Disney needs better targeted marketing for their cruises

[Pizza Moon]

I assume they had open days for all the kids clubs? That’s cool you got to experience those spaces.

They typically have open houses throughout the cruise, and every embarkation day while in port it’s usually open house!

Edge and Vibe have open houses too!

Hard or easy to do is not the issue. ROI is the issue.

DCL is already sending out full ships. Why would they waste a dime on a demographic that can barely afford food and shelter?

Because it was targeted to me, that’s why.

Show off the adult pools and bars, the musicals, Serenity Bay, snorkeling lagoon at Castaway, port destinations, etc. and also don’t make a cringey ad when you do it like the one I posted in general.

That wasn’t the only ad but I noticed a pattern, they’ll advertise kids spaces to 17 year olds using Instagram instead of Vibe despite my favorite time on Disney cruises when I was a teenager. No reason why they can’t promote it…

The main kid focused ads I get like on ESPN.

It doesn’t make sense for their digital ads to do that in an age of insane targeting.

And if they didn’t think I was a demo to advertise they flat out just wouldn’t.

I used to run a bunch of social media accounts and there’s so much more control over what ads you want to run to whom than you could possibly comprehend.

 

[mkt]

You still don’t get it.

Targeted ads can and should be better( they should target the DCL customer better for someone my age if they’re going to spend money on an ad) for example. I literally love DCL, but none of their marketing shows off what is really good, they seem to target families with small children even if the ad is targeted for someone who is neither.

This shouldn’t be controversial.

This is the first time I’ve replied, so I’m not sure where the "still don’t get it" part came from.

Anyway, funny coincidence: I actually have a master's degree in this and wrote my dissertation on redefining a brand's identity as a way to reach a new target audience and pursue growth. Granted, I focused on the craft beer industry, but the mechanics are the same.

One thing to keep in mind is that with Meta ads, the platform’s algorithm ultimately decides delivery based on optimization goals. Even when advertisers set targeting parameters, the system will broaden delivery or move into adjacent audiences if it believes those users are more likely to click or convert.

On top of that, with Disney-level budgets it’s very possible their core target audience is already saturated, so Meta expands into adjacent groups to keep the campaign delivering efficiently.

So seeing an ad that doesn’t feel perfectly targeted to you doesn’t necessarily mean the targeting strategy is bad. It can simply mean the platform is expanding delivery while optimizing the campaign.

Or it could be something much simpler. Disney might have just told Meta to serve the ad to a very broad audience like "people interested in Disney," and the platform did the rest. That happens all the time with large campaigns, especially when you have Disney-sized budgets.

 

[Pizza Moon]

This is the first time I’ve replied, so I’m not sure where the "still don’t get it" part came from.

Anyway, funny coincidence: I actually have a master's degree in this and wrote my dissertation on redefining a brand's identity as a way to reach a new target audience and pursue growth. Granted, I focused on the craft beer industry, but the mechanics are the same.

One thing to keep in mind is that with Meta ads, the platform’s algorithm ultimately decides delivery based on optimization goals. Even when advertisers set targeting parameters, the system will broaden delivery or move into adjacent audiences if it believes those users are more likely to click or convert.

On top of that, with Disney-level budgets it’s very possible their core target audience is already saturated, so Meta expands into adjacent groups to keep the campaign delivering efficiently.

So seeing an ad that doesn’t feel perfectly targeted to you doesn’t necessarily mean the targeting strategy is bad. It can simply mean the platform is expanding delivery while optimizing the campaign.

Or it could be something much simpler. Disney might have just told Meta to serve the ad to a very broad audience like "people interested in Disney," and the platform did the rest. That happens all the time with large campaigns, especially when you have Disney-sized budgets.

My point is Disney could account for it and they don’t.

It’s as stupid as not having “My Day” as the My Disney Experience homepage.

You don’t need a degree to understand better app design and you don’t need one to understand Meta’s ad platform, what I am describing is totally possible.

Just need a better intern!

 

[mkt]

My point is Disney could account for it and they don’t.

It’s as stupid as not having “My Day” as the My Disney Experience homepage.

You don’t need a degree to understand better app design and you don’t need one to understand Meta’s ad platform, what I am describing is totally possible.

Just need a better intern!

