OK, I'll Admit it...Disney Prices Are Out Of Control

[Chef Mickey]

I think at least $100 comp for the lack of internet was appropriate, as was comping your meal. IMO LeCellier should have done something for you too, without prompting. It’s a steakhouse. You ordered steak.

In my experience with Disney, they have always addressed personal problems that we’ve encountered in an appropriate way that often times has gone above and beyond. Sometimes issues were handled by CM, like when little red ants were crawling out from behind the mirror in our bathroom area. I always write a letter after trip, and give names of CMs who were excellent as well as detail overall vacation experience. There was one instance when I received a call regarding a horrible customer service experience from concierge. The cast member that called was wonderful to talk to and offered a fantastic comp To make up for the bad experience. Never did I ask for anything, but I did accept it. In that call he also discussed multiple past trips I had at Disney. I imagine from all the data they keep us.

Like the op, I love Disney, but I have also seen things deteriorate from a quality aspect. The lack of staffing at rides and having rides not fully operating to capacity are what I have noticed the most. Upkeep of public areas is another. I don’t look at lightbulbs and such, but I do notice things like having an electrical cord duct taped down across the walkway at the Kidani pool bar area.

I am glad that despite the issues, you were still able to make great memories with your family.

Thanks for the feedback. I was quite disappointed at ale Cellier, but I admit, the second steak was absolutely perfect. I don’t like to keep complaining and/or make a big deal to get what I want. I let it go. I might complain later, but I’ve already emailed guest services with no response.

Absolutely. You have to roll with some of the bad and remember this is not an easy business. I stay at many nice hotels around the world and have even xperienced issues with the Ritz and Four Seasons. It’s all about how you respond and generally Disney responds well.

I am slightly irritated they haven’t responded to my email yet.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I was at MK on July 3rd and at one point 14 rides were down across property - my kids counted them in the app. The app said at Animal Kingdom, both Pandora rides were down as well as Everest. Even Tom Sawyer Island was down due to kneel boat issues, that’s a first for me.

Can confirm. That was the day I was there and left MK because Thunder, Space, Pirates, 7DMT, and Pooh we’re down at the same time.

 

[John park hopper]

Thanks for the feedback. I was quite disappointed at ale Cellier, but I admit, the second steak was absolutely perfect. I don’t like to keep complaining and/or make a big deal to get what I want. I let it go. I might complain later, but I’ve already emailed guest services with no response.

Absolutely. You have to roll with some of the bad and remember this is not an easy business. I stay at many nice hotels around the world and have even xperienced issues with the Ritz and Four Seasons. It’s all about how you respond and generally Disney responds well.

I am slightly irritated they haven’t responded to my email yet.

Took 3 weeks to get a response to my email concerning a magic band issue. May be they are over loaded with guest issues or short staffed?

 

[xdan0920]

You own shares in Disney? Then I can see why you would want people to continue to drink the Kool Aid. I would do the same thing if I owned Disney stock.

I own a ton of Disney stock. Don't group us all together. I can't think of anyone I'd less like to be grouped with actually.

 

[Indy_UK]

The prices are continuing to rise at a rate that I'm not thrilled with but Disney is Such a big part of me and my families life.

If we want to continue going then we need to pay for it. Being from the UK, my family can't sustain an £8,000+ trip every other year.

We are doing a big trip next year which will include a cruise but after that we've decided that we are going to save like crazy for a year or two and buy DVC resale (probabaly at AKL) as it's the only way we feel we'll be able to continue going. We're looking at about £15,000 but it will cover us for a good 30+ years. It's worth the money upfront.

It's down to me/family to make it affordable.

 

[jloucks]

Disney has finally priced me out of ever visiting again. I priced a three night visit and it would cost more than I make in one month (including air). Disney has always been expensive, but I thought still provided some value. Seems now Disney raises prices because they know people will still pay for the experience!

A vacation for a family of 4 (for example) can cost more than you make in a month. We spent over $20,000 on a vacation to Hawaii! Now, I do make a lot of $$$,, but not that much.

My small point being, don't base monthly income as a sole decider of your family vacations. It will make lots of cool stuff off the table. Many of us spend more than our monthly incomes on vacations sometimes.

For me, it is all about the value. It is worth spending X amount? Right now, no. ...but for different reasons (crowding).

And you are right, people are still paying for the experience. In droves!! ...whatever a drove is.

 

[jloucks]

I wonder (and I do not know folks, just wondering) if Disney views certain guest as a "depreciating" asset. lol. for example, us DVC'er who purchased early on. I've gotten my value worth out of my purchase, disney knows this. they probably assume that we do spend less money over the years so after say 10 years they don't even count us as having any type of monetary value??

I'd be willing to bet they do to some extent.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Took 3 weeks to get a response to my email concerning a magic band issue. May be they are over loaded with guest issues or short staffed?

Just got a response but haven’t had a chance to read yet. I’ll let you know what they say.

