PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
I saw the producers also hired people to interrupt live news casts as well.
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A Spirited Perfect Ten
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
I saw the producers also hired people to interrupt live news casts as well.
Next Big Thing
Well-Known Member
Or on the contrary, it's similar to saying Avatar won't be a success because the success of future films and it's place in popular culture is questionable. IPs don't matter. It's all about creativity.It's like saying Harry Potter films won't work in the theme parks because DVD player sales are down
OK, I didn't want to respond, but decided I had to.
Let's look at the actual numbers for your vacation. Fictitious family of 4. Mom, Dad, 2 kids ages 8 and 12. They want to stay at AKL with a Savannah view. From July 11 - July 18, the total cost of the room is $2,761.27. Since they are going only to Disney, they use Magical Express from the airport, and Disney transportation everywhere. They want the ability to leave whenever they wish from a park and take a bus/boat/monorail to wherever they need to be. They have no other costs for the room under this setup.
Next, they decide to see if they can save some money and stay off-site at the Hyatt Regency Grand Express. I don't know where you got a rate of $167/night, but I couldn't find that. Anyway, in order to make a more apples to apples comparison, they want to stay with a pool view at the resort (as opposed to the savannah view at AKL). That nightly rate is $240. Since I will be staying off-site, and still want the option to come and go as I please, I will need a rental car. Since I am going to a 4 diamond resort, I'm going for a nicer full size car, such as a Ford Fusion. I can rent this for about $355 for the week. So plugging in everything at the resort, my room will cost $2,079.75, and I will have to pay a parking fee of $17/day, so add another $119. Total cost with rental car - $2,553.75. So I have saved just $207, and now I have to drive everywhere!
Then comes my scenario. I am a DVC member, and it would be 139 points for a Deluxe Studio for that same week. With my cost of dues, that comes out to $718 for the week. I can even get a 1 bedroom savannah view for 272 points or about $1,400. Over $1,000 less than stay off-site, and almost half of paying cash, AND I get a 1 bedroom suite instead of a hotel room.
I respect you a lot for what you bring to the numbers here, but you have totally missed the mark on this one.
I'm a DVC member too but find it difficult to use "Disney Resort" and "value" in the same sentence.
If you really feel that way, maybe it's time to sell your points, and move on.
Oh, and being a DVC member, it would be inaccurate to write "I never actually pay for a room anymore, and we only stay in deluxe" unless Disney gave me my DVC points for free and paid my Maintenance Fees every year.
If I really want to:
relax, hit the pool, read on the balcony with an excellent glass of wine, hit the lounge later in the afternoon, and usually have a nice sit-down for dinner. We never commando the parks from opening until closing.
Then I am better off staying at a Deluxe Resort at Universal. After having experienced unlimited Express Pass all day long for every day of my vacation, I'll never look at a WDW theme park the same way.
That is in no way inaccurate. When I get to the resort, I pay absolutely nothing out of my pocket to stay there. No room rate, no taxes, nothing. That is what I meant.
If you are better off staying at Universal, then by all means, stay there. My wife and I have no desire to even visit Universal, and would certainly never pay for a room with cash at a resort we couldn't care less about. Just us, and not for everyone. We have a Sea World here where we live, so don't need to go there.
Cheers!
WildcatDen
Well-Known Member
I have to admit, Dolly has me conflicted. I have heard it is equally as fun to play around in the Mountains as it is to spend some quality time in the Valley.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
Disney is no longer a leader.
I remember the change with valet parking. And that is only one small thing. Let's not forget they were also "following the trends of the industry" when they
- Decided to change sheets on every third night (for the environment, of course!)
- Outsourced overnight cleaning at resorts
- Outsourced bell services at resorts
- Charged for internet access until a couple years ago, long after access was no longer a novelty
- Changed their resort pricing structure to variable pricing for specific nights (rather than season by season...they even used to let you keep your discounted rate for your entire stay even if it overlapped pricing seasons!)
As far as not replacing building lighting that has been out for years, not cleaning mildew from showers, and hardy ever steam cleaning hallway carpets (often filthy), maybe they're trying to set trends again (for poorly managed resorts?)
I'm sure there are lots more examples I'm not thinking of at the moment.
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GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
If I may ask (and I'm merely curious, not trying to change anyone's mind), why does Universal not interest you at all? And what would Universal need to do to get you interested in a one day visit? Again, just curious.
DisDan
Well-Known Member
OK, I didn't want to respond, but decided I had to.
Let's look at the actual numbers for your vacation. Fictitious family of 4. Mom, Dad, 2 kids ages 8 and 12. They want to stay at AKL with a Savannah view. From July 11 - July 18, the total cost of the room is $2,761.27. Since they are going only to Disney, they use Magical Express from the airport, and Disney transportation everywhere. They want the ability to leave whenever they wish from a park and take a bus/boat/monorail to wherever they need to be. They have no other costs for the room under this setup.
Next, they decide to see if they can save some money and stay off-site at the Hyatt Regency Grand Express. I don't know where you got a rate of $167/night, but I couldn't find that. Anyway, in order to make a more apples to apples comparison, they want to stay with a pool view at the resort (as opposed to the savannah view at AKL). That nightly rate is $240. Since I will be staying off-site, and still want the option to come and go as I please, I will need a rental car. Since I am going to a 4 diamond resort, I'm going for a nicer full size car, such as a Ford Fusion. I can rent this for about $355 for the week. So plugging in everything at the resort, my room will cost $2,079.75, and I will have to pay a parking fee of $17/day, so add another $119. Total cost with rental car - $2,553.75. So I have saved just $207, and now I have to drive everywhere!
