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

[Animaniac93-98]

Clearly these people didn't pay any attention to the Post 9/11 Crowds of 2002-2005.

Just thinking about this now; how many within the fan community even went pre-2005?

It's now 2020. We have a whole generation of post-social media Disney fans who only first went within the last 10, maybe 15 years.

We used to talk about how many fans didn't know what Disney was like in the 90s. Now the early 2000s are ancient history to some.

 

[Disorbust]

Remember when so many posters were drooling over Touring Plans view of what crowds would look like when the parks reopened.. making references to absolutely bonkers past data points like hurricanes? lol

And how people were filling pages of threads of just how they couldn't wait to get back into the parks.. and it was a daily thing about what day they could reschedule for??

Yeah... suckkers... This kind of massive correction was on the board as soon as governments started closing borders and commercial activity. This was going to happen even with a short shutdown.. and now with the future so uncertain, and borders shutdown effectively indefinitely at this point... All of this was like predicting the sunrise.

The one surprising thing out of this shutdown is just how strong luxury good sales continue to be. Economic uncertainty hasn't hit all job types equally.... Try going out and buying things like hot tubs, home entertainment stuff, etc... inventory is drained everywhere.

Someone once posted here that US was heading towards at LAtin America economy where 10% have means and the rest are just poor ending the middle class. This pandemic may just be that nail in the coffin. The housing market keeps going because poor people were never going to be able to buy a house anyway. Luxury goods keep selling because most of their buyers aren't in the areas of the economy that are losing their jobs.

 

[flynnibus]

It's not just luxury goods -- home appliances are also almost impossible to get. I know someone who hasn't had a dishwasher for almost 3 months. Ordered it immediately after theirs broke and it won't be shipped until August.

Yeah, but I'm sure alot of that is the lack of inventory in the supply chain. Plant shutdowns, slowdowns, etc. Things like appliances people 'need' so while they slow down, they don't go cold turkey (like say... a vegas vacation). But big big dollar items.. like pools, etc - people don't need, they could easily put off. Yet, those industries are going bonkers. It's pretty wild.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Just thinking about this now; how many within the fan community even went pre-2005?

It's now 2020. We have a whole generation of post-social media Disney fans who only first went within the last 10, maybe 15 years.

We used to talk about how many fans didn't know what Disney was like in the 90s. Now the early 2000s are ancient history to some.

I went twice before 2005. I was very young, but I do have fond memories of those trips.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It's not just luxury goods -- home appliances are also almost impossible to get. I know someone who hasn't had a dishwasher for almost 3 months. Ordered it immediately after theirs broke and it won't be shipped until August.

Nintendo Switches have been sold out, or in limited supply, for months. Home gym equipment is also hard to get.

Anything to keep people busy at home was snatched up months ago and there's still a drain in some products.

 

[UNCgolf]

Yeah, but I'm sure alot of that is the lack of inventory in the supply chain. Plant shutdowns, slowdowns, etc. Things like appliances people 'need' so while they slow down, they don't go cold turkey (like say... a vegas vacation). But big big dollar items.. like pools, etc - people don't need, they could easily put off. Yet, those industries are going bonkers. It's pretty wild.

Yeah, it's definitely the supply chain with home appliances.

I would think there are supply chain difficulties with stuff like home entertainment systems too, although obviously no one needs one of those the way they would need something like a refrigerator.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

But big big dollar items.. like pools, etc - people don't need, they could easily put off. Yet, those industries are going bonkers. It's pretty wild.

People were and are stuck at home. They splurged (wisely or not) on something to do to distract them from all this.

 

[Thelazer]

I had heard more was coming at UO.. and today it was kinda odd that lots of folks were in "meetings" all day...

 

[flynnibus]

Someone once posted here that US was heading towards at LAtin America economy where 10% have means and the rest are just poor ending the middle class. This pandemic may just be that nail in the coffin. The housing market keeps going because poor people were never going to be able to buy a house anyway. Luxury goods keep selling because most of their buyers aren't in the areas of the economy that are losing their jobs.

Yeah - but the economy is interconnected. Where people would expect jobs to be shed.. aren't the only areas.. because while someone says "oh the waiter at the restaurant is sure to lose his work..." - this trickles way way back up the chain as all the companies that sell products to that restaurant are impacted, etc. Suddenly you have a Sales VP at a telecomms company sweating because it is not that his company is shutdown, it's the whole web of industry that is slowed that works its way back to them.

