Disney Parks laying off 28,000 cast members

[ford91exploder]

I never got to experience SWW (wish I had) but I will take what we got with SWGE if it was one or the other. Osborne is one of those things thats so hard. I am not sure how they could do that appropriately in another area. You also have far more parks experience than me but in my now 3 years as an AP I agree with what you said.

SWW were AMAZING and I'm not the Star Wars fan in the family, And with the inclusion of the 501'st many magic moments were created. Like the time a stormtrooper was circling a dixie cup like it was an IED with blaster at the ready,.

The osbourne lights - over the top amazing the one activity we always did first was to find the purple cat sometimes it was really hard to find as it would be in a place a real cat would hide away in. The last year laughably easy.

This is the kind of magic which has been killed by Burbank's greed and it made experiencing the parks 'magical' because you never knew what was around the next corner. contrast this with the programmed 3 experiences with fastpass and dining set 6 months in advance.

 

[AvidDisReader]

Like most on this thread I am a Disney lover. That does not mean I close my eyes when I see what I interpret to be greed or grinch like cut backs. That being said, how can anyone bash Disney for some of the cuts during the worst pandemic in 100 years. For my part, I am going to wait until after the vaccine is out and there is some sense of normal before I start to judge what cuts Disney has made. Believe me, if there are things that do not appear fair I will be the loudest to object. Until then, let's just give them a break.

 

[ford91exploder]

Who in their right mind would sell below market value? You’d be leaving money on the table.
Im

I also think it’s incredibly shortsighted to sell out of DVC because you don’t like the changes to the parks due to a once in a century pandemic.

The problem is the pandemic is temporary (though it feels never ending), The negative changes to the park are likely to be permanent which is why you have some long term members saying I'll dump it at a buck a point. I already sold our points nearly 4 years ago now because the value for money was no longer in positive territory.

Are you leaving money on the table if you've been a long time DVC member and passed your 'break even' point as if ENOUGH long term DVC members do this Disney will no longer have the resources to ROFR at a high price. They will simply buy the points at the 1.00 mark and that will blow up the DVC sales model as the high buy in price will no longer be supported by a robust resale market.

People keep asking why I think changes are permanent, In the WDW layoffs, Disney laid off all the seasonal workers as well now these people have NO benefits and no guaranteed hours and many of them are 'snowbirds' from colder climates they have no benefits I don't believe they even have a main gate pass unless they are working. But these people are primarily there for the sheer joy of working for Disney even just 1-2 hours a week.

If they had laid off "active CM's" only I'd say that the layoffs were temporary but when the seasonals were cut it spoke of vast numbers of positions being permanently eliminated.

These people cost disney NOTHING other than the periodic email the fact that their positions were eliminated points to WDW being run with FAR FEWER CM's going forward

 

[ford91exploder]

Like most on this thread I am a Disney lover. That does not mean I close my eyes when I see what I interpret to be greed or grinch like cut backs. That being said, how can anyone bash Disney for some of the cuts during the worst pandemic in 100 years. For my part, I am going to wait until after the vaccine is out and there is some sense of normal before I start to judge what cuts Disney has made. Believe me, if there are things that do not appear fair I will be the loudest to object. Until then, let's just give them a break.

If you look at my next post - Disney permanently laid off the seasonal employees who cost Disney NOTHING unless called in for a shift this speaks to Disney permanently reducing staffing levels because these people cost Disney nothing unless activated for work, they do not even have a main gate pass unless working so net cost is 0 so why lay them off unless you are planning to have a lot less staff post pandemic.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

This is the kind of magic which has been killed by Burbank's greed and it made experiencing the parks 'magical' because you never knew what was around the next corner. contrast this with the programmed 3 experiences with fastpass and dining set 6 months in advance.

This is why it’s so subjective though. In recent years my kids have bad more incredible spontaneous experiences than I can count. In February, while strolling through Fantasyland, the drain between PPF and IASW was roped off in a square. Peter Pan was marching around the roped off area and asked my kids to help him protect people from the “box of danger.” He did this with my kids (and inviting other kids to join) for at least 10 minutes. Also in February at the Imagination pavilion, my kids were chosen to be “scientists of the day” and given lab coats and a mission to find hidden Mickeys in Imagination. They got a certificate signed by Figment. And I could keep going on and on. Moment after moment.

So while yes, we booked 3 FP a day and had booked our dining 6 months in advance, there was still plenty of spontaneous magic to be found in February. Those little personal magical things are very meaningful to our family, and that’s why this is all so subjective. More so than something like SWW or Osborne lights (for us.)

