I have never seen The Walt Disney Company in a situation such as what we are witnessing at this very moment. With Disney+ secretly faltering behind the scenes, and subscription numbers flatlining (at best) in western markets, the company is preparing to extract every morsel of profit out of their parks. To do so, they are making very unpopular decisions, as if the consumer will be there no matter what… as if guests will move through turnstiles no matter the decision of the company.
Take for example the issue of live entertainment. The parks currently have very, very little of their original live entertainment content. According to sources close to the parks, I’m hearing that Disney is in absolutely no rush to bring back live entertainment to any scale. Whether it’s because of unions, the pandemic, or costs, The Walt Disney Company has all but decided their theme parks no longer need live shows, street actors, parades, or other live entertainment forms. Will they return in a year? Who knows. But for now, the company believes it can get away with dramatically little in the way of live performances.
Pre-Covid #DisneyWorld:
-FREE FastPass+
-Park Ticket = Park Access
-Park Hopper Ticket = Park Hopping ANYTIMECovid Disney World:
-Park Reservations Required
-Park Hopper Ticket = Park Hopping after 2PM only
-Less Live Entertainment
-Genie+ is $15 pp/day
-Lightning Lane cost??— Savannah Sanders (@DisneyParkSavvy) August 18, 2021
So what cuts does that mean are here for long term?
To start, Disney had previously planned on instituting a nighttime parade for the 50th Anniversary. The idea had been to mix floats of several different parades, mix music, and have one new float for the finale. Vendors were contacted, work was done on the music, but according to a source, all of that is now over. Whereas the new parade might have been delayed six months or a year, I’m not told it is simply over. When will nighttime parades return to Walt Disney World, or any other Disney theme park? I’m told it’s not something being planned whatsoever.
This issue is stretching into so many other areas, however. Live shows are not just sitting vacant waiting for things to be put in place to restart; there’s currently no plan to restart, period. When will Fantasmic! start up again? It’s doubtful this year, and it may not even return the next. Essentially, live entertainment at Walt Disney World is dead.
Part of this cost-cutting is in response to rampant inflation taking place throughout supply chains. Disney is attempting to keep costs for guests low enough that there isn’t a mass exodus away from the parks. Cutting out the massive budget of live entertainment is one way to make that happen. Yet still, inflation is likely to drive park admission costs through the roof over the next eighteen months. That’s not including the new Genie+ starting costs (there are more paid services planned to be rolled out), that area already dramatically increasing park enjoyment costs for families while simultaneously damaging the experience of those who can’t afford it.
I am very excited to ride this upgrade to Splash Mountain where our legs are underwater like a Flintstone car. pic.twitter.com/4UP96VV5S7
— How Bowers (@GoAwayGreen) August 23, 2021
Disney just released a thirty minute video on Splash Mountain in which their “Imagineers” essentially never discuss the attraction they’re getting ready to gut. It’s a popular attraction. The chances that they can replace it with something as popular is not guaranteed. But watching the video is indicative of what Disney as a company is currently going through. The things which they are pursuing do not seem to be items that will generate positive affection from guests… but rather they are being put in place to extract as much money out of guests as possible, or to fulfill a social agenda item potentially at the cost of guest satisfaction.
It’s not an overstretch to wonder if The Walt Disney Company is headed in the same direction as Activision Blizzard. Both companies have legal woes and both companies are operating based off of legacy genius that may be all but gone.
And just like live entertainment is no longer seen as needed for Disney Parks, don’t be surprised if success is viewed in just as post-modern and antiquated fashion by the company very soon. After all, what does Disney have on the horizon to excite fans? And thus it’s time to extract value wherever it can be found, while growth comes to a halt.
