WDW Taking a Hit Over Gator and Massacre ...

[WDW1974]

For the first time in forever.. Wait, not the song or the ride, but the PIN code.. Got one in my email today and was able to use on our November booking (11/5-11/13) for Pop. Room for $99.00/night. Also got an ad in the email for free dining, but did not go outside of the dates already offered which was a bummer. But this does tell me they may be actively seeking a surge in bookings..

SAVE UP TO 30%*
on rooms at select
Walt Disney World Resort hotels.
For stays most nights 8/26–11/22/16 and 11/26–12/23/16.
Book through 8/31/16.

You can stay at a high end resort for that price or slightly more. $99 is still a crazy price for a Disney motel. Those are $49 rooms. They always have been and always will be.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Well if theres a cull on holidays maybe Ill get a better rate at the Hard Rock. every cloud........

 

[SorcererMC]

if WDW loses 20% of its business due to the child's death by gator and the mass murder at Pulse, then things are going to be quite dark, indeed. Not hyperbole. Fact.

20% sounds like a plausible but worst-case scenario. Is that what is being projected? I would have thought maybe 5-10%, which would hurt in the short-term but be 'manageable' (for the company; it would likely mean that people will lose their jobs and if there is a localized impact then it will be hard to find new jobs). It's surprising to me b/c most people planning their Disney vaca 6+ months out are emotionally and financially invested in the experience, and unlikely to cancel. In another thread, we were talking about short-term seeing a small impact, but long-term as recovered. This information on cancellations shifts the nature of that considerably.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

If there are rules or laws about feeding the wildlife, it should be enforced in a big way. How about banning people from the resorts for life if they are caught breaking the rules. That would get people's attention and I would fully support Disney banning families from the resorts. They did it with people who film the old waterpark (River country). People have to realize that you can't make the world perfect.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

20% sounds like a plausible but worst-case scenario. Is that what is being projected? I would have thought maybe 5-10%, which would hurt in the short-term but be 'manageable' (for the company; it would likely mean that people will lose their jobs and if there is a localized impact then it will be hard to find new jobs). It's surprising to me b/c most people planning their Disney vaca 6+ months out are emotionally and financially invested in the experience, and unlikely to cancel. In another thread, we were talking about short-term seeing a small impact, but long-term as recovered. This information on cancellations shifts the nature of that considerably.

Are people canceling from the monorail resorts since that's where this took place?

 

[jaklgreen]

See, that's where the disconnect is and why I just can't believe folks are typing what they are.

You don't see a giant lit-up-literally-like-a-Christmas-tree chomping alligator is in poor taste to display RIGHT OVER where a child died of an alligator attack?

Really? Would you say that in front of your mom, or just on the Internet where it "doesn't count"?

It's not about emotional distress - it's about good taste.

I think most of us can separate a tragedy from light up float. We can empathize with what happened but choose to not let it rule our lives. I wish that never happened to that poor boy, but that does not mean that every time is see an alligator, especially a cartoon one, that it is going to throw me into a depression. People have been killed by dogs, does that mean we need to get rid of pluto. If they want to remove that float for a while, that is fine. But to get rid of all alligator/croc references in the whole park is ridiculous. You can not live like that. Do you still ride the monorail? Tragedy happened there. A child dies on mission space at Epcot, they did not close the ride down. Of all of the tragic ways that people have died over the year, if you remove all reminders, there will be nothing left. Have to keep this in perspective.

 

[WDW1974]

Did I miss this in the news? Did Disney know about the planned attack and report the Orlando terrorist beforehand? Is this what Spirit has eluded to and the reason for the increased security?

There have been lots of conflicting reports in the media. The killer (I still refuse to call him a terrorist in the crazy Islamic terrorist way because it is very possible this was just an evil crazy guy committing a hate crime and using a last-minute ISIS pledge to get maximum effect) was at WDW numerous times, once at MK with wife and child in April, once at Disney Springs the very day of the attack.

But you better believe the increase in security has everything to do with him.

 

[rnese]

I'm not aware of the other ones, but surely you don't have an issue with them removing the Jungle Cruise joke that was about children getting eaten by alligators, on a ride just a few hundred yards away from where a child just died of an alligator attack?

I do. Hypersensitivity. This society needs to grow up.

 

[GoofGoof]

If there are rules or laws about feeding the wildlife, it should be enforced in a big way. How about banning people from the resorts for life if they are caught breaking the rules. That would get people's attention and I would fully support Disney banning families from the resorts. They did it with people who film the old waterpark (River country). People have to realize that you can't make the world perfect.

