Stupid Guest Tricks

Zazu wrote:We've about maxed out the capacity of the parks themselves. Now fiscal growth has to come from shifting to higher revenue per guest. Just jacking up the ticket prices alone won't do that.

Sounds like Maui. There's only so many places that a hotel or timeshare can be built what with land use issues and the locals claiming every inch of land is sacred. There's also the issue of a finite number of planes can land and take off every day.

To work within those limitations advertising targets higher end travelers which, in theory, will bring in more money with less feet on the ground. It appears to be working as occupancy rates are high and hotel management is smiling.

There are still a lot of opportunities for the budget traveler though. There are still a lot of mom and pop operations outside of the major resorts that cater to those customers. Kinda like DisneyMom's favorite place to stay, the Candy Cane Inn behind the Cadillac Range.

Zazu wrote:I agree that planning my future activities two months out isn't my style. But look at it from Disney's perspective. If they discourage locals and those who stay off-site, they fill the parks with hotel guests, who tend to spend more.

We've about maxed out the capacity of the parks themselves. Now fiscal growth has to come from shifting to higher revenue per guest. Just jacking up the ticket prices alone won't do that. Adding perqs that only apply to hotel guests is something that should do that.

As a local (who may never again ride the big attractions without a 3-hour wait) I'm not terribly happy about this move. As a cast member, I look forward to more and more regular hours. As a stockholder, I'm delighted.

And in show business, the business will always trump the show in the short term (unless Walt comes back, then look out!).

I guess it's OK as long as they have figured out a way for whatever revenue was generated by those that are local or stay offsite can be sacrificed. I believe that on-site people do spend more than the others, they have too, they have no choices, but, there is still just so much that they are realistically able to spend. Let's face it most extremely wealthy guests are vacationing in the south of France or wherever is in this year. If I had to guess it is moderate income people that populate the resorts the most. Just staying there has taken most of their resources and they run everything else pretty close to the line.

As much as I have loved Disney over the years, as soon as I can no longer have the opportunity to see my favorite attraction without a three hour wait, I will no longer be going there.

Now I know that I personally am only a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things, still have contributed quite a bit to the cause. Since my divorce in 2001, my Quicken program tells me that I have spent over $38,000.00 on Disney trips. My estimate is that 60% of that was directly to Disney. That is just me! I doubt that I am alone. What that means is as a CM, over the course of time the numbers of visitors will decrease. That means that either you or perhaps someone you know will be let go because they have to trim the budget. As a stockholder, that same decline will mean a loss in revenue and a decrease in the value of your holdings. My feeling is that someone had better acknowledge that those of us that do not choose to sleep with the mouse are not automatically deciding that now they will. We are a pretty stubborn group. I lived well and prospered for 35 years before I ever set foot in a Disney Park. I think I can go on without them now, especially seeing as how I have a couple of fallback places that will give me my theme park fix that seem to care about us "little" folk. :mad:

Zazu wrote:Fastpasses already fail to work if you didn't properly enter the park with the ID you are trying to use. While I haven't tested it, I'm pretty sure the new system won't either.

Even better if it makes a ticket invalid when used at an FP machine without turnstyle activation. That same way it does now, but lock out the guest from any fast passes today since they did not enter the park properly ! Tomorrow, they will tap in as required to enter the park !

Speaking about the turnstiles, what is going on with the ones at the Magic Kingdom?

This is to be a new facility for re-programming guests. Once scanned in they will deposit all their worldly wealth in the big buckets designated for the purpose. They will then return to their mundane lives, earning more in order to deposit it all next year. In return guests receive Magic, Memories, and a wrist band ! This new incentive is sure to be a big hit at the next shareholders meeting. It appears to help Mickeys pants jingle all the more !

avengador1 wrote:Speaking about the turnstiles, what is going on with the ones at the Magic Kingdom?

avengador1 wrote:Speaking about the turnstiles, what is going on with the ones at the Magic Kingdom?

All conventional turnstiles are being removed from park entrances. Soon it will just be RFID posts and hand scanners for those who haven't yet updated.

For CMs, this means you'll have to take your paper comp tickets to Guest Relations and exchange them for RFID media, probably KTTW for now.

I guess it's a good thing I have my RFID annual pass then. ;)

Zazu wrote: And resorts *still* don't have the ability to deal with annual/seasonal passes or day-guest upgrades, for some reason.

Day guest upgrades can be done. Just most people don't know how to do it.

Quote Originally Posted by Zazu View Post
And resorts *still* don't have the ability to deal with annual/seasonal passes or day-guest upgrades, for some reason.

hhsrat wrote:Day guest upgrades can be done. Just most people don't know how to do it.

So how is that different from they "still don't have the ability". ;)

I thought when you said, they would reprogram the guests, it meant they would become more polite and sensible, and less self-centered and uncivilized! :twisted: