Select photopass locations to be replaced by automated cameras

[firefly_ris]

The e-mail I sent focused on this - that we are willing to pay the high prices because of a superior product ... but as that lessens so does my desire to pay higher prices.

Also, as a shareholder, the negative impressions this is leaving is concerning me and wish you would focus more on the long term brand value and less on next quarter’s earnings

What email address did you use if you don't mind me asking? Those pictures @Farro posted are just.... something else. My mom is planning to buy us the Memory Maker package for Christmas so I feel the urge to email them about this, because that's just a plain crap move.

And they say "Oh it's ONLY 9 locations..." now but if not enough people make a deal about it you know they're going to expand it.

 

[rteetz]

I'm not familiar with any losses from recent acquisitions. Could you say more about that?

They do have to pay for Fox. Unfortunately sometimes Disney does make cuts in other areas such as parks and resorts to save money and help offset major costs elsewhere.

 

[Pdollar88]

Any idea which locations this week s going to first? Any others confirmed other than Tinkerbell?

 

[OKW Lover]

ESPN has been flagging pretty badly. It's fairly well publicized.

ESPN has been a Disney company for many, many years.

They do have to pay for Fox. Unfortunately sometimes Disney does make cuts in other areas such as parks and resorts to save money and help offset major costs elsewhere.

Paying for a new acquisition is an entirely different proposition from saving money on current operations. The new acquisition actually pays for itself with its own profits.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I received the standard email response from a Disney representative this morning- we value you as a guest, this new automated camera will be at 9 different locations, we will still have over 100 photo pass photographers to capture personalized photos for our guests.... yada yada yada
At least they are getting tons of emails and our view on this.
I also emailed the CEO of WDW yesterday, no response from there yet.
Maybe they will reconsider this with all the feedback they're getting. I have seen this subject on twitter and FB as well.

They don't give a crap. I realized that after the whole parking fee fiasco. They care about a "perception of caring". what I mean by that is they will call you back and "listen" to what you have to say, but nothing is done beyond that. The whole parking thing really changed my view of how disney is ran. They are no longer trying to set standards and being a step above everyone else.

They are enjoying the benefits of a fantastic economy and have set themselves up to get hit very very hard when the economy tanks. They are going to have to go above and beyond providing magical experiences to get people through the gates when that does happen.

These automatic cameras are a joke.

one of my favorite pictures ever from disney was when Minnie got on the ground with my sons when they were 1 and 2 and was playing with those mickey buses with them. There is no way these cameras will get the quality of pictures we got from that visit.

 

[recmouse]

I emailed george.kalogridis@disney.com and guest.services@disneyworld.com and got the same response as everyone else on here. I wrote back to the two of them this morning.

I mentioned that I find the camera boxes unacceptable. Many of the character meet and greets need a Fastpass. In particular, the Character Spot in Epcot which is a Tier One... WHAT???!!!! Why should I use a Fastpass for a camera box?!!

I also ended the email that I would like a true explanation and not a standard response.

FYI - 90% of my visits are just my husband and I and we're DVC members that are activating AP's in December. And yes, we do the character meet and greets!

 

[rteetz]

Paying for a new acquisition is an entirely different proposition from saving money on current operations. The new acquisition actually pays for itself with its own profits.

Well that’s not how Disney views this one. Disney has looked at spending less money in the parks due to Fox.

 

[dlavender]

I am going to have 6 week long trips in three years, with APs. But I am pretty sure I am not going to be renewing after they expire in Sept. We're probably going to at least take a few year off, but I am willing to pay out the nose due to the extra things that other parks don't do. Disney has some cool rides, but if I was going just for the rides they would be way down my list. The cost cutting, hour cuts, changes to baby swap, price increases are taking their toll on me.

We just finished ours a month ago and chose not to renew due mostly to the large increase without a large benefit increase. This just solidifies it. When I told my wife this news, who is a very casual Disney person, she said "I'm glad we didn't renew, I hate what they've become"....

