The Spending Budget Thread

[Brian G.]

Parks spend money on renovations and additions (Surprise!) Sometimes they go under, sometimes they spend wisely, and other times they go over...

Does it matter? Do you care?

 

[Brian G.]

Since I wanted to leave the first post without any of my opinion:

Not to veer this thing too off topic- but why do you think they “overspend”?

It’s not like the federal government with their beurocratic nightmare of an ordering and purchasing system. Anyone who has ever dealt with government contracts knows the painstakingly frustrating mess that it is. After dealing with a Disney contract, Disney is nowhere near that level.

So why is it? Could it be that they are buying better quality supplies or going with more tenured contractors? Not saying that’s necessarily a good thing or not, just trying to find out where this “missing money” is going, if it in fact is being “wasted” as many seem to claim.

Well, I guess it depends on your point of view. Why spend $300 if you can spend $200 and get practically the same product. Since we'll never truly know what was spent where, we never will have an exact idea how to gauge it, and if it was wisely spent. Ultimately, I guess where people have the problem with overbudget is if it neglects other areas. When you hear that rumored overbudget for MyMagic or Pandora, and see that it will only be utilized in one resort - while their monorail fleet is literally falling apart, you start to question money management. But yea, Pandora is real pretty.

On the flip side, I wish in some cases, Universal would spend a little more. It would have made a big difference on the final version of the Hulk.

Either way, any addition is a good addition - and it isn't our money so; add that with the uncertainty of final numbers and that's where the discussion for me usually becomes moot.

The budget discussion is so ridiculous. It really matters for nothing.

And again. Every budget that gets thrown around isn’t even actually a confirmed fact. I just see them as conjecture. It doesn’t matter.

See above. ​

Don't you think the overall budget affects ticket, food, merch, and hotel prices?

Yes. Going overbudget usually means you'll start penny pinching elsewhere to make up for it.

Apple and Oranges and reaching a little bit I understand your point. :bored:

How so? I think his point was pretty apt.

 

[belloq87]

Yes. Going overbudget usually means you'll start penny pinching elsewhere to make up for it.

Sometimes both things happen on the same project! See Toy Story Land again.

 

[GadgetGuru]

I’ve never cared about budgets because I don’t think those numbers are representative of anything.

I’ve always believed that the budget numbers include all kinds of things that aren’t strictly a part of the attraction. I’m assuming that the TRON coaster number will include some long-term infrastructure fixes that needed to happen, some TL refurbishments, the actual attraction and some corporate accounting nonsense (“paying Shanghai Disney”).

After all, it’s hard to get anybody, including Disney corporate, to pay for maintenance. It’s much easier to get them to pay for something new and shiny.

Side note: I always assumed that MyMagic+ was so expensive because every Disney Parks manager added their infrastructure projects and wish list to the budget. Easier to get things approved that way. So, the real MM+ didn’t actually cost that much in reality, but a whole bunch of unrelated things were categorized as MM+

 

[shiekra38]

Here are some examples I can think of where budgets could have been adjusted

MM+ is a project that should have been given a smaller budget
Hogsmede is a project that should have been given a larger budget (though, at the time, not practical)
F&F is a project's budget that should have been allocated differently


It's really a project by project basis....I mean, for me, new rides should always be given a huge budget...But I don't know what the parks spend on things like infrastructure/behind the scenes stuff

Then there are budget cuts, where projects are effected by other things going over budget

As for do I care....No....Not as long as the budget cuts aren't noticable (See: original California Adventure)

 

[bob albert]

MM+ is one of the best investments Disney ever made for themselves. They used all the data to cut staffing to just adequate, raise prices on everything, and create new upcharges. That's gotta be billions in extra money squeezed from guests.

 

[shiekra38]

MM+ is one of the best investments Disney ever made for themselves. They used all the data to cut staffing to just adequate, raise prices on everything, and create new upcharges. That's gotta be billions in extra money squeezed from guests.

I thought MM+ was a ride

 

[Mad Dog]

I thought MM+ was a ride

Heck, I thought "My Magic+" was a new HHN Penn & Teller House.

 

[shiekra38]

Heck, I thought "My Magic+" was a new HHN Penn & Teller House.

Probably would go over budget

 

[rastuso]

Not to veer this thing too off topic- but why do you think they “overspend”?

It’s not like the federal government with their beurocratic nightmare of an ordering and purchasing system. Anyone who has ever dealt with government contracts knows the painstakingly frustrating mess that it is. After dealing with a Disney contract, Disney is nowhere near that level.

So why is it? Could it be that they are buying better quality supplies or going with more tenured contractors? Not saying that’s necessarily a good thing or not, just trying to find out where this “missing money” is going, if it in fact is being “wasted” as many seem to claim.

Because Disney spending absurd amounts on rides they phone in, like the rumored $300MM+ for Tron, they are really misspending. It's a basic coaster in a spare building with a large canopy

That misspending causes you to get one ride instead of two. Heck Spider-man was rumored at $200MM when it was built, and it was a decade before it's time.

Disney needs lots of new rides, not insanely overpriced kid coasters like Dwarf Hill.

 

[UNIrd]

I thought this thread was going to be about personal budgeting so we can afford more vacations to the parks.

