Disney cuts jobs from its largest and most popular live theme park shows

I'm not a willing to pay the premium rates for Deluxes given the small amount of time I spend in the room, but the proximity/access to parks has always been a huge selling point (granted, I've never ponied up for it, but it's definitely the biggest thing going for them). With the Skyliner, I can't imagine staying anywhere but CBR, Pop, or AoA. Great access to two great hopping parks (DHS has best rides, Epcot has best food/night caps) for moderate or value prices? Yes, please.

There was a point around 10-15 years ago that I was able to regularly snag a deluxe resort for under $300 a night; sometimes even less. I had some good stays at Wilderness, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Beach/Yacht.

Today, the deluxe rates are out of my value proposition reach. No way I'm shelling out $400-$700+ a night for a resort room. Especially when (if you are savvy enough) you can get a moderate for less than $200 a night...

I stayed at the Contemporary before it was remodeled in the mid-00s. The room quality was no better than any other resort. The proximity to MK is great, but it's no less a chore to get to any other park. I've stayed at CBR twice and Pop twice, all prior to the Skyliner. The room quality, location, and food court options are similar. CBR is extremely spread out. It felt like getting anywhere just within the resort took forever. That said, it really is a nice property with a fantastic central pool area. The first time staying at Pop was when were bargain hunting for a long weekend adult trip. We spent very little time in our room not sleeping, so it was perfect. We liked it enough that we did a bounce-back special while we were there for the next summer. We usually only squeeze in one pool visit per trip and that's usually on the end of a short day at AK or DHS. The main pool at Pop is busy, but more than sufficient. The Skyliner makes saving money on a room a Pop a no-brainer for me.

D'Amaro said in an IAAPA speech that they do intend to bring back the live entertainment. I'm sure the message doesn't hit when he says it's an opportunity to reinvent stuff, but think about that: The cost to develop some of the shows is already paid, and the cost is rehiring folks for those. I doubt very much that we've seen the end of Finding Nemo: The Musical.

Right. Though talent is definitely hard to replace, the investment in development, infrastructure, marketing, props and costumes, etc. is not likely to be wasted, especially since dumping it doesn’t actually save money.