Originally Posted By barboy2 Sparked by Spirit's "HKDL better than MK" thread, I remember the day that I first took the "red pill".......Oct. 27, 2004----my life has never been the same. 5 months after my trip to Tokyo Dis. Resort I entered WDW's 'Matrix' and began to question the 'World' ever since. WDW's Matrix has the masses tricked into thinking that time share ads plastered throughout the property, strollers+ECV's clogging up walkways and shops, poor resort maintenance, some disgruntled cast, low grade recycled ubiquitous merchandise on Main St. and in World of Disney, wide spread dining plans featuring cheapened entrees and an inanimate star Yeti AA to boot are acceptable. They most certainly are not! I call it the 'WDW Matrix' because very few WDW guests understand the true and mind blowing spirit('magic') of what makes a stellar Disney park experience........ .........they are held in a collective state of ignorant euphoria not questioning noisy, ugly buses----I mean Disney Transports--- or stale entertainment. But some of us have stopped taking the blue pill and have unplugged from the WDW matrix---- we now have seen glimpses of that wonderful, unadulerated Disney spirit in HKDL with its intimate and arresting charm while others have witnesses firsthand the fullest and most far reaching magical Disney expression yet in Tokyo, especially Disney Sea. If only more guests would stop taking those blue pills and wake up to the real Disney Magic found in East Asia---most notably in Tokyo--- WDW would rise above 'mediocrity'.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer *applauds this post* The only thing that WDW has, that makes it better than the rest would include the fact that we have 4 parks, two of them unlike anything else in the WDC.
Originally Posted By standor The way you describe HKDL was the way WDW used to be. It was that way until the early 90s and then the magic disappeared and greedy Disney took over. Witches cast your spell and return us to the good old days.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>WDW used to be. <<< Heck, how the company used to be run. Everything was done with quality and had a personal, sensible touch. Now, WDW does everything impersonally and for profit.
Originally Posted By standor July 1974 was the first time I visited the world. Everything was spotless. If you dropped a piece of paper, it was picked up before it hit the ground. They had cast members, dressed like old time garbage collectors,scattered all around the park. They were constantly cleaning up. Even the guests were very polite. Now it is a jungle. I didn't mind standing in line in the hot sun because the had air conditioned pipes blowing cool air. At that time all they had was the Magic Kingdom. All the attractions and rides were family oriented. It was like that through the eighties. At that time Epcot was there. I am not sure when the studios opened. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE IF WE COULD TURN THE CLOCK BACK.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer I could say the same about the early 90's, when I first visited. Late 90s were a different story.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 ^^^^ late 90's were a different story for everyone. Companies spent like drunken sailors - today many of those companies are bankrupt or a shadow of what they were- and many have execs in jail. -- people also spent outrageously beyond their means..using houses equity as ATM's, buying McMansions when there was no need and no executive- doc in the house, 25 year old clerical workers driving BMW's, spending 'disposable' income like candy money -- those same people are where today. Harkening back to the late 90's spending era is not a reasonable thing to do, it is why we ALL are where we are today, paying for that time period, over and over again.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ ...Sorry, but what the heck does that have to do with Disney not keeping the parks up, cutting things, and basically NOT spending? LOL.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Harkening back to the late 90's spending era is not a reasonable thing to do>> I fail to see where anyone is saying that...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I did not think the post was 'limited ' to just cleanliness- many of the posts above are not... if so it should have said so-- I agree reckless spending in the 90's has nothing to do with keeping that park clean-- if that is what you are limiting it to
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I think the turning point at WDW came in the 90's when Disney made the decision to hire managers from outside the company with no Disney experience. An MBA may be a great thing but it really gives you no understanding about what makes Disney special. Generic merchandise? Thats because someone who sits in an office somewhere who has never worked in a shop on Main Street looks at figures and decides it's cheaper to by a million of one kind of t-shirt that you can sell everywhere rather than a couple of thousand of area specific shirts that you can sell in a couple of shops. Fairly recently I encountered a manager in training in attractions who had just graduated college. Nice guy but was fairly Disney ignorant. He spent a month learning all the attractions in the area and now he is part of the mgmt team. Seems like a smart guy but what is missing is having stood for many hours at an attraction, understanding guest flow, understanding the ins and out and even the oddities that each attraction has. He hasnt stood in front of an attraction for hours talking to guests over and over again or answering the same questions over again. There is just something about that experience that seems important about being a Disney manager. He may be a passable manager of people, but it will take him years to be a real Disney manager.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 the reason I thgink this is a real issue is you know Disney gets zillions of applications every year - so there should be plenty of MBA's - and Disney knowledgeable people in that bunch ( I know one !) - now that said I think you do need to hire some people who are not Disneyfiles to keep persepctive as well- but the majority should be familiar with the tenets this company was built on.