At Disney’s scale, neither ad targeting nor app design is something being run by "an intern." There are entire teams, budgets, and a lot of data behind those decisions. Disney wouldn't know lean if it jumped out of Mickey's ears and slapped them in the face.

Interns might help execute things, but the strategy and decisions are made by experienced professionals, both in UX and in their marketing communications teams.

Just because something looks odd or poorly targeted to one person doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a mistake. It may simply mean you’re seeing one piece of a much larger campaign or testing cycle.

 

[Pizza Moon]

At Disney’s scale, neither ad targeting nor app design is something being run by "an intern." There are entire teams, budgets, and a lot of data behind those decisions. Disney wouldn't know lean if it jumped out of Mickey's ears and slapped them in the face.

Interns might help execute things, but the strategy and decisions are made by experienced professionals, both in UX and in their marketing communications teams.

Just because something looks odd or poorly targeted to one person doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a mistake. It may simply mean you’re seeing one piece of a much larger campaign or testing cycle.

I know, my point is that a social media savvy intern would do a better job than a bunch of people that are targeting ads that are irrelevant...

It is poorly targeted.

 

[mkt]

I know, my point is that a social media savvy intern would do a better job than a bunch of people that are targeting ads that are irrelevant...

It is poorly targeted.

So your argument is that Disney is being inefficient because you personally saw an ad that didn’t feel relevant?

 

[Pizza Moon]

So your argument is that Disney is being inefficient because you personally saw an ad that didn’t feel relevant?

I've noticed a pattern for a while. They target family with little kid ads to all ages, when they could absolutely push Serenity Bay, the elite service, and other things as I've specifically laid out...

There's no good reason to not do so, other than "it's what we've done so we just are going to keep doing it."

 

[mkt]

I've noticed a pattern for a while. They target family with little kid ads to all ages, when they could absolutely push Serenity Bay, the elite service, and other things as I've specifically laid out...

There's no good reason to not do so, other than "it's what we've done so we just are going to keep doing it."

So you're saying they should segment their messaging more by life stage?

For a company like Disney, which sells itself as a destination for the whole family, that’s something they have to do very carefully and in limited ways. That positioning is part of their legacy, their brand value, and a major part of their strength.

They’ve spent more time than you or I have been alive defining and refining their audience and figuring out what messaging actually works for them.

Knowing Disney, by laying those ideas out here it almost guarantees they won’t do them, lest they be accused of stealing someone’s idea. (That part’s partly sarcasm.)

Disney does move slowly, and culturally that can be frustrating. In the time Universal has built two theme parks and two Halloween attractions in the US, Disney has given us concept art, a construction site, and then changed scope. So yes, I’ll agree with you on one thing: they are slow. But acting like they don’t know what they’re doing isn’t really fair.

Take a look at LinkedIn sometime and see the level of talent they hire for those roles. These are experienced professionals working with large budgets, data, and testing cycles. You have a better chance of getting admitted to Harvard than you do of getting a first-round interview for one of those jobs.

They know what they’re doing. You just don’t like the result or the speed.

 

[Pizza Moon]

So you're saying they should segment their messaging more by life stage?

For targeted ads yes, DCL isn't just for little kids despite their marketing suggesting it. They only due so because it gets people hooked to go back, but they could ALSO for say a 16 year old instagram user, an ad could show how cool the Vibe is, Teen Hideaway at Castaway, 2am Dodgeball, does that make sense?

Rinse and repeat. Disney could do much better with a better team.

For a company like Disney, which sells itself as a destination for the whole family, that’s something they have to do very carefully and in limited ways. That positioning is part of their legacy, their brand value, and a major part of their strength.

This isn't what I'm saying in any capacity.

They’ve spent more time than you or I have been alive defining and refining their audience and figuring out what messaging actually works for them.

Galaxys's Edge and the Sequels suck, it's a fallacy of logic to assume this in absolute terms, on the margins sure, but they could make changes that would just attract even more people.

Disney's movies is case in point them not understanding their audience. Girls today don't wear a lot, yet in their movies they have done the inverse of our culture which makes zero sense, just for one example, as it has lowered the appeal for boys, but also creates this weird scenario where your female characters aren't reflective of the actual experiences of girls today. Kpop Demon Hunters versus Force Awakens, look at how the leads are versus Rey, but Sony is actively forcing Disney's hand, and flop after flop will do that too.

