WSJ: Even Disney Is Worried About The High Cost Of A Disney Vacation (gift link)

[MickeyLuv'r]

I have numerous friends who never made it to Disneyland until Grad Nite or well into adulthood.

I knew a lot of people who didn't go to WDW either, but they did make other choices like having high-end cars, owned boats, vacation homes, dined at expensive places every weekend, and they always had new/trendy clothing.

Just pointing out WDW is not the only way people spend money.

 

[UNCgolf]

Then New York and New Jersey have fallen on hard times…because for 50 years they had second houses in their own areas of straight to Florida

The area that went…and sadly still go to Myrtle…are Ohio, western pa and West Virginia

The “Mountain Dew triangle”

Myrtle got a lot of pub in the 1970s ans 1980’s as “the new Florida”

It never got there

Mini golf is fun though

Apparently it has now -- it's New Jerseyites and New Yorkers that are flocking there as retirees. If you play golf there and get paired up with someone random, there's like a 75% chance they're from one of those two states and moved there when they retired.

Lot of vacationers from Ohio, but the full-time population boom is from New Jersey and New York (and some Pennsylvania too, I think). It's still relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, but IIRC something like 10,000 people moved to Myrtle Beach just from NY/NJ over the past 3 years.

It's one of the two or three fastest growing metro areas in the country and has been for several years now, for reasons I cannot comprehend. I certainly understand wanting to live near the beach, but... there are a lot of other options for that.

 

[Agent H]

It's a regional park, designed to cater to young children, though.

The overwhelming majority of us will never set foot in it.

Seems like it's intended for people that may never make it to Orlando or at least won't while their kids are still young.

That's kind of the point of it, right?

If so, who cares what we think if we were never the target audience to begin with?

It being for kids does not excuse it being of low quality

 

[GhostHost1000]

Bob iger DID leave it was an admittedly short period and I don’t think that in that time paycheck did anything he wouldn’t have done anyway I’ll admit it’s even possible he was always going to come back but he did leave that is a fact

Chapek was the puppet
Iger was the puppet master

 

[Agent H]

Chapek was the puppet
Iger was the puppet master

Okay sure maybe lay off the wdw pro?

 

[GhostHost1000]

Okay sure maybe lay off the wdw pro?

Was it not obvious? I don’t need a YouTuber to tell me.

 

[monothingie]

Okay sure maybe lay off the wdw pro?

Take the time and read the NYT Article about Rise and Fall of Chapek and Iger's role in both.

Seriously, it's worth the read, you'll learn a lot.

 

[MrPromey]

It being for kids does not excuse it being of low quality

How about it being for kids, being small, attracting only a local crowd in a market that isn't accustomed to "world class" entertainment and presumably having admission priced accordingly?

And what constitutes "low quality" in your mind?

Poor landscaping?

Bad maintenance?

Or just attractions you don't find appealing?

Were you ever going to plan a trip to Texas to visit a regional park with attractions geared exclusively to the single-digit crowd?

If not, who cares what your opinion is on this?

Universal sure as heck doesn't.

You gotta' come to terms with that.

They're not building it for you or people like you with the expectations you have.

They still want you to come to Orlando where they'll make more money off you - not go there instead.

 

[mightynine]

Apparently it has now -- it's New Jerseyites and New Yorkers that are flocking there as retirees. If you play golf there and get paired up with someone random, there's like a 75% chance they're from one of those two states and moved there when they retired.

Lot of vacationers from Ohio, but the full-time population boom is from New Jersey and New York (and some Pennsylvania too, I think). It's still relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, but IIRC it's something like 10,000 people moved to Myrtle Beach from NY/NJ over the past 3 years.

It's one of the two or three fastest growing metro areas in the country and has been for several years now, for reasons I cannot comprehend. I certainly understand wanting to live near the beach, but... there are a lot of other options for that.

Perhaps the insurance nightmare that hitting places like Florida hasn't reached that area yet?

 

[UNCgolf]

Perhaps the insurance nightmare that hitting places like Florida hasn't reached that area yet?

Insurance rates along the coast in NC are definitely rising, so I assume they probably are in SC too -- but yeah, I don't think they're close to Florida's issues at the moment.

 

[Agent H]

How about it being for kids, being small, attracting only a local crowd in a market that isn't accustomed to "world class" entertainment and presumably having admission priced accordingly?

And what constitutes "low quality" in your mind?

Poor landscaping?

Bad maintenance?

Or just attractions you don't find appealing?

Were you ever going to plan a trip to Texas to visit a regional park with attractions geared exclusively to the single-digit crowd?

If not, who cares what your opinion is on this?

Universal sure as heck doesn't.

... And since this is a place I'm not the target audience for, I don't expect they care much about mine, either.

I’m not saying it will be bad but I’m debunking this argument I here all the time it’s frankly disrespectful to children and by the way most of what you said applys to Disney too see what I mean it’s a bad argument

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's a regional park, designed to cater to young children, though.

The overwhelming majority of us will never set foot in itnever make it to Orlando or at least won't while their kids are still young.

That's kind of the point of it, right?

If so, who cares what we think if we were never the target audience to begin with?

The issue is the prime motivation of being cheap, which extends beyond the Kids Park.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It's a regional park, designed to cater to young children, though.

The overwhelming majority of us will never set foot in it.

Seems like it's intended for people that may never make it to Orlando or at least won't while their kids are still young.

That's kind of the point of it, right?

