What is going on with Disney parks?

[SaintsManiac]

One character meal per trip is plenty for us.

 

[YesterDark]

NFL attendance is up this year, as an FYI.

 

[maranara]

You don't HAVE to pay for adult meals. I order off the kids menu all the time. If you mean at buffets, then yes, that does suck. We rarely do buffets, because none of us can eat enough to justify the price.

It's not just character meals. My daughter wanted to go back to BoG for dinner, but we won't be because we can't justify paying for an adult meal for her. And if you're buying tickets or a dining plan, your 10 year old pays the same as an actual adult. (and seriously, who thinks that charging a 10 year old the same price for a dining plan as an actual adult who can enjoy an alcoholic drink is fair pricing?) We've also been told that while most restaurants happily will let a 10 year old still order off the kids menu, they don't have to, because, in this alternate universe, they are adults.

 

[SteveH]

NFL attendance is up this year, as an FYI.

Seems way to early to say.
Looking at the ESPN attendance figures for 2018 all 8 games shows an average attendance of 2,145,294, this year with about 2 games the average attendance is 2,130,854, so that's down 14,440 which is pretty insignificant, but doesn't show the attendance being up... so far.

 

[bladiator]

As a member of that generation I don't know anyone who is stretching themselves over any of these things.

You literally don't know ONE PERSON that is stretching themselves with their monthly bills? How is that possible? Do you know anyone?

 

[disneydreamer781]

Actually I'm excited! This may be the best time to go to WDW. Crowds levels are insanely low. Hasn't been that way for a few years now.

 

[Poohspaleeyore]

In my opinion, Disney is trying to cut costs by decreasing services offered or reducing payroll expenses Disney is trying to increase the revenue by increasing the price of everything. Whether or not they are at a crossroads due to crowd levels or profitability i do not know. however, Disney needs get to know their customers ( not everyone loves disney) they need to consider what makes disney special and use it to help them make decisions instead if disregarding their customers needs. I am very go with the flow on vacation. i don't analyze every aspect of service and look for things to complain about but The parking fee really bothers me. i don't understand how Disney can validate charging so much per night. another thing that concerns me are the room checks if a guest declines cleaning service. to me, its an invasion of privacy. i almost always turn down cleaning service at least one day per vacation or business trip. there really should be an option to just get towel and toiletry service at all hotels including disney resorts. i would become very irate if someone cane into my room when i asked them not to. The reports i have read seem extreme and it makes me wonder the real reason behind it. what has happened in the past? is it a serious security concern? do they have a reason to be scared, or is this just a way for them to keep labor steady.

 

[mshanson3121]

The reports i have read seem extreme and it makes me wonder the real reason behind it. what has happened in the past? is it a serious security concern? do they have a reason to be scared, or is this just a way for them to keep labor steady.

It's common policy in many hotels now (not just Disney), thanks to the mass shooter that holed up in a hotel room and then murdered 58 people and injured hundreds of others. If somebody had checked that hotel room earlier, those people may still be alive.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's common policy in many hotels now (not just Disney), thanks to the mass shooter that holed up in a hotel room and then murdered 58 people and injured hundreds of others. If somebody had checked that hotel room earlier, those people may still be alive.

Perhaps. But since they don't look in closets or bags, the new policy does nothing to alleviate any concerns I might have for a similar incident happening. But then again, it's an entirely different situation at Disney. Most of their hotels are not high rises near large crowds so a different situation from the high rises on the strip in Las Vegas.

 

[Spaceguy55]

I never really thought it was as much about security as it was a check to make sure there wasn't extra people/kids in the room and exceeding the occupancy limit.

 

[Disneylover99]

I never really thought it was as much about security as it was a check to make sure there wasn't extra people/kids in the room and exceeding the occupancy limit.

If security checks were done at 3am, they might be able to determine that. Lol.
Otherwise, a late morning to 5pm check, won’t tell them a thing about occupancy.

 

[gorkt]

The existence of this thread is pretty funny.