I want to reiterate, he won't be perfect, but I do think Josh is interested in solving problems instead of throwing up arbitrary walls of "we can't do that" like Iger did.

Iger still is inactive on X. Just so petty.

Knowing Disney, by laying those ideas out here it almost guarantees they won’t do them, lest they be accused of stealing someone’s idea. (That part’s partly sarcasm.)

Josh if you're listening, hire me, but I'd prefer to do film/theme parks and not marketing or app design.

Disney does move slowly, and culturally that can be frustrating. In the time Universal has built two theme parks and two Halloween attractions in the US, Disney has given us concept art, a construction site, and then changed scope. So yes, I’ll agree with you on one thing: they are slow. But acting like they don’t know what they’re doing isn’t really fair.

And they have ceded BILLIONS a year to them. They absolutely have competent people, Monstropolis and Tropical Americas Imo prove that, I really do think Josh is a very good executive. They need to fire Dana Walden, just like Jennifer Lee was fired. Sean Bailey was another disaster too, that they got rid of.

They are utter morons because they had a monopoly on IP and theme parks for the longest time. Only reason we even have anything good in Orlando is thanks to Comcast, bless them.

It's sort of like AT&T, they were incapable of running Warner because they had a monopoly and never had to try. Disney suffered similarly, and we see the remake after sequel whatever. No one would care if the remakes were A Star is Born good, Last Jedi was Dune: Part 2 good, or if Finding Dory was on the level of the first. But that's another dimension.

Take a look at LinkedIn sometime and see the level of talent they hire for those roles. These are experienced professionals working with large budgets, data, and testing cycles. You have a better chance of getting admitted to Harvard than you do of getting a first-round interview for one of those jobs.

I'm aware. Disney also pays more than Universal, but that doesn't make Isle of Berk worse than Galaxy's Edge.

They know what they’re doing. You just don’t like the result or the speed.

No they haven't. The stock price is in the gutter and they've totally lost trust in consumers for their movie brand. It used to be you'd know a Pixar movie would be a masterpiece so you'd go anyway, it just isn't that way anymore and it's going to take years of films that are bangers to get it back. I think they'll do it, but it will have required total self-reflection (which they have done tbf), doesn't mean they can't do many stupid things like again, not putting "My Day" in MDE in the Home part of the app. I don't really think Disney knows what they're fully doing by that. Like if I was the CEO, I'd do the day to day stuff, but I'd be obsessed with the user experience like Jobs. I have no idea how to run a company at that scale, but just saying in a vacuum playing with me, if I got to that point, that's how I'd operate because Iger should be using MDE and noticing how silly that design choice is. Her should literally be able to tell his assistant, "Larry, send a memo to the UX team I want this changed." Week later, it's live because it was made a priority for some team.

That's what good leadership does. It involves more than just running things based on business calculations. You need gut instinct; Iger had it for franchises/IP/mergers, but he needed a creative person to balance out. He was far too risk-averse which ended up ironically causing their downfall. Never forget how he personally botched Potter for Fantasyland. Never forget how he personally ignored George Lucas' gentlemen agreement for 7, 8, 9. Never forget it was Iger personally that totally changed Galaxy's Edge's plans. Never forget it was Iger that kept Kathleen Kennedy as head of Lucasfilms, and had no desire to have an outline for the trilogy. Also remember that Iger just used Chapek to make unpopular changes he was going to do anyway, not all, but a lot.

I'd also go into the movie studios and task every creative with a portfolio and have a sort of arbitrary (but based on my understanding of the film industry which deep down I know is the correct read & also research/focus group data backed) agree/disagree test with 50 questions to gauge if they are actually competent and aligned with the new goals, and personally judge every one myself. I'd remove probably a good third of the staff, and then give metric bonuses for performance for all the remaining employees and use AI not to replace artists but to make them far more efficient, and operate things like Pixar used to where they empowered project leads with small teams, and had a brain trust of geniuses top down running things. I'd also radically experiment on style choices for every film making them totally distinct: the brand of Pixar should be the quality, not the "look." I'd also personally review every script, and I'd hire top talent at Sony Animation, A24, and some indie Korean filmmakers and Anime artists to inject fresh perspectives, as diversity of thought is totally gone at Burbank. I'd also create a national "zero experience or degree required" yearly Disney hiring spree to find diamonds in the rough that just love the brand of Disney and can use it.


