Mouse Extra

For the last half of July, I was in Maine relaxing along the beautiful rocky shoreline and staying as far away as I could from phones and email.  Needless to say I was a bit out of touch with what was going on in the world of the Mouse.  That’s why I was so puzzled and unable to answer a question my father gave me while on vacation.  He was booking dining arrangements for a trip to Walt Disney World in January of 2009 and was unable to get a Fantasmic Dinner Package reservation.

“They said they didn’t know which nights the show was taking place yet”, he asked.  “Doesn’t it take place every night?”

What a strange question, I thought to myself.  Why wouldn’t they know that?  Yes, it does take place every night, doesn’t it??  Well, not anymore and as a result Disney has finally pushed my buttons to the point of anger.

As I am sure most of you have heard by now, Disney World officials have decide that starting this January Fantasmic will only be shown twice a week, during what we assume is the “down times”.  This is, we can only conclude, a cost cutting measure since the show certainly does not suffer from a lack of popularity.  If it were for any other reason, like maintenance or logistics, Disney would come out and say that and not anger scores of fans.  I am normally sympathetic to these types of measures, but there are three things about this particular decision that really bother me.

First, what is it really all about?  I understand that the country is in an economic downturn, but doesn’t Disney have to be in the same type of downturn to make such drastic measures?  According to the Orlando Sentinel last week, Disney is doing just fine and so are the parks.

The parks-and-resorts division, which includes Walt Disney World, reported a 5 percent increase in revenue, to $3.04 billion, compared with the third quarter of 2007. The division’s net operating income was $641 million, up 3 percent from a year earlier.

…Staggs said that hotel-room bookings at Disney World and Disneyland are holding steady during the current financial quarter when compared with last year — and are running ahead of last year’s pace for the following quarter, which includes the busy Christmas season.

Those encouraging hotel trends are not being driven by discount rates, he said. “Those are solid bookings, and we feel good about where we stand,” Staggs said.

It doesn’t sound like the time to circle the wagons to me.  Yes, things like oil and food cost more this year than last, but that is why they have raised ticket prices and food prices.  No, this seems to be much more about greed than economic desperation.

Second, wasn’t there anything else they could have done?  Isn’t there another less popular show they could have chopped, maybe one fewer showing of Lights, Motors, Action or Beauty and the Beast?  I know we don’t want to see any options taken away, but at least those have multiple showings and someone coming to the Studios can make plans to see it even with fewer opportunities.  Fantasmic is the park’s most popular show and now you better be lucky enough to get in to see it on these two days or you’re out of luck.  Really, how could they cut one of Disney World’s most popular attractions?  (The more I say it, the more it bugs me!)

And finally, I can’t help but wonder what is next.  If Disney can make a cut like this when company profits are up and park attendance steady or increasing, then what will they do if the economy really does start to keep people from vacationing at Walt Disney World.  Will the day soon come when if you want to see a fireworks/nighttime show you have to be at the one park that offers it on the night you are there?  Will e-ticket attractions only be open certain hours of the day?