When I was starting to plan this trip a year ago, all the chatter was about how there were no slow crowd times at WDW anymore and how people were delaying trips due to fears of over crowding at Star Wars. My, how things change quickly!

I go every three to four years and am planning my last family trip for a long while. While we do other trips and enjoy them greatly, WDW is still special. But WDW has longer term problems.

I do agree with a lot of the points here, particularly in regards to changing demographics, cultural attitudes, and how millennials aren’t having as many children or none at all. I also think that in certain areas of the country, saying you like going to Disney is just not “cool” and is seen as materialistic and wasteful. Disney used to be a parenting must do, but increasingly that is fading away. You are supposed to be taking kids on enrichment trips or having them volunteer or intern during vacations in order to build college resumes. The meritocracy is also killing the family vacation for the middle class, because many parents can’t get the time off, and want to spend the money on college savings or paying off their own college debt, not taking a trip that costs a lot. I also agree that AirBnB is lowering the cost of vacations in a lot of places which makes the vacation space more competitive.

Disney World isn’t a middle class family rite of passage anymore, a lot of what they are doing is aimed at gen X and boomer nostalgia, and they have neglected original content for the last few years and are basically running marvel movies, sequels and live action versions of animated movies.

That being said, WDW still does it for me personally. The amount of content they are adding to the parks seems to be increasing, if anything. Going less often means I get to see a lot of new stuff most years, and this year more than ever. Pandora, TSL, GE, Skyliner are all new to us.

I am also one of those weirdos who loves the planning. I see it as an optimization project. I won’t have a tantrum if things don’t go my way though. I learned the hard way when my kids were little that the best laid plans often go astray. Most of what I enjoy about WDW is soaking up the atmosphere, and I hope that the recent cuts won’t affect that too much.

 

[mshanson3121]

a lot of what they are doing is aimed at gen X and boomer nostalgia, and they have neglected original content for the last few years and are basically running marvel movies, sequels and live action versions of animated movies.

This is how I feel. Yes, Pixar has been doing *some* new stuff, but really, I feel like new, original content and story lines from Disney Studios have been really lacking. And while I have enjoyed most of the live action remakes, I'm honestly getting tired of it. With each new "live action" release, I feel like... "Come up with something new already."

A man I know does some film critic work, granted he's Canadian, so not nearly as known as any of the American big shots, but he follows the industry very carefully, and he says that the chatter "out there" is is basically (extremely paraphrased) - Disney needs to start treading cautiously, as all these live action remakes and lack of original content is starting to catch up to them.

 

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

I have a different take. Economy is doing great. No worries about any recession wishful rumors. My family greatly enjoys DLR over WDW because less stress, vastly superior Maxpass and a higher ROI. Bottom line, DLR offers a bigger bang for the buck, more rides in a more relaxing atmosphere. Our last WDW trip was 2009. Have visited DLR five times since 2012. Planning a 10-day trip for 2020.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

For our family, the big issue is the cost increase. We are just back from a week’s stay at Fort Wilderness and we loved it. But we didn’t do the parks at all. We’ve had annual passes in the past, but an increase from $600 per pass to $1000 per pass (we are out of state and used to do just a parks pass, but there are now all these requirements to purchase the photo pass and the water park pass) is just extreme. We did Discovery Cove and SeaWorld instead. You just get more for your money.

Paying for parking definitely lowers the value we get out of the resorts for the money, also.

I was looking at resort prices for the rest of the year and I am appalled. There are simply no deals. The same standard room we paid $150 a night for nine years ago at AKL is now a whopping $380. That’s over a 100% increase in nine years. Food and drink prices have also seen extreme price increases.

I am usually so excited about Bounceback offers, too, but this time I didn’t bother to call. Rack rates are so high, and with parking and required park hopper tickets, these just aren’t the deals they used to be.

I’m really bummed about the prices and will definitely be taking vacations to other destinations more than I would if prices were lower. I get that, with so many people wanting to go, the price is going to increase with demand. I accept that is how it works. But I don’t like it.

