Season of A Million Cutbacks

Disney projects a decrease in fall attendance.... Due to these projections and the purchase of Fox, several cutbacks are being made across the resort... Instead of many threads, I will list all operational cutbacks due to the reduced fall attendance projections here:

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW'S PIRATE TUTORIAL - Magic Kingdom will end on September 29th

RAFIKI'S PLANET WATCH - Animal Kingdom will "go seasonal" beginning September 30th 2018

CITIZENS OF HOLLYWOOD - Disney's Hollywood Studios will be eliminated or drastically reduced starting September 29th... At the moment, at least 4 members of the Citizens have been released from their contracts...

MOVE IT! SHAKE IT! CELEBRATE IT! - Magic Kingdom will end on December 1, 2018... I listed this here because this is a cut, but I believe something new is being worked on... But since it is several months out before a replacement happens, I'll call this a cut because there is no reason this cannot run despite being one of the most hated forms on entertainment in the Disney fan community...

There are rumors of other cutbacks happening, but cannot confirm them at the moment... If anything else is confirmed or changes, I will update this thread as necessary....

I wonder why attendance will be low.

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Originally Posted by Cinderelley

I wonder why attendance will be low.

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No idea... is price finally playing into things?? Is the disaster that's been My Disney Experience finally weighing on people trying to book trips and realizing you now need a PhD to book a trip??? Or is it people holding off until next year for Star Wars???

I honestly don't know...

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

No idea... is price finally playing into things?? Is the disaster that's been My Disney Experience finally weighing on people trying to book trips and realizing you now need a PhD to book a trip??? Or is it people holding off until next year for Star Wars???

I honestly don't know...

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Your comment reminded me of a conversation I had a week or two ago while coming into work. The officer who was searching me and my stuff to let me in told me that he over the weekend, he had looked into taking another Disney World trip. I don't remember which resort it was, but he said "the prices are getting more expensive, and the pool is shut down. Why would I pay full price when I can't even swim in the pool?" Another officer said "I hate Disney" (yeah, I did a double take on that) "all you do is stand in line". A third officer chimed in with "My ex-wife has annual passes to Disneyland. How can you go and do the same thing over and over again? I'll never go back." A fourth officer said "My sister is going to Disneyland. She is going to take my daughter. I thought about going with them, but they are going to a Halloween party. By the time I looked into it, all the tickets were sold out. If I get a regular ticket to go during the day, I have to leave at 3 pm. Why pay all that money to get forced out at 3?"

I can't remember any other time where so many people have griped about Disney. Maybe it is just a little bit of everything finally pushing people away.

Unfortunately, this seems to be typical of WDW in the Fall of the year. Kids are back to school, so 'attendance drops' in their estimation. But with Food & Wine and the parties -- MNSSHP & MVMCP -- there really isn't that much of a drop. You can tell that by the limited availability of any of the discount offers for calendar year Q4.

Certainly, it will be lighter than the peak of summer season, but there is hardly a time when crowd levels justify major cutbacks in shows and staffing.

I see the same thing in the company I work for -- Q1 of the fiscal year, everything is fine; Q2 starts questioning 'excessive' spending; Q3 starts cutbacks; Q4 is the "don't do anything, don't go anywhere, don't purchase anything, and cut staffing wherever possible."

In a world that is driven by stock price, this is all too typical. Get the 'bottom line' up no matter what.

Goodbye Dorma Nesmond, Paige Turner, Dara Vamp and Officer Prime Brody are the ones leaving, you will be missed maybe you can become storm troopers.
The Pirate Tutorial and the Citizens of Hollywood were always fun to watch and could be very unpredictable, something Disney is against I guess. While some of the Jack Sparrow characters were better than others, they all gave a good show. The tutorial was the only place to see Jack up close and could really get him to work your camera. The ad libs in the show were hilarious. If you positioned yourself, with a camera, near wear he exits the show you may get a person interaction. The Citizens of Hollywood were also very fun to interact with and gave great photo ops. All will be missed. :down:

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Originally Posted by PopPhan

I see the same thing in the company I work for -- Q1 of the fiscal year, everything is fine; Q2 starts questioning 'excessive' spending; Q3 starts cutbacks; Q4 is the "don't do anything, don't go anywhere, don't purchase anything, and cut staffing wherever possible."

In a world that is driven by stock price, this is all too typical. Get the 'bottom line' up no matter what.

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Sounds like poor planning.

I find that some people I speak to are waiting for Star Wars to open. And some are priced out since they have a larger family; 5 or more.

