WDW has lost much of its magic.

DisneyDoctor

DisneyDoctor

Well-Known Member
ILOVEDISNEY said:
You make some very valid points. I’ve been to WDW 501 days now and counting since 1977. What people are missing is the financial status of Disney, both short and long term. As long as investors (Disclaimer: I’m a DIP member) are happy nothing will change—the status quo is good enough. Plans are just that—plans. Getting the board of directors on board and procuring financing are always the stumbling blocks. I poised the question some years ago concerning the closing of WDW. You would have thought I was some sort of heretic, and not a huge Disney fan since 1955 after my first visit to DL. WDW will eventually close, albeit not in my lifetime, which is in the twilight years, but it will close. Sorry.
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What was the point of this? WDW will close? No , everything will eventually close. A natural disaster or, God forbid, a massive war could wipe out humanity. So, yeah, WDW will close along with the gas station down the street that's been open since 1930.
 
C

CLEtoWDW

Well-Known Member
Astro_Digital said:
Fanboys will say I am wrong and I do not care;
I am sick of everybody just saying how great the place is.

  • It is in Florida which means at least for me it is hard to get to and if you go in the summer do not complain when it reaches 95 degrees with 100% humanity and the daily afternoon storms
  • The crowds are terrible and it gets worse every year. Main street USA looks like a crowd of people waiting for a rock concert, the lines for attractions after the first hour when people really pack in go to about an hour just about everywhere. The few attractions you can count on are the Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents and the Country Bear Jamboree "maybe the Haunted Mansion"
  • The prices are out of control yet people still pack the place, over $100 just to get in, food you buy one of their terrible burgers, frozen fries, and coke maybe $15. They do have nice restaurants but unless you plan months in advance you will never get a meal and if you do plan get reservation you can spend $50 plus for one meal. The merchandise is also criminally priced, cheap golf shirt $50.
  • Experiences Magic Kingdom, Main Street stores where you can get over priced junk, push through crowds to get to other lands. Epcot Future World has been dumbed down for example Test Track, what do you learn about Transportation? World Show Case the cast is from the host countries but do not be fooled, you go to the UK IT IS NOT LIKE REALLY GOING to the UK. Hollywood Studios I can do Rock and Roll Coaster like it and this board people are always complaining about Aerosmith, I do not kid myself when the Star Wars area expands like Avatar there maybe one attraction tops worth the hype and you will never get close to it. Animal Kingdom the Avatar Land like I said been there 3 times and I am too old and fat to run to the one worthy attraction, and I am not waiting over two hours to try it. Nothing else in Animal Kingdom does anything for me.
After all my criticism why do I go ? WDW has got worse over the years, back when you had Magic Kingdom and EPCOT I really enjoyed the parks, I go now and then hoping rediscover past experiences.
Why do I still visit the board ? I keep hoping to rediscover the magic the place was in the 80s and 90s
Will I go back maybe but I will not go out of my way, if I am going to Tampa Bay for a cruise maybe visit WDW, but I will never relive the 80s again. All I have is pictures and video.
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My unpopular opinion: increase ticket and resort prices by 20-25% in order to decrease attendance but increase the quality of guest in the parks. It's simple economics.... if you fill the parks and resorts with guests that can afford the prices they will have more enjoyable trips and also will spend more money in and around the parks.

I know WDW is expensive as is but clearly it's not "too expensive" as attendance continues to increase every year.
 
LittleBuford

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
CLEtoWDW said:
if you fill the parks and resorts with guests that can afford the prices they will have more enjoyable trips
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I understand (though don't agree with) the rest of your post, but I'm not sure what you mean here in terms of the correlation between wealth and enjoyment. I imagine that some of the most enjoyable trips to WDW have been had by those who've had to save to be able to go. It would be a shame to see such people priced out entirely.
 
