Layoffs underway at Walt Disney World

[alphac2005]

I never doubt the veracity of your information, but they must be pretty high class problems. In 2016, they were the #1 movie studio by an obscene margin. For 2017 so far, they are #2 at the moment in terms of market share - but when you actually look at those domestic numbers:

MARKET SHARE / GROSS (B) / # of films (total tracked/2017 releases)
1 Warner Bros. 19.6% $1,788.0 (29 / 16)
2 Disney 17.7% $1,614.2 (10 / 6)
3 Universal 16.0% $1,461.5 (15 / 13)

WB is only higher because they are releasing almost 3 times the films, and even then - once TLJ comes out, Disney will be rocketing to the top, again, by a crazy margin.

I don't have the worldwide numbers handy, but if I am not mistaken they show the same type of phenomenal success, especially when you consider the per-film averages. It's pretty incredible, considering where they started, particularly with live action.

(Edit, my little chart looks gorgeous in the editor, but like crap for some reason when it's actually posted - my apologies)

Quick note having been in the industry: Those numbers mean nothing. The data used to be poured over in the business, but now they're talked about like it's a Vegas bet with the public. You can have a film "make" $500 million, but many after marketing, theater sharing percentages, points, you name it and it winds up being less profitable than a $25 million film that grosses $125 million.

Some of the studios right now are akin to a big ecommerce company that are producing huge revenue, but still in the red.

A lot of these huge tent pole films are costing 300 million plus just on the production and marketing sides.

 

[AEfx]

Quick note having been in the industry: Those numbers mean nothing. The data used to be poured over in the business, but now they're talked about like it's a Vegas bet with the public. You can have a film "make" $500 million, but many after marketing, theater sharing percentages, points, you name it and it winds up being less profitable than a $25 million film that grosses $125 million.

Some of the studios right now are akin to a big ecommerce company that are producing huge revenue, but still in the red.

A lot of these huge tent pole films are costing 300 million plus just on the production and marketing sides.

True, but they mean nothing rather equally. The numbers themselves aren't indicative of specific profits/costs/etc. (they are overall grosses) but Disney is on top of the studio foodchain, no matter which way you look at it.

 

[mikejs78]

True... but...

You are conflating two studios. That list of four movies is two movies each from two studios for the next two years.

Disney Animation has Ralph 2 in 2018 and Frozen 2 in 2019. The last sequel DA did was Fantasia 2000 in 2000 and before that Rescuers Down Under in 1990. That's a very long run without sequels. The shelving of Gigantic was indeed unfortunate (or, a symbol of the problems hinted at). Additionally, Lin-Manuel Miranda is working on an unnamed animated musical project (in addition to starring in Mary Poppins 2 and helping with Live-action Little Mermaid).

Pixar Animation has Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 coming out in 2018 and 2019. After that, there are two new animated features scheduled for 2020, and then two more new ones that are in early stages. So, after TS4, comes four non-sequels. [see here]

That's all fine, and I'm even looking forward to a couple of those sequels (Incredibles, Ralph). TS4 seems one trip too many to that well, but I thought the same thing about TS3 and that turned out to be wonderful. Frozen 2 is the one that really seems like a money grab, but I am open to be proven wrong.

It's not the idea of sequels that bug me, it's just how there are so many stacked up with nothing original for a few years now. And I know they are two different studios, but they share the same management team...

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

I’m going to echo some of the others in this thread and plead that the ancillary discussions on completely separate parts of The Walt Disney Company’s performance be moved elsewhere. There are definitely some outside influences to the resort, but box office performances and ESPN have little to no impact to the restructuring of the day to day operations at Walt Disney World.

Let’s be clear that a large reason we may be seeing this is a direct result of Chapek coming in nearly two years ago. The largest change he made was the restructuring of removing the “area manager” position (that focused on being a leader of leaders for a specific line of business) with the replacement of a “proprietor” who oversees multiple lines of business (attractions, food/beverage, merch, etc.) in a given area of the Theme Park/Resort. It is a fantastic comparison of Chapek, a man who never worked at a Theme Park or a Resort, is now leading the division.

