Recent content by Virtual Toad

“It fires the imagination!”

Followed soon by the truly amazing “Magic Key +“(tm), a ticketing upgrade that allows guests to visit the parks— without making a reservation! For a not-so-nominal add-on fee, of course. Another way to raise prices under the guise of “responding to guest feedback.” And creating yet another...

In a few short years, they’ve aggressively raised ticket and hotel prices, eliminated a ton of discounts, cut the level and quality of service, and created out of thin air three completely new revenue streams: resort parking fees, G+ and ILL. And now that those streams are in place, they will...

On the topic of “type-A” theme park touring and getting up early... we enjoyed the FP+ days during week-long on-property stays because we planned park trips over multiple evenings (3 nights at MK, 2 at AK, etc). Allowed us to sleep in, relax, enjoy the pool and laid back activities during the...

$180 to $400 for a family of four to skip the line on a single ride. On top of admission? Even WDW in its heyday wasn’t worth that. Please tell me you’re joking. Either way, I swear we are living in a very, very strange time.

If enough people pony up, I could see them adding more and more attractions to ILL. It’s too easy of a cash grab for them to resist. The pay for play future has only just begun.

Fair point. I guess I was trying to show the general direction they’re taking. Though I’m sure many guests have shown up after seeing ads for ROTR expecting to be able to see it, only to learn about the whole boarding group thing after they arrived. Not a bait and switch but not the best...

Kind of like paying up front to get into a theme park just to participate in a cellphone lottery for the chance to score a Boarding Group.

Thank you! 😀It’s amazing how fast 25 years can pass. We spent a little bit of money at least (thank you Disney Visa points!), but way less than we used to. APs, weekend trips, multiple week-long stays per year, and numerous trips to DL and DLP were the norm for us for many years. Our spending...

We had an awesome time staying at the Wilderness Lodge for our 25th anniversary last weekend. Spent part of our honeymoon there a quarter century ago so it was a very special trip for us (even with the kids in tow!) Would have normally purchased Annual Passes during our stay, but reservations...

Increased crowds are definitely an issue. Overbuilding DVC has added to the problem, but the heart of the issue is the lack of expansion in the parks themselves. The parks as “machines” were designed to keep people happy by moving them through the experience efficiently. But today, those...

I’ve also experienced the parks pre-FP, during paper FP and FP+. 25 years ago, typical visits would include an enjoyable day at EPCOT from 11-6, then a monorail trip to the MK in which we did just about everything we wanted to from 7-midnight, hopping on Space Mountain 2-3 times with minimal...

I can see single AP holders shelling out the $15 each time they visit (and spending a little less on food and merch to compensate) but for a local AP-holding family of four that’s $60 each visit which is pretty much a non-starter. Add the ever more frequent and severe traffic jams on I-4 and...

Totally agree. Just watched a video of one of the shows and this is just.... Sad. Embarrassing. And painful to watch. There’s so little kinetic energy. Mostly an empty lake with an occasional jet ski and a few oversized Party City balloons with parachutes flying by. The most prominent visual...