 

[Disney.Mike]

As many of you know, I'm a long time Disney supporter and apologist when it comes to pricing. I admit it, price increases generally don't bother me because I still feel I'm getting a lot for my money. To me, the service always matches or exceeds my cost.

HOWEVER, I believe WDW has listened to too many consultants in the effort of margin expansion. This is includes not only charging MORE for the service, but neglecting the service itself.

I am fine with price increases if the delivery of service is not compromised, but I am starting to see that slipping. Here are a few examples I experienced in my most recent July 4th trip that made me question the quality of service.

1) Rides operating at half capacity - Is this to minimize staff? Pirates, Tower of Terror, and even It's A Small World only had half the ride operating on the Fourth of July. I mean, is this offseason now? Accordingly, wait times were 105min for ToT at 8:30AM during EMH, 50min for Small World, and 70 for Pirates. Tower of Terror was blamed for "maintenance" which I'm not sure is true, but I've seen them doing that at various times throughout the year. Only 2 of 4 lifits operating which points to minimizing cast member hours.

2) Food quality in general - One specific example is Be Our Guest. I literally paid $29 for a French Dip, Soup, and drink. Previously, the meat was of decent quality but this time, fatty, cold, chewy, and overall kind of disgusting. The soup was good. At Narcoossee's, I sent my steak back and literally asked them if this is Prime Beef. For $75 for lobster/steak, I expected FAR better. This was the toughest NY Strip I've ever had. They comped my meal without asking, but selling this crap for premium price is shameful. That was a choice steak, AT BEST.

3) No Wi-Fi at Boardwalk - I am paying almost $400/night and LOVE staying here, but not having working Wi-Fi during any of my 5 nights is simply unacceptable at a Deluxe Resort. I called every night and was connected to IT support which wasn't able to solve the issue. I finally talked to someone that just straight up told me, "It's terrible and it's a bandwidth issue. Simply too many people on it. We are switching to fiber but it's a long process." I appreciated the honesty, but come on...I get Wi-Fi at Holiday Inn. They did give me $100 credit without asking. Le Cellier...asked for my steak medium...served it straight up well done. They got it right on try #2, but didn't offer anything for me having to eat separately from my wife.

4) Park Hours - I know we've been talking about this for a while, but I totally AGREE...park hours are a joke. During most of my nights, MK closed at 10PM and everything else was closed by 9PM. July 4th, MK was open until 2AM I believe, which was nice. In general, the parks need longer hours particularly for the prices chaged.

5) Toy Story Land Sucks - I tried to like it. I tried my best. It sucks. The queues are outside, it's hot, small, crowded, and the best ride there already existed. Alien totally sucks and Slinky is the Barnstormer+. These new lands are just not cutting it. New Fantasyland sucked too. Avatar was good, but I still think Na'vi is a C+ to B- attraction.

6) Maintenance is Poor - I'm there about every 2 months and the same crap is broken consistently. Spaceship Earth is a travesty. American Adventure has the same slow lift issue it had in May, no Jane, and all kinds of animatronic issues. Rides also seem to be "down" more. I don't have data to back this up, but the day I got there, Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan, Pirates, and Space Mountain were all down at the same time for hours. I finally left having not used my Multiple Experiences Fast Pass.

7) Many Concessions Closed During Park Hours - What's up with this? Trying to get some juice in Liberty Square and it doesn't open until 11AM? I used to get one every morning. Same thing at Hollywood Studios. If the park is open, everything should be open!

I had a great time, but these things are starting to get tiresome. Disney still DOES take care of complaints with a smile and are ready to give you concessions, but I hate to even have to ask.

2 weeks ago I would have argued with most of what you said, but here today I agree. I'm sitting in POR after a 8 night stay... Holy smokes this has been the worst trip I've ever had on every metric.

The Churo station in MK apparently doesn't open until 10 even when the park opens at 8 for EMH...

Details on my stay in the trip report section... It's gonna be a while before I go back

 

[Tony the Tigger]

But he got a high priced food cost item at no charge and $100 credit for no internet

If those and giveaways like those were the widespread norm then Disney would be bankrupt on day 8.


Disney is better off offering quality experiences because believe it or not quality is cheap--- it really is---- and cutting corners/making mistakes/offering things half baked is expensive.

I agree. If my steak was off, bad enough that I would even say something, and they brought me a new one, then I have already been appropriately compensated, and they have already had to pay for an extra steak. I wouldn’t expect it to be comped unless I didn’t want a new one.

I don’t care if everyone else ate before me or whatever. Bring me some bread or if you want to comp something, maybe a drink or an app in the meantime.

Maybe, but regardless, they should know exactly what you spend.

If nothing else, they should be targeting you with meaningful offers you might actually take. I never get targeted, I never get coupons, I never get special treatment. It's a joke.

AP and DVC have constant offers, just not targeted individually most of the time.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The Churo station in MK apparently doesn't open until 10 even when the park opens at 8 for EMH...

Omg, how can you make it without a churro for breakfast?

