Disney 4th Quarter 2023 Fiscal Results

[Jake S]

I wish....but Disney fans are nuts

They complain about HMH then go during the Holiday in record numbers, most don't care for Genie plus but go....many don't like reservations but go, there are LINES for popcorn buckets and tiki cups, lol

I wish soo badly they would take an L but Disney fans refuse to not support them in some way

I dunno, Disneyland is arguably the best theme park in the world. Yes, there are things to complain about and California Adventure, while good, is obviously flawed, but I don't think people are suckers for going.

We paid more than $600 for two-day tickets, which is absolutely bonkers, but going around holidays rules. I don't regret it at all.*

*When I paid last month's credit card statement I regretted it a little.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I just can't take the assertion seriously. Saying someone should abstain from giving money to the Disney Parks if they really want to make Disney listen, or that Disney fans should "put their money where their mouth is" is just so reductive and absurd.

I can speak from experience! I personally never gave any substantial amount of money to Disney for a good 7 years or so. Not purposefully perhaps, but it kinda worked out that way! I didn't have an AP, never bought merch, on the off chance I ever went it was usually through a friend's employee passes or something to that effect, and despite my boycott, Disney still implemented Genie+! What happened? Was it my $19 dinner on that employee ticket-park day that funded that operation?

It's silly. We are diehard fans of theme parks, more than anyone else we are going to have thoughts and criticisms on these parks and the way they are run. And to gatekeep that discussion behind an ask so absurd is pure ridiculousness. No one person's AP, or merch sale, or Marvel movie ticket, or $19 dinner is going to effect the bottom line for Disney. Even if all of Disney's core fanbase were to turn on them, the sheer force of Disney's juggernaut branding and connection to American culture is so impossibly strong at this point that I doubt they'd honestly feel much at all. Disney is the largest theme park corporation on the globe, and barring unmitigated disasters like Starcruiser which failed on their own, there is no way to really touch them through anything resembling a boycott.

I don't think getting a Park Reservation for Animal Kingdom is any more of a personal endorsement of the reservation service than going to Islands of Adventure is an endorsement of JK Rowling's Twitter account. We're theme park fans talking about theme parks, and some of the biggest ones in existence. They have their hands in a lot of places and get funded through a million different complicated avenues. I think it's totally fine to be an AP, to buy all of the exclusive Figment Loungeflys, to nab tickets for exclusive event nights, and to still believe that the parks are underbuilt, aging, being used as a money farm for other less profitable ventures and follys of the Disney company, and frankly not be giving as great of a guest experience as possible. I don't think there is any contradiction between the two, or that the company's policies would change if any substantial portion of our niche community were to abstain from visiting the literal most popular theme parks on Earth.

 

[Mad Dog]

I just can't take the assertion seriously. Saying someone should abstain from giving money to the Disney Parks if they really want to make Disney listen, or that Disney fans should "put their money where their mouth is" is just so reductive and absurd.

I can speak from experience! I personally never gave any substantial amount of money to Disney for a good 7 years or so. Not purposefully perhaps, but it kinda worked out that way! I didn't have an AP, never bought merch, on the off chance I ever went it was usually through a friend's employee passes or something to that effect, and despite my boycott, Disney still implemented Genie+! What happened? Was it my $19 dinner on that employee ticket-park day that funded that operation?

It's silly. We are diehard fans of theme parks, more than anyone else we are going to have thoughts and criticisms on these parks and the way they are run. And to gatekeep that discussion behind an ask so absurd is pure ridiculousness. No one person's AP, or merch sale, or Marvel movie ticket, or $19 dinner is going to effect the bottom line for Disney. Even if all of Disney's core fanbase were to turn on them, the sheer force of Disney's juggernaut branding and connection to American culture is so impossibly strong at this point that I doubt they'd honestly feel much at all. Disney is the largest theme park corporation on the globe, and barring unmitigated disasters like Starcruiser which failed on their own, there is no way to really touch them through anything resembling a boycott.

