"What's Next" Presentation cancelled.....

[John]

You know whats funny....that the fact that they changed the name of the proposed "Whats next" press event made more news here then the actual non-event itself. No one is taking the Avland announcement seriously (atleast I am not), someone tell what the point of it was again?

 

[The Empress Lilly]

You are all over the place. First, WDW wants all types of guests and, yes, they absolutely want more APers (guess what? they do in Anaheim too ... they just want them paying more!) Maybe you missed the $399 PAP deal for DVCers?

Disney wants more guests all the time who are spending ever increasing amounts of money while receiving as little new product as possible for that money. THAT is their strategy ...

Guests who don't spend are a nuisance, not an asset. The strategy of cheap AP's to get them into the parks where they are then presumed to spend lots on merchandise and food largely failed. With cheap AP's you get cheap guests who don't really spend. So the prices of AP's are drastically raised. It's not worth it otherwise. Higher prices will cull those who use Disney parks as a cheap weekly hangout. They'll have to hang out at the mall.

WDW and DL don't just want to ramp up visits to the MK and DL to 25 million. If they wanted to, they could achieve that tomorrow. By lowering prices. No, the trick is, the strategy is, to find the exact right balance between number of guests (X) and price of admission (Y). There is a magic price level where profit is maximised, where X*Y generates the highest number.

The real holy grail is to diversify prices, to let each tier of guests (or each individual with NextGen) pay the maximum they are willing to. At some point you reach a tier of guests who would pay so little they merely diminish the value of previous tiers, and so even if they bring in a profit themselves, it is offset by costs elsewhere. The MK and DL don't need guests 20 and 21 million on a $10 a day ticket, who crowd the parks and use the infrastructure without a meaningful return.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

How are you defining "filled to capacity"? Magic Kingdom closes for capacity maybe 3 to 4 days a year, Epcot maybe once or twice, the other two never.

With 'filled to capacity' I don't mean the absolute number at which the park closes, but that the MK is overused, overcrowded, to such an extent that capacity issues are a major factor in the equation that adding more guests by lower prices is not profitable.

Some of the effects of capacity issues of the MK:
- Guests want a magic number of rides per day to leave satisfied. The MK's congestion and long lines mean the MK has problems giving guests their 'magic number' of rides per day. This is one of the main causes for maintenance problems: it is difficult to close high capacity rides for a long period.

- Stampedes at exits. The atmosphere can get agressive, agitated. We all have seen the effects of fights and abusive language at exit buses and monorails.
- Deteriorating guest on guest interaction. In a less congested park, the double wide stroller is not an issue, and the ECV does not bump into your daughter, and there are no fistfights at the busses.
- The MK's infrastructure is run at breaking point. The ferry's, monorails, buses. Pedestrian traffic too can get so congested that for example at Main Street guests have to be escorted out backstage.
- There are no real low seasons anymore. Overcrowded peak seasons have spread the customer base out over the year. WDW has been quite succesful in filling low season, with free dining, discounts, and events.

Two more which are bad for the consumer, but great for WDW:
- The MK in particular is in such demand that more and more the park is sold out twice a day. Fill it with ordinary guests in the moring, then fill it again with a hardticketed event in the late afternoon.
- Enormous price increases. The demand is there.

Mind that the MK was designed for ten million visitors. It currently draws seventeen! To boot, the MK's capacity has decreased over time, since it's high point somewhere twenty years ago.
Many of the most decried declines of WDW are not the result of unsuccesful management, but on the contrary of all too succesful management: slipping maintenance standards (there is simply not enough downtime), less magical guest-guest interaction (in a less crowded park that ECV does not run over your heel), rising prices, and soon fastpasses and viewing spots for parades and fireworks beuing sold to the highest bidder (you can't sell a Fabtasmic 'dinner' package if the Fantasmic stadium wouldn't always be packed two hours in advance).

 

[GoofGoof]

With 'filled to capacity' I don't mean the absolute number at which the park closes, but that the MK is overused, overcrowded, to such an extent that capacity issues are a major factor in the equation that adding more guests by lower prices is not profitable.

