Goofnut1980
Well-Known Member
I just renewed last Monday 9/28... Wonder if they will upgrade us if we call?
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Big changes coming to Annual Passes
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I just renewed last Monday 9/28... Wonder if they will upgrade us if we call?
CSUFSteve
Active Member
Sure, regular admission has gone up, of course. But, as others have pointed out, the clear objective this time is to thin the herd of AP'ers. Moreso, I'd wager, at Disneyland, where capacity issues are starkest. I honestly think this will actually improve the experience for day guests/vacationing families. Imagine someone who wants to come "just for the day" actually being able to get into the Parks!
Someone talked about a tipping point... I think Disney actually *wants* a little bit of a tipping point. Protect revenues but improve the overall experience by actually slightly reducing in-park attendance or, again, at least distributing it better via tiered pricing. I don't actually see what's wrong with this. Some will be outraged, some will simply strategically change their visitation patterns to minimize cost but retain their Disney "fix". Will they monitor the "tip" and adjust accordingly, if necessary? Sure they will.
It'll be interesting to see to what extent "ed off" Disney AP'ers will migrate to Universal. October will be my first time to UO, so I can only speak re: USH. But USH is so heavily landlocked, with their "hub" (connecting their "Main St" to MM to Tram to Lower Lot) is a disaster of crowd control. HP is sandwiched tightly between Simpsons and Shrek, and USH's remaining land will be used for housing developments. There really is nowhere for them to grow. HP will certainly compound the problem. I'm sure USH knows this, and will no longer offer a "Buy One Day, get the rest of the year free" AP but, regardless, this could ultimately be a nightmare for them, too. I'm assuming UO could handle this better. Do they still do the buy-a-day-get-the-year-free AP thing?
Fair point, actually. But in that vein, you'd also have to count the other aspects of WDW's 4 Parks: way more dining options (and better, IMO), and way more entertainment. The extent to which someone values those as part of the admission they pay is, obviously, relative.
Crystal J
Member
I just read about the change today - I got an AP back in 2013 and did three trips in a 12 month window and for the cost vs entertainment value it was borderline. I was planning a repeat in 2018 with three trips, now I am really not sure - since I am out of state and non-DVC and could care less about photopass. I did a comparison of the median income; AP cost; AP cost if it were based on inflation. The Median income has followed inflation pretty close (which makes sense) but AP prices (I would say for entertainment in general) has way out paced income. I would say Disney is defiantly out of reach of a lot of middle class now.
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docdebbi
Well-Known Member
yeah, i don't know if we can scan them, that has traditionally been for memory maker purchasers or those buying an individual photo. obviously if my daughter and I have the annual pass with downloads included we're not paying to purchase a memory maker when the whole family goes in april . so i don't know if someone without MM or AP can scan to go to the photopass download included with the AP. so many unknown details at this point
also we got spoiled by not having to stand in a line after the ride and scan them on the last 2 trips, would hate to have to start doing that again, if we even can.
and my daughter and I are getting our annual passes in 2 weeks when we go, (WITHOUT THE KIDS !!!!!!)
darn, just missed the cutoff to get the older cheaper one. but thanks for the suggestion, i guess we may have to do scanning
asianway
Well-Known Member
Given the choice - which isn't realistic? No. Free spending > Savvy
I know some APs who spend a ton, but even they can't match the money a once in a lifer throws down in a week. I also know some of the biggest Cheap Skates out there
flynnibus
Premium Member
We can't assume to know why any one person bought a DVC timeshare, and certainly can't group all owners together in the same group.
I'm 100% certain there are DVC owners out there who bought in for the resorts themselves and not the parks.
Yes, we can be 100% certain there are stupid people in the world
asianway
Well-Known Member
WDW hotels simply aren't worth the prices. A Fairfield Inn shouldn't have better amenities
They don't. I'm a few short stays away from lifetime platinum status and it's mostly from Fairfield stays. There are some that are nice and some suck. I've paid anywhere from 79 a night to 250 a night at Fairfields. I'd stay at a Disney Resort over a Fairfield anytime.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Visiting more frequently doesn't increase your disposible income. Disney wants to increase their share of your discrectionary spend.. and ensure each trip includes you spending as much as possible.
There is always a range.. this is not A or B. New customers cost a lot to capture.. repeat customers who are loyal are cheap to attraction, but can be more expensive to retain over time... their spend can be high, but overtime will slide compared to 'fresh meat'. Go further along the scale and the person's load on the park can start to exceed their spend.
Every business wants to increase 'opportunities' to convert into sales... that means stuff the gates. But ultimately you move beyond stuffing and say "I want a specific type of customer... not just any" because of the greater potential.
