Disney After Hours Event

LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
raven said:
I was at Disneyland 2 weeks ago and EVERY single time I was at any register they asked "are you an AP holder?" This small question would make a WORLD of difference at WDW if they asked that here. I felt so honored they even asked that, even though I was one.
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I agree. When I visited DLR, every time I was at a register or table service restaurant, I was asked if I was a passholder or DVC member. I visited WDW several times before I realized APs get a merchandise discount. And that was only because the CM at the register asked my daughter if she was one.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
MrPromey said:
Obviously, you're not the "enemy" because you could afford to spend the money on something like this and made the decision to but again, I was just trying to explain why arguing it is a loosing battle. If you want to keep on with the good fight though, I have no designs to stop you.
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Lots of good points. but for the record I am nowhere near Orlando and did not attend this event, nor is it even remotely likely I would attend such an event while visiting WDW.
 
baymenxpac

baymenxpac

Well-Known Member
Brad Bishop said:
That's where I'm at. I think with that Bloomberg article posted earlier that my Disney days are behind me. It's clear they're not going to make it better and, at best, will only be reactionary to Universal with "meh" offerings.

I will give them credit for making the APs slightly better in the last few years where it used to be that you'd get discounts at select locations (and anywhere you'd ask would tell you to go to the World of Disney) they seem to be more universal on the discounts now throughout the park.

I really think they should just put stickers on the doors/registers telling the customer which discounts/dining plans are available so you know. Show me a red circle with "AP" in the middle of it and I'll know I get a 10% discount there. Show me a Disney Visa logo and I'll know that discount applies. Show me a "TiW" logo so I know that applies. I hate asking at everyplace and I'm not going to commit the lists to memory.

I like how Dollywood handles it: You get a discount everywhere and they ask you for your annual pass at checkout to ensure you get it.
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raven said:
I was at Disneyland 2 weeks ago and EVERY single time I was at any register they asked "are you an AP holder?" This small question would make a WORLD of difference at WDW if they asked that here. I felt so honored they even asked that, even though I was one.
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love your ideas, @Brad Bishop, but of course, WDW doesn't really want to give you the discount, so they'd rather not make it easy on you. in fact, i'd go so far as to say that i've felt it was i was making a huge inconvenience for a cast member simply by asking which discounts they took (whether it was AP, TiW, DVC, etc.). it's something they absolutely should do a better job with, but let's face it. when they have people going there spending like drunken sailors, meanwhile they're counting every penny because of shanghai overruns and MM+ costs to the extent that they are afraid to run air conditioning at proper levels, i'm not surprised they don't make more of an effort.

which is why @raven's post is frustrating, because there has always been a prevailing opinion that DL APers are more vocal, more discerning, and thus, are treated more favorably. this make that notion ring true.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
asianway said:
In all fairness that was a recession discount they removed. wDW was always 10 while DL was 20
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Yes, the whole notion of AP's getting a discount on merch at WDW is a rather new thing. They didn't start doing them until like 2008 or 2009, if I recall. There were dining discounts (select Epcot TS lunches) and discounts on things like the MK parties, behind the scenes tours, etc. - but the general merch discount is a relatively new phenomenon.
 
asianway

asianway

Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
Yes, the whole notion of AP's getting a discount on merch at WDW is a rather new thing. They didn't start doing them until like 2008 or 2009, if I recall. There were dining discounts (select Epcot TS lunches) and discounts on things like the MK parties, behind the scenes tours, etc. - but the general merch discount is a relatively new phenomenon.
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They did 10% in select stores going back to around 2000 but $50 minimum. I know it was good at WOD and DTV for sure
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
asianway said:
They did 10% in select stores going back to around 2000 but $50 minimum. I know it was good at WOD and DTV for sure
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Yup - you are totally right. I remember that now - getting everyone down to DTD at one time at WoD so they could save a few bucks using my AP. But there weren't general in park merch discounts.

