death by a thousand cuts or over-reaction

[jharvey]

I still will miss it during EMH. I suppose this change will also affect MNSSHP?

shooooooooot. I didn't even think about that. Say it ain't so.

 

[lazyboy97o]

"Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice: pull down your pants, and slide on the ice."

A quote from one my favourite shows, M*A*S*H, that basically means make the best of a bad situation and just go with the flow - relax and enjoy what IS there still.

No. I'd rather not just accept paying more for less. I can and will spend more and more of my money elsewhere.

 

[MarkTwain]

Thanks. The sentiment in my original post was not to gripe, it was to honestly hear from the veteran wdw visitors who may be able to shed a little light.

I wanted to post more, but honestly I couldn't think of any at the time. It also sounds like the Sword in the Stone ceremony raising has come back in at least some capacity, but it isn't the full show featuring Merlin. I'll post more if I can think of them, but I think in general the returns of things aren't as trumpeted as the loss of them.

 

[meyeet]

The little orange bird has returned.

 

[Tom Morrow]

The third hour of evening EMH is the only time when you actually benefit from being there "late" and "exclusively." The first two hours are just as crowded, if not more crowded than the park would have been on a normal evening that day because so many resort guests are condensed into one park, with less capacity since not everything is open. Also, its often not even "late" because the other parks are open close to just as late.

So the third hour, IMO, was the "perk", the rest, I suspect to the average guest, may almost seem like a scam.

 

[koryadams]

But was the removal of the circus offset by the addition of something else? Yes it may have not been a popular as Walt hoped, but he had a new attraction/parade something that quickly filled the void. There is nothing wrong with trying new and different attractions, as long as you gain something, or at least end up being equal to where you had been. Removing something (like the 3rd EMH) without replacing it with something else is just a cut. So it wasn't as heavily attended as the first two hours, fine, go ahead and stop offering it. But bring back characters during the first two hours. Or for every 2 shortened evening EMH nights, add one somewhere else. So the 2 "less attended" hours of staffing are offset by a new 2 hour "heavily attended" EMH. Something to continue to still offer value. Without offering any new value there is nothing to stop them from saying "Heck, the 2nd hour isn't as heavily attended as the first, so lets drop that as well."



Because it is one of the supposed benefits of staying at a monorail resort. People book the GF, Poly or Contemporary with the expectation of being able to hop on and off the monorail to get to the MK. But now not having that in the evening? Even if it was only used by 5 people each hour, it is something that was advertised. So say that WDW saved $10,000 per hour by not running the resort loop. (Making number up out of thin air) Did they return that savings to the guests in the form of cheaper hotel rates? Or added entertainment at their resort to help compensate? Nope, just took it away.

If you were a singer, and you were advertised to perform a show at a given place/time, even if only 5 people showed up, shouldn't you still perform? How do you know that one of those five didn't drive 10 hours to see you sing, or hadn't been saving their money for 2 years to afford plane fare to come hear you as they were a huge fan. Or if you said "Ok, there are only 5 of you, so I will only sing for 30 mins instead of an hour, but still expect you to pay full price". That is suddenly no different than the monorail. People save for years to be able to go to WDW, and now you are suddenly telling them it's not going to run the entire time they are there.



I think the biggest beef of the Doom & Gloom crowd is that the losses aren't being offset. Can anyone say 1st hand that they have taken advantage of the shortened monorail schedule to actually do some maintenance? How many people realistically think that 1 less hour of operation 2-3 times a week will let them magically fix all the AAs on Splash. And did the costs of food go down by 2 cents per meal to offset the removal of the printed napkins?

I meant no one. Not 5 people, 0. Yes I have performed for 5 people because I know they came all the way out to see me. I am talking about no one showing up. No one knows for sure what Disney has planned for the saved money, they could be planning something for the future. They keep things very secret and reveal when they want. Again, I am upset, but I kinda see the business point...but now I am more confused as to what side I agree with more.

 

[Patricia Melton]

The shortening of evening EMH has taken away the last reason I ever had to stay on-property. I used to do it every so often just to be able to get that extra 3-hours - I usually go down during off-periods when the parks have ridiculously early closing times (anything 9PM or earlier is ridiculously early - at the prices we pay, you should be able to get at least 12 hours as a bare minimum out of the park), and those 3-hours really were magic (especially the last hour or so).

