Bob Iger Returns/Disney CEO Thread (2022)

[Jake S]

Like I mentioned in another discussion forum, I agree that a price per hour calc shouldn't be the sole metric for comparing the parks or the value one gets from a park. But I don't think we should ignore it from a broader perspective when taking into account how the parks price themselves.

Can you elaborate on why you think it's useful data?

*I'm well aware that Google review is not the best nor sole indicator of an attraction's success, but it's the easiest public data attainable & generally decent view into guest thoughts on attractions.

Not all data is good. Sometimes it's just noise.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Can you elaborate on why you think it's useful data?

Not all data is good. Sometimes it's just noise.

It definitely ain’t good data but I think with a high enough number of reviews it does paint some picture or trend of the normie opinion.

But I’ve certainly disliked restaurants that had a 4.8 with 2000+ reviews.

 

[fryoj]

While I don't have the equivalent amount of data that TouringPlans/Len Testa have... a few key data sets below with UOR pricing as well:

Average Ticket Price on a 1-Day, 1-Park in 2025:

• WDW: $168
• UOR: $154

However, note that Universal's parks typically have shorter normal operating hours. In 2024, Universal's parks would average about 10.9 hours a day, while WDW parks were open nearly an additional hour at 11.8 hours. Based on 2024 hours, Universal's parks would cost about $13.64 per hour (avg. 1-Day park admission at $149), while Disney would be slightly cheaper at $13.57 per hour (avg. $160 1-day park admission).

Average Quick Service Entree Price & Google Review/Rating of UOR/WDW/SW Parks:
SeaWorld Orlando has the highest price with Universal Studios Florida being 2nd (Minion Cafe & Leaky Cauldron are pricey options).

• Magic Kingdom $12.75 | 3.9 (surprisingly cheapest QSR, though arguably the worst offerings)
• Epcot $13.20 | 4.0
• Disney's Hollywood Studios $12.88 | 4.0
• Disney's Animal Kingdom $14.00 | 4.2
• Universal Studios Florida $16.25 | 3.6
• Universal Islands of Adventure $13.58 | 3.6
• SeaWorld Orlando $19.58 | 3.4
• Disneyland $15.03 | 4.0
• Disney California Adventure $14.17 | 4.1
• Universal Studios Hollywood $13.18 | 3.3

Average Table Service Entree Price & Google Review/Rating at UOR/WDW parks:
Clearly, Disney is out of their minds when it comes to in-park table service options.

• Magic Kingdom $48.33 | 4.1
• Epcot $61.53 | 4.3
• Disney's Hollywood Studios $38.23 | 4.2
• Disney's Animal Kingdom $44.85 | 4.4
• Universal Studios Florida $26.75 | 4.2
• Universal Islands of Adventure $25.51 | 4.1

While we can go back and forth on who offers the better value, UOR is just behind WDW in ridiculous pricing.

Interesting data, but one thing not factored in is how many days you have to spend to do the parks. To do each park, you are spending minimum 4 days at WDW, but only 2 days at UOR.

 

[Jake S]

It definitely ain’t good data but I think with a high enough number of reviews it does paint some picture or trend of the normie opinion.

But I’ve certainly disliked restaurants that had a 4.8 with 2000+ reviews.

It paints a picture of what people who leave reviews on Google think, certainly! But I think there are a lot more reasons to be concerned about that data (is it real, who are the people leaving reviews, can we compare that population to the general guest population) than there are to find it valuable.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

It paints a picture of what people who leave reviews on Google think, certainly! But I think there are a lot more reasons to be concerned about that data (is it real, who are the people leaving reviews, can we compare that population to the general guest population) than there are to find it valuable.

Definitely, no disagreement there. Certain businesses juice their numbers, especially services like locksmithing companies. And I’d especially say that for dedicated review sites like Yelp.

But I still do genuinely believe Google has gotten weirdly good at getting reviews from a random crowd. Still a high risk of that self-selection bias, but I’d give it value.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Like attendance figures, parks won't tell us their GSATs as they're confidential info. So at best we have imperfect data and at worst garbage data. I don't think you can qualify a theme park based on quantitative data alone, there is "feel", vibes, and other things that don't come out in a spreadsheet.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

A Google review for a major attraction at a tourist attraction to me is tough cause the traffic is high, any individual experience can vary. I find google reviews for local, non chain restaurants, to be the most helpful of google reviews.

 

[quinnmac000]

I think Disney is more so worried about decreased international travel that is likely to arrive and with potential price increases they will be heavily reliant on domestic audiences.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Can you elaborate on why you think it's useful dat

Not all data is good. Sometimes it's just noise.

I agree that a lot of data out there is useless nonsense... but part of the reason why I like to call this specific measurement of data out is because Universal is pricing themselves competitively with the Disney parks, essentially acting as a substitute. Again, I'm not trying to stir controversy, I'm just fascinated that the Universal parks are getting by with fewer operating hours.

And just to clarify, I'm in agreement that a lot of this data is only a small portion of how we guests judge the parks themselves, but I don't think it's entirely ridiculous to use.

Interesting data, but one thing not factored in is how many days you have to spend to do the parks. To do each park, you are spending minimum 4 days at WDW, but only 2 days at UOR.

I'd love to spend more time on this at some point in the future. However, UOR offers the far superior deal when it comes to multi-day tickets.

It paints a picture of what people who leave reviews on Google think, certainly! But I think there are a lot more reasons to be concerned about that data (is it real, who are the people leaving reviews, can we compare that population to the general guest population) than there are to find it valuable.

Google, like DarkMetroid mentioned, has gotten pretty good at detecting false posts over fake bots and what not.