We'll return when all the new stuff comes online, especially Tron, but I don't know if we'll ever hold AP's again......

 

[firefly_ris]

I emailed george.kalogridis@disney.com and guest.services@disneyworld.com and got the same response as everyone else on here. I wrote back to the two of them this morning.

I mentioned that I find the camera boxes unacceptable. Many of the character meet and greets need a Fastpass. In particular, the Character Spot in Epcot which is a Tier One... WHAT???!!!! Why should I use a Fastpass for a camera box?!!

I also ended the email that I would like a true explanation and not a standard response.

FYI - 90% of my visits are just my husband and I and we're DVC members that are activating AP's in December. And yes, we do the character meet and greets!

I don't expect much but I sent an email to the addresses you listed. I tried to hammer home the point that it's not JUST this, it's this along with a bunch of other experience-affecting cuts (like street entertainment and so on) that has a larger overall effect on the brand.

 

[OSUZorba]

I actually just cancelled a three night trip next month. I was thinking about it, but this pushed me over the edge.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What email address did you use if you don't mind me asking? Those pictures @Farro posted are just.... something else. My mom is planning to buy us the Memory Maker package for Christmas so I feel the urge to email them about this, because that's just a plain crap move.

And they say "Oh it's ONLY 9 locations..." now but if not enough people make a deal about it you know they're going to expand it.

I sent it to WDW Guest Communications (wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com) and to George Kalogridis, CEO of Walt Disney World (george.kalogridis@disney.com)

I agree with you about the "only 9 locations" - they didn't develop this technology to only replace 9 locations. At a minimum this is a test to see how it works and if ok they will roll it out further

Funny thing is, I actually like the concept and think it could work in other applications - like around Animal Kingdom or something where there are spots you just standing in one spot to get you and the background .......but character meets are the LAST place I would think this would work

 

[TheMaxRebo]

ESPN has been a Disney company for many, many years.


Paying for a new acquisition is an entirely different proposition from saving money on current operations. The new acquisition actually pays for itself with its own profits.

It's not really "paying for losses" as making up for lower that expected profits elsewhere. so ESPN is making them less money than in the past and the FOX acquisition wound up costing them more than they initial projected so that will be a hit to near term financials - but if they squeeze some more profits out of the parks that cane help offset that a bit and goose next quarters earnings (which I fear they are putting too much focus on vs long term brand value)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The whole parking thing really changed my view of how disney is ran. They are no longer trying to set standards and being a step above everyone else.

what bugged me the most about the whole parking fee thing was that their reason for doing so was that it was "industry standard" - which may be true, but the reason we are Disney fans is because you aren't the "industry standard" you are above that and set the bar higher - which is why we pay more for Disney. If you are just going to be "industry standard" then charge "industry standard rates"

 

[recmouse]

what bugged me the most about the whole parking fee thing was that their reason for doing so was that it was "industry standard" - which may be true, but the reason we are Disney fans is because you aren't the "industry standard" you are above that and set the bar higher - which is why we pay more for Disney. If you are just going to be "industry standard" then charge "industry standard rates"

EXACTLY!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

EXACTLY!!!

not to mention other industry standard things, like a free breakfast included and loyalty points where we can earn free stays

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We'll see what happens. But, they really might reconsider and scrap this idea if:

1. They get tons of people at guest services daily saying, "I waited over an hour for my kids to meet Tink, and that box didn't take a single good picture!; and

2. A significant number of groups go to tap their bands to collect their pictures, see on the monitors all the pictures are bad, and ask to go back in for retakes. This could decrease capacity, and result in longer waits.

 

[ChipnDale79]

what bugged me the most about the whole parking fee thing was that their reason for doing so was that it was "industry standard" - which may be true, but the reason we are Disney fans is because you aren't the "industry standard" you are above that and set the bar higher - which is why we pay more for Disney. If you are just going to be "industry standard" then charge "industry standard rates"

Yup..and i had that conversation with Disney when i talked to them. Their response was "we don't charge resort fees while others do." They were aware the brunt of negativity they were going to get from that and simply just weathered through it. I'll admit that it hasn't stopped us from going, however it did change how we do disney.