Chapek was a disaster worse than Iger though, that is clear, but Iger is the textbook case like Eisner where if you live long enough, you'll eventually see yourself become the villain...

 

[mkt]

Spoiler: what a cluster...

For targeted ads yes, DCL isn't just for little kids despite their marketing suggesting it. They only due so because it gets people hooked to go back, but they could ALSO for say a 16 year old instagram user, an ad could show how cool the Vibe is, Teen Hideaway at Castaway, 2am Dodgeball, does that make sense?

Rinse and repeat. Disney could do much better with a better team.

This isn't what I'm saying in any capacity.

Galaxys's Edge and the Sequels suck, it's a fallacy of logic to assume this in absolute terms, on the margins sure, but they could make changes that would just attract even more people.

Disney's movies is case in point them not understanding their audience. Girls today don't wear a lot, yet in their movies they have done the inverse of our culture which makes zero sense, just for one example, as it has lowered the appeal for boys, but also creates this weird scenario where your female characters aren't reflective of the actual experiences of girls today. Kpop Demon Hunters versus Force Awakens, look at how the leads are versus Rey, but Sony is actively forcing Disney's hand, and flop after flop will do that too.

I want to reiterate, he won't be perfect, but I do think Josh is interested in solving problems instead of throwing up arbitrary walls of "we can't do that" like Iger did.

Iger still is inactive on X. Just so petty.

Josh if you're listening, hire me, but I'd prefer to do film/theme parks and not marketing or app design.


And they have ceded BILLIONS a year to them. They absolutely have competent people, Monstropolis and Tropical Americas Imo prove that, I really do think Josh is a very good executive. They need to fire Dana Walden, just like Jennifer Lee was fired. Sean Bailey was another disaster too, that they got rid of.

They are utter morons because they had a monopoly on IP and theme parks for the longest time. Only reason we even have anything good in Orlando is thanks to Comcast, bless them.

It's sort of like AT&T, they were incapable of running Warner because they had a monopoly and never had to try. Disney suffered similarly, and we see the remake after sequel whatever. No one would care if the remakes were A Star is Born good, Last Jedi was Dune: Part 2 good, or if Finding Dory was on the level of the first. But that's another dimension.


I'm aware. Disney also pays more than Universal, but that doesn't make Isle of Berk worse than Galaxy's Edge.


No they haven't. The stock price is in the gutter and they've totally lost trust in consumers for their movie brand. It used to be you'd know a Pixar movie would be a masterpiece so you'd go anyway, it just isn't that way anymore and it's going to take years of films that are bangers to get it back. I think they'll do it, but it will have required total self-reflection (which they have done tbf), doesn't mean they can't do many stupid things like again, not putting "My Day" in MDE in the Home part of the app. I don't really think Disney knows what they're fully doing by that. Like if I was the CEO, I'd do the day to day stuff, but I'd be obsessed with the user experience like Jobs. I have no idea how to run a company at that scale, but just saying in a vacuum playing with me, if I got to that point, that's how I'd operate because Iger should be using MDE and noticing how silly that design choice is. Her should literally be able to tell his assistant, "Larry, send a memo to the UX team I want this changed." Week later, it's live because it was made a priority for some team.

That's what good leadership does. It involves more than just running things based on business calculations. You need gut instinct; Iger had it for franchises/IP/mergers, but he needed a creative person to balance out. He was far too risk-averse which ended up ironically causing their downfall. Never forget how he personally botched Potter for Fantasyland. Never forget how he personally ignored George Lucas' gentlemen agreement for 7, 8, 9. Never forget it was Iger personally that totally changed Galaxy's Edge's plans. Never forget it was Iger that kept Kathleen Kennedy as head of Lucasfilms, and had no desire to have an outline for the trilogy.

