The hope that one day something you had an attachment with changes back for the better.
Very eloquent!!! And exactly so. We know that this can be turned around and the Disney that we knew and loved and many of us spent a lot of money on can be brought back. Will they? We live in hope.... Marie
Do you really believe that Disney can go back to what it was? I’m asking honestly because I’ve been accused of being a pixie -duster but even I have never been optimistic to that extent.
To a really high degree, yes. It would take a lot of changes, some of which I am not sure that current management would do. It would not be easy or painless, and some of that would involve spending a lot of money, but can it be done? Yes I think so. The parks were always intended to be in a state of change as they were meant to evolve, but the core principles can be brought back. Marie
Same as myself. September 2019. Only went for two days, stayed in a reasonably priced Universal hotel and also spent two days at UNI. Disney priced me out even before the influx of the new charges for things that were once free with admission. So I had to ask what exactly was I paying for with my over $100 per day admission charge? The privilage of walking on the hot pavement to pay outrageous prices for cold water and less than hot food, to stand in line for hours while watching people with more resources than myself legally cut in line? Frankly it killed whatever magic I could get my brain to see.
Sincere answer - Because I have been a member of this (and other sites) since 2003 and in that time made a lot of online friends and even personally met some of them. I am also hopeful that I will see a glimmer of hope (although I doubt it) that Disney has decided that all their long time fans are of enough value to not hold them upside down and shake every nickel out of our pockets. Plus I just like to know how others are doing and since it is a topic that I have many years and thousands of dollars invested in I have it be an avenue, to at least attempt, to keep my brain working at a fundamental level.
Well, they did revert car parking charges for resort guests, so there is some hope they could make other changes to be more customer focused.
A great first step would be treating the customers as guests and not consumers of product.
In my experience, things change for either good or bad but almost never "go back" to what they were. I would settle for a little less abject greed on the part of Disney and society as a whole.
It's very easy to build in meaningful value. Make people want to spend a lot extra to stay at a WDW Hotel and they will.
Well, to be honest reverting from those parking charges was just to correct one of the dumbest, unjustifiable charges they ever made. The nerve of Disney to actually charge to park your car when not only do they charge up to $600.00 per night to stay in a 3 or 4 star hotel and it is on land that Disney has owned outright for probably close to 50 years and have it be out in the open with no protection from elements. Really?? How unappreciative of what they call "guests" can one organization get. Then on top of the stop the free transport to and from the airport. What a slap in the face. I can understand charging people that didn't stay onsite to park at the theme parks but to charge when they are already overcharging for a place to sleep is outrageous. They knew when they put that in place that they were going to end the Magic Bus and just made that much more difficult for anyone to escape the cost of dining because of the complication to get transportation offsite for dining or other parks. I also served as a buffer to eliminate and then say, "yes, we did end the costly expense of transport from the airport, but also tried to encourage people to just get to the parks and not leave for anything until one had to leave to catch a plane.
I don't totally fault them for that. It's been said many times that most of those in management and higher don't understand the parks and why people go to them.
Except that WDW makes up 1/3 of the revenue for the Company?
And if those are the people in charge, that is an issue. Why would you invest money in a company that you dont understand or know why it works?? You need someone who can understand how the place works now and have a great vision for it's future as the crown jewel of your corporation. Marie
Our last visit was the week before Covid hit in 2020. We do miss the "old" Disney and are glad we got to experience it when it was at it's best. We don't have plans to revisit WDW at all, but the draw of nostalgia is still strong.
I strongly feel that it will not change Unless they have a 2 party system in charge, like Walt and Roy were together. We need a money man and a creative person to even things out. Now we just have a money man who only thinks of investors earnings, not the parks and guests. Until we get back to that system I don't have too much hope for things to change.
3 months ending 12/23 parks resorts operating income increased 8% and 7% increase on revenue Disney reported to Wall Street ( aka - even with limited attendance ) . If higher pricing was not in effect , those increases would not be happening.
And you can thank DCL for that in the Parks and Experiences segment.
No doubt that the international parks and the cruise line plays a part in increasing profitability in the parks and resorts segment. By raising prices pretty much all things parks and resorts also helps achieve #s Disney presents to Wall Street.