 

[ford91exploder]

it’s like someone woke a sleeping anti-Disney giant in here...

When you are a fan of something you want to see it do it's very best, I'm from the Boston area if you are familiar with how we treat our sports teams, well Disney is no different when they suck we will tell them and anyone that will listen that they suck. It's not enough to be the Red Sox or Disney we expect you to be on your A game at all times we dont care about the brand we care about the performance.

 

[Figvention]

Thats honestly part of the reason why quality has dropped on so many things over the past decade or so.

Yes, yes, and YES! Who would continue to goto their local restaurant if prices kept going up and food services went down... only Disney people.

None of us are bashing, recognition of reality is not a fault. WE LOVE DISNEY, but corporate culture will turn it into “just another place”.

Magical cost LOTs OF MONEY.

 

[ford91exploder]

This is why it’s so subjective though. In recent years my kids have bad more incredible spontaneous experiences than I can count. In February, while strolling through Fantasyland, the drain between PPF and IASW was roped off in a square. Peter Pan was marching around the roped off area and asked my kids to help him protect people from the “box of danger.” He did this with my kids (and inviting other kids to join) for at least 10 minutes. Also in February at the Imagination pavilion, my kids were chosen to be “scientists of the day” and given lab coats and a mission to find hidden Mickeys in Imagination. They got a certificate signed by Figment. And I could keep going on and on. Moment after moment.

So while yes, we booked 3 FP a day and had booked our dining 6 months in advance, there was still plenty of spontaneous magic to be found in February. Those little personal magical things are very meaningful to our family, and that’s why this is all so subjective. More so than something like SWW or Osborne lights (for us.)

I'm glad you had a great experience at Disney, I'll never denigrate that, It's the dedicated CM's who make the magic, It's the CM's not the Brand that make Disney well Disney.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I'm glad you had a great experience at Disney, I'll never denigrate that, It's the dedicated CM's who make the magic, It's the CM's not the Brand that make Disney well Disney.

I totally agree!

I have been going to WDW all my life, so 35+ years. Did 2 CPs. We are DVC members. Lots of things have changed over time, some things for the better, some for worse. We are critical when there are changes we don’t like. But we always have a great time. And we think there have been a lot of positive changes over the years too. And now seeing it all through the eyes of my kids - it’s still so special for us.

We’ll see how long term changes from covid affect the experience for us. I’m happy we used a lot of our DVC points (had to borrow from the next use year) to get a grand villa for our February visit. We won’t be visiting for quite some time due to having a high risk child. Since we borrowed points from 2020/21, we can bank the rest of those points and we won’t have any points expire until Sept. 2022. We wouldn’t think of dumping our DVC membership right now even with the current uncertainty.

 

[AvidDisReader]

If you look at my next post - Disney permanently laid off the seasonal employees who cost Disney NOTHING unless called in for a shift this speaks to Disney permanently reducing staffing levels because these people cost Disney nothing unless activated for work, they do not even have a main gate pass unless working so net cost is 0 so why lay them off unless you are planning to have a lot less staff post pandemic.

So much for letting things play out and giving them a break. For some, there is only the negative.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

What is really sad is that there is such a discrepancy between the executives and the blue collar workers. Maybe if iger earned 5 mill a year instead of 60 million and the same for other top executives Disney could have created a rainy day fund to support their blue collar workers in an emergency like this. I hope all those who are laid off are able to find employment. I wish they would have allowed WDL to open too at reduced capacity

 

[Moliphino]

I don't think quality has suffered so much as variety of offerings. In my 20+ years of being an APholder only two things have irreplaceable to me, Star Wars Weekends and thre Osbourne Lights, both events that could easily be brought back (once covid restrictions ease up) but they most likely never will

The Osbourne Lights were impressive, but it was always too crowded and I just wanted to get the heck out of the area. What I really miss are the Christmas arches at Epcot.

 

[Tiki Birdland]

The Osbourne Lights were impressive, but it was always too crowded and I just wanted to get the heck out of the area. What I really miss are the Christmas arches at Epcot.

If people are missing the Osbourne lights, check out GKTW lights. I've never been to WDW at this time of year. But, I saw the youtube videos of GKTW. All I can say is, WOW!

 

[RivShore]

Currently, it is.

