Disney beats estimates, US theme park revenue for quarter was $4.8 billion

Your PAYCHECK was $5?!? So much for the good old days…

I love the amount of Disney fans who know what Walt would want. I have met and worked with people who actually worked with Walt and even they don't claim to know what the man would want happening now with the parks.

I don't want to go down the rabbit hole but discretionary income items are simple getting more expensive...inclusive of theme park admissions. Ball games, concerts, heck even movie tickets....more so when you start calculating the "hourly cost" for your time.

We live in one of the more affluent communities in South Florida. I consider myself well off but my benchmark for that was living in a trailer as an infant when my father first entered the Navy. We had nothing and 50 years later I have a nice home in a safe neighborhood. Ask my daughter and she thinks she is poor. She goes to school with kids who get BMWs as 16th birthday gifts. She is comparing herself to the "have mores" when I compare myself to the "had nothings".

And, just when I think I live in the "affluent neighborhood"...we drove over to A1A and rode through a portion of South Florida what is lined with beach mansions and yachts docked on the other side of the street.

Disney can't be everything to everybody...and it shouldn't aspire to be. That's what makes possible an environment that can sustain Old Town, Fun Spot and a host of other attractions. Disney is so entrenched in American history that some feel like it is more "public domain" than commercial enterprise. It isn't.

Disney fanboys maybe are searching for something that has already been lost, and they feel any change at all may further this something being lost feeling. I’m not sure exactly how to quantify it, but, maybe a visit to Disney 30-40 years ago has some kind of spark or magic that doesn’t exist for people anymore. I would imagine expectations have shifted, maybe crowds have grown more unmanageable, the lack of smartphones certainly helped immersion for sure, whatever you want to call it. I can’t say for sure, but I know that I’m all my visits to Disney, I still feel a visit to mid 80’s Epcot would have been an experience and one that for some reason isn’t paralleled today. I could be wrong, but I feel like Disney has lost a lot of charm over the years, even though other aspects have improved.

I’m not some starry eyed fanboy, but I think that Disney is currently walking a dangerous path with increasing costs, decreasing benefits, and decreasing quality.

It works really well profit wise until you cut too deep and your customer base quickly and dramatically rejects you causing your profits to nose dive and it will take years for you customer base to recover. The issue is that this behavior causes a positive feedback loop for upper management, the end of the Kinzel era of Cedar Fair is somewhat comparable.

The danger for Disney is that their competition in Florida is stepping up in a big way, and has snagged the only IP capable of challenging Disney’s in the elementary kid market (Nintendo) to supplement the strong hold Potter has on older kids at the same time Disney is cutting. I just do not see this ending well for the company long term. It may work for the next few years but 5-10 years from now we may be looking back at this being the moment Disney lost its crown as the #1 theme park destination in the country.

I think that's comically incorrect, and I say that as someone who hasn't set foot in a Disney park in 35 years or a Universal park in 22.

The WDW parks are (or at least feel) more crowded than ever, even with the price increases. I don't see any changes doing anything as far as negatively affecting attendance.

I half agree with Touchdown - but I realize that my family has changed with the times of Disney, as it is.

We dedicate more time than ever to resorts, pool time, restaurants, bars/lounges, exercising while on vacation, etc.. than we do to the parks down in Florida. We haven't open-closed a park in years, nor have we hopped around to parks all day like I used to do 20 years ago.

Most of the time, we wake up at our usual time - early - and have breakfast and coffee while leisurely getting ready - then we hit the parks sometime late morning, long after the opening crowds have dispersed, and we shop, drink, take pictures, etc.. then wait in a few lines and do a few attractions before heading back to spend time at the resort and pool. Sometimes we'll have lunch at a nice restaurant and then do festival food for dinner, or the other way around, but we almost always end up chilling around World Showcase or up under the newly lit Spaceship Earth before heading back for night time pool/hot tub relaxation and a drink or 2.

Honestly, I could spend a week or more at Boardwalk or Yacht Club, and only ever go to Epcot - if I did any park time at all.

We prefer to just do things our way, and yes, I know we can do the same things elsewhere, but the sights/sounds/theming and service are things that Disney does differently than anyone else, and we love it.

A lot has changed in that time, 22 years means you haven’t seen Potter, or the redo of Jurassic along with the upgrades to Citywalk. 34 years means you haven’t seen Future World rot, the festivalization of Epcot, DHS become a park only of E tickets and 30 year old shows, and the cheapening of most dining experiences. It hasn’t been all bad on Disney’s end (AK is great, new fantasyland is a major upgrade and I do enjoy the festivals) but there has been a continuous decline and a precipitous cost increase. That trend is only accelerating because again, it’s a positive feedback loop, and eventually it’s going to cut too deep.

I'm the polar opposite of you when it comes to New Fantasyland. I don't think it flows that well, and I really think Storybook Circus looks and feels cheap.

The suggestion that quality has decreased is completely absurd. Pandora and Galaxy's Edge alone are unlike anything done anywhere, ever. New Fantasyland was a hit with a perfect family coaster. The various hotel renovations have been excellent. Skyliner is novel and fun. The food at the Epcot festivals is outstanding. Toy Story area blows my kid's mind.

Where is the alleged neglect? I don't see it.

"Eventually its going to cut too deep." I've heard that sentiment before. It was 1982 when I lived in California and Disneyland announced they were getting rid of the ride ticket book and moving to Pay One Price. In the intervening 40 years? I'd say they seem to be holding their own.

