Direct to Room Check-In coming?

[1023]

Ok... You guys win...

Disney will never charge anything extra for any type of check-in. They will never charge a tray fee for room service. They will never charge a safe fee to use the safe. They will never charge for envelope or package delivery. They will never charge a turn down fee. They will never charge an early arrival fee. No Fees that are not currently being charged will ever be charged.

Additionally, parking doesn't make money. It's a loss leader that is thrown in for free to on-site guests who don't use Disney's transportation services from their resort. The cost to operate it at the Magic Kingdom exceeds 37 million dollars a year and are written off as an operating expense.

Furthermore, I will never look to outside industries for examples of a change in standards of care. I have learned to limit examples used to only the specific question.

So to rephrase my first paragraph, Disney does not charge for check-in. It isn't a possibility and any suggestions I made that it could happen are erroneous. Have a nice day.

*1023*

P.S. As I mentioned before, I will be happy to skip the counter just like I do when I rent a car which I currently don't have to pay for either.

 

[ford91exploder]

Ok... You guys win...

Disney will never charge anything extra for any type of check-in. They will never charge a tray fee for room service. They will never charge a safe fee to use the safe. They will never charge for envelope or package delivery. They will never charge a turn down fee. They will never charge an early arrival fee. No Fees that are not currently being charged will ever be charged.

Additionally, parking doesn't make money. It's a loss leader that is thrown in for free to on-site guests who don't use Disney's transportation services from their resort. The cost to operate it at the Magic Kingdom exceeds 37 million dollars a year and are written off as an operating expense.

Furthermore, I will never look to outside industries for examples of a change in standards of care. I have learned to limit examples used to only the specific question.

So to rephrase my first paragraph, Disney does not charge for check-in. It isn't a possibility and any suggestions I made that it could happen are erroneous. Have a nice day.

*1023*

P.S. As I mentioned before, I will be happy to skip the counter just like I do when I rent a car which I currently don't have to pay for either.

Ah Pixie Dusters (Especially ones who once were CP'ers) start frothing at the mouth at any suggestion that Disney now is not as good as it was at one time.

As to recreational services (which are now charged by the HOUR) once one could pay an optional ONE-TIME fee which let you use ANY of the recreational facilities as I recall it was about $100 bucks or so (you could still do ala carte), Horseback Riding, Sea Raycers etc - back when WDW was a RESORT and not a cyncal attempt to upchage everything which once was free or nominally priced.

Faves in that category are upcharge events embedded within hard ticket events...

 

[jakeman]

Ah Pixie Dusters (Especially ones who once were CP'ers) start frothing at the mouth at any suggestion that Disney now is not as good as it was at one time.

As to recreational services (which are now charged by the HOUR) once one could pay an optional ONE-TIME fee which let you use ANY of the recreational facilities as I recall it was about $100 bucks or so (you could still do ala carte), Horseback Riding, Sea Raycers etc - back when WDW was a RESORT and not a

There really wasn't any frothing in this thread. Several fairly reasonable responses to his examples. He elected to disengage from the conversation rather than provide more substantial examples to support his, and by default your conclusion.

 

[wdwfan757]

Not too be overly on topic... but... Has anyone gotten to experience this yet? Around what times are people getting room assignments?

 

[jakeman]

Not too be overly on topic... but... Has anyone gotten to experience this yet? Around what times are people getting room assignments?

I did at AKL.

We had asked for early check in (we always do), but we had our room assignment sent to us about 4:30 p.m.

Worked flawlessly.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Well....here is one of many examples....

Parking as a profit center:
In 1971, on October 1st when the Magic kingdom opened, parking was a reasonable 50 cents per day. Let's just call it a dollar to make the math easier. Adjusting for inflation 1 dollar in 1971 should be $2.92 in 2014 dollars, let's just call it $3.00. Currently, parking is $17. Does it really cost 5 times more than the rate of inflation to operate the parking lot? Has parking your car fundamentally changed? Wouldn't you think that parking should be less at an amusement park than at a baseball stadium?

To prevent the conversation turning towards the transportation from said parking lot being worth the disparity, I will simply point out that on previous iterations of park entry tickets, transportation elements on property were included there-in.

One more for fun....

Disney's Hollywood Studios:
Recently, this park has closed attractions and features within it's gates. The reduction in attraction count has removed overall value. As each or all of these attractions were shuttered, was a corresponding price reduction passed along to guests? Was a portion of Annual Passholders money refunded? Nope...$97 please....for six attractions and weathered shows. Oh...and Parking is $17 dollars.

Here's one for all you DVC members out there....

Disney's Mousekeeping in it's properties, is a pretty good thing. An outsider would certainly think that your DVC maintenance fees and the property management fees there-in, would include at least making up your bed everyday. Nope. You get mousekeeping service on the 4th day of your stay and trash and towel service on the seventh. If you want more service, you pay.

Ultimately, there is very little on Disney World property that you don't pay extra for. There is reason to expect current management to find new ways to make you pay more. Staffing the front desk at your resort costs money. Money that normally would come out of just the rack rate for the room. If Disney could offset that further, to maximize profit by charging to talk to a person at check in, don't you think they'd do it? If Disney could eliminate some staff by having fewer people visit the front desk to check in, don't you think they'd do it?.... Either side of this equation makes WDW more money.

