Record profit for Disney

[CDavid]

Yes it does benefit the employees having a profitable business. How many employees do companies that go out of business employ?

The lowest paid hourly employees, however, are generally still going to be making the exact same wage whether the company is losing money or recording record profits. There are probably some places which might have remained in business - employing workers who are now unemployed - if only they could legally have paid them less than minimum wage, but the minimum wage law exists for a reason.

Is that below minimum wage? If not, then whats your point?

Just because that's all you are legally required to pay doesn't necessairily mean that's the appropriate wage level (at or just above minimum-wage) for many of your workers. Many highly-profitable companies - clearly including Disney - could pay better and still be well profitable (even if consumer prices could not be increased to cover the wage hike); If the minimum wage were suddenly increased tomorrow to $10 - not that I'm advocating that - that's what Disney and others would pay.

If you think you are being "screwed" and you continue to frequent Disney Parks or continue to do business with Disney or any of its subsidiaries, then thats your own fault. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to do business with anyone.

Just because I am doing business with a company doesn't mean I am endorsing their business practices. People shop at Wal-Mart for the prices, not to support employment in China and enrich shareholders. A personal boycott of WDW wouldn't accomplish a thing, except depriving my family of am enjoyable, memorable vacation. However, there is a tipping point. Assuming more more people start to spend a little less time and money at a resort destination it eventually gets noticed. More people staying or dining off-site are trends that Disney is more likely to notice.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Just because I am doing business with a company doesn't mean I am endorsing their business practices. People shop at Wal-Mart for the prices, not to support employment in China and enrich shareholders. A personal boycott of WDW wouldn't accomplish a thing, except depriving my family of am enjoyable, memorable vacation. .

When someone gets to the point that they publicly profess that they are being "screwed" by Disney, then if they are not willing to put their money where their mouth is and not continue to support the "screwer", then to me they are nothing but a whining agitator. But, thats just my opinion.

 

[TP2000]

BTW how are the CM treated at TDL? Why is everyone so thin n pleasant its like WDW in the 70s!!!

That's just it; the entire country of Japan is like that. They are polite and thin and attractive and pleasant to be around everywhere, and the "Hosts and Hostesses" in the Tokyo parks are quite noticeably unlike the blobby and slobby "Cast Members" in the American parks.

Going to a Department Store in downtown Tokyo to buy socks is like being treated as if you were royalty buying a new diamond crown. Tokyo Disneyland simply layers on a healthy dose of 20th century showmanship and happy-shiny pixie dust on that existing Japanese culture and VOILA! you are suddenly in the best Disneyland ever. Even better than Walt could have done it in SoCal in the 1960's when he was flush with cash and success and thin and attractive surfer girls and guys to staff the place.

All that said, there are some design mistakes in the original 1983 Tokyo park. My personal favorite is the totally bizarre placement of an antique Dumbo spinner in front of a copy of WDW's Haunted Mansion in Fantasyland.

Hilariously bad planning there! But now it's just so bad that it's good. :lol:

Honestly though, the American Cast Members in Disneyland or WDW can never be as good as the Japanese Cast Members simply because the Americans are not Japanese. An American Starbucks barista can never be as good as the average Japanese Starbucks barista, the very best service I've ever received in Nordstrom or Bloomingdales or Saks only rises to the level of "average" in the mid-range Tokyo department stores clustered around big train stations in Tokyo. Watch this video of a department store opening for a random weekday morning in Tokyo; perfectly outfitted hostesses open the doors, then batallions of perfectly uniformed sales clerks all behind their counter bowing to every customer and telling them phrases that translate to "Good Morning, it's an honor to be of service to you. How may I assist you?" Now imagine your average Macy's opening in an American mall and the lazy, slobby, sloppy service you get when they deem it convenient to unlock the doors for you. Watch this, and understand Tokyo Disneyland just a bit more! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cihM6zWjJpw

It's an ugly fact that a proud American like myself had to face.

The Japanese simply operate Disneyland way better than we ever have, or ever could have without major social and cultural change taking place in this country. We'll also need to change our diet, because our XXL sized "CM's" could never fit into the tiny uniforms their very attractive hostesses wear over there. And a person's physical appearance as they operate the rides and shows and stores in a Disney theme park is definitely part of the show.