 

[xdan0920]

Careful guys, you’re talking bad about his bff, he’s gonna start getting angry.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

They did the same in DL, raised prices everywhere, I believe APs by 20% or so in anticipation of the masses expected for the opening of SW GE. Well we all know what happened. It turned out people were far less thrilled by an insanely overpriced Star Wars Shopping Mall where everything you can do without paying is just one underwhelming attraction and where you see a planet no one knows and meet characters from the Disney Sequels which nearly ruined the franchise. Now they get the backlash they deserved for years. Not only GE is half empty the DL Park is as well. I am bathing in my Schadenfreude.

 

[Chi84]

Took 3 weeks to get a response to my email concerning a magic band issue. May be they are over loaded with guest issues or short staffed?

Glad to hear they finally responded!

 

[Chef Mickey]

Glad to hear they finally responded!

I got a response for a compliment I sent about a cast member, so I know I used the right address. Still waiting on my WiFi issue.

 

[Disney.Mike]

Omg, how can you make it without a churro for breakfast?

Considering breakfast was at at about 6:30 I made it just fine without one for breakfast... However a Churo for a snack at 9:30 would have been amazing

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Welcome to the dark side....

Park hours, running at half capacity, and maintenance are my biggest issues since we have been long outpriced on the food. There is no reason to cut summer hours so drastically while raising the price so drastically in the other direction. There is no reason that they should have as many maintenance issues nor should they need to run half a ride at any point during operating hours. It's shortsighted.

...we’ve been enjoying an extended run of excellent weather on “the dark side”...

Temps have been seasonably pleasant and visibility is at an all time high.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Absolutely. I already see the potential and perhaps it's why the standard has dropped before it gets better.

The new projects at EPCOT and DHS will perhaps be integral to restoring the "Disneyness" back to the parks. The neglect they've experienced is FAR worse than the staffing and operations issues. They just need good stuff in the parks. All my complaints can be easily addressed and I believe will be when the parks stabilize after all the construction and changes.

I was shocked - frankly - with your original post and can’t help but agree with your observations on quality and value.

This one - however - I cant agree with at all.

The additions to Epcot I think make it more likely they follow them up with staffing/quality cuts under the shield of improved crowds.

Epcot was too high of quality for its prices for 25 Years...those restaurants were really, really good...and the staffing was always much more than the bare minimum...

Now the food sucks, and I can’t see them continuing any of the “old ways” without massive cuts. It’s just how it is now.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I was criticized for accumulating shares in the $90-$100 range. Just as a discussion point, the stock has moved aggressively since the D+ announcement despite total domination in the parks for years. Ultimately, investors view the parks as a capital intensive, low margin business. Investors got excited about subscription service and rightfully so. The parks are underappreciated. Disney's power and dominance is also underappreciated, but the market has started to see that.

I do still think Disney is undervalued here, because Netflix can't compete with their content library, movie studios, parks, or merchandise. All Netflix has is their subscription model and now they don't even have that because Disney is going to hurt them.

Netflix is either extremely overvalued and/or Disney is undervalued. I think both are true, but Disney has been revalued based on recent news of D+.

Long story short, I'd wait for a pullback, but I'd never be against adding shares of DIS as a long term investment. Disney is in a dominant, impossible to compete position. You just can't duplicate Disney. Too expensive, too hard.

Not the time to buy...

That goes for you too, Liz.

They are trading at $130 a share and that is already overextended. And the bull will turn bear at some point and we are overdue.

It will drop - a lot - as Iger runs the gate at the Dopey Parking lot and throws his ID And parking pass out the window as his Maserati screeches down the road in the direction of Malibu...
...Disney isn’t a “skies the limit” kinda stock. It’s always been pretty solid and stable and enjoyed impressive gains...but gets dropped into a hole when the greater picture gets grim. It’s all travel and entertainment, not essentials.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Not the time to buy...

That goes for you too, Liz.

They are trading at $130 a share and that is already overextended. And the bull will turn bear at some point and we are overdue.

It will drop - a lot - as Iger runs the gate at the Dopey Parking lot and throws his ID And parking pass out the window as his Maserati screeches down the road in the direction of Malibu...
...Disney isn’t a “skies the limit” kinda stock. It’s always been pretty solid and stable and enjoyed impressive gains...but gets dropped into a hole when the greater picture gets grim. It’s all travel and entertainment, not essentials.

Gotta disagree just a bit here Sir, remember the parks are a small part of the portfolio. now of course there is going to be a bear market but Disney is built for long term.
The company is continuing it's box office domination, although I hate all these live action remakes, it's stock still has a relatively good strength line which means it's still outperforming almost 90% of the other stocks.

And when does it's on Disney + kick in?
It's not going to see crazy growth but for the next 10 years it's going to stay a strong blue chip. most analysis have it in the "buy" zone.


Why do you feel it's overextended?

totally agree with the highlighted but if someone has a solids asset allocation, Disney would definitely be the extra stock I picked up.