My Magic + details ...

[ford91exploder]

No, I think you miss the point.

His underlying point is that, for the money spent, one could get a lot more satisfying experiences elsewhere. (and at the deluxe level of spending, you certainly can)...

Agreed! - I'm a HIlton Diamond and Marriott Platinum member and I KNOW what those rates buy I spend way too much time in hotel rooms, Disney is charging midtown Manhattan rates and giving Motel 6 service and maintenance

 

[Captain Neo]

IMO, embassy suites is a far superior deal to the disney resorts. The rooms are very spacious, the standards are kept higher than disney's, it includes a very nice complimentary breakfast and a free happy hour thing too, and even if you don't have your own car they can bus you to disney world if needed.

Oh also they have had free wifi for over a decade now Disney is just catching upon that. What happened to the forward thinking, customer oriented progressive walt disney company?

 

[WDWDad13]

There is no value in Disney...ever. Their business is to make a profit and in this case, a huge one. Anyway you slice it, they are making huge amounts of money. And when you compare those prices to what it would cost to stay off property, you can see they are really raking it in. Whenever I think they have reached saturation point, I'm aghast to see that hotel and park tickets have gone up...again. $150/night to stay at Pop Century by the pool?? ITS A MOTEL! AoA is $315/night during that same period (2nd week of Oct). For a 1 1/2 motel rooms. I can't believe anyone thinks this is even remotely price worthy.

I can rent a house where 1 of the 5 bathrooms is bigger than the entire room at Pop and pay somewhere between Pop and POR in price. And in some cases, the house is closer to the parks than the hotels. The first time I was apprehensive about staying off property, but now that I've done, I can't see ever going back to staying at a WDW hotel.

It just seems the days of going to WDW on a budget or simply not breaking the bank are looooong gone. And if they were actually sinking this money into the parks, that would somewhat seem reasonable. But they aren't. Instead we get RFID bracelets and soda fountains that encourage $9 worth of soda to be drank per day per individual.

How dare they run a business!!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

How dare they run a business!!!

You have to love corporate loyalty. I bet the banks wish they had it.

 

[Clancy Wiggum]

Breaking news from 1971...Disney onsite rooms are priced at a premium level that some think is worth it and some think is not worth it. It is a very important topic worthy of hijacking a thread about a controversial major change currently being tested and implemented at WDW.

'Ya gotta luv them interwebs!

 

[WDWDad13]

Breaking news from 1971...Disney onsite rooms are priced at a premium level that some think is worth it and some think is not worth it. It is a very important topic worthy of hijacking a thread about a controversial major change currently being tested and implemented at WDW.

'Ya gotta luv them interwebs!

...and I hear it's NextGen's fault for the 1971 pricing

 

[dadddio]

If it were two items who's only difference is price, I would agree. That's not the case in this discussion, however. People who choose to pay more for a WDW resort do so because they believe that the expense is worth it.

Is that not exactly the same sort of supposition you criticise others for making?

It isn't supposition. It's basic microeconomics. It would be supposition if I attempted to define those people's reasons for believing that it is worth it to stay at a Disney resort.

 

[devoy1701]

Agreed...I was going more with what I felt they were worth and what was closer to the 'market' for the area.

If I were to add up everything at the full-on Disney rates, it would make it appear that we would be getting one heck of an amazing deal. Reality is that I feel like the rate that I saw was fair for what we expect to receive.

Sry. I thought I had read that you had taken rack rates (which people do have to pay if they're using the Dining Plan I thought). I just wanted to make sure people realize that you don't get a Moderate Resort for $120/night any more (or better yet, $99/night like passholders got back around 2008). $99-$120 is truly what those resorts are worth...nothing more.

 

[devoy1701]

How dare they run a business!!!

Again...simply Disney shouldn't get a free pass simply because "they are running a business." Disney's business used to be based on Show Quality and Service above all else...and that earned them a hell of a lot of money.

 

[dadddio]

This was one of my favorite things to do because when family too tired to enjoy parks why stay longer, Even did it with a 'magic' fastpass to a father and daughter as it was last day we were exhausted.

Disney just seem h--- bent on removing all magic from the Parks and Resorts

I think that there's two ways to look at that issue.

First, while my wife and I have also given away FPs before, I realize that that practice was technically a violation of Disney's rules. FPs are supposed to be non-transferrable, after all.

Second, unlike the current system where that FP that we gave away would have been otherwise unused, in the new system we will release it to be used by anyone else through the system. It might even be possible for that person that I would have otherwise given it to to obtain it, if our timing is good. (I realize that allowing a FP to be unused really doesn't have any meaning since everyone in the SB line will merely get to ride one person sooner, or not, depending on ride loading practices.)

 

[dadddio]

Again...simply Disney shouldn't get a free pass simply because "they are running a business." Disney's business used to be based on Show Quality and Service above all else...and that earned them a hell of a lot of money.

I don't think that the poster was saying that Disney should get a free pass. Rather, I think that he was making the point that a for profit corporation such as Disney is expected to generate a profit for it's shareholders. If people continue to book hotel rooms at a higher rate, there is little reason not to raise room rates.