Tokyo just does it all lightyears better than we ever have, or likely ever will.

 

[asianway]

I grow tired of reading this over and over again, even though anyone with half a brain cell knows it's true.

Name them.

Name the websites that are getting perks from Disney and enumerate what benefits they've received.

Then the fan community can decide for themselves if the information is slanted and continue to frequent those sites.

If it is such the problem you preach about incessantly, then name them.

Good thing this is a website about 1 park in one region of one division of one company.

At least a half dozen pro twitterers(twits?) got freebies to last nights MVMCP. I'm sure there were more. That's only the ones I follow.

 

[WDWFigment]

At least a half dozen pro twitterers(twits?) got freebies to last nights MVMCP. I'm sure there were more. That's only the ones I follow.

There are absolutely people within the fan community who receive perks from Disney. The question is whether you care or not.

WDW1974 clearly does.

I do not.

The theory behind this being bad is that these folks will in return for their "favored" status write glowing reviews of products and/or experiences. The reasoning goes that instead, Disney should be giving perks to real critics who are more likely to be objective.

My counter to this is that while some people may report with a bias because they receive perks, this isn't always the case (I know of a number of bloggers/podcasters who slam Disney and still receive these perks), and when it is, fans will "vote with their traffic" and frequent other sites. The ones who skew towards Disney, I think, would probably skew that way regardless, but who knows. Assuming, arguendo, that they write favorably about Disney just for the perks, I think they will ultimately lose audience because of this. People aren't idiots (not all of them, at least) and most people appreciate objective reporting.

Beyond that, if there is an issue with Disney targeting smaller sites rather than, say, the New York Times or OrSen to review things, my response is, again, who cares? I know, firsthand, that WDW1974 is absolutely wrong with his past implications that sites with 'a couple hundred hits a month' are getting freebies. The first thing that's asked when requesting media access is monthly uniques (although Disneyland is a bit more lax on who it will treat as press). In any case, it's a calculated move by Disney. A site like AllEars.net (just an example) may have 1/50th the readership of OrSen, but the audience is more "primed." Because the audience is primed, the conversion rate might go from 2-3% in an OrSen piece to 15-20% in an AllEars piece.

Some people may have archaic views on what is a "news" source that may lead them to believe certain types of sites don't fit the bill, but those beliefs are just that: archaic. Disney is doing the same thing that countless companies throughout the country are doing. Good, bad, or otherwise, that's the way things work these days. You don't ignore a writer just because he doesn't work for a print newspaper (those things still exist?!) or because his site is powered by WordPress.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Beyond that, if there is an issue with Disney targeting smaller sites rather than, say, the New York Times or OrSen to review things, my response is, again, who cares? I know, firsthand, that WDW1974 is absolutely wrong with his past implications that sites with 'a couple hundred hits a month' are getting freebies. The first thing that's asked when requesting media access is monthly uniques (although Disneyland is a bit more lax on who it will treat as press). In any case, it's a calculated move by Disney. A site like AllEars.net (just an example) may have 1/50th the readership of OrSen, but the audience is more "primed." Because the audience is primed, the conversion rate might go from 2-3% in an OrSen piece to 15-20% in an AllEars piece.

Just from past articles I have seen, sites such as MouseSavers and Allears routinely get roughly 6-8 million hits per month - I'm not sure how many unique visitors that turns out to be. These stats are a few years old.

They each have in the neighborhood of 100k subscribers on their email newsletters.

Both of these sites, and many others, give much back to the Disney community.

 

[WDWFigment]

Just from past articles I have seen, sites such as MouseSavers and Allears routinely get roughly 6-8 million hits per month - I'm not sure how many unique visitors that turns out to be. These stats are a few years old.

They each have in the neighborhood of 100k subscribers on their email newsletters.

Both of these sites, and many others, give much back to the Disney community.

Many would be amazed to know what the two sites you mentioned and other Disney sites do traffic-wise.

