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

[Minnesota disney fan]

The World's Most Magical Celebration may be underway, but this isn't going to stop Disney from tightening the belt over the coming months.

I am hearing from multiple areas that the parks are being asked to heavily cut labor costs. A difficult situation when the parks are still in the process of coming back from the closure and guests numbers are starting to rebound.

Some of this is normal during Q1 in previous years, but 2021 is heavier than normal.

So that's why the big cutbacks and upcharges. It's disgusting. and transparent. They might pull it off, but to what end?? PO'd guests due to higher prices of everything and now paying options which cost more money. It became a sad place.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I can't seem to find the post right now, but at one point I asked if they were going to be laying off people that they just brought back in. Whomever, responded said that no one was getting laid off. A few posts later someone else said they are just cutting back on hours. I guess it depends on how many hours they are cutting back because if a CM isn't making ends meet with the current number of hours, how are they going to do it with less. It is easier to be laid off to find another job then to try and fit extra hours someplace else with Disney's, that probably changes from week to week or also know what to do if Disney suddenly decides that they need more this next week and want those whose hours were cut to come and work extra that week. I am not privy to how they are doing this stuff, but it seems like the more hardships they can place on CM's the happier management becomes.

 

[G00fyDad]

I can't seem to find the post right now, but at one point I asked if they were going to be laying off people that they just brought back in. Whomever, responded said that no one was getting laid off. A few posts later someone else said they are just cutting back on hours. I guess it depends on how many hours they are cutting back because if a CM isn't making ends meet with the current number of hours, how are they going to do it with less. It is easier to be laid off to find another job then to try and fit extra hours someplace else with Disney's, that probably changes from week to week or also know what to do if Disney suddenly decides that they need more this next week and want those whose hours were cut to come and work extra that week. I am not privy to how they are doing this stuff, but it seem like the more hardships they can place on CM's that happier management seems.

Precisely!

 

[Lilofan]

I can't seem to find the post right now, but at one point I asked if they were going to be laying off people that they just brought back in. Whomever, responded said that no one was getting laid off. A few posts later someone else said they are just cutting back on hours. I guess it depends on how many hours they are cutting back because if a CM isn't making ends meet with the current number of hours, how are they going to do it with less. It is easier to be laid off to find another job then to try and fit extra hours someplace else with Disney's, that probably changes from week to week or also know what to do if Disney suddenly decides that they need more this next week and want those whose hours were cut to come and work extra that week. I am not privy to how they are doing this stuff, but it seem like the more hardships they can place on CM's that happier management seems.

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.

 

[Trauma]

How long did it take for them to fix it after you reported it?

Less than 1 hour.

was very happy with the rapid response, but there is no way you can tell me anyone cleaned that shower and didn’t notice that the shower head wasn’t even attached to the wall.

 

[Jeff4272]

I think that WDW has gone too far and I think it's really showing right now........

Not ONE Christmas event is sold out yet and I think its because its overpriced (You can get 2 more FULL day passes with park hoppers to the parks for the same price as some of the Christmas tickets)

I think the pent up travel has already subsided and the 50th cant even give it the boost they were hoping.

I think all these cost cutting measures coupled with price increases are finally having the affect they should be on the consumer

 

[homerdance]

Less than 1 hour.

was very happy with the rapid response, but there is no way you can tell me anyone cleaned that shower and didn’t notice that the shower head wasn’t even attached to the wall.

Yeah, I often wonder why when they are cleaning they don’t fix the stuff. We have had the same issues at other hotels (not just Disney)

 

[hopemax]

Yeah, I often wonder why when they are cleaning they don’t fix the stuff. We have had the same issues at other hotels (not just Disney)

At Disney, the work would definitely involve employees from 2 different unions. Housekeepers are not maintenance and you don't do union work without authorization. If it's "plumbing" and not general maintenance, then that could be another wrinkle in the chain of "right" person. So the question is more, what is the process for Housekeeping to inform maintenance of work needing to be done, so it can be properly assigned? I don't see Disney Housekeeping writing up maintenance requests as part of their daily job, and could even be actively discouraged "don't create more work," my Mom would get that one while working the parks from her bosses. It could be, and for a premiere service, should be. And in some wacko way, someone could even know that a guest complaint would trigger a faster chain of process to getting things fixed, than a Housekeeping report.

