The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[ford91exploder]

Time to break out the strobes.

Yep the red and orange ones this time...

 

[ford91exploder]

eehe my point was not about blaming the accountants.
my point was how much pixie dust they would be used (Ie like drugs) before the numbers are all red and they cannot balance the numbers due of operational loses.
and I agree with you that the high executives are the problem, always wanting more for less.
If they could, they would demand EVERYTHING for NOTHING.



It would be kindaVERY sad, if someone leaked that WDW is also slashing the training budgets..

Reminds me of the Government Employee's Creed which I learned in first job out of school.

We the willing, led by the unknowing are doing the impossible for the ungrateful, We have done so much with so little for so long we are now qualified to do anything with nothing...

Sounds exactly like a Disney CM's job does it not?

 

[ford91exploder]

From what I am being told the closing of the marinas at these resorts is a causality risk decision. The rivers feed into Downtown Disney. The lake is a mess with heavy machinery and construction materials in the lake. The ferries can continue for now by changing docks as they are operated by Cast Members. The rivers are low wake areas, it is the lake where the guests could really open up some of the raycers. CM & Management at the resorts are hoping the business of boat rentals will return when the waters calm after the completion of the water construction of Disney Springs. Time will tell.

All Disney NEEDED to do was ban entrance to the lake for rental boats, there is always a patrol boat near that junction anyway. Just one more fun activity cut from our vacation used to rent the larger boats for a quiet cruise up and down the river.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The manager offered to store it in the fridge which I was fine with. But I knew if I accepted putting the food in the fridge they would assume that I was willing to wait and we would have been put on the back burner. To me, thats unacceptable. If they had told me when we arrived that it would be awhile before a room was ready we would have gladly kept the food in the cooler in the car and found something to do while we waited. I made it very clear I was aware that we arrived early and that I did not want to unload our car until a room was ready.

They made the mistake of saying a room was ready when it was not. Then they gave us a room number that wasnt even in our resort. How does that happen? Thats 2 strikes in a row. I wasnt even upset about that. But dont tell me that there are no other rooms available when I KNOW thats a lie. Strike 3. I shouldnt have to have a manager make something happen. Especially at a deluxe resort with the prices people pay. They should simply have better trained staff. No excuse when Im paying their high prices. If they want to treat me like a fool after I give them all that money, Im gonna call them on it. And if anybody thinks I was out of line for getting the manager, the proof is in the pudding. They LIED. They said there were no rooms available but there really was.

Edit: I agree with what you said, @GoofGoof. Lazy CM's. Thanks for the response. My post wasnt towards you or what you said. Just getting it out there.

I have no problems with you being upset with the rest of it... Told room was ready, wrong room number, but, I wonder... were you the only one that checked in early or might there have been others that had been waiting longer that were going to go into those "ready" rooms?

 

[ParentsOf4]

I have no problems with you being upset with the rest of it... Told room was ready, wrong room number, but, I wonder... were you the only one that checked in early or might there have been others that had been waiting longer that were going to go into those "ready" rooms?

WDW has an incredibly complex room management system. It's not simply a matter of rooms being empty. It's a matter of specific rooms being empty for specific nights.

For hotels dominated by multi-night-stay guests, it's a bit deceiving to look at physically empty rooms. The reservations have to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. A room might be empty tonight but the only way to get all reservations to fit together tomorrow night is assign specific rooms to specific guests. If one guest wants to change a room, then it can wreak havoc on future reservations. Thus, a room could legitimately be empty tonight but that particular room is needed by another guest tomorrow night.

In recent years, WDW has become obsessed with optimizing operations. This means removing large blocks of Deluxe Resort rooms from service in order to minimize costs. WDW is not like most hotel chains with numerous last-minute walkup guests arriving and requesting rooms. At WDW, rooms are prebooked weeks or months in advance. Frontline CMs are not allowed to override the system and it takes a supervisor to bring these out-of-service rooms back in-service.

At WDW, a room might show up as unavailable today because Disney is trying to force guests to book specific rooms to maximize operation. Come tomorrow after the right combination of rooms are booked, then additional rooms could be released and brought back in-service, showing up the next day as available.

It seems like @wdisney9000 encountered an inexperienced or perhaps lazy CM who simply didn't do their job well. After all, how does someone competently provide a room for the YC when the guest is checking into the BC? At what point should a competent CM ask themselves, "Is this room for the right hotel?"

 

[bhg469]

Yep the red and orange ones this time...

Oh you mean they have to buy new color strobes for fire?!!!?!!

Ladies and gentlemen, the dragon now shoots "lightning balls".

 

[JimboJones123]

Sweet! We did our 3 FP+ attractions at MK this morning and were back in the car by 1pm.

Had Chick-fil-a lunch on 192 and have been at Universal since 2:30 waitng for the Mardi Gras parade.

Even got a snack and spent some money at US.

But not at Disney. I am tired of spending money there.

