Restaurant capacity and live entertainment restrictions are currently limiting Walt Disney World theme park attendance according to Bob Chapek

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You know there are exhibits and attractions in those pavilions, right? Not everything has to be food or interactive with a CM.

They’re stale and don’t draw because they’ve kinda let Epcot collapse on itself over 25 years…longterm problem. Eisner started that mess.

 

[dreday3]

You know there are exhibits and attractions in those pavilions, right? Not everything has to be food or interactive with a CM.

Actually, I find most don't know that! Most people kind of meander, shop and eat.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Sometimes even I watch a vlog about a pavilion and I say "how did I miss that every time?"

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That no one can disagree with, MK at 50 isn't where it should be. But $400m would be a drop in the bucket for doing that correctly.

And that number is ridiculous. The “budgets” are feeding a beast that it already out of control on multiple levels.

 

[Chomama]

You know there are exhibits and attractions in those pavilions, right? Not everything has to be food or interactive with a CM.

Yep. Been going for decades. AP both coasts. Club 33. Thanks though. Epcot has always been my favorite park. It’s a shell of itself and don’t get me started on the barges and harmonious ruining the daytime atmosphere and all photographs. Also the native American exhibit in America pavilion hasn’t changed in years. Terrible. Coco in Mexico. Years. Frozen in Norway chapel. Years.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

That no one can disagree with, MK at 50 isn't where it should be. But $400m would be a drop in the bucket for doing that correctly.

$400m would at least buy an emotional whirlwind and jumpin jellyfish right?

 

[Kamikaze]

$400m would at least buy an emotional whirlwind and jumpin jellyfish right?

Too bad it wouldn't get all of Pixar Pier. Might make me want to go back to WDW instead of the superior resort.

 

[Kamikaze]

Yep. Been going for decades. AP both coasts. Club 33. Thanks though. Epcot has always been my favorite park. It’s a shell of itself and don’t get me started on the barges and harmonious ruining the daytime atmosphere and all photographs. Also the native American exhibit in America pavilion hasn’t changed in years. Terrible. Coco in Mexico. Years. Frozen in Norway chapel. Years.

So the crux is that you've seen everything and you're over it. Thats different than theres nothing to do.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So the crux is that you've seen everything and you're over it. Thats different than theres nothing to do.

True. But even if you do go too much…it’s hard to argue that a lot of the old Epcot left behind lacks current day appeal and that is largely due to lack of reinvestment.

 

[MrPromey]

There’s simply no excuse that the MK doesn’t have more attractions.

400 million for guardians at Epcot? Put that to a proper MK expansion! That’s what is needed ASAP.

Problem is, they need that all over property. Of the four parks, the MK is the one least in need, right now.

To be clear, that doesn't mean the MK doesn't also need it.

They just can't keep letting the other three fall short while continuing to add to the only one that already has a full day worth of attractions. All that'll do is continue to funnel even more of the bulk of traffic to that one park while attendance drops at the other three.

For guest satisfaction, they need more everywhere, yesterday.

Their new solution seems to be Genie+ and Lightning lane, though, which tells you all you need to when it comes to this management's take on guest satisfaction.

Until their financials take a downward trend that increasing prices everywhere can't offset, expect this to continue.

That means all those people swearing their next trip planned for sometime in the next 18 months will absolutely be their last unless, have to actually mean it... and then some.

 

[Lil Copter Cap]

Problem is, they need that all over property. Of the four parks, the MK is the one least in need, right now.

To be clear, that doesn't mean the MK doesn't also need it.

They just can't keep letting the other three fall short while continuing to add to the only one that already has a full day worth of attractions. All that'll do is continue to funnel even more of the bulk of traffic to that one park while attendance drops at the other three.

For guest satisfaction, they need more everywhere, yesterday.

Their new solution seems to be Genie+ and Lightning lane, though, which tells you all you need to when it comes to this management's take on guest satisfaction.

Until their financials take a downward trend that increasing prices everywhere can't offset, expect this to continue.

That means all those people swearing their next trip planned for sometime in the next 18 months will absolutely be their last unless, have to actually mean it... and then some.

Precisely. Why improve the product or experience when people are willing to shell out money for the product or experience in its current state?

The theme park industry is so young and I do think that in most of our lifetimes we will see how long term lack of investment will come to bite companies in the butt.

 

[HauntedPirate]

What was the comment by $lappie about "human beings"? I missed it and can't find what it was.

 

[MrPromey]

Precisely. Why improve the product or experience when people are willing to shell out money for the product or experience in its current state?

