Are changes coming to Florida passholder program?

[CaptainAmerica]

Seems like it would add even more blackouts to the passes, though. Not only would major holiday days and the summer (For Silver Pass folks) be blocked out, you'd be stopped from going to a park debuting a new attraction.
And I don't expect to see any price cut for taking that pass either.

A couple of random thoughts...

1. Based on nothing but my assumption that they'd want to avoid bad PR, I suspect there'd be some loosening of summer blockouts to offset this so that the total number of blocked days would be comparable.

2. Is there anything in the blockout structure right now where only certain parks are blocked on a given date? If not, this could be a net win for the pass holders. Instead of being blocked from all parks on a given day, they might only be blocked from whatever park is featuring a major new attraction. So they could still go to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or Hollywood Studios when Rivers of Light opens, for example, when otherwise they might have been blocked from all parks.

3. I don't know how this would work from a strictly logistical sense. As we've seen with Rivers of Light especially, new attraction opening dates are far from set in stone and I can't imagine people will want to commit to a pass when blockout dates are TBD based on projects being completed in their planned timelines.

 

[roj2323]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...ls-passholders-discontent-20160826-story.html

Wow, Disney is rewriting the book on branding.

If you mean they are using the book for toilet paper, Yes they are rewriting it.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I have a silver pass, and yes it is worth it, but this is our last year as a passholder for a while. For many different reasons, as much as it pains me to say, we probably won't be back to the parks till like 2020ish after this November. We are planning a Disneyland/California trip for next summer which is a factor in not renewing

 

[LongLiveTheKing]

Blocking whole MONTHS to parks when a new attraction comes out, however rare that is, is absolutely insulting to AP owners as if they shouldn't be included in being able to try the new ride comes out. Even a whole week would be bad, although maybe by putting out this survey they're trying to get people to bargain and be satisfied with the idea of a week block out

 

[Ragerunner]

I like to wait and see what comes out of these types of surveys. With that said we are planning on dropping our Disney passes and going with universal next year. We just feel the Disney experience has declined and no longer lives up to it's premium cost. We are also not convinced it will improve any time soon. We will look at returning - maybe after Star Wars finally opens probably in 2020 or so.

 

[JWG]

So interesting as every other place I have a pass to gives early previews to new things versus blocking me out. Hey thanks for being a loyal guest, you can wait until after everyone else to see our shiny new thing.

 

[NearTheEars]

A couple of random thoughts...

1. Based on nothing but my assumption that they'd want to avoid bad PR, I suspect there'd be some loosening of summer blockouts to offset this so that the total number of blocked days would be comparable.

2. Is there anything in the blockout structure right now where only certain parks are blocked on a given date? If not, this could be a net win for the pass holders. Instead of being blocked from all parks on a given day, they might only be blocked from whatever park is featuring a major new attraction. So they could still go to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or Hollywood Studios when Rivers of Light opens, for example, when otherwise they might have been blocked from all parks.

3. I don't know how this would work from a strictly logistical sense. As we've seen with Rivers of Light especially, new attraction opening dates are far from set in stone and I can't imagine people will want to commit to a pass when blockout dates are TBD based on projects being completed in their planned timelines.

Agree on all accounts

 

[AEfx]

Is this any different than how the program works now? Different tiers of pass have different amounts of blocked dates? Lower tier passholders are blocked during periods of peak demand?

The difference is blocking based on attendance projections (in which case, as many will tell you who don't mind the blockout dates - they wouldn't want to go on those days anyway because of the crowds - like how you wouldn't catch most of us dead there on a major holiday, etc.) and instead basing it on new offerings in the parks, for example, which could be at any time of the year and only serves to get the AP holder to pay more not based on how busy it will be but something much more artificial and more directly exclusionary.

In short, I think people are put off by not having the restrictions being based on a practicality versus what offerings are available.

 

[NearTheEars]

So interesting as every other place I have a pass to gives early previews to new things versus blocking me out. Hey thanks for being a loyal guest, you can wait until after everyone else to see our shiny new thing.

I agree, but I think management sees us as a nuisance. They don't want us making the lines even longer for the folks investing thousands into a trip.

 

[rob0519]

I personally don't understand why Florida residents get a discount on passes and then a 12 month payment plan to pay it off. It's like the residents of 49 other states are paying some sort of penalty for not living in Florida. Was this some deal originally made with the Florida legislature decades ago?

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I personally don't understand why Florida residents get a discount on passes and then a 12 month payment plan to pay it off. It's like the residents of 49 other states are paying some sort of penalty for not living in Florida. Was this some deal originally made with the Florida legislature decades ago?

Disneyland does the same thing with California residents, it's just a perk of living in the state? Disney is in it's own city (basically) so I don't think it has anything to do with Florida legislature. I believe its just to encourage locals, Universal does the same thing as well.

 

[CJR]

3. I don't know how this would work from a strictly logistical sense. As we've seen with Rivers of Light especially, new attraction opening dates are far from set in stone and I can't imagine people will want to commit to a pass when blockout dates are TBD based on projects being completed in their planned timelines.

This is an excellent point. It's very common for openings to get pushed back.

I agree, but I think management sees us as a nuisance. They don't want us making the lines even longer for the folks investing thousands into a trip.

While they don't want lines getting longer, I'd wager that AP holders would have a minimal impact on lines. For example, Frozen was blocked out all summer and still had a really long wait. It hasn't changed much since blockout dates have lifted. It's all pretty much status quo at the parks.

