The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I guess one would have to ask, what doesn't cost a lot more now then it did 8 - 10 years ago? A non-essential theme park that is considered a "luxury" for most people, does not base their pricing on the "national average", they base it on what the customer will pay. Just like you would do if you owned a theme park. High priced? Yes! Exceptionally high priced? No, there are still many things that are much more costly.

Disney's prices have outpaced inflation on an exponential level, the charts have been posted here multiple times. Vacation wise, it doesn't get much more costly than $600+ a night for a hotel room, and that's a frequent occurrence at the deluxe resorts, which is why their occupancy is so low.

For the cost of tickets, food and Disney resort nights for a family of four, they can take a world-class vacation on a luxury cruise liner (notice I didn't say DCL, which is stupidly expensive as well) or God forbid, go someplace outside of the country. When you can blow $7K in a week at WDW, there are definitely other options at that price level that don't involve theme parks that have less in them now then they did 10 years ago.

 

[jt04]

It's not an age-old lament. It's a matter of some places getting better, some getting worse. WDW went nearly 30 years of just getting better. Now it's getting worse.

DLR has ticked upwards after bottoming out.

Not to turn this into another Uni vs. WDW debate but today's Uni is better than the Uni of old.

Being a regular visitor to certain Caribbean islands, resorts there have gotten nicer than they were in decades past.

Even the hellhole that was Manhattan in the early 1970s (some thought NYC was a lost cause) was turned into a place where families took the train in on weekends to visit.

Most vacation destinations have improved as they try to compete for vacation dollars.

Then there's WDW, operating with a lean manufacturing and cost accounting mindset.

Subjective opinion.

 

[jt04]

No question that there is some hope, as long as WDW comes through. Their track record of late has been a lot of good ideas with no execution. Let's see how Star Wars land and Avatar plays out.

I have stated on this site since rumors of UNI and HP were running rampant, competition is the only way to get WDW back to what it was. It was the announcement of UNI being built that got us MGM and AK. Even though the parks were never finished as planned.

The parks is too stale for me to spend my hard earned money at WDW. The sad part is my wife came to the conclusion long before I did. I probably would still have my head stuck in the sand,

The financial house is now in order and Iger has set the table so content can become a priority in the near future (see FotLK improvements and Pandora for example). Some day you will appreciate what he has accomplished.

It was not long ago (weeks perhaps) that some were writing off animation and even Lasseter. How out of touch does that look now?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Disney's prices have outpaced inflation on an exponential level, the charts have been posted here multiple times. Vacation wise, it doesn't get much more costly than $600+ a night for a hotel room, and that's a frequent occurrence at the deluxe resorts, which is why their occupancy is so low.

Interestingly and somewhat related, the lovely Maui hotel the DW and I honeymooned at over 20 years ago costs about 20% more today than it did in the early 1990s.

20 years, 20% price increase, same beautiful facility.

I wish I could say the same for WDW.

 

[Computer Magic]

The financial house is now in order and Iger has set the table so content can become a priority in the near future (see FotLK improvements and Pandora for example). Some day you will appreciate what he has accomplished.

It was not long ago (weeks perhaps) that some were writing off animation and even Lasseter. How out of touch does that look now?

This is the first animation hit in over 10 years for Disney, Disney animation was lost until Pixar was bought. I agree Lasseter and Edwin Catmull saved Disney animation but it shouldn't have needed saving. Failure leadership to produce quality animation films. Disney never had a financial problem but a leadership problem. The fact that it takes as long to build a land as it did a entire park raises concerns. There is nothing opening until 2018 now that FL is complete, and lets not count FotLk which was only moved. Oh wait, there is a DVC opening in the Poly.

 

[TP2000]

Not buying into DVC was the best move I ever made. I was *thisclose* to signing up, too.

Amen! You aren't the only one who feels that way.

I looked into DVC around the 50th Anniversary. I was loaded into the van and got the full tour and ice-cold lemonade and perky-perky soft sales pitch and glossy brochures and everything. I went home and ran the numbers again and realized I'd be committing to an organization that was coasting on nostalgic fumes and that even back then was demonstrating it had no real commitment to it's own culture. Marketing campaigns with little substance are easy to spot, but Disney's cheesy marketing department pretends we're too stupid to know that.

Something told me to back off from DVC. It was a gnawing feeling in the back of my mind.