Basically, now that I'm thinking back, I feel like as a rule very little in-park was discounted - not the merch and for restaurants it was just the Epcot lunch ones unless you had Tables to the World or whatever they happened to be calling it at the time. I remember nice discounts on the Halloween and Christmas parties - like getting adult tickets day of for like $35/38, decent discounts on backstage tours, but not most park things. It was mostly designed to get you to spend more $ anywhere but the parks - I wanna say there was a discount on mini-golf, etc. And of course the resort one.

I'm going to have to go dig out my old passholder card holders...I always made sure I had the newest design, LOL. It would be interesting to compare, but I am pretty sure Passholder discounts are better than they used to be. I do remember a marked difference because at that time, Universal used to ask you practically at every register because you got a discount all over there (food and merch, 10% for most if I recall).

That said, the reason most of us didn't care that the WDW AP held relatively little discount power was because the AP used to be such a great deal. My first AP (around 2004) was somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 after tax - which I believe is about 1/2 what they are now just a decade later. I'd give up discounts in general aside from admission and parking if I could get an AP for under $500 these days...
 
wogwog

wogwog

Well-Known Member
The second after hours event is tonight 4/21. We will see if Disney is able to increase ticket sales significantly over the debut event.
 
No Name

No Name

Well-Known Member
GoofGoof said:
I agree with this. So many people just focus on ride count but it's the little things that make/made WDW truly unique and world class.
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I totally agree.

I also agree that this event may need something exclusive to get people to pay. I'm a slight bit surprised this isn't doing too well, at least from what we've heard. Sure, $150 is a load of money, but people pay the for these dumb cupcake parties and opportunities to be the first to buy certain merchandise. One of their more recent upcharge things they announced was a Safari tour for, what was it, $350 a person? Is this $150 thing not a far better value?

I guess the problem may lie in that this needs far more suckers than those other events. There are only so many crazies out there. A 100-person cupcake party can get 100 "lifestylers" to come, but getting 1,000 is exponentially more difficult. Still though, MNSSHP attracts a large crowd, a crowd that consists of mainly normal guests rather than "lifestylers." But that event has exclusive and cool parts, such as getting candy and wearing costumes, as well as a Halloween parade and entertainment. Maybe Disney After Hours needs the same type of exclusivity.
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
egg said:
I totally agree.

I also agree that this event may need something exclusive to get people to pay. I'm a slight bit surprised this isn't doing too well, at least from what we've heard. Sure, $150 is a load of money, but people pay the for these dumb cupcake parties and opportunities to be the first to buy certain merchandise. One of their more recent upcharge things they announced was a Safari tour for, what was it, $350 a person? Is this $150 thing not a far better value?

I guess the problem may lie in that this needs far more suckers than those other events. There are only so many crazies out there. A 100-person cupcake party can get 100 "lifestylers" to come, but getting 1,000 is exponentially more difficult. Still though, MNSSHP attracts a large crowd, a crowd that consists of mainly normal guests rather than "lifestylers." But that event has exclusive and cool parts, such as getting candy and wearing costumes, as well as a Halloween parade and entertainment. Maybe Disney After Hours needs the same type of exclusivity.
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I think the major difference between the Safari tour and this event is that the tour is a unique experience that you cannot experience any other way. This event just allows you to ride the exact same rides that are available every other day (and less of them since everything isn't open). The only advantage is low crowds and smaller lines. Like you said, they need to offer something unique to really draw people in like the Halloween and Christmas parties.

I do think this event is most comparable to the desert parties. With something like the wishes desert party you aren't really paying for the desert you are paying for the right to a reserved viewing area. It's the same fireworks you could have seen for free. If they start charging $150 for a cupcake party it won't sell either. I think people have a breaking point on price for an add on and Disney is just testing the market to see where that is. They don't want to offer an event like this for $50 if people would have actually been willing to pay $150. Disney knows that one of their guests biggest complaint is waiting in line for stuff so they want to see how much people would be willing to pay to beat those lines.
 

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