New Retail Trend - Disneyland Closed on Major Holidays?

[TP2000]

I just saw that Recreational Equipment, Inc. (also known as REI) will be closing all 143 of its stores this Thanksgiving AND the day after Thanksgiving (also known as Black Friday). The CEO of REI is giving all of his retail employees in his big box stores two paid days off for Thanksgiving, and he is encouraging all of his employees to "get outside" with their families on the day after Thanksgiving and hike or camp or fish or just enjoy the outdoors together. http://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/rei-rebels-against-black-friday/

Full Disclosure: I have been a co-op member of REI since the 1970's. Although I don't shop there nearly as much now.

This seems to be an outgrowth of the growing cultural backlash against the Black Friday madness and the constant drumbeat of corporate profits and sales at the expense of family and health. I'm certainly no Bernie Sanders Socialist, but I think it's good to see the pushback on the non-stop quest for profits on what were once important holidays like Thanksgiving. There's change in the air, and its blowing through the malls of America right now.

So, what if Disneyland joined this trend and closed on major family holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas? Disneyland is now the largest single-site employer in California with over 27,000 Cast Members working there.

What if Disneyland's executive leadership realized there are more important things than profits and selling endless piles of plastic crap made in China and sold in The Emporium? What if Disneyland closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day so that most of those 27,000 Anaheim employees could spend the day with their families?

Could it even work? Would Disney ever dare close a theme park to give up a sliver of profits to improve the lives of their employees? Would TDA ever have the guts for that?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I like the idea of stores closing on Thanksgiving. No reason those Black Friday sales can't wait a day.

It wouldn't make sense for Disney though. Holidays are what allow guests to spend time with their families at Disney theme parks. The parks are crowded on those days because, for many people, those are the days they are free from work and school.

A store can close on Thanksgiving and the customers can come the next day instead. If Disney closes for even a day, people cancel their plans to visit for a week. That one day closure would have a huge effect.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Some families can only take their kids on vacation during school holidays like Thanksgiving. It wouldn't work for Disneyland to just close.

An alternative would be to give the employees working those days the equivalent of overtime pay.

 

[Phroobar]

Better yet, how about they close on sundays and let people go to church?

Nah, that's crazy talk.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It sounds nice but I think just treating employees better would go further.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Being a family destination resort, that won't happen.

 

[Californian Elitist]

The bigwigs at Disney would laugh their behinds off if the suggestion of closing Disneyland for Thanksgiving and Christmas ever came up.

 

[TP2000]

Holidays are what allow guests to spend time with their families at Disney theme parks. The parks are crowded on those days because, for many people, those are the days they are free from work and school.

Some families can only take their kids on vacation during school holidays like Thanksgiving. It wouldn't work for Disneyland to just close.

Being a family destination resort, that won't happen.

Playing Devil's Advocate, the implication behind those comments is that the families of the 27,000 Anaheim Cast Members are not as important as the families who want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day. If you want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving, your family is more important than a CM's family and those CM's should be prepared to be at work to serve you. (Someone will save those Thanksgiving CM's a plate of leftovers, I'm sure.)

If that's the case, why should any business close on Thanksgiving? If there are customers that want goods and services when it's convenient for them, that should trump any cultural importance behind a traditional "family" holiday. Or does that demand to serve us at any time only apply to Disneyland?

 

[TP2000]

The bigwigs at Disney would laugh their behinds off if the suggestion of closing Disneyland for Thanksgiving and Christmas ever came up.

Knott's Berry Farm is closed on Christmas Day. But I agree the modern Disney Company would never go for it. Unless it becomes Politically Incorrect to be open on major holidays, if the trend of REI, Patagonia and other such left-of-center businesses spreads.

 

[TP2000]

An alternative would be to give the employees working those days the equivalent of overtime pay.

As I understand it, most CM's are unionized and all receive daily overtime and holiday pay.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Playing Devil's Advocate, the implication behind those comments is that the families of the 27,000 Anaheim Cast Members are not as important as the families who want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day. If you want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving, your family is more important than a CM's family and those CM's should be prepared to be at work to serve you. (Someone will save those CM's a plate of leftovers, I'm sure.)

If that's the case, why should any business close on Thanksgiving? If there are customers that want goods and services when it's convenient for them, that should trump any cultural importance behind a traditional "family" holiday. Or does that demand to serve us at any time only apply to Disneyland?

There are certain jobs that don't have Holidays in the traditional sense. I'm a news photographer. The news comes on everyday. People have to work it. And even if the news didn't come on, there would still be workers at the station. Because when was the last time you saw a TV channel put on the Indian head slate for 24 hours. I will be working both Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I will gladly take the monetary compensation that comes with it.

I expect the first responders and hospitals to be staffed. Family Destination Resorts that cater to families that, a lot of the time, can only travel during holiday periods, have to be open for their client base.

It's nice that REI is doing this, but I wouldn't expect it if I worked retail. And certainly wouldn't complain about not getting it.

 

[DHoy]

A lot of families who work for Disney understand the necessity to work on Holidays and as such they max their hours to rake in on holiday pay and double time then celebrate at another time. It's not uncommon in the service industry. when i worked at Disney I would voluntarily extend and voluntarily request extra hours on holidays just to take in the extra cash. During the holidays it was not uncommon to work 80-100 hours during a week and most being calculated at double time. One New Year's Eve I worked 5:45 am until 1:00am with the last 8 hours just being crowd control.

In my opinion if they closed on holidays the effect would be lost income and lost opportunity , I didn't have a family to share holidays with in Florida I went home to the Midwest the first week of December and celebrated thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. So in my opinion closing would be a terrible idea.

