Disney CEO Bob Iger says there has never been a better time to be a Disney fan

[Tony the Tigger]

If Iger is saying that there’s never been a better time to be a Disney fan, does that mean he is listening to the Splash Mountain fans, who are begging to keep it as-is?

No.

I get it - if you live local, there can be no better perk than having a cheap ticket that means you can visit the park all year. But it causes misery for those paying massive amounts who visit as tourists (spending on tickets, hotels, food, etc) - AS YOU CONTRIBUTE TO HUGE CROWDS. The blackouts don't work, as there is simply no quiet time anymore.

Most Floridians are not local to WDW.

We live in the huge population center of South Florida, which is a solid 3+ hour drive on the best traffic day. Sometimes we fly up.

We still need hotels, we still need to eat.

When we graduated from day passes to AP’s, our cost per trip did not go down at all.

Instead of going once every year or two, we went 3-4 times in a year, maybe 3-4 nights each. We don’t have unlimited time off from work.

But no, we did not just pocket the savings, we spent at least as much as before. We just had that extra few hundred dollars saved on tickets to have more expensive meals and more expensive hotels, tours, etc.

Only Orlando and nearby towns are locals. Tampa is a reasonable day trip.

And when we are there, we know where we’re going. We’re not stopped dead in the middle of a walkway with our mouths open trying to figure out which way is which. We’re not in 60 minute lines for things we’ve done 60 times. We’re on the attractions while the tourists are jammed into Main Street watching parades. And we wouldn’t be caught dead there during Saturday crowds (as our passes reflect.)

Find someone else to scapegoat.

 

[JoeCamel]

if one believes in Disney future, I imagine it is a great time as the stock price has rolled back to something like 2014.

Except the company fundamentals and outlook are very different now

 

[wdisney9000]

As an out of state AP holder, I think they should eliminate regular tickets and day tickets.

We visit several times a year and each trip we stay on property, eat all of our meals on property, spend plenty on booze and also buy merchandise each and every trip.

We do not bring igloo coolers into the park to save on food. We don't jam the entire kitchen sink into a kids stroller to save money. As @Tony the Tigger mentioned prior, we don't block the pathways as we try and figure out where to go. We know not to walk 5 people wide and take up all the walkway.

We don't complain to college age Cast Members about wait times or that we cant get a reservation at Chef Mickeys. We prefer Dawa Bar or Baseline Taphouse when wait times are high. We seek out new snacks and food offerings every trip. We will spend half a day or more resort hopping to eat and drink (not standing in line adding to wait times). Half the things we do on our trips do not contribute to higher crowd levels or longer lines. We spend plenty of money every trip. Most likely, we spend more on our several trips a year than a family of four would spend on their annual trip. And most importantly, because some people need to hear this, we are NOT vloggers!



They should absolutely eliminate regular ticket sales. It would make the parks soooo much better! I'm obviously joking, but see how ridiculous it sounds, and how easily the point could be made that the opposite side is better or worse?

 

[CAV]

No.

Most Floridians are not local to WDW.

We live in the huge population center of South Florida, which is a solid 3+ hour drive on the best traffic day. Sometimes we fly up.

We still need hotels, we still need to eat.

When we graduated from day passes to AP’s, our cost per trip did not go down at all.

Instead of going once every year or two, we went 3-4 times in a year, maybe 3-4 nights each. We don’t have unlimited time off from work.

But no, we did not just pocket the savings, we spent at least as much as before. We just had that extra few hundred dollars saved on tickets to have more expensive meals and more expensive hotels, tours, etc.

Only Orlando and nearby towns are locals. Tampa is a reasonable day trip.

And when we are there, we know where we’re going. We’re not stopped dead in the middle of a walkway with our mouths open trying to figure out which way is which. We’re not in 60 minute lines for things we’ve done 60 times. We’re on the attractions while the tourists are jammed into Main Street watching parades. And we wouldn’t be caught dead there during Saturday crowds (as our passes reflect.)

Find someone else to scapegoat.

Exactly. We go on multiple day trips, three or four times a year. We stay on property, eat on property and shop on property. We literally spend thousands every time we go. If we didn't have an AP, we MIGHT go once a year.

 

[Trauma]

I think the correct solution is to make people verify income before they can buy tickets.

Limit sales to those of us making 400k a year or more.

This will reduce crowding, and I won’t have to deal with the underclass anymore.







(Yes this is sarcasm)


Or is it ? Bhwahahahahahahahahahahah

 

[Brer Panther]

Yes, how DARE people who live close to Disney visit it frequently.

 

[Jrb1979]

Yes, how DARE people who live close to Disney visit it frequently.

Here's the way I look at it. Not all AP holders are bad and crowd the parks. It's mostly the locals that go a few times a week that cause the problems. IMO AP holders should only be allowed reservations for twice a month max. If you want more you have to stay on property for multiple days.

 

[celluloid]

Although nice, you don't even need it. We had no trouble getting around and communicating. Counting the days until we can return.

I know, but I wanted to learn anyway as a language goal ànd find some off beaten paths. Thanks for the reminder and I bet you are excited as I figure I will want to return!

 

[SaucyBoy]

It's mostly the locals that go a few times a week that cause the problems

I can assure you that my trio of friends who met up in the parks for a quick ride or a stroll through World Showcase with a beverage people watching after work multiple times a week were not the cause of any problems. The sole cause of the problems at a Disney park are the day guests who go into debt for a "once in a lifetime vacation" but are too stupid to do the most basic of planning.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I can assure you that my trio of friends who met up in the parks for a quick ride or a stroll through World Showcase with a beverage people watching after work multiple times a week were not the cause of any problems. The sole cause of the problems at a Disney park are the day guests who go into debt for a "once in a lifetime vacation" but are too stupid to do the most basic of planning.