If so, who cares what we think if we were never the target audience to begin with?

This is a perfect example of creating nostalgic customers, Uni gets it, hook them young and you create a customer for life, nostalgia used to be Disneys main selling point, now they don’t seem to care beyond the next quarters financials.

This small Uni park is being built smack dab in the middle of what is soon be the most populous state in the nation, all those little kids that go to it will become loyal Uni guests rather than loyal Disney guests. It’s brilliant.

It’s not intended to be a new MK or IOA drawing 15 million guests a year, it just needs to draw a million kids from the surrounding cities every year to ensure IOA will have a loyal customer base decades into the future.

They are doing the same here in Vegas, building a permanent Horror Nights, it’s not meant to draw 10s of millions but if it can hook a million guests a year that will pay huge dividends in CA and FL.

 

[Agent H]

How about it being for kids, being small, attracting only a local crowd in a market that isn't accustomed to "world class" entertainment and presumably having admission priced accordingly?

And what constitutes "low quality" in your mind?

Poor landscaping?

Bad maintenance?

Or just attractions you don't find appealing?

Were you ever going to plan a trip to Texas to visit a regional park with attractions geared exclusively to the single-digit crowd?

If not, who cares what your opinion is on this?

Universal sure as heck doesn't.

You gotta' come to terms with that.

They're not building it for you or people like you with the expectations you have.

They still want you to come to Orlando where they'll make more money off you - not go there instead.

And yes yes I would plan a trip to Texas for that

 

[DisneyNittany]

I'm just word vomiting here without a point to make, really.

My wife and I are Millennials born in the early 1990s. So, we are 90s kids that grew up during the Disney Decade. Her and I both only went to WDW once as kids, since we came from very middle class households. However, we grew up, not only with the Disney Renaissance, but with a Disney that was always advertising their parks through the medium that we consumed. Thinking back on it, all of the shows we would have grown up on as kids in that TGIF slot, they would visit WDW. Also, the "commercials" on Disney Channel would feature the "stars" at Disney Parks.

This is all to say, that when we were traveling for work and had some change in our pockets, the parks were easily accessible to us. Despite only going to them once as kids, they still felt familiar and had a nostalgia to them, because we grew up with them in the forefront. Once we started going as Disney Adults, it was like riding a bike.

Are they still doing anything like that today? From what I gather from people with children older than mine, all they watch is YouTube and TikTok. Are they even exposed to/care about Disney Parks? Does that mean Disney is banking on revenue from a non-existent customer base that is more than happy to be one-and-done with zero connection?

 

[Agent H]

Take the time and read the NYT Article about Rise and Fall of Chapek and Iger's role in both.

Seriously, it's worth the read, you'll learn a lot.

I have read the article it was the best written news article I’ve ever read

 

[MrPromey]

I’m not saying it will be bad but I’m debunking this argument I here all the time it’s frankly disrespectful to children and by the way most of what you said applys to Disney too see what I mean it’s a bad argument

I mean, we'll see what happens when it opens.

We have another park here in Central Florida called Lego Land. It has a sort of mini-park right outside of it based on Peppa Pig.

The cutoff age for the target demo of Legoland is 12.

The cutoff for Peppa is about 5 years below that.

Neither are bad but if you're an adult, you'll find little there to enjoy without a child to live vicariously through.

As far as I'm aware, Merlin Entertainment is doing just fine here in a spot where the previous efforts to revive the old Cypress Gardens have failed.

The closest thing to an E-ticket is a silly mini Soarin knockoff based on the Lego Movie.

It's cute and fun but again, adults are basically chaperones in the park.

My son has outgrown it but we went many times when he was young enough and he always loved going.

I see no reason Universal can't get a piece of that audience with that kind of budget, too.

Again, what do you consider low quality and why?

 

[MrPromey]

The issue is the prime motivation of being cheap, which extends beyond the Kids Park.

Doesn't seem like they went that cheap in what's about to open in Orlando.

We know it's less than originally planned but it remains to be seen if for people who weren't up on all the rumors prior to official announcements, what, if anything will appear budget cut.

Unless you're referring to something else?

 

[MrPromey]

And yes yes I would plan a trip to Texas for that

For what?

You're already complaining about it and it hasn't even opened.

You will plan a trip to Texas for what they're building or you would plan a tip to Texas for what you wish they were building instead?

 

[Agent H]

I'm just word vomiting here without a point to make, really.

My wife and I are Millennials born in the early 1990s. So, we are 90s kids that grew up during the Disney Decade. Her and I both only went to WDW once as kids, since we came from very middle class households. However, we grew up, not only with the Disney Renaissance, but with a Disney that was always advertising their parks through the medium that we consumed. Thinking back on it, all of the shows we would have grown up on as kids in that TGIF slot, they would visit WDW. Also, the "commercials" on Disney Channel would feature the "star" at Disney Parks.

This is all to say, that when we were traveling for work and had some change in our pockets, the parks were easily accessible to us. Despite only going to them once as kids, they still felt familiar and had a nostalgia to them, because we grew up with them in the forefront. Once we started going as Disney Adults, it was like riding a bike.

Are they still doing anything like that today? From what I gather from people with children older than mine, all they watch is YouTube and TikTok. Are they even exposed to/care about Disney Parks? Does that mean Disney is banking on revenue from a non-existent customer base that is more than happy to be one-and-done with zero connection?

YouTube is full of Disney vloggers who basically provide free advertising