And while we are talking about 1982...there were plenty of people who could not afford a day at the park in 1982. My family was lucky if we made a trip once a year and the park was only about 30 minutes away. When we did make it to the park we would eat before we went in (or leave for lunch) and we had to really give strong consideration to which rides we wanted to use our E tickets on because we couldn't afford to buy more ticket books.

More over, the idea of staying at the Disneyland Hotel was not even a dream. It was a given that we wouldn't stay there and it was a thrill just to ride out to the station on the monorail. As I'm planning my family's 1st summer vacation out to Southern California I've been having an internal debate about staying on property. My 10 year old me wants to splurge on the hotel experience I never dreamed I could have and my 51 year old me is saying, "yes...you can afford it but is there enough value in this idea to pay 50% more to stay there than at a nice hotel nearby"? 51 year old me won that debate so we will be in walking distance.

And that leads to my final point...plenty of families CAN do the "Disney on a Dime" vacation vs the "Disney Dream" vacation. Not everyone needs to stay on property. Not everyone needs a four day park hopper with the photo package and the Genie+ upgrades. I've been visiting Disneyworld regularly for the past 25 years and have only stayed on property a handful of times. Only once did I stay in one of the high end properties and that was only because a cast member got me a good discount.

I was in a Chinese restaurant the other day waiting for my food. A young mother was there waiting for food with her young daughter and she was talking about their upcoming first trip to Disneyworld. The mother was explaining to the daughter that they were only going to be able to visit two of the parks because they could not afford to take more time off , nor could they afford four days in the parks. The little girl's smile never left her face and they were happily discussing the pros and cons of each of the parks. I could hear the excitement and anticipation in her voice. I'm convinced if she spent only a half day in the Magic Kingdom and she got to see Mickey it would have lived up to her expectations.

We finally were able to spend some time in Galaxy's Edge at night, with a light misty rain, which cleared out the crowds and let us get on Smuggler's Run. We still haven't been able to get on Rise, but maybe next month - either way, that was impressive.

My wife isn't a Star Wars fan (none of us really are but myself and the kid at least know some of it) and she was super impressed by her first visit to the land. It seems they took what they did in Pandora and one-upped it - which is kind of the thing they've always done. They do something, learn from it, and improve on it the next time. It's the reason I will always love visiting Disney.

Also, the hotels and their respective entertainment are exceptionally well done - Some of the grounds at Poly are starting to show their age, but things are being updated as time goes on. Throw the holidays on top of that, with all the decorations, music, and cast greetings, and you will never convince me that the "magic is gone".

Changed, sure - and not all of it for the better, but we've learned to roll with it, and I've never, ever left the property saying I wouldn't be back. Even if it just meant Disney Springs for a day when passing through on another trip - it's magnetic.

Pandora is amazing, and I already said I liked New Fantasyland but I was disappointed with Galaxy’s Edge. Rise and Ogas are fantastic, and make me feel like I’m in the movies. The Hondo animatronic and stepping into the Chess room is also fantastic, the actual ride though? Disappointing unless you get to be a pilot. Its otherwise a weak simulator where you get to push buttons that do little to further the plot.

As for the rest of the land? I don’t need to walk into the shops everytime I go, the merchandise doesn’t change and is not something I care for (unlike Potter) and Docking Bay 7 is not good. They made a serious error not making that as good and unique as the Avatar canteen, and I still can’t believe they didn’t build a TS restaurant. Also the land feels dead, this is supposed to be a busy spaceport in the Star Wars universe, where are the aliens? Droids? If you’re lucky there will be 2 storm troopers about (+/- Ren) or Chewy and Ray. That’s just not consistent with the property. I was expecting more. The land was built with a second story to allow short stunt routines, droids were built to roam around, but the budget was slashed, it would have added so much more.

I really like the food at Docking Bay 7. I very much reminds me of Satu'li Canteen. Slightly different presentation, but equally as tasty, IMO.

Raven-Phile said:

I really like the food at Docking Bay 7. I very much reminds me of Satu'li Canteen. Slightly different presentation, but equally as tasty, IMO.

Fried Chicken, Mac and Cheese and Ribs are unique? Meh. Certainly doesn’t live up to the protein bowl concoctions at Satuli Canteen. I think you are in the minority, you can always mobile order immediately in DL or DHS, while more popular places command huge lines elsewhere in the park.

First, I never use the word unique. Second, it doesn’t always have to be unique to be seasoned well and be delicious. I had some smoked barbecue meat and my wife had something super spicy and they were both really good. It’s clear you’ve got some vendetta against Galaxy’s Edge, but that doesn’t mean other people can’t enjoy things.

edit: In fact, I enjoyed it because of its simplicity. They didn’t overdo anything, and focused on seasoning.

Raven-Phile said:

you will never convince me that the "magic is gone".

Same here. I grumble about the money we're spending as we're planning and the heat and humidity (most trips) when we first arrive. We have a tradition of going to MK on arrival day and I'm completely sucked into the magic ever single time I set foot on Main Street. Sunset Blvd at DHS has a similar draw for me. Whenever we walk in the gate and take the right toward Tower of Terror, I always tell my wife, "This is my favorite part of Disney." (I'm a bit of a nut for all things LA/Hollywood, especially the nostalgia, so that contributes to my feelings.)

I was completely in awe of Galaxy's Edge, but I'm really looking forward to going back to explore it a lot more than I did. On our trip in May, we dashed in for RotR booking, went through Smuggler's Run in about 20 minutes, and had to haul ass to a dining reservation.

The people who say the magic is gone are crazy, but that said I can still be worried about the future.

Oh, we all are, a bit. During the Eisner years, I never thought I’d miss those days, but you know, hindsight.