News Disney Park Pass System announced for Walt Disney World theme park reservations

monothingie

Proxy War 2024: Never Forget
Premium Member
Early summer actually did have discounts. I think honestly if they wanted to suspend APs entirely I wouldn't have been able to renew a month or so ago....

Also calling DVC suckers is quite rude.
It's way easier to adjust peoples behavior by incremental changes rather than sudden ones. Hence making the new AP more unpalatable until the problem solves itself. You can't be serious and tell me that the new APs are an improvement over what was previously offered right?

Historically the AP discounts were more frequent and deeper. That has not happened/is not happening this year. For the first time, discounts were only available to D+ subscribers. (YAY BRAND SYNERGY!)

Also DVC members (myself included) are suckers. Anyone buying direct right now is an even bigger sucker. Don't make me tag @Sirwalterraleigh....
 
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monothingie

Proxy War 2024: Never Forget
Premium Member
It is temporary, but they can't afford to get it wrong again. It's going to take some time. FWIW, last I heard, the plan is still this year (for WDW).
Season 9 Dwight GIF by The Office
 

Kingoglow

Well-Known Member
I can see them going to one level of AP only.

Current AP benefits are: free parking, 20% mech discount, 10% discount on some restaurants, park-hopper tickets, discounts on spas, sports and recreation activities, discounts on events and tours, special event ticket discounts, rental car discounts, special AP only events, special AP only room discounts.

There is a lot of value in that list but not everyone will use all of it. Let's say that none of these benefits change.

Do away with 'locals only' AP's, and all the other separate levels of access (Pixie, Sorcerer, and Pirate). Price an AP at at $1,800, no blackouts for anyone. You need around 15 visits to break even (avg $120 per visit). Locals have monthly payments at $150. Locals can still go more, with no blackouts to derive even more value.
 
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Patcheslee

Well-Known Member
I can see them going to one level of AP only.

Current AP benefits are: free parking, 20% mech discount, 10% discount on some restaurants, park-hopper tickets, discounts on spas, sports and recreation activities, discounts on events and tours, special event ticket discounts, rental car discounts, special AP only events, special AP only room discounts.

There is a lot of value in that list but not everyone will use all of it. Let's say that none of these benefits change.

Do away with 'locals only' AP's, and all the other separate levels of access (Pixie, Sorcerer, and Pirate). Price an AP at at $1,800, no blackouts for anyone. You need around 15 visits to break even (avg $120 per visit). Locals have monthly payments at $150. Locals can still go more, with no blackouts to derive even more value.
With 10 day hoppers+ maxing out at $814 during holidays, it would take much more than 15 days if someone isn't local. With younger age adults, it also becomes an issue of having the time off of work available to take an amount that would justify an AP.
 

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
I'm guessing a discount club. It's the only thing that makes sense.

It's like having any-time day tickets. The more you buy, the cheaper the day-ticket until you hit a minimum fee.

A Park Pass is a huge boon to those who go *a lot*. If, e.g., you pay $1,000 for a Park Pass, then if you go weekly for about 50 times in a year, then your admittance fee is only $20 per visit. You go several times a week, you could wind up paying the equivalent of $5 a visit.

A vacation club lets you pay a fee up front, e.g., $500, but then you can buy as many day tickets you want for the year at $30 each (for example)... for whatever availability you can find... there's no explicit or implicit promise of a guaranteed entrance on the day you're going.

Yeah, it'll be much more expensive than for those used to paying the equivalent of $20 or $5 per visit, but, for those who go that often, it will still be cheaper than the current day-ticket system.
I would love this IF there were no park pass reservations or even if you are required to make a park pass reservation just for notification purposes with no actual limit.

They could make this multi day ticket expire a year from purchase with an upper limit of how many days you can purchase. This would limit the days you could visit but with the freedom to choose which days you want to go.
 

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
It's way easier to adjust peoples behavior by incremental changes rather than sudden ones. Hence making the new AP more unpalatable until the problem solves itself. You can't be serious and tell me that the new APs are an improvement over what was previously offered right?

Historically the AP discounts were more frequent and deeper. That has not happened/is not happening this year. For the first time, discounts were only available to D+ subscribers. (YAY BRAND SYNERGY!)

Also DVC members (myself included) are suckers. Anyone buying direct right now is an even bigger sucker. Don't make me tag @Sirwalterraleigh....
Sorry don't view myself as a sucker

For the rest I guess I don't see it yet. Decent discounts at times. Ones I use are there. Friends had a better AP discount than DVC last week. So yeah not seeing it.
 

Patcheslee

Well-Known Member
DH and I got into a park reservation discussion? He asked if we reserved at a dry park, then decide to head to a water park instead, would we have to visit the dry park first? I don't think we would since water parks don't have reservations (yet).
 

Disney Glimpses

Well-Known Member
DH and I got into a park reservation discussion? He asked if we reserved at a dry park, then decide to head to a water park instead, would we have to visit the dry park first? I don't think we would since water parks don't have reservations (yet).
No. Park Pass reservations have no impact on water parks nor do visits to water parks on Park Pass. Think of them as completely separate.
 

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
On site resort guests with park tickets for the day should NOT have to make park pass reservations period.
If they must do the Super Fake counting guests with park pass reservations, on site resort guests with a theme park ticket for that day, just require the guest to indicate what park on what day they plan to visit when they reserve the rooms.
These folks are spending BIG DOLLARS to stay on site, give them this perk!
 

Disney Glimpses

Well-Known Member
On site resort guests with park tickets for the day should NOT have to make park pass reservations period.
If they must do the Super Fake counting guests with park pass reservations, on site resort guests with a theme park ticket for that day, just require the guest to indicate what park on what day they plan to visit when they reserve the rooms.
These folks are spending BIG DOLLARS to stay on site, give them this perk!
The bigger sin is selling hotel rooms when there are no Park Pass reservations available at all.
 

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
The bigger sin is selling hotel rooms when there are no Park Pass reservations available at all.
We were there over the prime spring break week in march. I know of people shut out personally and just went elsewhere (go often but not recent enough to know covid rules). Our server at WCC told a story of a family staying at WL who couldn't get into a park and all through breakfast kept refreshing to try to get in somewhere. Really sad.

Disney totally wiffed, IMO, on this part. On site, you're good. Offsite, here's your pass. Good luck fighting the AP holders too 🤣
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
On site resort guests with park tickets for the day should NOT have to make park pass reservations period.
If they must do the Super Fake counting guests with park pass reservations, on site resort guests with a theme park ticket for that day, just require the guest to indicate what park on what day they plan to visit when they reserve the rooms.
These folks are spending BIG DOLLARS to stay on site, give them this perk!
Absolutely. There’s a reason why Universal and even Disneyland Paris guarantee park entry. It’s a very easy way to promote resort stays. I’m sure they have a whole team of staff statisticians who know how many resort guests to expect in any park on any given day. They could then allocate the anticipated remaining spots to others. The capacities they are setting are rather arbitrary and flexible, anyway.
 

Patcheslee

Well-Known Member
Absolutely. There’s a reason why Universal and even Disneyland Paris guarantee park entry. It’s a very easy way to promote resort stays. I’m sure they have a whole team of staff statisticians who know how many resort guests to expect in any park on any given day. They could then allocate the anticipated remaining spots to others. The capacities they are setting are rather arbitrary and flexible, anyway.
I don't think they want to promote resort stays too much lately given their lack of headcount.
 

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member

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