Sad thing is, the Disney of the 2010's seems to prove my old hunch that it was best to not buy into DVC. The Florida property is the most glaring example of that, but you can spot it even in Anaheim. And for every one step they take forward somewhere (Cars Land, finally replacing MK's 15 year old parade, World of Color, Buena Vista Street), they take two steps back somewhere else (Epcot 2002-14, DHS 2005-14, MyMagic+ investment, condition of WDW transportation, Disneyland's Tomorrowland, charmless DVC shoebox condos around Bay Lake/Seven Seas Lagoon, generic napkins and paper goods, WDW park food service, etc., etc.).

When it comes to DVC and slowly backing away from the perky-perky Welcome Home! sales staff, with each passing year I am more happy that I made the decision to pass on DVC.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Disney's prices have outpaced inflation on an exponential level, the charts have been posted here multiple times. Vacation wise, it doesn't get much more costly than $600+ a night for a hotel room, and that's a frequent occurrence at the deluxe resorts, which is why their occupancy is so low.

For the cost of tickets, food and Disney resort nights for a family of four, they can take a world-class vacation on a luxury cruise liner (notice I didn't say DCL, which is stupidly expensive as well) or God forbid, go someplace outside of the country. When you can blow $7K in a week at WDW, there are definitely other options at that price level that don't involve theme parks that have less in them now then they did 10 years ago.

I understand and what I said was it does not matter how much they outpaced inflation because they are not covered by that rule. If you check it out there are many things that don't figure into inflation. (Energy for one) All that matters is what people are willing to pay.

You are saying that the idea that they have put the prices up so much is the reason that they are not filling the rooms. I don't argue that at all, but, until they decide that the reason is "price to high", they will stay that way and the best we can do is just not pay it. There are plenty of options available. They might, at some point, look at it and decide that they have indeed overpriced. They then will offer rates at 30% or more off. Then many will say, wow, look at the deal they are giving, let's go while the price is cheap(er). Wait, that's what they do now isn't it?

There are many options that do involve a theme park that are much cheaper already. If people would get over the obsession that they have to stay onsite to enjoy their vacation, they can go back home with lot's of cash. An example, I just drove there from North Carolina. It was a brief visit, 3 days and 4 nights, my total cost including, hotel, fuel for the car, meals (some on Disney) and pre-purchased tickets (non-expiring 10 day, park hoppers) was $594.00. **

** Three days used on my ticket, prorated at $60. per day.

I didn't feel the need to have a 5 foot plastic headed mouse wondering the aisles outside my room while I sleep, to have a great time. Personally I love entering the property every morning and heading toward my park of choice, the tram ride, the ferry or monorail at MK, all of it is part of the experience to me.

 

[SirLink]

Funny thing is, I agree with them. I wasn't impressed with anything except the visuals. To me, the story was blah and the music was forgettable. I'm the only person I know who hasn't pre-ordered the Blu-Ray.

Well @tirian I think I'm the only person who has yet to see it or see what the fuss is about it. Does that make me lucky?

 

[Computer Magic]

Well @tirian I think I'm the only person who has yet to see it or see what the fuss is about it. Does that make me lucky?

We received two free tickets from Adventure BY Disney Marketing team, otherwise my wife would not have attended. She was not impressed. I found it okay but won't be buying the movie when released.

 

[WDWFanDave]

A quick update...

Was disney truly THAT blindsided by the success of Frozen that they didn't order enough/have enough available merchandise to meet demands?

I popped into the Disney Store @ south hills village mall in search of, hopefully, an Elsa dress (I know, fat chance. Haven't seen one since November) or an Anna dress for my little cousins upcoming 4th birthday. The entire store did not have a single item of Frozen merchandise. Instead, they overstocked the shelves with animators dolls and tons of Rapunzel dresses and dolls. I asked the only available employee (three others had a Mickey dance party thing going on in the back of the store) and she said "ma'am, all I hear all day long is 'why y'all got no frozen stuff' and I keep giving everyone the same answer, we are completely out and they haven't sent us anything for weeks!"

So I checked Target, once again, and the Disney shelves, once again, were wiped out, minus a few baby dolls that apparently no kid likes.



This is almost identical to how this exact aisle looked months ago when I took a pic of it and posted it here.

Did Frozen really knock Disney for a loop or were they simply being cheap with the designs and merch and now it's biting them on the ?

And please pardon spelling or wrong word errors, my iPad has a mind of its own today :/

And, this is the week that Frozen comes out on disc...so the huge push for merchandise, and the reason you see all those 'As Advertised' tags, seems to be either terrible planning on the part of one of the parties...either Target just didn't plan and order well, or Disney Merchandising (whatever name they go by) simply can't keep up with demand.