I'd also go into the movie studios and task every creative with a portfolio and have a sort of arbitrary agree/disagree test with 50 questions to gauge if they are actually competent and aligned with the new goals, and personally judge every one myself. I'd remove probably a good third of the staff, and then give metric bonuses for performance for all the remaining employees and use AI not to replace artists but to make them far more efficient, and operate things like Pixar used to where they empowered project leads with small teams, and had a brain trust of geniuses top down running things. I'd also radically experiment on style choices for every film making them totally distinct: the brand of Pixar should be the quality, not the "look." I'd also personally review every script, and I'd hire top talent at Sony Animation, A24, and some indie Korean filmmakers to inject fresh perspectives, as diversity of thought is totally gone at Burbank.


Chapek was a disaster worse than Iger though, that is clear, but Iger is the textbook case like Eisner where if you live long enough, you'll eventually see yourself become the villain...

You've shifted the argument about six different times now.

We started with ad targeting, and we're now at firing Pixar staff, rewriting Disney films, and restructuring the company.

If your point is simply that you personally don't like a lot of Disney's recent decisions, that's fair. A lot of people don't, myself included. But that's very different from saying the people running billion-dollar marketing and product teams don't know what they're doing.

But you are right about one thing: the Eisner/Iger comparison is a fair one. When executives stay long enough, the back half of their tenure almost always gets judged more harshly than the first.

And for what it's worth, the idea that Universal is somehow outclassing Disney purely because they hire better people doesn't really hold up either. While at lower levels Disney may pay marginally better than Universal, at higher levels for experienced professionals, such as at Universal Creative, salaries compared to WDI are quite competitive while arguably offering a better working environment. If they weren't, Universal wouldn't be able to poach Imagineers as easily as they do.

Anyone who has spent time around the Orlando themed entertainment community knows how much talent moves back and forth between WDI and Universal Creative. It’s been that way for years. Hell, Universal has a habit of hiring retired Disney talent who are now collecting their Disney pensions (what a wonderful time that was, when pensions were real) while helping the competition deliver the caliber of work that Disney now struggles to match, or poaching current Disney talent by giving them the promotions the Mouse denied them, often with great success.

Go walk through the Universal Creative parking lots sometime. You won't be able to enter the building, but the parking lots are open access. The number of WDI license plate frames, vintage WDI bumper stickers/magnets, and CalArts alumni stickers will tell you everything you need to know.

If you really want to see the inside of the industry, go to any brewery near the theme parks on a Friday afternoon and look at the people working remotely. Just don't be surprised if the person whose laptop you're trying to peek at tells you to mind your own business in a very non-magical way.

Anyway, I'm done here. Some of us have work in the morning. The discussion started with ad targeting and somehow ended with firing Pixar staff and restructuring Disney. At that point the goalposts have clearly moved enough.

 

[Pizza Moon]

You've shifted the argument about six different times now.

We started with ad targeting, and we're now at firing Pixar staff, rewriting Disney films, and restructuring the company.

If your point is simply that you personally don't like a lot of Disney's recent decisions, that's fair. A lot of people don't, myself included. But that's very different from saying the people running billion-dollar marketing and product teams don't know what they're doing.

But you are right about one thing: the Eisner/Iger comparison is a fair one. When executives stay long enough, the back half of their tenure almost always gets judged more harshly than the first.

And for what it's worth, the idea that Universal is somehow outclassing Disney purely because they hire better people doesn't really hold up either. While at lower levels Disney may pay marginally better than Universal, at higher levels for experienced professionals, such as at Universal Creative, salaries compared to WDI are quite competitive while arguably offering a better working environment. If they weren't, Universal wouldn't be able to poach Imagineers as easily as they do.

Anyone who has spent time around the Orlando themed entertainment community knows how much talent moves back and forth between WDI and Universal Creative. It’s been that way for years. Hell, Universal has a habit of hiring retired Disney talent who are now collecting their Disney pensions (what a wonderful time that was, when pensions were real) while helping the competition deliver the caliber of work that Disney now struggles to match, or poaching current Disney talent by giving them the promotions the Mouse denied them, often with great success.

Go walk through the Universal Creative parking lots sometime. You won't be able to enter the building, but the parking lots are open access. The number of WDI license plate frames, vintage WDI bumper stickers/magnets, and CalArts alumni stickers will tell you everything you need to know.

If you really want to see the inside of the industry, go to any brewery near the theme parks on a Friday afternoon and look at the people working remotely. Just don't be surprised if the person whose laptop you're trying to peek at tells you to mind your own business in a very non-magical way.