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

No idea... is price finally playing into things?? Is the disaster that's been My Disney Experience finally weighing on people trying to book trips and realizing you now need a PhD to book a trip??? Or is it people holding off until next year for Star Wars???

I honestly don't know...

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I'm waiting for Star Wars + One Year and actually looking forward to My Disney Experience.

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

No idea... is price finally playing into things?? Is the disaster that's been My Disney Experience finally weighing on people trying to book trips and realizing you now need a PhD to book a trip??? Or is it people holding off until next year for Star Wars???

I honestly don't know...

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Was there this past August. We always go the last two weeks, this was our 5th trip that time of year.
By far, it was the most crowded I've ever experienced during that time period.

I heard a while back that Disney was not planning on renewing the contracts with the Citizens of Hollywood, because Disney felt that they would not fit the new direction the park is headed in. My suspicion is that once Galaxy Edge opens, most references to Hollywood will start to disappear.

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Originally Posted by waymickey

I find that some people I speak to are waiting for Star Wars to open. And some are priced out since they have a larger family; 5 or more.

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This is what I've heard from people, as well. My friends who love Disney are still planning to return in the somewhat near future, but most are waiting for Star Wars.

My guess is people are tired of being out-priced and banking some cash for the Star Wars land opening. I plan to be there April 2019 to run for the Dark Side, 1/2 marathon, but no summer trip planned .... after April, I'll wait for several months after the opening of Star Wars to put a plan into motion for another visit .....

People should also remember that Disney’s fiscal year ends Sept 30 so it’s the time that contracts end, are reviewed, and preparations for contracts in fiscal 2019 startin Oct 1 are going on. These things happen every calendar year at this time.

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Originally Posted by Polynesian Dweller

People should also remember that Disney’s fiscal year ends Sept 30 so it’s the time that contracts end, are reviewed, and preparations for contracts in fiscal 2019 startin Oct 1 are going on. These things happen every calendar year at this time.

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Pretty much, except Citizen of Hollywood.. Those contracts run, I believe April to March or May to April...

And also, these aren't drastic cuts like we saw a few years ago... not yet anyway... I don't think they can afford to make drastic cuts cause, despite their downward attendance projections, the holidays are coming up, and we know WDW will be crazy packed the last week or two of December... If attendance projections were looking dire, trust me, the cuts would be drastic...

Another thing to remember, just because attendance is projected to be down, doesn't mean it still won't be busy... Just not as busy...

***ADDING: Labor is also part of the operational cuts.... not sure how this will affect many of the CMs but I suspect their hours will be reduced where Disney can....

I don't know. It seems like Disney cuts the little things that people enjoy but don't make a big impact on your trip just because it isn't enough to make people quit coming back. Less bang for your buck but not enough to really be noticed. Is attendance really down or is that just an excuse?

"Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street Party" will be the street party replacement beginning January 18, 2019.

Other new 2019 entertainment announced here; although nothing else appears to be a "replacement" of the other offerings ending in September.

now that they agreed to pay $15 an hour, they need the cuts to offset the cost..so Streetmosphere, Rivers of Life actor, Rafiki's Planet Watch closing so less CM needed. Illuminations ending..fireworks cost a lot and the replacement might be something that can be reused...

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Originally Posted by Altair

Goodbye Dorma Nesmond, Paige Turner, Dara Vamp and Officer Prime Brody are the ones leaving, you will be missed maybe you can become storm troopers.The Citizens of Hollywood were also very fun to interact with and gave great photo ops. All will be missed. :down:

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Yeah, WDW has to make more room for storm troopers. Disney buying Marvel and SW irks me between what its done to the parks, and then mediocre (at best) films.

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Originally Posted by Cinderelley

Sounds like poor planning.

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Well, that and still settling into their choices they've made. I expect they forecast this, and many of these decisions were on the horizon a long time ago.

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Originally Posted by waymickey

I find that some people I speak to are waiting for Star Wars to open. And some are priced out since they have a larger family; 5 or more.

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I think that's it. SW, along w/ other aspects of Disney, has made us examine the destinations of our next several vacations.

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Originally Posted by waymickey

I find that some people I speak to are waiting for Star Wars to open. And some are priced out since they have a larger family; 5 or more.

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This is us as a large family.

We used to go to Disney every year when we lived in Texas. The last trip we made, our kids were 11, 10, 4, and 3. Then, we moved to Orlando and lived close enough we could see the fireworks every night. We were annual passholders, everything was great. We moved to Kansas last year and just started planning a trip for January to see friends and go back to Disney.

I was blown away by the price. Granted, our kids are now 17, 16, 10, and 9, so I'm paying for five "adults", but still. Yikes.

