Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Magic Kingdom is the most visited park on earth with 70% of them being repeat visitors.>> Uhhhhh...that's completely false. 70% are new visitors.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Not according to this article: <<As in every other service business, quality is critical to the success of Walt Disney World. Because 70 percent of visitors to the theme park are repeat visitors, the quality of service they receive can literally make or break Disney.>> Source: <a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/jan97/disney.html" target="_blank">http://www.qualitydigest.com/j...ney.html</a> While that may not have been true in the early years, I'm pretty sure it is now. I've read that several times before... this quote was just the first one I found in a Google search.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper We went through all the statistics during training. 60-70% of the visitors each year are new.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I have been in November/December the last two times (used to be deemed the quiet time) and in July back in 1981). But it doesn't account for all the broken AAs, does it? That was far more irksome than any bus issues or crowds.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Then a lot of people are quoting bad stats... <<More than 70 percent of the 43 million guests who visited Walt Disney World by the end of 1998 were repeat visitors.>> Source: <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=ozQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=WDW+repeat+visitor+percentage&source=bl&ots=rkf28dmjUM&sig=duiMdZcAzotMdnwFiu1CdOp4aSA&hl=en&ei=qgpLTcjiNcHYgAejhLQG&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">http://books.google.com/books?...&f=false</a>
Originally Posted By RoadTrip And another... <<If you have ever visited a Disney attraction, you probably understand why Disney is recognized as one of the top-performing companies in the world, in terms of customer satisfaction. Disney goes to great lengths to ensure its guests are happy and that they keep returning to Disney parks. (Almost 70 percent of guests to the Magic Kingdom are repeat visitors.) >> Source: <a href="http://www.medseek.com/body.cfm?id=218" target="_blank">http://www.medseek.com/body.cfm?id=218</a>
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper ^^^You do realize you're quoting stats from over a decade ago, correct? NOW, every year the visitors to WDW are mostly new customers.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Sorry... don't buy it. It stands to reason that as the years go by more and more visitors would be repeat visitors. Obviously when WDW first opened, no one was a repeat visitor.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 I have NO idea what the real facts are or when they apply. I only wanted to comment that I don't think it is as clear cut as the longer it's open, the more folks are repeaters. With a large draw of over seas tourists, I think that it would easy to believe there are time periods in which most visitors are new, despite the age of the park. Could easily swing with emerging economies and strong/weak dollar values.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip A reference from Spring 2009: <<Because 70 percent of visitors to the theme park are repeat visitors, the quality of service they receive>> Source: <a href="http://www.cambridgechamber.com/documents/Spectrum_Spring_2009.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.cambridgechamber.co...2009.pdf</a> (Quote is on page 26 of the pdf file) I know the fact that you find something on the Internet does not make it true. But the fact that I repeatedly find the same percentage makes it likely that is is true.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 Hokie, when is your info from? Now? Past few years? I wonder what could be in the stats that causes such radically different info to be out there. Devil is always in the details. Is there a caveat to either stat? Guests staying on property only or something? Or one is actually guests to WDW in general and the other is to MK only? I kind of find this weird.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer And are people really there for a "once in a life time" trip? I honestly encounter a lot of people that have been before.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Hokie, when is your info from? Now? Past few years?>> 2008 As far as I know nothing has changed.