Keep in mind that during an investor conference call (within the last 18 months), Jay Rasulo said outright that the purpose of the MDE/MM+/MagicBand boondoggle was to get more from the "guests" wallet. If you can't take the CFO's word for it, I am not sure what I can tell you.

Please refrain from the tired statements that TWDC is a for profit blah,blah,blah.... Please refrain from the vote with your feet blah,blah,blah.... Trot out something more original.

These are just a few things of the top of my head...I don't wish to spend time to walk through more. If you can't see this as a reasonable outcome, that's fine. Stockholders are counting on these types of "new" revenue streams...so are the execs...

*1023*

Comparing today's prices to 1971 prices using only inflation is a very poor argument. There's no doubt in my mind that Disney, especially the resorts are incredibly overpriced, but it's also fair to say that in the 70s it was significantly under valued.

 

[jakeman]

Comparing today's prices to 1971 prices using only inflation is a very poor argument. There's no doubt in my mind that Disney, especially the resorts are incredibly overpriced, but it's also fair to say that in the 70s it was significantly under valued.

Ironically, I believe Pof4 has a chart showing that somewhere...

 

[zweltar]

I could see using this... Especially so I wouldn't have to leave belongings at bell services.

 

[doctornick]

Look, it's always possible that -- at some point in the future -- Disney could charge extra for live check in or eliminate the front desk. Anything is conceivable to happen in the distant future and we have no idea how the hospitality industry will change over time. But the idea that this move indicates a willingness or trend towards Disney planning to eliminate or charge for front desk services seems beyond paranoid to me. If anything, it's just following a trend present already in other hotels and there's been no evidence that front desks are being eliminated in the industry.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

Look, it's always possible that -- at some point in the future -- Disney could charge extra for live check in or eliminate the front desk. Anything is conceivable to happen in the distant future and we have no idea how the hospitality industry will change over time. But the idea that this move indicates a willingness or trend towards Disney planning to eliminate or charge for front desk services seems beyond paranoid to me. If anything, it's just following a trend present already in other hotels and there's been no evidence that front desks are being eliminated in the industry.

Wait. You mean the sky isn't falling?!

 

[Andrew C]

If anything, it's just following a trend present already in other hotels and there's been no evidence that front desks are being eliminated in the industry.

Exactly. This is not something Disney came up with so is nothing new in the hotel industry. They are just fortunate to have the tech (through magic bands) already in place to support something like this. But because it is Disney, a lot feel like they need to freak out like they have some sort of hidden agenda (due to their recent track record that is always in dispute on this board).

 

[Kman101]

LOL at charging for front desk check-in. Come on ... that's pushing the doom and gloom a bit too far at this point. I can't believe that people seriously believe this will ever happen.

I don't care how down on Disney or "realistic" you are, that's not going to happen. And yes, I'm aware of the money grabs. This would not be one of them. That would be absolutely dumb.

Can we not stir things up for the sake of stirring things up?

 

[jaklgreen]

Pay to check in at the front desk? Heck I would pay to AVOID the line and check in at the front desk. Just tell me what room to go to and I am happy.

 

[ford91exploder]

LOL at charging for front desk check-in. Come on ... that's pushing the doom and gloom a bit too far at this point. I can't believe that people seriously believe this will ever happen.

I don't care how down on Disney or "realistic" you are, that's not going to happen. And yes, I'm aware of the money grabs. This would not be one of them. That would be absolutely dumb.

Can we not stir things up for the sake of stirring things up?

You pay when you use a bank teller in many banks and Disney is all about money these days.

 

[ford91exploder]

Pay to check in at the front desk? Heck I would pay to AVOID the line and check in at the front desk. Just tell me what room to go to and I am happy.

You are the kind of Customer Disney wants

 

[epcotWSC]

You have to look at the rest of the industry. I can't see Disney, who's main business isn't hospitality to do something that the rest of the industry has not done. If we start to see major chains charging for use of the front desk, then I would start worrying. Until then, I just don't see it happening.

 

[dvitali]

You pay when you use a bank teller in many banks and Disney is all about money these days.

Just because your state do not have strict banking laws covering a fees for using a bank teller does not apply for the rest of the 49 States. There are state laws in some states that limit what banks can or cannot charge including tellers or ATM.

 

[ford91exploder]

Just because your state do not have strict banking laws covering a fees for using a bank teller does not apply for the rest of the 49 States. There are state laws in some states that limit what banks can or cannot charge including tellers or ATM.

The majority of states do NOT regulate fees for service.

 

[RN2003AZ]

Not too be overly on topic... but... Has anyone gotten to experience this yet? Around what times are people getting room assignments?

We used this last Saturday for Kidani. Said we would be checking in around 3pm. Our flight landed at 2:20 and we were on the way to baggage claim when I got the text that our room was ready with the number. Got to the resort and went straight to our room. MagicBand worked without issue. Only time I went to the front desk was to retrieve a stroller from bell services. Worked great IMO.

 

[kdzgon]

This isn't a disney phenomenon. It's something that is happening in the hotel industry in general. For instance, Hilton is already allowing guests to select their specific room via their smartphone by looking at a floor plan of the hotel. And over the next few years they are rolling out using your smartphone as your room key for all of their hotels globally. So this is nothing new. This doesn't replace the front desk, just an alternative. Some will like avoiding the front desk, others will not.

I wouldn't mind if it included the option to select a specific room. I think many will like it but I suspect that at least for now other than for really short trips we'll likely choose the desk option.