Tomorrow, no money spent at Disney again. This is turning oit to be a very efficient Spring Break for us, thanks to FP+ keeping us from spending any extra money at Disney.

Congrats Disney. You have made several 2-3 hour trips easier and much less costly than a whole day full of entertainment and attractions. I Won't miss those full days spending more than $100 at the park a single bit.

FP+ RULES!!!

 

[marni1971]

I was aware, I feel like every mention of animatronics at Disney must include a reference to the yeti not working. I'll stop joking about it when/if the yeti stops being a joke.

How about Luxo then?

 

[StageFrenzy]

How about Luxo then?

You know I honestly forgot about luxo, he worked for such a short period of time. Was that a week tops he worked? He also wasn't the centerpiece of a one hundred million-dollar attraction either though.

 

[bhg469]

You know I honestly forgot about luxo, he worked for such a short period of time. Was that a week tops he worked? He also wasn't the centerpiece of a one hundred million-dollar attraction either though.

But it is Feet from the most ridden attraction in that park. Good news is not many people know he existed.

 

[Absimilliard]

Regarding the difference in McDonalds in other countries, just look at Canada versus the US for a big difference! Canada still has the awesome 1/3 lbs Angus Burger available "deluxe" with red onions, salad and tomatoes or Bacon and Cheese with bacon, cheese and red onion. Also, you can even get a Double Big Mac here. Size wise, drinks and fries are the same. You can even get a good Poutine.

Over in France, at McDonalds, they have longer Sub style sandwiches with 2 patties or chicken side by side. Their large size for fries and drinks is our medium and their medium size is our small. Burger wise, their "M" has a stone baked bun, small patty and a slice of Emmental french cheese. They also serve a "P'tit Bagel" which is an "american" bagel burger!

So, it may be an american chain, but beside the Big Mac, fries and Coca Cola, everything else is subject to change.

 

[Absimilliard]

I have been to Europa Park twice and it is a fun place to visit. They are doing very well and completely distanced themselves from everyone else in Europe except for DLP. Last year, they hit 5 million guests in a year, which is more than the Walt Disney Studios park. The closest competitors would be Port Aventura an hour away from Barcelona, Spain and Efteling in the Netherlands.

Thematically, european countries with a few exceptions is the norm. For example, the Silver Star hyper roller coaster is themed to and sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. Gazprom sponsor the Iceland area Blue Fire Mega Coaster. Their new ride this year is a prototype that will combine outdoor coaster sections and indoor dark ride section themed to the Arthur and The Minimoys french animation movie.

For me, their strongest point are their hotels. They are all 4 stars themed hotels with great themes. How about staying in the Roman Coliseum? A spanish medieval castle? A New England seaside resort? Occupancy is through the roof and they keep building hotels just to keep up with demand. Friends tried booking six months in advance for a vacation period and it was already full. Price wise, they don't gauge, be it at the entry gate or hotel room rates.

Port Aventura in Spain fired an interesting salvo at Disneyland Paris and Europa Park yesterday when they announced a third gate and hotel for 2016. Ferrari Land will be the second Ferrari branded Park in the world and will feature a 250 rooms 5 stars hotel and many other rides including what look to be Europe tallest and fastest roller coaster. It will go into a parking lot next to the entrance of the main park and water park.

 

[wdisney9000]

WDW has an incredibly complex room management system. It's not simply a matter of rooms being empty. It's a matter of specific rooms being empty for specific nights.

For hotels dominated by multi-night-stay guests, it's a bit deceiving to look at physically empty rooms. The reservations have to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. A room might be empty tonight but the only way to get all reservations to fit together tomorrow night is assign specific rooms to specific guests. If one guest wants to change a room, then it can wreak havoc on future reservations. Thus, a room could legitimately be empty tonight but that particular room is needed by another guest tomorrow night.

In recent years, WDW has become obsessed with optimizing operations. This means removing large blocks of Deluxe Resort rooms from service in order to minimize costs. WDW is not like most hotel chains with numerous last-minute walkup guests arriving and requesting rooms. At WDW, rooms are prebooked weeks or months in advance. Frontline CMs are not allowed to override the system and it takes a supervisor to bring these out-of-service rooms back in-service.

At WDW, a room might show up as unavailable today because Disney is trying to force guests to book specific rooms to maximize operation. Come tomorrow after the right combination of rooms are booked, then additional rooms could be released and brought back in-service, showing up the next day as available.

It seems like @wdisney9000 encountered an inexperienced or perhaps lazy CM who simply didn't do their job well. After all, how does someone competently provide a room for the YC when the guest is checking into the BC? At what point should a competent CM ask themselves, "Is this room for the right hotel?"

Thanks for the breakdown. Makes sense as to why they handle it that way. It did take the manager quite awhile and A LOT of typing before room was ready.

Being given a room number for the wrong resort was a Disney first for us. In the end, a fun Disney story/memory to add to our collection.