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Hokie, I'm not disputing that is what you were told. But apparently Disney is giving far different information to the outside world. This article, from 2011, provides information from Disney Institute training: <<Do You Have the Disney Magic? By Joan M. Hebert, MBA, MS Hebert Performance Training, specializes in customer service, management and supervisory development, leadership, customer-focused sales, and communication training. Tel. (888) 282-7291 or jhebert3@twcny.rr.com www.heberttraining.com Recently I attended the second series of Disney Institute Seminars, which was hosted by the Watertown Chamber of Commerce. As expected, I found the sessions dynamic, informational and presented with all the Disney magic! The topics presented included: Leadership Disney Style, Managing For Creativity Disney Style, and Loyalty Disney Style. All the sessions were very insightful, yet I will focus on recapping Loyalty Disney Style. I receive numerous calls each year regarding how to stimulate organizations to focus on customer service, as well as how to supervise others to become high performers while maintaining the best interest of the customer. The Disney philosophy stresses that prior to building loyal customers, we must begin by developing loyal employees (internal" customers). By treating employees (known as "cast members") well, it demonstrates how they in turn should treat the "guests" of the park. Disney also recognizes and emphasizes that the front-line employee has the greatest impact on the customer! The Disney superior customer loyalty statistics include: 70% of their "guests" are repeat visitors, a 90% hotel occupancy rate (industry average is 40-50%), and less than a 20% employee turnover rate.>> Source: <a href="http://www.heberttraining.com/disney_magic" target="_blank">http://www.heberttraining.com/...ey_magic</a>
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper I dunno then. And only a 20% turnover rate? That HAS to be for employees that aren't on the front line. They change A LOT.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I guess it boils down to...if you want to enjoy something, you will...if you want to find fault with it, you will. It's an individual call. Dave has pretty much dismissed WDW as a location that he would enjoy and I'm sure it is a genuine concern for him. It's his right. I have been going to WDW for 27 years. I have seen bad years (1990's) and I have seen good (the rest of them). In my view even if it has declined, and I'm not sure it has, it is still better than most anything else I have seen. With that said, I have felt for years that Universal took the lead in creative attractions quite a while ago. Maybe it is because many of the creative people from Disney went over to them. Disney has been the destination point in Orlando for many years now. The rest of the places, Universal, Sea World, etc. fed off the Disney tourists that wanted to do more than one thing while there. What I see now is that Universal has come into it's own and although Disney accountants cannot see it because the numbers are up (no basis of fact in that statement just the experience that I have had in the past few visits), many are now making the trip to go to Universal and then hitting Disney as well. Big, big difference there. It doesn't show up now, but it surely will. The quality of the parks is still, in my opinion, as good as ever, however, the addition of new, risky, and creative attractions is not. Just like the Pooh Playground..the meet and greets have a limited shelf life but a very small cost compared to an attraction costing millions. As long as people are willing to stand in line in the sun for hours to get a fake signature from a styrofoam head that will never change. But to not enjoy the parks because you may encounter a trash can that hasn't been emptied yet is really an excuse for a much deeper concern.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<But the great majority of guests enjoy the parks the way they are right now.>> Honestly, how do you know? Because the place isn't closing up shop? I think the majority of guests enjoy the parks the way they are right now because that's the only choice they have if they opt to visit WDW. And many people simply like chocolate ice cream (perhaps I should say the now absurdly $3.19 priced Dole Whips) and dammit they aren't about to try hazelnut gelato or mango sorbet. But maybe you are right, Trippy. I don't see folks protesting in our streets despite the wrteched condition of so many facets of life in this country ... and I've talked to many people who think things are going just fine. So, I dunno. I think WDW has been Walmarted. But I also believe most of the USA has too! And one is simply a microcosm of the other. So folks just accept mediocrity and lose a bit more of their souls.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I guess it boils down to...if you want to enjoy something, you will...if you want to find fault with it, you will.>> BS. Plain and simple. I want to love things. I want things to work right. I want a world of happy children, puppy dogs, rainbows ... oh, and universal healthcare for all Americans too. I went on Splash Mtn tonight. Enjoyed it. It's been closed for a month. I did see new paint. And clean logs with new lapbars. Hell, even Brer Rabbit was hopping around. Oh, and the idiots finally realized that soaking guests in winter wasn't smart and I barely got wet (slightly more than I did in Tokyo) ... YET, there were still multiple effects that were still broken, AAs that didn't work right/weren't syched up right etc. I didn't find fault because I wanted to. I found fault because I have a brain and observe things. To leave things on a positive note, I will say the final scene with the riverboat looked better than I've seen it in a decade at least. Happy?
