Originally Posted By SuperDry I just got back from TDR, and have news about Zed to report. Apparently it has been closed for retooling. Only performances for April - June 2010 have been announced. I get the sense that the show might turn into something that's offered seasonally rather than year-round. The biggest change in the show itself is that starting in April 2010, the runtime of the show has been cut 15 minutes, and the intermission has been eliminated. I had the opportunity to see the very first performance of the revised show. I had seen it only once before, so I don't know the show well enough to know what was cut, but for 15 minutes to be gone there were probably at least two segments removed, but there were no obvious "holes." I did like the fact that before, Zed was unique among CdS productions in that it was long enough to have an intermission, but now it's more in line with the other shows. Unfortunately, for the performance I saw, only about half the seats were filled. And, looking at the online performance calendar, I don't see any performances that still don't have tons of seats available. Trying to infer why they made the changes, one guess I have is that they determined that resort guests didn't want to take a half-day away from the parks to see the show. In addition to shortening it, I noticed that the schedule rather prominently makes clear that the show is only 90 minutes, by listing both the start and end times for each performance. I've never seen a show like this listed in that manner, so I have to assume it's in deliberate response to something. But this could cut both ways: since they didn't appear to have reduced the ticket price, now the price might be judged against 1.5 hours of entertainment, rather than a longer show. I really enjoyed Zed, even in its new, shorter incarnation. I'll probably see it again the next time I visit, and this compares to La Nouba, which for me once was just a little more than enough. It's too bad that it's not being more well received by the local audience.
Originally Posted By leemac Some more changes are due soon too. OLC is hemorrhaging losses on ZED at the moment. Ultimately I don't think the changes will make much difference. The issue stems from the decision to locate the CdS Theater at TDR - it should have been downtown or near the Shiki complex in Shiodome. They just can't get regular theater-goers out to Maihama so they are reliant on TDR guests. The problem is getting those guests out of the parks. When you have such short-stay guests on-site as is typical for TDR it is a hard sell to get them to part with additional cash (upwards of 10,000Y for even a basic unrestricted view) for a show. The theater holds 2,170 guests which is a tremendous number of seats to fill without a large captive audience that exists in places like Las Vegas and WDW. I'm not sure how much longer OLC will continue to support this failing project. It is a tremendous shame as it is an exceptional residency show.
Originally Posted By SuperDry I also noticed there were maybe a half-dozen male performers in supporting roles that looked to be locals. I didn't sit close enough the first time to know if it was that way originally, but in the parks OLC certainly uses local performers in secondary roles even if the leads are foreigners in order to keep costs down. <<< it is a hard sell to get them to part with additional cash (upwards of 10,000Y for even a basic unrestricted view) for a show. >>> I was certainly impressed with the ticket prices. I wanted to get the best seats I could this time, so I opted for the front-center section. One seat was JPY16,000, or US$172. They're normally 15,000 but this particular performance was one of those tagged as "peak" so they cost even a bit more. Either way, even if you were staying on-site for multiple days, a single ticket in this section is the same cost as a 4-day park hopper ticket. Even though it's a tremendous performance, it's hard to justify the cost for a 90-minute show against 4 full days in the parks.
Originally Posted By Malin *** OLC is hemorrhaging losses on ZED at the moment. Ultimately I don't think the changes will make much difference. The issue stems from the decision to locate the CdS Theater at TDR - it should have been downtown or near the Shiki complex in Shiodome. They just can't get regular theater-goers out to Maihama so they are reliant on TDR guests. *** This is rather sad news, but I'm not suprised to much, I have seen this show play to 30% capacity before. I kind of guess the show was struggling by some of the desperate measures that have taken place recently, like promoting the show inside DisneySea. I think Resident Shows tend to work out better in vacation destinations where you have new tourist visiting each day. But Zed is not the only Cirque du Soleil show to have trouble since opening up residence in Asia, ZAIA results at the Venetian in Macau are also far from what were initially expected. <a href="http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/interview/10862-Jerry-Nadal-senior-vice-president-for-resident-shows-Cirque-Soleil-Were-here-for-the-long-hall.html" target="_blank">http://www.macaudailytimes.com...all.html</a>
Originally Posted By leemac ZAIA has been a disaster - no question but it has a smaller cost base (labour etc. cheaper in Macau) and it didn't have an audience to lure into the show when the Mainlanders stopped visiting during the economic crisis. Zed has an audience that it can't attract and a much higher cost base. ZAIA will have to compete with Dragone's new show called The House of Dancing Water that opens at City of Dreams in the fall. I've seen some footage and it is going to be a spectacular show and a worthy competitor to ZAIA.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 That interviewer really doesn't like ZAIA. He kept asking if they would change the show or replace it any time soon; he really made it obvious that he has a distaste for it. lol. - Anatole
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ That is very typical of Chinese journalists. You should have seen some of the questioning over HKDL over the years - constantly going over the same point ad nauseum (I remember one interviewer from SCMP who asked 15 consecutive questions about the noise levels for fireworks in Discovery Bay - he got the same answer 15 times). Very tedious as an interviewee.
