D23 winding down?

[prberk]

I could see some perks for DVC. But for passholders? Nah... Passholders are already getting in to the parks on both coasts on steerage rates, and then not spending nearly as much per day as the tourists sharing the parks with them. And yes, there's always some AP who collects every Lladro statue they offer, but for every Lladro collector there are 1,000 AP Minivan Moms sneaking in baggies of carrots and bottled water for snacks during their bi-weekly stroller visit. Or the AP who thinks they are doing Disney a favor because they usually get a churro during their bi-weekly visit, or one time they did the Tomorrowland Terrace dessert buffet for the wife's birthday. Overall though, AP's are spending pennies on the dollar compared to casual tourists.

The Passholders who visit once a month or more are statistically the steerage customers in the theme parks, and the extremely cheap rates at which we get into the parks with our AP is enough of a perk.

Passholders are not always locals, but they ARE usually Disney fans who spend a considerable sum over time.

As for "pennies on the dollar" -- have you seen the pass prices? Especially compare to Busch Gardens? For about $100 at BG, you get one year's admission, free parking, 10% discount on everything, and their Halloween stuff is included without being a separate admission. [Christmastown is a separate admission but is around $30 and has less rides.]

I know that as a passholder, I do eat at least two meals at WDW each day, whether in the hotel or parks.

Passholders should have perks.

 

[asianway]

Passholders are not always locals, but they ARE usually Disney fans who spend a considerable sum over time.

As for "pennies on the dollar" -- have you seen the pass prices? Especially compare to Busch Gardens? For about $100 at BG, you get one year's admission, free parking, 10% discount on everything, and their Halloween stuff is included without being a separate admission. [Christmastown is a separate admission but is around $30 and has less rides.]

I know that as a passholder, I do eat at least two meals at WDW each day, whether in the hotel or parks.

Passholders should have perks.

Does Busch Gardens let you bring in outside food?

 

[prberk]

Does Busch Gardens let you bring in outside food?

No, but neither does WDW in the parks that I know of. I am sure that people "sneak" snacks into both parks.

At BG they do, however, have a sheltered picnic area in the parking lot (near the bus parking area, closest to the entrance). You are welcome to go back out to your car and eat lunch at the picnic shelter. I have done that with our church's youth group for those students who could not afford lunch in the park after paying admission. Have you seen one of those at WDW?

(I am referring to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by the way; but I believe Tampa would be similar.)

 

[MattM]

I could see some perks for DVC. But for passholders? Nah... Passholders are already getting in to the parks on both coasts on steerage rates, and then not spending nearly as much per day as the tourists sharing the parks with them. And yes, there's always some AP who collects every Lladro statue they offer, but for every Lladro collector there are 1,000 AP Minivan Moms sneaking in baggies of carrots and bottled water for snacks during their bi-weekly stroller visit. Or the AP who thinks they are doing Disney a favor because they usually get a churro during their bi-weekly visit, or one time they did the Tomorrowland Terrace dessert buffet for the wife's birthday. Overall though, AP's are spending pennies on the dollar compared to casual tourists.

The Passholders who visit once a month or more are statistically the steerage customers in the theme parks, and the extremely cheap rates at which we get into the parks with our AP is enough of a perk.

Passholders give Disney the cash upfront so they can do projects that everyone on these boards want them to do.

 

[asianway]

No, but neither does WDW in the parks that I know of. I am sure that people "sneak" snacks into both parks.

At BG they do, however, have a sheltered picnic area in the parking lot (near the bus parking area, closest to the entrance). You are welcome to go back out to your car and eat lunch at the picnic shelter. I have done that with our church's youth group for those students who could not afford lunch in the park after paying admission. Have you seen one of those at WDW?

(I am referring to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by the way; but I believe Tampa would be similar.)

Wdw once had the policy for sure, but it is not enforced at all if it hasn't been rescinded. I saw rolling coolers last time

 

[RandomPrincess]

No, but neither does WDW in the parks that I know of. I am sure that people "sneak" snacks into both parks.

At BG they do, however, have a sheltered picnic area in the parking lot (near the bus parking area, closest to the entrance). You are welcome to go back out to your car and eat lunch at the picnic shelter. I have done that with our church's youth group for those students who could not afford lunch in the park after paying admission. Have you seen one of those at WDW?

(I am referring to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by the way; but I believe Tampa would be similar.)

Disney does allow outside food and drinks in all their US parks. You don't have to sneak anything in. We have brought snacks into the parks for years. Mostly for our kids. I know many families who pack sandwiches for lunch to help save money.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I renewed again, mostly because I'm a completist for books and magazines. The renewal gift this year was a pen, with Walt's name scrawled on it. This paled in comparison to the nostalgia-fueled (and frankly way more inventive) gifts they gave in previous years.

I've got a couple of calendars, a pen, several pins and a bunch of patches. I still use the Tron mouse pad, and my wife bought me a full set of the Epcot patches for Christmas one year. Having said that, I have the last two magazines sitting on my nightstand unread.

 

[MRGEFF]

I renewed again recently. I really enjoy being a D23 member. The magazine is terrific. Very colorful. Lots of great photos. I really like the renewal gifts. I, also, enjoy the member items that come with your quarterly issue of the magazine, e.g. the EPCOT & Disneyland patches. I have, also, used my card to get discounts at the Disney Store, shops & some restaurants at Downtown Disney. Looking forward to the next issue.

 

[prberk]

Disney does allow outside food and drinks in all their US parks. You don't have to sneak anything in. We have brought snacks into the parks for years. Mostly for our kids. I know many families who pack sandwiches for lunch to help save money.