It is against the law to feed Alligators in FL. They don't need to ban people for life, but they should inform peole at check in that they can and will be evicted from their hotel room without refund and turned in to local police if they are caught feeding them. At those room prices it should be more than enough to discourage anyone.

 

[WDW1974]

Please Spirit, would you stick to Disney and leave your gun control opinions at the door.

No, not really. Not when threads have been taken over by gun nuts here. I don't like guns ... I still like the second amendment ...but I think we need massive changes in our laws because we have proven as a nation that we can't keep these weapons without blood running in our streets. ...But I am glad that's what you've taken from my posts in this thread.

 

[WDW1974]

The removal of anything alligator related extended to Disneyland and California Adventure. According to Management in the stores, a slew of complaints were received by irate guests who were offended by t-shirts, plush, etc. with the image of Tic Toc or Louis. Items were pulled from the shelves immediately.

I am going to assume you are joking. And one would hope so.

 

[SorcererMC]

Are people canceling from the monorail resorts since that's where this took place?

This is what WDW1974 has reported:

There have been mass cancellations to use your term at the GF and to a lesser extent across property (and likely across Central FL).

 

[WDW1974]

I haven't heard anybody report that they had any info about a planned attack. But it was reported (I think originally by a local reporter in Orlando) that Disney's security team alerted the FBI at some point; apparently they felt like he was acting suspiciously. I'm guessing that "out of an abundance of caution" they alert law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels frequently based on observations of individuals' behavior on their property.

That still isn't clear at all. It might be that Disney simply told the FBI that he had visited based on their vast database of tracking they do. And I am talking post-shooting ... but it sure hasn't been made clear in most media. ... Sorta like the guy arrested with a gun at DLP a few months ago just disappeared from media coverage and likely is never to be written about again.

 

[WDW1974]

People think with their emotions, not with their brains. A dead toddler is a tremendous tragedy, that's absolutely correct. But cartoon alligators that play the saxophone have absolutely nothing to do with that.

I think you perfectly encapsulated what I was going for. Thanks.

 

[WDW1974]

By not discounting staterooms closer to the sailing date, it forces people to book at full price. Additionally, it eliminates the customer service issue of "I booked 18 months ago and paid $5,000 for this cruise. The people in the stateroom next door booked two weeks ago and only paid $2,500. I want a refund."

It is still ridiculous. People always pay different rates. I just stayed at Cabana Bay at UNI. I paid $50 a night as the friend of a TM. When you fly an airline you may be paying $278 for your seat and on one side of you is someone who is paying only $212 and someone else who is paying $511. It is the nature of the business.

Not discounting distressed inventory is just plain stupid. Disney can sell a room at the Poly for $99 a night and make a profit much like they can sell a LE pin at an outlet store for $1.99 and make a profit. It's all about the size of the profit.

 

[WDW1974]

I love you (and yes, I just now started reading, give me a bit to catch up).

Thanks. And there's a lot of back and forth blather on the gator float in the EWP, which just isn't important (no matter how you feel about the issue ... I believe removing it right now was the right thing and that putting it back in in another 10-14 days is about right.)

 

[DManRightHere]

It made sense to remove the obvious aspects of gators in show elements (parades, jokes, maskots), I assumed the subtle ones would stay (peter pan, graphics). It does look bad to have something happen on their beach.

I am speaking nothing of the gator incident now.

You say it has been a lousy summer. Is this for attendance or revenue or both?Did not WDW expect lower attendance this year? Are they hovering at the negative 3% like spring (supposedly)?

I am just wondering if some management is considering attendance and not revenue...

 

[PhotoDave219]

It made sense to remove the obvious aspects of gators in show elements (parades, jokes, maskots), I assumed the subtle ones would stay (peter pan, graphics). It does look bad to have something happen on their beach.

I am speaking nothing of the gator incident now.

You say it has been a lousy summer. Is this for attendance or revenue or both?Did not WDW expect lower attendance this year? Are they hovering at the negative 3% like spring (supposedly)?

I am just wondering if some management is considering attendance and not revenue...

It was trending lower at the beginning of the summer. This just makes things worse.

 

[Pam Hates Penguins]

It was trending lower at the beginning of the summer. This just makes things worse.

Which is why I'm going to Disneyland this summer.

 

[GoofGoof]

I wonder how many people are flat out cancelling a trip vs changing hotels. I could see people wanting to avoid GF right now since it's the scene of the tragedy. Everyone is impacted differently by an event like this, but I could see some people just not wanting to look out of their room and have a constant reminder of the event since it's so fresh on their minds. It would be much easier and cheaper to switch hotels than to cancel an entire vacation. Of course this only applies to people canceling over the gator attack.