The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[WDW1974]

"faffing about" I have not heard that delightful bit of language since living in England. I also remember delightful economical trips to DLP while living and working in England for several years. Wonderfully the DLP specials were good for my British address and I was not excluded for being a Yank abroad. If DCL returns to the Baltic look for me aboard. Love DCL so much more than the parks especially in recent years. Here in Florida the cruise lines offer excellent discounts for locals. Sailed eleven times last year with the majority on DCL. Sailing Royal C to South Hampton in a few months. Cheers.

You took 11 cruises last year?

True Top One Percenter?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I don't know about your McDonald's and WalMart but if I received the same level of service at WDW that I do at either I would NEVER return. While the service at WDW is not always perfect, in general it is substantially better than the typical service we get at most fast food and discount retail stores in my area. For all the "declines" in customer service at WDW the same service declines have been going on even more radically in food-service, hospitality, retail in the markets I frequent. Much of the decline locally comes from the fact that sales are/were down so the stores cut back customer facing positions at an alarming rate.

When workers are either overworked or underpaid you get poor service in general. Here there is are so many open minimum wage jobs that local retailers are starting to pay a premium for good people, some up to $15/hr and that is in Little Rock, AR.

Is the service at Cosmic Rays exponentially better than Chick-fil-a? No.

 

[WDW1974]

Indeed? Then let me pick your brain...Baltic on DCL...ports that demand long and thorough explorations. It it worth paying the Disney premium for a cruise where so much time will be spent ashore? Or should I go RC or Cunard at half the price?

My TA suggested the DCL Dover-Barcelona repositioning cruise next year so we could enjoy the shipboard offerings...but DH MUCH prefers the ports on the Baltic sailings.

I should be glad of your advice...Ta! And sorry for wandering off-topic but I thought it might interest others...maybe?

Feel free to discuss cruising here.

There's not much news to tell about WDW ...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

That is worrisome and true.

What worries me is how quickly it started to slip. Like overnight the park got shorter hours, an oddball refurbishment schedule, a filthy SM exterior etc.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Is the service at Cosmic Rays exponentially better than Chick-fil-a? No.

In my area of the country, yes by a wide margin. Service at most retail and fast-food here is poor to downright bad in general with employees that will stare at you and not say a word except here or to-go, etc.

 

[Scuttle]

So beaches and cream now take reservations... Guess I missed the memo

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Don't forget about him! Dave's a good guy. He even went out of his way when I was in Germany to go back outside of the park to grab me a 30th anniversary guide map without even knowing me. You the man Dave!!!

Yeah, he is about fifteen kinds of awesome.

Is it TDO conspiracy to not build rides and force us drinkers to the bars as soon as possible at Epcot ?.. Just saying, sorry I'm drinking guys

Tack one on for me, Scuttle. What are you drinking and where? How's the crowd levels in Epcot today? F&G pulling people in?

That is worrisome and true.

I choose to remain in denial and prefer to think of DL as clean(er) and maintained. I know SM is filthy and has been for months, and the refurb schedule is nuts right now but at least their attractions are getting refurbed and cleaned. :/ I'm hoping the dark rides still get their upgrades for the big anniversary.

More than anything I honest to god hope MSEP doesn't find it's way back to California for the anniversary. Nothing would put the last nail in the coffin for me than being on the sidelines watching that sad sorry thing on Main Street, to celebrate the anniversary if the little park that could.

Call me what you will but I don't want to think of DL as having the issues wdw is right now. The thought is too depressing. I don't want to have to go overseas for a world class disney park but it seems like they're are making sure my hard earned American dollars aren't spent here. Or maybe that's the recovery plan for DLP all along? Tick off enough DL and WDW fans so they go to Paris?

 

[Fe Maiden]

And that along with what @71jason said is all perspective. The way we did our's on DCL in December it was not over Disneyfied and I saw aspects that makes it worth it to me over the others. On the flipside this is a POSITVE, you have different lines whose prices all reflect their products that overall really have a ton of quality in it. A problem with making a choice I will gladly take.

To be honest, I think modern cruising has passed me by. I started in 81-82 on Home Lines, NY to Bermuda. Your own personal deck chair, wooden with soft cloth padding brought out each morning by a deck hand. No overpriced specialty restaurants, just walk in the main dining room and you knew you were getting a great meal (always chose late seating). "Oh you're in the mood for steak but it's not on the menu this evening, how would you like it cooked? Would you like a lobster tail to go along with it?" And suits and tuxes were not suggestions.

