Disney World Resorts Struggling

[New Mouse]

A low price invites pirates who only want to make money and aren't interested in providing a superior product to happy customers.

The current leadership is indifferent to a superior product and happy customers and pay attention only to.the extent that it affects the stock price. Disney stopped caring about being the best about 15 years ago.

 

[RivShore]

I agree we are (speaking as a DIS shareholder) NOT doomed. Problems? Yes, Self-inflicted? yes. Fixable? Yes. Have the issues been identified and addressed? Somewhat.

The pre-Eisner era (early 80s) was much more dangerous, imo. The company was being circled by others intent on buying control and selling off the pieces. No more DIS.

If anyone wonders why the stock price is important, this is why. A low price invites pirates who only want to make money and aren't interested in providing a superior product to happy customers.

Good reminder of the many trials and tribulations of the company itself, in addition to the macro economic items I listed. The company survived near bankruptcy more than once and that was with the originals in charge. It survived the corporate raiders, as you mentioned. It survived the untimely Wells death. It survived some disastrously expensive and incompetent hires after the that. It survived the decline and near death of animation. etc, etc.

But this is the end according to some prognosticators here...

 

[Pooh's World]

It hasn't caught up to Disney for 100 years, why now?

It survived:
The Great Depression
WW2
The Cold War
The Korean War
The Vietnam War
The unrest of the 60's+
The energy crisis
Inflation, stagflation, deflation
The dot com bust
9/11 and the never ending war on terror
The Great Recession
The Pandemic
Bob 2.0 (I couldn't resist)

And countless other major economic disruptions. Many of these directly destroyed travel for a time and yet Disney survived and thrived. It has changed with the times, unlike AOL, Blockbuster, and IBM who stubbornly held to models that became outdated.

So again, why now? Because they raised prices too much while the parks were overwhelmed with guests? Easy fix, offer nice discounts and all those people who thought they were priced out will come running back. Or maybe because everyone feels nickle and dimed - easy fix, eliminate things like resort parking fess (done), then offer free G+ and two LL's with a hotel/ticket package, everyone will then feel like they are getting something for nothing. Or because the economy is headed for trouble - see above, it has survived a century of troubled economies.

So in conclusion, trouble ahead - probably. The end of a 100 year old company, an American (and Worldwide) institution, - I most definitely think not.

When did Iger come in?

It was fine with Walt and even Eisner so not sure why you are counting 100 years.

 

[Cfabar1]

I saw a lot of happy faces at the park last time I was there…. People seem to really be enjoying their visits, also saw lots of gift bags filled with product. I think some on this board exaggerate the demise of Disney.

Also, I think things have gotten way better in the past few months. Fuller staffing, more reliable ride experience, cleaner parks. All steps in the right direction.

 

[Sweettears]

When did Iger come in?

It was fine with Walt and even Eisner so not sure why you are counting 100 years.

Eisner was largely responsible for Iger’s becoming CEO

 

[Pooh's World]

Eisner was largely responsible for Iger’s becoming CEO

If you read Igers book Eisner was basically tricked into Letting Iger be CEO

 

[wabbott]

If you read Igers book Eisner was basically tricked into Letting Iger be CEO

Roy Edward Disney and Stanley Gold took out Eisner after several high-profile mistakes made by Eisner. In March, 2004, 43% of the shareholders voted against him.

He made a mess of Jeffrey Katzenberg's departure by refusing to pay him what he was owed. It went to trial and wound up costing us shareholders $280 million when it could have been settled for $60 million.

Then there was the Michael Ovitz fiasco, which also cost us a pile of money.

By this time, Eisner only tolerated yes men around him and also bollixed up the relationship with Steve Jobs and Pixar. It got so bad Jobs wouldn't deal with Eisner at all, because he said he wouldn't keep his word. That was a costly error, as Pixar had turned into a money machine by the early 2000s.

To his credit, Iger saw this mistake and once he took over, he and Jobs made a deal for DIS to buy Pixar and get the money flowing again.

