Sobering article on Disney from Frommer's

[PirateBrigade]

I finally read the article, and the takeaway message the article is conveying is that Disney is a $1000 hat made up of cheap, plastic stones from Wal-Mart that you can make at home for $20.

And once you put it on, you’ll be treated to a “drunken, naked brawl” on an entertainment-free Main Street, that thankfully is devoid of firearms that have been confiscated by security, because everyone just walked a mile from the parking lot/structure and were too tired to walk back and return their guns.

But luckily, Disney’s CFO is helping us lose weight by taking our money and feeding us less. So…yay!

 

[rpfennig]

The geniuses at DLR are bringing back WOC, MSEP and Disneyland Forever on Dapper Days Weekend. Madness doesn’t begin to describe what that’s gonna look like

I took it the other way, as a bit of nudge and a wink. "You don't have to dress up for the return of fireworks... but we wanted to."

Not only that, but I heard it was also Tikiland day.

Okay, that explains why I can't get a Trader Sam's reservation...

Should be fun crowds!

Yes... yes, it should.

 

[MillauFr]

Does anyone read Frommers in 2022? Do they still publish those books?

 

[Lilsia]

"When you change your clientele, you change the atmosphere and the respect people have for it. Disney execs may be having a profit party at the moment, but consumer patterns take a while to reveal themselves. This story isn't over yet."

This, right here. The last line of their article.

 

[DodgerGirl]

The main problem that Disneyland has always had and continues to have is the trick to keep their juices flowing to visitors coming and what is the trick? The answer is raising ticket prices every year to help keep the park surviving on it's feet. And ever since Disneyland reopened last year they have been and always are thirsty for visitors and now with so many things that makes Disneyland a fun place to visit are now things of the past such as parades shows and the iconic character meet and greets complete with autographs and riding the rides. But if you go to Disneyland today you'll find a lot of the magic is gone and when you compare a Disneyland vacation today to Disneyland trips from 1955 to 1990 you'll see that the old Disneyland was better and affordable for families. I think what Disneyland is trying to do is that they want to compete with the other theme parks and by having special deals on special occasions during special events helps get people in the parks. The resorts on the other hand have gone downhill too especially since they have removed things like housekeeping and changed things differently such as distanced character breakfasts and other things as well. and I can tell you that once everything returns to normal Disneyland will start referring to anything character related as a CE "CE in case you can't figure it out stands for Character Experience" and Disneyland will be making more things Genie+ because I truly think that since the Genie+ and Magic Key came out I think that's what is making Disneyland not worth money to visit because of the price of the Magic Key and if Disneyland were to lower it's prices the park would be worth visiting for people again

 

[Amyshubby]

There are two sentiments that I can remember being around since I was little:
1) Saturday Night Live isn't as funny as it used to be.
2) Disney has lost touch with its customers and the Magic is gone

Seems like the same article we've been reading for 20 years. If enough people don't go, they will make changes and give more bang for the buck. First thing that would happen is discount prices during certain time periods. However, they are so busy right now even that's not happening. If everyone keeps paying more for less and keeps coming, why should they change how they operate?

Don't get me wrong, I'm just as unhappy about it as everyone else here that posted. I've been going to Disney once a year for many years. Now I'll probably go every other year. But I'm still going. And there are more than enough people to book that hotel room that I'm not taking as often. And Disney knows this.

 

[Her Dotness]

They did a similar thing last Dapper Day by deciding to start the holidays off on the same weekend (usually that happens the weekend AFTER Dapper Day). It was so insanely crowded. Are they doing it on purpose? Or are they really that disconnected?

A--Yes, they're doing it on purpose. More bodies spending more money is why.

B--Not just disconnected but don't care how good any given person's experience is. Getting more to spend more is the aim--on the theory there will always be more to entice. Doesn't matter some will be one-and-dones. It's more and more bodies that's Disney's concern currently to recoup closure losses.

 

[bookgirl]

Does anyone read Frommers in 2022? Do they still publish those books?

They do still publish travel guides (both digital and print) and Frommers is still a name brand so to speak. I work in Libraries and see them going in and out regularly, there are less of them but they get regular circulation.

Hell I’m very computer literate and do my own travel planning online and still love travel pocket guides. Kind of like a book nerd souvenir.

 

[DizMe]

Does anyone read Frommers in 2022? Do they still publish those books?

They have an online newsletter, so they're not complete fossils.

 

[Her Dotness]

And Frommer's have long been really great budget travel guides.

 

[tdhickey]

Original article is certainly a downer, but it's got an odd tone to it. Admittedly I, like anyone, don't enjoy price increases and agree the new cost structure will reduce my visit frequency, especially the added costs for lightning lanes and such, which is a bummer. We used to do annual passes for less than a 5 day park hopper and go 20-30 days a year (multiple trips). However, I have to say, DLR has been under-priced for sometime and I believe they relied on food/merch sales to drive profits which they've missed out on for some time now so we're seeing that in ticket /food/merch prices. Dining prices locally for us have skyrocketed, we're seeing this everywhere unfortunately.

