Marcie's Corner: Marcie Sets the Record Straight

[jonvn]

I'm kind of confused about something said here.

How can attendance be both better than last year at this time, and also still be recovering from 9/11?

If it's better than last year, that would seem to me that it has already recovered. If it has not recovered, that would mean that attendance should be less than last year at this time.

Am I missing something?

[slaakker]

I am with you on that one Jovn.


The reason DCA numbers are up is due to AP holders going into DCA first then going straight over to DL and entering through the re-entry gate so they don't have to stand in the regular line.

Also, the reason they are not offering the discount is because all the locals either aren't going to DCA or are AP that don't need the discount. Out of towners are there on multiday (Discounted) park hopper tickets.

Bring it on!

[Iceman]

Originally posted by jonvn
How can attendance be both better than last year at this time, and also still be recovering from 9/11?

I'm just guessing, but attendance could be higher than last year but still below original projections. I'm sure Disney had multi-year attendance estimates planned out well before breaking group on DCA, and even though more people may be coming than before, it's probably still less than they had hoped for. One possible explanation for this is the 9/11 blow to the travel and tourism industry, another is the general economic slowdown and uncertainty.

[woody]

I think the Summer Concert series is good to get one time visitors to see a headliner and it might convince them to get an AP if they want to see several artists.

It will be especially appealing to local, LA and Orange County, visitors when they realize the benefit of seeing several artists with an AP.

I'm not sure if it will be a hit with foreign or out-of-state visitors. Eventually, those mostly "has-been" artists will visit their location via state fairs or local concert arenas.

However, what will it do for DCA's potential? I think NOT MUCH. This will mostly be a one-time deal.

Nothing lasts at DCA.

[plpeters70]

Originally posted by woody
However, what will it do for DCA's potential? I think NOT MUCH. This will mostly be a one-time deal.

Actually, I really don't think that would be such a big deal. The point of the whole concert series is to get people to come now, ASAP!! I'm sure that if this proves very popular Disney will bring it back again. But all they're really trying to do is get people there THIS summer until they can open up some new attractions like Flik's and TOT.

Now whether or not those "new" attractions are going to be enough to boost attendance at DCA is the topic of a completely different discussion...

[Marcie]

Originally posted by slaakker
I am with you on that one Jovn.


The reason DCA numbers are up is due to AP holders going into DCA first then going straight over to DL and entering through the re-entry gate so they don't have to stand in the regular line.

Also, the reason they are not offering the discount is because all the locals either aren't going to DCA or are AP that don't need the discount. Out of towners are there on multiday (Discounted) park hopper tickets.

Bring it on!

Apparently Slaakker you haven't been to the Resort in long time. The re-entry gates on both sides have been long gone for several months now. Your statements, along with others who think the same way as you, further point to not fully understanding just how guest flow patterns are at the Resort and how the attendance system works.

I love how many of you flip-flop on the argument regarding discounts. First Disney begins discounts last summer and everyone points to the reason as DCA's failure in attracting guests. Then Disney decides not to offer discounts this summer and it is that DCA isn't good enough to no longer attract guests with discounts.

Then Tangaroa says that other local amusement parks still have discounts because they work there, but somehow they don't at Disney. Don't make any sense whatsoever.

Jonvn, attendance at all Disney parks are still recovery from 9/11 primarily due to the reason that most domestic tourists are not staying as long or spending as much money when they visit. The good news is that DLR has recovered much better than WDW where the international market is still very soft and domestic tourists are not staying as long. Where I'm stating that DCA is up over last year is the fact that DLR benefits from literally 30+ million people who live in a distance that is an easy drive of less than 10 hours from the Resort. That has helped greatly to have folks come to the Resort for a 3 or 4 night getaway who are still somewhat shaky on taking long-distant traveling. Domestic tourists and locals (thanks to the So. Cal Resident Salute) have helped to propel DCA's attendance up over last year for year-to-date.

Iceman, you hit the nail on the head. DL and DCA are not hitting their original estimates for the fiscal year due to 9/11, but they have been consistently hitting or beating their revised counts that were set post 9/11. For DCA, that count is running ahead of last year.

