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

[GladToBeHear]

Yep the science seems to say it doesn't spread as easily outside. Over here in the UK masks are required by law on public transport and in shops.
Most of the UK theme parks say that masks are required on thrill rides, as if you scream your breath travels further increasing the risks. To meet the law they are required in the shops. Some of the indoor attractions require masks where they cannot But for outdoor areas they are not required. This seems to be the most sensible approach, distance outdoors, masks on thrill rides and masks in some indoor spaces.

However the UK (although not the best country for Covid either) is in a very different place to the USA/Florida. Our cases/deaths are going down, Florida are going up.

Agreed. The masks outside are basically what's keeping us away at this point. Would love to see this relaxed soon.

 

[marni1971]

Oh man. I have logged in, written drafts, deleted them, and swore I would never do this. Yet here I am. And I'm ready to start some ****.

The Walt Disney Company is about to experience some of the deepest layoffs I have ever witnessed in my adult life. I would call attention to the 2002 and 2009 layoffs after those respective crises. Those separations from the company were orderly. Often via generous voluntary packages. Hell, to his credit, Al Weiss was militant about never laying off a CM against their will after 9/11. I respect that. He was basically a dumbass otherwise.

In 2009, there was a similar "orderly" exit of excess personnel. However, much of this labor was brought back remarkably fast as Disney's business was in far better shape in 2009.

We also have other, smaller layoffs that hit project teams at WDI. These are bull**** layoffs. Flim Flam. Just some accounting tricks. Almost everyone is brought back.

Well, these days are no more. What you are about to see from WDC will be shocking and it will permanently change their business forever. The bloat is about to be gone. The mediocrity that's failed upward all our lives is about to be purged. A new company is emerging.

And no, Bob Chapek is no hero. But he does recognize the value in taking out the trash.

Now, lets talk about attendance at WDW. It's effing bad. Its Hard Rock Park bad. It's Dubai bad. Its the worst attendance in the history of the resort. Epcot is lucky to hit 2500 a day and usually is only hosting a few hundred at a time. Magic Kingdom is tormentingly under performing. There is simply no demand to fill the park out even to its limited capacity. The other two parks are also in dire straits, but due to their smaller size, there are certain days they can make a go of it. And yet still, the resort business is the iceberg and WDW Parks are the titanic. This will not end well.

The situation is dire. Unsustainable. WDW parks will be dropping to five day weeks soon. They will likely not be alone in this practice.

And that brings me to Bob Iger. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Gotta Put Yoda on His Wife's Dress to Bury Some Search Engine Leads. That guy. It is my pleasure to announce that he will be soon tossed on his ***. In disgrace. His sins, his poor judgement, his poor treatment of subordinates. His malicious temper and outrageous displays of "toxic masculinity" as the kids call it. All this and more is coming out. Good riddance.

Welcome back! And to the others too.

As you said, attendance is low. Very. One example is a park that is capped at less than a quarter of the norm. And then on the day half the reservations it had didn’t show.

 

[WEDway Inc & Company LLC]

Any chance of spinning off the parks into a new company under a licensing agreement? I know that’s the backup plan for SHDL and HKDL, but has this been considered recently for WDW, DLR, and DLP?

 

[marni1971]

Agreed. The masks outside are basically what's keeping us away at this point. Would love to see this relaxed soon.

The mask rule won’t change anytime soon. It’s arguably their main reason the parks reopened.

 

[champdisney]

Man, when I found out that Ample Hills Creamery (you know Bob Iger’s favorite ice cream in the whole wide world!) had shut down at the BoardWalk and cancelled plans to open at Disney Springs... I felt a storm forming past the horizon. The end is near for RoboBob.

 

[larryz]

That's because out of most major U.S. travel destinations, we're fortunate to draw the clientele which either:
a. Doesn't believe the coronavirus exists, and it's all a hoax.
Or
b. It does exist, but it can't be caught if you have Jesus.

And as living in the area, we're using those misconceptions to our benefit, and widespread ignorance to our advantage (even encouraged to lie about the severity of what's going on.) No virus to see here folks.

When in reality, people who research know better, but thankfully, those types don't make up most of our clientele.

Sevier County named a 'red zone' community in leaked White House coronavirus report

Sevier County, the wildly popular tourism destination in the Great Smoky Mountains, was listed among Tennessee's top 6 problem areas.

www.knoxnews.com

Not complaining. If our region attracted more of an informed population and less of the herp 'n derp... we'd be in the same dire picture as Orlando and other places economically.

I wonder what Miss Dolly would say to this post...

 

[WEDway Inc & Company LLC]

Did Mickey Ave at Disneyland ever actually get considered? Planned? Approved?

 

[ToTBellHop]

Man, when I found out that Ample Hills Creamery (you know Bob Iger’s favorite ice cream in the whole wide world!) had shut down at the BoardWalk and cancelled plans to open at Disney Springs... I felt a storm forming past the horizon. The end is near for RoboBob.

I’ll miss seeing him on the treadmill at BoardWalk...

 

[GladToBeHear]

The mask rule won’t change anytime soon. It’s arguably their main reason the parks reopened.

That's unfortunate. I suspect the (outside) rule is keeping others away as well. We may still try to head down there soon, but won't spend much time in the parks. Thanks for the insight.