OK, update... some operational cuts have been made, may not be noticeable with guests... front line cast member cuts were scheduled, but I havent heard anything too drastic or if they been implemented... Other cuts are being proposed and looked into but haven't been put into action yet... And may not..

I still think once the holiday season starts (week before and of Thanksgiving through New Year's) attendance will tick up despite being told projections still are for attendance being low...

I will be in WDW starting Monday so I will see first hand how the crowds are...

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

Disney projects a decrease in fall attendance.... Due to these projections and the purchase of Fox, several cutbacks are being made across the resort... Instead of many threads, I will list all operational cutbacks due to the reduced fall attendance projections here:

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW'S PIRATE TUTORIAL - Magic Kingdom will end on September 29th

RAFIKI'S PLANET WATCH - Animal Kingdom will "go seasonal" beginning September 30th 2018

CITIZENS OF HOLLYWOOD - Disney's Hollywood Studios will be eliminated or drastically reduced starting September 29th... At the moment, at least 4 members of the Citizens have been released from their contracts...

MOVE IT! SHAKE IT! CELEBRATE IT! - Magic Kingdom will end on December 1, 2018... I listed this here because this is a cut, but I believe something new is being worked on... But since it is several months out before a replacement happens, I'll call this a cut because there is no reason this cannot run despite being one of the most hated forms on entertainment in the Disney fan community...

There are rumors of other cutbacks happening, but cannot confirm them at the moment... If anything else is confirmed or changes, I will update this thread as necessary....

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None of these are much of a loss or going to really affect attendance. The bigger turn off for me is the massive amount of construction going on to get ready for Star Wars. So while this year attendance may dip, once Galaxy’s Edge opens it is going to surge to record breaking highs.

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Originally Posted by CaptSmee

None of these are much of a loss or going to really affect attendance. The bigger turn off for me is the massive amount of construction going on to get ready for Star Wars. So while this year attendance may dip, once Galaxy’s Edge opens it is going to surge to record breaking highs.

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I think the consensus among us here is that if there is a downturn in attendance, it would be because most people are waiting for Galaxy's Edge... December 2019, not the time to visit....

And BTW, if attendance is down, I'd like to know where... While I didn't find the parks totally crowded, I still found huge crowds everywhere... But, projections called for a slow down... I didn't see it though...

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

I think the consensus among us here is that if there is a downturn in attendance, it would be because most people are waiting for Galaxy's Edge... December 2019, not the time to visit....

And BTW, if attendance is down, I'd like to know where... While I didn't find the parks totally crowded, I still found huge crowds everywhere... But, projections called for a slow down... I didn't see it though...

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Yes, I've heard the same that lines aren't exactly short. I know October is usually a busy month and I think this is "Jersey Week." We went late August and while it was super hot, didn't feel that lines (outside of TSL) were that bad. Glad to hear you had a good trip.

I wonder what they base their projections on? How many hotel rooms are booked? If so, are more people just staying offsite, so there are really more people at the parks than their room bookings suggested?

The price isn't keeping us away, nor are the cutbacks on things like the Streetmosphere actors. Things change with the times and can't stay the same. I'll miss many things, like I miss Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, but I'm fine with Disney making changes.

We're just not going back for a while because of other things we want to do. As a family, we've changed with the times as well. We want to see National Parks. We want to see Harry Potter at Universal. We want to go to Disneyland. We want to go to Hawai'i and Alaska, maybe the UK and/or Iceland. Can't do all of those things AND do WDW. Plus, in a few months, I'll have two kids in post-High School education situations...one in Idaho and one in Texas (and we live in Virginia).

Our annual trips to WDW lasted almost 20 years, and we have many fond memories of them. And we know we'll be back at some point. But we're not going to go as often as we used to. We've just changed.

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Originally Posted by baldburke

Yes, I've heard the same that lines aren't exactly short. I know October is usually a busy month and I think this is "Jersey Week." We went late August and while it was super hot, didn't feel that lines (outside of TSL) were that bad. Glad to hear you had a good trip.

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I don't think this is Jersey Week... Maybe next week???

I didn't find the parks overly busy... But some of the wait times were high for crowd level... And I know Disney exaggerates the wait time, but I did legit wait 60 minutes for Slinky Dog while the posted wait time was 60 minutes.... Other rides has wait times like 25/30 minutes when normally they are walk on...

And thank you!!! I really did have a fun time...

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

I don't think this is Jersey Week... Maybe next week???

