Where does all the money go?

[Alestro Bakai]

I remember DLR 15 years ago and I remember standing in line, waiting, looking around and everything used to be just perfect. Never ever did I see chipped paint, cracks or dirt anywhere.

It's still ok, but I can see scratches, cracks, chipped paint and such on almost every ride.

Why?

Don't they make enough money? Where does all the money go?

[adormouse]

Re: Where does all the money go?

The Executives, I assume.

[DsnyFvr]

Re: Where does all the money go?

The Executives, I assume.

Yes, how do you think Iger gets his huge paychecks?

[Tom Chaney]

Re: Where does all the money go?

I thought it went to pay my stock dividends!

[skratch addict]

Re: Where does all the money go?

I thought it went to pay my stock dividends!

hahahahahahahaha! oh, sorry, i apologize.

[3rdshiftCM]

Re: Where does all the money go?

The park is in far better shape now, then it's been in a long while.

The Co has finally noticed that "clean & Safe" sells better.

Anyway, I think a lot of us just look to hard sometimes.

[PragmaticIdealist]

Re: Where does all the money go?

The park is in far better shape now, then it's been in a long while.

The Co has finally noticed that "clean & Safe" sells better.

Anyway, I think a lot of us just look to hard sometimes.

The maintenance budgets got slashed under Pressler, and they're still much, much lower than they used to be because Disney apparently thinks it can operate Disneyland like Wal-Mart while continuing to charge premium prices.

The executives in charge of the operation have believed for quite a while that Disneyland is a maturing business nearing the end of its life cycle, so they are trying to grow earnings by cutting costs without regard to the impact said measures have on the guest experience. Pressler and Harriss, in particular, were running the place into the ground in order to show higher profitability and, on that basis, receive promotions or better offers from other companies. Additionally, the monkey on Disneyland's back is D.C.A., which continues to sap the division's overall profitability.

Because Michael Eisner instituted a policy that required all divisions, across the board, to report 20% earnings growth, the cash cow that Disneyland was and is wasn't increasing its earnings levels fast enough to satisfy these unrealistic expectations. So, even though Disneyland drives the growth of other divisions of the company, Disney managers were pressed by Eisner into lowering standards and jeopardizing the future profitability of all these units, as well as of the parent company as a whole.

Many of the same people who were in the organization under Eisner and Pressler are still there, and these people still are focused on short-term profitability and their own careers. Additionally, many of the people are simply not very bright, and they don't understand the cardinal rule of strategic planning: differentiated-service businesses must focus on continually improving quality.

[doombuggy driver]

Re: Where does all the money go?

I think it goes to the CM's!

Oh wait, that's where it should go!

[ravencroft]

Re: Where does all the money go?

Think about this:

Disneyland sells 650,000 annual passes per year. Assume an average cost of $300 per annual pass (some are $279 but most are $359)-- that multiplies to $1.95 billion (with a B) .

Of course, Disney has to pay Castmember benefits, electricity, water, insurance, etcetera.

It is quite an accomplishment to start each business year with a cashflow of nearly two billion dollars.

The 650K was gotten from one of the Al Lutz articles posted within the last year.

[Redsix]

Re: Where does all the money go?

Think about this:

Disneyland sells 650,000 annual passes per year. Assume an average cost of $300 per annual pass (some are $279 but most are $359)-- that multiplies to $1.95 billion (with a B) .

Of course, Disney has to pay Castmember benefits, electricity, water, insurance, etcetera.

It is quite an accomplishment to start each business year with a cashflow of nearly two billion dollars.

The 650K was gotten from one of the Al Lutz articles posted within the last year.

That is a amazing number, that seems like a budget for a small country!

[Dr. Shrinker]

Re: Where does all the money go?

In college, I used to give tours of Hollywood and "the stars' homes" (all b.s.); as we picked up people at all the hotels around Disneyland and headed up the 5 to Hollywood, I'd begin with some interesting trivia about the park. My passengers were very impressed to hear that every single night all the streets were cleaned, all surfaces were checked for paint damage, etc. Now, I notice rusting metal, chipped paint, and of course, trash everywhere.

BTW, don't you think the ODV carts are a BIG part of the trash problem? Everything they sell is wrapped, so even if 1/2 of 1% of those who buy chips or ice cream or a churro drop the wrapper, there's going to be an ungodly amount of litter around the park...

[Redsix]

Re: Where does all the money go?

BTW, don't you think the ODV carts are a BIG part of the trash problem? Everything they sell is wrapped, so even if 1/2 of 1% of those who buy chips or ice cream or a churro drop the wrapper, there's going to be an ungodly amount of litter around the park...

That nothing walk thru Mickey Friends Parking Structure after the park closes it looks like the trash dump near Rose Hills.

[minnietoo]

Re: Where does all the money go?

BTW, don't you think the ODV carts are a BIG part of the trash problem? Everything they sell is wrapped, so even if 1/2 of 1% of those who buy chips or ice cream or a churro drop the wrapper, there's going to be an ungodly amount of litter around the park...

No, its not the ODV carts, nor is it the wrappers (which are required to meet health codes) - its the people who don't know how to use a trash can.

[fkurucz]

Re: Where does all the money go?