 

[WDW1974]

I agree with much of what you say above, but not even the almighty Comcast could weather that many storms without major changes as well. The truth is, what you describe isn't about Disney, it about our consumerism economy. Not many publically traded companies can survive a moderate recession.

Ah, but we are not talking about Comcast. If we were, then we wouldn't be talking about constant price cuts, quality drops and staleness in its parks. Perhaps, we would be talking about poor wages ... but Disney sets the O-Town bar, sadly.

And I disagree with your point about recessions. Properly run corporations with strong fundamentals weather them.

In the salary department, again a microcosm of the greater economy. I want Dis to employ the best, but I don't expect it when park admission is a fraction of the cost of a top artist concert ticket. Even our beloved DCL gets away with poor pay packages that are fractions above Carnival.

Companies with true leadership, strong/visionary folks who aren't afraid to actually trendset, they don't follow.
Disney used to pay wages that were a lot better when relative to both the cost of admission and the cost of living.

Again, people never seem to realize that when Disney was providing a vastly higher caliber experience in O-town that the relative cost (of everything from ticket media to resort accommodations to food and beverage) was substantially lower.

Comparing park admission to a concert is a poor argument that inevitably has people talking about everything from the cost of an NBA game to a Broadway play to a movie ticket to justify WDW's prices.

If you want to go down that road with me, then please explain why and how WDW could offer a vastly better product when it charged $45 a day and paid its employees (relative to inflation, cost of living) closer to a living wage?

Where's @ParentsOf4 with facts and figures and pie charts and spread sheets?

I don't believe any CEO could make folks here happy without broader changes with Wall Street and the economy at large.

I appreciate that Iger made TWDC stronger today, I appreciate that he doesn't meddle too heavily in the creative, I appreciate that I enjoy virtually every studio movie they produce.

That's fine. I don't.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Have u ever been during spring break before? It's always a mad house no matter what park u r at!

Normal
For 9:30?

SSE is normal for 9:30 since the first place anyone goes at the 9AM rope drop is SSE. 15 minutes isn't even worth commenting on. 60 on TT, during spring break...not all that extreme. 100 for Soarin, is a little intense. Blaming it on FP+, not sure I can justify that.

 

[WDW1974]

I believe that your assessment of the SW Land situation is spot on. My question is this, given this information when should we realistically expect an opening of a new land for SW? I am guessing by the time Episode Nine is getting ready to hit theaters. Think that is too soon?

Knowing how WDW builds things (things that are not timeshares), one could not realistically expect to see any significant SW product before 2018-19 ... at the earliest.

 

[Scuttle]

SSE is normal for 9:30 since the first place anyone goes at the 9AM rope drop is SSE. 15 minutes isn't even worth commenting on. 60 on TT, during spring break...not all that extreme. 100 for Soarin, is a little intense. Blaming it on FP+, not sure I can justify that.

Either way like I said it's not fullyFP+ it's lack of rides.

 

[WDW1974]

Another indication that financial media reporters are thrilled, just thrilled with Disney's WS performance:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...4/03/19/disney-theme-park-investment/5910681/

The funniest part is how "brave" Disney was to invest in their parks (sure, I'm sure you can find that investment somewhere at WDW) during the recession. As if the recession is over... but that's another topic.

PR drivel with a byline. Period.

 

[Rodan75]

I have done RC and DCL. DCL trumped food, more friendly employees (not that RC's werent friendly, DCL's were just always above and beyond), details on DCL couldn't be rivaled, shows could not be compared, Castaway Cay > Coco Cay, and the list goes on. It is why I booked DCL last week for a 7 day cruise over someone else. Having done DCL and non DCL it is worth the extra cost in my eyes.

I fully agree...I'm just saying that they are still paying their cruise employees peanuts,but there isn't quite the outrage over it.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Knowing how WDW builds things (things that are not timeshares), one could not realistically expect to see any significant SW product before 2018-19 ... at the earliest.

That's so sad.

