Both CEO Bob Chapek and Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro have spoken extensively about the advantages of park reservations at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, making some large claims concerning the upside for visitor expertise, managing crowds, balancing demand and attendance all year long.
Most lately, Chapek was interviewed at a Wall Street Journal tech convention and claimed that park reservations “protect the guest experience so that when you get into the park, you can have confidence it’s not going to be overcrowded.” He contended that Walt Disney World and Disneyland wish to “guarantee a great guest experience no matter when people come.”
“In a world where we don’t control demand, we’re left with one of two situations. You either let way too many people into the park, where they don’t have a great experience, or you manage it by turning people away at the gate.” Chapek defined that the the reservation system was developed to make issues predictable for “families from Seattle” which may have beforehand visited Disneyland on Thanksgiving at 10 am and been turned away with out reservations.
Chapek likened park reservations at Walt Disney World and Disneyland to what different hospitality companies like motels and airways do. (For an organization that after touted the “Disney Difference,” comparisons to Delta or Marriott miss the mark for us–despite the fact that we like each of these companies.)
He stated though the reservation system is “heresy” to some Disney followers, it’s extra necessary to make sure everybody who is ready to enter the park has a magical expertise and makes reminiscences that final a lifetime. Chapek additionally stated Disney’s demand-based strategy is sweet for traders and for company. He steadfastly caught to the script that may sound acquainted to anybody who learn our current submit, Disney Doesn’t Want Lower Crowds.
There’s quite a bit to unpack right here. One of the salient factors of that submit about Disney not wanting decrease crowds is: you shouldn’t imagine every part Disney tells you. We illustrated that by providing a timeline of quotes from firm management as contrasted to what was truly taking place within the parks. We will spare you a rehashing of all that right here.
Instead, we’ll merely say that Chapek repeatedly contends the reservation system is making certain the parks aren’t too crowded and guaranteeing a fantastic visitor expertise. Anyone who claims the parks aren’t too crowded proper now clearly hasn’t seen how issues are going this month. Anyone who thinks the visitor expertise goes nice hasn’t visited within the final yr. (If Disney needed to be clear about this, they’d launch visitor satisfaction scores from this summer season as in comparison with final summer season!)
Although Chapek’s assertion is facially invalid, it possible holds psychological attraction for a lot of in Disney’s core demographic who’re probably to listen to the message. The concept of spending 1000’s of {dollars} and touring from throughout nation to Walt Disney World or Disneyland solely to be denied on the gate is terrifying. It’s an efficient means of preying on feelings, particularly the FUD issue.
And no less than to some extent, Chapek is correct. There had been beforehand a handful of days per yr when Magic Kingdom and Disneyland have had capability closures. This occurs in phases, with sure classes of company blocked from getting into the park for durations of time. To the very best of my recollection, neither coast has been topic to a capability closure for on-site company since 2015. (If one did happen, it lasted lower than a number of hours.)
By distinction, I’ve personally overheard a number of company (presumably of the lodge, though I didn’t butt in to inquire!) on the entrance desks of the Grand Californian, Contemporary, and Coronado Springs all pleading their case for reservations when the parks have been absolutely booked. In a number of cases (together with the Grand Californian at a time when rack charges had been over $1,000/evening), there was nothing the Cast Members may do.
If anecdotal reviews on social media are indicative of something, this happens regularly. Now, the unsympathetic amongst you may declare that that is their very own fault for not doing the analysis or ignoring the various warnings about theme park reservations being required. That’s neither right here nor there.
My level is that–if the priority is households touring lengthy distances being shut out of the parks–that’s nonetheless taking place. The park reservation system doesn’t remedy this, it simply shifts the chance to completely different events. Even on the subject of an attraction to emotion, the park reservation system nonetheless causes issues for these out-of-state households Chapek claims to care about. In quick, that’s not the true cause for reservations. So let’s focus on a number of the various explanations for park reservations…
Some followers have contended that Disney makes use of park reservations with a purpose to cut back staffing ranges. In concept, this may permit Walt Disney World or Disneyland to schedule shifts, rent fewer Cast Members, or reduce hours for current workers.
There’s even some “evidence” in assist of this angle, which comes through dad and mom of College Program members and Cast Members who’ve been scheduled for fewer hours per week. That is tough to rebut or clarify away, besides by saying that Walt Disney World scheduling has at all times been scattershot and inexplicable. For everybody saying they will’t get sufficient shifts, there are a half-dozen different Cast Members who will inform you their departments are short-staffed they usually’re being scheduled for six days per week.