Some of the effects of capacity issues of the MK:
- Guests want a magic number of rides per day to leave satisfied. The MK's congestion and long lines mean the MK has problems giving guests their 'magic number' of rides per day. This is one of the main causes for maintenance problems: it is difficult to close high capacity rides for a long period.

- Stampedes at exits. The atmosphere can get agressive, agitated. We all have seen the effects of fights and abusive language at exit buses and monorails.
- Deteriorating guest on guest interaction. In a less congested park, the double wide stroller is not an issue, and the ECV does not bump into your daughter, and there are no fistfights at the busses.
- The MK's infrastructure is run at breaking point. The ferry's, monorails, buses. Pedestrian traffic too can get so congested that for example at Main Street guests have to be escorted out backstage.
- There are no real low seasons anymore. Overcrowded peak seasons have spread the customer base out over the year. WDW has been quite succesful in filling low season, with free dining, discounts, and events.

Two more which are bad for the consumer, but great for WDW:
- The MK in particular is in such demand that more and more the park is sold out twice a day. Fill it with ordinary guests in the moring, then fill it again with a hardticketed event in the late afternoon.
- Enormous price increases. The demand is there.

Mind that the MK was designed for ten million visitors. It currently draws seventeen! To boot, the MK's capacity has decreased over time, since it's high point somewhere twenty years ago.
Many of the most decried declines of WDW are not the result of unsuccesful management, but on the contrary of all too succesful management: slipping maintenance standards (there is simply not enough downtime), less magical guest-guest interaction (in a less crowded park that ECV does not run over your heel), rising prices, and soon fastpasses and viewing spots for parades and fireworks beuing sold to the highest bidder (you can't sell a Fabtasmic 'dinner' package if the Fantasmic stadium wouldn't always be packed two hours in advance).

This makes a lot of sense from a business stand point. I never really looked at it that way. Could also help to explain some of the seemingly foolish moves TDO makes.

 

[jt04]

Ah, that insanity.

You seem to think there are secrets in the business. When Disney or UNI does something (or is going to) the other knows it.

Right now, UNI is sitting on a royal flush and Disney thinks it's doing well with a pair of queens or princes as they're all the same thing (yeah, I had to do that!)

Really? So when exactly will Uni come close to the revenue generated by WDW's theme parks? Not even counting the revenue Uni sends the mouse when it sells Marvel plush!

 

[Clyde Birdbrain]

I thought it was happening in February '13. But I checked the Google and now I can't find any dates at all for it, just its big mention in the original press releases, so maybe I made the February part up in my head?

Maybe you're thinking of Valentine's Day being the first thing listed in the year? I found this:

Here’s some of the special Limited Time Magic events for guests in 2013:

True Love: Celebrate romance and enchantment throughout Valentine’s Week with special moments and entertainment geared to lovebirds. Guests can celebrate their Valentine as Magic Kingdom and Disneyland turn up the romance, complete with their iconic castles bathed in hues of red and pink. Disney Princes join their Princesses to meet park guests in special settings, prix fixe menus turn up at select restaurants and Valentine collectibles will be offered for the week.

Independence Week: It’s red, white and blue as Disney Parks salutes America with a 4th of July Fireworks Party — for an entire week, with patriotic lighting bathing the Disney castles on both coasts. Mickey Mouse appears in his patriotic finest and guests will find special USA shirts, Ear Hats and other limited-edition souvenirs.

During “Long Lost Friends Week,” lesser-known Disney characters will move from the shadows to the spotlight with meet-and-greets on both coasts. Photo opps with characters that could include Flik, Clarabelle Cow, Remy, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will surprise and delight guests. And Disney guests will even have the chance to vote online for which characters they want to see.

Pirate Week: Why talk like a pirate one day when you could celebrate these scalawags all week long? The adventures of Jack Sparrow come to life like never before during a bicoastal buccaneer bash in which Disneyland and Walt Disney World become pirate-palooza: pirate bands, pirate meet-and-greets and more.