We also need to consider the continuous shuffling of “old guard” executives from one position to another. How many times have we seen the VP of one park move to another and dramatic improve the Guest’s or Cast Member’s experience?

You also still have the lingering effects of MyMagic+ still eating into labor that for all intensive purposes was only meant to be a temporary stopgap measure until the program was seamless. Those service/support areas are continuing to require more bodies as transaction times take much more time as well as the daily system “enhancements” that cause downtimes.

The place where these layoffs need to occur are in the positions high up within finance. Individuals who continuously try to milk the property for every cent possible with no regard to how it impacts the operational folks or the Guest’s intent to return. However a cursory search at disneycareers.com will show you how much of a need there is to hire individuals with degrees in finance, MBAs, and the like.

As a result, just look online right now at Disney World.com at how bloated the policies are surrounding dining, resort, ticket, FastPass, and other reservations. Call up someone on the phone today with Walt Disney World and ask them what the cancellation policy is for each one of those things. Ask them how soon you can book those elements of your trip. Ask about blockout dates for Annual Passes and the differences between them - peak versus non peak pricing differences for the resorts and restaurants as well. Ask them to explain what FastPasses are tier one at each park. You will be lucky to find one person who has all of that information to begin with before being transferred to another area.

The entire experience at Walt Disney World needs to return back to its core internally.

 

[larandtra]

While I certainly hope for the best for any employee of WDW who posts here and reads these boards, everything I have heard regarding the current changes going on, is to A. Eliminate Duplication of positions, B. Reorganize mid to upper level management in order to fix many of the "cast" issues and improve the overall park experience not only for guests, but employees as well, and C. To put things under one vision rather than having too many voices in the room and creating situations where there are multiple directions of leadership. Unfortunately,a s part of that, there are layoffs, not only of hourly employees, but, of management as well. I believe the hope is to return to what WDW was not only from fixing and reimagining the parks, but, to the cast and guest experience as well. The group, mainly led by a couple of very outspoken influential leaders who have the respect of others in leadership, are getting their way. All of this talk by some on here who are nothing more than rabble rousers and whiners is just that..Talk. They know nothing and their opinions on this matter are so far wrong it is not even funny. This is a change in direction and it will have an effect on a lot of people. But, in the long run, based on those leading this charge and the person(s) who will be given more control over WDW as a whole, this will be a good change.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Maybe you could read my post and follow the link and find out.

That was a rhetorical question...the answer is "not much"

Lack of original films is a legitimate complaint at this current pace.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Quick note having been in the industry: Those numbers mean nothing. The data used to be poured over in the business, but now they're talked about like it's a Vegas bet with the public. You can have a film "make" $500 million, but many after marketing, theater sharing percentages, points, you name it and it winds up being less profitable than a $25 million film that grosses $125 million.

Some of the studios right now are akin to a big ecommerce company that are producing huge revenue, but still in the red.

A lot of these huge tent pole films are costing 300 million plus just on the production and marketing sides.

...thank you.

Fans...especially disney ones...are obsessed with receipts. But that doesn't mean that much.

The Walt disney company makes about 10% of its yearly money off movies...while Espn was 40 and declining and the "value" parks are 30% and rising...

So no matter how much backpatting you do for movies...the money really isn't there. It's much more effective as a driver for other sales/product.

Which is why the Star Wars movies have to continue to improve in story/quality...that's how it will be worth more.

 

[beachlover4444]

It's the good-ole get rid of the higher salary people and give the younger people a "title" but pay them less then the people who are actually qualified to do the job.

that's how it usually is everywhere else across america

 

[beachlover4444]

Orlando Layoffs Pile Up - 145 Laid Off
https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando...-why-disney-plans-to-lay-off-145-workers.html

They are reporting massive layoffs unlike any ever seen at Disney coming in mid-December.