 

[wdw&sonny]

They do still publish travel guides (both digital and print) and Frommers is still a name brand so to speak. I work in Libraries and see them going in and out regularly, there are less of them but they get regular circulation.

Does anyone still go to a library in 2022? Even Belle would have her nose in a phone today

 

[Her Dotness]

Does anyone still go to a library in 2022? Even Belle would have her nose in a phone today

I rather think Belle has the good sense to prefer a real book.

Any authentic book geek does, IMEO. (in my exalted opinion)

 

[disEAR]

Good! This honeymoon period the company is seeing won't last with all of the cuts to benefits and introduction of costs on things that used to be free, thus decreasing the value for repeat visits.

 

[PaladinButters]

There are two sentiments that I can remember being around since I was little:
1) Saturday Night Live isn't as funny as it used to be.
2) Disney has lost touch with its customers and the Magic is gone

Seems like the same article we've been reading for 20 years. If enough people don't go, they will make changes and give more bang for the buck. First thing that would happen is discount prices during certain time periods. However, they are so busy right now even that's not happening. If everyone keeps paying more for less and keeps coming, why should they change how they operate?

This. We've been here before. When the travel boom runs out the discounts will come back. When the discounts don't work we'll see some other "perk" thrown on. Always shifting. The mouse has so much data on you that he knows where the line is to get you back even if you don't know where it is yet (and, maybe depressingly, they know if you personally are worth getting back over another returning guest or a brand new one).

Does anyone still go to a library in 2022? Even Belle would have her nose in a phone today

I know this is meant to be cheeky but yes, they do. Physical circulation still trumps digital circulation, too (although it is shifting more and more over time).
You should visit your local branch sometime - they are so much more than books.
Ok, that's the end of my pro-library rant for today. Back to Disney.

 

[MillauFr]

Good! This honeymoon period the company is seeing won't last with all of the cuts to benefits and introduction of costs on things that used to be free, thus decreasing the value for repeat visits.

People keep saying that they hope the price will increases won’t stick but there is no evidence they won’t. When I have to get up at 3a 2 months in advance to drop $300 on a dinner at Napa Rose you know the demand is through the roof. Security lines snaked all the way out to Harbor this morning. Massive crowds. Annual passes sold out. They aren’t charging enough to control demand

 

[MillauFr]

Does anyone still go to a library in 2022? Even Belle would have her nose in a phone today

you can check out ebooks from the library

 

[disEAR]

People keep saying that they hope the price will increases won’t stick but there is no evidence they won’t. When I have to get up at 3a 2 months in advance to drop $300 on a dinner at Napa Rose you know the demand is through the roof. Security lines snaked all the way out to Harbor this morning. Massive crowds. Annual passes sold out. They aren’t charging enough to control demand

it’s not about the price increases for us as those are expected. It’s the removal of benefits, that tarnish the value of the price.

That demand is also driven from nostalgia and pent-up anxiousness from not having travelled for the past two years. People view Disney as ‘safe’, and majority of people aren’t willing to risk traveling internationally yet. When more countries open up and the risk of getting stuck somewhere internationally decreases, these same families will view the value of Disney differently. The impact isn’t immediate, it’s 2-3 years from now.

 

[Her Dotness]

Physical circulation still trumps digital circulation, too (although it is shifting more and more over time).
You should visit your local branch sometime - they are so much more than books.

So true.

You can borrow fishing rods, binoculars, artist's easels, decorative cake pans--all sorts of non-book objects from our public library.

 

[DizMe]

This. We've been here before. When the travel boom runs out the discounts will come back. When the discounts don't work we'll see some other "perk" thrown on. Always shifting. The mouse has so much data on you that he knows where the line is to get you back even if you don't know where it is yet (and, maybe depressingly, they know if you personally are worth getting back over another returning guest or a brand new one).

it’s not about the price increases for us as those are expected. It’s the removal of benefits, that tarnish the value of the price.

That demand is also driven from nostalgia and pent-up anxiousness from not having travelled for the past two years. People view Disney as ‘safe’, and majority of people aren’t willing to risk traveling internationally yet. When more countries open up and the risk of getting stuck somewhere internationally decreases, these same families will view the value of Disney differently. The impact isn’t immediate, it’s 2-3 years from now.

Excellent points. One thing I will add is that these kinds of changes are often made by Disney execs who see an opportunity and fail to follow the formula of balancing cost with quality experiences. Inevitably, there has been a consequent loss to Disney when quality is significantly impacted. The loss to Disney can be through reduced attendance, lower profits, change in the consumer base they wish to attract, etc.

Definitely a balancing act, and only Disney knows for sure what the tipping points are.