As a normal matter, I don’t imagine Walt Disney World is utilizing the park reservations system to cut back staffing. I do imagine that there are some Cast Members who aren’t getting as many shifts as they need, and I additionally imagine that such a system may be used for the aim of “right-sizing” staffing ranges in some unspecified time in the future. It wouldn’t shock me if precisely that occurs in 2023 or past.
I simply don’t suppose that’s what is occurring right here, as we speak, in 2022. For various positions, Walt Disney World and Disneyland are each dealing with acute staffing shortages and have been for over a yr. (In some instances–like bus drivers and housekeepers–these truly predate March 2020.)
Disney has had horrible points with worker turnover and morale. A giant a part of that downside is brought on by the staffing shortages placing a pressure on different workers. In that sense, it has change into one thing of a vicious cycle. (We’ve heard a number of readers complain about worker and visitor ‘attitudes’ lately; whereas past the scope of this submit, we’ll merely say…you don’t even know the half of it.)
If something, the case could possibly be made that the reservations system is getting used to forestall staffing shortages and turnover from worsening. Higher attendance and congestion results in better visitor frustration, inflicting extra confrontations between customers and Cast Members, which leads to extra morale and turnover troubles. Again, vicious cycle.
The concept that Disney is utilizing the reservations system to slash staffing additionally doesn’t move the odor check as a result of, fairly merely, it’s not one thing a rational enterprise would do at this second in time. Although labor prices have unquestionably elevated within the final a number of years, the expense of workers is much decrease than the income generated from growing capability and accommodating extra company.
That’s virtually definitely true even when the combination turns into much less favorable due to extra Annual Passholders. Although APs don’t generate further ticket income with every go to, they do spend cash on merchandise and meals & beverage. This is very true at EPCOT, which is basically the native’s park at Walt Disney World. Purposefully lowering staffing can be a superb instance of stepping over {dollars} to choose up pennies. Think what you’ll of Chapek and co., however they know higher than to try this.
This doesn’t imply each single place is understaffed–that’s positively not the case–however Disney merely isn’t at the moment ready to be chopping Cast Members with a purpose to cut back prices. In reality, it’s the alternative. There are some positions Disney can’t fill, from characters (do you actually suppose the corporate needs just one meal at Akershus per day?!) to behind-the-scenes roles.
Walt Disney World not having sufficient Cast Members for sure key roles is among the the reason why the corporate continues to lean on the park reservations methods and restrict attendance beneath pre-closure ranges. This is definitely one thing Chapek has conceded up to now.
During the Walt Disney Company’s first two earnings calls of the yr, CEO Bob Chapek indicated that that is precisely what’s taking place. During the first quarter name, when requested about attendance caps, he said that hospitality staffing has been “difficult” with motels and eating places having staffing shortages. Specifically, Chapek stated that capability constraints are self-imposed as a type of “mitigation…because people spend a long time in our parks and resorts.”
In different phrases, Chapek said that the parks and resorts have restricted attendance no less than partially resulting from eating capability. This isn’t the kind of factor Chapek would proactively deliver up on an earnings name–leaving cash on the desk doesn’t precisely make Disney look good–except it was a major headwind. There’s thus each cause to take this assertion at face worth. (Or simply take a look at woes with Advance Dining Reservation availability, which inform just about the identical story.)
However, I additionally don’t suppose that is the first impetus for the park reservation system at this level.
Chapek made that assertion earlier within the yr, and it was most likely true then when pent-up demand was peaking and there have been quite a lot of ‘grey days’ on the Disney Park Pass calendar. For lengthy durations between Presidents’ Day and Easter, each single park ran out of reservations on a near-daily foundation. While that has occurred infrequently since then, it’s not occuring with the identical consistency.
In the previous few months, the one parks which might be working out of reservations with regularity are Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. This has been occurring on many days no matter wait instances, with each parks going unavailable every so often with 5/10 or decrease crowd ranges.
This suggests to us that Walt Disney World is now utilizing reservations not out of necessity, however to govern attendance dynamics on many days. They’re doing this by capping reservations at Magic Kingdom and pushing folks in the direction of Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to extend the utilization of these parks and normalize numbers throughout all 4 parks. There are a number of advantages to this strategy, together with making for a extra nice visitor expertise, easing burdens on Cast Members, and allocating sources inside and throughout the resort.
Of course, there are downsides and doubtlessly ulterior motives, as nicely. For instance, if EPCOT has greater meals & beverage spending–which it virtually definitely does–administration might need an incentive to funnel company there. The counter to that’s it may backfire–if solely EPCOT is out there for normal ticket reservations, some company may select to not purchase tickets in any respect. It’s a fragile needle to string. (Consumer habits can also be the final word ‘check & balance’ on company habits like this and will forestall this entire strategy from being viable as soon as pent-up demand has exhausted itself.)
