Disney's Parks Make Tons of Money — But Are They in Trouble?
Disney's Parks Make Tons of Money — But Are They in Trouble?
WSJ's Robbie Whelan on drama within Disney's most profitable sector.
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This week I talked to Robbie Whelan of the Wall Street Journal about the not-so-secret cash cow of the Walt Disney empire: the parks. For years now, the joke about Disney has been that it’s a parks and TV company with a movie studio attached to it; as the theatrical business continues to struggle, cord-cutting continues apace, and the streaming side of the business racks up huge losses, the parks are more important than ever.
But as Robbie reported, cracks are beginning to show in that fiscal bulwark, and unhappiness over the state of the parks—from investors and, more interestingly, super-fans—is one of several reasons that CEO Bob Chapek was forced out.
Are you one of the super-fans upset about the Chapek regime’s nickel-and-diming of regulars? Sound off in the comments.
I am a pass holder, local to Disneyland CA and have visited multiple times a year for the last 6 years, so yes, a super fan. Pre-Covid, never had a bad visit, even during peak season the FastPass system (free with entry) worked great, got to ride all the big attractions. Standby lines never seemed to be more than 60 min. Even better was that if you really loved a certain ride you could go back and get a FP ticket again, and again if you wish.
Post-Covid: the reservation system, Genie+ and Individual LL's we've never seen the parks so crowded w/ long lines for 75% of the park, even in typically slow months like January and September. Add to this you cannot get a LL for any ride more than once - once you use that Space Mountain LL you're having to wait 45-90 min standby for the rest of your visit. Also many of the LLs book quickly so you end up having to wait 2-4 hours before that LL is ready. Before Covid you could get on 3-5 rides with that kijd of time to kill but now, maybe 2 tops. And now we do seem to experience mechanical failures all the time so this only floods the queues of the nearby attractions.
Also there are far less CMs @ the food areas so wait times are high, and park cleanliness is definitely suffering. Yes you can draw a direct line from increased visitors to these issues but it's not like Disneyland wasn't super popular before Covid. With these insane prices for entry, food, and long lines it's not the same experience anymore. Personally I don't mind the reservation system but I get why the local APs are upset we can't do a short notice visit. In any case now there's not as much to do in that short visit because it's so crowded.
Yes I realize this comes off as incredibly spoiled but from the perspective of someone who's fortunate enough to visit multiple times a year I can definitely say Disney is not delivering as they used to.
If you're spending the whole visit pinching pennies and trying to game the waiting on lines system how fun is it? I have a son in law who's a super fan and the visits to Orlando are getting farther and farther apart. For non super fans the parks may become a bucket list type thing where you go once but never even plan on returning just because it's so expensive.