Labor cost cutting measures begin at Walt Disney World as the company enters Q1

[CaptainAmerica]

Islands of Adventure would like a word with you. 5 coasters (3 of which are world class,) 3 world class water rides, 3 hybrid thrill screen/dark rides, 1 traditional dark ride, 1 Cable car (I mean train,) 1 peoplemover, 3 spinners, a drop ride and 3 kids play areas.

I would still argue MK still beats both these two, but that’s due to nostalgia.

Ah yes, coasters.

These things are ten times uglier than the stupid barges in the World Showcase Lagoon.

 

[Jrb1979]

We experience Animal Kingdom quite differently and we'll have to leave it at that.

To each their own. When I mentioned how I don't relate to most of you here, that is one of the reasons. Theming doesn't do much for me. It's background, the rides are what's important to me.

Ah yes, coasters.

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These things are ten times uglier than the stupid barges in the World Showcase Lagoon.

That's another thing that I don't relate to. Coasters are a thing of beauty to me and should never be hidden in a building. Hearing the screams from riders when entering IOA gets my adrenaline going. You guys have your smiles that do that.

One more thing, I absolutely hate what has become of IPCOT. It was at its best in the days of Horizons and World of Motion. Now it's a glorified Food Festival almost year round and is slowly turning into MK 2.0.

 

[Touchdown]

Not even close to AK.

Does it have more rides? Sure. But that's it. There's no true immersion in a story like there is at AK.
Harry Potter would be it.

How does River Adventure, Kong, Spider-Man not count? They pull me into their worlds just as well.

 

[BubbaisSleep]

Ah yes, coasters.

View attachment 591434



These things are ten times uglier than the stupid barges in the World Showcase Lagoon.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but many actually love the sight of roller coasters. Especially when they're as well implemented like this one. There's nothing ugly about the photo you provided and watching the trains sour over the water is very exciting to watch.
I think using Rip Ride Rockit would have been a better example, Primeval Whirl, or the many roller coasters on ugly parking lots at your local Six Flags would have been a better example. The barges serve no purpose outside the show, they're just plain ugly.

 

[dreday3]

How does River Adventure, Kong, Spider-Man not count? They pull me into their worlds just as well.

When I say story and immersion, I'm talking about the entirety of the park, not just singular rides.

It's okay, everything isn't for everyone.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

How does River Adventure, Kong, Spider-Man not count? They pull me into their worlds just as well.

They're not worlds I care to be pulled into.

 

[jpinkc]

Chapek has offered to don the Tink costume in a forthcoming production. Class-act.

Where did I put my Bow and Arrows.....................

 

[UNCgolf]

But what happens if the ride with the shorter line actually has greater capacity?

Another factor to this that often gets ignored, is thinking that all capacity is the same. Or even that all attractions are the same. That they are interchangeable. It goes to reason that if you have a long line for the bathroom, you can build more bathrooms to relieve the stress, because generally bathrooms are interchangeable.

That isn't true with attractions. Building Pirates didn't make the line for Haunted Mansion go down. Building the Mine Train didn't make the line for Space Mountain shrink. Building something new doesn't make the demand for the existing attraction roster decrease across the board. Instead it pulls people out of those middle of the road experiences and causes them to wait in line, for something else. Attractions with high demand stay high, and the ones with lower demand decrease further.

And just to stay grounded, opening up a new attraction like Mine Train, which could routinely pull in a 120+ minute wait, just perpetuates the same complaints of long lines and overcrowding. Instead of complaining the wait for Space Mountain is too long, now you have people complaining the wait for Mine Train is too long.

The complaints are irrelevant, though. There's always going to be something with long lines that people complain about.

Since attendance is not going to increase proportionally with additional capacity, there will be lower wait times overall, even if certain rides stay long. If AK had another popular E ticket, the wait for something like NRJ would likely decrease. That's still a very good thing for guests -- it doesn't really matter if some people don't want to ride it. It's impossible to make everyone happy 100% of the time.

It's always better for guests to have more instantaneous capacity. Of course ideally you want it to be quality capacity, but there's really no feasible argument that adding attraction capacity doesn't make for a better park experience for the average guest -- within reason, at least; adding a bunch of carnival rides probably wouldn't.

