Disney Guests are not happy, that much is clear to see. Price increases, Genie+, high crowds, loss of complimentary things, and the reservation system have all taken their toll on the average Disney fan. Just take a glimpse at comment sections or Disney fan groups on social media, and you’ll see what I mean. Disney lovers have a lot to say about how things are going. However, crowds show that their unhappiness isn’t enough to keep them from going to the Parks.
Crowds continue to surge, and despite the reservation system in place to control crowds, the Parks seem to be at pre-Covid levels. Just last week, Hollywood Studios Rise of the Resistance saw a 7-hour wait time! So for all of the people saying they are done with Disney, there certainly doesn’t seem to be any indication of that. The crowds show no sign of slowing. Supposed boycotts from fans are either simply saber-rattling or ineffective.
A recent report from CNN shows the increasing frustration. In the report, they said that Victoria Wade, a former Disney Cast Member, flew to Anaheim this month to visit Disneyland but had to cut her trip a day short because of the recently enacted ticket increases. She stated that she saw many people buying Genie+ to combat the crowds, which in turn had the opposite effect. “People were still buying them, and the lightning lanes were as long as the standby lines,” Wade said.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek said he would keep raising prices until people stop coming. It’s a valid strategy, given the fact that people still seem to go despite being unhappy about it. One Disney fan said, “I’m a longtime fan. I don’t love this. But it’s pretty clear that it’s working. Like, Disney is making money.” They aren’t wrong. As long as Disney is still making money (and they are, the recent earnings report showed massive profits for Disney Parks), Disney has no motivation to change its strategy. In capitalism, the goal of a business is to make as much money as possible. That is precisely what Disney is doing. Chapek has made it clear that the middle class isn’t his concern. His primary concern is the bottom line, and he is determined to see just how far he can push that until he finds its highest threshold.
“The bottom line is ‘make more money with fewer people. And we don’t care who we price out to do it.’ And I’m going to tell you that the quality of the product is less, in my opinion, is less now than it was prior to the pandemic, yet the price has gone up considerably,” another fan and Disney content creator said.
Fans may not like it, but as long as they continue to spend their money at Disney Parks, it isn’t going to change, and there is no sign of a slowdown happening anytime soon. A business is not obligated to be nice or take it easy on people or voluntarily accept less profit than it could. A business’s only goal is profit. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but a truth nonetheless