Anyway, I'm done here. Some of us have work in the morning. The discussion started with ad targeting and somehow ended with firing Pixar staff and restructuring Disney. At that point the goalposts have clearly moved enough.

Oh I’m aware, Imagineering and Universal Creative is literally the same at this point.

I was trying to create a balanced take of pros and cons of business decisions and specifically what an approach in Disney leadership should look like, which ranges from ad targeting changes to film business changes.

But yeah, everyone knows each others plans, it’s all open secrets pretty much because people shift so much.

 

[nickys]

They typically have open houses throughout the cruise, and every embarkation day while in port it’s usually open house!

Edge and Vibe have open houses too!

Because it was targeted to me, that’s why.

Show off the adult pools and bars, the musicals, Serenity Bay, snorkeling lagoon at Castaway, port destinations, etc. and also don’t make a cringey ad when you do it like the one I posted in general.

That wasn’t the only ad but I noticed a pattern, they’ll advertise kids spaces to 17 year olds using Instagram instead of Vibe despite my favorite time on Disney cruises when I was a teenager. No reason why they can’t promote it…

The main kid focused ads I get like on ESPN.

It doesn’t make sense for their digital ads to do that in an age of insane targeting.

And if they didn’t think I was a demo to advertise they flat out just wouldn’t.

I used to run a bunch of social media accounts and there’s so much more control over what ads you want to run to whom than you could possibly comprehend.

If you’re a TA then maybe those targeted ads are to help you sell a DCL cruise to your clients? Don’t know but possible.

I knew the kids clubs had open times, but I thought that was for parents and kids. Which ship has the huge slide in the lobby down to the kids club? I’d love to try that!

 

[Baron Von Capybara]

If you’re a TA then maybe those targeted ads are to help you sell a DCL cruise to your clients? Don’t know but possible.

I knew the kids clubs had open times, but I thought that was for parents and kids. Which ship has the huge slide in the lobby down to the kids club? I’d love to try that!

Or maybe the AI bots have misfired.
I think the wish class ships have the slides.

 

[mkt]

But yeah, everyone knows each others plans, it’s all open secrets pretty much because people shift so much.

That’s not really how it works.

Yes, people move back and forth between companies, and they obviously gain experience along the way. But that doesn’t mean people walk around sharing inside information. The reason people can move between WDI and Universal Creative is precisely because they don’t do that. They honor their NDAs.

If you’re found to be leaking information, you’re terminated immediately, escorted out, and potentially sued. Once word gets around that you can’t be trusted, you’re effectively finished in the industry. It’s a small community and jobs are already hard enough to come by.

So yes, people may have knowledge from previous roles, but they keep it to themselves. Hell, there are spouses and real-life best friends working in the same buildings at WDI or Universal Creative who still have no idea what the other one is working on. Projects are compartmentalized that tightly.

The security culture in these companies is actually very similar to defense contractors. In some ways it’s even more private, because unlike government defense work there are rarely public contracts or filings that reveal what projects are being worked on.

The public usually only learns about projects when something is intentionally released, or when permitting requirements force certain documents into the public record. (And yes, both companies absolutely have intentional leaks, but those aren’t people breaking NDAs. Those usually happen with leadership’s blessing as part of generating buzz and seeing how the public reacts.)

 

[Chi84]

@Pizza Moon: Please note the difference between your posts and those by @mkt.

His contain pertinent information based on his own education and experiences. They are not filled with “cut and paste generally available knowledge” that can be found by anyone on the internet.

You complain that your posts are “jumped on” by others and deleted by the mods. This is the reason.

You post way too much, much too often yet contribute nothing in the way of original independent thought.

Please stop with the unimpressive, dull essays. No one wants to read them.

 

[mkt]

But humans aren’t robots they aren’t going to compartmentalize in general (like in terms of someone’s general knowledge), if someone has seen plans or whatever it will inform their subconscious decision making….

Of course people carry experience from previous jobs. That’s literally what professional experience is. Designers, engineers, writers, everyone brings lessons from previous work into their next role.

But that’s very different from implying companies are effectively sharing plans or projects through employees moving between them.

As they should be, where is the disagreement?

The disagreement was with the earlier implication that people moving between companies means inside knowledge spreads between them. That’s not how it works in practice.