 

[hopemax]

How does River Adventure, Kong, Spider-Man not count? They pull me into their worlds just as well.

It's because some people don't get the same feels from those franchises as they do from Disney's. And it's translating into meaning those things are inferior and not just different. Not enough recognition that many other people do get those type of feels and find them just as immersive and satisfying. I'm only eh on Spider-Man as a franchise, but I can recognize the attraction for the top notch experience that it is. I'm not going to be dismissive of the experience. I don't need the merchandise in Marvel island, but I find myself looking at it, especially the one with the comics far more than I should for someone with as little interest in comic books as I have. Food options could be better, however, but I basically can't eat in DHS anymore, I find it personally so bad, so two lands (Toon Lagoon, same problem) is still an improvement. Jurassic Park dinos pull me just as much as just about anything Disney has done since 1993. Satisfactory merchandise and food, and a great adult character opp. The last time I rode Kong, I was on the non-Kong AA side, so since I've ridden it a bunch, I decided to focus on the other wall. The one guests aren't supposed to be looking at. It's actually pretty amazing how much theming is on a wall most riders don't even see. They didn't just do a mottled paint job and call it good. I mentioned it to my Dad. So the next time he rode it, he looked at that wall too and was also impressed. I obviously prefer the giant Kong side, but I can appreciate the other wasn't a complete after thought.

 

[el_super]

The complaints are irrelevant, though. There's always going to be something with long lines that people complain about.

Yeah... That's the point. Adding new attractions doesn't really solve the capacity issue because there will always be long lines to complain about.

 

[UNCgolf]

Yeah... That's the point. Adding new attractions doesn't really solve the capacity issue because there will always be long lines to complain about.

That's not the point. The point is that it helps, not that it magically makes the issue disappear entirely. You're basically arguing that building new attractions does absolutely nothing which is nonsensical. Of course it helps.

It's like saying building Ratatouille at EPCOT was pointless because it doesn't do anything to help the park. Adding quality attractions isn't a panacea, but it's absolutely beneficial.

The bigger issue is that Disney let things stagnate in the parks for too long and thus they're now very far behind. They'd need to build several more attractions at every park to even begin to catch up, and they'd need to be able to open them all in a relatively short period of time to manage the large short-term increase in demand. In the long run the demand would level out, but it's a problem that dates back to the late Eisner and early Iger era and I'm not really sure how they dig out of the hole now.

 

[phillip9698]

yep. And the problem is there’s really not much left to cut.

Its bad enough to cut from park operations but any additional cuts from custodial, horticulture, and maintenance will be especially painful because these areas are quickly becoming noticeably problematic.

During our trip last month me and my wife both made comment about the number of weeds in the landscaping both at the resort and parks. It was very noticeable and not what we are used to seeing at all.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

That's not the point. The point is that it helps, not that it magically makes it disappear entirely. You're basically arguing that building new attractions does absolutely nothing which is prima facie absurd. Of course it helps; saying otherwise is nonsensical and ignores basic math.

Not only that, but you can't count updates and re-skins as "added capacity". Even with all the new builds, they're still a decade behind on adding hourly capacity and space in general to the parks.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

To each their own. When I mentioned how I don't relate to most of you here, that is one of the reasons. Theming doesn't do much for me. It's background, the rides are what's important to me.


That's another thing that I don't relate to. Coasters are a thing of beauty to me and should never be hidden in a building. Hearing the screams from riders when entering IOA gets my adrenaline going. You guys have your smiles that do that.

One more thing, I absolutely hate what has become of IPCOT. It was at its best in the days of Horizons and World of Motion. Now it's a glorified Food Festival almost year round and is slowly turning into MK 2.0.

I'll be honest and say that I don't quite follow this. If theming is just background and unimportant and you prefer to see and hear an exposed roller-coaster to something like Space Mountain, why are you upset Epcot has more IP and has moved from things like Horizons and World of Motion to Mission:Space, Test Track, or Guardians of the Galaxy?

The actual ride mechanisms of the newer Epcot are more thrilling than the older attractions, while the older attractions relied more heavily on theming.

Anyway, I'm with those who find AK the best part in Central Florida and one of Disney's best anywhere. It's the park that still most accords to all the things that made me get so into Disney Parks.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Are not locations nationwide struggling to find workers? If cast hours are cut perhaps affected ones can apply and work at non Disney locations in Central Florida to help with lost earnings.