In the grand scheme of things 145 out of 30 thousand plus is minor compared to Sea Worlds smaller staff getting rid of another 350. But having gone through buyouts and layoffs I know any job loss stinks. But every company out there is trying to find a way to squeeze every penny for all it's worth. And honestly, back in the "old days" before everyone learned the phrase "I wanna speak to your manager" for every petty complaint and employees could handle guest complaints themselves, we didnt need those lower level mid managers like we do now.

 

[peter11435]

In the grand scheme of things 145 out of 30 thousand plus is minor compared to Sea Worlds smaller staff getting rid of another 350. But having gone through buyouts and layoffs I know any job loss stinks. But every company out there is trying to find a way to squeeze every penny for all it's worth. And honestly, back in the "old days" before everyone learned the phrase "I wanna speak to your manager" for every petty complaint and employees could handle guest complaints themselves, we didnt need those lower level mid managers like we do now.

Much higher than 30,000+

 

[beachlover4444]

.
It's a bit disingenuous to say Disney isn't investing in their parks. Star Wars land.. GoTG, Tron, the Rat, Pandora, Disney Springs, the new Star Wars Hotel, Toy Story Land, the redo of Future World, etc.. That's a lot of stuff recently completed or currently in process. You may or may not like some, many, or all of these things, but to say Disney isn't investing in the parks is foolish.

They are investing in the parks but there was a time when they didnt do it fast enough and they are now playing catch up. Look at how long Hollywood and Epcot has waited for updates. Universal is much quicker to pull the trigger on an attraction and add something new or update it. My issue is with these massive updates, Pandora, Star Wars, Toy Story, there arent enough rides being put into the new lands. Yes they are going to be aesthetically beautiful but you have to put atleast 1 E-ticket ride with 3 smaller ones in a new land. Hence the 3 hour wait for Pandora which is ridiculous.

 

[beachlover4444]

I’m going to echo some of the others in this thread and plead that the ancillary discussions on completely separate parts of The Walt Disney Company’s performance be moved elsewhere. There are definitely some outside influences to the resort, but box office performances and ESPN have little to no impact to the restructuring of the day to day operations at Walt Disney World.

Let’s be clear that a large reason we may be seeing this is a direct result of Chapek coming in nearly two years ago. The largest change he made was the restructuring of removing the “area manager” position (that focused on being a leader of leaders for a specific line of business) with the replacement of a “proprietor” who oversees multiple lines of business (attractions, food/beverage, merch, etc.) in a given area of the Theme Park/Resort. It is a fantastic comparison of Chapek, a man who never worked at a Theme Park or a Resort, is now leading the division.

We also need to consider the continuous shuffling of “old guard” executives from one position to another. How many times have we seen the VP of one park move to another and dramatic improve the Guest’s or Cast Member’s experience?

You also still have the lingering effects of MyMagic+ still eating into labor that for all intensive purposes was only meant to be a temporary stopgap measure until the program was seamless. Those service/support areas are continuing to require more bodies as transaction times take much more time as well as the daily system “enhancements” that cause downtimes.

The place where these layoffs need to occur are in the positions high up within finance. Individuals who continuously try to milk the property for every cent possible with no regard to how it impacts the operational folks or the Guest’s intent to return. However a cursory search at disneycareers.com will show you how much of a need there is to hire individuals with degrees in finance, MBAs, and the like.

As a result, just look online right now at Disney World.com at how bloated the policies are surrounding dining, resort, ticket, FastPass, and other reservations. Call up someone on the phone today with Walt Disney World and ask them what the cancellation policy is for each one of those things. Ask them how soon you can book those elements of your trip. Ask about blockout dates for Annual Passes and the differences between them - peak versus non peak pricing differences for the resorts and restaurants as well. Ask them to explain what FastPasses are tier one at each park. You will be lucky to find one person who has all of that information to begin with before being transferred to another area.

The entire experience at Walt Disney World needs to return back to its core internally.