Email subscribers are a bad barometer (you have to look at the open rate, as many addresses are "dead"), but yeah, both sites are doing quite well. I have no first-hand knowledge of OrSen, but it probably isn't doing substantially better than either of the aforementioned Disney sites. In fact, they both might actually be doing better.

But my numbers were just examples to illustrate my point.

I do biz dev work in the Disney community and can say with a high amount of certainty that treating many fan sites as press is a good move by Disney, solely from a business-decision perspective. Now people may object to it on other grounds, but I addressed those "concerns" above.

 

[jakeman]

At least a half dozen pro twitterers(twits?) got freebies to last nights MVMCP. I'm sure there were more. That's only the ones I follow.

Again, name them.

 

[asianway]

The entire subject was discussed in great detail on lp. Names were named and it got ugly. I don't think Steve is going to want names named here, but it became very apparent that the more pixie dusted positive reviews the bettering perks(Aulani trips, free cruises) and anyone in the fan
Community who tried to exercise any semblance of impartial unbiased reviews couldn't get invited to so much as a tweet up.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Again, name them.

Lou Mongello - "A dinnertime dance party to kick off Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! (Disclosure:I am an invited guest of Disney)"

Steve Barett - Hidden Mickey author, part of Allears team possibly

I know one owner of a few Disney related sites, podcaster and travel agency founder that is invited to many Disney events and 90% of his comments are anti-Disney; but he is still continually invited.

 

[WDWFigment]

The entire subject was discussed in great detail on lp. Names were named and it got ugly. I don't think Steve is going to want names named here, but it became very apparent that the more pixie dusted positive reviews the bettering perks(Aulani trips, free cruises) and anyone in the fan
Community who tried to exercise any semblance of impartial unbiased reviews couldn't get invited to so much as a tweet up.

I followed that (those, actually) threads from afar, and I can tell you that the level of misinformation in them was incredibly high.

Many bloggers/podcasters receiving perks are frequently negative towards Disney.

"Conspiracy theory" is a pejorative term for a reason. That's exactly what this is.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Unemployment virtually unchanged over the past 3 years? Foreclosures increasing? Personal Savings at their lowest levels in about 2 decades?

I really don't think the economy has to do with it. Attendence is still below it's 2008 and 2009 numbers. It's prices and cost cutting.

Who cares that attendance is below what it was in 2008 and 2009? The economy is in the toilet. How can you expect similar attendance numbers.

To your point about cost cutting and prices, I will agree that prices have gone up. I was pretty surprised last year on our Thankgiving trip when I noticed that the least expensive t-shirts were 34 dollars. So, I guess I agree with your higher prices belief. However, while Disney may have cut costs, I did not notice it. We had an amazing trip, there was prime rib on the buffett at Chef Mickey, and every attraction, (except for EE) was in great condition. I saw no cost cutting measure that affected my trip and I have been going to WDW since 1982.

In all, I don't really care how they gained profit as long as it does not affect my vacation and, to date, it has not. So, why argue. Be thankful the parks and resorts division did well so all those lame rumors about Saudis buying parks and resorts can cease.

 

[asianway]

Who cares that attendance is below what it was in 2008 and 2009? The economy is in the toilet. How can you expect similar attendance numbers.

To your point about cost cutting and prices, I will agree that prices have gone up. I was pretty surprised last year on our Thankgiving trip when I noticed that the least expensive t-shirts were 34 dollars. So, I guess I agree with your higher prices belief. However, while Disney may have cut costs, I did not notice it. We had an amazing trip, there was prime rib on the buffett at Chef Mickey, and every attraction, (except for EE) was in great condition. I saw no cost cutting measure that affected my trip and I have been going to WDW since 1982.

In all, I don't really care how they gained profit as long as it does not affect my vacation and, to date, it has not. So, why argue. Be thankful the parks and resorts division did well so all those lame rumors about Saudis buying parks and resorts can cease.

No matter how well P&R did, the entire division represents a huge risk to the company. $150 oil, another 9/11, double dip recession, god forbid an incident at a resort...it would make perfect sense for them to dump the assets in a OLC model. And then collect the checks.

