Long Lines, Sunk Costs, and Desire

I’ve spent the better part of this week at Disney World to speak at and attend the Training Conference and Expo. I spent a significant amount of time at Disney Springs, the retail zone that happens to be the transportation hub for most services. There’s a whole blog post waiting to be written about how retail seems to be the keys to the kingdom, but not today.

One night, while catching a bus home, I heard a mother explain to her son how special they were that they got to spend 80 on cookies. That she only had to wait in line for 30 minutes, and sometimes people will wait for hours. A story like that made me curious enough hot see what the hubbub was all about.

The next day, while wandering around the Springs, I visited multiple shops devoted to various deserts. Candy apples, other candy, ice cream, gelato, more ice cream, cookies, cakes…most confections had at least one shop exclusively devoted to the art, and that’s ignoring the regular restaurants aplenty. Almost every shop had a few people inside, looking for something tasty.

And then I found Gideon’s Bakehouse. It was hard not to notice a line around the block. Intriguing. As I approached the line, one of several employees welcomed me to the opportunity to wait for their cookies. They each had a stack of well-designed and artful card stock menus. Beautiful enough to be kept as a memento.

“How long a wait would you say this is?:

“Probably 30 minutes”

A cookie this good must be worth the wait, so I did.

The menu described an assortment of flavorful options, who recommended them and why. “The best chocolate cookie in Orlando, and maybe the world” according to one outlet. “A pistachio toffee cookie that should be your starter” from another local review.

A QR code to the website, with vivid pictures of what awaited me.

I was getting hungry, and considered leaving for a shop with no line. And then I saw the special events. “The coffee cake cookie [the platonic ideal of a snickerdoodle] is only available until sold out.” “The dark coffee cake sells starting at sunset”. Two limited time flavors. A limit of six cookies per order. These cookies take over a day to make. Hot cookies, for one hour only, twice each day. And our cakes…double-iced, to create unique combinations.

Just enough tantalizing detail to wait longer. Up to 20 minutes now, and I can see the door. Last chance to jump. But that would be a waste of my 20 minutes invested. I decided to hold out a little longer.

Finally, my time had come. “How many in your party”, that phrase heard so often at the start of a ride. “Just one”.

Then the 12-foot double-doors parted as the last employee beckoned me in. Success! Sort of. I now had the pleasure to wait in a Disneyland queue, snaking its way through the interior of the building. All around were gothic decorations, the epitome of Disneyfication. As the line lurched forward, I noticed more details. A spooky display case of silly trinkets. Cages hanging from the ceiling. Faux candle lamps lit the room. Is that smoke coming up in front of the cashier?

Finally, the cookies. A few minimalist rows laid out. 3 cookies of each flavor. Except for coffee cake. “4 coffee cake left!” Shouts an attendant. I curl around the next corner. “2 coffee cake left”. I know I don’t have a chance. “All sold out of coffee cake!” A groan of disappointment from the crowd.

A child cries, scared by the creepy ambiance.

Finally it was my turn. Time to make my journey worth the effort. Why buy just one? When will I get this chance again? “A half dozen, and a peanut butter cold brew!” I nearly shout to the attendant. I may as well be Philip Fry saying “shut up and take my money!” But such crassness is not appropriate to the house of the mouse.

I take my treasures with me, wondering how on earth I’m going to get them safely home. A problem for tomorrow, I suppose.

The next day, as I wait for my ride, a stranger approaches. “Are they worth it?”, she asks, pointing to my black paper sack.

“Probably not, but I can't say for sure.”

Isn’t it funny how the perception of exclusivity, scarcity, sunk cost, and environment can feed our desires almost as well as a simple cookie? I suppose that’s what they call “marketing”.