AMEN on several points you made. I recently bought a 2 day single park ticket. We decided to come for 5 days instead. I called to see if I could either get the 2 day ticket refunded and buy a 5 day or just pay the difference for the 5 day ticket. I was told, wait til you come and go to guest relations to get it switched. I said I dont want to wait, I want to book 5 days worth of fast passes now as it's about the 60 day mark and I am staying on property for part of the stay. Nobody knew what to tell me, I got transferred and put on a 30 minute wait for the next operator. When you create something new like they did with online booking, online checkin, magic bands, fastpasses, etc yes you may be able to eliminate the number of people checking guests in but there will be more need for handling issues and changes. It's a flip flop trade off. I work for a large hotel chain for the past 16 years across various brands. We run bare bones. Clearly mobile checkin, direct to room ability, was put in place to get rid of a front desk associate. Encouraging guests to opt in for more points by avoiding their room being cleaned to save on housekeeping hours. What is happening at Disney, especially within the resorts has been happening at Marriott and Hilton as well.

 

[beachlover4444]

I'm not a big shopper. I miss Pleasure Island...it was a blast. The whole "outdoor mall" thing is just feeling weak as being part of the WDW experience. We stop into the Lego Store for our boys, and hubby used to love Planet Hollywood, but outside of those 2 spots, there's really no reason we'd ever set foot there.

I am with you. I miss pleasure Island. We would go up there, the environment was fun and vibrant. We dont consume alcohol but we went into the country place and danced and listened to music, loved Fireworks Factory (still have their glass), loved the difference between the marketplace and PI. I feel like now its just like any other high end mall. I only go there for the world of Disney store and the candy store. If I wanna shop those other brands I can go to a mall back home. Clearly this was catering to the foreign guests who shop and take stuff home with them, not for the Disney fans who went there for a Disney experience. The one good thing they did do there is the parking garages.

 

[NormC]

You are new here so just an FYI I am over-dramatic about everything

I question how new they really are. And now they are gone. Until next time.

 

[larryz]

Breakfast at nearly every Disney buffet ('Ohana is the worst offender) is nothing but warmed Sysco products - no different than you'd find at any airport snack bar - yet people rave about it, because they think its Disney so it must be good.

Your other points aside, with most of which I agree, I have to ask: what's wrong with Sysco products? I happen to like Sysco prepared foods. I also like Stouffer's mac-n-cheese.

Sysco doesn't dress its employees in character costumes and send them to your table for interaction and autographs. Sysco won't rent you a room in the "Heart of the Magic" so you can live in a Disney bubble for a week or so. And Sysco doesn't cook your made-to-order omelette at the breakfast buffet.

 

[NearTheEars]

Because it used to be something that actually was special and one of a kind.

Can’t argue with that. But it clearly wasn’t making them enough $$$ so they moved on. We all know they’d be milking it for all it’s worth if it was. Maybe it was ahead of its time.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You know what's great...

The economy is "fantastic" according to all the pundits...yet jobs are being slashed and every business that sells products that require disposable income are in trouble...

We've crossed through the looking glass.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

It's still not a "all sequels all the time" deal. Both studios have had recent non-sequels and after these four, more non-sequels in the queue. That's the point.

Original projects have been developed at both studios, that were never formally announced, but were canned. (Teddy Newton’s Pixar feature and a Disney teen space race movie by Dean Wellins) That’s not to say production on sequels is easier, often it’s rougher and directors get replaced, but the built in financial incentive to make sequels helps them get over the finish line.

It’s not like they aren’t trying, but TWDC always intended to use sequels to justify the $7 Billon price to acquire Pixar.

 

[The Mom]

Could people please get back on the topic - layoffs at WDW. Not Disney Springs, Star Wars movies, etc. People want to know the who, when, and where - not so much the why. At this point. So rather than speculating about the why, could people please stick to reports of actual lay-offs.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Could people please get back on the topic - layoffs at WDW. Not Disney Springs, Star Wars movies, etc. People want to know the who, when, and where - not so much the why. At this point. So rather than speculating about the why, could people please stick to reports of actual lay-offs.

Is this the right place to look for "hard news" on layoffs?

That's an honest question...but seems like a little prickly - I apologize.