Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
But that's where all the good Pirates Arrr!
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Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
tracyandalex
Well-Known Member
Well both Caribbean cruises changed 1 port each, but yeah 95% of the ports visited from Fla have been the same for quite some time. I am wondering why they would add an additional ship when it seems to me they are having a little bit of trouble filling the ones they currently have. They were almost giving cruises away to Fla residents in the fall and there are quite a few deals out there currently. As a Fla resident I love the deals, but it seems like they are almost necessary at this point for every ship except the Fantasy at least when sailing from Florida.
Also, I seem to remember a rumor that the Magic is getting a major refurbishment this year maybe?
Lately we've felt that DCL provides better value for our vacation dollars than WDW so we don't want Disney messing DCL up too!
And I get closer to losing a certain status I will find myself at Ruth's Chris and Shula's 347 (which is outstanding if you have never visited a 347.
Instead of decent food you find DtD get another venue with mediocre food. Overpriced food that is identical at your local AMF for 75% less of the cost. A venue where the wait staff takes drink orders, takes food orders, and bring drinks/food at the same time without ever checking back in on you after you recieve your food. Not a single care is giving when they bring out an entire entree that is nothing like the one initially ordered. A place that 3/4 weeks after opening should not be having opening restaurant issues. Certainly break in for eateries elsewhere do not take that long. No wonder why the biggest night of college football their bar and restaurant was empty as empty gets whilst elsewhere maintained large crowds on property.
asianway
Well-Known Member
True but if they are looking ahead to market conditions five years from now, they should be planning for the growth now. That's being proactive vs reactive
tracyandalex
Well-Known Member
There is a relatively famous/popular one in Fort Lauderdale. I have been been for well about 8 years, but as far as I know it still does really well.
http://maikai.com/
I like what you did there...
$DIS has been pretty pleased with the capacity of their ships and the money they get you to spend while on them.
gocatsgo538
New Member
It's been a while for me too, but it was a memorable experience, if a bit tacky. I've never seen the show at the Polynesian, but an indoor luau can be great if executed right.
tracyandalex
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm not going to comment on the money they get out of us once we're on board
. We love DCL so bring on the new ships and hopefully new itineraries! My only possible unfounded concern is that as DCL expands quality may suffer as so commonly happens in all industries. As long as DCL maintains their high standards they will continue to get our money!
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
Those fanboi investors are so little a minority they don't matter. The big boys know all that is said with TWDC. My background is finance and a research analyst assigned to $DIS would leave no rock uncovered. They'd be like a fanboi, reading everything about what they do except without any emotional attachment. They also wouldn't put their time into rides going into a theme park. Just where they believe the cash is going (up or down), as well as costs.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
The increasingly noticeable service problems in the parks and hotels, on both coasts, are almost always related directly to the training the CM's received. Or didn't receive.
I find it's at its most glaring now in the deluxe operations like Carthay Circle, Grand Californian, Contemporary, etc. You've got these CM's allegedly providing a deluxe or upscale product (and certainly charging that upper price point), but the CM's there have little polish and/or no discernible skills for a fine dining or upscale hotel environment. They are nice people I'm sure, and they try to gloss over their lack of skill with big cheesy smiles, but it's obvious they don't know how to do it correctly or with the required polish.
The language they use, the phrasing they use, their mannerisms and lack of etiquette skills, the way they wear their uniform and do their hair (especially the ladies), all speaks to a much lower service experience than they are trying to provide. And that they are charging us for.
And that's mostly the fault of the training department, and the executives that have cut the training budget or ignored the department for too many years.
Lee
Adventurer
Somehow I missed this last night.I have been following this thread along with the other threads on this board about the MagicBands, MyMagic+, FP+ and NextGen and I have to say that I am utterly fascinated by whole thing. Not the technology (well, that too...), but rather with the general response to the project even in the light of the potential privacy issues. When @WDW1974 started putting all of the pieces out there and the big picture started coming into focus for me, I was alarmed to say the least and I thought that the vast majority of others would be too. When it became apparent that that was not the case, I started wondering why, and the wheels in my little brain started turning... I have come to the conclusion that this may very well go down as one of the most successful social engineering experiments ever conducted.
You may be asking yourself why I chose such a loaded term as 'social engineering', but let's look at the definition of the term: Social engineering is the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging information. Now... most folks are at least somewhat aprehensive if not downright fearful about clicking on a link in an email that looks like it came from your bank (and since the source of the email is most likely an identity theif, your reaction is correct), but what if the manipulation was being done by someone you have loved and trusted since childhood, someone like Mickey Mouse?
Again you may say that manipulation is a loaded term, but let's take a look at what NextGen is all about. There are basically two parts (that we know of) to NextGen. A very sophisticated data mining project and what I will call 'the cool stuff' - MagicBands, the MyMagic+ apps and FP+. Now put yourself in the boardroom at Disney and ask yourself which came first, the need for data or the desire to give their guests cool stuff? Did the execs at Disney say, "We want to give our guests some cool stuff, but what are we going to do with it?", or did they say, "We need to get more information from our guests and make them plan their day down to the last minute. How are we going to do it?" As much as we all would like to think that the execs at Disney just wanted to give us a more magical experience, I am skeptical that is the case.
