Deja Vu at Disney World

I'm convinced that Disney no longer wants to deliver "value". They would much rather have guests come once or twice in their lifetime and spend tens of thousands of dollars on those trips than come every few years on more budget-conscious trips. Disney would rather be viewed as a luxury brand and vacation destination than cater to the serfs that want to visit every year or 2.

Yeah. Disney is expensive. I'm glad someone finally said it!

C'mon, TH, the expensive part is not my issue with Disney. I've been advocating for higher ticket prices in order to control the crowds at Disney for years. But the half steps they've been using just aren't cutting it. I guess they're taking a "boil the frog slowly" approach to getting up to a high dollar clientele.

Really, all I want to do is to pay for a premium experience that feels like a premium experience.

Funny, 2000 was one of my fave Disney trips, so much new stuff opening (okay, even Imagineers admit the Imagination redo was a disaster but otherwise) and the early Fast Pass working great. I'd take that with so much still there (Pleasure Island for one) over WDW today.

And it's telling on the Imagineering series on Disney+, Eisner is totally open on so many of the mistakes made in the 2000s yet I'd still say that was a last gasp of classic WDW I loved.

Whew, Tim! For a second after reading that headline, I was worried that Disney was adding a Vekoma Boomerang to Florida. Now that would really suck!

James, please, please don't give them any ideas.

Russell: "I'm convinced that Disney no longer wants to deliver 'value'."

Me: I have trouble with your use of the word "wants". But I won't argue with the assertion that Disney has lost sight of how important some of the qualitative elements of the park experience are to its image.

In 1986, I worked in EPCOT Guest Relations. The CMs in our department took great pride in being knowledgeable about all aspects of the resort. Although I was assigned to EPCOT, I learned and (35 years later still know) that 407-824-1000 is the phone number for the Contemporary, 407-824-2000 is the phone number for the Poly, 407-824-2200 is the phone number for the (then) Golf Resort and 407-824-2900 is the phone number for Fort Wilderness.

It was considered a MORTRAL SIN to answer any guest question with "I don't know."

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago -- in the middle of the afternoon. I was at DSTP (sorry, ain't lettin' go of that) and a group of us wandered over to 'Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar' to enjoy "a properly tuned adult beverage" (to steal a reference from Colonel Critchlow Sunchbench -- look it up). The kind of beverage that Russell has always promised to buy me, but let's not go there.

Anyway, I walked up to the charming young lady at the hostess stand and asked how long we would have to wait to get a table, and she said it would be at least an hour.

Dismissing that option I asked her whether or not The Edison was open. And she replied, "I don't know, but you can check on your My Disney Experience app."

This was disappointing for two reasons. First, the proper answer would be "Let me find out," followed by the hostess checking her own phone (app) or reaching out to The Edison to ask on our behalf. By simply instructing us to check the app she was essentially saying, "I don't know, figure it out for yourselves."

The second reason it was disappointing is because it showed how the use of an app impacts (reduces) interaction with Disney CMs. Since 1982, my favorite part of the Disney park experience has been engaging with CMs. Calling them by their names. Asking if they are in Orlando on the college program -- and if they are enjoying themselves. Those conversations are always great. I fear that that app will likely (and significantly) reduce guest CM interactions. Even the most mundane conversations ("excuse me, where are the restrooms?" ... "Right over there, sir" -- pointing with two fingers) are still a positive interaction.

A guest needs some information, and a CM provides it in a friendly/courteous manner. I shudder to think that somewhere on property there's a guest who needs a bathroom and a CM responds by directing them to "check the app".

The powers that be at Disney may have metric tons of data, and more pages of spreadsheets than Stephen King has used typing paper, but reliance on cold iron numbers may well cause the company to lose site of some of the intangibles that its guests really, really "value".

The CMs have been phenomenal on this trip, TH, as usual, but this new app totally ruins the experience when compared to the FastPass+ app. A few years back, I started making more visits to Disney because FastPass+ allowed me to make my plans acoording to my schedule and my wishes. With Genie, my wishes are irrelevant. Instead I spend all day checking my phone and running back and forth across the park in order to get to the next Genie+ reservation.

