Stevek
Well-Known Member
We visited last time we were on Oahu but did not stay. Resort is beautiful, great setting and very family oriented.
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News Disneyland Magic Key Program
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
We went in February and visited Aulani but we didn’t stay there. It’s absolutely beautiful but it’s a long way from Waikiki and all the action. We think it would be fun to stay there for 2-3 days but after that we’d want to move to a Waikiki beach hotel to be closer to all the shopping, dining, and activity.
It is crazy I been on every continent minus Antarctica and yet Hawaii eludes me lol. But will get there one day.
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
We stayed at Aulani. I’m afraid everything else will pale in comparison now. So beautiful and amazing. It’s too spendy to go often though.
Emmanuel
Well-Known Member
So who is actually thinking about getting this? I been pining on it for a day and I could be persuaded to get another AP, uh, I mean membership key again.I told my girlfriend about it and she's interested too. We really did enjoy our trip last month and still have two more days on our park hoppers which we'll probably use this month. I'm in NO rush to get one, I probably won't until September or October and just see how the reservation system goes first. If its really hard to get reservations in the week, then probably not. But of course Disney can't sell these passes if people are complaining about never get any decent reservations and will try and accommodate as many as possible so I'm not THAT concerned, but yes wait and see.
Might get the second pass but could go for the first one if we decide to do the monthly payment plan. Honestly the BIGGEST shock is actually bringing back the monthly payments as everyone kept saying that was real culprit to so many passes but with a reservation system its not as a big deal. And yes, Disney wants to sell as much as these as possible and don't have a choice with these prices.
I wish there were a few more options like a parking pass but honestly the passes seem like a great deal in general. And they start much sooner than I think most of us were thinking of.
I was half and half on the new program but seeing as its basically the same as it was before just with reservations, I'm in.
Will likely go with the Dream Key since its basically the Sig Plus that I had before. I'm aiming to get mine within the first weekend of it being available so I can start planning out the reservations.
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST
Well-Known Member
I ask this not as a joke or to be funny but because I am genuinely confused. This system is soo similar to what was before minus the reverations really, why did Disney cancel the previous program for-for this?! Its the same thing. They could have just added reservations to the existing passes. What was the point if they are not limiting how frequent people can go? face it, if you have that higher tier you can still go every day if you book the 6 days in a row and so on. you can still show up afterwork for a ride or two with your reservation then leave. They are even keeping the horrible AP culture with 'exclusive" AP items only. This is not going to fix the AP problem in the slightest that previously existed only Disney now knows when you are coming. What was the point? Its the same AP program. Yes I said AP because the pass lasts a year from when you purchased or activated it. That is mot a 'MEMBERSHIP". Please someone make this make sense to me, I don't see this solving the AP problem but instead making it more affordable for people with lower prices.
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Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
Disney claims to want to improve the guest experience, so not have the parks be overrun on Friday nights all the time for example.
They can do this. None of the passes guarantee admission. Disney can limit attendance as much as they want and still meet the terms and conditions of the new passes. They couldn't really do this before, unless the park was at actual maximum capacity.
People can still go after work, yes, but if admission is actually capped then it's not the case that *everyone* can pop in after work on a whim, creating a scenario where the park just isn't ready for the demand. I'm sure there will be lots of instances where someone can book an evening last minute, but not necessarily always and it could, in theory, not cause the parks to be busier than what one might expect for a Wednesday night for example.
Time will tell if they actually cap admission to a "reasonable" level. That's been an issue us tourists have had for a while now, we pay full price for admission and the parks are packed. There's a way to do locals discounts but still make the experience fair and fun for all.
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST
Well-Known Member
I disagree. if there are reservations, yes they can pop in after work rather easily. only a few times in history has Disneyland before the pandemic reached full capacity numbers where they announced the stoppage of letting guests in. Before the pandemic it was very rare. now that there is no state restrictions on capacity , Disney can set it at what they want and we wont know like we never did before what it actually was on a daily basis. They are not going to sell tons of these things without reservations being available especially on the upper tier that has no blackout dates. which is the tier all the former APs, especially the vloggers are all going to go for. they will all be there on friday and saturday nights. Don't kid yourself. Disney has solved nothing.