Think about this:

Disneyland sells 650,000 annual passes per year. Assume an average cost of $300 per annual pass (some are $279 but most are $359)-- that multiplies to $1.95 billion (with a B) .

You'ld better get a new battery for that calculator:

650,000 x $300 = $195,000,000

If we assume that the average guest spends $75 per day (I know it doesn't sound like much, but AP's can bring that total down fast) that would bring total in park revenue to around a billion a year.

As to where it goes: It covers operation expenses to run the park. Anything left over ends up going to either the shareholders or the retained earnings bucket on the balance sheet (and of course Uncle Sam gets his cut).

[sediment]

Re: Where does all the money go?

Think about this:

Disneyland sells 650,000 annual passes per year. Assume an average cost of $300 per annual pass (some are $279 but most are $359)-- that multiplies to $1.95 billion (with a B) .

Of course, Disney has to pay Castmember benefits, electricity, water, insurance, etcetera.

It is quite an accomplishment to start each business year with a cashflow of nearly two billion dollars.

The 650K was gotten from one of the Al Lutz articles posted within the last year.

Um, you're off by a digit. It's $195,000,000. 65*3 = 195, and then followed by six zeros. Not seven.

Secondly, some are (now) $154 and some are $124.
I think the average is a bit lower than $300. Probably more like $180 or so.
The whole number looks huge, but if the average number of visits for AP'ers is about 10 per year, that means the gate revenue is only $18 per visit. That's a great bargain, but it might not be enough to operate the park. Suppose the other 8 million or so guests pay roughly $50 per admit. That brings the total gate revenue to $517,000,000. That's an average gate revenue of $35.66/guest. (Assuming 14.6 million guests.)
There's also the money-sucker next door, which gets hardly any gate revenue, yet cost some $600 million or so. Disney might expect a 15% return on investments, so $90 million of revenue can be sucked right off the top every year. That's $6.16 from every guest's entry.


If we go back 16 years, wiki has $23.50 for a daily passport -- let's assume $20 due to discounts and such.
14.1 million visitors times $20 is $282 million in gate revenue, and no lop off the top for Disney's Cash Amortization.

So the numbers to compare are $282 million versus $427 million, a 50% increase in overall gate revenue. Where does all the money go? Question really is, why hasn't gate revenue increased with inflation? In 1995, there were 14.1 milion guests. Today, there are also additional revenue sources, with a new hotel's room revenue and a new mall garnering lease revenue (basically outsourcing retail space).
Expenses likely rose much faster than revenue. And when there are 40000 guests in the park (average attendance in 2006), expenses are the same regardless of the AP:non-AP ratio. Maintenance needs to be performed after so many hours of use, and if there are lots of guests each day, it gets harder to schedule many of them at once. No Fantasyland makeover of 1982, where the whole land was closed for a year or so to refurbish it all. A full CM crew is required. There is less of an off-season where maintenance can be done without as many complaints from guests who, with discounted tickets, understand what "off-season" means. (Off-season used to mean, "You're lucky we're even open today.")

[ravencroft]

What is the AP breakdown?

Thanks for correcting my calculation.

According to Al Lutz, the "vast majority" of APs are the Premium but I wonder what "vast majority" means. The difference in the park attendance after the local APs blackout was significant.

Some of that AP revenue goes to the City of Anaheim which operates the parking garage.

So it really whittles down quickly.

The merchandising is a little over the top, IMHO. So many people walking around with those spinning light gizmos, swords, balls, glowing necklaces and other junk. That must add up to a chunk o' change.

So does anybody reading this have an idea of the distribution of AP sales ?

[TheDude]

Re: What is the AP breakdown?

Some of that AP revenue goes to the City of Anaheim which operates the parking garage.

I'm curious, where did you get that information? I have never seen anaheim anything in the DLR structure.

[Gunny]

Re: What is the AP breakdown?

Some of that AP revenue goes to the City of Anaheim which operates the parking garage.

Trivia: Because engineers did not include the weight of parked cars when designing the Mickey and Friends parking structure's foundation, the structure is sinking into the ground at a such a high rate that a new story will have to be built every ten years unless Disney wants to end up with a completely underground parking structure!

[sediment]

Re: What is the AP breakdown?

Thanks for correcting my calculation.

No problem. Simple mistake.

According to Al Lutz, the "vast majority" of APs are the Premium but I wonder what "vast majority" means. The difference in the park attendance after the local APs blackout was significant.
...

That build-up of pressure needs a release. I don't think it would take too many (say, 50,000 or so Disney fanatics barred from their happy place for more than two months (without an additional $30)) to cause the attendance bump.

So does anybody reading this have an idea of the distribution of AP sales ?

Kevin Yee had an idea, long time ago. Things might have changed since then. There's no archive (hint, hint, nudge, nudge), so we'll just have make stuff up. Also, the higher the price, the more visits required to make up the price in order to get one's money's worth. So, if there are more PAP's than I think (or, more around what you think), I'll simply raise the average number of visits. So there! Ha! Math trickery!

[Gunny]

Re: What is the AP breakdown?

Some of that AP revenue goes to the City of Anaheim which operates the parking garage.

Mickey & Friends Parking Structure at the Disneyland Resort
Anaheim, CA

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3.75 million sf 6-level parking structure for 10,242 cars with architectural concrete finish.
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