Dapper Dans Sing Boy Bands: Dapper Dans, the iconic quartet from Main Street, U.S.A., will add a special finale to their show, claiming the title of the “Original Boy Band” and delivering a medley of hits from One Direction, *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

Unleash the Villains: A Friday the 13th in 2013 is a special day, so Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios are staying open until the 13th Hour (1 a.m.). Maleficent, Capt. Hook, Jafar and other Disney villains host a dance party, complete with limited-edition collectibles and nighttime mischief on Sept. 13.

Golden Horseshoe Revue: The fabled Frontierland show returns to Disneyland for one month only, bringing back the corny jokes and enduring songs that were often enjoyed by Walt Disney himself.

​

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/10/17/disney-parks-announces-limited-time-magic-experiences-for-2013/#ixzz2EkjAutQx​

 

[danlb_2000]

With 'filled to capacity' I don't mean the absolute number at which the park closes, but that the MK is overused, overcrowded, to such an extent that capacity issues are a major factor in the equation that adding more guests by lower prices is not profitable.

Some of the effects of capacity issues of the MK:
- Guests want a magic number of rides per day to leave satisfied. The MK's congestion and long lines mean the MK has problems giving guests their 'magic number' of rides per day. This is one of the main causes for maintenance problems: it is difficult to close high capacity rides for a long period.

- Stampedes at exits. The atmosphere can get agressive, agitated. We all have seen the effects of fights and abusive language at exit buses and monorails.
- Deteriorating guest on guest interaction. In a less congested park, the double wide stroller is not an issue, and the ECV does not bump into your daughter, and there are no fistfights at the busses.
- The MK's infrastructure is run at breaking point. The ferry's, monorails, buses. Pedestrian traffic too can get so congested that for example at Main Street guests have to be escorted out backstage.
- There are no real low seasons anymore. Overcrowded peak seasons have spread the customer base out over the year. WDW has been quite succesful in filling low season, with free dining, discounts, and events.

Two more which are bad for the consumer, but great for WDW:
- The MK in particular is in such demand that more and more the park is sold out twice a day. Fill it with ordinary guests in the moring, then fill it again with a hardticketed event in the late afternoon.
- Enormous price increases. The demand is there.

Mind that the MK was designed for ten million visitors. It currently draws seventeen! To boot, the MK's capacity has decreased over time, since it's high point somewhere twenty years ago.
Many of the most decried declines of WDW are not the result of unsuccesful management, but on the contrary of all too succesful management: slipping maintenance standards (there is simply not enough downtime), less magical guest-guest interaction (in a less crowded park that ECV does not run over your heel), rising prices, and soon fastpasses and viewing spots for parades and fireworks beuing sold to the highest bidder (you can't sell a Fabtasmic 'dinner' package if the Fantasmic stadium wouldn't always be packed two hours in advance).

Good points and I think they point to a need to expand DHS and DAK in an attempt to spread out some of crowds. Of course MK will always be the premier park and will get the largest attendance, but they could spread some of the crowds into DHS and DAK.

Increasing revenue by getting existing guests to spend more will work in the short term, but it is not sustainable long term, eventually you are going to reach a point of dimishing returns where the extra money you make from this is offset be the loss of guests who can no longer afford to go or afford to go as long.

 

[CountryBearFan]

So...then what's the problem? Like I said, the new name is more apropos then.

My thoughts exactly.

Situations like this further prove that TDO (who is NOT at fault anyway, as usual) gets damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Name changes don't always mean diddly-squat. They only changed the event's name so as not to get expectations too high, which sets a lot of people who enjoy asking for too much (such as certain pundits on forums like this) up for dissapointment anyway.

Even if the name change didn't occur and they still didn't announce anything huge that they personally wanted to hear, the doom-and-gloomers would've gone into big-fat-crybaby mode and started acting like spoiled brats once again anyway.

 

[celluloid]

Really? So when exactly will Uni come close to the revenue generated by WDW's theme parks? Not even counting the revenue Uni sends the mouse when it sells Marvel plush!

I can tell you for a fact that Macdonalds outnumbers any other burger selling place in the business,
but I could give you a lot of places that have better service and beat McDonalds at their own game. The fact that McDonalds makes more money no matter what out of reputation does not change my opinion on the type of quality or service one gets in comparison to other places.