Then comes my scenario. I am a DVC member, and it would be 139 points for a Deluxe Studio for that same week. With my cost of dues, that comes out to $718 for the week. I can even get a 1 bedroom savannah view for 272 points or about $1,400. Over $1,000 less than stay off-site, and almost half of paying cash, AND I get a 1 bedroom suite instead of a hotel room.
I respect you a lot for what you bring to the numbers here, but you have totally missed the mark on this one.
If you really feel that way, maybe it's time to sell your points, and move on.
That is in no way inaccurate. When I get to the resort, I pay absolutely nothing out of my pocket to stay there. No room rate, no taxes, nothing. That is what I meant.
If you are better off staying at Universal, then by all means, stay there. My wife and I have no desire to even visit Universal, and would certainly never pay for a room with cash at a resort we couldn't care less about. Just us, and not for everyone. We have a Sea World here where we live, so don't need to go there.
Cheers!
The whole scenario above where you included kids aged 8 & 12 seems a little far fetched that the hypothetical family you are posting about would not be, at the minimum, interested in trying USF & IOA. Those are the prime ages that can get the most out of those parks IMO.
Most of it is that we simply aren't big on most of the IP there. Couldn't care less about Spidey, Simpsons, E.T., MiB, Shrek, Potter, Transformers, Kong, or Terminator. We aren't big into coasters, so would skip all of those (wife can't ride them at all). We would also have to be careful about which simulator rides would be ok due to back issues. And of course, there is the cost of one or two day tickets. My wife and I cannot walk all day at any time, so spend less time in the parks. With the travel time and cost, it just wouldn't be worth it to us.
We are planning on moving back to the Orlando area (well, Lakeland probably), so might give them a look see then. We're just not willing to take time out right now.
Funmeister
Well-Known Member
Thanks for taking that one and running with it.
It is sad...they have never looked back.
We weren't talking about USF or IOA at all. The discussion was concerning the 4 diamond rating at the Disney Deluxe resorts vs the off-site 4 diamond resorts. The statement was made that the off-site resorts are so much better and cheaper. When you actually look at the numbers, it really isn't that much cheaper, and you have to compromise - too much for us, in order to stay there. People here have claimed that Disney Deluxe resorts are 3 diamond at best, but AAA, a very respected player in the industry, is staking their reputation that they are 4 diamond. They have a very extensive checklist that details what kind of services - and the level of services provided - that a hotel must meet to get that 4 or 5 diamond rating. Disney's Deluxe resorts pass that test, and AAA gives them the rating. They use anonymous travelers to evaluate them, so Disney never knows when someone from AAA is evaluating them.
There are some here that disagree, but one has to think that AAA would want to protect their reputation, so would not give out a rating that a resort didn't deserve. Their ratings are used pretty much everywhere that you look at every travel site, so it would seem that the industry trusts their ratings to be accurate.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Neither have most of their customers.
Sorry, too tired, and didn't think about it first. No, not serious.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
No doubt this is true. Song of the South...enough said.
As far as IPs go, Nintendo has some of the most well known characters out there and should be a good fit and easy transition for a theme park. Like you said, they still need to execute, but the IP provides so many different options. The hardest part may be picking which one(s) to go with.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
The last year Mobil did their Star Ratings the Grand Floridian got 3 stars. Forbes doesn't list a single Disney hotel. Four Seasons, Hyatt Regency, Reunion, Villas Grand Cypress, and The Ritz are the only 4 star resorts in Orlando according to Forbes.
Thanks for the info. Never heard of Forbes or Mobil doing ratings. Do you have a link to how they rate the properties?
GoofGoof
Premium Member
http://www.forbestravelguide.com/landing/2014-forbes-travel-guide-star-award-winners#cmpid=forbes_HN
Forbes travel guide (formerly Mobil travel guide) was the original 5 star system. They have less than 100 hotels worldwide that get 5 stars. It's a pretty rigorous review process and is generally considered a lot more strict than the AAA reviews. As far as I could tell they didn't actually rate any of the Disney hotels in 2014 or if they did they didn't get 4 or 5 stars. If you search for Disney on the site the only hits are Grand Californian and Four Seasons Walt Disney World both of which say they are being reviewed soon. There is a lot of buzz that Four Seasons WDW could be the Orlando areas first 5 star resort. Here's an article about it.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...tels-forbes-travel-guide-ritz-carlton-orlando
TP2000
Well-Known Member
You're correct. The Top of the Park cocktail lounge closed in 1989, about a year after Disney bought the Disneyland Hotel from the Wrather Corporation. The space reopened in the early 1990's as a concierge lounge, when Disney's deluxe hotels probably staffed a few concierges who actually were, you know, concierges instead of dressed up college kids without real concierge skills.
When you visited for the 50th the Looking Glass elevator was still in use. It was torn out during the massive Disneyland Hotel rebuild and retheme of 2009-2011.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
So we get a Disney Springs bar "themed" to Indy's pilot friend who factors into 3 minutes of Raiders, but we still don't have the Indiana Jones ride twenty years after it opened in Anaheim.
Well done, TDO! Brilliant troll job.
Well done, TDO! Brilliant troll job.
Rteetz
Well-Known Member
Well we did get the ride just in a different form it's called dinosaur
Thanks!