The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

MDactor1980

MDactor1980

Well-Known Member
LithiumBill said:
I've resigned myself to the knowledge that for the next 3 months every thread will become UNI vs WDW...

Facts that cannot be contended:

DA is amazing, awesome, crowded, busy, worth-the-wait, innovative, ground-breaking, game-changing, etc...

NFL and 7DMT is not a "potter swatter", kiddy ride, under-whelming for adults, boring, nice, fun, cute, took to long to build, etc...
​
Once everybody gets that out of their system, can we stop arguing? I mean, how many times can the same things be tossed back and forth?

Disney fans, heck, theme park fans, should rejoice that DA is kicking butt and the crowds are huge, and that theme parks are going to take notice and will need to respond or take note of what has happened. DA is a game-changer, and it will make it's mark on the other properties.

I love wdw, but I would never shut myself out from good entertainment and quality work. I pray someone, anyone, at TDO will say, "We can do better." and actually DO BETTER! (please)
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I agree with all of this!! I feel like both can co-exist without there being so much comparison.

Also, I know I've read about this on the forums somewhere, but isn't there some agreement that the technology on HPFJ is off limits for any other parks for ten years or something? SO it's ten years (give or take) for Disney to get access to that technology. For them to "beat" all of the HP element at USF, then need to find the next big thing in terms of theme parks? That seems like it would take a good bit of time and research...
 
WDF

WDF

Well-Known Member
LithiumBill said:
I've resigned myself to the knowledge that for the next 3 months every thread will become UNI vs WDW...

Facts that cannot be contended:

DA is amazing, awesome, crowded, busy, worth-the-wait, innovative, ground-breaking, game-changing, etc...

NFL and 7DMT is not a "potter swatter", kiddy ride, under-whelming for adults, boring, nice, fun, cute, took to long to build, etc...
​
Once everybody gets that out of their system, can we stop arguing? I mean, how many times can the same things be tossed back and forth?

Disney fans, heck, theme park fans, should rejoice that DA is kicking butt and the crowds are huge, and that theme parks are going to take notice and will need to respond or take note of what has happened. DA is a game-changer, and it will make it's mark on the other properties.

I love wdw, but I would never shut myself out from good entertainment and quality work. I pray someone, anyone, at TDO will say, "We can do better." and actually DO BETTER! (please)
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I do not agree that the highlighted portion qualifies as fact.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
LithiumBill said:
Disney fans, heck, theme park fans, should rejoice that DA is kicking butt and the crowds are huge, and that theme parks are going to take notice and will need to respond or take note of what has happened. DA is a game-changer, and it will make it's mark on the other properties.

I love wdw, but I would never shut myself out from good entertainment and quality work. I pray someone, anyone, at TDO will say, "We can do better." and actually DO BETTER! (please)
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There is not going to be a response. Disney does not care. That pill just needs to be accepted and swallowed. Nobody else has resources similar to Universal's to stage an effective response and Disney is just not in that game.
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
cw1982 said:
Something like that would be next to impossible to enforce. All guests would have to do is deny having either of those with them until they get on the ride.
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I dont think a big DSLR or those giant phones are that easy to conceal.. just saying.
Also Six Flags (at least in my country) do enforce this rule on most their attractions that have heavy movements or speed.
 
BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
PrincessNelly_NJ said:
BsBqL5MCEAAk0DR.jpg:large
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I'm not super familiar with USF. Is this an area that will ever normally be accessed or is this a one and done overflow area?

I ask because that is really, really bad show on Grimmauld... Totally forgivable for the next few weeks, but if guests are allowed back there for the foreseeable future it needs fixing.
 
PrincessNelly_NJ

PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
BrianLo said:
I'm not super familiar with USF. Is this an area that will ever normally be accessed or is this a one and done overflow area?