But now - that's the last perk I cared about at all. All the other stuff (guaranteed admission? sorry, if it's that busy, I wouldn't want to set foot in there anyway), slow as heck transport (I can beat a Disney bus for park hopping or getting from any Disney point A to point B more quickly in my own vehicle, and most of that transportation is open to any guest anyway, regardless), and an inflexibly scheduled bus to get from the airport don't cut it.

I hesitate to say it, but I would pay MORE to stay later - but then again, ticket prices are so high now that we shouldn't really have to.

All these moves keep telling me, "Disney doesn't want your money, go off-site for lodging where it's cheaper and much, much nicer for the same prices or less", which also means I'll eat off-site more, and it's a lot easier for me to spend days at other parks and attractions as well.

My goodness...that's a lot of complaints in one post!

 

[Patricia Melton]

So the third hour, IMO, was the "perk", the rest, I suspect to the average guest, may almost seem like a scam.

Wow. This is an unfair stretch. What's next? Accusing Disney of deliberately trying to kill you via lung disease because you walked by a bus that belched too much exhaust in your general direction?

That's as absurd as your calling EMHs a "scam".

Be a critic if you want, but be fair in your criticisms and don't throw words like "scam" around lightly.

 

[Mikester71]

No. I'd rather not just accept paying more for less. I can and will spend more and more of my money elsewhere.

Exactly - and that's your prerogative. If I don't like something, or am not happy with the state of something, I would certainly choose something else to occupy my time with or spend my money on too. Nobody forces me to do anything in life I don't want because there are always other options available to me.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Wow. This is an unfair stretch. What's next? Accusing Disney of deliberately trying to kill you via lung disease because you walked by a bus that belched too much exhaust in your general direction?

That's as absurd as your calling EMHs a "scam".

Be a critic if you want, but be fair in your criticisms and don't throw words like "scam" around lightly.

I'm not saying that *I* personally think it is a "scam", but put yourself in the mind of Average, Uninformed Guest. I'm sure more than a few people get annoyed when they were promised that by spending the extra cash to stay in a Disney resort, they would be granted the perk of getting EXCLUSIVE time in the parks. Yes, Disney didn't actually say "the park is going to be empty, you won't have to wait for anything!" but that is what they want you to think. And in reality you often DO have to wait until that third hour rolls around before its noticeably quieter, and like I said, at first, the park is often even more crowded than it would have been otherwise.

I wonder how the crowd levels will play out with the reduced hour.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I'm not saying that *I* personally think it is a "scam", but put yourself in the mind of Average, Uninformed Guest. I'm sure more than a few people get annoyed when they were promised that by spending the extra cash to stay in a Disney resort, they would be granted the perk of getting EXCLUSIVE time in the parks. Yes, Disney didn't actually say "the park is going to be empty, you won't have to wait for anything!" but that is what they want you to think. And in reality you often DO have to wait until that third hour rolls around before its noticeably quieter, and like I said, at first, the park is often even more crowded than it would have been otherwise.

I wonder how the crowd levels will play out with the reduced hour.

Honestly, regular guests who come to the parks (and are not super-fans) won't even notice the EMHs being reduced. That last hour of it was really just being attended by super-fans. Other guests are happy with the two hours and being in the parks that late at night is something they didn't seem to think was important enough to state in the focus group testing that no doubt went into this move.

So while I think the three hours of EMHs is nice, in all the years I've been going with my family to WDW every year we've probably only stayed until closing once or twice. We just get too tired out.

I highly doubt anyone at all is seeing this as a "scam" of some kind like you do. A man bumped into me today at the grocery store...and I didn't accuse him of "assault" because I didn't like being bumped into. That would have been like you calling this change by Disney "a scam" just because you don't particularly like the change.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I highly doubt anyone at all is seeing this as a "scam" of some kind like you do. A man bumped into me today at the grocery store...and I didn't accuse him of "assault" because I didn't like being bumped into. That would have been like you calling this change by Disney "a scam" just because you don't particularly like the change.

I specifically said in the post you quoted that *I* personally do not think it is in any way a scam, but to the average person it could seem like one. Also I wasn't even referring to the hour reduction, rather the fact that EMH evenings tend to be busy and annoying.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I, personally, avoid any park that is having any EMH activity. It always seems more crowded and I know my physical limitations and how long my interest in anything stays peaked. (not very long). As far as I am concerned they could stay open all night or close early...doesn't matter to me.