Originally Posted By Malin *** ZAIA will have to compete with Dragone's new show called The House of Dancing Water that opens at City of Dreams in the fall. I've seen some footage and it is going to be a spectacular show and a worthy competitor to ZAIA. *** Would the opening of House of the Dragone's Water at the City of Dreams not in a way help ZAIA out. One of the problems Macau has is its image and trying to convince people from the Mainland who all love to gamble, that Macau has more to offer than just the gambling? Would offering more retail, dining, shows and other leasure activities not convince people to leave the casino more often. After all in Vegas revenue from nongaming activities is higher than gambling now days or was before the reccession hit.
Originally Posted By SeaTokyo OLC needs to get back to basics and stay focused on TDL and TDS operations... I was scratching my head when I heard they opened ZED.
Originally Posted By Mr X Funny how a lot of the points Lee makes in post three are exactly the sorts of things SuperDry and I mused about when he was here last week. I was sort of kidding about the discounted ticket thing, but not that I think of it...why not? I mean, is it really better to play to a half-empty house at full price rather than spreading some of the tickets around and filling the place up (thus perhaps creating more buzz in the process)? Other than totally relocating, I don't see how much more they can do and still charge such high prices (why not throw in a ticket along with the 4 day park hoppers for a while...at the very least they might see a boost in park-hopper sales at the cost of filling for free a seat that would otherwise have been empty anyway?). Or even better, free tickets for all residents of Urayasu and their friends and families. THAT would work!
Originally Posted By leemac <<I was sort of kidding about the discounted ticket thing, but not that I think of it...why not?>> Discounting premium entertainment isn't wise - it sets a nasty precedent which can be difficult to lift later. Consumers rarely forget when prices are raised and Japanese society in particular perceives discounting to mean that a show is in trouble and can't fill its seats. It is a difficult situation to get yourself out of. CdS has had to discount heavily in the US recently - not just the Vegas shows (where only O seems to be immune - Zumanity, BeLIEve and KA are regularly heavily-discounted) but also the touring shows and now the newer shows like Wintuk and the awful Banana Spheel in NYC. I doubt OLC will resort to discounting until it is a last resort - they'd rather absorb the losses. They will ramp up their targeting of those visiting the resort on vacation packages and see if that has any impact.
Originally Posted By Malin *** I doubt OLC will resort to discounting until it is a last resort - they'd rather absorb the losses. They will ramp up their targeting of those visiting the resort on vacation packages and see if that has any impact. *** I really don't see targeting Resort Guest as the answer to Zed's problems. Most Guest who visit come from the Kanto Region and are day visitors who have little interest in seeing the show, unless they offer Mr X suggestion of park/Zed combo packages. Its actually an interesting concept and I've seen it done at Universal Orlando for the Blue Man Group. Apart from that I really don't think Zed has much appeal to a local audience, who can see the show at anytime. In my view they should be promoting this show away from the local crowd and more towards people visiting outside of Tokyo and Japan. Tokyo is a major buisness hub with thousands of hotel rooms available, why not promote Zed to these sort of people though the hotels. Offer special packages to Businesses who have Guest in town hoping to impress, would certainly make a change to just taking them to a bar for the night to sing karaoke. Plenty of Tour Groups roll into town, why not contact the tour companies and see if they be interested in adding Zed to the itinerary. Though out my travels in Japan not once did I see any sort of promotion for Zed outside of Tokyo. Resident shows are much more of a draw to folks visiting town, to those who live in town. Quite a few Disney Stores have TDR Ticket Counters, why are Zed tickets not available to purchase at these locations. When I last visited a Zed performance most of the people were in the groups listed above, imagine with a little bit of extra push in these markets and you likely fill the seats up. As a Western Guest who wants to see the show in Sept, do you realise how frustrating it is to not easily purchase Zed Tickets though the online site. In fact the only Zed package I have ever seen offered to foreigners included a 2 night stay at the Hilton.