I don't think getting a Park Reservation for Animal Kingdom is any more of a personal endorsement of the reservation service than going to Islands of Adventure is an endorsement of JK Rowling's Twitter account. We're theme park fans talking about theme parks, and some of the biggest ones in existence. They have their hands in a lot of places and get funded through a million different complicated avenues. I think it's totally fine to be an AP, to buy all of the exclusive Figment Loungeflys, to nab tickets for exclusive event nights, and to still believe that the parks are underbuilt, aging, being used as a money farm for other less profitable ventures and follys of the Disney company, and frankly not be giving as great of a guest experience as possible. I don't think there is any contradiction between the two, or that the company's policies would change if any substantial portion of our niche community were to abstain from visiting the literal most popular theme parks on Earth.

Very true.....Additionally. As hardcore fans we often over emphasize factors that the GP either isn't aware of or couldn't care less about. One reason I often try to voice my opinions more as a tourist or as a member of the GP, than the hardcore fan I am. Sometimes I cross that point, but I try to keep my perspective. Subsequently, things like something in a sightline that's off theme, or storylines issues, don't bother me. As a tourist, if my totality experience stays 'about the same', I'm fine. Now, if the totality experience 'substantially' changes, then I'll back off that park for a bit, realizing that my individual decision is meaningless to the theme park, although if that same effect is felt by a lot of the GP, it might have an effect on attendance. As individual fans, we're just pebbles in a stream. But if a lot of the GP, not just hardcore fans, starts feeling the same, substantially more pebbles can slow up the flow of water to a degree.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I just can't take the assertion seriously. Saying someone should abstain from giving money to the Disney Parks if they really want to make Disney listen, or that Disney fans should "put their money where their mouth is" is just so reductive and absurd.

I can speak from experience! I personally never gave any substantial amount of money to Disney for a good 7 years or so. Not purposefully perhaps, but it kinda worked out that way! I didn't have an AP, never bought merch, on the off chance I ever went it was usually through a friend's employee passes or something to that effect, and despite my boycott, Disney still implemented Genie+! What happened? Was it my $19 dinner on that employee ticket-park day that funded that operation?

It's silly. We are diehard fans of theme parks, more than anyone else we are going to have thoughts and criticisms on these parks and the way they are run. And to gatekeep that discussion behind an ask so absurd is pure ridiculousness. No one person's AP, or merch sale, or Marvel movie ticket, or $19 dinner is going to effect the bottom line for Disney. Even if all of Disney's core fanbase were to turn on them, the sheer force of Disney's juggernaut branding and connection to American culture is so impossibly strong at this point that I doubt they'd honestly feel much at all. Disney is the largest theme park corporation on the globe, and barring unmitigated disasters like Starcruiser which failed on their own, there is no way to really touch them through anything resembling a boycott.

I don't think getting a Park Reservation for Animal Kingdom is any more of a personal endorsement of the reservation service than going to Islands of Adventure is an endorsement of JK Rowling's Twitter account. We're theme park fans talking about theme parks, and some of the biggest ones in existence. They have their hands in a lot of places and get funded through a million different complicated avenues. I think it's totally fine to be an AP, to buy all of the exclusive Figment Loungeflys, to nab tickets for exclusive event nights, and to still believe that the parks are underbuilt, aging, being used as a money farm for other less profitable ventures and follys of the Disney company, and frankly not be giving as great of a guest experience as possible. I don't think there is any contradiction between the two, or that the company's policies would change if any substantial portion of our niche community were to abstain from visiting the literal most popular theme parks on Earth.

I'm just pointing out, that DIsney won't change until fans vote with their wallets

I'm not saying people should do it, just saying they wont until money is on the line. Look at Disneyland after 9/11/DCA opening they had to spend money to get you back into the park. Now they don't, AP's allow you to pay monthly, people are willing to go into debt for vacations and nostalgia/People needing to travel after Covid make it where DIsney can do the bare Minimum and still make profits....heck without theme parks the company would be in the Red.

 

[Mad Dog]

Spurred on by Potter success for Universal, Disney actually did a lot of new attractions and lands in US parks....finally. They'll be able to live off of that for a while. But, they're going to have a bit of a gap of new attractions in the mid to late 2020's . That might catch up to them by the end of the decade before their new stuff, which is backloaded, comes on line. Disney fine for now, but maybe a bit of a dip after 2026/ 2027/2028.