I'm sorry but this kinda cracks me up because I don't think WDW has any cards to play. As best as I've read of what has been credibly reported/speculated:
*DLR decided they wanted MSEP back to fill the PTN refurb downtime. WDW didn't up and decide to send it back, for crowding, cost, better HEA viewing or any other reason. Some reports indicate they were caught flat footed by DL's decision, regardless it was DL's decision.
*Sounds like TDO did want PTN but TDA wasn't gonna play that game again. DL even took on the shipping/refurb costs for poor old, broken down, terribly maintained MSEP....probably cheaper than leaving that in WDW's hands.
*TDO does have a new parade designed...but they're too cheap to greenlight the funding for it. Sure no parade saves money, but that's a consequence of their cheapness, not the driving factor to go parade-less. A new parade is a card though that could be played, that it's not is about money and nothing else.
Hub crowding, viewing spots, attention for new attractions, ramping up desire for a new parade by going without, yada, yada have nothing to do with any of this and imo it's incredible one would think otherwise. Poor maintenance and planning along with a general cheap attitude led to the situation.
FWIW, I recognize Disney is a publicly traded company with profits as its primary reason for existence and don't get all up in arms about such decisions. But I also recognize what these decisions are realistically about, instead of dreaming up some customer benefit explanations.
I took the customer benefit route and didn't deep dive with what I was saying but I'll explain it more in the business sense this time. IMO I don't think poor planning and cheapness are part of why there's no parade right now. I think it's smart planning and a good business decision.
As with anything they create they have to spend money to build it, and after it's built they want return on investment. They want to get their money back. Right now HEA is very popular and the hub and mainstreet are crowded with people a good hour to two hours before the show. With people sitting there so long, eventually members of the group are going to get restless or hungry. So they take turns either shopping in the stores or getting food. The most food and stores are on mainstreet which is where everyone is staying. Their target audience is all packed into one spot. If they had a parade people would not be able to sit for multiple hours and all pack in, they would be spread out on the parade route. Granted there's food and stores along the route, but there's a reason all those shops are the first thing you see when you come in and the last you see when you leave. They're getting their money back by allowing these huge crowds to stay centrally located for multiple hours and shopping/eating. I say that they want to give people a chance to see HEA from a creative side, but from the business side that's how it looks. So that's what I meant.
The same goes for Pandora. Having HEA at Magic Kingdom will pull enough people away from Pandora at night that the crowds won't be completely insane. Granted they're already high, but if Wishes was still at Magic Kingdom then the only brand new night time offering would be at Pandora and everyone would flock there and it would be too much to handle. They've got the right amount right now where it's packed and everyone is going there and spending money on food and merchandise. They're getting their money back from their investment that is Pandora. There's a reason Pandora has had EMH since it's opening from 11 pm - 1 am since it's opening. They want people there at night, that's the whole point. That's why HEA is at 9pm, because it gives an hour and a half to get over to Pandora and be able to spend a decent amount of time there for people to justify going. Yes they can go during the day, but they want people to come back at night too. Now imagine if MK had HEA and a new parade. The parade would be at 9, HEA at 10, and by the time people left MK and got to AK it would be 1115-1130, and with the ridiculous wait times no one would go after MK. Therefore they lose that money. The same goes for someone who isn't park hopping. MK is the most visited theme park and there are a lot of families with kids. If the parents ask the kids whether they want to go to MK and see a parade with their favorite characters and a fireworks show or go to Pandora, I'd bet they'd pick MK almost every time. And chances are if they see it once they'll want to go again, and most trips are short so there's a chance those families don't spend a lot of time in Pandora and spend money. Kids are important because they're the ones who want all the souvenirs and food. Their parents either get it for them right away, or even if the parents say no the kids bug their parents until the parents can't take anymore and break down and buy it. With the current setup it makes it easier to justify seeing both, whether it be in the same night or different nights. They see both, everything works out, and they make money.
As far as the cheap aspect goes I don't think that's the case. They just invested in Pandora, HEA, all the Hollywood Studios projects, resort projects/refurbishments, transportation, etc. It's a smart move to wait to spend money on a parade until they make sure the current projects are a success and they get return on investment. Look what just happened at ESPN, which is Disney, they invested too much and it backfired and they had to fire a lot of people. With that loss and everything else they've invested in they need to be smart with the money. Tie all that in with everything I just said above and it makes perfect sense. So yes I did put it in a customer benefit perspective, but it also makes sense in business sense too. Sure Disney has plenty of money, but they don't keep that money if they're not smart about it.
Maybe if you looked at disneyland's behind the scenes you would think different kid.
Sorry couldn't resist
