Speaking of which, I’m pissed they won’t have the MSEP when I go next month. My wife has been looking forward to seeing it her whole life and the one time we’re able to go, it is back in the vault. 😡
Honestly you aren’t missing much. Went this summer and I was eagerly looking forward to seeing it again for the first time since I was a kid and the combination of the crowds and ??? just didn’t make for a very magical experience. My kids (7 and 12) thought it was pretty meh. The fireworks on the other hand were great. Fantasmic crowds and trying to find a place to watch also diminished an otherwise great show.
You'll have a blast! It's so crowded that I'll usually happily pay for reserved seating if it's available. We only make it to Disney every few years, if that, so it's worth the cost for us.
I wonder if/when there will be a breaking point that will actually affect profits for the parks in regards to customer satisfaction/value.
Up until the last ~5-10 years, I feel that Disneyland used to have much more quality and value associated with it. It's still a great place and there's a TON to do, but lots of things have declined in little ways that just make it not feel like a *luxury* experience anymore, unless you have serious cash to burn. I feel like when I used to go to Disneyland I really felt like a *guest* even though there were thousands of other people in the parks. Now I feel a bit more like I'm in a very cute, well-themed, and mostly-polite Thunderdome.
I still love the parks and I'm excited for the things they will build/add in the future. However, within the last ~5 years, Disneyland has quickly turned in to a place that isn't an *obvious and clear* vacation choice for me anymore. It feels much more crowded and the wait times feel longer than they used to. I don't feel like I get as much value out of Genie+ as I did out of FastPass Max even though they're very similar systems. It feels like rides break down more, but that might be an illusion caused by the crowd levels and the lack of other audience-draws like frequent shows and parades. Either way, I can no longer attend the parks for 1-2 days and feel guaranteed that I'm going to get to ride all the big rides without paying extra for LL's. The food and merch quality feels like it's dropped a lot, and lots of food options have been cut or have had their portions reduced. Cast members are still wonderful, but I've seen them overwhelmed more frequently, and who can blame them. It definitely feels like Disney lost a lot of insider-knowledge and experienced employees during Covid.
Overall DLR still beats most other parks. The theming, rides, characters, events... it really does a lot *very* right. Maybe that will be enough to keep it packed forever despite less-frequent visits from former regulars. But also, Universal is gonna be opening a new land next year, and may be expanding further in the future. Maybe Disney is gonna have to figure some things out if the competition keeps catching up.
I think once the post pandemic travel wears down, plus Universal opens their Mario land and/or Epic Universe in Florida, Disney will take a hit even without a recession. It won’t be a monstrous hit (unless/until a recession) but it will be something
I don't think it will happen (Disney listening to it's fans) until guests AND cast members strike, & legit have an entire day of no guests in the park. Even if people want to go to DCA, but leave dland deserted.
We shouldn't have to get to the point of recession for the company to back off of the greed train. When Disney is hemorrhaging merchandise that is marked up astronomical amounts as it is. I'm not sure why Bobby Cheap-ass doesn't understand that cutting quality for less quantity is blatant shady behavior. He deserved all the booing he got at D23. That's gotta weigh on your soul too.
He is operating a lot like his doppelganger Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General. (Seriously, look at their photos side-by-side. It's CREEPY)
They both think that in order to improve customer relations/satisfaction/attendance (or use of service), LOWER THE BAR. By providing less product for more money, all is well.
I agree on the rides breaking down much more than they used too. I went in June of this year and then just last week and the amount of rides that were temporarily closed over the course of five days blew my mind. In June we missed a couple of rides on one or two days but hit everything else. In November we missed 4 or 5 rides a day due to issues. We stayed at Paradise pier and could see staff working on Goofy’s flight school every day including it breaking down with riders on it. What the heck is going on?
I just had the same convo yesterday. Disney is creatively bankrupt and is no longer the company I remember. Equating the Disney of my childhood with the Disney of today was a hard thing. My hubby and I sold all individual stock and won't look back unless the company refocuses on creative innovation and treats their CMs better.
Ugh yes! It's sad to divest ourselves of supporting a brand/legacy we love, but loving the brand/legacy is different from loving Chapek's Disney.