 

[Jrb1979]

Good reminder of the many trials and tribulations of the company itself, in addition to the macro economic items I listed. The company survived near bankruptcy more than once and that was with the originals in charge. It survived the corporate raiders, as you mentioned. It survived the untimely Wells death. It survived some disastrously expensive and incompetent hires after the that. It survived the decline and near death of animation. etc, etc.

But this is the end according to some prognosticators here...

It's not the end of Disney but IMO the days of Disney being the king in Orlando is ending. If Epic Universe opens as advertised it will make Universal a 4-5 day vacation. They will take guests away from Disney. The fact that Disney isn't taking Epic Universe seriously should scare investors.

 

[Sparkly]

Yeah Disney will be ok, no matter what a random irritated AP holder says on the internet.

 

[.landry]

We did combined Universal and Disney in Oct ‘21. Two days at Universal, 5 at Disney. We stayed at Royal Pacific at Uni for the express passes. We enjoyed Uni, especially the Harry Potter areas, but everyone liked Disney better - including my thrill-ride-loving son-in-law, who was most looking forward to Uni. For me, I felt like all the simulators were the same ride with different screen images. I would go back again, though. We still had fun.

This was exactly our experience. We went to UO in June 21 specifically for HPW because our then 8 yo was OBSESSED, like possibly in an unhealthy way
We sprang for Sapphire Falls for the express passes and it was really nice. The kid loved the pool and she REALLY loved HPW. But when we asked if she wanted to come back she hard meh’d and has never asked to go back. She did however ask to bring some friends to Disney for her 10th which we’re doing in June.
Whenever I’ve talked about it I’ve said that UO isn’t even in the same category. It felt like the Wild West in terms of crowds and chaos and HPW was great but not something we’d come back for more than maybe once more.
Even the hotel felt very crowded and it was hard to find a seat at the pool.
It was a good time but I don’t think it’s going to replace Disney for people who really like Disney.

Same. I've been to both Disney and Universal twice since Covid. Outside of the Harry Potter parts of Universal no one is that impressed in my family with Universal, so it's a 2-day, 3 days if we ride the HP rides 5 times each lol, experience for us. We easily spend a week at Disney without getting bored.

We also stayed at Hard Rock at Universal last time, and the rooms were really beat up and dirty. We've had some not perfectly clean Disney rooms but never a combo of stains all over and not cleaned very well.

 

[jkh36619]

This was exactly our experience. We went to UO in June 21 specifically for HPW because our then 8 yo was OBSESSED, like possibly in an unhealthy way
We sprang for Sapphire Falls for the express passes and it was really nice. The kid loved the pool and she REALLY loved HPW. But when we asked if she wanted to come back she hard meh’d and has never asked to go back. She did however ask to bring some friends to Disney for her 10th which we’re doing in June.
Whenever I’ve talked about it I’ve said that UO isn’t even in the same category. It felt like the Wild West in terms of crowds and chaos and HPW was great but not something we’d come back for more than maybe once more.
Even the hotel felt very crowded and it was hard to find a seat at the pool.
It was a good time but I don’t think it’s going to replace Disney for people who really like Disney.

Express passes at Sapphire Falls?

 

[IndyToThere]

^ Yeah, Sapphire Falls doesn't include Express passes. Unless they had some sort of extra offer that included it, SF isn't part of the 'Premier' category of UO resorts that come with Express pass.

 

[.landry]

Express passes at Sapphire Falls?

My mistake, it was royal pacific. When I was writing this I kept thinking "royal palms. no, that's not it. Not portofino, the other one"

 

[Brian Noble]

We're at Universal this week. We've got a 2BR condo at one of the Marriott timeshares in the Sea World neighborhood, and I ended up buying the Premiere APs. Those include one-time-per-attraction Express after 4P, which is why I bought them---it was about the same price as regular tickets plus a day or two of Unlimited express.

They were also about the same price as a week's worth of Disney hoppers, before buying any G+/ILL options.

