Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[RunnerEd]

@Lee @WDW1974 @PhotoDave219 This week, Uni fired a ginormous shot across WDW's bow serving notice that WDW is about to be surpassed. Was this noticed by the suits at TDO/Burbank? If so, is there an early read on their reactions (other than curling up in the fetal position and playing with their MM+ app)?

 

[mistryl]

Taking the $50 et al is one thing; disclosing it as part of one's review is another.....

Why is everyone specifically focusing on the $50 gift card so much? We were given buns too! No love for the buns! So disappointing.
Full disclosure: I didn't even like the buns.

 

[ford91exploder]

I wouldn't stay at the GF at gunpoint, lights or no lights, and neither do the vast majority of people. I don't know why that place is such an issue, I really don't, but if you're going to charge that much per night everything ought to be working. Of that I totally agree. In a park with the multitude of safety factors to be taken care of it doesn't bother me if a few days go by without repair. There is just so much physically possible in overnight maintenance. But even that should have a limit. GF don't know, but since it appears to have been an ongoing problem, something I have been reading about for over a year now, I have to think that there is some other motivation involved, I don't know what it is, I doubt that anyone on this board knows, but it seems way to simple to just say...their to cheap to fix them. I have to say I don't know. LED's are definitely the answer but we tend to think of the situation in terms or the twenty or so bulbs in our homes. They are looking at in in the millions. Might be a longer process.

If you do the math its actually only in the 10's of thousands, Still a lot of bulbs but I've spent my career doing IT infrastructure and I've designed and maintained networks with thousands of miles of fibre and hundreds of thousands of switch ports in campuses encompassing hundreds of buildings, You make a plan, get CAPEX authorized and you start getting it done.

Disney is too cheap and the P&R people's offices are far from the parks. If the P&R offices were in the parks I don't think you would see this issue, In my company the CEO is likely to materialize anywhere at anytime, He's showed up at 3 am when I was pulling an all nighter in the lab, He wanted to know why we were working so late on a project. This is the sort of thing that Walter Hewlett and Bill Packard were famous for ie 'Management by Walking Around' and when HP was run by them it was the greatest technical company in the known universe, Now it's a shell of its former self.

 

[mistryl]

Exactly, Problem here is Orlando has 'Lifestylers' whereas Anaheim has hard core fans who don't have a problem calling out Disney when the fans feel Disney is not doing things properly. TWDC trembles when Al Lutz gets up on his high horse. In Orlando TWDC hires Deevee See to mock the lifestylers.

I'm intrigued by this. I do the same thing in Florida that I did in California, which is visit the parks on my free weekend days. Why is it okay in California, but in Florida there's a negative label associated with it? Huh. Interesting. I've never thought about it that way before.

 

[wm49rs]

Why is everyone specifically focusing on the $50 gift card so much? We were given buns too! No love for the buns! So disappointing.
Full disclosure: I didn't even like the buns.

I actually stated $50 et al, mainly because I wasn't sure as to how much else was given out past the $50 gift cards (besides the free meal and drinks). I suppose I wasn't the only one focusing on that number though.....

 

[danlb_2000]

I agree if that is true, but I'm not sure how out of hundreds of thousands of light bulbs we know if one has been out for two or three days or not. Are we counting bulbs and marking locations. I can believe that bulbs burn out, I just cannot believe that people are so into it that they actually know, for a fact, the actual bulbs that are out from day to day. Just seems strange is all. You might be right.

You don't need to be tracking bulbs to know that there is something wrong with the picture on the left.

 

[ford91exploder]

@Lee @WDW1974 @PhotoDave219 This week, Uni fired a ginormous shot across WDW's bow serving notice that WDW is about to be surpassed. Was this noticed by the suits at TDO/Burbank? If so, is there an early read on their reactions (other than curling up in the fetal position and playing with their MM+ app)?

No just a 6-8 Billion stock buyback and reducing hiring and CAPEX at P&R, Methinks as I've stated in another thread P&R is either being packaged for sale or TWDC will close EPCOT and DHS and convert that space into a Casino/Hotel complex. Reason behind that thinking is neither EPCOT nor DHS has received any capital upgrades recently and none appear to be planned, The 'Star Wars' land is simply a press release until we see some actual construction. Or some combination of both. Because lets face it a Casino would drive more revenue per sq ft than a theme park ever will.

Or a Star Wars themed casino with a Star Wars playland for the kiddies while the parents gamble away the mortgage and college funds... There's your Star Wars 'Land' Recall that the Hutt's ran gambling establishments.

 

[mistryl]

I actually stated $50 et al, mainly because I wasn't sure as to how much else was given out past the $50 gift cards (besides the free meal and drinks). I suppose I wasn't the only one focusing on that number though.....