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truecoat
Well-Known Member
It wasn’t that rare. I’ve seen many posts about Disneyland being at capacity at certain times on a Friday or Saturday.
Half of these passes can’t go on Saturday anyway and the cheap one can’t go on weekends at all. The $949 pass is blocked out Saturdays for 3 1/2 months of the year. Friday reservations are going to be hard to come by on these passes.
Edit…I did a quick Twitter search for Disneyland being at capacity. Not counting Christmas, I easily found it being full on these dates
05/22/15
05/20/17
02/29/12
09/18/15
09/02/16
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CaptinEO
Well-Known Member
The flexpass had more dates than Deluxe and cost 200 dollars less, they couldnt just add reservations to each pass and call it a day, it wouldnt make sense.
They also took out the photopass benefit this time around for signature/signature plus and by cancelling the AP program took away grandfathered benefits, like parking add ons to low end passes.
Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
They claim they want to limit attendance lower than the true maximum capacity.
Will they actually do this? It remains to be seen, but if this isn't the case, why have reservations at all?
Exactly that's the point! They couldn't just throw the reservation on the old passes and expect people to be happy when they had a contract saying the could basically go anytime they wanted before. They also were getting grief at WDW about it and there are waaaay less APers there and lower cost to boot. They didn't want to deal with all the anger they would get over it.
Now everything is starting over again and people are signing up KNOWING what they are getting when they do.
I have been saying for a loooong time now they NEED APs. It was never going to truly go away or they wouldn't have brought back essentially the same system less than four months after the parks opened. Even people who thought the AP could come back was predicting maybe a few years away. Just let day trippers and vacationers do the park for a year or two because after all the demand was going to be sooooo high there was no need for APers...wrong!
People are buying less and less passes every week when you keep up with the reservation calendar. You can buy a PH for tomorrow for both parks and every day for the rest of the month and its only the first week in August. You can get single day passes to any park basically 2 days ahead. Attendance has basically flatlined in the last few weeks. By the end of August it's going to be very quiet from that point on until the APs start up. And even then I'm not convinced that many people are in a super rush to get those but should make some difference.
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST
Well-Known Member
Key Holders in my Disney Park.
What has happened to this place?
I don’t recognize it anymore.
It used to be so fun and special.
What is life worth living for?
The dream is dead, our land is gone;
There’s a hole in my heart and I can’t go on.
There are too many Magic Key Holders (Key Holders)
At my Disney Park (my Disney Park).
This was our land, our dream (our dream)
and they’ve taken it all away.
They just keep coming and coming (Key Holders).
I tried to go and tell the police,
But even the authorities
Are Magic Key Holders
At my Disney Park.
There’s no place for me to sit anymore,
And the lines just keep getting crazier.
There are Pass Holders all around me.
The merchandise has never been lazier.
It’s a 40 minute wait in the popcorn bucket line,
And the boarding groups are all gone for the Star Wars ride!
(Bright Suns recruit)
Just speak normal already!
There are too many Magic Key Holders (too many)
At my Disney park (somebody do something).
Where did they all come from?
Why can’t they leave this land alone?
And it’s such a tragedy (feel a bit like dying).
We looked the other way too long.
We’ve got to change our priorities
And get all these Key Holders
Out of my Disney Park
(Pass Holders) Families and couples,
(Vloggers), I think I even saw some from out of state (gross).
God I’m asking please, get all of these Magic Key Holders
Out of my Disney Park (my Disney Park).
What has happened to this place?
I don’t recognize it anymore.
It used to be so fun and special.
What is life worth living for?
The dream is dead, our land is gone;
There’s a hole in my heart and I can’t go on.
There are too many Magic Key Holders (Key Holders)
At my Disney Park (my Disney Park).
This was our land, our dream (our dream)
and they’ve taken it all away.
They just keep coming and coming (Key Holders).
I tried to go and tell the police,
But even the authorities
Are Magic Key Holders
At my Disney Park.
There’s no place for me to sit anymore,
And the lines just keep getting crazier.
There are Pass Holders all around me.
The merchandise has never been lazier.
It’s a 40 minute wait in the popcorn bucket line,
And the boarding groups are all gone for the Star Wars ride!
(Bright Suns recruit)
Just speak normal already!