So out of the need for more information, the seeds for NextGen were planted. It's not surprising to me that all of the cool stuff is very technical in nature. Folks these days just love their gadgets, present company included. As a person who works with technology on a daily basis, I find that while folks love their gadgets, most don't understand them. This is apparent every time a friend of mine gets a new cellphone, computer or iPad and the questions start flying. While most can send texts, make phone calls and use facebook and the internet, their eyes glaze over when it comes to discussing even the basic concepts of security or maintenance for their device. That's OK though, because it's cool stuff and they know they can come to me if there is a problem.
The combination of the love of cool stuff and the lack of knowledge about said cool stuff is the object used in the manipulation. The average Disney guest doesn't even know what RFID stands for, let alone how it works. They just know that the cool bracelet that Disney is giving them will get them into their room and get them fastpasses so they can ride their favorite rides without waiting in line. Not only that, but Disney is giving them a cool new app that they can use to do all kinds of great things like get even more fastpasses or change them whenever they want to. And look! I can make dining reservations from my phone! Does all of the cool stuff sound like theme park Nirvana to you? Then you may want to look over your shoulder, because you just clicked the proverbial link in the email that looks like it came from your bank.
Just like you have the right (and hopefully the good sense) not to click the link in the email, you also will most likely have the right not to participate in NextGen (the details on how this would work are still not clear), but if you choose not to opt in, then you don't get the cool stuff. Disney is hoping that by dangling their low hanging techy fruit in front of you that you will willingly give up your personal information, and many will do it without even knowing what they have done. Fine print... nah! This is Disney! I don't need to read the fine print!
That is what their $2 billion dollar gamble is all about - that they will be able to manipulate you into divulging your personal information and planning every minute of your day so they can better manage their staff. Their hand is a strong one. Most of their guests are 'low information consumers' who either don't understand or worse yet, will proudly proclaim that they don't care to understand the technology that they are so fond of. Many of the others understand the technology but are lothe to admit that Disney may have anything but the best of intentions. There are also a great number who don't care one way or another. Then there is the minority who does care, present company included. As I have said about NextGen before, the whole thing doesn't seem very magical to me...
I'm going to bed now, so I will get off of my soapbox and give this thread back to @WDW1974. Even if you don't agree with me, I hope that I have at least given you something to think about...
Wonderful post.
It's like grabbing a thread and pulling it, following the logical progression of ideas.
Doesn't matter so much to me if the tech can do exactly what we envision as the worst case scenario, but more so what the underlying goal is.
The guest-friendly parts of NextGen are purely the by-product. No guest ever asked for NextGen. Guests want newer/ better attractions and better maintenance.
Disney wants more money from guests (understandable for a business) and rather than plus the parks to get it, they want to use mined data to get it. That's my main complaint. Nothing about NextGen appeals to me. Nothing. I want the newer/better/improved attractions, not a pre-booked Fastpass. No thanks.
As for the privacy concerns, we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. Too much is unknown for most people to really take a hardcore stand on either side right now.
I will say this, though...there are enough worrisome aspects to warrant taking a very close and skeptical look at the whole program.
Anyone working too hard to defend it at this point...well, there's an old quote about "The lady doth protest too much." And it doesn't have to be a lady.
I mostly agree with this. Although, many analysts of the big firms probably don't dig as deeply as you would believe, simply relying on analysis done by other firms and setting their price targets, etc based on that information. But of course, one should never base their decisions to buy/sell a stock solely on an analyst either.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
The big problem with the stock industry being the driving factor in a business' operation is that stockholders generally don't care about the long-term health of a company.They only care about short-term profits. The fact that they drive companies into unsustainable business models is not a concern of theirs.
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
You're right... That's why I don't wish to play the finance game despite my degree being in it. I much rather work in corporate finance. I won't discuss my personal feelings on the market but through PM I will LOL. People here don't wanna hear me.
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
Yes, stupid investors are this way. Read on Warren Buffett... He never sells... He's very successful... It isn't exactly the best example because of how he invests but in this case it is applicable.
HMF
Well-Known Member
Warren Buffet is the only person in that industry who makes any sense at all.
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
I've read analyst reports about Disney on occasion. Maybe I'm over generalizing, but they mostly view Disney as just a media company, probably because media-savvy analysts are assigned to cover DIS. They don't get the theme parks at all other than noting that P&R is more capital-intensive than the other divisions, making them doubly dubious about the parks.
By the way, when did spending capital to make more money become such a horrible thing in our capitalist economic system?
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
That happened when investors became obsessed with instant profit. I don't know the make up of the directors or upper management of Disney to be able to say this with certainty, but I'd bet that most are older people that already have a tidy little nest egg awaiting them. At the first sign that the sky is falling they will retire, take their golden umbrella and get out before the ship hits the sand. In the meantime the AADD investors will be happy counting their earnings and by the time it becomes "payback" time those executive decision makers will be sunning themselves on a beach in the Bahama's, unconcerned and out of reach.