. And it did that for many years.

As things evolved the benefits of Magical Express for Disney were diminishing. Changes in guest behavior, technology, and how people vacation eroded the reasons it was created. It no longer made sense because the costs were out pacing the benefits .

 

[monothingie]

You think 90 percent of folks use CC (money they don’t have) to pay for their entire WDW vacation?

I could see putting a few hundred on a CC from a trip to pay for unexpected Genie+ and ILLs, but the entire vacation?

The average American Individual carries $6500 in revolving credit card debt (unpaid portion of balance carried month to month).

 

[monothingie]

Logistics and cost were never an issue because the benefits were greater than the costs. They didn’t start Magical Express out of the goodness of their hearts. They created it to achieve a specific outcome. And it did that for many years.

As things evolved the benefits of Magical Express for Disney were diminishing. Changes in guest behavior, technology, and how people vacation eroded the reasons it was created. It no longer made sense because the costs were out pacing the benefits .

You (not you specifically, but your characterization of it) sound like the just graduated MBA with no experience in hospitality or any awareness of guest satisfaction metrics, eagerly giving talking points to management who are only interested in justifying their jobs and equally clueless at what they do.

Now they have resorts that are half closed because of it. Great job guys !

 

[peter11435]

You (not you specifically, but your characterization of it) sound like the just graduated MBA with no experience in hospitality or any awareness of guest satisfaction metrics, eagerly giving talking points to management who are only interested in justifying their jobs and equally clueless at what they do.

Now they have resorts that are half closed because of it. Great job guys !

I’m giving you some of the reasons they discontinued it. But I’m not sure why anyone would expect a business to offer a very expensive service that is not achieving the goals it was intended to accomplish.

 

[Lilofan]

You (not you specifically, but your characterization of it) sound like the just graduated MBA with no experience in hospitality or any awareness of guest satisfaction metrics, eagerly giving talking points to management who are only interested in justifying their jobs and equally clueless at what they do.

Now they have resorts that are half closed because of it. Great job guys !

Three things in life are guaranteed - death , taxes and complain about the management.

 

[monothingie]

I’m giving you some of the reasons they discontinued it. But I’m not sure why anyone would expect a business to offer a very expensive service that is not achieving the goals it was intended to accomplish.

I understand that, and that is a big part of the problem they have right now in regards to guest retention and brand perception. The discontinuation of DME was just one of many cost savings or revenue enhancing decisions that cumulatively have been extremely damaging to Disney with regards to guests. We see the effects of that now, as a more normal pattern of leisure travel has returned. Ultimately, it's the end result of when you let bean counters and MBAs with no idea or concept of the business they're in call the shots.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If you have fewer oranges, you have to squeeze them harder.

It works, until....

You milk the cows harder…
…until they’ve had enough and kicked you

 

[monothingie]

You milk the cows harder…
…until they’ve had enough and kicked you

At this point they've switched to bulls.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The average American Individual carries $6500 in revolving credit card debt (unpaid portion of balance carried month to month).

$6500, that can pay for an OK WDW vacation depending on how many in your family.