PS: When did Chef Mickeys have Prime Rib? Thanksgiving Day? We went two months ago and it was still roast sinew or some such cut.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Capitalism is not a political topic. Its an economic topic.

Yep, and none of our politicians are talking about the economy.

Well that's just stupid. As for the Japanese culture in general, allow me to quote a work of cinematic genius: Mr. Baseball, "Japan takes the best from all over the world and makes it her own."

There are absolutely people within the fan community who receive perks from Disney. The question is whether you care or not.

WDW1974 clearly does.

I do not.

The theory behind this being bad is that these folks will in return for their "favored" status write glowing reviews of products and/or experiences. The reasoning goes that instead, Disney should be giving perks to real critics who are more likely to be objective.

My counter to this is that while some people may report with a bias because they receive perks, this isn't always the case (I know of a number of bloggers/podcasters who slam Disney and still receive these perks), and when it is, fans will "vote with their traffic" and frequent other sites. The ones who skew towards Disney, I think, would probably skew that way regardless, but who knows. Assuming, arguendo, that they write favorably about Disney just for the perks, I think they will ultimately lose audience because of this. People aren't idiots (not all of them, at least) and most people appreciate objective reporting.

Beyond that, if there is an issue with Disney targeting smaller sites rather than, say, the New York Times or OrSen to review things, my response is, again, who cares? I know, firsthand, that WDW1974 is absolutely wrong with his past implications that sites with 'a couple hundred hits a month' are getting freebies. The first thing that's asked when requesting media access is monthly uniques (although Disneyland is a bit more lax on who it will treat as press). In any case, it's a calculated move by Disney. A site like AllEars.net (just an example) may have 1/50th the readership of OrSen, but the audience is more "primed." Because the audience is primed, the conversion rate might go from 2-3% in an OrSen piece to 15-20% in an AllEars piece.

Some people may have archaic views on what is a "news" source that may lead them to believe certain types of sites don't fit the bill, but those beliefs are just that: archaic. Disney is doing the same thing that countless companies throughout the country are doing. Good, bad, or otherwise, that's the way things work these days. You don't ignore a writer just because he doesn't work for a print newspaper (those things still exist?!) or because his site is powered by WordPress.

Our site is barely a blip on the radar we have not been gifted anything without outright requesting them. I requested media access for myself and my photographer (fiance) to the D23 Expo. I referenced our podcast's site as well as the other sites operated by the same web master that works on our site for us wdwlive.com and wdwparkhours.com. With the stats from our three sites combined, Disney was only willing to give us one media credential.

I believe at the Expo, Stitch Kingdom got 6 media credentials, and I beileve JimHillMedia received 3 (Jim was also a presenter).

If you watch Lou Mongello's 40 hour show in the first hour he encounters a friend on his walk from the hub to Cosmic Rays. His friend mentions how Disney put him up at the Polynesian. My co-host latched onto Lou's Entourage with an extra media credential for the event and witnessed what he described as jealousy at the free hotel room. Lou has claimed to have never received free hotel rooms from Disney and as much as I think it's a load of crap, again this came from a conversation where he would have no reason to lie.

Now recently we all saw reports from a variety of internet bloggers and podcasters about the media voyage of the newest Disney Cruise ship. I don't know the specific details surrounding these "invitations", just that we didn't get any.

As for how Lou can conduct tours of Disney World, my understanding is that because he has a Florida Travel License he can conduct these tours without issue. I'm not sure how that makes sense, but that is the explanation I was given.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

(so long as it is the $8 posted. I know CP CMs get higher than that.)

That is absolutely not true. CP's are the lowest paid of all Cast Members. They can work the same front-line roles as full-time CM's, are expected to work a full availability schedule with no benefit time, insurance, or holidays, and are not union-protected (at least in FL) and therefore are much easier to be fired, yet they make significantly less in the same roles as their full-time counterparts.

Starting base pay rate for a Full-Time, Part-Time or Seasonal Attractions cast member is, as of this year, $7.90 an hour. The equivalent CP makes $7.31 an hour.

 

[c-one]

Who cares that attendance is below what it was in 2008 and 2009? The economy is in the toilet. How can you expect similar attendance numbers.

