The Mad Hatter set to leave Magic Kingdom this weekend

[brb1006]

Another characters appears to be cut from meet and greets at Walt Disney World soon. It appears that the Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland is set to be leaving Magic Kingdom this weekend.

http://www.doctordisney.com/2016/09/26/another-disney-character-set-leave-magic-kingdom-weekend/

 

[brb1006]

His last day at MK is October 1th.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Sigh...

Guess Kermit and Co. cost a pretty penny. So frustrating that a character addition in one land leads to cuts in others. It shouldn't be that way.

 

[peter11435]

Sigh...

Guess Kermit and Co. cost a pretty penny. So frustrating that a character addition in one land leads to cuts in others. It shouldn't be that way.

Yeah budgets should be allowed to just grow exponentially....

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Yeah budgets should be allowed to just grow exponentially....

Who said anything about budgets growing exponentially? If anything has grown exponentially, it's the price of admission to WDW.

I'm just wondering why things like character appearances have been scaled back while ticket prices (among others) continue to increase. If ticket prices go up (which they have) then that should mean more money in the budgets for shows, characters, etc.

 

[peter11435]

Who said anything about budgets growing exponentially? If anything has grown exponentially, it's the price of admission to WDW.

I'm just wondering why things like character appearances have been scaled back while ticket prices (among others) continue to increase. If ticket prices go up (which they have) then that should mean more money in the budgets for shows, characters, etc.

Except character experiences haven't been scaled back. More money is spent on character experiences today than ever before. And that's a problem.

 

[marni1971]

Except character experiences haven't been scaled back. More money is spent on character experiences today than ever before. And that's a problem.

Like they can't afford it.

 

[peter11435]

Like they can't afford it.

I'm not saying they can't. But you and I both know they won't. Budgets are limited and need to be used wisely. Far too much money (and valuable real estate) is devoted to meet and greets.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I'm not saying they can't. But you and I both know they won't. Budgets are limited and need to be used wisely. Far too much money (and valuable real estate) is devoted to meet and greets.

That's the frustrating part. I know there are reasons behind the cut, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating from a guest perspective.

But agree completely on the real estate front - look no further than Princess Fairytale Hall that used to be a dark ride.

 

[rob0519]

Who said anything about budgets growing exponentially? If anything has grown exponentially, it's the price of admission to WDW.

I'm just wondering why things like character appearances have been scaled back while ticket prices (among others) continue to increase. If ticket prices go up (which they have) then that should mean more money in the budgets for shows, characters, etc.

Revenue from ticket prices go to support the entire Parks environment. Increase prices doesn't mean more money in the budget for shows, characters, attractions, etc. It could mean more money is needed for things like and increase in Liability Insurance, Legal Settlements resulting from or avoiding customer lawsuits, increase in the price of utilities, maintenance, food costs, uniforms, etc.

As for the explosion of Meet and Greets, it's simply a matter of needing to give the customers what they want. Children and lots of adults would rather stand in a line to meet a Princess or Character than ride the Tea Cups. That is evidenced by the huge line for the M&Gs. I only see this phenomenon getting bigger to the point where a venue is established to do M&Gs with rarely seen characters on some type of rotating schedule.

 

[mousehockey37]

We don't need the muppets in Liberty Square, they should stay in DHS with their attractions. Keep the Mad Hatter with his Tea Cups!!!

 

[TheOrangeBird01]

In all my trips to WDW, I've never actually seen The Mad Hatter at the Teacups. I used to see him there in the commercials all the time, but I haven't witnessed him physically there. So many of these characters that are being cut, I've never seen in their MK location before (for example, Rafiki). The character cuts don't really effect me much, because I'd rather the money be put into something other than more meet and greets, but like others have said, Disney can probably afford The Mad Hatter there.

To those who are affected by this cut, hopefully he'll come back in the near future.

 

[MKCP 1985]

It used to be that you couldn't walk from Main Street USA to Nautilus Subs without seeing TweedleDum and TweedleDee. Things change all the time. If the Mad Hatter is taking his leave of the Magic Kingdom, perhaps he is off to join them, but who will replace him? The White Rabbit? The Queen of Hearts? Certainly/hopefully someone eventually . . .

 

[Ag11gani]

I only see this phenomenon getting bigger to the point where a venue is established to do M&Gs with rarely seen characters on some type of rotating schedule.

This is what I personally want. Although I do agree that budget should be spent wisely and not too much on M&Gs but I still think that M&Gs could still be largely improved. Having a place in each park that has any radom character appears as long as they losely fit the theme of the park/area. Tokyo does pretty well, then again that's Tokyo.

 

[brb1006]

Sigh...

Guess Kermit and Co. cost a pretty penny. So frustrating that a character addition in one land leads to cuts in others. It shouldn't be that way.

Alot of characters have been getting cut this year.

 

[brb1006]

In all my trips to WDW, I've never actually seen The Mad Hatter at the Teacups. I used to see him there in the commercials all the time, but I haven't witnessed him physically there. So many of these characters that are being cut, I've never seen in their MK location before (for example, Rafiki). The character cuts don't really effect me much, because I'd rather the money be put into something other than more meet and greets, but like others have said, Disney can probably afford The Mad Hatter there.

To those who are affected by this cut, hopefully he'll come back in the near future.

I remember the Hatter would sometimes meet along Alice when the White Rabbit isn't present.

 

[mousehockey37]

Alot of characters have been getting cut this year.

And it's sad. The characters and live entertainment are what set Disney apart from other places.

 

[brb1006]

It used to be that you couldn't walk from Main Street USA to Nautilus Subs without seeing TweedleDum and TweedleDee. Things change all the time. If the Mad Hatter is taking his leave of the Magic Kingdom, perhaps he is off to join them, but who will replace him? The White Rabbit? The Queen of Hearts? Certainly/hopefully someone eventually . . .

It will be the White Rabbit since he's the most common at WDW unlike Disneyland where he's easier to find.

 

[brb1006]

Revenue from ticket prices go to support the entire Parks environment. Increase prices doesn't mean more money in the budget for shows, characters, attractions, etc. It could mean more money is needed for things like and increase in Liability Insurance, Legal Settlements resulting from or avoiding customer lawsuits, increase in the price of utilities, maintenance, food costs, uniforms, etc.

As for the explosion of Meet and Greets, it's simply a matter of needing to give the customers what they want. Children and lots of adults would rather stand in a line to meet a Princess or Character than ride the Tea Cups. That is evidenced by the huge line for the M&Gs. I only see this phenomenon getting bigger to the point where a venue is established to do M&Gs with rarely seen characters on some type of rotating schedule.

Especially in Tokyo Disneyland.

 

[oceanbreeze77]

He is EXTREMELY popular at DL.