TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
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Disneyland passholder lawsuit alleges Magic Key deceptively advertises no blockout dates - OCR
- Thread starter AJFireman
- Start date
FoodRockz
Well-Known Member
Can't speak for OP, but I received a survey strongly seeking approval of reservations by Uni and I shot it down...vehemently. I'd cancel my AP over it.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Plus Fresh Baked did a recent video about Uni Hollywood, you can look that up for yourself.
But its clear they appear to be looking to add reservations. So eventually I expect that most theme park operators will do the same as Disney, it only makes sense.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I don’t know what the solution is but reservations that are always sold out isn’t it.
Because of all the sold out dates we are only going to end up with 7 trips this year, that comes out to 14 days, we essentially paid the same price for our Dream keys as we’d have paid for day passes, it‘ll benefit us not to renew since it’s easier to get reservations as a day guest.
The danger of encouraging APs not to renew and to become day guests is we won’t go 7 times a year if we’re paying out of pocket vs prepaid, APs and Keys encourage frequent visits to maximize value, if we’re paying out of pocket we‘ll end up going other places.
CaptinEO
Well-Known Member
I think this is what Disney wants IMO, less APs, more ticket buyers and less crowds.
It makes sense to me and solves the too many AP problem (besides weekdays which are all mess).
I agree though it makes little sense to have an AP for many these days when you can just visit with day tickets.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
This isn’t a problem. In California there were times when DL park had too many local AP’s - that can easily be solved.
CaptinEO
Well-Known Member
I mean the company has aggressively raised prices and reduced benefits on APs while ticket prices barely increase at all but are mostly the same as they were a few years back.
To me this signifies that APs were underpriced, the high end ones at least.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
The problem is I don’t think it’ll drive away the true locals who go dozens (or hundreds) of times a year, the new system is likely driving away the highest spending APs who needed to plan ahead, stayed at the hotels, and ate every meal in the parks.
Those who live close enough can still pop in whenever a reservation opens up and still get great value, those are also the same people who are least likely to spend money at the hotels and restaurants since they sleep at home and can easily grab McDonalds after they leave the park.
Seems counterproductive but I don’t understand most of Disneys management decisions these days. I’ve come to grips with doing less Disney, for us it just means getting out of our comfort zone and trying more new places, I don’t get it from a business perspective though, encouraging loyal customers (who spend tens of thousands a year at your property) to spend their money elsewhere makes no sense.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Disneyland 1 day ticket in 2005 = $56.00
Disneyland 1 day ticket in 2019 = $104-149
Disneyland AP in 2005 = $309 (no blackout)
Disneyland AP in 2019 = $1399 (no blackout)
There is a difference yes, but the prices for both have continued to move up. I wouldn’t say one was particularly more aggressive than the other.
I don't believe the bolded for a moment. I have no doubt they want more of their crowds paying more per day for their tickets, but they only want to diminish APs to make room for more (higher paying) day guests.
mlayton144
Well-Known Member
This statement is not even speculation , they have come right out and said this. Not sure why it’s so hard folks to grasp it - as long they are able to sell to capacity there is no reason the sell APs , but with that said DLR isn’t really a year round vacation destination like WDW, so some form of AP/key will be needed once the next economic downturn comes - it just won’t be as generous as in the past
CaptinEO
Well-Known Member
Why? The CEO literally said in a shareholder meeting that they found out lower crowds gave them higher revenue than before.
The fact is they are trying to reach a certain level of crowds to maximize profits. It doesn't mean maxing out capacity.
Also they should diminish APs to focus on day visitors. Great business idea and I'd be fine if they got rid of them all together.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
I know you think this is true based on your own personal experience, but Disney has all the data. They know how many AP/Keys they have and how many day pass guests they have each day in the park. They can approximate how much each spends based on the number of visits and the type of ticket used. Especially since most APs will use the discount that comes with their pass. So there is no need to guess, or even be confused. They have all the data, and they are making business decisions based on that data, even if its counter to your own personal experience.
shambolicdefending
Well-Known Member
Disneyland management is trying to do one simple thing - maximize profits.
I think it was apparent years ago that they weren't satisfied with the legacy AP program's contribution towards that goal, and an unmistakable pattern developed of adding progressively more restrictions, offering gradually fewer benefits, and charging an aggressively increasing price for those APs as a result.
The writing was already on the wall when the Flex pass came out well before the pandemic struck, IMO. Legacy APs were slowly riding into the sunset before anybody had heard of COVID. The pandemic just shortened the time frame.
Naturally a lot of people are upset by this because legacy APs were a major lifestyle element for them. That means the Magic Keys have literally been life-altering to some degree. That also means there's naturally some lingering hope that the MKs will fail and Disney will scrap it and crawl back to the way it was before.
But, IMHO, that's simply a stage of grief. As far as I can see all evidence indicates the opposite is happening. MKs appear to be doing exactly what the suits want them to do, and the negative fallout from the change is well within the bounds they expected and are willing to tolerate.
That means legacy APs are just that. A legacy. Fondly remembered, but now a permanent part of the past.
I think it was apparent years ago that they weren't satisfied with the legacy AP program's contribution towards that goal, and an unmistakable pattern developed of adding progressively more restrictions, offering gradually fewer benefits, and charging an aggressively increasing price for those APs as a result.
The writing was already on the wall when the Flex pass came out well before the pandemic struck, IMO. Legacy APs were slowly riding into the sunset before anybody had heard of COVID. The pandemic just shortened the time frame.
Naturally a lot of people are upset by this because legacy APs were a major lifestyle element for them. That means the Magic Keys have literally been life-altering to some degree. That also means there's naturally some lingering hope that the MKs will fail and Disney will scrap it and crawl back to the way it was before.
But, IMHO, that's simply a stage of grief. As far as I can see all evidence indicates the opposite is happening. MKs appear to be doing exactly what the suits want them to do, and the negative fallout from the change is well within the bounds they expected and are willing to tolerate.
That means legacy APs are just that. A legacy. Fondly remembered, but now a permanent part of the past.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
it’s really odd that some posters are taking an almost “even villain” tone in this thread. Imagine Darth Vader saying this to Luke -
“I know how you lifestylers loved your passes. But guess what? Disney has all the data now. They know everything. You think you’re going to get your pass back? It’s gone forever. We destroyed it.”
“I know how you lifestylers loved your passes. But guess what? Disney has all the data now. They know everything. You think you’re going to get your pass back? It’s gone forever. We destroyed it.”
shambolicdefending
Well-Known Member
Maybe just me, but the post inventing a Darth Vader Disneyland quote seems a little more odd than the ones suggesting legacy APs will never come back.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Seems like one of the more logical Star Wars plot points to me!
flynnibus
Premium Member
The talking past each other point is the motivation of limiting capacity.
Disney spins this as 'its about guest experience' -- only partially true. They don't want the park so overloaded that people are lining up with pitchforks and torches at city hall or online. They want to avoid disgruntled guest level - not apply the same rules to improve the guest experience all the time. That's the difference between 'limiting to avoid overload' vs 'wanting lower crowds overall'.
They want to avoid the situations where the park is slammed and it costs more to operate. Hiring all those buses and paying to shuttle people to the stadium? All that traffic control? All those extra police? All those extra crowd control CMs? Disney wants to minimize all that kind of stuff.
They are doing it for the 'guest experience' to the limit where it aligns with their own management of resources. As long as the crowd load is below Disney's ideal point... you're not getting any more limiting for 'guest experience'
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Try winning a political argument with “but the POTUS literally said” - CEO’s are just as bad as politicians. They will say whatever they need to say to make the shareholders believe that there brilliant idea is making them more money.