Either MUST be explainable, right? I mean, didn't the movie just come out at the theater last week?

I know it takes time for stuff to be manufactured and then shipped to our ports, but I'm pretty sure that they've had enough time to figure out that the demand is huge AND that they'll need the merchandise to support it.

It'll be interesting to see...we pre-paid for Frozen at the Disney Outlet, and plan to go pick it up next Saturday (it's a bit of a ride for us...we did it to get the bonus prints that it came with), and I'll try to remember to take some photos of the merchandise there.

Great 'investigative' reporting!

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

And, this is the week that Frozen comes out on disc...so the huge push for merchandise, and the reason you see all those 'As Advertised' tags, seems to be either terrible planning on the part of one of the parties...either Target just didn't plan and order well, or Disney Merchandising (whatever name they go by) simply can't keep up with demand.

Either MUST be explainable, right? I mean, didn't the movie just come out at the theater last week?

I know it takes time for stuff to be manufactured and then shipped to our ports, but I'm pretty sure that they've had enough time to figure out that the demand is huge AND that they'll need the merchandise to support it.

It'll be interesting to see...we pre-paid for Frozen at the Disney Outlet, and plan to go pick it up next Saturday (it's a bit of a ride for us...we did it to get the bonus prints that it came with), and I'll try to remember to take some photos of the merchandise there.

Great 'investigative' reporting!

Thanks!

I forgot dryer sheets and paper towels so went to another Target, this one is actually closer to my home. Just for poops n giggles, I stopped by the disney aisle.



Second target, about forty minutes driving distance from the pictures posted earlier, and it's wiped clean too.


I also preordered the DVD. As did everyone I know. I'm very curious to see some sales figures at the end of the week.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Funny thing is, I agree with them. I wasn't impressed with anything except the visuals. To me, the story was blah and the music was forgettable. I'm the only person I know who hasn't pre-ordered the Blu-Ray.

Well, and I'm the second person you know.

Yeah, I frankly don't get the fuss either. But the movie has somehow struck a very resonant chord with the general public, and that's a good thing. It's boosted Walt Disney Animation tremendously, and as a Walt Disney fan, I couldn't be more pleased.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I loved the movie, but I'm not buying it this week. They're planning a 3D combo pack for later this year with more blu-Ray special features apparently, and I don't love it enough to double dip.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I enjoy Frozen. Unlike Tangled which I feel is a boring and mediocre mess, I found Frozen to be a pleasant surprise and is solid/good/etc. But it's not some sort of masterpiece that can even hope to touch the likes of Beauty and the Beast and the other renaissance era Disney animated movies. It's a step up for non-Pixar Disney animation and gives hope for the future of their core Disney-made movies again (especially now that Pixar just produced three stinkers in a row and i'm now troubled about their future quality). But it's important to remember that with only a couple of rare and notable exceptions such as Meet the Robinsons (which I love) and also the recent Winnie the Pooh and Wreck it Ralph, it's still just a step up from what has largely been mediocrity at best, sometimes even outright bad to horrible movies such as Home on the Range and Chicken Little. It's a big step up to be sure, but remember that it's a step up from pretty much rock bottom most of the time. And there's still yet a VERY long way to climb before they're even close to where they were before. Plus despite enjoying Frozen myself, I can completely understand why some people wouldn't like the movie. It's not perfect and has a lot of flaws underneath that keep it from touching the pre-2000's masterpieces.

In regards to at least the music, the creators at Disney weren't wrong about it being blah IMO. I'm not a big fan of Let it Go at all, without the hype i'd probably consider it ok to decent at best, but nothing special like it's hyped to be. It wouldn't surprise me if it's going to turn into a sort of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" going forward where it's over-played everywhere so people end up sick to death of it (I've already heard this complaint even from people who like it that they're tired of hearing it everywhere, it doesn't have that beautiful replayability of Tale as Old as Time that only gets better the more you hear it for instance)... I actually far prefer the arrangement of Let it Go used in World of Color to the actual film version, it adds a sort of epic orchestral flair that the movie version is missing. First time in Forever is ok, nothing special but at least it hasn't been played to death like Let it Go. Do you Want to Build a Snowman is probably my pick for favorite song in the movie, the only one I'd consider outright good and i've even hummed it a few time around the house (still not up there with BATB, Little Mermaid or the majority of Hunchback of Notre Dame however). The rest of the soundtrack i'd say is actually anywhere from bad to straight up annoying... I mentioned this before, but soon after seeing Frozen I decided to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera for the first time (luckily there is an official recording of the 25th anniversary London Cast's version made available on DVD/Bluray so I had a watch). I adored it and was in awe at the entire show, the absolutely spectacular music and singing served as a truly amazing palate cleansing after coming away let down by Frozen's music.