Afterthought: the people who visit those days have the highest expectations and the least understanding of a theme park as such more cast are required to assist and direct so closing would be a high financial imposition on so many cast who expect to max out during that period.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Playing Devil's Advocate, the implication behind those comments is that the families of the 27,000 Anaheim Cast Members are not as important as the families who want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day. If you want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving, your family is more important than a CM's family and those CM's should be prepared to be at work to serve you. (Someone will save those CM's a plate of leftovers, I'm sure.)

If that's the case, why should any business close on Thanksgiving? If there are customers that want goods and services when it's convenient for them, that should trump any cultural importance behind a traditional "family" holiday. Or does that demand to serve us at any time only apply to Disneyland?

Your query can just as easily replace 'holiday' with 'weekend,' another time when people enjoy not working and spending time with family and friends.

I think it could also be argued that these "anti profit obsession" decisions are in fact "profit obsessed" decisions. Anecdotally myself and many of those I have known vied to work major holidays because, as hourly wage earners, these few days could be of significant reward with overtime and holiday pay. The insanity of Black Friday is something that is specifically engineered for its spectacle and not really associated with a lot of the stores starting to take up this initiative. I would not be the least bit surprised that these decisions are being made because these companies are finding that the loses of being closed for two days are less than those incurred by additional security and staff who are getting racking up overtime and holiday pay.

 

[Californian Elitist]

What they need to do is bring back the CM Christmas parties. So glad I caught the last one before they were discontinued.

 

[RandomPrincess]

REI is not a traditional business they are a co-op. They can get away with things other businesses can't. - http://www.rei.com/about-rei/business.html

"Being a consumer co-op, rather than a publicly-traded company, enables us to focus on the long-term interests of the co-op and our members. We answer to you—our members—and run our business accordingly. And it means that we're able to operate a business that plays a vital national role in growing outdoor participation and protecting the environment for future generations.

Anyone may shop at REI, member or not. But co-op members pay $20 for a lifetime membership to join and receive a portion of the cooperative's profits each year based on a percentage of their eligible purchases, among many other member benefits."
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I would also think all those families that make visiting Disney on the holiday a tradition would would get mad if Disney closed. Also by closing on Christmas a Christian holiday they would be inviting possible drama from non-Christians.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Playing Devil's Advocate, the implication behind those comments is that the families of the 27,000 Anaheim Cast Members are not as important as the families who want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day. If you want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving, your family is more important than a CM's family and those CM's should be prepared to be at work to serve you. (Someone will save those Thanksgiving CM's a plate of leftovers, I'm sure.)

If that's the case, why should any business close on Thanksgiving? If there are customers that want goods and services when it's convenient for them, that should trump any cultural importance behind a traditional "family" holiday. Or does that demand to serve us at any time only apply to Disneyland?

It's not just one day. If Disney closes for Thanksgiving, they lose all of those customers that would have come for the entire week or long weekend.

I don't think that a store opening on Thanksgiving is about convenience for customers. Most things can wait a day. It's about maximizing profits.

I wasn't suggesting that Disney being open on holidays is about giving in to customer demand or that anyone is more important than anyone else. It's simply the reality that a business geared to tourists is going to be open on major holidays. Like any of us, when we accept a job we accept the hours that go with it. Working in tourism or retail inevitably comes with hours that aren't the traditional nine to five.

As lazyboy97o pointed out, the argument could be applied to weekends as well.I'd expand that to include evenings too. A Disney resort that closed at 5:00 daily, and on weekends, and on holidays, is a Disney resort that ceases to exist.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

Don't forget about families that do not recognize Thanksgiving or Christmas as holidays. To them, these days are like any other normal days and they want to enjoy the parks.

 

[tirian]

Don't forget about families that do not recognize Thanksgiving or Christmas as holidays. To them, these days are like any other normal days and they want to enjoy the parks.

The parks are clearly decorated for Christmas. Families that don't recognize those holidays understand what it is for others, and certainly wouldn't enter DL on Thanksgiving or Christmas without expecting to see those holidays being celebrated. There's no reason for Disney or any other company to pretend the biggest shopping season of the year doesn't exist.

That said, there's no way modern DL would close for 24 hours unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Phroobar]

There is no reason to close for holidays or sundays unless there was a huge cultural shift in the exact opposite direction we are trending right now. Something would have to put the fear of God in people to make that happen.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Playing Devil's Advocate, the implication behind those comments is that the families of the 27,000 Anaheim Cast Members are not as important as the families who want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day. If you want to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving, your family is more important than a CM's family and those CM's should be prepared to be at work to serve you. (Someone will save those Thanksgiving CM's a plate of leftovers, I'm sure.)

If that's the case, why should any business close on Thanksgiving? If there are customers that want goods and services when it's convenient for them, that should trump any cultural importance behind a traditional "family" holiday. Or does that demand to serve us at any time only apply to Disneyland?

I'd argue this:

First, it's a condition of working there. No one is forced to work there and if they don't like working Thanksgiving and Christmas enough then they can certainly quit and find employment elsewhere.

Second, while I kind of like the tradition of things being closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I don't think there ought to be a law about it (not that anyone has suggested that). I stay in on Thanksgiving. I generally stay in on Christmas though I occasionally grab something to eat on Christmas day at a restaurant and, knowing they're working Christmas, give them a little extra in the tip.

All of this is handled via the free market. The people working at Disney see their working at Disney as more important than having Christmas or Thanksgiving off and realize that they can just have some other day off to compensate plus the money is a little more free flowing over holidays and, thus, many of them are compensated in that way.

I never have understood the Black Friday madness. Is it really worth it to deal with all of that nonsense for some chance (not guaranteed) of getting 25% off on a TV or whatever? Obviously, a lot of people think it is. I don't. I don't want anything to do with it.