I didn't find the parks overly busy... But some of the wait times were high for crowd level... And I know Disney exaggerates the wait time, but I did legit wait 60 minutes for Slinky Dog while the posted wait time was 60 minutes.... Other rides has wait times like 25/30 minutes when normally they are walk on...

And thank you!!! I really did have a fun time...

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For most Disney attractions, I consider anything with a posted wait of 30 minutes or less as 'walk on'...

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Originally Posted by Cinderelley

I wonder what they base their projections on? How many hotel rooms are booked? If so, are more people just staying offsite, so there are really more people at the parks than their room bookings suggested?

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You know that wonderful little app called My Disney Experience??? There ya go!!! That is where they get their numbers from... They see hotel bookings, they get FP plus booking numbers, they see how many ADRs are made, they see theme park tickets sold... They can project from the data received from My Disney Experience...

I really do believe their theme park ticket sales are projecting downward... Or were projecting downward... I also believe that is why we started seeing the operational cuts... Believe me when I tell you there were more cuts on the table, and still are, just waiting to be given the green light...

Let us remember, Disney can be crowded and still see a drop in attendance... Huge numbers go to WDW, so even a drop of, say 10,000 is a lot for their books, it is chump change compared to the millions who show up yearly... And i just made that 10,000 number up... I don't know how much they projected down their attendance...

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Originally Posted by azcavalier

The price isn't keeping us away, nor are the cutbacks on things like the Streetmosphere actors. Things change with the times and can't stay the same. I'll miss many things, like I miss Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, but I'm fine with Disney making changes.

We're just not going back for a while because of other things we want to do. As a family, we've changed with the times as well. We want to see National Parks. We want to see Harry Potter at Universal. We want to go to Disneyland. We want to go to Hawai'i and Alaska, maybe the UK and/or Iceland. Can't do all of those things AND do WDW. Plus, in a few months, I'll have two kids in post-High School education situations...one in Idaho and one in Texas (and we live in Virginia).

Our annual trips to WDW lasted almost 20 years, and we have many fond memories of them. And we know we'll be back at some point. But we're not going to go as often as we used to. We've just changed.

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Sooner or later the price will keep people from going, but what is that price??? They obviously haven't hit the ceiling yet... And the cut backs, nah, these cutbacks aren't going to keep people from going either... Most first timers wouldn't even know they were cut... The regulars, the APers, DVCers, they would notice the cutbacks... And even then, these cuts wouldn't stop people from going...

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Originally Posted by PopPhan

For most Disney attractions, I consider anything with a posted wait of 30 minutes or less as 'walk on'...

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True... True.... I was talking more like Spaceship Earth where there is usually never a line, except for first thing in the morning... However, I saw a 30 minute wait mid afternoon... Same with Imagination... I never seen more than a 5 minute wait my last few trips, including this past April... This October??? There was a 45 minute wait... And the queue was full... The extended queue for 3 Cabelleros was in use, but when I made my way to the attraction, it was empty... I waited 30 for Star Tours though I never usually wait that long... And any other time I looked at wait times, it never seemed to get longer than 10 again.. Small World too, I walked on in the morning but by evening, I saw a posted 45 minute wait... I didn't think that could be right, but the FP and Stand by were both full... And let's not even talk Haunted Mansion... The stand by line was down close to Columbia Harbor House in mid afternoon, forget the Halloween Party... posted 60 minute wait...

Those are some of the rides I normally find as walk ons, rides always less than 30 minutes, or anywhere from no wait to 15 minutes...

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

True... True.... I was talking more like Spaceship Earth where there is usually never a line, except for first thing in the morning... However, I saw a 30 minute wait mid afternoon... Same with Imagination... I never seen more than a 5 minute wait my last few trips, including this past April... This October??? There was a 45 minute wait... And the queue was full... The extended queue for 3 Cabelleros was in use, but when I made my way to the attraction, it was empty... I waited 30 for Star Tours though I never usually wait that long... And any other time I looked at wait times, it never seemed to get longer than 10 again.. Small World too, I walked on in the morning but by evening, I saw a posted 45 minute wait... I didn't think that could be right, but the FP and Stand by were both full... And let's not even talk Haunted Mansion... The stand by line was down close to Columbia Harbor House in mid afternoon, forget the Halloween Party... posted 60 minute wait...

Those are some of the rides I normally find as walk ons, rides always less than 30 minutes, or anywhere from no wait to 15 minutes...

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Jungle Cruise was a 60 minute wait when we considered going on it.

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Originally Posted by Cinderelley

Jungle Cruise was a 60 minute wait when we considered going on it.

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I won't ride JC unless I have a FP...