The drop in demand across the board is the real killer. Disney Parks and places like vegas are hyper exposed because they are so narrowly defined. When the travel engine shuts down... it's like someone sucking all the air out of the room.

Until the airline industry gets back to a healthy upward trend... I see Disney staying in deep doodoo.

 

[UNCgolf]

Just thinking about this now; how many within the fan community even went pre-2005?

It's now 2020. We have a whole generation of post-social media Disney fans who only first went within the last 10, maybe 15 years.

We used to talk about how many fans didn't know what Disney was like in the 90s. Now the early 2000s are ancient history to some.

I think that's a big issue, actually (well, not so much for Disney -- it's a great thing for the company).

So many people don't realize how incredibly good WDW was in the early 90s. They have no memory of EPCOT being absolutely incredible, nor do they realize how much has been lost at the Magic Kingdom -- not as much in terms of rides (there are a few gone), but in terms of all the other interesting experiences like all of the themed stores that have been replaced with shops all selling the same merchandise everywhere.

They don't have that as a comparison point, so they don't know how far downhill things have gone.

 

[lewisc]

People are forgoing vacations. Famlies are home. Try to buy a swimming pool or home playground set.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

"Your company? That should had been my company!"

Why does Walt look different?

 

[larryz]

I also wanted it to be more of an Adventurer's Club vibe. It didn't get there for me. It had a ton of potential and it missed the mark. I'm not against giving it another shot but I was unimpressed with the first visit.

Have the "off-the-menu" shrimp-on-slaw and the char siu pork.

 

[larryz]

Nintendo Switches have been sold out, or in limited supply, for months. Home gym equipment is also hard to get.

Try walking into your random Wally World. That's where DD found one last week.

 

[mkt]

Yeah, I think you have it right on the money. Not sure what you call the area where UO is really. Millenia kind of backs into it so possibly that encompasses UO but once again, not really

It was Doctor Phillips/International Drive before the parks existed, but now it's its own thing.

 

[mkt]

Bob Iger really is basically just Michael Eisner 2.0, isn't he?

I wouldn't go that far, but I truly believe that just like the US presidency, Disney should have a mandatory time limit for CEO, President, and Chairman.

 

[rabidstoat]

The one surprising thing out of this shutdown is just how strong luxury good sales continue to be. Economic uncertainty hasn't hit all job types equally.... Try going out and buying things like hot tubs, home entertainment stuff, etc... inventory is drained everywhere.

I had some vacations already budgeted for this year, money set aside but not yet spent on down payments. When the vacation plans got scrapped I used some of the money on new electronics, got myself a laptop I could play video games on plus a Switch and a couple of games. I figured I'd be around the house a lot more and wanted to expand my entertainment options. So maybe people are doing that, spending money they budgeted for vacations but can no longer spend.

Or they could just be throwing expenses on their credit cards.

 

[UNCgolf]

Bob was never as good as Eisner when Wells was alive IMO.

Definitely not. Eisner was a great CEO for both the studios and the parks for the early part of his tenure and vastly superior to anything Iger has done.

 

[flynnibus]

People are forgoing vacations. Famlies are home. Try to buy a swimming pool or home playground set.

Yes, but that's just a 'trade A for B' situation. Reality is vast swaths of the economy have no idea when they will even be able to function AT ALL - let alone at healthy levels. Or all the people they employ, or all the work facing slowdowns not just in single or double digits... but multiples of their worst slowdowns ever.

In those kinds of outlooks... you don't simply 'buy local instead of travel' - you wonder where the heck my future income is going to be coming from? This is why entities like Universal and Disney are putting on the brakes on so many things... they aren't shifting spending, they are shedding spending and future spending.

Yet... for many, people are spending on luxury goods like mad. It's wild.

 

[flynnibus]

I think that's a big issue, actually (well, not so much for Disney -- it's a great thing for the company).

So many people don't realize how incredibly good WDW was in the early 90s. They have no memory of EPCOT being absolutely incredible, nor do they realize how much has been lost at the Magic Kingdom -- not as much in terms of rides (there are a few gone), but in terms of all the other interesting experiences like all of the themed stores that have been replaced with shops all selling the same merchandise everywhere.

They don't have that as a comparison point, so they don't know how far downhill things have gone.

Don't worry... there are plenty here that would jump in and tell you that they've been visiting Disney since 2007 and it's the greatest thing ever... you're just being nostalgic

Doesn't matter how many examples you give... They thought them being wowed was as good as it gets.