But, I've positively fallen in love with another perk: valet parking. We sleep in and have breakfast in the condo. We roll into the valet about 1 or so, have lunch somewhere in City Walk (Cowfish is great!) and then amble around the parks until close-ish, which this week is 9P at USF and 10P at IOA. Duck back to the valet, get the car, and head home. Rinse, repeat.

Universal isn't Disney, and I don't think it makes sense to try to call one a replacement for the other--in either direction. Universal is a little more irreverent, intense, and not quite so self-conscious/self-important. Disney has more heart and is more consistent in terms of creating a sense of place. We like both of them, and while we spend more time at Disney, we don't begrudge our "not Disney" trips to Orlando.

We are definitely high on the thrill-meter, so Universal works for is in ways it might not for everyone. Hagrid's is tons of fun, and I think most anyone able to ride the full set of Disney coasters would probably enjoy it. Velocicoaster is outstanding--as in, top-5 for the coaster enthusiasts--but it is probably too much for the average Disney visitor. I've been on the top three of that list, and five of the top ten. Velocicoaster belongs on it and is in good company. DW decided she won't ride it, and she probably made the right call. And that's a woman who rides a lot of very intense coasters. The Mosasaurus Roll is no joke.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

We're at Universal this week. We've got a 2BR condo at one of the Marriott timeshares in the Sea World neighborhood, and I ended up buying the Premiere APs. Those include one-time-per-attraction Express after 4P, which is why I bought them---it was about the same price as regular tickets plus a day or two of Unlimited express.

They were also about the same price as a week's worth of Disney hoppers, before buying any G+/ILL options.

But, I've positively fallen in love with another perk: valet parking. We sleep in and have breakfast in the condo. We roll into the valet about 1 or so, have lunch somewhere in City Walk (Cowfish is great!) and then amble around the parks until close-ish, which this week is 9P at USF and 10P at IOA. Duck back to the valet, get the car, and head home. Rinse, repeat.

Universal isn't Disney, and I don't think it makes sense to try to call one a replacement for the other--in either direction. Universal is a little more irreverent, intense, and not quite so self-conscious/self-important. Disney has more heart and is more consistent in terms of creating a sense of place. We like both of them, and while we spend more time at Disney, we don't begrudge our "not Disney" trips to Orlando.

We are definitely high on the thrill-meter, so Universal works for is in ways it might not for everyone. Hagrid's is tons of fun, and I think most anyone able to ride the full set of Disney coasters would probably enjoy it. Velocicoaster is outstanding--as in, top-5 for the coaster enthusiasts--but it is probably too much for the average Disney visitor. I've been on the top three of that list, and five of the top ten. Velocicoaster belongs on it and is in good company. DW decided she won't ride it, and she probably made the right call. And that's a woman who rides a lot of very intense coasters. The Mosasaurus Roll is no joke.

That sounds lovely, and I share your sentiments re: Universal and Disney. We also spend a lot more time at Disney parks (not just in Orlando) but in the last year we've done two weekend trips to Universal after not having visited in like 8 years. Have one more weekend scheduled for September. We get express passes included in the resort stay at Portofino Bay.

DH has enjoyed the thrill rollercoasters but they're too much for me. However, I did go on Hagrid's and it is outstanding if you get the bike seat (otherwise, go back and experience it that way!). We got an AP, the cheapest option, and will let it expire with our last trip but may consider coming back in a few years after EU is complete and they add more to the Studios park, as I expect they'll do once their focus isn't on EU.

Overall, a different style of vacation but one we have enjoyed and got a lot of value out thanks to some credit card perks. Here's what we do: stay at Portofino Bay on a weekend when the price is relatively low, use our Amex Fine Resorts & Hotels credit ($200 statement credit) to put a dent on the bill, the Amex card also gives us free breakfast, $100 dining credit for lunch/dinner, and we get to enjoy the parks with full-day express passes included with the resort stay. After two days with the EPs, we've done everything multiple times, so no need for a longer stay. So we get a lot out of a short stay this way, and stay in pretty nice rooms that we feel are basically comped with the value of the credits and EPs!