Darren, my comments were not to be taken literally, but figuratively about Orlando. Just like Cal State Fullerton is often dubbed Cal State Disneyland due to the perception that the majority of students there are Disneyland Cast Members. No need to be defensive about your adopted hometown.

Tangaroa, you are all over the map in trying to validate your statements about the discounts. First off you say the analyst was referring to Disney decision not to offer summer discounts to locals. Then you state that Disney decided to stop the discounts because they were working. Then you say that all the other local parks still are offering discounts because they work.

The current discount was and has always been slated to end on June 19th. The announcement was intended to inform locals not to expect any further discounts this summer at the Resort's theme parks. How you can pull out of that announcement that the discounts are not working at DCA is unbelievable. The analyst was discussing the state of all of Disney's parks both here and in Florida on how they are doing in the recovery efforts to attract tourists. He was not referring to the local So. Cal Resident Salute that was ending on June 19th.

Discounts do work and have always worked, but Disney (and please read carefully since you seemed to overlook the statements in my last post regarding this) feels confidently that the summer attendance at BOTH parks will be strong enough that there isn't a need for discounts during a peak time period that typically generates the highest amount of revenue for the Resorts. With booking trends through the Walt Disney Travel Company, to non-Disney owned hotels reporting better booking trends for the summer, the company feels a local discount isn't warranted at this time.

Trying to attach some negative spin on DCA's performance to the announcement that Disney will not be providing discounts this summer is so far fetched it is laughable. Just reading many of the posts trying to attach that reason to the non-existent summer discount contradicts the fact that everyone else in the industry still sees the discount offers as a great way to boost their attendance numbers. Disney, being the most expensive theme parks in Southern California, always does well with discounts. So your arguments hold no water here.

plpeters70 your last post hit the nail on the head. The summer concert series is to bring people into the park prior to the opening of Flik's for this year. As for Flik's pulling in the crowds after it opens, we'll see. It all depends on how well they market the new offering at DCA. That makes me a little concerned given the poor track record of the Disneyland Marketing team.

[jonvn]

Oh, ok. Thanks!

[plpeters70]

Originally posted by MarcieMI
As for Flik's pulling in the crowds after it opens, we'll see. It all depends on how well they market the new offering at DCA.

I'm not really sure that even the best marketing could bring in the crowds just because of Flik's - unless they flat-out lie about what's there. It's only a little kiddie area after all - perhaps a well themed one, but still only meant for the youngest guests. Not exactly something to market on it's own to draw in the crowds.

Tower of Terror, on the other hand, seems to be the best hope they have for advertising a new "attraction" to bring in the guests. Until that time I think they're going to have to rely on whatever shows and concerts they can come up with to get the crowds there.

[tangaroa]

Originally posted by MarcieMI
I love how many of you flip-flop on the argument regarding discounts. First Disney begins discounts last summer and everyone points to the reason as DCA's failure in attracting guests. Then Disney decides not to offer discounts this summer and it is that DCA isn't good enough to no longer attract guests with discounts.

Well what else can it be? It's obviously not higher attendance. Disney themselves have said that attendance levels are not what they were last year.

Then Tangaroa says that other local amusement parks still have discounts because they work there, but somehow they don't at Disney. Don't make any sense whatsoever.

Knott's and Magic Mountain offer discounts all year long - because frankly people in So Cal wouldn't pay the full price to go to either park. They know that and so they discount accordingly.

The real different between Magic Mountain and Knott's - and DCA this year - is that Knott's and Magic Mountain are both adding new things and heavily marketing them. Knott's has Xcelerator and Magic Mountain has Deja Vu and X. If you can get a 20 dollar ticket to Knott's or Magic Mountain from your local super market - why on earth would you pay 30 dollars to go to DCA? Another reason the discounting may have just stopped working.

Tangaroa, you are all over the map in trying to validate your statements about the discounts. First off you say the analyst was referring to Disney decision not to offer summer discounts to locals. Then you state that Disney decided to stop the discounts because they were working. Then you say that all the other local parks still are offering discounts because they work.