On one hand, it's great that WDW is (still) a place where an issue like that can arise and you know you are in good hands and your just excited to finally be "home" at WDW.

On the other hand, minor issues like this arise more often than in years past and there are now multiple issues at once. (maintenance, lazy cm's, ride capacity - one of your favorites) individually theyre not so bad, but combined it is like a woodpecker on steroids drilling holes in the magic

 

[71jason]

Interesting article, not at all related to Disney on its face, yet the perfect rebuttal to the Pixie Dusters who say "it's not that bad"...

http://www.thestreet.com/story/1253...sears-look-classy.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Key quote: "You can't walk more than a few feet without seeing something that should cause heads to roll, not necessarily at the local employee level, but among corporate executives. They set the tone. It all goes back to some variation of the broken windows theory. Cultures do not become toxic out of the blue. There's most always a trigger that permits the degradation to occur. And that starts at the top." Be it dead animatronics, or snack bars running out of chips, or dirty monorails, or one hundred other things pointed out on these boards--this is the ultimate issue.

 

[Genie of the Lamp]

Reminder: Disney shareholders meeting on Tuesday the 18th at 1PM eastern time (there will be a live audio webcast available on disney.com/investors).

 

[marni1971]

You know I honestly forgot about luxo, he worked for such a short period of time. Was that a week tops he worked? He also wasn't the centerpiece of a one hundred million-dollar attraction either though.

Luxo worked for 8-9 months or so. Was pretty magical at night with all the Christmas lighting in sync. Shame.

 

[PirateFrank]

Just a point of clarification, the accountants have virtually no say in any strategic decision making. Their job is to close the books each month and report results in compliance with GAAP. Accountants deal almost exclusively in what happened in the past (last month, last quarter or last year). In most large corporations keeping track of the budget falls into a department that is seperate from accounting. Usually a financial planning or strategic planning type group. Even these people ultimately may not have a lot of say over projects. In my experience individual department heads or VPs will usually "own" their own budgets and fight for every penny they can get and then senior management or chief level executives will slash and cut the budgets to fit an overall corporate goal. They are the real villains in all of this, although some of the VPs are just as bad. Some staff accountant with a BS in accounting in a cubicle in Celebration punching journal entries into a GL system isn't the problem.

Going to disagree slightly with one point. (Otherwise the rest of your comment is spot on.) Your GAAP comment isnt entirely accurate. Corporations such as disney will employ internal/managerial accounts strictly for the purposes of generating internal reports that are not subject to GAAP. Reports detailing productivity, efficiency, turnover, and utilization of assets don't often lend themselves to financial presentation on a quarterly statement or annual report - because they dont have any basis in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. They're used to aid decision makers internally and will never be presented externally.

Now having said that, these internal/managerial accountants are usually working for senior management and are producing these non-GAAP reports by directive. The information in these reports are used by senior management and executive level decision makers. Often times, especially in disfunctional companies, the information is *incorrectly* or *incompletely* used by the decision makers. In these cases, it is not the fault of the internal/managerial accountant. Its the fault of the upper level executive that cherry picked data to support his/her pet project.

Its become a common verbal strike to go "its the bean counters fault". Ive seen it here and elsewhere. People need to pull this out of their vernacular. Truth be told, you will never find a business entity where the accountant is also making operational or financial decisions - unless the entity is *extremely* small.

 

[Kuzcotopia]

Thanks for the breakdown. Makes sense as to why they handle it that way. It did take the manager quite awhile and A LOT of typing before room was ready.

Being given a room number for the wrong resort was a Disney first for us. In the end, a fun Disney story/memory to add to our collection.

On one hand, it's great that WDW is (still) a place where an issue like that can arise and you know you are in good hands and your just excited to finally be "home" at WDW.

On the other hand, minor issues like this arise more often than in years past and there are now multiple issues at once. (maintenance, lazy cm's, ride capacity - one of your favorites) individually theyre not so bad, but combined it is like a woodpecker on steroids drilling holes in the magic

Another problem with this efficiency is lack of response when there is a problem.

I have read quite a few negative reviews at resorts, and many seem to include rooms that are incredibly dusty, as if they haven't been used in a long time.

Well, if management has to make a last minute room change, it's probably into a block of rooms that haven't been used in . . . ?

How can you respond to customer dissatisfaction effectively if you aren't maintaining the space that you have?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Purely on a point of order, its not unheard of people who were in financial division progressing up the corporate ladder and you can end up with the make up of a board slanted to that sort of group think and dynamic. I've seen it happen, the condescension that operations people can be viewed with is quite staggering. Especially dirty engineer types.

 

[JimboJones123]

Purely on a point of order, its not unheard of people who were in financial division progressing up the corporate ladder and you can end up with the make up of a board slanted to that sort of group think and dynamic. I've seen it happen, the condescension that operations people can be viewed with is quite staggering. Especially dirty engineer types.

Engineer types? At Disney? That was so 10 years ago. Or, judging by the Yeti, longer?