That's good to know. I stand corrected. It is nice that they allow that. They don't have to get every dime, and I think that helps in return visits if you don't come away feeling that they do have to. Besides, it's kind of quaint, I think, to bring your lunch to the park.

 

[Donald96]

Passholders are not always locals, but they ARE usually Disney fans who spend a considerable sum over time.

As for "pennies on the dollar" -- have you seen the pass prices? Especially compare to Busch Gardens? For about $100 at BG, you get one year's admission, free parking, 10% discount on everything, and their Halloween stuff is included without being a separate admission. [Christmastown is a separate admission but is around $30 and has less rides.]

I know that as a passholder, I do eat at least two meals at WDW each day, whether in the hotel or parks.

Passholders should have perks.

Also, as an annual or seasonal passholder you get 10% off all merchandise just not at restaurants or food carts; figured this out last year and we've saved a ton over time! And you get a discount at the AMC in DD and 50% off mini golf so we go to Disney for everthing now!

 

[flavious27]

As a charter D23 member, I let my membership lapse this year. The $10 credit wasn't enough to sway me back. I like the magazine, but not for $65-$75 a year. Living in MN, to the person from UK up above, I can't drop everything and fly in for a free screening at the Capitan theater or take advantage of a special dessert party at Epcot on a moments notice. Those perks belong to pass holders and residents.

For D23 to succeed, they need real perks for those of us NOT at the parks wanting to stay connected to Disney and they haven't figured that out yet.

Well Disney owns the stores again, they could have events hosted there for announcements and or discounts.

 

[lego606]

Well Disney owns the stores again, they could have events hosted there for announcements and or discounts.

They very rarely do events at the stores. I went to the reopening of the NYC store, and there's one next week in Miami. I imagine it's just not worth the cost to them to do a one-off event unless it's part of a tour, like Fanniversary.

 

[flavious27]

They very rarely do events at the stores. I went to the reopening of the NYC store, and there's one next week in Miami. I imagine it's just not worth the cost to them to do a one-off event unless it's part of a tour, like Fanniversary.

If they are able to deliver the materials digitally, it lowers the resistance to hosting events in the stores. The largest cost for events could just have store cms stay a couple hours extra. At the same time, those costs are covered by expanding the brand.

 

[lego606]

If they are able to deliver the materials digitally, it lowers the resistance to hosting events in the stores. The largest cost for events could just have store cms stay a couple hours extra. At the same time, those costs are covered by expanding the brand.

They have to pay extra staff time, send out D23 CMs, create content, all to basically promote their stuff to people who are fans enough to shell out an annual fee. It's just not worth it.

 

[Next Big Thing]

The problem with D23 and the D23 Expo is they need to pull everyone from comic-con to have enough content to fill the convention. Regardless of what Disney will say, Comic-Con gets them WAY more exposure than D23 will ever get them. Disney is running this a nickel and dime business, depending on their orange grove of customers to squeeze every last drop of money out. If the Expo is actually hurting Disney marketing-wise every other year, it becomes time to ask yourself "Is the juice worth the squeeze?" (props to anyone who gets that reference )

 

[montyz81]

Is it possible that the Internet has rendered this magazine useless? This is a problem all magazines have. Just a thought. I have never been a D23 member.

 

[wdwmagic]

Is it possible that the Internet has rendered this magazine useless? This is a problem all magazines have. Just a thought. I have never been a D23 member.

The magazine launched during the Internet era so they must have felt they could offer something unique.

 

[flavious27]

They have to pay extra staff time, send out D23 CMs, create content, all to basically promote their stuff to people who are fans enough to shell out an annual fee. It's just not worth it.

And is that not the point of D23, to reenforce the brand and engage with the most passionate fans? If D23 members are not able to go to the expo, then why not bring the expo and magic to them.
This is what cons do, this is what paramount does with the trek cons. Sometimes the costs are more than the revenue that you get, but the real benefit is intangible.

 

[lego606]

And is that not the point of D23, to reenforce the brand and engage with the most passionate fans? If D23 members are not able to go to the expo, then why not bring the expo and magic to them.
This is what cons do, this is what paramount does with the trek cons. Sometimes the costs are more than the revenue that you get, but the real benefit is intangible.

Yes, the Expo itself is worth the cost of staging, as that is where new stuff is revealed and the brand is expanded. I don't see many cons with concurrent "satellite" locations or "post-event" locations.

 

[prberk]

And is that not the point of D23, to reenforce the brand and engage with the most passionate fans? If D23 members are not able to go to the expo, then why not bring the expo and magic to them.
This is what cons do, this is what paramount does with the trek cons. Sometimes the costs are more than the revenue that you get, but the real benefit is intangible.

Yes, the Expo itself is worth the cost of staging, as that is where new stuff is revealed and the brand is expanded. I don't see many cons with concurrent "satellite" locations or "post-event" locations.

Exactly. Some people don't seem to understand what I was referring to in my first post, about how Disney used to be seen by business schools as extraordinary at developing long-term customers ("return on investment"), but that was not always through short-term gains but long-term repeat business brought about by loyalty and a sense of belonging. The "intangibles" that you mention that "expand the brand" as you say.

Having a sale on bread at the grocery store may bring the profit margin down, and especially if you include the cost of the advertising or maybe the cost of printing the coupons which customers use to get the sale price; but it brings in customers who buy other things. And over time, if they get a sense of value and inclusion (by being sent coupons on things they regularly buy -- and more important, by being treated well by the also costy courtesy clerks who recognize their needs and take their groceries out while talking about the familiar customer's concerns), the "intangibles" amount to increased sales overall.

The intangibles matter more than short-term sales gimmicks over time.