I just want to know how lines are going to work with the new paid skip option. Myself, along with 40 million other parents, are not going to wait in 1-2 hour lines with our kids for every decently popular ride.
I don't care if they're catering to wealthier guests, the paid skip option will not be very popular as the pricing is pure insanity. I mostly work with low millions (1-10) net worth individuals. They all loved the fast passes when they took their kids. Take that away and put it behind a rediculous pay wall and people simply won't go. Most people making 400k a year will still laugh in a cast members face when they're gleefully told their 5 person family can skip the line for ONLY $75 frigging dollars...
Actually, most wealthy people I know won't even get into that situation above. They'll be smart enough to realize Disney is now up charging horribly for something that used to be free and they'll take their family elsewhere.
This will hurt Disney. Losing magical express with luggage being taken care of will hurt Disney.
They're going down a reckless path with negative repercussion that will ripple out for decades to come. Less people going, less lifelong fans being formed. A slow death.
It's like death by a thousand cuts. I just don't get all of the
stupid decisions being made by management. They seem to have totally lost sight of the Disney Parks legacy. They are intent on destroying every element of goodness and value involved with the theme parks in the name of profit.
That stock price is a demanding pimp, and those Disney execs are willing to prostitute the parks as long as they get their cut. This is simply not sustainable. Constantly making cuts, jacking up prices and demanding more contortions by guests will only drive people away.
I guess the good news is that social media is going to shed more light on what a disaster a Disney Parks vacation is being made to become. No amount of Disney fantasy spin can hide the fact that the parks and resorts are a cluster cluck of disappointment and that you way overpaid for what (little) you got (mostly frustration at every step of the way). There is a reason people are flocking to Universal, and I don't think it has anything to do with masks.
There is no leadership in the Walt Disney Company. I guess that's what happened when Iger cannibalized his replacement talent, and we were left with Chapek. I'm starting to get the sense that Iger has set up the company, especially the theme parks division, for failure after he (Finally) leaves. The village idiot is in charge and he only cares about the stock price. The irony is that Disney could have built upon it's success and chosen to meet the demand by (Gasp) building a 5th park, but the only thing that matters is the stock price (and executive bonu$e$) , so nope, that's a hard pass.
And yes, Disney is a company that must make a profit, but there must be a balance between profits and desirability. What is happening now to the parks is so ill conceived it is destined to serve them poorly, along with people who used to be devoted to a Disney vacation. You simply can't take a core component of your business and constantly erode it in the name of profits.
These are dark days indeed and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.
~NM