Multiple executives, together with each Chapek and D’Amaro, have implicitly indicated that this is kind of occurring. When discussing the park reservations methods, they routinely point out yield administration–or maximizing income by anticipating and influencing shopper habits. Disney CFO Christine McCarthy has additionally indicated that the corporate pivoted with the Disney Park Pass system from limiting capability resulting from native mandates to utilizing it to “better balance load” attendance. This is one thing we’ve seen with Disney making an attempt to handle Lightning Lane stock, and cargo balancing can also be occurring with park reservations.
Another remark we’ve been listening to from readers is that the parks are busier than ever, which supposedly proves that the Disney Park Pass system isn’t working. These followers have a degree—Walt Disney World posted wait instances are excessive by historic requirements. (The “busier than ever” assertion is technically unfaithful—this yr has but to surpass 2019, but it surely’s getting nearer.)
However, these feedback presuppose that the parks wouldn’t be even busier with out reservations. Frankly, that could be a daring—and possibly inaccurate—assumption. The reality is that we don’t know what crowds can be like within the present surroundings if natural demand had been allowed to play out unfettered as a result of that’s not the world we inhabit. (Perhaps there’s nonetheless a Sacred Timeline on the market with free QuickPass, Magical Express, EMH, DDP, ETC!)
For one factor, crowds had been on tempo for a record-setting yr via early March 2020. Had the parks not closed and attendance continued on the trajectory it was on, it will’ve completely blown 2019 out of the water. (Annual Passholders possible would’ve been topic to reservations in some unspecified time in the future previous to this yr, regardless—that they had already debuted at Disneyland.)
As we’ve identified elsewhere, Walt Disney World’s annual attendance has persistently grown because the Great Recession. Anyone evaluating as we speak’s crowds to 2018 or earlier is making a elementary mistake and ignoring the clear development strains. (There are various the reason why the 2020s had been more likely to be busier than the 2010s–from demographics to growth to the fiftieth to social media–all of that are past the scope of this submit.)
For one other factor, pent-up demand has very a lot been “a thing” the final year-plus. You don’t want us to rehash this, because it’s been mentioned advert nauseam. It’s additionally been evident at vacationer hotspots throughout the nation. A large number of trip locations have launched reservations, time entry, or lotto—ones that had no such concern with crowding pre-pandemic.
We additionally don’t must fixate how capability is impacted by the aforementioned staffing shortages, lacking leisure, shorter park hours, elevated attraction downtime, and extra. Suffice to say, all of this has elevated congestion and perceived crowds. That implies that a given every day attendance quantity has a a lot greater “feels like” crowd degree than the very same attendance whole would’ve in 2019.
The straightforward and “popular” conclusion right here can be that coping with Disney Park Pass reservations sucks (it does!), exacerbating crowds whereas offering no upside for company and solely being useful to the beancounters. That the true cause is company greed and nothing extra. There can be no solution to definitively debunk such an assertion—and it’d clearly be a “crowd pleaser” with followers who wish to really feel vindicated of their anger and outrage.
Unfortunately (?), that isn’t our conclusion. We strongly dislike coping with reservations and suppose it’s one other level of friction in an already over-complicated course of. We additionally suppose present administration has gotten grasping and we fear that they’re doing irreparable model injury. But the reservation system possible does have upside for company. If left unchecked, crowds would possible be considerably worse a lot of the yr, pressure on Cast Members can be worse, and total tensions can be greater.
Just as a result of crowds really feel unprecedentedly unhealthy now doesn’t imply they couldn’t be worse. (If you’ve realized something from Disney’s doubtful choices over the past two years, it must be that issues can at all times worsen!) It’s additionally possible that Disney management does have ulterior motives for reservations down the highway, with yield administration and cargo balancing being methods to maximise income whereas minimizing sources. Two issues may be true on the similar time: the reservations system can have ‘invisible’ upside for company and visual downsides, each close to and long-term.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you concentrate on the purported goal of park reservations to “protect the guest experience” from overcrowding and “guarantee a great guest experience no matter when people come”? Do you suppose Chapek is being dishonest concerning the true motivations for reservations? Think he’s oblivious to how issues are on-the-ground for common company at Walt Disney World and Disneyland? Agree or disagree with our take that crowds could possibly be worse with out Park Pass? Any different issues we didn’t take note of or particulars we missed? Any questions we might help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!