I did enjoy Frozen's story, to some extent at least. Thought it was an enjoyable movie to watch unfold, though I had some serious gripes with some plot elements and the pacing was off at times. The villain was completely stupid though, I didn't enjoy that part whatsoever or the character (I expect at least SOME entertainment and interest out of a Disney villain at the very least). I even kind of had a feeling they would pull something like it considering all the blatant jabs they were taking at classic Disney movies from the early-mid 1900's. Hoped they would be more clever with it though. Wouldn't even have minded them poking fun at old Disney movie plots had they been more subtle about it and had this movie been a little better constructed, with a more interesting and better developed/designed villain to boot. Poking fun at classic Disney story development was something Shrek 1 and 2 did far better though.

I can't speak for others who enjoyed the movie, but I honestly think the driving reason it was a pleasant surprise for me personally was because I had my expectations at rock bottom going in. I did not let the hype get me excited after being misled and burned by the extremely disappointing and mediocre Tangled. Seeing the incredibly stupid early teasers of Frozen centering around stupidity with Olaf didn't help my expectations any (who yeah is a very annoying and unfunny character but graciously shoved to the side in favor of the other main characters so we didn't have to put up with him TOO much). I went into Frozen expecting garbage and came away pleasantly surprised at how surprisingly solid it was, but it STILL didn't blow me away. I can't help but wonder how i'd have felt about it if I had gone in expecting Beauty and the Beast like many people were hyping it as. I've a feeling I would have been very let down (again). Still think it's much better than Tangled, but low expectations I believe are the reason I enjoyed it to the extent I did.

But suffice to say, I still enjoyed Frozen, glaring problems and over-hype aside. So that is something. I don't blame anyone for not liking it though, I completely get why they wouldn't. I hope the creatives at Disney continue to ascend up the staircase and further improve their future films. Unfortunately mandating a Frozen sequel like Iger wants is likely to just throw the studio back down to the bottom again, potentially nullifying the progress they've made so far and making it ever more difficult to climb back up. Movie was good, i'd say it deserves to do well, but they can't just milk it and fall right back into the same failure they were in prior to it (like Iger apparently wants).

 

[crispy]

Well @tirian I think I'm the only person who has yet to see it or see what the fuss is about it. Does that make me lucky?

I haven't seen it either. My DDs saw it with friends and absolutely loved it. They sing the sings constantly as do most of their friends. It's crazy how popular it is.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I haven't seen it either. My DDs saw it with friends and absolutely loved it. They sing the sings constantly as do most of their friends. It's crazy how popular it is.

I'm guilty of this. And I'm 30.

But the soundtrack makes good jogging music. It's my warm up. Except "fixer upper" ...I really don't like that one.

 

[tirian]

Well, and I'm the second person you know.

Yeah, I frankly don't get the fuss either. But the movie has somehow struck a very resonant chord with the general public, and that's a good thing. It's boosted Walt Disney Animation tremendously, and as a Walt Disney fan, I couldn't be more pleased.

Yes, I am glad that WDFA is back in the spotlight where it belongs!

 

[tirian]

Well @tirian I think I'm the only person who has yet to see it or see what the fuss is about it. Does that make me lucky?

It's worth seeing but definitely not the best thing Disney has done since The Lion King. Nevertheless, it's refreshing to see WDFA back in the spotlight.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

It just goes to show how blatantly out of touch most Disney execs are with what people want. Getting blindsided by Frozen's success is inexcusable, and if it were a real company, heads would roll.

The thing is, the bigger you screw up at Disney, the bigger your promotion. Look at Jay Rasulo!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I loved the movie, but I'm not buying it this week. They're planning a 3D combo pack for later this year with more blu-Ray special features apparently, and I don't love it enough to double dip.

3D combo yes, but I'm not too sure about more bonus features. Disney has been quite cheap in that department for some time now, so I don't think it's a given like so many online expect it to be. Do the 3D combos out now in the UK or South Korea have more bonus features?