There are so many foreign visitors. It makes me wonder whether foreign visitors are getting better deals and offers than US residents are. I’ve heard that there are some good deals that are offered exclusively to British guests, but I don’t know.

I do know that the excellent value I used to get has been quite diminished with the price increases.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

For our family, the big issue is the cost increase. We are just back from a week’s stay at Fort Wilderness and we loved it. But we didn’t do the parks at all. We’ve had annual passes in the past, but an increase from $600 per pass to $1000 per pass (we are out of state and used to do just a parks pass, but there are now all these requirements to purchase the photo pass and the water park pass) is just extreme. We did Discovery Cove and SeaWorld instead. You just get more for your money.

Paying for parking definitely lowers the value we get out of the resorts for the money, also.

I was looking at resort prices for the rest of the year and I am appalled. There are simply no deals. The same standard room we paid $150 a night for nine years ago at AKL is now a whopping $380. That’s over a 100% increase in nine years. Food and drink prices have also seen extreme price increases.

I am usually so excited about Bounceback offers, too, but this time I didn’t bother to call. Rack rates are so high, and with parking and required park hopper tickets, these just aren’t the deals they used to be.

I’m really bummed about the prices and will definitely be taking vacations to other destinations more than I would if prices were lower. I get that, with so many people wanting to go, the price is going to increase with demand. I accept that is how it works. But I don’t like it.

There are so many foreign visitors. It makes me wonder whether foreign visitors are getting better deals and offers than US residents are. I’ve heard that there are some good deals that are offered exclusively to British guests, but I don’t know.

I do know that the excellent value I used to get has been quite diminished with the price increases.

Don’t worry about the Canadians, we aren’t. Not foreign enough maybe lol. We’ve got the 20% off tickets going on right now which don’t get me wrong is great, but those savings over US guests are eaten up by our terrible dollar, and we pay the same prices for everything else.

 

[fatmanatee]

You literally don't know ONE PERSON that is stretching themselves with their monthly bills? How is that possible? Do you know anyone?

You’re twisting my point. I said that I don't know anyone who is stretching themselves over things like fancier cars or nicer houses, which is what the post I was replying to was talking about. We still have budget concerns, but it’s mostly ordinary things like student loans and rent. Everyone I know who has a car keeps it pretty simple. If people my age aren’t going to Disney it’s not because they’re still paying off the BMW.

 

[skyp4WDW]

We did Discovery Cove and SeaWorld instead. You just get more for your money.

OMG! Please don't cue everyone....that's my plan!

 

[OSUZorba]

You’re twisting my point. I said that I don't know anyone who is stretching themselves over things like fancier cars or nicer houses, which is what the post I was replying to was talking about. We still have budget concerns, but it’s mostly ordinary things like student loans and rent. Everyone I know who has a car keeps it pretty simple. If people my age aren’t going to Disney it’s not because they’re still paying off the BMW.

I know multiple millennials with household incomes over 150k that live way beyond their means (and several making far less). And it is on the big house and fancy cars.

I also know a ton that are really good with their money. I doubt it's much different than any other generation. But real wages of millennials are lower than their parents, their student loan debt is much higher, and housing is much higher. All of those things make it harder for a young family to go to WDW on their own.

 

[Caedous]

But real wages of millennials are lower than their parents, their student loan debt is much higher, and housing is much higher. All of those things make it harder for a young family to go to WDW on their own.

I think the “real wages” aspect is much larger than most realize. I won’t argue that Disney hasn’t had missteps ranging from parking charges to park expansions, but plenty of people just aren’t able to take vacations (cheap or otherwise) due to direct cost and/or the cost of time off.

I would be curious to see how much Disney is able to pull from their “higher end” clients. By higher end, I mean a broad group ranging from multiple trips per year, paying for after hours / holiday parties, club level resort stays, Crown Collection and its associated group, etc. Those options quickly pull in quite a bit more than a base ticket, but I have no idea how low general attendance would have to go before the higher end groups don’t make up for it.