Say goodbye to the entertainment at the Poly

[tikiman]

As of December 14th the Tambu Lounge will no longer have a musician and as of December 13th the Polynesian will have its last tourch lighting ceremony at the main entrance to the Great Ceremonial House. This is just the begining of the affects to the resorts at WDW from the economy.

When these things start to go away the resorts lose their personality.

[Ian]

Yep. The cutbacks are already very obvious (especially in terms of the Christmas celebration) and they're only going to get worse.

I just can't disagree more on this approach. How the suits think they're going to lure people to Disney World by giving them less, I have no idea.

If you're trying to compete for an ever-shrinking share of people's vacation funds, you have to give them a compelling reason to visit your resort.

[Disney Doll]

That's sad news. We always enjoyed listening to the musician while we waited for our table at Ohana. I agree that this seems to be the wrong approach. For me Disney is in the details and I appreciate all the little extra things they do to really immerse you in the experience.

[Mickey91]

I disagree about it all being the economy. I believe this is just another way the powers that be are trying to get more profit with less service. They are shooting themselves in the foot. It is the special ceremonies and little "extras" that bring the guests to the onsite resorts. That is why you pay extra to stay there. I know the economy will get the blame in alot of the down trend at WDW, but this started way before WDW attendance began to sag. We have seen a good bit of the dropping of special activities over the course of the last few years (the worse case of bad judgement being the elimination of "4 for a dollar")while WDW posted record attendance. There is only so much of the magic people will be willing to miss and still pay the kind of ticket/resort prices WDW asks. I realize there are deals for the coming year, but WDW done right, is still an expensive vacation. It is the little extras that make it all worth the financial plunge.

[tikiman]

Yep. The cutbacks are already very obvious (especially in terms of the Christmas celebration) and they're only going to get worse.

I just can't disagree more on this approach. How the suits think they're going to lure people to Disney World by giving them less, I have no idea.

If you're trying to compete for an ever-shrinking share of people's vacation funds, you have to give them a compelling reason to visit your resort.

I totally agree with you Ian. Even before the problem with the economy they needed to bring in more of the little things that make it worth paying that much to stay there. Show people that the resort is headed in the right direction. The things that make your visit special are not always expensive. Sometimes it is just better training of the CMs to be friendlier or more helpful, but their focus for the last year or so seems to be how they can get more money for less.

I live near San Francisco and the restaurants and hotels in the city are hurting so they are giving great deals and offering more for less to get people in. I see that as a good plan because if you give people a positive experience in tough times than chances are they will be loyal customers later. Some of the things Disney does just makes you ask why you keep going back.

Even this deal they just came out with sounds better than it is. You may be getting free nights and tickets but you are paying full rate for the nights and tickets you are getting. There are deals and packages that you don’t pay full rate per night that would cost you less but people just fall into the sales pitch of getting something for free.

[PirateLover]

That stinks. It is those little touches that set WDW apart from other places. I for one am bummed by this news, and agree with Ian's sentiments.

[SBETigg]

Oh no, that's a shame! I loved the musician at the Tambu Lounge.

[TinkerbellT421]

Yep. The cutbacks are already very obvious (especially in terms of the Christmas celebration) and they're only going to get worse.

I just can't disagree more on this approach. How the suits think they're going to lure people to Disney World by giving them less, I have no idea.

If you're trying to compete for an ever-shrinking share of people's vacation funds, you have to give them a compelling reason to visit your resort.

Completely agree. Because if this weren't the case, then ppl would go stay at POP, AllStars, or Port Orleans, to get the same thing for less for the vacationer, and in the end it was no different. It absolutely is one of the things that sets each resort apart from the other. And if you dont have that, that little bit of more personality then whats the difference (besides maybe a bigger room) to stay at Poly (for example) get less for more, or stay at PO and get the same thing for less? Makes no sense, hopefully after this whole economic slow down, money saving things they are pulling, will pick up and in my dreams hoping that then they will explode and get better than before. But thats me dreaming as always lol

[DizneyRox]

Even this deal they just came out with sounds better than it is. You may be getting free nights and tickets but you are paying full rate for the nights and tickets you are getting. There are deals and packages that you don’t pay full rate per night that would cost you less but people just fall into the sales pitch of getting something for free.

That's the truth. I just don't get how people go nuts over the word "free". "Free" dining has sent the world is tizzy, even though I never saw any real value in the plan. Getting 3 nights for free when you're paying an overpriced rack rate that's never really an actual going rate, just doesn't make any sense either.

I've been going often for over ten years now, more often than not at least 3 trips a year. The value of a Disney vacation has definitely declined. It has been a fairly steady decline since about 2000-2001 or so. Sadly, many folks one go for the once in a lifetime type trips and just don't see it. It's unfortunate, I used to use TWDC as an example of how a company should be run, with a focus on service and quality; a leader in their industry. Now they do just enough to keep up with everyone else and hope the Disney brand is enough to get them by.

It saddens me that as a DVC member I get to lay witness to the decline in the Disney brand for many years to come. It might be time to start selling the points for $$$ and use that for vacations with some value. I don't look forward to my trips as much as I used to.

