Tuke

Now that is a very good question and one that cannot be answered IMO without taking into consideration Disney's long history but also that of the American family and Hollywood/Entertainment Industry. I don't believe its just due to becoming a conglomerate since there are some great benefits and examples there nor due to greed alone since some of the most greedy people and organizations are more often those without money and power. However, I will say in short that leaderships always are tempted into doing and becoming more vs. doing what they do best better. Unfortunately, in doing more; you o

I believe the answer is obvious, they (ESPN/Disney/ABC) are one in the same. And when you consider the recent Jemele Hill, the Weinsteins, Iger's presidential talk, shareholders' open protests, and ongoing daily examples of bias pervading Disney’s media outlets; anyone can see their core values more vividly than what's crafted between the PR and marketing departments. Add this all in to what in the least is a perceived decline in value and quality at Disney's theme parks among those most loyal and you have many looking for any option beyond ESPN/Disney/ABC.

To my wonderment, how do you justify the operation costs of bus services with what they knew IMO would be so few users? Once again I'm being extremely pessimistic, but this appears more like Disney's way of acclimating us to transportation fees. Brings up another question as to why there has been so little talk over the years of the monorail being expanded?

And I get that it's all earthy and nature centered but have a problem when conclusions are drawn, solutions are proposed, and essentially propaganda is disseminated, especially to children, based on fantasy and fiction. Evidence certainly would not suggests that Disney believes by any imagination their own story line being sold here. IMO Pandora brings a warped view and politicization of the AK that previously was much more subdued.

The more I see and hear of Pandora, the less I'm impressed and motivated to visit. I caught a quote from Jon Landau saying his hope is that visitors will leave Pandora with eyes opened to see their world different. As an environmental professional forgive my frustration with assimilating fantasy and science fiction with reality and Science. It's tough to draw accurate narratives and world views through the lenses of fiction. I question why Avatar World is even in AK to begin with.

Our family actually is much more willing and able to make the most of our time in the parks when we alternate days.

In reviewing the comments to the article, I noticed various commenters pointing out similar themes that the shift has become that upsells are currently the bulk of what Disney is offering as a product. I can't disagree.

I know this topic has become a dead horse but the author does an excellent job in summarizing much of what has been expressed here often. http://micechat.com/145982-disney-world-upsell/ ...Welcome to the era of Disney upcharges. Except in some ways, we’ve already been here for a long time. There’s a long history of upcharges at Disney parks. To put all this into perspective, let’s go all the way back to the beginning. In this case, the beginning means even before Disneyland itself opened. Walt was benchmarking amusement enterprises, shopping his ideas around, and the carnival and fa

IDK, it seems everyone has their favorites. Personally, I've heard nothing but great things from the EcoBoost engines and above and over the Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation system). I believe there is some confusion among fans and critics when comparing the different EcoBoost engines at the top or bottom of a model lineups.

I hope not but this is where we would likely disagree. Why is Disney the one of a kind entertainment giant? My answer is because they have built generations of loyal fans from almost birth. Unfortunately for Disney, there is some real competition emerging. My teens are a good example. While they love Disney, Universal is their choice right now. Some of it has to with Universal's older age image but regardless, Universal is the non-nerdy/"sexy" choice (for lack of a better terms) at this moment. So I don't think it will take something disastrous to knock Disney out but possibly time and who ca

Much agreed and but I think it needs mentioned that the responsibility to shareholders involves profits but also long-term growth. Many of these fees and rumors of fees and other price hikes and charges for everything may present an immediate boom but in doing so are they sacrificing the future? Are they deciding to become just another Orlando park? I certainly do not believe Disney is doing themselves any favors from the perspective of a traditional "right of passage" family destination.

I have to disagree. If crowd control and the immediate bottom line are the primary goals, I would argue that Disney has NOT gone far enough! There are a myriad of ways to provide a quick shot to the bottom line for most travel/destination businesses, but those have to be carefully balanced within what the market demands. I'm more than sure Disney knows the market numbers and consumer preferences much better than anyone in this business and I'm not second guessing them. On the other hand, enhancing guests experiences through pricing algorithms while accurate, is also very limited and can be ris

I think that's about right. But I'm not sure as to why Disney has become so bold and focused in pushing the limits of guests' purse strings versus untying those purse strings through the offering of a better product and service? Yes, Universal does it but that is why Disney has been my choice for all these years. An expensive experience, you bet! But it's still that one stop shop that avoids the inconveniences of being nickel-ed and dimed for every last drop of fun. Of course, it appears this too is changing.

That is a good question but I would have to guess that the answer is that there are negligible effects at best. As the RV industry taken some major hits over the lasts several years, we noticed that campgrounds in our area have remained full, if not packed, simply due to the economics of camping in general. However, when WDW lodging continues to be at such a premium price, $100+/night for a campsite looks doable; especially for larger families. Sorry, just realized I responded to a much older post.