Experience moves with people, but confidential information shouldn't.

Sure, but subconsciously. It’s like if you train an AI based on data,

That analogy actually reinforces the point. Designers bring general experience, instincts, and lessons from previous projects. What they don’t bring are internal plans, documents, or protected concepts from another company.

That’s exactly why NDAs and compartmentalization exist.

And just to be clear about the broader point:

Of course people carry experience from previous jobs. That’s also how people build careers in this industry. You do your job well, move strategically when opportunities come up, and you keep your former employer’s secrets. That’s how you remain employable.

But what you originally implied was that people moving between companies meant plans or ideas were effectively shared between them. Those are two very different things.

 

[mkt]

I also find MKT to be fine, no issues, but he keeps misreading my post and replying based on that false notions.

I’ve been responding directly to what you’ve written. When the point changes, the response changes.

You might want to work on clarity, conciseness, and focus.

Less this:

More this:

If your issue is with Disney’s marketing materials, focus on that. Don’t drag in irrelevant WDI sidebars and Iger/Eisner comparisons. It'll help focus your argument.

If your issue is with Disney in general, a thread about DCL marketing isn't the correct forum for it.

 

[LAKid53]

Don’t they have adverts aimed at different demographics? I bet they do.

The Adventure has just started sailing from Singapore. I don’t think that ship is solely aimed at families with small kids. And I suspect they have had adverts aimed at adult Disney fans.

And that ship's demographic isn't the United States cruiser.

 

[LAKid53]

I don’t disagree, DCL is outstanding that’s why.

Even the Wish, it is a fantastic ship just different than the classic cruise liner style.

They’ve yet to miss tbh.

But, I think what I’m saying is true too, that they can have ads appealing to more demos, branding wise people think dcl is for small kids and it really just isn’t.

They do.

I'm one of them.

 

[LAKid53]

Yes, I just got off a 3-day Wish cruise!

It’s stunning, it’s not cheap, only true miss in aesthetics is the Star Wars Bar which sucks, Oceaneer’s Lab actually did Star Wars right and is pretty spectacular.

I’d say Fantasy/Dream is still better, but it’s more 1 step forward 1 step back, lack of a cruise liner aesthetic to unify everything worked better than I thought, they really committed to the enchanted aesthetic and watching POVs and talking with trusted people who did the Treasure, it’s similar, better in some ways, but also similarly commits to the adventure styling.

I thought the IP integration was better handled than I expected, I thought it was going to be rough, in some ways, like the atrium, it feels less Disney to be honest.

Food was mediocre just like the other ships, though the pool food was a huge step up which I appreciated, Disney has got to upgrade it.

Our first night had horrible, I mean completely absent service. Night 3 they were great, not elite like I’ve had before (I mean when I say elite we’re talking God-tier), but they were good.



Treasure is probably better even if you ignore the Haunted Mansion parlor (which is cool but more gimicky IMO). They also have Beauty and the Beast which I think is better than the actual OG Broadway production in many ways, it is spectacular.

Hero Zone was a great idea, but I don’t like it because on a cruise ship if I’m playing basketball, dodgeball, foosball, I want to be running around in a swimsuit soaking in the sun, while looking at the ocean or port’s beautiful vistas.

Sensus Spa sucks. Long hallways, endlessly, you can tell it was the old Vibe space and backstage area on the Dream/Fantasy in concept, but it totally takes away the cool factor of going to Vibe; one of my core memories as a kid. Good times there.

Running deck not looping is also crazy that was always a must-do particularly on longer cruises to just walk the promenades.

The focus on Concierge while I get it needs to be studied: the greatest scam in the history of anything. The Concierge sundeck thankfully doesn’t take up as much room as I thought, though they need to make the other sundeck areas up front adults only. Only having the one hot tub and the one pool in the back isn’t enough. At least another adult hot tub(s) is needed up in the front.

I liked 1923 a lot actually and the Frozen dinner show wasn’t cringey.

Still awesome that you can get unlimited dishes and order from the other restaurants anytime you’d like.

Adult infinity edge pool at night is unreal, dislike how far it is to get to Cove Cafe though, really stupid, but it’s nice that the Quiet Cove Pool doesn’t have kids walking around like on the other ships, which is why I preferred Satellite Falls.