DisneyDoctor

DisneyDoctor

Well-Known Member
CLEtoWDW said:
My unpopular opinion: increase ticket and resort prices by 20-25% in order to decrease attendance but increase the quality of guest in the parks. It's simple economics.... if you fill the parks and resorts with guests that can afford the prices they will have more enjoyable trips and also will spend more money in and around the parks.

I know WDW is expensive as is but clearly it's not "too expensive" as attendance continues to increase every year.
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Unfortunately many people finance their trips, lets say, irresponsibly...

Also, “increase the quality of guest.” That’s a bold claim. Means=quality? Unlikely.
 
C

CLEtoWDW

Well-Known Member
LittleBuford said:
I understand (though don't agree with) the rest of your post, but I'm not sure what you mean here in terms of the correlation between wealth and enjoyment. I imagine that some of the most enjoyable trips to WDW have been had by those who've had to save to be able to go. It would be a shame to see such people priced out entirely.
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I don't no necessarily want to price anyone out but let's just allow for supply and demand principals to run their course. There are a finite number of attractions and resorts so let's make the whole experience more enjoyable for all by more accurately pricing tickets and resorts.
 
LittleBuford

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
CLEtoWDW said:
I don't no necessarily want to price anyone out but let's just allow for supply and demand principals to run their course. There are a finite number of attractions and resorts so let's make the whole experience more enjoyable for all by more accurately pricing tickets and resorts.
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But why should wealth be the criterion that determines who's able to enjoy the resort? Your earlier post implied that the problem wasn't only with the number of guests, but also with the type, as if the less well-to-do were somehow spoiling things.
 
eliza61nyc

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
LittleBuford said:
But why should wealth be the criterion that determines who's able to enjoy the resort? Your earlier post implied that the problem wasn't only with the number of guests, but also with the type, as if the less well-to-do were somehow spoiling things.
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But the reality of consumerism is that wealth determines who enjoys a lot of stuff. The hotel Paris Ritz is generally $1,500 bucks a night. There is no obligation nor expectation of them lowering the price so that everyone may enjoy it. You either pay that price or you don't stay there.
Now I totally agree with the bolded, there definitely should not be any type of stigma on anyone but the reality is that Disney, Mercedes Benz, Louie Vuitton, Audi etc all are under no obligation to make their product "affordable".
I have been dying to see Hamilton on Broadway, evidently not enough because I refuse to pay 800.00 bucks for a theater ticket. whether I'm rich or poor, the ticket price is what it is. I really don't think the mouse world gives a hoot how folks are paying nor do they care if folks sacrifice to get to their parks. I really don't htink they care.
 
LittleBuford

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
eliza61nyc said:
But the reality of consumerism is that wealth determines who enjoys a lot of stuff. The hotel Paris Ritz is generally $1,500 bucks a night. There is no obligation nor expectation of them lowering the price so that everyone may enjoy it. You either pay that price or you don't stay there.
Now I totally agree with the bolded, there definitely should not be any type of stigma on anyone but the reality is that Disney, Mercedes Benz, Louie Vuitton, Audi etc all are under no obligation to make their product "affordable".
I have been dying to see Hamilton on Broadway, evidently not enough because I refuse to pay 800.00 bucks for a theater ticket. whether I'm rich or poor, the ticket price is what it is. I really don't think the mouse world gives a hoot how folks are paying nor do they care if folks sacrifice to get to their parks. I really don't htink they care.
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To be clear, I'm not saying WDW is too expensive as it stands. I actually think the value is incredible given the richness of the experience (at least as far as park entry is concerned). What I do object to is the idea that Disney should artificially inflate prices in order to keep a certain socioeconomic demographic out of the parks, supposedly because wealthier people represent a higher quality of guest. That's just exclusionary and elitist nonsense, and I for one would want nothing to do with Disney if they chose to go down such a path.

I know I'm unusual in not being bothered by the crowds, but some of my favourite places in the world (London, Istanbul, Venice) are always teeming. Extraordinary places are necessarily going to attract extraordinary numbers -- it's part of what makes them vibrant and exciting. WDW's crowds are a testament to how great the resort is.
 