 

[castlecake2.0]

At Disney, the work would definitely involve employees from 2 different unions. Housekeepers are not maintenance and you don't do union work without authorization. If it's "plumbing" and not general maintenance, then that could be another wrinkle in the chain of "right" person. So the question is more, what is the process for Housekeeping to inform maintenance of work needing to be done, so it can be properly assigned? I don't see Disney Housekeeping writing up maintenance requests as part of their daily job, and could even be actively discouraged "don't create more work," my Mom would get that one while working the parks from her bosses. It could be, and for a premiere service, should be. And in some wacko way, someone could even know that a guest complaint would trigger a faster chain of process to getting things fixed, than a Housekeeping report.

Every room is inspected by a specific person whose job is to solely double check rooms before releasing them to become available to check in. It seems like somewhere in the system something went wrong and the room was put as available and it wasn’t ready yet. It’s the same at table service restaurants, every one has a table assignor whose job is to send the seating ticket to print telling the seaters where to put the guests, but sometimes they’ll mess up or type the wrong number and end up assigning a guest to a table that’s still dirty.

 

[Brer Panther]

Adding capacity with new E-ticket attractions makes crowding worse, not better. You add a new attraction that increases capacity by 8,000 per day, and you end up with 12,000 new people showing up to ride it. And Disney fans think EVERYTHING is an E-ticket.

Disney didn't need to absorb more guests, they needed to redistribute the current slate of guests away from Magic Kingdom and away from Fantasyland in particular. That's where the crowds are. So you get Toy Story Land, Pandora, Galaxy's Edge, Runaway Railway, Rat, and Guardians in relatively quick succession. That's not a light slate, that's a ton of new stuff designed to draw people out of MK.

Adding an E-ticket to Magic Kingdom is the worst possible thing they could have done. They STILL can't properly absorb the line that forms at Mine Train, and that's a crap ride that opened 10 years ago.

So, building new rides doesn't help with crowding, and NOT building new rides doesn't help with crowding either... so what DOES help with crowding?

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.

Yes. This.

I rode Splash Mountain last week. They've given up on even pretending to put on a good show in that attraction.

I have the uneasy feeling it's because they know they're going to retheme it, so they don't see a point in trying to fix it.

 

[sullyinMT]

Yeah, I often wonder why when they are cleaning they don’t fix the stuff. We have had the same issues at other hotels (not just Disney)

A few good answers have been given, but sometimes things are overlooked or forgotten by the end of a shift. Plus, as was noted, customer complaints probably get faster action.
We once were on a Fantasy cruise and, upon getting our stateroom, called GS to inform them of a minor cracked mirror in one of the bathroom doors. Nothing to change our opinion of our cruise, but just something to note. We thought they might change it on turnover day or something. It wasn’t 2 hours later and maintenance was at our stateroom with a brand new door! Right as we’re getting ready for dinner - it was more of an inconvenience than the crack .

 

[UNCgolf]

Adding capacity with new E-ticket attractions makes crowding worse, not better. You add a new attraction that increases capacity by 8,000 per day, and you end up with 12,000 new people showing up to ride it. And Disney fans think EVERYTHING is an E-ticket.

The numbers don't work on this. That may have happened 25 years ago, but it doesn't happen now. New rides don't increase attendance significantly except for maybe a short period of time when the ride first opens because attendance is already high year round. The MK isn't going to go from, say, 45k visitors per day to 55k visitors per day because a new ride opens. Too many people already go to the parks all the time regardless.