I love kids too don’t get me wrong, big family guy, but you need adult spaces on ships, and there’s no casino, so the lack of true dancing or an adult district is wild.

But I love how many hangout spots there is and book and crannies to just chill min.

Outlook is being or has been converted on the other ships, but that was an awesome spot to hangout in, so now with it gone in many ways the Wish is better if you just want some privacy to goof off or chat with family/friends/people you meet.

Way better family pool deck by a mile. The many smaller family pools and layered deck was a great idea.

Pirate Night had really cool fireworks having launches from both funnel stacks. I preferred the music being “Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho” from Pirates At World’s End, but the party pirates whatever style remix they did was fine I guess.

They need to bring back Star Wars cruises now that the Starcruiser is dead.

I wish FunnelVision wasn’t showing Wish, that was sad instead of something good.

Neverland and Wonderland theaters have beautiful entrances and while it’s a good idea in concept, it is a horrible idea to not have a larger screen. There’s zero point in watching a movie in them tbh. Buenavista Theater itself was also far more detailed.

Walt Disney Theater was fine tho I preferred the way it sort of integrated with the ship on the classic 4 and entire decks 3/4/5, Wish just feels like stylistic clashes, not in a bad way, but in a different way.

AquaMouse is sort of better and worse than the AquaDuck, I’d give it a toss-up, though it’s unacceptable we don’t have body slides like the AquaDunk and surfing simulators like Royal Caribbean. I think the rollercoaster on the Adventure is cringe, so I hope they never do that again and just commit to making a water park on deck.

The only exception I feel maybe is the Wonder given it goes to Alaska, but you still need good water features on it any other time.

Elevators were a non-issue unless you stay in Concierge or very far aft (I do neither I always stay midship/forward if possible), so the complaints are silly.

Layout gives Magic/Wonder vibes, even has staircases in places sort of like them, most of the shops are not on the Walt Disney Theater floor. I don’t think it’s terrible outside of a couple weird spots, but it is odd to go backwards when the Dream/Fantasy fixed it.

I dislike that they don’t have variety acts on 3-days, but I get it.

Adult spaces were way to spread out I did not like not having “The District” tho it’s aesthetically on the level of the Fantasy’s (so better than the Dream even), except for the Star Wars Lounge, just awful.

There was ZERO dancing on the Wish, which was nuts to me, previous cruises I’ve been on had a fun, but calm, party scene, but no one participated in anything.

The Vibe’s teen Club is a ludicrous downgrade from the Dream/Fantasy, beyond not having a pool it’s just so much weaker.

It feels like they focused on little kids as the primary focus but it’s just so weird. Oceaneer’s Club is mostly for 10 and unders since Edge starts at 11, so there is only a fraction of people on the ship able to maximally enjoy their time which is just awful priorities. Adults pay for the trip, kids have older siblings, make it make sense.

Any shorter itinerary is going to be heavy first timers (potentially 85%+), and heavy on smaller kids, if you have older kids I recommend longer cruises and to go when school is out rather than the off-season like I did. Will be a much better experience.

I also highly recommend second seating as well.

Castaway Cay is frankly the reason to do the 3-days, and I’d do it again. I’d do it for Lighthouse Point too which is amazing, it’s literally a serenity bay clone basically, it’s not trying to compete with Castaway Cay or Coco Cay, it is just a beach like serenity bay and it’s totally fine being that.

While you've made some valid points about the Wish class ships that majority of us long time DCL cruisers agree with, I'm disagreeing with much of what you've posted.

There's dancing on the Wish class ships. Senses isn't a rework of Vibe. The adult area is at the back and a pale shadow of the first 4 ships.

DCL definitely markets to me.

And I feel I can say this with confidence and expertise because I got off my 23rd cruise in February and have 5 more this year - 3 on the Destiny, including a B2B, 1 on the Dream in Europe and 1 on the Magic.

And I already have 3 booked in 2027 - 2 on the Treasure and a 2nd Alaskan cruise on the Magic. Will likely add a 4th when the Blog cruise is announced.

I'd rather be on a Disney cruise ship than in a Disney park. Which says a lot for a local AP and DVC member.

Oh, and I'm on TWDC market list for Golden Oak.