Big changes coming to Annual Passes

PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Sonconato said:
You stated something that I have been thinking about. Based on various articles, Disney is claiming this was done to address overcrowding during peak times. We're APer's and we go weekly and see the difference in the crowds, but keep in mind it is only on weekends. Weekdays may be entirely different. There are two crowds:

  • The "busy times of year" when black-out dates are in effect and seasonal passholders cannot go.

  • The off season time of year when seasonal passholders are able to attend.
Based on our experience, it is clearly more crowded during the off season due to the local seasonal passholders…at least on the weekends. You mentioned that you didn't go as much due to parking costs which is certainly understandable. Now that parking costs are included, and I agree, that is a much better deal for those passholders with black-out dates, is this really going to improve crowds? With that said, since we find that off season is more crowded ON THE WEEKENDS, it seems that it's actually going to get even worse. I guess we'll wait and see.
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You're right.

Tho the crowd level data is being weird of late, your overall observation is right.

Kinda flies in the face of what Chapek is putting out there in regards to surge pricing…
 
ULPO46

ULPO46

Well-Known Member
Ok so this is only opinion based loosely on fact. The pricing is a very very important tool for disney to adress the crowds that have had the park this year see the largest numbers in years! That said changing AP pricing now means disney can control who can afford to come and who cannot afford to come on a daily basis. If you are a native Floridian or live there currently you know that our local economy sucks at the moment anywhere from Orlando down to the Keys. In theory this economic downturn will mean that the countless people who owned or own AP passes at current rates will drop them at the start of their renewal year. Uni will follow suit but i see seas trying to keep it low to attract the crowds it desperately needs. Sure i may not live in Florida anymore but i understand the states local economy well. The pricing will affect countless families no doubt, but it won't make a dent in foreign toursit. By the way i atteneded a Hotel and Resort expo in Vegas recently and there are talks to indrease pricing in hotels all throughout the I-4 corridor so add the additional cost alongst food and you will see that this is the magic number for many families across Florida and any state near enough that people will drive down to disney for.
 
emmccarthy

emmccarthy

New Member
bhg469 said:
It wasn't included on the lower level FL tickets. The photo pass is the thing they're giving to you and pretending it's a gift.
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Ok I have FL resident AP (no blockout dates) but no water parks either. The seasonal and weekend passes you had to pay for parking?
 
TalkingHead

TalkingHead

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
Yup.

One of my 3 favorite historic hotels because of their place in literary history. Frank L. Baum wrote the The Wizard of Oz at The Hotel Del. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby at The Don Cesar. And Stephen King wrote The Shining at The Stanley.
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You sure about that? Gatsby was published in '25; the Don Cesar opened in '28.
 
alissafalco

alissafalco

Well-Known Member
bhg469 said:
The photo pass is the thing they're giving to you and pretending it's a gift.
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That's made very clear if you look at the difference between the seasonal Florida resident (Silver) and the (Gold). The Silver still does not include photo pass, but if you want to upgrade to Gold for $160 more it will include photo pass and 2 months in the summer not blocked out. That's the only difference between Silver and Gold. At $160 more isn't that the cost of photo pass if I wanted to add it to my trip???
 
Horizons1

Horizons1

Well-Known Member
aladdin2007 said:
I believe it, also this way if it leads to less passholders, Disney can cop out and cheap out and not bother with upkeep and updates as much and save costs and less complaints. Details are continually being done away with and or altered and or outright stale attractions. The tourists and foreigners who spend dont seem to care as much about these things that so many have a passion and love for, so Disney wins. All Disney cares about anymore is turning the parks into malls, and booze events. And a few posts back someone mentioned Walt Disney World is becoming less and less Disney all the time it seems, I feel that way too sadly.
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It's that corporate mentality. Make as much money as possible by spending as little as possible.
 
Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
Horizons1 said:
It's that corporate mentality. Make as much money as possible by spending as little as possible.
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It's a solid business practice. At some point Disney will spend too little and profits will fall. Then they will spend more. It's a cycle.

Even Walt did it. Where do you think the concept of on stage and off stage came from?
 
skyphotographer

skyphotographer

Well-Known Member
This might be a good time to stock up on park hopper tickets. Even if you don't use the tickets, you could always resell them in a few years and make a tidy profit. Considering the interest you get on a savings account these days, Disney tickets look like a good investment. May be a way to invest in Disney without buying stock.
 
TalkingHead

TalkingHead

Well-Known Member
POLY LOVER said:
not good, They are taking a huge PR hit from what I am reading. I think if they would have waited until the new areas are all open they would have no push back at all.
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Let's be clear. The Mouse doesn't care about any "push back" or "PR hit" unless it leads to diminished profit.

I'm not sure why that would happen now when WDW hasn't offered a compelling *new* reason to visit for years. People are going to show up regardless, AP die-hards especially. Just wait until spring when some blogger personalities go to DAK every night for a month straight to watch the new nighttime show.

I think a lot of us older fans jumped off the AP train years ago; if this is your breaking point, I have to wonder, "Why now?"
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Theme Park Tourist has a post about the "4 Perks coming for ALL Walt Disney World Passholders"
1. Advance access to Osborne Lights: November 1 - 5
2. Free F&W Wine glass after visiting Epcot on three separate days
3. Passholder discount on Disney Parks Shopping app
4. "Free PhotoPass Downloads (for renewals only)"

I nearly spit out my coffee when I read number 4. Did it ever occur to them one of several reasons for the increase in price is to supplement the cost of "free" parking and "free" PhotoPass downloads? There is nothing "free" about it and certainly not a "perk". You're paying for it whether you want it or not. And, yes, they do acknowledge that not all passes have this so-called "perk" (e.g. Silver).

http://www.themeparktourist.com/new...coming-year-all-walt-disney-world-passholders
 
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