"El Gran Magnifico"

"El Gran Magnifico"

Bring Me A Shrubbery
Premium Member
ILOVEDISNEY said:
You make some very valid points. I’ve been to WDW 501 days now and counting since 1977. What people are missing is the financial status of Disney, both short and long term. As long as investors (Disclaimer: I’m a DIP member) are happy nothing will change—the status quo is good enough. Plans are just that—plans. Getting the board of directors on board and procuring financing are always the stumbling blocks. I poised the question some years ago concerning the closing of WDW. You would have thought I was some sort of heretic, and not a huge Disney fan since 1955 after my first visit to DL. WDW will eventually close, albeit not in my lifetime, which is in the twilight years, but it will close. Sorry.
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Don't know where to even begin on this one....Congrats....even after I re-read it 5 times....I was still stumped.....you win.
 
DisneyDoctor

DisneyDoctor

Well-Known Member
eliza61nyc said:
But the reality of consumerism is that wealth determines who enjoys a lot of stuff. The hotel Paris Ritz is generally $1,500 bucks a night. There is no obligation nor expectation of them lowering the price so that everyone may enjoy it. You either pay that price or you don't stay there.
Now I totally agree with the bolded, there definitely should not be any type of stigma on anyone but the reality is that Disney, Mercedes Benz, Louie Vuitton, Audi etc all are under no obligation to make their product "affordable".
I have been dying to see Hamilton on Broadway, evidently not enough because I refuse to pay 800.00 bucks for a theater ticket. whether I'm rich or poor, the ticket price is what it is. I really don't think the mouse world gives a hoot how folks are paying nor do they care if folks sacrifice to get to their parks. I really don't htink they care.
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But Disney shouldn’t then raise prices to prevent people from visiting “improving the quality of guests” either.
 
eliza61nyc

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
RustySpork said:
What a joke too. I hope there's significant blowback over it.
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unfortunately there won't be but you know what, who's fault is that? seriously. The best blowback would simply be for consumers to stop going. businesses have absolutely no incentive to change until the bottom line is effected. The same with Disney, we keep complaining how bad it is, yet we keep handing them cash hand over fist.

Now I have no horse in this particular race. I live in a state that does not have sales tax, on clothing and I work in a state that doesn't have a sales tax on anything ( Delaware) so the chances of me going to an outlet mall in Orlando are slim to none but that mall is in a great position, a whole boat load of tourist who are getting a deal over theme park prices.
 
RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
eliza61nyc said:
unfortunately there won't be but you know what, who's fault is that? seriously. The best blowback would simply be for consumers to stop going. businesses have absolutely no incentive to change until the bottom line is effected. The same with Disney, we keep complaining how bad it is, yet we keep handing them cash hand over fist.

Now I have no horse in this particular race. I live in a state that does not have sales tax, on clothing and I work in a state that doesn't have a sales tax on anything ( Delaware) so the chances of me going to an outlet mall in Orlando are slim to none but that mall is in a great position, a whole boat load of tourist who are getting a deal over theme park prices.
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I used to shop at the Orlando outlet stores now and then before they started charging to park, but to be honest there were rarely deals to be found there anyway. The word "outlet" has just become another term for overpriced garbage. If you're going to spend $10 to park just to save $10 on what you buy, may as well go to the Florida Mall instead. Looks like they've been taking a bit of a beating on Trip Advisor lately.
 
D

drizgirl

Well-Known Member
eliza61nyc said:
Oh absolutely. Question? Do we actually know that's what Disney is doing?? I can't imagine the brains behind to operations saying that's the reason for the price hikes?
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I think that's just what a few posters would like to see happen. There's no chance they really are. Or they wouldn't have just unblocked a bunch of AP's and offered them deeply discounted tickets for friends.
 

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