The "lets have a family Disney vacation" from the family that comes in frequently is Disney's whale. Body for body they represent the highest potential... but frequent visitors are valuable to because they start to discover the other spending options the noobs may be too overwhelmed to find. So there is a sweet spot in terms of frequency and buyer-awareness... but simply saying "I'm a frequent customer, who spends a lot" doesn't make you the most desirable body to have committed your finite capacity to. This is DLR's problem.. far worse than WDW's. Too much of the capacity is being consumed by discount admissions and high repeat customers whose average spend is low compared to if that same spot was filled by a day tripper.
yedliW
Well-Known Member
We can't assume to know why any one person bought a DVC timeshare, and certainly can't group all owners together in the same group.
I'm 100% certain there are DVC owners out there who bought in for the resorts themselves and not the parks.
I imagine that since they have 3 DVC resorts that aren't near the parks is a good indication that you are correct..
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
T.R. Holiday
Member
Fairfield Resort is pretty awesome. Especially the one by Universal Studios. Either way, I am still hooked on Disney so.... cost increase or not I am going to be an Annual Passholder for a long time especially since I live two hours away.
hopemax
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing they could, but it wouldn't register as a "free" photo, and would have to be paid for. But given this is Disney IT, what happens in practice, remains to be seen...
CSUFSteve
Active Member
Same here, I don't imagine ever NOT being a Passholder. For the first time, though, I did have some numbers to crunch. I never go during the 2 weeks of Christmas break anyway, unless the family did (which they won't now) or the rare time I go for NYE, so why pay $200 for those 15 days? If I go to WDW for more than a week in a year, then I'll still get the Premiere. If not, it'll be the DL Signature Pass and regular WDW admission media for me. For WDW, the AP benefits are "lacking" anyway so between DVC, D23, Disney Visa, I really won't lose much.
Lighten up, pal. It was a joke.
From https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/park-experience-terms-conditions/
"The AP Guest will have the ability to download any photos and other digital content shared by members of the AP Guest's Family & Friends list. Photo sharing rules are subject to the Family & Friends terms..."
While Im sure attendance wont be slipping anytime soon, what kind of long term damage could they be doing to the existing repeat customer? IMO, it seems clear they would rather focus on "fresh meat" as @flynnibus calls 'em. Could they have a plan to turn a whole new breed of client into repeat visitors? Do they think there is an infinite amount of first timers out there? Is there? Are they looking past the next decade?
disney4life2008
Well-Known Member
Agreed. There isnt a chance disney would suddenly "upgrade" everyone's pass. Those who purchased APs as of Sunday are the guinea pigs
Just got back from Disney tonight and although I got the email earlier, didn't have a chance to digest it. I have an annual pass. No blackout dates. For the most comparable new pass, the FL Gold, seems the hit I take is about a $60 yearly increase and the inability to go over Christmas and New Years, along with a week during spring break.
Now I don't necessarily like that I am being asked to pay more and having a restriction placed on when I can go, but even at the new structure it is still a bargain.
Everybody has their own mathematical equation to consider. I look at it this way. I hit the parks about 30 times a year - broken up into 3 and 4 night stays. When you factor in the renewal discount, that's about $18 every time I walk into Main Street, Spaceship Earth etc. I spend about 8 hours in the parks (usually 2 per day) when I'm there. So under this new structure it's going to cost me about $2.25 per hour (or $9 an hour for a family of 4 - which by the way a 2 hour movie would cost a family of 4 about $15/hr).
Now I don't necessarily like that I am being asked to pay more and having a restriction placed on when I can go, but even at the new structure it is still a bargain.
Everybody has their own mathematical equation to consider. I look at it this way. I hit the parks about 30 times a year - broken up into 3 and 4 night stays. When you factor in the renewal discount, that's about $18 every time I walk into Main Street, Spaceship Earth etc. I spend about 8 hours in the parks (usually 2 per day) when I'm there. So under this new structure it's going to cost me about $2.25 per hour (or $9 an hour for a family of 4 - which by the way a 2 hour movie would cost a family of 4 about $15/hr).
CSUFSteve
Active Member
Fair question. I don't think it's "new customers" per say, as much as "vacationing customer"... those who view a trip to Disney as an "event", or "something special", versus "commodity trips", as I'd say most of us here think of them. And I don't mean "commodity" with any sort of negative sentiment, but rather in the truest sense of the word. Where I think Disney particularly capitalizes on us are true Disney "events": anniversary celebrations, merchandise celebrations, etc. That's the stuff where I'd say we spend more than the average guest, and where Disney would still want to keep our "repeat" business. But average, day to day trips to the Parks, honestly, how much do we as a collective Passholder group spend compared to the "vacationing" guest?
This has made me wonder..... is there a foreseeable future where there are NO ANNUAL PASSES? After all, annual passes never existed in Walt's lifetime. Has this, more than anything, changed the guest dynamic at Disney theme parks? Would eliminating these make *every* Disney trip "an event" again? What would Walt think of the "entitled guest"?