On layoffs, very bad attendance, and Iger's legacy being one of disgrace

[Mouse Trap]

Kids.. kids!

Sorry guys. Thought I was on Twitter.

 

[coasterphil]

In the short term, though, are there really enough people who can/are willing to travel longer distances to stay at a WDW resort? I agree that slashing rates to rock bottom is likely to create more issues than it solves. For the time being, though, I struggle to see what they can do to attract the usual high-paying resort guests to travel to Florida in the midst of a pandemic. It seems more a matter of waiting until the situation improves. As the pent-up demand hasn't materialised by now, allowing in more APs who may at least buy a soda while they're there is one of the few options they have to generate extra revenue.

Based on my experiences in the parks so far, they don't have the staffing level to handle an increase in attendance smoothly. So it becomes a balancing act of ing off the folks that are paying with longer lines and more stressful interactions just for the low spend guest.

 

[PhotoDave219]

That is not correct. Most people ARE NOT ALLOWED to get on a plane. International travel is literally impossible and domestic travel from your big source states of tourists requires a 14 day quarantine when you enter the state and a 14 day quarantine when you get home.

Source?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Full reopening or stay closed.

I actually think opening MK only for Resort guests / limited day guests only would have been a smart first step financially speaking.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

They need to pick a lane. People who scoff at the pandemic won't go with a mask mandate and people afraid of the pandemic won't go no matter what, so Disney is appealing to literally nobody. They never should have half-*** reopened, it was doomed to fail from the beginning. Full reopening or stay closed.

Anecdotally, I hear WAY more "I'm not going if I have to wear a mask" than I am "I'm not going because I'm afraid of the virus."

I suspect Disney can't really weaken their policy on masks at this point even if they wanted to because of the attention it would attract and, based on the coverage of their opening, it would be almost all negative. So, they're kind of stuck with the regulations they way they are until the situation with the pandemic significantly changes.

Based on my experiences in the parks so far, they don't have the staffing level to handle an increase in attendance smoothly. So it becomes a balancing act of ****ing off the folks that are paying with longer lines and more stressful interactions just for the low spend guest.

The insiders are saying that attendance is way below what they were expecting with the current level of staffing, so theoretically they should be able to handle a relatively small bump in attendance by allowing APs in. If they can't, then it honestly seems like opening the parks at present is completely untenable.

 

[esskay]

If COVID acts like the flu it will significantly extend the time we take to adjust, including economically. Live action filming is essentially dead at the moment.

Actually its just restarted. A close relative works for a big production studio here in the UK and Netflix, Uni and Disney have all ramped up to full production both here and at their sister US locations.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I just want to say I appreciate the number of old timers posting in this thread.

It's a nice break from the usual "don't like it, don't go" and the fawning over Iger and the company's "brilliant" business decisions.

 

[DVCakaCarlF]

I get not wanting to turn this into a covid thread, but its very hard to not mention covid when looking at the economic impact that covid has had, especially in a thread about the economic troubles disney is currently facing. Really we won't see our economy salvaged until we have control over covid. And its all intertwined. The food market, travel market, schools, jobs, everything. Food prices have gone wayyy up,and the stock is becoming more scarce due to covid. That would definitely impact Disneys selection of shipments. Airlines are beginning to fly at or near the level they were in April, cancelling thousands of flights once again. Right now a lot of people are getting unemployment, some probably use that to go to wdw. When that money runs out Friday, I think disney will see even less bookings. When school is back in session, online or in person, there will be less time for families to take summer trips.
Disney would be telling a different story right now if covid never happened.

Please don’t contaminate this thread with more “Covid”....it’s hard for me not to get political.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Source?

Yeah, I used the word "most" flippantly. But almost the entire Northeast is under these restrictions.

COVID-19

coronavirus.health.ny.gov

COVID-19 Travel

If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume pre-pandemic activities including travel within the United States.

www.mass.gov

Travelers

COVID-19 is considered a national health emergency. ...

floridahealthcovid19.gov

 

[Nubs70]

The German breakfast spreads included in your room rate are incredible. The Berlin Hampton Inn breakfast bar is about 3x linear distance of Crystal Palace.

Breakfast spread at US Hampton Inn consists of reconstituted Nerf omlette with cheese and greasy turkey sausage patties. So depressing.

Load up on breakfast, brat or currywurst for lunch, then decent dinner. Easily feed yourself for $40/day or less.

One tip. Only use budget websites for research only. Never book through Expedia etc.
Booked a trip to Vienna this spring to visit daughter over spring break with Expedia. Covid killed it.

We waited until United cancelled then approached Expedia for direct refund not a flight credit. Expedia denied and we ended up at Chase. Success! Charge was reversed. Then 3 weeks ago Expedia charged our card for the flights again. So around we go again.

 

[mkt]

I think now would be a good time to remind everyone that the Disney Preservation Fund® is still accepting donations. Help us avoid bankruptcy and #SaveDisney by donating today!

Donations may be processed via PayPal or Bob Bucks.

#SaveDisney is back as a hashtag. 2004 really is back.

How many Bob Bucks before I can get a complementary #SaveDisney totebag?

 

[The Mom]

OK I get no politics but Covid is the reason for the decline. Almost all businesses are suffering from the pandemic, with the exception of PPE. Now if you mean arguing over what’s right and wrong with the strategies of how to handle the pandemic, then I agree with you. This isn’t the thread for that.

It goes without saying that Covid is a major contributor of economic problems - it goes without saying.

 

[Lilofan]

BBC article about Boeing ending 747 production and job cuts?

That's right. 747 plane production ending. At least 16K Boeing staff expected to get laid off.

 

[mkt]

BBC article about Boeing ending 747 production and job cuts?

That was going to happen covid or no covid. The 747 has been in decline for years (as have all four engined aircraft)

 

[mkt]

It goes without saying that Covid is at the root of economic problems - it goes without saying.

Thank god I expected a collapse to happen during this current term, and saved accordingly.

 

[cmwade77]

Can you speculate on why attendance is so low? Anecdotally I know of four separate parties who cancelled trips due to the one park per day limit and the reservation system.

Expecting people to pay thousands and only get into the parks guaranteed for 3 days of their trip is lunacy. If they want people in the parks, OPEN the parks and resorts. This is not Ebola.

I'm simply not convinced the low attendance is due to covid. I've seen too many packed with people places.

I think the biggest issue right now is how many other states require that you quarantine for 14 days when you return from traveling to Florida. We recently did a cross country road trip and had thought about stopping in Florida, but decided against it for this very reason. These restrictions in other states need to be lifted for attendance to increase, as unlike Disneyland, they don['t have a lot of locals that go, they are more dependent on tourists. Disneyland will be fine if it can ever reopen.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It goes without saying that Covid is at the root of economic problems - it goes without saying.

Actually a lot of people are claiming just the opposite, that COVID is merely revealing existing underlying structural problems rather than being the source of the problem itself.

 

[The Mom]

Thank god I expected a collapse to happen during this current term, and saved accordingly.

As did I - but I always plan as if an economic collapse is just around the corner.

 

[mkt]

Actually a lot of people are claiming just the opposite, that COVID is merely revealing existing underlying structural problems rather than being the source of the problem itself.

That's my personal belief. I don't believe that the US truly fully recovered after the 08 collapse, the repairs were only skin deep, and the structural deficiencies were there, waiting for a combination of factors to bring them in.

 

[mkt]

As did I - but I always plan as if an economic collapse is just around the corner.

If I had a bit longer, my planning would've involved leaving the US again. But hey, I should be fine.