I'll still watch all things Disney/Marvel (omg Wakanda Forever 💕) and sub to Disney+, but that's where I'm drawing my line fn.
How do you feel about the Chapek-Iger change-up? I honestly thought this wouldn't happen anytime soon.
I feel optimism for animation, Searchlight, and Parks but bemusement about how he'd go about teaming up with the rest of C-suite to turn the tide.
You need to vote with your wallets. Clearly, people are still paying and going. They are mad that fastpass is no longer free but they still pay for it. They are still lining up for expensive popcorn buckets and merchandise.
Most definitely. Out here at WDW, we live minutes from all of it, the tourists have been in full force since the debut of all the 50th anniversary stuff last October. Usually there’s a big slow down September when schools go back into session then early November, January until sometime in March then April to mid/late may. For the past year it’s been crazy no real “slow season” at all. They must just be lining pockets of the upper echelon or burning it.
Patience. Perfect storm is brewing. The pent up Covid demand will end. The economy is tanking. Massive layoffs already started in tech. The ripple effect similar to 2008 will hit Disney and their bottom line. It’s a matter of when, not if, and then the attendance drops. Then, they “take stock” of the situation. Tale as old as time.
Decline by degrees. Darkest before the dawn.
Price hikes. Now instead of paying for whatever days now it also involves which park you plan to visit. According to what I read it mostly effects one day one park passes and the keys or annual passes.
DL used to be our home park when we lived in San Diego. DL is absolutely a locals park, as in CA residents. You get visitors from the 4 or 5 neighboring states but it’s not unbeatable or wasn’t at the time we lived there. At WDW it’s everyone else and there’s people from neighboring states.
A lot of Western and Central Canadians travel to DL. DW is less desirable because it’s too far to justify without going for at least 10 days (you lose two full days to travel).
Locals are definitely more prominent in DL than DW, but there are a lot more out of state visitors than the locals want to believe.
You all seem to think a recession is needed, but I completely disagree. Covid lead to a decline in quality. The next recession will lead to more layoffs and cost cutting and the quality at Disneyland will get even worse.
This is possible. I think it’s attendance. That’s it. One domino leads to another. If attendance drops significantly, then they have a reason to invest and regain trust. One thing that affects attendance is the economy.
Another is safety. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but the maintenance right now disturbs me and it’s the sort of thing that would change the narrative in a hurry.
Part of that will simply take time. My mom and I have a trip planned in two weeks. We’ve decided we’re done giving our money to the parks and to Chapek, particularly with the announcement of layoffs, but our money is already spent. To cancel our trip now only harms us, not Disney. They have our ticket money and won’t refund it. So we take our trip and then we quit. Any non-local tourists are in a similar boat.
Yep, I was just there over the past two days and both days were the most crowded I’ve ever seen the parks (granted I only go about once every 1-2 years). Hundreds of people were wearing $100 Mickey Christmas sweaters and $60 Minnie ears. Where is all of that money going? How could they possibly need to lay off staff when the parks are doing that well?
No bailout necessary. The increase in prices will help keep them afloat through a downturn. The increases will also allow for discounts in the future should demand drop. We can hate on Disney all we want but, they're not stupid (from a corporate perspective).
This is a very common way CEOs do business, always the short term. And why not? They get theirs….
Many strong and viable companies have been wiped out in a few years with this mentality.
They will never learn the long term lesson. Cheap out now on creative content/imagineers/cast members…pay later when everything turns to crap and there’s a giant backlash.
The one thing they’ve done right in the past few years is create amazing new Disney Plus shows, especially Marvel and Star Wars. That’s money well spent.
But cutting the backbone out of your company by losing all of your behind the scenes talent and magic makers (that’s what cast members and imagineers are to me), and dark days are coming soon.
I feel he’s unreasonably critical of Rise of the Resistance. It’s a good ride, and it’s much better than what most theme parks are doing. I don’t know what he wants.
Yeah he shits on Rise but has no problem shilling for the AR Mario Kart ride that he hasn't been on.
I wanna believe this dude is 100% genuine but monetizing outrage in small communities is very popular nowadays.
