As it opens new attraction, Disney prepares to cut capital spending

[March Hare]

I just hope that whatever needs to happen to get Disney "moving forward" as Walt envisioned it happens soon. It's not like I have another lifetime to wait for them to get it going right again.

I have to agree with you. Unfortunately it looks like it may get worse before it gets better not only have they not been keeping up with the basic maintenance they are rushing work to open attractions faster. Under the old management they would have tested and retested everything before it opened it to the public to make sure there weren't any problems like rides scraping on the infrastructure

[Cinderelley]

What many people here fail to realize is that, as much as many here don't go to Disneyland because it's "too far", people who live on the west coast feel the SAME WAY about WDW. I lived in California from 1994 to 2011 and in that time, I came across people who had been to WDW only a handful of times. For a long time, those people felt that Disneyland really needed some attention.

I live in Arizona and made yearly trips to Disney World before my health problems.
Even though I am so close to California, I don't go to Disneyland precisely because it was lacking. I have fun when I am there, but it isn't enough to make me plan a trip for it.

[Cinderelley]

Well, I just read through all the pages of this thread.

Everyone has very interesting points. Part of the differing viewpoints I believe have to do with individual tastes. Everyone enjoys something different, and if something you enjoy isn't taken away, it isn't a big deal. If the things you go there for are taken away, there's no incentive to return.

As I've been sitting down and planning my trip for next year, I am finding that only about half of the stuff I normally would take the new people to see is still there. There are about 6 days where there really isn't anything I can say I definitely want to take them to see. It leaves me wondering if we should wander over to Universal to check out the Harry Potter stuff. That is a thought that never would have been seriously entertained in my mind before. My head was too full of imagining my friends having a blast with Chip and Dale at Liberty Tree Tavern or laughing hysterically at the Adventurer's Club. All of us girls would have done BBB for MNSSHP, even though there is only one "child" going with us. We work nights and live on the west coast. With the time difference and our normal sleep schedule, very rarely are we awake for morning emh. Evening emhs were our staple though. I can't even think of enough TS restaurants that I really want to go back to in order to fill every night of our trip. I know it sounds small, but this is a big part of our trips. Very rarely do we have the time to see each other in everyday life. A sit down meal each day gives us a chance to catch up on everything.

Back to my first point, a large portion of this trip is centering around a little 5 year old girl. She will be seeing Disney for the first time - the princesses, the rides, the fireworks, everything. We know we will have a wonderful time with her. I am sure it is the same for those of you who still see Disney through rose colored glasses.

On the other hand, those who are going that have been with me before are already talking about the things that are gone that they wish they could do again. I haven't even mentioned the shortening of the evening emh hours or the fact that BBB has an age limit now. I am sure those who are unhappy with things the way they are now miss the "glory" days of the things they used to enjoy.

With those empty days in my vacation plans, it has made me wonder if my love for WDW is more of a nostalgia thing. The children have been bugging me to go on another cruise. Cruises have the advantage of doing for me one of the things that I love about WDW, I can drop my luggage and cares off at the airport and not worry about them until I am headed home. Unless things are really different on our next trip, I'm sure a lot of our vacation dollars will be spent places other than WDW in the future.

[DizneyRox]

... The children have been bugging me to go on another cruise. Cruises have the advantage of doing for me one of the things that I love about WDW, I can drop my luggage and cares off at the airport and not worry about them until I am headed home. Unless things are really different on our next trip, I'm sure a lot of our vacation dollars will be spent places other than WDW in the future.

It's great, I've been cruising for the past couple of years, I have two more booked now and it's everything I remembered it was. Of course some things have changed, but not as drastically as Disney (WDW in particular).

[Gator]

Investors are who the company has to answer to. They're the ones who hold sway over how a business is operated. I'd that Disney has done a good job of proving good returns to investors while upgrading attractions.

As for the cuts, welcome to the new USA. We have an economy sputtering with no help in sight, which means less revenue at the parks from patrons, all while expenses for food, healthcare, and wages go up up up. My own business, a medical business, has seen over 10% cuts in business revenue. So you know what we have to do? Cut. Cut everything. And we do this without taking too much away from our customers.

Everyone has to do it. Disney is no exception, much to everyone's dismay.

[ChipNDale79]

Investors are who the company has to answer to. They're the ones who hold sway over how a business is operated. I'd that Disney has done a good job of proving good returns to investors while upgrading attractions.

As for the cuts, welcome to the new USA. We have an economy sputtering with no help in sight, which means less revenue at the parks from patrons, all while expenses for food, healthcare, and wages go up up up. My own business, a medical business, has seen over 10% cuts in business revenue. So you know what we have to do? Cut. Cut everything. And we do this without taking too much away from our customers.

Everyone has to do it. Disney is no exception, much to everyone's dismay.

But is the economy at Disney really sputtering? If it were, then the promos would not have been rolled back, nor would they have raised prices.

The bottom fell out of the economy in 2008, since then, the cost of a Disney vacation has increased over 20%.

[March Hare]

Investors are who the company has to answer to. They're the ones who hold sway over how a business is operated. I'd that Disney has done a good job of proving good returns to investors while upgrading attractions.

As for the cuts, welcome to the new USA. We have an economy sputtering with no help in sight, which means less revenue at the parks from patrons, all while expenses for food, healthcare, and wages go up up up. My own business, a medical business, has seen over 10% cuts in business revenue. So you know what we have to do? Cut. Cut everything. And we do this without taking too much away from our customers.

Everyone has to do it. Disney is no exception, much to everyone's dismay.

I understand that some cuts need to be made do to the economy. I am just worried that the cuts may go to far and put them behind their competitors and it is not like I am looking for anything new I am just looking for upkeep. Which has been the problem even when they were spending the money. If the parks don't fix the blatant problems people will start going else where, or worse yet telling others not to bother going to "that run down park" as well.

[DizneyFreak2002]

But is the economy at Disney really sputtering? If it were, then the promos would not have been rolled back, nor would they have raised prices.

The bottom fell out of the economy in 2008, since then, the cost of a Disney vacation has increased over 20%.

Disney is making billions, their economy is strong... Just like the economy of many major firms in the U.S. to the tune of trillions in profits...

My issue isn't with cuts, it is with how they cut and what they cut, all in the name of saving a buck (or making sure their bonus checks are larger and larger)...

[Cinderelley]

It's great, I've been cruising for the past couple of years, I have two more booked now and it's everything I remembered it was. Of course some things have changed, but not as drastically as Disney (WDW in particular).

We LOVED our Alaskan cruise. We used Royal Caribbean, not Disney.

[Tekneek]

Disney doesn't "have to" cut anything. They've posted huge profits. They continue to raise rates by large amounts. Disney is a booming economy. You only "have to" cut something when you risk insolvency by not doing so.