Further, if those non-Disney hotels could charge higher room rates and still fill the rooms, they would increase their room rates faster than you can say 'buncha munchy crunchy carrots'.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

It isn't supposition. It's basic microeconomics. It would be supposition if I attempted to define those people's reasons for believing that it is worth it to stay at a Disney resort.

Really still sounds like your making assumptions to me as I said Im reading comments that people are making on non fan sites. But no doubt its a microeconomic reasoning for offering major discounts on these indisputably value for money resorts.

 

[KingStefan]

I don't think that the poster was saying that Disney should get a free pass. Rather, I think that he was making the point that a for profit corporation such as Disney is expected to generate a profit for it's shareholders. If people continue to book hotel rooms at a higher rate, there is little reason not to raise room rates.

Further, if those non-Disney hotels could charge higher room rates and still fill the rooms, they would increase their room rates faster than you can say 'buncha munchy crunchy carrots'.

Small distinction, which no doubt many will think trivial, but which I feel is significant:

Disney (by traditional business management standards) has a responsibility to maximize the present value of the future worth to the shareholders, not merely "to generate a profit".

What this means, for example, is that decisions that result in a higher short-term profit, but ultimately lead to the demise of the company (in an extreme case) are incorrect. Conversely, (again, for an example) if a capital investment reduces short-term gains, and has a payback too far in the future, then (because money has a time value) that is also incorrect.

In the context of this discussion, I think that there are some here who believe that Disney, by making decisions that bring in more money now, and letting some of the "magic" deteriorate, is hurting the future of the company. Also there are some who think that investment in mm+ is not justified because the short-term payback is not tangible.

Either way, their points are valid IMHO primarily because of the difference in objectives between "generating a profit" and "maximizing worth".

 

[bugsbunny]

How dare they run a business!!!

Thank you Captain Obvious. I had no idea they were trying to do that.

Actually, that was the underlying message. Disney is about business...shareholders...profit. Not about "magic" anymore. They still suck me in and make me want to go, there's no denying that, but I'm not disillusioned enough to pay their prices where I don't have to. Nor disillusioned enough to book a trip because I can now wear a wrist band rather than carry my wallet or door key.

 

[Tim_4]

Thank you Captain Obvious. I had no idea they were trying to do that.

Actually, that was the underlying message. Disney is about business...shareholders...profit. Not about "magic" anymore. They still suck me in and make me want to go, there's no denying that, but I'm not disillusioned enough to pay their prices where I don't have to. Nor disillusioned enough to book a trip because I can now wear a wrist band rather than carry my wallet or door key.

Ever consider it's YOU that changed, not Disney? Make no mistake, profit has always been the goal. You just started to figure it out. The perceived change was due to your waning naivety, not any actual shift in direction.

 

[wm49rs]

Thank you Captain Obvious. I had no idea they were trying to do that.

Actually, that was the underlying message. Disney is about business...shareholders...profit. Not about "magic" anymore. They still suck me in and make me want to go, there's no denying that, but I'm not disillusioned enough to pay their prices where I don't have to. Nor disillusioned enough to book a trip because I can now wear a wrist band rather than carry my wallet or door key.

Ever consider it's YOU that changed, not Disney? Make no mistake, profit has always been the goal. You just started to figure it out. The perceived change was due to your waning naivety, not any actual shift in direction.

And yet both the desire to placate the shareholders and the ability to continuer thrilling the people are found out in California, sans the investment in "magical" wristbands.....

 

[bugsbunny]

Ever consider it's YOU that changed, not Disney? Make no mistake, profit has always been the goal. You just started to figure it out. The perceived change was due to your waning naivety, not any actual shift in direction.

No, its obvious Disney has changed. I hate to use the Walt example, but I'll go there.

Would Walt be concerned about RFID soda mugs right about now?

 

[bugsbunny]

And yet both the desire to placate the shareholders and the ability to continuer thrilling the people are found out in California, sans the investment in "magical" wristbands.....

Indeed. If every WDW true blood would make a trip out to DL, they would open their eyes and see the "difference". Especially when you can stay across the street in a equally comparable hotel for 60% of the cost. Plus for me, my last trip out to DL is was cheaper to fly there than it was to go to MCO from PHL.

 

[Tim_4]

No, its obvious Disney has changed. I hate to use the Walt example, but I'll go there.

Would Walt be concerned about RFID soda mugs right about now?

Probably. He loved technology and wouldn't have been too keen on people stealing from him.

In fact, it's not too hard to imagine the citizens of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow paying for their groceries with a wristband or having their morning coffee prepared just the way they like it with a simple "tap."

 

[bubbles1812]

Probably. He loved technology and wouldn't have been too keen on people stealing from him.

In fact, it's not too hard to imagine the citizens of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow paying for their groceries with a wristband or having their morning coffee prepared just the way they like it with a simple "tap."

I would guess it is more a combination of Disney and the consumer (at least many on here) changing. Certainly Wall Street has always "ruled the world" since Disney went public. But! I would say short term profits have been way more emphasized (and this is not just a Disney problem) at the expense of long term gain/growth. And this has been reflected in the changes (or lackthereof in some cases) that have occured in the parks. And that's on Disney.

But I think more people are aware than before of the Wall Street mentality/emphasis with especially the big corporations. Probably has a lot to do with the recession, big scandals, the list goes on. And that's just part of "growing up."