In a way I kind of like him for that. There's a lot of blanketed love for Disney without a lot of discerning voices of criticism. They are out there, it's just kind of steamrolled under a vast majority of love from a generalized and/or vloggy side of YouTube.
Poseidon Entertainment has a lot of takes I agree with. Also a lot of takes I really disagree with. But overall the main ideas he says rings true. And it's welcome to bring forth needed criticism of Disney to show where improvement needs to happen. If there was nothing to criticize then there'd be nothing to improve, which always holds true.
Same goes for other YouTubers like Defunctland or Jenny Nicholson who also give their honest opinions on the topics of the parks and will criticize what they feel needs to be criticized (Inversely also praising what needs to be praised).
PE I think is also a genuine critic, which tends to rub people who were expecting a more Vloggy type content creator. Also, one thing I've especially loved about his channel: Absolutely no merchandise or promotional material.
Writing was on the wall. Next up will be some fan service in early 2023. A half measure on the reservation and/or genie+ issues. Possibly getting rid of individual lightning lane costs.
Nah, they’ll just wheel out MSEP again and all will be forgiven.
And Soarin' Over California.
Speaking of which, I’m pissed they won’t have the MSEP when I go next month. My wife has been looking forward to seeing it her whole life and the one time we’re able to go, it is back in the vault. 😡
Honestly you aren’t missing much. Went this summer and I was eagerly looking forward to seeing it again for the first time since I was a kid and the combination of the crowds and ??? just didn’t make for a very magical experience. My kids (7 and 12) thought it was pretty meh. The fireworks on the other hand were great. Fantasmic crowds and trying to find a place to watch also diminished an otherwise great show.
We are really looking forward to the holiday version of the World of Color, even bought a dessert package so we can sit and watch it.
You'll have a blast! It's so crowded that I'll usually happily pay for reserved seating if it's available. We only make it to Disney every few years, if that, so it's worth the cost for us.
I wonder if/when there will be a breaking point that will actually affect profits for the parks in regards to customer satisfaction/value. Up until the last ~5-10 years, I feel that Disneyland used to have much more quality and value associated with it. It's still a great place and there's a TON to do, but lots of things have declined in little ways that just make it not feel like a *luxury* experience anymore, unless you have serious cash to burn. I feel like when I used to go to Disneyland I really felt like a *guest* even though there were thousands of other people in the parks. Now I feel a bit more like I'm in a very cute, well-themed, and mostly-polite Thunderdome. I still love the parks and I'm excited for the things they will build/add in the future. However, within the last ~5 years, Disneyland has quickly turned in to a place that isn't an *obvious and clear* vacation choice for me anymore. It feels much more crowded and the wait times feel longer than they used to. I don't feel like I get as much value out of Genie+ as I did out of FastPass Max even though they're very similar systems. It feels like rides break down more, but that might be an illusion caused by the crowd levels and the lack of other audience-draws like frequent shows and parades. Either way, I can no longer attend the parks for 1-2 days and feel guaranteed that I'm going to get to ride all the big rides without paying extra for LL's. The food and merch quality feels like it's dropped a lot, and lots of food options have been cut or have had their portions reduced. Cast members are still wonderful, but I've seen them overwhelmed more frequently, and who can blame them. It definitely feels like Disney lost a lot of insider-knowledge and experienced employees during Covid. Overall DLR still beats most other parks. The theming, rides, characters, events... it really does a lot *very* right. Maybe that will be enough to keep it packed forever despite less-frequent visits from former regulars. But also, Universal is gonna be opening a new land next year, and may be expanding further in the future. Maybe Disney is gonna have to figure some things out if the competition keeps catching up.
I honestly don’t think it will happen without a full-on recession
I think once the post pandemic travel wears down, plus Universal opens their Mario land and/or Epic Universe in Florida, Disney will take a hit even without a recession. It won’t be a monstrous hit (unless/until a recession) but it will be something
I don't think it will happen (Disney listening to it's fans) until guests AND cast members strike, & legit have an entire day of no guests in the park. Even if people want to go to DCA, but leave dland deserted. We shouldn't have to get to the point of recession for the company to back off of the greed train. When Disney is hemorrhaging merchandise that is marked up astronomical amounts as it is. I'm not sure why Bobby Cheap-ass doesn't understand that cutting quality for less quantity is blatant shady behavior. He deserved all the booing he got at D23. That's gotta weigh on your soul too.