I ask because that is really, really bad show on Grimmauld... Totally forgivable for the next few weeks, but if guests are allowed back there for the foreseeable future it needs fixing.
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Those are backstage areas on the side of DA.
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
MichWolv said:
Most of what you've said in your last few posts on this sounds reasonable to me. However, the "no savings" point at the end is probably going too far. One of the more difficult things to measure on MM+ is the better utilization of existing assets. By spreading crowds out (if it works) and having fewer empty seats on attractions, Disney gets more people through attractions in the same amount of time. Iger has alluded to that in earnings calls when he says that MM+ has allowed them to "accommodate" more guests. If you run Philharmagic the same number of times, but get 5% more of the seats filled, that's in improvement in efficiency. Whether you call it a cost savings or just chalk it up to increased guest satisfaction is a matter how you view it.

In addition, there is a different version of cost savings that will come from the freed-up real estate that used to house the FP distribution machines. This is offset to some extent, of course, with the MM+ kiosks, but I'm guessing there is more real estate freed up than used. Repurposing that space will take time, but having it available is a savings of a very precious resource.
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I fully appreciate what you suggest. However, if there were some demonstrable savings associated with MyMagic+, I respectfully suggest Iger and Rasulo would be touting this during their earnings calls.

Instead, what we have is the following from last November's call:

Relative to the front-end of your question on spending, continued spending and ramp-up of new initiatives in Florida -- and that's not only MyMagic+, which, you know, the operating portion, of course, the costs are kicking in, and we're now seeing, as we put the assets in place, some of the depreciation that comes with that project being reflected in our expenses. But if you look at it on an overall basis, those new initiatives are accretive -- were accretive in 2013 -- continue to be accretive in 2014. I said in my comments that the margin impact of that in fiscal 2013 was about 30 basis points on our overall margins. And this year, we're looking at about a $300 million expense item, and more or less the same amount on the revenue side. So, you know, we'll continue to see accretion into 2014 and ramping upward beyond that.​

Couple this with statements from the most recent call:

Growth in operating income at our domestic operations was driven by higher guest spending at Walt Disney World and higher attendance at Disneyland Resort, partially offset by higher costs primarily related to the continued rollout of MyMagic+.​

And:

Taking the back half of your question first, Alexia, I don't think you should look for any extraordinary costs as we continue to market the opening of Fantasyland with the Mine Coaster. I would say that --and we have been saying that the only extraordinary cost, which of course we expect to taper over time, is our launch of MyMagic+ which, in Q3, we launched to all day guests -- in fact, all guests now who visit Walt Disney World.​

Disney is talking about continued higher costs associated with MyMagic+, not lower costs.

More to what I believe is your point, Rasulo has stated that MyMagic+ allows for better distribution of guests, which Rasulo reports allows thousands more guests into the parks during peak periods, ultimately generating more revenue.

However, realistically, how many days per year does a park close due to capacity. Even when a park does have a phased closing, it usually lasts for only a few hours.

An earnings call is about selling your company's initiatives while still remaining truthful. The wrong word at an earnings call can cost a company the size of Disney a billion dollars in market cap. Similarly, the right word can have a positive effect.

Iger and Rasulo have been peppered with financial questions regarding MyMagic+ since the initiative was announced in early 2013.

If there were a large financially measurable savings associated with it, Iger and Rasulo would have trumpeted it by now.

Instead, they talk about improved guest satisfaction. That's great but corporate Disney did not invest an ungodly amount on MyMagic+ just so guests would be happier. They invested it because they expected guests to spend more.

Now that MyMagic+ is fully deployed, we need to watch the quarterly numbers to see if the MyMagic+ initiative was a wise investment.
 
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bhg469

bhg469

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
I fully appreciate what you suggest. However, if there were some demonstrable savings associated with MyMagic+, I respectfully suggest Iger and Rasulo would be touting this during their earnings calls.