I was only trying to understand your position - which makes no sense.

The discounts stopped working. That's why they were dicontinued. If they were still working - why wouldn't Disney still offer them? If they are still below their estimated attendance why not bring in the extra people. If they were good enough for DCA last year - why not right now. You said that DCA attendance is still recoverying from 9/11 - so wouldn't they need more discounting?

The current discount was and has always been slated to end on June 19th. The announcement was intended to inform locals not to expect any further discounts this summer at the Resort's theme parks. How you can pull out of that announcement that the discounts are not working at DCA is unbelievable. The analyst was discussing the state of all of Disney's parks both here and in Florida on how they are doing in the recovery efforts to attract tourists. He was not referring to the local So. Cal Resident Salute that was ending on June 19th.

Right - besides the FACT that it was in an article discussing the end of the Resident Salute discount - it has absolutely nothing to do with that. That makes absolutely no sense.

Discounts do work and have always worked, but Disney (and please read carefully since you seemed to overlook the statements in my last post regarding this) feels confidently that the summer attendance at BOTH parks will be strong enough that there isn't a need for discounts during a peak time period that typically generates the highest amount of revenue for the Resorts. With booking trends through the Walt Disney Travel Company, to non-Disney owned hotels reporting better booking trends for the summer, the company feels a local discount isn't warranted at this time.

See this is why I'm having such a hard time understanding you - you keep trying to have it both ways. First DCA was recovering from 9/11 - then it was still recovering from 9/11 but was actually UP from last year - and now it's stable enough to support not having discounts.

If DCA's numbers are higher than last year - they still can't be recovering from 9/11. Sure they may not be the demographics that Disney wanted - but DCA was never able to bring those people in, even before 9/11. It sounds like you're using 9/11 as an excuse to a problem that DCA has had since it opened.

Trying to attach some negative spin on DCA's performance to the announcement that Disney will not be providing discounts this summer is so far fetched it is laughable.

No. What is laughable is this idea that everything is hunky dorey at DCA. The park's oeprating hours over the summer have been decreased a whole 2 hours from last year. The Hollywood Pictures Backlot doesn't open for a whole 90 minutes after the park opens. Restaurants and shops all over the park have reduced their operating hours and inventory. Some locations not even opening at all anymore.

Every little thing you pointed out last year as reasons why "DCA wasn't hurting" not only happened - but continue to happen. Discounting, reduced operating hours, slashed budgets, rushed projects.

Here I am sitting here - watching DCA slash budgets - listening to Disney say that attendance was not what they wanted - hearing Amusement Business quote numbers that were so off original estimates it puts any post 9/11 amusement park decline to shame - hearing all those other web sources claim that DCA's attendance is down - seeing the park with my own eyes and not noticing any significant increase over last year. But there you are - telling me that I should ignore all that and simply believe that DCA is doing just fine. Just ignore all the bad things and pretend everything is just fine.

Now that is laughable.

[DLMAGICDARREN]

Originally posted by MarcieMI


Darren, my comments were not to be taken literally, but figuratively about Orlando. Just like Cal State Fullerton is often dubbed Cal State Disneyland due to the perception that the majority of students there are Disneyland Cast Members. No need to be defensive about your adopted hometown.

LOL, sorry I must have missed the clause that stated all info relating to Orlando should be taken figuratively.

I was simply ponting out a fact, as you do in your articles. Aren't you being a little defensive yourself by the very nature of the titile of your article? It's funny how when I do it I'm being defensive, but when you do it it's "setting the record straight"

So does that mean that WDW info was figuarative to, because WDW attendance may be down from what they would like, but I go to the resort every week, and it's packed, and as you state yourself, these aren't AP'ers doing it over here.

No defensiveness here, it was just my way of "setting the record straight". Any facts you want to provide about the city of Orlando that are true, I will have no problem with. I still prefer the city of Los Angeles over Orlando. By the way Orlando is not my home town, just nearby.

I do agree with the majority of points in your article. This is 2002, not 2001 and a different strategy that will hopefully be a sucess. I'd rather see this over discounts, and a returned ELectric parade, like last year!