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Originally Posted By sjhym333 I also think that Disney got stuck in a cycle of unsustainable financial growth at one time that hurt the company long term. After Eisner/Wells took over Disney had a tremendous time of financial growth. It was a darling of the financial sector. Between the theme parks, which Eisner described as a cash cow, and the release of animated films such as Lion King and Aladdin, there was this expectation that Disney would continue to have incredible quarters of growth. I think Disney was under pressure to sustain that growth from the outside. Of course you can only grow so much, so quickly before the bubble bursts. I think that is when Disney started to look quickly at its business model. If you cant grow then the next step is to look at how every cent is spent. 2 days of Tradition? Why? We can do that in one day. You mean to say there is a guy whose only job is to replace small lights on Main Street every night? Not anymore. The Carousel gets its brass poles polished every night? How much is the 20K attraction costing the company? Then you add in people from outside the company who have no sense of history or hoiw Disney does things and the little special things start to go away. I remember telling some friends in the mid-80's that you could go to the MK and spend just as much time exploring the shops as you could riding attractions. I said there is a magic shop where there is a guy who does tricks, if your hot you can stop into the Main Street Cinema. At one time you could see stage shows (not just meet and greets) in Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, the Castle, Adventureland. Oh and dont forget to have lunch at a old time saloon in Fronterland. The show is free and lunch is reasonable. Its easy to save money. You just cut back in lots of places. Its harder to stay true to the original vision.
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Originally Posted By leemac <<There is just something about that experience that seems important about being a Disney manager. >> It depends on their role. I'd expect all frontline CMs to learn their craft on-stage. It can't be taught in a classroom. They need to be out there with a litter picker talking to guests and other CMs. I understand that is still the process that goes on. Now if you are working BOH or in a role that doesn't have guest interaction - like finance or merchandise development - then I don't expect them to have the same training as frontline CMs. Sure they should have an appreciation of the company and its legacy but that is easily taught. They aren't likely to learn how to do their job by interacting with regular guests. I've never worked in a frontline CM role but I know how to do my job - it comes from my educational background and employment experience. I don't need to be a Disney enthusiast to do my job. I think it helps to a degree but you can't fill an organization with the fanbase - it would be ruinous.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Of course you can only grow so much, so quickly before the bubble bursts. I think that is when Disney started to look quickly at its business model. >> The key point in time was 9/11 - the downturn in attendance and revenue caused WDW Co. to look very closely at its cost base. Continuous improvement of margins wasn't so evident in the '90s - but it is now critical. It has to be when you are operating a mature business which is effectively what WDW is now - how can it continue to grow organically - when will attendance numbers max out? Your merchandise point is an interesting one. Ultimately disposable dollars on vacation is a finite source (especially these days with tightening credit lines). So you need to be able to extract those merch dollars by providing merch that is attractive. So you need to make sure that you don't have competing lines for example - most folks will buy one or two tees at best - so you look at your softlines. You have two choices for stocking: 1) Generic '10 WDW tee - all the characters, invariably unisex, basic 100% cotton screen-print; or 2) Specific Haunted Mansion tee - similar construction. The margins are going to be much larger on the generics as you are able to stock them across the resort and sell more - HM product will be limited to MK only. So you look at your profitability on at a SKU level (thank you SAP) and of course the generic is going to win hands-down. The point is that you have so many data points at hand now - you can track merch across the resort through RFID and sales through EPOS - all of those metrics can now inform your decision-making. WDW Co. isn't out there as a fashion retailer so it isn't interested in diversity of product lines - it is about shifting volumes - rightly or wrongly - volume is king. Spirit's Wal-Mart analogy works best in the arena of WDW merch.
