Just a side note: I noticed ALOT of people with frowns on their faces, and looking stressed out. Not many smiles at WDW while we were there. I noticed a lot of people looking at their cell phones while in line and while walking, and were probably trying to find more fp's, which has to make it more stressful and less enjoyable = no time to enjoy the world in real time.
I think, long term, this is a
huge problem for Disney. Most people go to WDW because of nostalgia. It's a nice place and all that but they remember it from being kids and it gives them warm fuzzies. This is passed down generationally and, while you can bump up profits in the short term by reducing staff and charging more, you start to give families bad experiences and you lose that generational gear in your business model which can't be shown on a spreadsheet.
Add to it the word of mouth stuff. If you go to WDW, spend a bunch of money, and come back and complain about how expensive it was and how you couldn't ride anything because of the lines and maybe it looked a little dirtier and then a few things happen:
You feel a bit stupid dumping that much cash into a bad experience. I hit this a few years back with table service dining at WDW. I used to like it and would have a TS meal each night of my many trips, then the prices went up and the quality went down and all I was left with was, "I was stupid to pay that much for a lousy to mediocre (at best) experience." I started eating off-site but, at the same time, I was experiencing the same cost/value problem just in my overall daily visits until I reached the point that I stopped going.
Now, I don't go unless it's free (winning tickets at work, maybe). Even then my attitude is, "Do I really want to bother?" This is coming from a past AP holder for nearly a decade. That's not good. Add to it that I don't speak openly any longer about how great I think WDW is and, at the same time, if the conversation comes up, I'll talk about how it's not as great as it used to be but at least it's more expensive. That's a negative impact on others who may be considering taking their families to WDW.
I'm not trying to ruin Disney, it's just that, yeah, it's not the same value it used to be and you can rattle on about "..Disney is a business..." which is great but I'm not going back and I don't have a lot of good things to say about the experience. That's a problem, in my eyes, because I'm not alone.
Something to consider: Fast Passes were a big success because they gave the park-goer a positive experience and they went back and told their family and friends what a great time that they had and how fantastic it all was. I don't think that's the case any longer. You have your die-hard Disney fans who will think it's great no matter what but what WDW has done with staff cuts, increased prices, and other money grabs is shaven off a good number of folks that used to be pretty hooked to the pixie dust and landed where I am now.
Going forward, I think there's a good chance that the business decisions that are being made now (Disney is a business!!) are going to have some real adverse effects a generation out. That's OK for now because the current spreadsheets look great!