We just got back from a 4 night stay. We live close enough that we will leave friday after work and drive down, we get onsite around midnight. We still did that this time, but instead of staying on site the first night, we stayed offsite. With the quick service dining plan and the one night lost of a hotel room, it was about $300 that disney lost from us because of the nickel and diming.

We also didn't spend as much on souvenirs and other things as we normally do because we didn't feel the need to give them more of our money. Their change in attitude towards us as customers, changed how we spent our money. but what do they care? they're making record profits right now.

They're going to weather the storm of negativity on this as well, and id be shocked to see them go back on this. I think some of these Disney executives have lost touch with the consumer.

 

[recmouse]

I just hung up with Joan from George's office. She called me after my second email to them this morning. I asked what the 9 locations were... she doesn't know, hasn't been told. I asked her to step out of her 'Disney shoes' and think about this realistically. I told her only a human can capture special moments at a meet and greet. She mentioned there will be more than one camera - I told her that wouldn't matter. I said, what if I use a fastpass and then the pictures aren't good? I said it's hard enough getting 3 fastpasses at times, what are the chances to get another for a meet and greet.

Joan said Disney does listen to their guests. I told her that I used to believe that but I feel that hasn't been true for at least the last 3 years and she said she found that upsetting. I said, YES! It's very upsetting as a consumer. I asked if this was a financial move and she said she didn't know. I told her that I think it is and that they should find another way than this. I mentioned that we are being nickeled and dimed between parking fees and dues increases. When she mentioned about when the cameras were going to start I said, "NO. Don't even start them!"

It was a nice conversation as I was stern with my points and not rude to her, which she said she appreciated at the end of the conversation. I told her I would really appreciate her passing my points onto George and the other executives and that the only result I'm looking for is to get those photographers back into the meet and greets.

Time will tell... at least I tried!

 

[jlwhitney]

what bugged me the most about the whole parking fee thing was that their reason for doing so was that it was "industry standard" - which may be true, but the reason we are Disney fans is because you aren't the "industry standard" you are above that and set the bar higher - which is why we pay more for Disney. If you are just going to be "industry standard" then charge "industry standard rates"

See the photo pass thing bugs me, but the parking never did and I never thought they would change it back. This one I could see not lasting, unless these cameras do an amazing job. But there is also that part that there are more people out there that don't care how a picture turns out then do care anymore. Its quite simple to see that with how many bad pics people post all over social media.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I just hung up with Joan from George's office. She called me after my second email to them this morning. I asked what the 9 locations were... she doesn't know, hasn't been told. I asked her to step out of her 'Disney shoes' and think about this realistically. I told her only a human can capture special moments at a meet and greet. She mentioned there will be more than one camera - I told her that wouldn't matter. I said, what if I use a fastpass and then the pictures aren't good? I said it's hard enough getting 3 fastpasses at times, what are the chances to get another for a meet and greet.

Joan said Disney does listen to their guests. I told her that I used to believe that but I feel that hasn't been true for at least the last 3 years and she said she found that upsetting. I said, YES! It's very upsetting as a consumer. I asked if this was a financial move and she said she didn't know. I told her that I think it is and that they should find another way than this. I mentioned that we are being nickeled and dimed between parking fees and dues increases. When she mentioned about when the cameras were going to start I said, "NO. Don't even start them!"

It was a nice conversation as I was stern with my points and not rude to her, which she said she appreciated at the end of the conversation. I told her I would really appreciate her passing my points onto George and the other executives and that the only result I'm looking for is to get those photographers back into the meet and greets.

Time will tell... at least I tried!

thanks for sharing and sounds like you laid out your points really well and hopefully it hit home.