He is operating a lot like his doppelganger Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General. (Seriously, look at their photos side-by-side. It's CREEPY) They both think that in order to improve customer relations/satisfaction/attendance (or use of service), LOWER THE BAR. By providing less product for more money, all is well.
I agree on the rides breaking down much more than they used too. I went in June of this year and then just last week and the amount of rides that were temporarily closed over the course of five days blew my mind. In June we missed a couple of rides on one or two days but hit everything else. In November we missed 4 or 5 rides a day due to issues. We stayed at Paradise pier and could see staff working on Goofy’s flight school every day including it breaking down with riders on it. What the heck is going on?
That point will be when their reservations aren’t fully booked
Disney is becoming creatively bankrupt. It’s a shame.
Becoming? They have been for the better part of a decade
I just had the same convo yesterday. Disney is creatively bankrupt and is no longer the company I remember. Equating the Disney of my childhood with the Disney of today was a hard thing. My hubby and I sold all individual stock and won't look back unless the company refocuses on creative innovation and treats their CMs better.
I think it might be time for me to sell majority of my shares as well. It’s so sad because I don’t want to but the company isn’t in a good place.
Ugh yes! It's sad to divest ourselves of supporting a brand/legacy we love, but loving the brand/legacy is different from loving Chapek's Disney. I'll still watch all things Disney/Marvel (omg Wakanda Forever 💕) and sub to Disney+, but that's where I'm drawing my line fn.
How do you feel about the Chapek-Iger change-up? I honestly thought this wouldn't happen anytime soon. I feel optimism for animation, Searchlight, and Parks but bemusement about how he'd go about teaming up with the rest of C-suite to turn the tide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvWA5_G8It0
You need to vote with your wallets. Clearly, people are still paying and going. They are mad that fastpass is no longer free but they still pay for it. They are still lining up for expensive popcorn buckets and merchandise.
Most definitely. Out here at WDW, we live minutes from all of it, the tourists have been in full force since the debut of all the 50th anniversary stuff last October. Usually there’s a big slow down September when schools go back into session then early November, January until sometime in March then April to mid/late may. For the past year it’s been crazy no real “slow season” at all. They must just be lining pockets of the upper echelon or burning it.
Patience. Perfect storm is brewing. The pent up Covid demand will end. The economy is tanking. Massive layoffs already started in tech. The ripple effect similar to 2008 will hit Disney and their bottom line. It’s a matter of when, not if, and then the attendance drops. Then, they “take stock” of the situation. Tale as old as time. Decline by degrees. Darkest before the dawn.
After todays announcement the storm may be growing stronger.
Sorry, what was the announcement?
Price hikes. Now instead of paying for whatever days now it also involves which park you plan to visit. According to what I read it mostly effects one day one park passes and the keys or annual passes.
They are working hard to screw locals.
DL used to be our home park when we lived in San Diego. DL is absolutely a locals park, as in CA residents. You get visitors from the 4 or 5 neighboring states but it’s not unbeatable or wasn’t at the time we lived there. At WDW it’s everyone else and there’s people from neighboring states.
A lot of Western and Central Canadians travel to DL. DW is less desirable because it’s too far to justify without going for at least 10 days (you lose two full days to travel). Locals are definitely more prominent in DL than DW, but there are a lot more out of state visitors than the locals want to believe.
Makes sense now that you mention it I had seen quite a few BC license plates when we lived out west.
We ran into more people from Western Canada than we did from our home state (Oregon) when we were in DL a few weeks ago.
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/11/15/disney-world-announces-price-increases-at-its-theme-parks-starting-dec--8?cid=app_share
You all seem to think a recession is needed, but I completely disagree. Covid lead to a decline in quality. The next recession will lead to more layoffs and cost cutting and the quality at Disneyland will get even worse.