I wish I had the stamina that some of you have, but by about 8 hours, my feet are killing me, my bad knees are in pain and I'm just plain tired. There has never been an attraction invented that would make me stay longer.

It's kind of a moot point for me anyway, because I never stay on-site so I couldn't go if I wanted...fortunately, I don't wanna! I love the place but after a few days I am heading for hardware stores to find extra large mouse traps. ADD, I suspect.

 

[WannaBWendy]

We always stayed that 3rd EMH hour and the monorails always had quite a few people on them. And to me, that 3rd hour was the POINT. You stayed until the park cleared out and you could ride the best rides over and over and over....
And you don't stay in the park for 8 hours, you go and nap in the middle of the day! ;-)

 

[Goofyernmost]

We always stayed that 3rd EMH hour and the monorails always had quite a few people on them. And to me, that 3rd hour was the POINT. You stayed until the park cleared out and you could ride the best rides over and over and over....
And you don't stay in the park for 8 hours, you go and nap in the middle of the day! ;-)

That 8 hours included time away from the park during the day. I usually always leave about mid-afternoon when it is the hottest and return in the evening...still!!!!

 

[ParentsOf4]

I, personally, avoid any park that is having any EMH activity. It always seems more crowded and I know my physical limitations and how long my interest in anything stays peaked. (not very long). As far as I am concerned they could stay open all night or close early...doesn't matter to me.

We now avoid Evening EMH like the plague. It was pretty good the first few years but now it feels even more crowded than during normal park hours, especially during the first 2 hours and soon we won't have a 3rd hour.

We nearly always go to parks on mornings after they have evening EMH. Crowds are much lighter. It seems like all the onsite guests were there the night before.

 

[AEfx]

My goodness...that's a lot of complaints in one post!

Not really, just breaking down the list of "benefits" and explaining how they do nothing for me, now that evening EMH is no longer 3 hours. It was the last thing that enticed me to stay on property, when I did on occasion.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

My goodness...that's a lot of complaints in one post!

My goodness, one is such a sycophant of the mouse management one could imagine that one is one or is in the pay of said corporate beast. Purely my opinion based on observation of course. No offence.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Honestly, regular guests who come to the parks (and are not super-fans) won't even notice the EMHs being reduced. That last hour of it was really just being attended by super-fans. Other guests are happy with the two hours and being in the parks that late at night is something they didn't seem to think was important enough to state in the focus group testing that no doubt went into this move.

So while I think the three hours of EMHs is nice, in all the years I've been going with my family to WDW every year we've probably only stayed until closing once or twice. We just get too tired out.

I highly doubt anyone at all is seeing this as a "scam" of some kind like you do. A man bumped into me today at the grocery store...and I didn't accuse him of "assault" because I didn't like being bumped into. That would have been like you calling this change by Disney "a scam" just because you don't particularly like the change.

Whether or not YOU stayed until the very end is irrelevant. The fact is there were many people who seemed to enjoy the last hour of EMH (myself included) and it's been stripped away. There are some things your do not because they're profitable, but because they raise guest satisfaction and create a better experience for your guests. Late night EMH raises the perceived "value" of an on property stay for a number of guests. So does being able to ride the monorail back to the Grand Floridian at 3 AM.

I find the attitudes of the "well we never did this anyway" crowd somewhat incredulous. Just because it was never a perk that interested you doesn't mean it wasn't something that others enjoyed. Heck, I live in Orlando now, so EMH are not something I can even partake in, but that doesn't mean its reduction doesn't anger me.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Whether or not YOU stayed until the very end is irrelevant. The fact is there were many people who seemed to enjoy the last hour of EMH (myself included) and it's been stripped away. There are some things your do not because they're profitable, but because they raise guest satisfaction and create a better experience for your guests. Late night EMH raises the perceived "value" of an on property stay for a number of guests. So does being able to ride the monorail back to the Grand Floridian at 3 AM.

I find the attitudes of the "well we never did this anyway" crowd somewhat incredulous. Just because it was never a perk that interested you doesn't mean it wasn't something that others enjoyed. Heck, I live in Orlando now, so EMH are not something I can even partake in, but that doesn't mean its reduction doesn't anger me.

Stuff like that happens all the time. The problem is that there weren't enough of you that stayed to justify the expense of all those CM's. Just not a big enough return and that is what business is all about.