I think it has more to do with management trying to get people to upgrade their passes and squeeze more dough out of them. They mistakenly believe that people have endless pockets and will want to upgrade tiers to passes with no block out dates. I see it having the opposite impact, in which people would just drop their passes entirely and hardly no one would upgrade. A lot of people downgraded passes with their move last year, so it looks like they're trying to find a way to entice people to upgrade passes back up.

For me personally, if they want me to wait two months to ride something, that's fine. I mean, I've waited how many years for Avatar, what's two more months really? The way I see it, it's an opportunity to iron out the kinks and get more smooth first time experience.

 

[AEfx]

I personally don't understand why Florida residents get a discount on passes and then a 12 month payment plan to pay it off. It's like the residents of 49 other states are paying some sort of penalty for not living in Florida. Was this some deal originally made with the Florida legislature decades ago?

It's because an annual pass, anywhere, is really aimed at locals to begin with. So locals can come and go for a few hours, here and there, for a better part of a day, etc. It wasn't meant to be a replacement for vacationers to use to get discounts, etc. who are likely going to spend full days at the parks everyday. There is more to it than that, it's a bit complex, but basically - Disney doesn't want you to buy an AP if you aren't a local. The only reason they offer the payment plan is because Universal did, and a local is more likely to keep up with the payments, vs. someone who is a vacationer who just uses it to defer paying for their vacation.

If Disney could without some severe backlash, they would likely eliminate the AP program, period - and just have some sort of locals pass, if that. In effect, by pricing it out as they have, they have already done what they could to discourage them. Long gone are the days when an AP was a true value to a lot of us. I had one for years even though I lived more than 1,000 miles away - but now that they cost such an astronomical amount, they have certainly driven a segment of us away already.

 

[rob0519]

It's because an annual pass, anywhere, is really aimed at locals to begin with. So locals can come and go for a few hours, here and there, for a better part of a day, etc. It wasn't meant to be a replacement for vacationers to use to get discounts, etc. who are likely going to spend full days at the parks everyday. There is more to it than that, it's a bit complex, but basically - Disney doesn't want you to buy an AP if you aren't a local. The only reason they offer the payment plan is because Universal did, and a local is more likely to keep up with the payments, vs. someone who is a vacationer who just uses it to defer paying for their vacation.

If Disney could without some severe backlash, they would likely eliminate the AP program, period - and just have some sort of locals pass, if that. In effect, by pricing it out as they have, they have already done what they could to discourage them. Long gone are the days when an AP was a true value to a lot of us. I had one for years even though I lived more than 1,000 miles away - but now that they cost such an astronomical amount, they have certainly driven a segment of us away already.

Well, we've had an AP for years just to get the AP Room Discounts. I just never understood why the company would charge Florida residents less. This could fall under the "it's not fair to everyone" that prompted other changes I won't bring up here.

 

[andesigns792]

Well, we've had an AP for years just to get the AP Room Discounts. I just never understood why the company would charge Florida residents less. This could fall under the "it's not fair to everyone" that prompted other changes I won't bring up here.

I believe they want us residents to fill the parks in the off season, so they offer the discount as an incentive.

Also, they offer residents more pass options. Where non-residents get either the premium or premium plus, residents get the weekday, silver, and gold as well. Ultimately I believe they keep these more affordable options around because local attendance can keep the parks afloat in times when the tourism industry isn't doing too well. If they were to alienate Florida residents, they'd risk loosing the one source of income that's always right there.

New York residents have IDNYC as program to get discounts on stuff in the city just for being a New York resident, so it's not uncommon for local tourist areas to have discounts for their surrounding communities.

 

[AEfx]

Well, we've had an AP for years just to get the AP Room Discounts. I just never understood why the company would charge Florida residents less. This could fall under the "it's not fair to everyone" that prompted other changes I won't bring up here.

Right, they don't like people who do that, so they aren't going to encourage that. Get it?

 

[Mike S]

So interesting as every other place I have a pass to gives early previews to new things versus blocking me out. Hey thanks for being a loyal guest, you can wait until after everyone else to see our shiny new thing.

What's really funny is that early previews exclusive to APs could serve the same purpose of having shorter lines for the tourists after the official opening since the locals already experienced it. The difference of course is that one is a great gesture towards your loyal fan base and the other is spitting in the face of said fan base.

 

[raven]

So interesting as every other place I have a pass to gives early previews to new things versus blocking me out. Hey thanks for being a loyal guest, you can wait until after everyone else to see our shiny new thing.

I agree, but I think management sees us as a nuisance. They don't want us making the lines even longer for the folks investing thousands into a trip.

Know what also is a nuisance making lines longer? CPs and CMs on their day off (and they make it clear to everyone who they are by obnoxiously talking about how much they hate their jobs and all the drama that comes with it). Shouldn't they be blocked out as well? They often get previews anyway.

 

[wdisney9000]

I remember when an Annual Pass to WDW was just that, an Annual Pass, not an algorithm.

 

[wdisney9000]

Is there anything in the blockout structure right now where only certain parks are blocked on a given date? If not, this could be a net win for the pass holders. Instead of being blocked from all parks on a given day, they might only be blocked from whatever park is featuring a major new attraction.

I understand what your saying, but I dont see how it can be considered a net win in any fashion when the end result is something being taken away.