While I agree with some of that, the problem is also that is takes way more than basic planning now to experience and enjoy the parks the same way people (some even returning from previous trips) once did

 

[Lilofan]

I can assure you that my trio of friends who met up in the parks for a quick ride or a stroll through World Showcase with a beverage people watching after work multiple times a week were not the cause of any problems. The sole cause of the problems at a Disney park are the day guests who go into debt for a "once in a lifetime vacation" but are too stupid to do the most basic of planning.

Perhaps the same guest who asks a CM

What time is the 3 o’ clock parade ?

What the guest is really asking is I am at ( fill in the blank ) what time will the parade pass by me?

 

[Skibum1970]

While I agree with some of that, the problem is also that is takes way more than basic planning now to experience and enjoy the parks the same way people (some even returning from previous trips) once did

While I know that people really enjoy hyper-planning, most people think that the bulk of the planning should be: A) Book a resort/hotel, B) Book a flight or plan on driving and C) Which park on which day and that can be fluid. Amusement parks/Theme Parks should not require a vacation planner (not talking about those that help with steps A and C above). We should be able to simply show up and enjoy ourselves without staying attached at the hip to our phones or printed versions of ride schedules.

I suppose part D above is using Touring Plans to determine when to go if you have flexibility.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Hey, guys, it's Christmas Eve. Let's all get along for one day It seems like a lot of arguing and no one is going to change anyone elses mind. I think everyone contributes to overcrowding, but ,mostly Disney itself.

Merry Christmas!

 

[SteveAZee]

Fresh baked just did a show from DL with 100% of APs blocked and it was absolutely packed, his conclusion was the number of suspected APs at DL has been vastly exaggerated over the years and most guests are likely day guests even when all APs are able to go.

I’ve heard crazy numbers like a million APs for DL but judging by how packed it was without APs I’m now thinking it’s probably a fraction of that. And that’s at AP centric DL, FL is likely a fraction of that DL fraction.

I don’t think APs are the source of the overcrowding they’ve been made out to be all these years.

I'm not sure their conclusion is terribly valid. Without actually asking APers.... it's POSSIBLE AP holders don't go to the park when it's extremely crowded, whether they're blocked or not. Or, APers may have actually decided to show up and pay for a ticket separate from their pass just to be there, being big fans and all. It's not known, at least by anyone not Disney. I'm not saying the numbers of APers is correct or not, just saying that it's a little shaky to draw the conclusion they drew.

 

[SteveAZee]

No.

Most Floridians are not local to WDW.

We live in the huge population center of South Florida, which is a solid 3+ hour drive on the best traffic day. Sometimes we fly up.

We still need hotels, we still need to eat.

When we graduated from day passes to AP’s, our cost per trip did not go down at all.

Instead of going once every year or two, we went 3-4 times in a year, maybe 3-4 nights each. We don’t have unlimited time off from work.

But no, we did not just pocket the savings, we spent at least as much as before. We just had that extra few hundred dollars saved on tickets to have more expensive meals and more expensive hotels, tours, etc.

Only Orlando and nearby towns are locals. Tampa is a reasonable day trip.

And when we are there, we know where we’re going. We’re not stopped dead in the middle of a walkway with our mouths open trying to figure out which way is which. We’re not in 60 minute lines for things we’ve done 60 times. We’re on the attractions while the tourists are jammed into Main Street watching parades. And we wouldn’t be caught dead there during Saturday crowds (as our passes reflect.)

Find someone else to scapegoat.

Good points. I wonder if you have some thoughts as to what Disney's motivation is, then, to hold back on AP's? They have the data that we don't. I'm guessing they have some reason for potentially alienating their biggest fans, aside from what Chapek said about the family from Denver or wherever... unless that's the sum of their reasoning.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

While I know that people really enjoy hyper-planning, most people think that the bulk of the planning should be: A) Book a resort/hotel, B) Book a flight or plan on driving and C) Which park on which day and that can be fluid. Amusement parks/Theme Parks should not require a vacation planner (not talking about those that help with steps A and C above). We should be able to simply show up and enjoy ourselves without staying attached at the hip to our phones or printed versions of ride schedules.

I suppose part D above is using Touring Plans to determine when to go if you have flexibility.

I don’t even mind having to make ADRs, it would be nice if that was the end of planning though. As much as I dislike G+ it’s been nice not having to stalk the website to hunt down FPs months before our vacation.

Hey, guys, it's Christmas Eve. Let's all get along for one day It seems like a lot of arguing and no one is going to change anyone elses mind. I think everyone contributes to overcrowding, but ,mostly Disney itself.

Merry Christmas!

 

[matt9112]

As a local I would be ok with a limited number of visits per month etc but I feel like the blackout dates could be lifted as a trade off. The different tiers of pass could have different limits per month.

 

[celluloid]

Perhaps the same guest who asks a CM

What time is the 3 o’ clock parade ?

What the guest is really asking is I am at ( fill in the blank ) what time will the parade pass by me?

This here a classic mocked question, when the context is there. Funny to say of course like many things in life, but seeking first to understand a little bit shows this.

 

[VJ]

There was no better time for me to learn to be conversational in Japanese, get my passport and finally visit Tokyo Disney.for what is left.

you say this as if disney doesn't get your money anyway via licensing fees from OLC

 

[celluloid]

you say this as if disney doesn't get your money anyway via licensing fees from OLC

I never said they lose all money so you are misreading intent there. I don't care if they get my money through what is good. I care about getting value for my money. I inferred nothing of the sort of what you said. I reward good where value is good.
The greater attendance and guest spending OLC resort had, the more they know that one does things right.