To your point about cost cutting and prices, I will agree that prices have gone up. I was pretty surprised last year on our Thankgiving trip when I noticed that the least expensive t-shirts were 34 dollars. So, I guess I agree with your higher prices belief. However, while Disney may have cut costs, I did not notice it. We had an amazing trip, there was prime rib on the buffett at Chef Mickey, and every attraction, (except for EE) was in great condition. I saw no cost cutting measure that affected my trip and I have been going to WDW since 1982.

In all, I don't really care how they gained profit as long as it does not affect my vacation and, to date, it has not. So, why argue. Be thankful the parks and resorts division did well so all those lame rumors about Saudis buying parks and resorts can cease.

The economy was not exactly flying high in 2008 or 2009.

 

[flavious27]

http://mobile.orlandosentinel.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=1153842&postId=1153842&postUserId=41&sessionToken=&catId=6779&curAbsIndex=0&resultsUrl=DID%3D6%26DFCL%3D1000%26DSB%3Drank%2523desc%26DBFQ%3DuserId%253A41%26DL.w%3D%26DL.d%3D10%26DQ%3DsectionId%253A6779%26DPS%3D0%26DPL%3D3

see story above
"Disney's theme-parks division posted a particularly strong quarter, as profit margins that had shriveled during the global economic downturn rebounded sharply. Operating profit at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts surged 33 percent to $421 million on sales that were up 11 percent to $3.1 billion."

and they still can't fix the yeti

What is sad is that they don't put that money back into the parks. If that is their average every quarter, that is $1.6 billion. I know that the new ships are costing a pretty penny and so is the asia park expansion, but it is not nearly that much a billion a year, for the last couple of years. Also the construction costs and what not would be rolled into the expenses already.

I know that a 5th gate isn't going to happen anytime soon, but almost every gate here is going to need some expansion to keep things fresh.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

I am so glad I was able to get the facts on the table before the thread turned to a discussion of the Yeti that 99% of guests do not even realize was engineered to move but does not. The other 1%? :lookaroun:lol:

I think that statement right there says volumes about your mentality, and to a company like Disney, that thrives with having the upper-hand via small details, it is very dangerous when it's own fans are willing to forgive mistakes because most probably won't even notice them. Think how much you love about the park that 99% of guests won't notice but are still there for your enjoyment. Now imagine all that taken away. That's just the way some people feel about the Yeti and on a bigger scale, WDW's mentality this past decade. For you to try and defend that with sarcastic comments about how people are complaining about something most will pass unnoticed is a bit shocking. And no numbers in profits can defend that.

 

[jt04]

I think that statement right there says volumes about your mentality, and to a company like Disney, that thrives with having the upper-hand via small details, it is very dangerous when it's own fans are willing to forgive mistakes because most probably won't even notice them. Think how much you love about the park that 99% of guests won't notice but are still there for your enjoyment. Now imagine all that taken away. That's just the way some people feel about the Yeti and on a bigger scale, WDW's mentality this past decade. For you to try and defend that with sarcastic comments about how people are complaining about something most will pass unnoticed is a bit shocking. And no numbers in profits can defend that.

Until we know exactly why the Yeti is not running in "A-mode" it is impossible for anyone to judge the situation.

Here is a possibility. One of the things talked about when the animatronic was described was the amazing power it uses when activated. I believe it was compared to the power generated by a 747 jet engine. Perhaps the ecologically minded managers of DAK decided the Yeti's carbon footprint :lookaroun was just too much to justify a feature that only a small percentage of guests even notice in a meaningful way.

Going green means sacrifice. (Don't be an outlier!:lol At least until WDW buys some E-Cat generators. Then, perhaps, the Yeti will be placed back in A-mode. Just another theory. And I am being about 80% serious. :wave:

 

[Monty]

That's just it; the entire country of Japan is like that. They are polite and thin and attractive and pleasant to be around everywhere, and the "Hosts and Hostesses" in the Tokyo parks are quite noticeably unlike the blobby and slobby "Cast Members" in the American parks.

Yessiree, the entire country of Japan is skinny and attractive!