While this is a simple exercise, Fast and Furious is rated 2.0 starts and VelociCoaster at 4.9 tells me that the data is at least reasonable to believe to a degree.

Like attendance figures, parks won't tell us their GSATs as they're confidential info. So at best we have imperfect data and at worst garbage data. I don't think you can qualify a theme park based on quantitative data alone, there is "feel", vibes, and other things that don't come out in a spreadsheet.

Like I said, my data isn't meant to define a specific picture/review of each park, I'm just trying my best to provide data in an industry that doesn't have much out there (especially when it comes to the Universal parks).

The domestic parks have hit a price ceiling, so my "price per calc" data is just a simple exercise to question whether or not the public is also questioning the value/ROI of their visit to the parks. Nobody is doing a financial analysis after their trip, but I'm sure they're questioning whether or not visiting a Universal park that closes at 7PM is worth it.

A Google review for a major attraction at a tourist attraction to me is tough cause the traffic is high, any individual experience can vary. I find google reviews for local, non chain restaurants, to be the most helpful of google reviews.

This is my argument, while Google reviews is not a definitive answer to judge an experience, it's a general view of a business's success by the general public.

 

[Mad Dog]

Like attendance figures, parks won't tell us their GSATs as they're confidential info. So at best we have imperfect data and at worst garbage data. I don't think you can qualify a theme park based on quantitative data alone, there is "feel", vibes, and other things that don't come out in a spreadsheet.

Yeah, this kind of sums up the reality/credibility of a lot of that data.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

FL really needs a *true* cheap park. Obviously I like animals but I might be ok with BGT/SWO sending theirs elsewhere because I imagine that's a big reason why even they're still more expensive than anywhere else. Seriously even CA has a couple--when I saw SFMM APs were $100 I did a double take.

 

[Mad Dog]

FL really needs a *true* cheap park. Obviously I like animals but I might be ok with BGT/SWO sending theirs elsewhere because I imagine that's a big reason why even they're still more expensive than anywhere else. Seriously even CA has a couple--when I saw SFMM APs were $100 I did a double take.

Coster parks are a dime a dozen. Up here in the midwest/northeast there's more than needed. AP's might be cheap....but the food and merchandise & drinks are about the same prices as Disney and Universal, with less quality.

 

[Skold]

FL really needs a *true* cheap park.

Now you've done it! This post really hurts Fun Spot's feelings.

 

[tielo]

Having data and making a report is both an art and a scam trick in the wrong hands. I can give you 2 reports, all true, with different (opposite) outcomes. One should always state the reason for the report and what the outcome means. So pulling matrices out of internet is fine but remember they are never an explanation about some "truth".
What the Len article does is show trends and worries that Disney management has (according to him) about the lower number of guests who return to the park after their vacation. A growing number of customers seemingly don't think the value equals the experience. For each of us here that will be different. I stopped seeing the value in a Disney vacation about 15 years ago and stopped going and others still keep insisting it's all magical and great and say they enjoy their time and that is wonderful. In the end companies (like Disney) should understand that limitless growth in profit isn't going to happen. If you like growth you should diversify your portofolio like (for instance) Comcast does as they actually didn't want a theme park as part of their business but decided that investing in them making them the third pillar in their portofolio was a smart thing. Investing in smaller projects like Universal Kids, Universal Horror Unleashed and a park (maybe) in GB is the way to go to grow that market with different offerings for different customers.

 

[fryoj]

Having data and making a report is both an art and a scam trick in the wrong hands. I can give you 2 reports, all true, with different (opposite) outcomes. One should always state the reason for the report and what the outcome means. So pulling matrices out of internet is fine but remember they are never an explanation about some "truth".
What the Len article does is show trends and worries that Disney management has (according to him) about the lower number of guests who return to the park after their vacation. A growing number of customers seemingly don't think the value equals the experience. For each of us here that will be different. I stopped seeing the value in a Disney vacation about 15 years ago and stopped going and others still keep insisting it's all magical and great and say they enjoy their time and that is wonderful. In the end companies (like Disney) should understand that limitless growth in profit isn't going to happen. If you like growth you should diversify your portofolio like (for instance) Comcast does as they actually didn't want a theme park as part of their business but decided that investing in them making them the third pillar in their portofolio was a smart thing. Investing in smaller projects like Universal Kids, Universal Horror Unleashed and a park (maybe) in GB is the way to go to grow that market with different offerings for different customers.

We did a week at Disney in late 2021. It'll likely be our last Disney trip. Spent too much to have to fight crowds everywhere, deal with rude or unhelpful staff, and just generally not have a good time. I could see us staying in Orlando somewhere and popping into DHS and maybe Epcot, but, at this point, MK is just not something we'd want to do again, and AK isn't worth dedicating a day to.

The problem they've got themselves in is, if they make it cheaper, it'll make the overcrowding worse, which further leads to people not seeing enough value to return.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm guilty of being a contributor to the cost problem. I come from a super poor family, probably the poorest in our small town. But I've done well with savings and investments, a testament that if you work hard and spend wisely in your early life you can prosper in the USA.. I have a large newer home I built and a huge piece of property in a beautiful location. Mortgage was paid off 20 years ago, so I'm financially very comfortable. I've had long vacations to Europe in the past. But there's no other place I'd rather vacation than WDW and Universal Orlando. I enjoy all aspects of the resorts, not just the attractions. I spend lots of money there. To me, Disney and Universal are the vacation gods. I like Orlando, but I wouldn't like to live there year-round. I like living in western Pa. much better. But as vacations goes, I'm spoiled by Orlando, and kind of bored everywhere else, vacation wise. Disney/Universal are the pinnacle to me.