There are too many Magic Key Holders (too many)
At my Disney park (somebody do something).
Where did they all come from?
Why can’t they leave this land alone?
And it’s such a tragedy (feel a bit like dying).
We looked the other way too long.
We’ve got to change our priorities
And get all these Key Holders
Out of my Disney Park
(Pass Holders) Families and couples,
(Vloggers), I think I even saw some from out of state (gross).
God I’m asking please, get all of these Magic Key Holders
Out of my Disney Park (my Disney Park).
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1HAPPYGHOSTHOST
Well-Known Member
5 times out of 60 plus years?
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I was curious….
5/22/15 - Debut of Paint the Night
5/20/17 - Expiration date of CA resident discount passes
2/29/12 - Disney One more Day leap year event.
9/18/15 - Dapper Day
9/02/16 - Final Weekend of the 60th celebration
I’m sure there’s others too but the common theme seems to be special events, as long as people don’t try to “drop in” on special event days they should be fine.
Unless DL drastically limits capacity reservations should be readily available 99% of the time, including same day trips, there may be days they sell out but I think that’ll be the rare exception rather than the norm.
CaptinEO
Well-Known Member
Disneyland hits capacity regularly between 12/23 and 1/3
el_super
Well-Known Member
You do realize that generally, that's a BAD thing right?
Saying Disneyland needs discounted admission reinforces the idea that the audience will always prioritize cheap access over experience. This idea that Disneyland isn't really selling a theme park experience (with rides, and food and merchandise), but really just selling access to come in and sit on a bench and be there. That completely tilts the operational thinking of the park and how financial returns are planned.
Disney doesn't have to spend to improve the guest experience, just continue to lower the price enough to attract people. Long lines at the toll booths, security, no parking lot trams, understaffed facilities and convoluted entrance rules and requirements are all justified by having an AP program. People paying a discount to get in, will always overlook these little failures.
There are all sorts of other negative long term effects too: entitled passholders putting downward pressure on labor retention, long term attraction and expansion spending not being justified by smaller returns, more park area and green space being eaten away for guest accommodation.
You can take almost any complaint made against the park in the last ten years and tie it back to the AP program.
I still disagree that this is the same system. It looks very similar to the old system, to be sure, but the addition of the reservations significantly alters what is being offered. We knew the old APs were dead as soon as they committed to moving forward with reservations only. Bringing back something similar is really meant to help convince the locals to buy into the same system, but most of the power now is with Disney.
It's actually going to be quite some time before we know for sure to what degree access is still available to the former AP crowd and whether the reservations will severely limit access to the park, or be enough of a deterrent to keep people from buying the new memberships. Personally I don't see why anyone would buy into this system without fully knowing or understanding how the reservations will work not just in principal but in practice.
Observational data would indicate that attendance has actually gone up in the last two weeks. I can tell you during my normal commute, the lines for Mickey and Friends and Pixar Pals have both increased significantly and have been back to being out in the street blocking traffic.
Thrill data seems to indicate that I'm not entirely crazy, with the average wait times also increasing over June numbers:
Most likely this corresponds to the release of the So Cal ticket discounts and general "end of summer/before back to school" trips that would see a spike in attendance pre-Labor Day. This is actually a fairly normal attendance pattern.
Where you might be right, is in thinking what will happen after August. Disney can gauge expected park attendance from their hotel bookings and now park reservations and ticket sales. If their bookings are soft, they might be worried that off-season attendance is going to crater HARD. This makes a lot of sense considering the unavailability of international travel, a domestic travel industry that is in flux, and the concerns over the delta variant and public health lockdowns coming back.
I wouldn't be surprised at all, if Disney actually ended up having competing AP replacements to choose from, and ended up choosing one based solely on future booking numbers looking so bad. Seems off that they would take eight months to come up with something that is "essentially the same as before but just with reservations" right?
Stevek
Well-Known Member
If you're big in to Disney (you probably are if you're here), Aulani might be worth the stay. I personally would likely never go back to Oahu because it's really too touristy. Yes, the Island is beautiful but I'd steer clear of Waikiki unless you want the full first time touristy overload visit. If you want to relax, stay near Aulani, North Shore or even better, one of the other 3 Island. We're planning a trip for next year, most likely will AirBnB both Maui and Kauai.