And when you can offer a paid solution to make it marginally better for some while putting them in front of the plebs who only paid full price to get in (making things actively worse for them) and "up to 50%" will pay it, why would you want to kill that cash cow?

This is one of the huge difference between Disney trying to charge for this crap and what most of the other parks offer.

At other parks, it's an up-sell for impatient people willing to pay where it is set up to be expected and in many cases controled so that most will not go for it. (and at Universal, it's a sales pitch to improve occupancy at their onsite hotels)

At Disney, many see it as a necessity to make their vacation still feel like some sort of vacation with the state of the parks, today and Bob's pride in showing how many people use it reflects management's understanding of that.

That's possibly the crappiest part of all of this - they're proud of how they've managed to turn their lack of popular capacity into a profit-engine from people already spending ridiculous amounts on what's supposed to be a vacation.

This isn't a problem for management.

Where else in the world could a company run a leisure property like this and be rewarded for it?

 

[DCBaker]

What was the comment by $lappie about "human beings"? I missed it and can't find what it was.

It came from Christine -

"We’ve been saying this all along through the pandemic, where we have taken measures to really look at the cost base and how we’re doing things, and there has been a fundamental shift in some of the operational processes that the parks had used for many, many years. And things like the ability to do mobile dining, or not having to check in with the human being at a hotel. Those kinds of things are all things that add to some upside that we have at the parks."

 

[HauntedPirate]

It came from Christine -

"We’ve been saying this all along through the pandemic, where we have taken measures to really look at the cost base and how we’re doing things, and there has been a fundamental shift in some of the operational processes that the parks had used for many, many years. And things like the ability to do mobile dining, or not having to check in with the human being at a hotel. Those kinds of things are all things that add to some upside that we have at the parks."

Thanks!

They're proud that they've replaced a portion of their workforce with a ****ty app so they can show Wall Street they've cut labor costs. I don't have the words...

 

[HauntedPirate]

And when you can offer a paid solution to make it marginally better for some while putting them in front of the plebs who only paid full price to get in and "up to 50%" will pay it, why would you want to kill that cash cow?

This is one of the huge difference between Disney trying to charge for this crap and what most of the other parks offer.

At other parks, it's an up-sell for impatient people willing to pay. (and at Universal, it's a sales pitch to improve occupancy at their onsite hotels)

At Disney, many see it as a necessity to make their vacation still feel like some sort of vacation with the state of the parks, today and Bob's pride in showing how many people use it reflects management's understanding of that.

That's possibly the crappiest part of all of this - they're proud of how they've managed to turn their lack of popular capacity into a profit-engine for people already spending ridiculous amounts on what's supposed to be a vacation.

This isn't a problem for management.

Where else in the world could a company run a leisure property like this and be rewarded for it?

This. Quoting for posterity.

 

[Ayla]

Disney has been doing that for about 5 years now

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Dollywood's employees are eligible on their first day of employment.

 

[Ayla]

Problem is, they need that all over property. Of the four parks, the MK is the one least in need, right now.

To be clear, that doesn't mean the MK doesn't also need it.

They just can't keep letting the other three fall short while continuing to add to the only one that already has a full day worth of attractions. All that'll do is continue to funnel even more of the bulk of traffic to that one park while attendance drops at the other three.

For guest satisfaction, they need more everywhere, yesterday.

Their new solution seems to be Genie+ and Lightning lane, though, which tells you all you need to when it comes to this management's take on guest satisfaction.

Until their financials take a downward trend that increasing prices everywhere can't offset, expect this to continue.

That means all those people swearing their next trip planned for sometime in the next 18 months will absolutely be their last unless, have to actually mean it... and then some.

There is no unless at the end of my statement. My Spring trip will be my last, period.

 

[matt9112]

Good for you! We had AP's from 2014 until last week and we are done. Damn it feel good to be a gangsta...

Me too. Just uni and Busch gardens/seaworld now.

 

[matt9112]

Ah, but the fix to limiting attendance in the short term is to continue to increase pricing, but you'd complain about that too, now wouldn't you?

A massive expansion to available attractions is the long term fix, sure, but CapEx doesn't happen all at once. And in at least the case of DLR - the plans are there to do just that.

Edit: changed capacity to attendance to make more clear

They could spend capex all at once....it would juat negatively hit the share price....because rocketing values is all that matters. God forbid we pump money into our product and the share price might not rise.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Dollywood's employees are eligible on their first day of employment.

Good for them?