That's what I was saying, but if they are just cutting back hours how does one find another job as a fill in when they aren't sure what hours they will be available from week to week. It think it is really bad, if that is what they are doing. I, of course, do not know how they are doing this, so I really can't say unless or until I know what type of system they use.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yeah but unused instantaneous capacity doesn't do anyone any good. The boats in Ellen were enormous, but they were empty.

They weren't in the beginning, they were always most full. The preshow was legitimately* standing room only and the vehicles were full and all three trains were operating. But, like what happened to the rest of Epcot, you cannot watch the same show over and over and over. Pretty soon you find some other place to be. Guardians will be full when it opens.

Spoiler: *

Yes, I know it was designed to be standing, but my point is that it was full and the CM didn't have to tell people not to sit on the floor because there was no room too.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'll be honest and say that I don't quite follow this. If theming is just background and unimportant and you prefer to see and hear an exposed roller-coaster to something like Space Mountain, why are you upset Epcot has more IP and has moved from things like Horizons and World of Motion to Mission:Space, Test Track, or Guardians of the Galaxy?

The actual ride mechanisms of the newer Epcot are more thrilling than the older attractions, while the older attractions relied more heavily on theming.

Anyway, I'm with those who find AK the best part in Central Florida and one of Disney's best anywhere. It's the park that still most accords to all the things that made me get so into Disney Parks.

On rides I love theming. I just don't think IP belongs in Epcot. IP has never been something that draws me to a park. Innovative and pushing the limits is what draws me. I loved Horizons ending and deciding how to get home. Toy Story Mania, I was blown away with on the new technology. I feel the same about coasters too and seeing new ones that push the limits on G forces.

Just to walk around a park to take in the theming doesn't do it for me. It's that kind of theming that I consider background.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

As a former merchandise leader, there have been numerous times the last few weeks I’ve been in stores and thought “omg they have way too many people working”. Also seen lots of cast at food and wine just standing there trying hand maos to people. So I can see some areas being asked to reduce labor, but I REALLY hope that doesn’t include custodial. Reducing labor isn’t always a bad thing, it’s good to get leaders to really look at the operation and see if they’re utilizing the cast in best possible way.

If I’m being honest, on my trip this past week I also felt for a company that is having “labor shortages” they had way too many cast in the stores just kind of standing around. I’m a manager in quick service food in the real world & I feel like they do have some inefficient use of staff going on right now. But just my option

 

[doctornick]

That's because DL has a ton of C/D ticket attractions that don't necessarily draw in new people, but are quality and absorb crowds. MK needs more of those, not more E-Tickets. And the other three parks need a lot more to make them full or 2-day parks.

I know DL has more ride capacity so this point has validity, but there's also the point that guest behavior at the two parks isn't the same. DL has a lot more of their guests who come for a few hours and maybe only ride a ride or two and watch F!/parade/fireworks. Or maybe they just come for a Dole Whip and to watch the Tiki birds. MK guests tend to go for longer hours and ride more rides - especially the headliners. Of course, I'm not saying that's everyone but in aggregate it adds up to a lot more people waiting in lines to ride rides throughout the year. Also IIRC (pre-COVID) MK would get ~10% more guests annually than DL which isn't insignificant.

(MK also has a good bit more show capacity than DL I would think)

 

[doctornick]

Doesn't Tiffin's have walkup availability pretty much every night? Alas, Animal Kingdom's strengths are also its downfall in that respect. It's too damn hot in there. I think there's a real psychological effect of being in that humidity that basically takes a meaningful TS F&B business off the table. People just don't have the stamina to make it to dinner time.

DAK is wonderful to "explore". But it needs a bunch more indoor "stuff" to allow folks to rest and cool off in between going between the cool outdoor things. And I'm not just talking rides (though the park could use some more dark rides) - if you are in Pandora, just waited for a while and rode FoP, don't want to wait for NRJ quite yet, what can you do to sit and rest? Why is there no indoor space for a show or exploration there? Or do you have to make a kinda longish walk to another land?

And the irony is that the park isn't open (much) in the nighttime when you could enjoy it in cooler weather.

That park needs some Tiki Birds/CBJ esque attractions big time in each land.