 

[Andysol]

Because Disney spending absurd amounts on rides they phone in, like the rumored $300MM+ for Tron, they are really misspending. It's a basic coaster in a spare building with a large canopy

That misspending causes you to get one ride instead of two. Heck Spider-man was rumored at $200MM when it was built, and it was a decade before it's time.

Disney needs lots of new rides, not insanely overpriced kid coasters like Dwarf Hill.

Glad you had the chance to give your daily Disney sucks speech. That said, you didn’t answer the question. All you said is the same typical trope we always hear.

“DiZnEy SpeNdZ!” “moRe RiDeZ!”

You said nothing we haven’t heard 400 times. Firstly, the $300m number came out of nowhere, but even if we take that as gospel, why $300m? Where is it going? That’s the question.

 

[shiekra38]

Because Disney spending absurd amounts on rides they phone in, like the rumored $300MM+ for Tron, they are really misspending. It's a basic coaster in a spare building with a large canopy

Spare building? Did they get it out of a building sized trash can or something?

 

[Jamesh22]

Disney budgets like the goverment budgets - why spend $10 on something when you can spend $200 on it.

Disney is generally good quality but other companies (looking at you Universal) have delivered as good or better for a fraction of the cost. I know they have imagineering but the money they spend on things just seems so out of touch with the reality of what things cost.

 

[Nick]

Firstly, the $300m number came out of nowhere, but even if we take that as gospel, why $300m? Where is it going? That’s the question.

Well, it didn't come out of nowhere. It came from the most consistently reliable/accurate WDW insider that it seems is out there. And it's more than $300M.

 

[Andysol]

So the summary of this thread is:

Disney spends more than other parks. Which we all knew based on the rumored numbers.

However; No one knows why.

——-

You’d think by knowing what all budgets are that someone would have at least an inkling of an idea why the spend is more than comparable builds like Uni has done.

We don’t even have any guesses outside of the possibility that WDI execs make more than UC execs. I suppose an argument could’ve been made that WDI did most stuff in house, but the big round of layoffs a few years back which created more of a reliance on contractors brought them more in line with UC.

A thought or guess I’ve always had is that TWDC Lumps in more projects with their one big project. An example would be that I’ve always thought they lumped Tiffins, walkway expansions, Tree of Life nighttime, etc in with Pandora’s budget. I’m not saying that happened, but maybe that’s one possibility as to why Disney budgets appear more inflated.

I refuse to believe Disney just pays more for concrete or a ladder than universal.
That’s insane.

Any other guesses? @Marni1971 - feel free to hop in here, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

 

[Nick]

So the summary of this thread is:

Disney spends more than other parks. Which we all knew based on the rumored numbers.

However; No one knows why.

——-

You’d think by knowing what all budgets are that someone would have at least an inkling of an idea why the spend is more than comparable builds like Uni has done.

We don’t even have any guesses outside of the possibility that WDI execs make more than UC execs. I suppose an argument could’ve been made that WDI did most stuff in house, but the big round of layoffs a few years back which created more of a reliance on contractors brought them more in line with UC.

A thought or guess I’ve always had is that TWDC Lumps in more projects with their one big project. An example would be that I’ve always thought they lumped Tiffins, walkway expansions, Tree of Life nighttime, etc in with Pandora’s budget. I’m not saying that happened, but maybe that’s one possibility as to why Disney budgets appear more inflated.

I refuse to believe Disney just pays more for concrete or a ladder than universal.
That’s insane.

Any other guesses? @Marni1971 - feel free to hop in here, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

I tend to think you're right as that's the only way other park improvements tend to happen is by lumping them into budgets for larger attractions. But you're also right, we don't know.

 

[bob albert]

I think one factor is that Disney physically has a lot more infrastructure to support and this need to spend money on. Universal with their resort setup being centralized with everything either around the north or south properties is going to have a potentially significant operational cost advantage over Disney.

 

[shiekra38]

So the summary of this thread is:

Disney spends more than other parks. Which we all knew based on the rumored numbers.

However; No one knows why.

——-

You’d think by knowing what all budgets are that someone would have at least an inkling of an idea why the spend is more than comparable builds like Uni has done.

We don’t even have any guesses outside of the possibility that WDI execs make more than UC execs. I suppose an argument could’ve been made that WDI did most stuff in house, but the big round of layoffs a few years back which created more of a reliance on contractors brought them more in line with UC.

A thought or guess I’ve always had is that TWDC Lumps in more projects with their one big project. An example would be that I’ve always thought they lumped Tiffins, walkway expansions, Tree of Life nighttime, etc in with Pandora’s budget. I’m not saying that happened, but maybe that’s one possibility as to why Disney budgets appear more inflated.

I refuse to believe Disney just pays more for concrete or a ladder than universal.
That’s insane.

Any other guesses? @Marni1971 - feel free to hop in here, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

I always thought Disney did a lot more upfront and inhouse A&D work...Where as Universal collaborates with outside companies way more often that carry the A&D costs

 

[GadgetGuru]

I think one factor is that Disney physically has a lot more infrastructure to support and this need to spend money on. Universal with their resort setup being centralized with everything either around the north or south properties is going to have a potentially significant operational cost advantage over Disney.

Disney has SO MUCH infrastructure. They built their own very large, very spread-out city. They have ~30 hotels. Sprawl is crazy expensive.