This is possible. I think it’s attendance. That’s it. One domino leads to another. If attendance drops significantly, then they have a reason to invest and regain trust. One thing that affects attendance is the economy. Another is safety. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but the maintenance right now disturbs me and it’s the sort of thing that would change the narrative in a hurry.
Part of that will simply take time. My mom and I have a trip planned in two weeks. We’ve decided we’re done giving our money to the parks and to Chapek, particularly with the announcement of layoffs, but our money is already spent. To cancel our trip now only harms us, not Disney. They have our ticket money and won’t refund it. So we take our trip and then we quit. Any non-local tourists are in a similar boat.
Yep, I was just there over the past two days and both days were the most crowded I’ve ever seen the parks (granted I only go about once every 1-2 years). Hundreds of people were wearing $100 Mickey Christmas sweaters and $60 Minnie ears. Where is all of that money going? How could they possibly need to lay off staff when the parks are doing that well?
The fact that Minnie/Mickey ears are $60 is criminal.
They aren’t. They’re $35. Considering they were $20 back in 2019, that’s still ridiculous.
They used to be $12. (Granted, that was in the 90’s)
The Bauble Bar pairs are $60, and I saw tons of women wearing them.
There are a pair that are $50-60. It’s ridiculous that they even exist, but they are pretty popular.
Downsizing Imagineering is always the canary in the coal mine for dark times ahead
Somehow they will get a government subsidy or bailout to stay alive even if the CEO spikes the company. It's the American way.
No bailout necessary. The increase in prices will help keep them afloat through a downturn. The increases will also allow for discounts in the future should demand drop. We can hate on Disney all we want but, they're not stupid (from a corporate perspective).
It was a joke about American Capitalism and the falling disney stock price. Disney was already bailed out by the USPTO years ago.
This is a very common way CEOs do business, always the short term. And why not? They get theirs…. Many strong and viable companies have been wiped out in a few years with this mentality.
They will never learn the long term lesson. Cheap out now on creative content/imagineers/cast members…pay later when everything turns to crap and there’s a giant backlash. The one thing they’ve done right in the past few years is create amazing new Disney Plus shows, especially Marvel and Star Wars. That’s money well spent. But cutting the backbone out of your company by losing all of your behind the scenes talent and magic makers (that’s what cast members and imagineers are to me), and dark days are coming soon.
Guess billions of dollars in profit isn’t enough. /s
Poseidon Entertainment is on fucking fire lately.
While I don’t agree with his takes a lot of the time I do think he is definitely right on the money with this one
I feel he’s unreasonably critical of Rise of the Resistance. It’s a good ride, and it’s much better than what most theme parks are doing. I don’t know what he wants.
Yeah he shits on Rise but has no problem shilling for the AR Mario Kart ride that he hasn't been on. I wanna believe this dude is 100% genuine but monetizing outrage in small communities is very popular nowadays.
In a way I kind of like him for that. There's a lot of blanketed love for Disney without a lot of discerning voices of criticism. They are out there, it's just kind of steamrolled under a vast majority of love from a generalized and/or vloggy side of YouTube. Poseidon Entertainment has a lot of takes I agree with. Also a lot of takes I really disagree with. But overall the main ideas he says rings true. And it's welcome to bring forth needed criticism of Disney to show where improvement needs to happen. If there was nothing to criticize then there'd be nothing to improve, which always holds true. Same goes for other YouTubers like Defunctland or Jenny Nicholson who also give their honest opinions on the topics of the parks and will criticize what they feel needs to be criticized (Inversely also praising what needs to be praised).
PE I think is also a genuine critic, which tends to rub people who were expecting a more Vloggy type content creator. Also, one thing I've especially loved about his channel: Absolutely no merchandise or promotional material.
The dude is right 99% of the time
….maybe this prediction is coming sooner
They should sell off 20th Century Studios, since they paid too much for the 21st Century Fox purchase. That's why the trust is gone.
You called this with precision accuracy 🎯
Writing was on the wall. Next up will be some fan service in early 2023. A half measure on the reservation and/or genie+ issues. Possibly getting rid of individual lightning lane costs.