I was generalizing, it wasn't just you. We were given buns, copies of the new menu, and the cards. The bun thing was my lame attempt at humor.

 

[wm49rs]

I was generalizing, it wasn't just you. We were given buns, copies of the new menu, and the cards. The bun thing was my lame attempt at humor.

Gotcha. No worries....

 

[lazyboy97o]

Disney is too cheap and the P&R people's offices are far from the parks. If the P&R offices were in the parks I don't think you would see this issue, In my company the CEO is likely to materialize anywhere at anytime, He's showed up at 3 am when I was pulling an all nighter in the lab, He wanted to know why we were working so late on a project. This is the sort of thing that Walter Hewlett and Bill Packard were famous for ie 'Management by Walking Around' and when HP was run by them it was the greatest technical company in the known universe, Now it's a shell of its former self.

There is a reason Walt insisted his people go walk the parks as guests. This is also why I am never all that impressed when the new Disneyland Resort president spend some time out "in" the parks wearing a suit and his name tag complete with entourage. While its a step up from never setting foot in the parks, its still going to be a different experience. Go walk around any theme park in a suit and you're likely to be treated differently because the assumption that you are "a suit."

I'm intrigued by this. I do the same thing in Florida that I did in California, which is visit the parks on my free weekend days. Why is it okay in California, but in Florida there's a negative label associated with it? Huh. Interesting. I've never thought about it that way before.

I think the "bubble" is a big reason. It's something the Walt Disney World loyalists will often complain about. There is less around Walt Disney World and it helps Central Florida maintain that image of an escape. Maybe I've just missed them, but I don't tend to see "Thinking of moving to So Cal to be near Disneyland all the time" threads the way I see "Thinking of moving to Orlando to be near Disney World all the time."

 

[ford91exploder]

I'm intrigued by this. I do the same thing in Florida that I did in California, which is visit the parks on my free weekend days. Why is it okay in California, but in Florida there's a negative label associated with it? Huh. Interesting. I've never thought about it that way before.

It's the demographic, One of my best friends grew up in Anaheim he was the son of an orthodontist, you also have Hollywood creatives visiting the parks at all times so the median IQ of the 'regular crowd' is several quintiles higher than the 'regular crowd' in Orlando, Recall that DL has Club 33 where the initiation fee is on the order of $25,000 and there is a DECADE LONG waiting list to get in

Short answer is the Disney nuts in DL country generally have either money and/or demanding careers and are much higher on the socio-economic ladder, You don't tend to see as many of the 'Honey boo boo' crowd at DL.

 

[flynnibus]

Exactly, Problem here is Orlando has 'Lifestylers' whereas Anaheim has hard core fans who don't have a problem calling out Disney when the fans feel Disney is not doing things properly.

DLR has its own core audience of... disturbing folks. There are plenty of people that the CMs all know and talk about. There are plenty of people that go there all the time and are just as addicted. Check out the crowds that line up for any LE merchandise event.. or people that wait 8hrs just to ride Star Tours.

DLR folks are far more fickle and far more willing to complain at City Hall. And I don't mean that is a nice way.. but in a self-centered, 'are you serious?', kind of way over the stuff people will complain about there and demand compensation.

The real difference is the folks in Cali think DL is *THEIR* park.. not Disney's. The difference is having 2-3 generations who have grown up with the park as a part of their family traditions and lifestyle. DL was always available as the 'lets goto the park tomorrow' and you just went. It's scope made it much more accessible and as you say.. the size of the population base helps.

Contrast that with Orlando.. where WDW has always been this 'vacation' destination that is set off by itself.. almost stand-off'ish. WDW has been much more about a place for people to work... than a place for people to just hang out. DLR was the 'local mall' for so many kids.. where they blew off hours every week just goofing off. WDW has never had that kind of demographic. The scale of the place, the customer base, the accessibility, etc.

The difference in generations and how people visited the parks really alters the type of attachment people form. I also think the sheer scale of WDW overwhelms people who try to be that hawk watching how things are done and trying to be a critical voice.

Add on top of that all the nostalagia angle that the DLR folks are so found of.. armed with the history of Walt.. and the fans there take 'their' park far more seriously.

The idea of growing up (literally) with the park... vs 'visiting the park every year' is a huge difference. Plus, the visiting demographics of frequent visitors (with the cheap AP programs of the last ~20 years) was so different between the parks.

It's easy for locals to hit DL up for 3hrs after work.. there is a lot more overhead to do the same at WDW. Little factors like that make a difference in the grand scheme..