Originally Posted By Mr X ****They will ramp up their targeting of those visiting the resort on vacation packages and see if that has any impact.*** They will try. And they will fail. Why would ANYONE visiting a Disney resort for a few days and spending a small fortune on park tickets be willing to spend ANOTHER several hundred bucks for a show that takes them out of the parks for several hours? Answer...very few patrons.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***In my view they should be promoting this show away from the local crowd and more towards people visiting outside of Tokyo and Japan. Tokyo is a major buisness hub...*** Let me stop you right there because I feel you are missing something very important. NOBODY visits Urayasu unless they're going to Disneyland (or Sea). Seriously, this is a proven fact at this point. People don't go to Urayasu for Ikpiari. They don't go to Urayasu for some Vacation Club center. They don't go to Urayasu for any special show, or event, or ANYTHING. It's out of the way. It's inconvenient. It's even hard to give directions to from Tokyo in general. It's a pain in the butt, particularly thanks to having to deal with Tokyo Station (the giganticus enormicous of all train stations on Earth, with the train to Urayasu being the furthest from everything)... It's an interesting idea, trying to entice Tokyo visitors to venture to Urayasu for some other reason other than Disneyland...but it's simply a non-starter. NOBODY visits Urayasu, except for Disney. OLC should have realized this LONG before, but their stupidity has resulted in failed efforts ever since they tried with Ikspiari (Lee wants to claim it's because it's not such a great mall...but as malls go it's pretty cool, the locals like it...BUT IT'S IN URAYASU AND NOBODY GOES THERE!). I have a perfect idea for the Ikspiari/Zed space that OLC needs to learn about. Hey Lee, maybe you should let them know they should set up a meeting with me so I can help them out of their misery.
Originally Posted By Malin I can understand why people wouldn't go to the Resort to shop or dine, not with shopping districts like Ginza, Shibuya and Shinjuku closer to the city. Ikspiari is very much a local's shopping mall, nice to look at but nothing special. Urayasu is really not that out of the way when you look at the scale of Tokyo. Its 15 minutes maximum from Tokyo Station, and I easily made the journey from Shinjuku on my first attempt without getting lost or too confused. I do agree Disney is the only thing that is drawing people to Urayasu, but I think this proves if given a good enough reason to visit, people are more than happy to make the trip. Its a case of convincing people Zed is worth the time and I see it as the only option left, because like you so rightly put it the OLC will fail if it thinks pulling people away from the parks is going to work. Even when I have watched Zed in the past, I visited on a free afternoon in Tokyo, and not on one of the days I was seeing the parks.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Urayasu is really not that out of the way when you look at the scale of Tokyo. Its 15 minutes maximum from Tokyo Station, and I easily made the journey from Shinjuku on my first attempt without getting lost or too confused.*** Absolutely. That's the REALITY, but what I'm saying is the general perception is you don't go to Urayasu unless you're going to Disneyland. Trust me, I've got friends who live in Tokyo and when I invite them to come out my way (for ANY reason) the answer is "why??" and/or "it's too far away!". My opinion is obviously not scientific, but it does seem to be the general consensus (otherwise Ikspiari would be busy and Zed would play to a full house).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I think this proves if given a good enough reason to visit, people are more than happy to make the trip*** Not really (imo). I think people see Disney as a special occasion, day trip sort of thing. Offer anything else in the area, and most people will say (and again, this is just perception NOT reality) "what? a day trip for THAT?".
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< CdS has had to discount heavily in the US recently - not just the Vegas shows (where only O seems to be immune - Zumanity, BeLIEve and KA are regularly heavily-discounted) >>> At least Las Vegas has the "half-price tickets" outlet to allow for "off-the-books" discounting (similar to Broadway's TKTS). Shows with unsold seats make them available for half price through this third-party vendor. This allows them to move seats when they need to without having to reduce the list price or having to advertise "sales." Also, purchases must be made in person, and only for that day, so it rules out people that want to see a show for sure on an upcoming visit. This gives shows *some* leeway to adjust to varying demand (and on a per-show basis) without having to lower the list price. This sort of thing only works where you have a large concentration of shows that a third-party vendor can spring up to service it. The same-day discounts aren't available and aren't mentioned at the show's own box office. And, the most popular shows in town are never available through this channel, as they always sell out on their own. Another sign of a failing show in Las Vegas is when you see tour groups being led into the show en masse. Tours can advertise that they include "an $80 show!" even though they may be picking up tickets for $10 or $20 just to fill seats. I've seen several shows where that happened that were gone soon after.