Oh come on with the Six Flags nonsense - do you realize Disney's annual capital expenditures are 30 times greater than Six Flags? That's across all of Six Flags locations. Heck, the total value of Six Flags corporation is less than the improvements Disney puts into the parks annually. There really is no logical way to make the comparison.

 

[RivShore]

I think it actually goes the other way around.

Correct! If the original statement were true, the simple market force of supply and demand would naturally drive front line wages up.

 

[Brianstl]

There is a nightmare scenario for Disney DVC owners selling their points at 'below market' rates that forces them to burn cash to ROFR those points just imagine the result if 50K or so DVC members do this, The DVC price supports will collapse as Disney does not have the resources to absorb all those points. And of course Disney could not resist the urge to gouge the DVC members by maxing out the dues increase even though the resorts were closed for months.

Disney doesn't care about supporting prices for resale DVC. They don't view resale DVC as real competition to direct sales. Well over 90% of people buying direct points don't even have a clue a resale market exists. Lower resale prices would actually help DVC right now. They have made selling contracts at "sold out" resorts a new focus since the resorts have reopened. It would make selling contracts at "sold out' resorts more profitable for them.

 

[jade1]

Are you leaving money on the table if you've been a long time DVC member and passed your 'break even' point as if ENOUGH long term DVC members do this Disney will no longer have the resources to ROFR at a high price. They will simply buy the points at the 1.00 mark and that will blow up the DVC sales model as the high buy in price will no longer be supported by a robust resale market.

A drop to $1 simply gives WDW like 10 free Resorts and rooms paid for by former owners, that they could then rent for pure profit.

If they buy back a BWV 20 point studio for $20, they can rent it for at least $300 a night-over $100,000 a year on just one room.

 

[DisneyPigFan]

What is really sad is that there is such a discrepancy between the executives and the blue collar workers. Maybe if iger earned 5 mill a year instead of 60 million and the same for other top executives Disney could have created a rainy day fund to support their blue collar workers in an emergency like this. I hope all those who are laid off are able to find employment. I wish they would have allowed WDL to open too at reduced capacity

I agree that CEO pay and that of top executives at Disney (and almost any other major company) is obscene. But the idea that Disney should just act as a social safety net is kind of crazy.

They're supposed to pay people to NOT work indefinitely? Out of the goodness of their heart? That's not how capitalism works. Remember, it's a business first. And the company is losing quite a bit of money each and every day with lost revenue.

That should be on the government -- state, federal, or a combination -- NOT on individual employers.

Disney actually did continue to pay their workers for a while when the parks originally shut down. I don't remember the exact timeframe, but it was something like a month to a month and a half. Then Disney continued to pay health care costs and some other things when it put people on furlough.

 

[AvidDisReader]

I agree that CEO pay and that of top executives at Disney (and almost any other major company) is obscene. But the idea that Disney should just act as a social safety net is kind of crazy.

They're supposed to pay people to NOT work indefinitely? Out of the goodness of their heart? That's not how capitalism works. Remember, it's a business first. And the company is losing quite a bit of money each and every day with lost revenue.

That should be on the government -- state, federal, or a combination -- NOT on individual employers.

Disney actually did continue to pay their workers for a while when the parks originally shut down. I don't remember the exact timeframe, but it was something like a month to a month and a half. Then Disney continued to pay health care costs and some other things when it put people on furlough.

Just to piggyback on this, there are millions of stock holders. Many are retired folks who depend on a Dividend to live on. So when Disney does not have a profit and cannot issue a dividend, millions of people are effected. Does that mean I do not hurt for all those laid off. I have worked in mortgage industry most of my life, and when the mortgage melt down happened from 2006 thru 2011 there was some real dark times in my life. Yes, it really sucks and you can only hope for the best on all those who helped us have the joy when visiting the parks.

 

[Dean Marino]

Just my family - DVC owner, direct, a paltry 300 points at BRV....
1) Paying 2021 dues.
2) Planning on CANCELLING our booked APR 2021 trip -no vaccine that early, and we must get onto an airplane. It's not all just WDW .
3) BOOKING NOV 2021, at 11 months - both us, and our dear eldest children. By this time? Likely that we will have enough unused points for a switch to a CCV Cabin, at 7 months.

Should 2021 look like "no staff, no restaurants, no entertainment" - we will be selling all DVC points at $1 per point. They have already paid for themselves .

Sometimes? It's a good idea to not be greedy, and know when to bail . Sticking in 2021 - but running away if we continue to have "no real park". Today? "no real park".