 

[71jason]

Why is everyone specifically focusing on the $50 gift card so much? We were given buns too! No love for the buns! So disappointing.
Full disclosure: I didn't even like the buns.

And why did they give you anything? Because ... you're a speshul snowflake??? Because ... they know who you are and secretly like you, even tho you never really hang together?

I get the reasoning behind the free meal. It's standard in the industry, at least among professional critics. Let them try the new dishes, see the new decor, get a feel for the restaurant--hopefully they like it and spread the word.

I don't see how a $50 gift card gives any insight at all into California Grill. It was a payola, pure and simple. And while legally the status of something like this is murky at best, ethically/morally--to quote someone else--"If the stiletto fits ..."

 

[baymenxpac]

Why is everyone specifically focusing on the $50 gift card so much? We were given buns too! No love for the buns! So disappointing.
Full disclosure: I didn't even like the buns.

i assume this passes for humor in the lifestylers world.

 

[71jason]

That's the blog I was thinking of in my previous post. This post really made the whole blog jump the shark for me.

Crispy, my friend, normally I'd join in on this pile-on. But after reading that post, I've come to two possible conclusions:
(1) The post is some sort of Andy Kauffman like joke, directed at the Disney online fan community. An uproar in the boards is exactly the sort of prestige the poster is looking for. OR
(2) The poster is mentally challenged.

I lean toward the former.

 

[flynnibus]

Short answer is the Disney nuts in DL country generally have either money and/or demanding careers and are much higher on the socio-economic ladder, You don't tend to see as many of the 'Honey boo boo' crowd at DL.

I wouldn't go that far... there are plenty that are in the same 'questionable' tiers as the people like to single out in Orlando. Of course SoCal has a lot of money... but they have millions more that are just as middle class as anywhere else. DLR has its own share of 'less desirables' - they are just different. Instead of low class hicks, you have wanna-be OG... instead of nerd-introvert you have goth introverts... instead of wife-beaters you have skank outfits... etc etc etc. SoCal 'less desirables' are a different cut than Orlando.. no doubt... the scene is just different.

I have plenty of friends and coworkers in the LA area who never consider going to DLR a regular thing... that's something you do when people are in from out of town. And I know people that go 5-20 times a month. Both are highly functionality in society.

One big difference I see is how much people embrace disney and it's clothing in DLR. I think Disney has more of the 'rat' image as it's been perceived as a bully and manipulator in Florida.. an image not as common in Cali.

 

[crispy]

Crispy, my friend, normally I'd join in on this pile-on. But after reading that post, I've come to two possible conclusions:
(1) The post is some sort of Andy Kauffman like joke, directed at the Disney online fan community. An uproar in the boards is exactly the sort of prestige the poster is looking for. OR
(2) The poster is mentally challenged.

I lean toward the former.

There was a surreal quality to the post...

 

[flynnibus]

I get the reasoning behind the free meal. It's standard in the industry, at least among professional critics. Let them try the new dishes, see the new decor, get a feel for the restaurant--hopefully they like it and spread the word.

I don't see how a $50 gift card gives any insight at all into California Grill. It was a payola, pure and simple. And while legally the status of something like this is murky at best, ethically/morally--to quote someone else--"If the stiletto fits ..."

Well also standard in the industry is compensating people for their time. If you do a focus group or similar.. you often will receive compensation for your time. There can be a bit of a 'thank you' angle there...

Also Disney knows by giving out gift cards they are likely to drive additional spending (like every other gift card). Give away $50 and know the guest is almost certainly going to spend more than $50. There is a double value for Disney there. It's like giving out coupons to drive more spending. It also gives motivation for people to not just visit CG.. but maybe make another visit into the parks, etc. It could be all about driving more business.

Now certainly they could just have not done it at all.... but I find it disingenuous to suggest that the only motivation was buying people off.

 

[ford91exploder]

There was a surreal quality to the post...

Indeed

 

[Captain Chaos]

No just a 6-8 Billion stock buyback and reducing hiring and CAPEX at P&R, Methinks as I've stated in another thread P&R is either being packaged for sale or TWDC will close EPCOT and DHS and convert that space into a Casino/Hotel complex. Reason behind that thinking is neither EPCOT nor DHS has received any capital upgrades recently and none appear to be planned, The 'Star Wars' land is simply a press release until we see some actual construction. Or some combination of both. Because lets face it a Casino would drive more revenue per sq ft than a theme park ever will.

Or a Star Wars themed casino with a Star Wars playland for the kiddies while the parents gamble away the mortgage and college funds... There's your Star Wars 'Land' Recall that the Hutt's ran gambling establishments.

Hmm,then I see no issue with Star Wars or Marvel themed slot machines as long as the slot machines are on Disney property LOL...