Instead, what we have is the following from last November's call:

Relative to the front-end of your question on spending, continued spending and ramp-up of new initiatives in Florida -- and that's not only MyMagic+, which, you know, the operating portion, of course, the costs are kicking in, and we're now seeing, as we put the assets in place, some of the depreciation that comes with that project being reflected in our expenses. But if you look at it on an overall basis, those new initiatives are accretive -- were accretive in 2013 -- continue to be accretive in 2014. I said in my comments that the margin impact of that in fiscal 2013 was about 30 basis points on our overall margins. And this year, we're looking at about a $300 million expense item, and more or less the same amount on the revenue side. So, you know, we'll continue to see accretion into 2014 and ramping upward beyond that.​

Couple this with statements from the most recent call:

Growth in operating income at our domestic operations was driven by higher guest spending at Walt Disney World and higher attendance at Disneyland Resort, partially offset by higher costs primarily related to the continued rollout of MyMagic+.​

And:


Taking the back half of your question first, Alexia, I don't think you should look for any extraordinary costs as we continue to market the opening of
Fantasyland with the Mine Coaster. I would say that --and we have been saying that the only extraordinary cost, which of course we expect to taper over time, is our launch of MyMagic+ which, in Q3, we launched to all day guests -- in fact, all guests now who visit Walt Disney World.​


Disney is talking about continued higher costs associated with MyMagic+, not lower costs.

More to what I believe is your point, Rasulo has stated that MyMagic+ allows for better distribution of guests, which Rasulo reports allows thousands more guests into the parks during peak periods, ultimately generating more revenue.

However, realistically, how many days per year does a park close due to capacity. Even when a park does have a phased closing, it usually lasts for only a few hours.

An earnings call is about selling your company's initiatives while still remaining truthful. The wrong word at an earnings call can cost a company the size of Disney a billion dollars in market cap. Similarly, the right word can have a positive effect.

Iger and Rasulo have been peppered with financial questions regarding MyMagic+ since the initiative was announced in early 2013.

If there were a large financially measurable savings associated with it, Iger and Rasulo would have trumpeted it by now.

Instead, they talk about improved guest satisfaction. That's great but corporate Disney did not invest an ungodly amount on MyMagic+ just so guests would be happier. They invested it because they expected guests to spend more.

Now that MyMagic+ is fully deployed, we need to watch the quarterly numbers to see if the MyMagic+ initiative was a wise investment.
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On my visit mm+ suggested FastPass options for things I would never want. It will do very little for guests like me in moving crowds. And as you pointed out, how often are they at capacity? And when they are it's for a special event that doesn't involve an attraction. It's usually for fireworks or Christmas event.
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
I dont think a big DSLR or those giant phones are that easy to conceal.. just saying.
Also Six Flags (at least in my country) do enforce this rule on most their attractions that have heavy movements or speed.
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Maybe the big bulky cameras would be difficult to hide, but very few people still have phones that are so big that they can't fit in a pocket of some kind. If my pockets are too small for a bulkier phone, I can guarantee you my husband's cargo short pockets have plenty of room. I'd venture to say that this would probably be true of many people in the parks... if one person can't hide a phone or a small camera due to a lack of decent pockets, someone else in their group can make up for it.

IIRC, Uni does require locker usage on rides that meet your description, but that would be primarily for bags, not for things that can fit in a pocket. I know Six Flags over Georgia does that with some of their rides, but on others, they simply allow guests to put bags, cups, etc in cubbies or on a shelf on the other side of the loading area.

I'm not suggesting that people should be taking electronics, or any other loose items, on those rides, but if the policy is designed to keep people from complaining when phones get lost in sudden movement, that's why signs are clearly posted all over the place about securing loose items. If it's more about keeping people from filming the ride, good luck with that. Uni's staff is not the TSA. They're not going to be patting people down upon entering the ride queue to look for illegal phones. Disney constantly asks people to not use flash photography on certain rides and attractions, and you see how well that gets enforced. I have no reason to think completely banning the devices from the rides would have any different results.
 
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MDactor1980

MDactor1980

Well-Known Member
Soarin' Over Pgh said:
I'm finding it very interesting to see the wait times and crowds at UO today... especially from my desk at work.

Anyone know what Disney parks are looking like right now?
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According to the app, 7DMT & Splash Mtn are at 75 minute waits. Space Mtn BTMRR at 65. PotC, PPF, JC, HM, & BLSRS are at 45. Everything else is approximately 20-30 minute wait or walk-on.
 

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