Originally Posted By Skellington88 Iger needs to wake up and drop prices and build world class rides...not waste money building timeshare buildings and pumping out marekting gimmicks! Jay Rasolu and Tom Fitzgerald need to be fired!
Originally Posted By joe80x86 @Spirit "The $49 rooms sound great, but I paid that to stay at the DD Hilton last month and that place is on par with a Disney deluxe not a value." How may I ask did you manage that? All the rates I find for there are much more, I ask because we are planning a trip soon.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Iger needs to wake up and drop prices and build world class rides...not waste money building timeshare buildings and pumping out marekting gimmicks! < just a thought - Accounting 101 would be a start. I wantworld class rides and improved maintenance,and more live entertainment also -- but take out a balance sheet ( WDW operates on them and not pixie dust also ) - lowering admission and stopping incoming cash flow ( DVC ) seems slightly at odds with having operating capital to do any of what you are asking.
Originally Posted By dshyates When something is perceived to be overpriced, especially during rough economic times, lowing the price usually causes the product to sell better. Universal started offering huge discounts on 7 day tickets, and they saw record attendance and record profits. and vbdad55, I believe that right now DVC ISN'T the cash cow that is was when home equity was easily accessible. I would bet money that WDW top execs. are crapping their pants with AKL DVC, Contemp. DVC, and the treehouses all coming on line at near the same time. Attendance plummeting, credit drying up, and the competition building rides like crazy. With nothing coming to the parks for a while I think Disney should refocus their mindset encouraging folks to use the Disney resort as a base camp to take advantage of ALL the great new rides coming to CentFL. Have admission media add-ons to the WDW packages w/ Magical Transport to UniOtown and SW. Also offer KSC and BGA with an upcharge mears option. Also an add-on "Beach" options other than Vero might be popular. Partner with a select few beach hotels on the Gulf.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <and vbdad55, I believe that right now DVC ISN'T the cash cow that is was when home equity was easily accessible. I would bet money that WDW top execs. are crapping their pants with AKL DVC, Contemp. DVC, and the treehouses all coming on line at near the same time. Attendance plummeting, credit drying up, and the competition building rides like crazy.<< I would normally agree with you yet SS sold out..( I didn't think that was going to happen soon either ) - AKL is selling quickly and Contemporary already quick start. I agree with your logic, but the results say differently. I do question the need for - and saleability of the treehouses at this point in timehowever. But each of these brings large amounts of cash in immediately.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<But each of these brings large amounts of cash in immediately.>> Bingo. They are cannibalizing future sales today, and worse yet they are cannibalizing higher margin hotel room sales with discounted DVC rooms. Every DVC buyer is one less guest staying at a full priced room.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 staying in a full priced room - how many years has it been since people paid rack rate ? They aren't giving DVC people free dining plans and the like either. Also a lot less day to day maintenance provided for DVC rooms - 2 days a week instead of 7 - there is cost saved there. I am sure like other major corps right now the cash is more important - ask GM and Ford how important it is - but ask soon,because it they don't get some more they'll be no one to take your call. And while the president elect has already said he will bail out the auto industry - I doubt that would fly to 'save' Disney. There is a reason Marriott is building time shares and selling them in major resort areas where they already have hotels also - it is all about the cash infusion. Is it robbing Peter to pay Paul - sure to some extent -but you can't pay your bills with the potential of rooms being full- you can pay them however with cold hard cash
Originally Posted By Mickeyfan1 I tend to agree with post #41. Some major attention needs to be paid to the Parks and forget all the time shares. I was there 2 years ago this December and this was the first time I left with the feeling OK, don't need to come back here for a long time! The Magic Kingdom was looking really worn and tired and there just wasn't anything new to draw me back anytime soon.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 ^^^^ \ no one disagrees on improvements needed - how do you propose to pay for them ? Have you seen stock prices and P/E ratio ? Without cash influx it's great to say they should do that,but the means are still needed.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 @Spirit "The $49 rooms sound great, but I paid that to stay at the DD Hilton last month and that place is on par with a Disney deluxe not a value." <<How may I ask did you manage that? All the rates I find for there are much more, I ask because we are planning a trip soon.>> The wonders of Priceline.com's 'Name Your Own Price' bidding site. For more info, I highly recommend the sites biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com. But even at regular rates, I could find a room at the Hilton for $99 a night ... and that is a great deal, so half that is a steal. I also did some nights at a local Country Inn and Suites for $20 a night (with resort pools shared with local timeshare resort, free breakfast and free highspeed internet).
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I would normally agree with you yet SS sold out..( I didn't think that was going to happen soon either ) - AKL is selling quickly and Contemporary already quick start. I agree with your logic, but the results say differently.>> You're hearing differently than I am then. I have heard SS was still selling and that DAK Lodge sales have been 'disappointing' ... I also heard that Bay Lake Tower was doing relatively well, which was expected and why Disney rushed to put it on sale with other resorts still selling. I still see no way DVC sales will continue at 2004-06 pace and that's the problem with putting all the eggs in the timeshare basket.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<staying in a full priced room - how many years has it been since people paid rack rate ? They aren't giving DVC people free dining plans and the like either.>> I wonder what percentage of guest pay full price? I ask because every time I get an online quote from Disney, well, it seems to be unbelievably expensive. Sure, if you're an AP,and call at the right time you can get a nice discount. Or when the SHTF (economy wise) then there are offers to be had.
Originally Posted By MPierce ^^^If you check Mousesavers, and other boards constantly you will find savings code for just about every time of the year. That's been going on a very long time, and if you don't have the code you are quoted full price.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 And how many free dining plans have we seen - that effectively is a discount also.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 they advertise here like nobody's business and any travel agency is going to 'sell' the free dining offers each time they come up.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 It's been a decade since I paid rack rate for a Disney resort. $129 at CSR the week after DAK opened. I know there was a time when the vast majority of folks paid rack for Disney resorts. But they overbuilt and discounting is widely available. Still, most folks are paying full price or close to it just by what I see and hear. When I tell folks what I paid while sitting by the pool, I usually get a look like I'd just shot them. It's like the airline business. Often I'm flying First Class coast to coast for under $300 round trip (and having elite status on my airline), but the person next to me might be paying thousands. You never know ...
Originally Posted By fkurucz Well, if they are quoting rack rates online, I can only conclude that someone is paying them. If no one is, why bother quoting them?
