Disney World Resorts Struggling

[Aluminum Falcon]

Just because they made profit doesn't mean they don't have debt due at a later time. Accounting for receivables and cash they still are short more then 70 billion this year. The stock has a p/e of 56. Disney is not doing well.

If they are in that bad of trouble offering discounts on rooms that they just increased the rack rate seems silly. People want more bang for their buck. They need to do more then just make rooms cheaper that are still expensive

I kind of depends on how WDW wants to make its money, they have all but said outright that they are looking to cut back on how many people visit the park each year, so this may actually be welcomed news. I think the strategy moving forward is to minimize visitors while maximizing profits per guest. They haven't made any moves to your point to indicate anything to the contrary

 

[clarker99]

I hate to break it people but if WDW is slow then so is Universal (and Sea World and Legoland etc etc).

 

[Gary Stocker]

Given how annoying it is to book where I want, I'm skeptical of this rumor. It's ridiculously easy to find "sources" to say something. Did you know I have a rainbow tree with purple spots that sprouts magical fruit on Halloween? I saw it in a dream. Now you all have a "source" this tree exists. Conveniently leave off the dream part. After a few people share it, social media picks it up and now it's real.

How much are you asking for said rainbow tree? My daughter is interested

 

[thanxfornoticin]

How much are you asking for said rainbow tree? My daughter is interested

What magic does the fruit actually do - that will dictate my potential interest!

 

[DisneyRobbie]

We stayed at WDW resorts for decades. Last stay was Feb 2020 and still included free parking since the reservation had been booked before the change. Since then, costs have gone up at a ridiculous rate and all discernible on-site perks have been eliminated, other than the availability of resort to park transportation. And since we drive, that is a negligible benefit. And we don't stay deluxe so no extra evening hours. So...we've stayed offsite since and have been quite happy. We have no plans to book WDW resorts stays in the future. I'm pretty sure we are not the only park-going family they have lost.

The main benefit that actually matters for staying on-site at WDW is early park entry as this enables you to rope drop ahead of all the crowds if you get there early enough. If you stay off-site it is impossible to actually rope drop at any of the parks.

 

[BrianL]

The main benefit that actually matters for staying on-site at WDW is early park entry as this enables you to rope drop ahead of all the crowds if you get there early enough. If you stay off-site it is impossible to actually rope drop at any of the parks.

I actually do really like the 30 minutes early entry for all parks, but I do wish they would add extra evening time too.

 

[wkrainey]

Not accurate, worst case, they'll stall new construction of hotels, and offer steep discounts to stay on-site. I remember post 9/11 getting resorts for under $100 a night for moderate resorts. Disney can also offer dining plans and reduce the cost of tickets to entice people to stay. They can also dump all of the Good-Neighbor resort pricing for the area hotels to keep guests on site. Everyone complains about the price increases, but reality is it's a great buffer for Disney if they need to reduce pricing to keep traffic coming in. Even if they did close a resort or 2 down, they'll likely just revamp them for the upswing in traffic down the line. We all know pop-century is prime for a remodel with an Art-of-Animation reskin.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Free resort parking is back, at least. But yeah, I haven't been at all since 5/2021 and have no plans to return in the near future.

Free parking is kinda useless to most who stay on property. That really is not a loss for Disney to offer free parking.

 

[BrianL]

Free parking is kinda useless to most who stay on property. That really is not a loss for Disney to offer free parking.

I dunno, A LOT of people bring cars. The lots at the resorts always have quite a few in them.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

They cannot close DVC resorts without extensive consultation with and the permission of the owners. That would be extremely costly without even considering the lawsuits that might occur.

There is a whole page, really 3/4 of a page, dedicated simply to protected Disney in this very situation in the contract. It is pretty clear that if they close, go under, etc that we get nothing and agree to that at the time of signing.

 

[Sweettears]

I kind of depends on how WDW wants to make its money, they have all but said outright that they are looking to cut back on how many people visit the park each year, so this may actually be welcomed news. I think the strategy moving forward is to minimize visitors while maximizing profits per guest. They haven't made any moves to your point to indicate anything to the contrary

I think that this appproach has already started. ILL, Genie+, extra hours, special meals for fantasmic, world of color, magic happens (all at DL). All of these come at an extra cost that didn’t exist before. As a veteran visitor some of these things are of interest to me to cut down on waiting time. I’ll gladly spend $$ on some of these items but rarely will spend mo on souvenirs.

 

[dd316]

So they reopened all resorts after being closed for months for COVID, yet a weak Summer and Fall forecast is what will cause them to permanently close?

This is why the internet is bad.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

So they reopened all resorts after being closed for months for COVID, yet a weak Summer and Fall forecast is what will cause them to permanently close?

This is why the internet is bad.

I think what you’re seeing lately is a lot of people hoping Disney fails on the current course they’re forging. Which leads a lot to believe any rumor (no matter how weak it is) in hopes that they actually fail

 

[Titanium]

I hate to break it people but if WDW is slow then so is Universal (and Sea World and Legoland etc etc).

Yes. The folk that are disgruntled at Disney like to portray a downturn in leisure travel as a failure on Disney's part and only impacting the Disney parks.

 

[Titanium]

.

 

[DodgerGirl]

The main problem why Disney Resorts have always seemed to be struggling is because after holidays such as Christmas Memorial Day 4th Of July and President's Day that is the start of the slow season and Walt Disney World resorts don't announce new deals until their busiest times which is Spring Break Easter and the Summertime. And when you look at the general picture Disney Resorts make a lot of money from Spring Break and Easter because Spring is the most popular season for Disney vacations because they know that this is where the money is. But not only during Spring Break and Easter do the resorts fill up they have other events such as cheerleading competitions dance competitions business seminars and other events. In the history of Walt Disney World the only resort to close was The Disney Inn that became the military oriented resort Shades Of Green. But if you look at Florida hotel prices during an event such as the Daytona 500 or golf tournaments held at Disney golf courses the prices for Florida hotels and Disney resorts go up sky high. But Disney resorts in my eyes are not really struggling they are trying to attract a more successful crowd and they advertise deals all the time to help them make more money

 

[Moliphino]

The main benefit that actually matters for staying on-site at WDW is early park entry as this enables you to rope drop ahead of all the crowds if you get there early enough. If you stay off-site it is impossible to actually rope drop at any of the parks.

We don't get up early, so it means nothing to us. We liked the late EMH, which are now only deluxe (we stay at Pop).

 

[Moliphino]

Free parking is kinda useless to most who stay on property. That really is not a loss for Disney to offer free parking.

And they were really bad at figuring out who to charge for it. I got charged when I didn't have a car, but also saw lots of reports of people who had cars and didn't get charged. But at least they did away with on cash-grabby charge.

 

[mom2rtk]

The main benefit that actually matters for staying on-site at WDW is early park entry as this enables you to rope drop ahead of all the crowds if you get there early enough. If you stay off-site it is impossible to actually rope drop at any of the parks.

We stay onsite and used to do EMH all the time. It's just not worth it to me for a 30 minute head start.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I don't think the money they made from parking was negligible. I'm glad they did away with it, but I'm sure it is a bit of a loss over the months they did charge. And due to the fact that most resorts have been tightening up at the security sheds and not allowing non-resort/non-dining guests to park indicates that they have a lot of cars already on the lot and they don't want actual guests not having a space. All those Magical Express guests had to find a way to WDW, and I expect many opted for rental cars - that park.