This is really bad optics on Disney. I'm paying considerably more money to get a lesser experience, and I'm not going to do that anymore after this visit. This is supposed to be the slower season for Disney, and LL and Genie+ don't seem to be working all that well with the crowds they have now. Can you imagine how little value they will provide in the high season?

Here's a formula that probably doesn't show up in the Genie app algorithms:
Disney Ticket Price Increase + Genie+ Upcharge + Lightning Lane Upcharge = Me Going to Universal Orlando.

“A guest needs some information, and a CM provides it in a friendly/courteous manner. I shudder to think that somewhere on property there's a guest who needs a bathroom and a CM responds by directing them to ‘check the app’.”

There’s an easy solution to this. Disney needs to reach out to George Constanza and put him in charge of Guest Relations. Nobody would ever have trouble finding a toilet again.

We live a few hours away and used to alternate Disney and Universal passes every year. When staying at each we would stay club level at the top hotels. I was not very price conscious. Last few years we have been exclusively Universal patrons. It is really hard to justify paying the prices at Disney. Four Universal passes equal the price of one Disney pass. Now we stay at Universal and head over for a day here and there at Disney.

We live a few hours away and used to alternate Disney and Universal passes every year. When staying at each we would stay club level at the top hotels. I was not very price conscious. Last few years we have been exclusively Universal patrons. It is really hard to justify paying the prices at Disney. Four Universal passes equal the price of one Disney pass. Now we stay at Universal and head over for a day here and there at Disney.

I think there a lot of things at play here, and TH importantly points out that "value" can mean more than simply dollars and cents. However, I think there has been a distinct shift away from marketing WDW as a value-priced vacation destination that was pretty prevalent just a couple of years ago. If you are attuned to TV and digital advertising, you'll notice that WDW/DL parks have not been using nearly as much advertising as they have traditionally done in years past (even last year when capacities and audiences were restricted by the pandemic). The few ads that are running right now don't use hard numbers anymore (I've seen a few that show 10-20% off select rooms, but mostly don't even show any sort of discount offer anymore, and there are reports that even "bounce back" offers have been either non-existent or putrid compared to previous years). The November timeframe used to be when Disney would put on their hardest push not only for guests to come for the Holidays, but to also start planning their vacation for the following spring and summer. Those TV spots advertising "$2k for a family of 4" and "as low as $100/day" are ancient relics, not only because you can't visit WDW for those prices anymore, but because Disney no longer wants to be perceived as a "value" destination. They want to be the "price doesn't matter" vacation destination, and their elimination of pricing (and discounts) from almost all of their marketing demonstrates this.

While WDW used to advertise all of these "deals", those of us who frequent the Orlando area know that those offers Disney promoted couldn't hold a candle to what you might be able to find on your own and other tips and tricks to reduce save on the cost of a WDW vacation (staying off-site, DVC point, buying tickets through a discount reseller, park hopping with fewer days, packing lunches, etc...). However, Disney has been so clever with their pricing and new initiatives/procedures that it's becoming increasingly difficult to save money on a Disney vacation without significantly impacting the quality of the experience, which is where it really starts to hit those on the lower end of the income spectrum - especially those that save up years for that one trip to WDW or try to squeeze their budget so they can take their kids during each landmark stage of their childhood (every 3-5 years).

Disney certainly has the right to market and sell their products to the customers that they think give them the biggest return, but I can tell you that if we weren't able to afford trips to WDW and Disneyland every 2-3 years, we would not have the same affinity for these magical places, and would not be willing to plan future trips when the parks have new attractions. Disney parks are places you fall in love with over a lifetime, not a place you visit once to splurge your life savings on a whim. However, that appears to be the tact Disney has taken. Whether that affects the overall quality of the experience by reducing crowds with high overall costs and improving customer service through increasing revenues is the $1 billion question right now. Even though all critiques of the park experience have to be viewed through the prism of the pandemic, I think there's some validity to the overarching rebuke that guests are paying way more for noticeably less right now, which in my view decreases the overall entertainment and enjoyment "value" of a Disney vacation.