[SurferStitch]

Wow, that really is a shame. I loved the singer in the lounge.

Oh well...at least I got to hear him sing Hawaiian Roller Coaster ride one more time when we were there in October.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Whether or not this is due only to the economy only Disney knows. It is always unfortunate in difficult economic times that people lose jobs, but the 500,000 lost in the US economy last month shows its happening everywhere. Wish it wasn't.

The analysts reports I've read recently are indicating that all service industries (WDW fits there) are going to take a heavy hit in this downturn. Disney is a lag indicator because of the fact people book so far ahead. The analysts are saying that they are expecting a major reduction in bookings at Disney, showing up in a 3-5 month time frame from now.

Hopefully the job cuts will be minimal. It is never nice to hear of people losing jobs but I expect we'll hear more before its over.

[faline]

Interesting. On our last trip, we were about to leave the lounge when the singer arrived. Instead of leaving, we stayed through his first set which meant that we ordered another round of drinks and provided an additional tip to our server. Had the singer not been there, we would not have spent that additional money in the lounge.

[snuggs30]

HEY DISNEY!!!!!! LOWER YOUR PRICES AND MAKE IT REASONABLE FOR PEOPLE...THEY WILL COME!!! HAHA Sorry had to do that, but they could lower the prices of food, tickets and HOTELS! till we get out of this mess!

[g8rgirl29]

We have seen a good bit of the dropping of special activities over the course of the last few years (the worse case of bad judgement being the elimination of "4 for a dollar")while WDW posted record attendance. There is only so much of the magic people will be willing to miss and still pay the kind of ticket/resort prices WDW asks.

I couldn't agree more!!!!! I still have not gotten over the fact that they cut 4 for a dollar!!! I just wonder what else they will start hacking away at.

[mouseketeer mom]

In all of my years staying at the Polynesian, I never saw the torch lighting ceremony in the evening. I swore I would catch it, on our upcoming March trip. There goes that plan. Sad news for us Poly lovers.

[Mackflava99]

I actually got to see the torch ceremony last year- it was very nice-
I am really surprised especially since the Poly is so popular. they should make memories last---

What's next?
Getting rid of Art the greeter or Stan at the Wilderness lodge?

Or getting rid og the kids activities by the pool?

Or the electric water pagent?

Or EMHs ( i heard that recently...)

[valjane]

We're going in 10 days for what is probably our last trip to WDW in a while.

Why? Because of things like this. I go to Disney for the special extras that make it different from other vacation destinations.

But if they start getting rid of all of it (which they've been slowly doing for the past 5-6 years), there's really no incentive for me to go anymore.

I could have a better (and cheaper) vacation somewhere else.

It makes me incredibly sad.

[Goes4FastPass]

...It saddens me that as a DVC member I get to lay witness to the decline in the Disney brand for many years to come...

This is a real issue for DVC sales - which must a big priority for the Disney Company.

Most DVC familes probably start with the WDW fan -trip planner - ADR maker - discussion board poster "pitching" the idea of becoming DVC members to their less enthusiastic partner.

As the person who, uh, keeps flipping the channel over to "Casey" when we're at WDW, I gotta believe the Disney Corporation is going to provide us and ours a great vacation for decades to come.

[illini]

My kids and I will be sad not to get to see the Torch Lighting this trip. We enjoyed it so much.

I'm with Steve & Ian. This isn't the approach to take right now. Give me less for more $? Uhhh, no.

[Ian]

Even this deal they just came out with sounds better than it is. You may be getting free nights and tickets but you are paying full rate for the nights and tickets you are getting. There are deals and packages that you don’t pay full rate per night that would cost you less but people just fall into the sales pitch of getting something for free.

I couldn't agree more. My cousin just priced a 7 day trip at the Wilderness Lodge using the "7 for 4" deal and the end result was it was going to cost him $2,400 for the entire package (room, passes, and food). That did not include airfare.

I laughed when he told me that, because I've done that same package at WL before for less than that without the "7 for 4" deal!

They're getting really shady, I'm telling you. They try and fool people with these celebrations and "deals" (get in free on your birthday ... BIG DEAL!), but all the while you're still paying more and more every year while they're giving you less and less.

Honestly, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this is an untenable business model for an entertainment company. Eventually you destroy your brand and people never come back. Don't take my word for it ... it's been proven time and time again by many companies throughout history.

Interesting. On our last trip, we were about to leave the lounge when the singer arrived. Instead of leaving, we stayed through his first set which meant that we ordered another round of drinks and provided an additional tip to our server. Had the singer not been there, we would not have spent that additional money in the lounge.

See and this is the stuff the bean counters never factor in when looking for places to cut costs.

I just made this same comment in a thread in Theme Parks, but when you get in the habit of looking at these extras as nothing but expenses, then you've completely lost track of what your business is. How many people pay extra to stay at the Poly because of the special atmospheric touches like the torch lighting ceremony? How many people now might downgrade to a moderate or even stay off property because they can no longer see the value-add in paying deluxe rates?

It's very, very bad business and it will bite them at some point. It hasn't happened yet so they've continued to be emboldened with cutbacks, but I think they'll be unpleasantly surprised at how quickly the tipping point comes.