October hours at MK

[BRERALEX]

if the parks are only open till six and you have to cram in all the rides that gives you even less time to shop and spend money in the shops cause you have to spend all your time rushing back and forth ride to ride. its a viscous circle. plus from what im hearing when the parks close i remember being abe to still shop but i now they shove us to the turnstiles. i think they lose in the long run with less hours

 

[raidermatt]

The million dollar question is how much of the softness is due to uncontrollable economic factors, and how much is due to cuts?

 

[dkellumw]

Here is the link to the story lrodk was talking about. (I hope the link works)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&u=/nm/20020802/bs_nm/media_disney_stock_dc_2

 

[Bob O]

The parks are suffering due to all the awful decisions made by eisner. When will the company finally decide change is needed and it must come at the top. Eisner has fired enough people, when will he be replaced??? If the low stock price doesnt do it what will??

 

[DebbieB]

Well, lots of us were there in May, and the MK closed at 6 on week days and later on the weekend.

I was there the first week of May and that's the way it was originally scheduled. However, when the time came hours were extended on many days. I have the park hours from May 1 to 15 (from the World Update I got at check-in on May 4, I think some of the 6:00pm's may have been extended after it was printed):

May 1-3, 5-9, 13: 9am to 7pm
May 4: 9am to 10:30pm
May 10: 9am to 8:00pm
May 11: 9am to 10:00pm
May 12, 14, 15: 9am to 6pm

We arrived on May 4 and originally MK was supposed to close at 9:00 or 9:30 with one Spectromagic. It ended up being 10:30 with 2 runnings. Good thing - it was jammed. I wouldn't be too upset about October until the time comes and if they still show 6:00pm as closing. My bet is hours will be extended unless crowds are low. They are being conservative until closer to the date. Let's face it, if there is another "event" crowd levels could go down really fast, just like last fall.

 

[raidermatt]

Hours extensions have slowed recently...

We were there May 25-June 8th. A couple of weeks before we left, hours were extended by one hour on two separate nights, and decreased by an hour on another. (net gain of one hour)

After arrival, one additional hour was added, and there was the "surprise" ee on 6/1.

I'm not complaining about the adds, I think its great.

And I understand setting hours on the short side due to pr issues.

However, from what I've been reading, hours adjustments in June/July are very few. Maybe the slower season will bring more increases, but those increases are going to have to be pretty extensive just to get back to October 2001 levels (more than an hour per day).

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

I was there the first week of May and that's the way it was originally scheduled. However, when the time came hours were extended on many days…

SNIP

We arrived on May 4 and originally MK was supposed to close at 9:00 or 9:30 with one Spectromagic. It ended up being 10:30 with 2 runnings.

You know, that sounds all well and good, but I think that frosts me more than the shorter hours!! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I plan my Disney trips!! Not minute by minute, but some things are unavoidable. Dinner or breakfast reservations, Hoop-Dee-Do, or even plans to visit IOA or Sea World!! It doesn’t matter what it is, plans, when one considers Disney, is a must!! There are numerous books written about “attacking” Disney commando style!! And then there are always the short vacations either because of limited funding or limited time. And we’re stuck with a capricious Disney!! I CAN’T HANDLE THAT!!!!

I know that with my luck, the MK will change it’s hours to midnight on the night I have 9:00 Hoop-Dee-Do reservations that were made months before!! And I think most of know how much I NEED a midnight close once in a while!!

Heck!!! If I can plan my little insignificant life in order to secure a dinner show reservation, don’t you think Disney can plan out their schedule, AND STICK TO IT, for a couple months at a time!! Do you really mean to tell me that they are cutting the margin soooo close that the hour, either way, really means that much to this mega-company??!?! Sorry!! I don’t buy it!!!!!

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

It doesn’t matter what it is, plans, when one considers Disney, is a must!! There are numerous books written about “attacking” Disney commando style!! And then there are always the short vacations either because of limited funding or limited time. And we’re stuck with a capricious Disney!! I CAN’T HANDLE THAT!!!!

This has been probably the orneriest burr under my frosty butt, as well, since before 9/11.

Disney has been playing these games since at least May of 2001.

Three houses of Jewell's are getting up early this week for cruise calling. We can't really buy Halloween Party tickets until we see when we are able to get cruises. We can't really make PSes for dinner until we know if we'll be in the MK area or the Epcot area (also, there's actually a hotel night we want to pick up at the beginning of the week, and where we stay will depend on what we're doing, that night).

Because of the hoops we have to jump through to create the WDW vacation that my family still feels is worth the money it costs to take, a big chunk of our schedule isn't easily reschedulable.

I believe that many of Disney's cost cutting measures are hitting people like me, the people who plan ahead and regularly give Disney money for things like cruises and dinners and event tickets, the hardest of all. I know that, in my case, anyway, it has cost Disney some amount of revenue: they cut EE, we could no longer justify the extra expense of staying on-site.

The people who already treat WDW like Six Flags... come in, ride a few rides, eat a hot dog and a funnel cake, buy a t-shirt and call it a day, they're not the ones who'll notice much difference with the way things have changed.

I feel Disney is alienating a chunk of its most loyal customers with their choices.

-WFH

 

[lrodk]

Do you really mean to tell me that they are cutting the margin soooo close that the hour, either way, really means that much to this mega-company??!?!

My guess is that scaling back hours(whether it be rides,restaurants,etc) is probably the easiest cost cutting measure to execute at the parks/resorts. As such, I think that park hours are a pretty reliable barometer of attendance. At this point, I would not be surprised to see some other form of cutbacks in the weeks/months to come. The hours are but a mere piece(a starting point if you will) of the overall plan, which when executed collectively makes a definite impact on earnings. This strategy has been going on for a couple of years now, which is why I sold out of all my Disney stock in early 2000, after having held the certificates for well over 10 years. I simply did not want to own stock in a company that had to cut corners so methodically in order to achieve it's goals. The scary part is that Disney is now among the best companies in the world at executing damage control protocols. They've virtually perfected the system. But let me tell you, that type of practice, when it becomes a part of your everyday business plan for more than a couple of quarters, is never a healthy sign, and usually indicates some sort of unraveling down the road. I still firmly believe that we have not hit rock bottom yet. I've said it before, things are going to get a whole lot uglier before they get better. Eisner will be the cause of his own undoing. The end will probably be written with him either resigning or being forced to do so. Then and only then will we see the beginning of a turnaround.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I agree that if Disney continues cut backs they will only be shooting themselves in the foot.
DH and I have not gone to WDW for several years, so we cannot say -- Way back when, Disney did this better or that.
But after awhile it becomes obvious as a slap in the face.
I don't think guests will take many more cutbacks, us included. Just IMHO.
Even we noticed the cutbacks everywhere: from the resorts to the park restrooms.
And believe it or not, there are actually other places to vacation and still have a great time!

 

[Bob O]

This Dec im going to DL and i hope things are being run better at that park than what i hear about wdw when it comes to hours of operation. I dont visit the parks as often as alot on this board(every other year) but when i visit we do so in a commando type style in that im their when the parks open and leave at closing time and the reduction in hours affects my family greatly. And without EE im not staying on site for the first time in a decade which wont brankrupt the company but will cost them over a thousand dollars in hotel costs and meals. And it does make it alot harder to plan your stay. And with the reduction of hours it limits the amolunt of time you can leave the parks and go back to your hotel for swimming etc. For some the hours may not matter but for me its matters alot.