 

[TJJohn12]

Here’s the difference: You don’t have to wear a damn mask when you go to a waterpark. The masks are the single most annoying thing that people absolutely hate for their vacations. If you get rid of the mask requirements when you are outside, everyone will come back fairly quickly. That’s why the national parks are doing such amazing numbers this year. That’s why water parks are doing well. No masks when outside.

Ah, my area of expertise. National Parks may be doing “well” according to you, but their staffs aren’t. There’s no empowerment for staff to require or enforce masks *anywhere* - inside or outside. The mental state of employees is at a critical breaking point.

You think AEA revolt is bad, just pull mask enforcement from WDW.

 

[Kingoglow]

Keeping with my Detroit mindset today, Disney can do that, but they need to be careful to not erode the perceived value of their parks by discounting them too much. Otherwise, we have a situation like where no one will pay MSRP for an American car because they're uses to having every possible discount thrown at them.

I believe we are already in that situation. No one here would pay rack rate for a room. Since Disney has pulled all non-AP discounts, there is no way to justify those resort prices. They are charging $180.00 per night night for POP in the middle of this mess. That is not a demand driven price; that is just hubris.

If they want the numbers, they will have to discount the resorts. There is still perceived value in the price of a ticket; especially with the lower crowd levels. But no one from out of state, till risk flying down to Orlando to stay at POP at $180 per night. Drop Deluxe room prices to under $300 per night, moderates under $200 and POP under $100, you will see attendance rise.

 

[John park hopper]

I believe we are already in that situation. No one here would pay rack rate for a room. Since Disney has pulled all non-AP discounts, there is no way to justify those resort prices. They are charging $180.00 per night night for POP in the middle of this mess. That is not a demand driven price; that is just hubris.

If they want the numbers, they will have to discount the resorts. There is still perceived value in the price of a ticket; especially with the lower crowd levels. But no one from out of state, till risk flying down to Orlando to stay at POP at $180 per night. Drop Deluxe room prices to under $300 per night, moderates under $200 and POP under $100, you will see attendance rise.

It's not just discount the resorts under the current conditions prices in the parks are outrageous --$4 bucks for water, $5.75 for a Mickey bar, 6 bucks for a pretzel, parking fees at the resorts the list goes on and on

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I believe we are already in that situation. No one here would pay rack rate for a room. Since Disney has pulled all non-AP discounts, there is no way to justify those resort prices. They are charging $180.00 per night night for POP in the middle of this mess. That is not a demand driven price; that is just hubris.

If they want the numbers, they will have to discount the resorts. There is still perceived value in the price of a ticket; especially with the lower crowd levels. But no one from out of state, till risk flying down to Orlando to stay at POP at $180 per night. Drop Deluxe room prices to under $300 per night, moderates under $200 and POP under $100, you will see attendance rise.

OKW and SS are over 700 a night for a studio. They would drop the price if they wanted people there. They don’t. As I said in another thread, if your willing to pay those prices they will take you in. Most wont and I think for now as they figure out what the next move is, they are fine with it.

 

[Brer Panther]

Is the implication here that Disney World is gonna close forever? Or just that they'll temporarily close again until a vaccine is completed?

I'm getting very, very nervous...

 

[Creathir]

Main Street USA is too racist. Really, you should see the concepts for Mickey Avenue to replace Main St in Anaheim.

They seriously cannot be thinking of doing this?
What the absolute hell...

 

[Lilofan]

Is the implication here that Disney World is gonna close forever? Or just that they'll temporarily close again until a vaccine is completed?

I'm getting very, very nervous...

Let's see what Iger and Chapek will tell the world on August 4.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

It's not just discount the resorts under the current conditions prices in the parks are outrageous --$4 bucks for water, $5.75 for a Mickey bar, 6 bucks for a pretzel, parking fees at the resorts the list goes on and on

Disney won’t undercut themselves. They won’t discount because they would be admitting to a less of a experience and they can’t do that. Closest you get to that is with free dining or a occasional room discount to get to capacity. Can you imagine them saying come down here for a hundred bucks a night with 50 dollar tickets to get in? Won’t ever happen. That would destroy their brand.

 

[Creathir]

Is the implication here that Disney World is gonna close forever? Or just that they'll temporarily close again until a vaccine is completed?

I'm getting very, very nervous...

The implication is the company is teetering on bankruptcy, and some have hypothesized that they may sell off the parks and license the IP.

Frankly, I’d the right group of people purchased it, who actually honored the legacy (unlike the current management) this might not be that bad of a thing.

 

[John park hopper]

Disney won’t undercut themselves. They won’t discount because they would be admitting to a less of a experience and they can’t do that. Closest you get to that is with free dining or a occasional room discount to get to capacity. Can you imagine them saying come down here for a hundred bucks a night with 50 dollar tickets to get in? Won’t ever happen. That would destroy their brand.

Then let them suffer

 

[tirian]

You can't layoff enough people in WDI. The place needs to be shut down and padlocked. Then after a period of time, you bring it back to life. With new people, with new dreams. And without this tired bunch of talentless hacks.

Yes, @MerlinTheGoat and I recently mentioned WDI no longer employs the best and brightest, but merely a checklist of quotas. It’s becoming more apparent as talented people jump to other companies or aren’t interested in Disney at all.