Happy Festivus

Someone sent me a text today of the parking price sign at SWO and general parking was $38 and their highest tier "VIP" was $82. I think that may be dynamically priced for Christmas/New Years weeks though as parking is normally $30.

Anyway my biggest grievance is just the overall culture in which parks are ran, and its more of a big corporation grievance than an independent parks. They put these execs in charge of parks, but the execs know they're only going to be there a few years max before being shipped off to their next job, and they are all trying to maximize profits to make themselves look good to try and get promoted. So what ends up happening is they cut operatons/maintenance to maximize profits for that year/season and then their bosses at corporate go "good job making more profit than the year before" and they get promoted...creating a race to the bottom situation. This happens at all corporate parks including Disney, and TBH this is [sort of] how Bob Chapek got promoted to CEO.

My main grievance is against parks that are not honest and transparent with their customers. We all know stuff happens, and it's not always possible to predict the future precisely, but between projects getting announced and never getting built (EPCOT's Play Pavilion and MK's Main Street Theater), announced for opening in the next season and then not breaking ground until the spring (SFGAdv's Flash coaster, SFOT's Aquaman, and many others), and ride closures not announced until after the park has closed for the year or merely a week or 2 before closing forever (Kingda Ka, Scorpion, and more).

It's drives me crazy that parks treat customers and guests with such disrespect and then beg them to buy their products in the same breath. No other profitable business operates this way.

My main grievance besides costs are folks in parks who still act with entitlement and outraged things not going their way while aggravating others. Especially those who wander around streaming themselves and acting like others are just supposed to get out of their way.

Besides the previously mentioned, it's gotta be coaster parks (Like the big ones) build a new roller coaster without building... Anything else. This could be as simple as not adding any theming or landscaping, building part of a land with minimum theming as and just one ride, or not even including a ride station with the roller coaster they're advertising for-looking at you, United Parks- and overall just worrying about big rides and overlooking any of the other essentials besides profit.

Nothing like buying a fairly expensive annual pass to Disney and then having to buy the Lightning Lane upgrade every time you go to the park because the "Standby" waiting time is so long.

But on the upside, parking at the Disney Parks is free with the annual pass.

And then, parking is free at Disney Springs, but isn't free until 6:30 PM at CityWalk.

My grievance had remained consistent for years: The loud, obnoxious "hate-Disney-at-all-cost" Comcast fanboy community that has propagated a large (and growing) vlogger/blogger clickbait cottage industry. It's not that their complaints about the Disney parks are always off target. Rather, it's their willingness to turn a blind-eye when a competitor like Comcast commits the same (often "money-grabbing") alleged sins.

...I may be guilty of this. New years resolutions might be handy.

Lightning Lane is my biggest grievance. Not just for having to pay for something that used to be free, but also the potential side-effects it will have on how Disney designs new rides, lands, and even parks. Is the main thing being considered now when building a new attractions 1) will it sell merchandise, and 2) will it sell lighting lanes. I don't want Disney to have every new experience be primary about how it can be monetized, I want the cohesive theming, decent number of smaller attractions around a major one, etc.

Not sure if Robert has ever written about the business model of lightning lane and its potential effects on development, but it would be interesting to read.

@Tim - If parking at Disney Springs was right next to Magic Kingdom's entrance I guarantee you it wouldn't be free either!

For me it is the total domination of the app to pre-book everything resulting in any spontaneity being coupled with disappointment. The creative geniality which goes into Disney and Universal parks should be marvelled at and absorbed not continually by-passed as you have to have your head in your phone and your day is totally governed by being at certain points at certain times. Where is the enjoyment in that?

@Francis: Fortunately Disney was smart enough not to put its shopping/dining/entertainment complex next to the Magic Kingdom

@Francis - Good point. Unfortunately I find myself going to Disney Springs for evening entertainment far more than CitiWalk simply because I want to drive over before rush hour, and I'm too cheap to pay for parking.

@TH Creative - And you know that when faced with a lack of space at the Disney resort in California like Universal faced in Orlando, Disney did the exact same thing with Downtown Disney.