Even Galaxy's Edge didn't really increase WDW attendance.

 

[SteveAZee]

I get all that. What gets me is why they can't follow what the majority of parks do? Every year that usually add a small ride and then every few years they add a major attraction. Instead for some reason every ride has to be a major attraction.

It does seem like one part of Disney only wants to build huge, blockbuster attractions that they can advertise, demonstrate they're industry leaders, and drive people in droves to the parks. The other part wants to figure out how to, instead, absorb and entertain as many people as possible by spreading them out across the parks and across the calendar. Those two approaches are, at times, at odds with each other.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So, building new rides doesn't help with crowding, and NOT building new rides doesn't help with crowding either... so what DOES help with crowding?

1. Minor attractions and diversions, *not* E-tickets.

2. More physical space, i.e. more square footage to stuff bodies.

3. Not having virtual queues.

4. Higher prices.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The MK isn't going to go from, say, 45k visitors per day to 55k visitors per day because a new ride opens.

You're thinking about capacity wrong (and, in your defense, I outlined it wrong).

The relevant comparison isn't "total attendance versus total ride capacity," the relevant comparison is "total attendance versus how many people can be ON the attraction or in its queue at a given point in time.

I believe @lazyboy97o is the resident expert on "instantaneous capacity."

 

[UNCgolf]

You're thinking about capacity wrong (and, in your defense, I outlined it wrong).

The relevant comparison isn't "total attendance versus total ride capacity," the relevant comparison is "total attendance versus how many people can be ON the attraction or in its queue at a given point in time.

I believe @lazyboy97o is the resident expert on "instantaneous capacity."

That's why adding attractions (including major ones) helps, though. The newest ride may have incredibly long lines, but that means shorter rides elsewhere in the park.

Of course, using virtual queues eliminates that benefit and causes the problem you mentioned, at least in the short term before attendance levels back out.

I love the term instantaneous capacity, by the way -- was very happy when he introduced it. I've talked about it regularly here without knowing that term. Disney has has actually lowered that significantly at EPCOT over the years by replacing long, high capacity attractions with short, often lower capacity attractions. Even if a replacement has the exact same hourly capacity, it can still have much lower instantaneous capacity if it's a 2-3 minute ride replacing a 10-15 minute one.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

That's why adding attractions (including major ones) helps, though. The newest ride may have incredibly long lines, but that means shorter rides elsewhere in the park.

Of course, using virtual queues eliminates that benefit and causes the problem you mentioned, at least in the short term.

Absolutely, if Disney wants to build a ride that commands a 4 hour wait, and they build the footprint to give it a 4 hour queue, and they have the operational fortitude to allow the wait to hit 4 hours, amen.

I love instantaneous capacity, by the way -- Disney has has actually lowered that significantly at EPCOT over the years by replacing long, high capacity attractions with short, often lower capacity attractions.

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

 

[ImperfectPixie]

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

Because the ride stagnated for however many years...which points back to...

Lack of investment in the parks.

 

[UNCgolf]

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

Very true. I wasn't making an argument to keep the old attractions untouched, though -- it was more an argument to replace them with something that doesn't cause a big drop in the instantaneous capacity. It's a bit wild that the instantaneous capacity at EPCOT in, say, 1994 was likely higher than it is right now, even though WDW's attendance is far higher than it was then. Disney could build a major 10-15 minute long attraction that people loved if they wanted to -- I think Rise is in that ballpark if you count all the preshows. Of course, when Disney skips the preshows, they're throwing that out the window as well.

Building Ratatouille as a new add helped there, though.

 

[Brer Panther]

1. Minor attractions and diversions, *not* E-tickets.

2. More physical space, i.e. more square footage to stuff bodies.

3. Not having virtual queues.

4. Higher prices.

I'll agree with the first three, but they've raised prices once or twice already and the parks are still apparently quite crowded.