 

[Rodan75]

I truly think comparing theme park tickets to other entertainment ticket prices does not make any sense and the example of concerts is especially useless. I have heard from someone who works in the top management in the music industry and has been involved with artists that are globally known that in todays market concerts is where there is still money to be made. In the past artists would give concerts to promote their albums. Now it is more the other way around in the world of easy access to digital copies. So the price of a concert ticket is not set by how expensive it is to pay for the light show, the rent for the venue and the people working there, it is a price that goes as high as possible to maximise return.

The same goal (maximising return) sets the prices for WDW tickets. That's why we see the annual price hikes that far exceed increase in costs (as shown by the same sentence every quarter about how profits have increased due to increased guest spending caused by higher prices). They will rise prices until they hit the price which people are no longer willing to pay.

Investing in your labour force is not something that brings an immediate return - however, that's the only thing that counts for the current TWDC's management...

I agree. But I think my broader point was, there isn't the freedom to invest in your employees. Wall Street won't let you escape your margin requirements.

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974, Any thoughts on this?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peterlauria/why-bob-iger-may-not-leave-disney-in-2016

It's interesting how much of a cheerleading tone this article (and most other media outlets) take for Iger. He's really becoming the quite the paradox. His leadership as CEO has been extremely successful for Disney's stock price, and clearly many shareholders are pleased with his performance. There's no denying that the Animation Studios have seen a tremendous turnaround during his reign, and that acquisitions like Marvel and Pixar have been very profitable, so to some extent it's easy to see why shareholders love him. That 99% support figure at the shareholder's meeting is very telling.

But at the same time they seem blind to his disturbing spending habits, from the relatively quiet (but significant) failures with MM+ and Disney Interactive, to much more public debacles resulting from a film studio built exclusively on expensive tentpoles (Prince of Persia, John Carter, Lone Ranger, Mars Need Moms). And many on this site justifiably take issue with his lack of interest in theme parks, reliance on sequels and branding (successful though the animation studios have been, their movies have also added five princesses to the toy line-up in the last five years - the first five princesses debuted over 54 years), and in general little patience with genuinely creative ideas. The problem is that while Eisner's creative failures led to financial failures as well, Iger's creative failures seem to always be masked by successes in other divisions (e.g. John Carter being quickly covered up with the Avengers, which does little to support the central Disney brand).

As a result, the stock price soars while the creative integrity of the company suffers.

My thoughts, especially knowing the writer, is that it is a placed piece designed to tout the 'Iger premium' that many on Wall Street say is what WDC stock is trading at.

There is no denying that he has been a master of acquisitions. But beyond that?

Again, no one is looking at the foundation and how it was built ... they are busy admiring the home theater system and wine cellar and bowling alley ...

Iger has certainly done good in his tenure, but continuing to follow the same business model that caused Eisner issues his last 5-6 years gets lost in the acquisitions and the numbers he has been able to deliver. No one really looks deeper.

But that IS our country today. No one here focuses on the NSA spying and two administrations (supposedly vastly different in ideology) breaking the Constitution ... much better to get excited by the newest iPhone or watch Justin Bieber get arrested again.

We are not a nation of thinkers anymore. And many revel in ignorance. That certainly helps corporations and powerful entities get away with almost anything.

Back to the story, I don't see Iger remaining beyond 2016 ... I sense posturing ... and folks worried about the plunge the stock will take if he leaves and Rasulo or Staggs winds up taking his place.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Has anyone posted this one yet?

29 things you'll never see at disney world again

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicaprobus/things-youll-never-see-at-disney-world-again

How many of these were due to budget cuts?

 

[WDW1974]

The thing that keeps me from going on DCL is Disney itself. I'm just not that interested in a "disneyfied" cruise. Wow, I can meet Captain America? No thanks. I've never heard a bad word about DCL, know they have great food, great service, even appreciate the look of their ships (hate the boxy look of today's ships) but I can get what makes DCL great on other lines for less. Or pay a few dollars more per day for a true luxury line.

DCL is what Disney still does quite well.

If you love Disney and you love cruising, then the only issue really is price ... and that absolutely is a fair criticism as people pay more for 3-4 night Bahama cruises on DCL than I have paid for 14 night transatlantics on other lines.

 

[WDW1974]

Is the service at Cosmic Rays exponentially better than Chick-fil-a? No.

Cosmic Ray's has the honor of serving me the worst turkey sandwich I've ever had at any theme park and 'only' charging me something like $9.49 for the privilege. ... I was stuck at MVMCP with almost no options.