Disneyland: The AP issue

[Phroobar]

A thought just occurred to me when thinking about discontinuing all APs...that would in effect kill off another contingent of Disneyland's population, namely the blogging community.

Here you have a group of people who bank on being able to have park access on a daily basis, and make at least part of their livelihood off their videos. They can funnel their YT ad revenue back into their passes and perpetuate the cycle.

I think that is the best reason to get rid of APs. The bloggers can't get in. That takes away the free advertising and less people will get AP and go to the parks. Too bad they can't ban video and photography from the parks in general.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

I think that is the best reason to get rid of APs. The bloggers can't get in. That takes away the free advertising and less people will get AP and go to the parks. Too bad they can't ban video and photography from the parks in general.

Families taking photos and home videos are one thing...but doing away with AP's would seriously cripple the people who profit from their Disney "lifestyle" Instagram and YouTube accounts and act like they're doing the parks a favor with the "free" advertising.

 

[Disney Irish]

I think that is the best reason to get rid of APs. The bloggers can't get in. That takes away the free advertising and less people will get AP and go to the parks. Too bad they can't ban video and photography from the parks in general.

Families taking photos and home videos are one thing...but doing away with AP's would seriously cripple the people who profit from their Disney "lifestyle" Instagram and YouTube accounts and act like they're doing the parks a favor with the "free" advertising.

Hey don't take away the YouTubers, what would I watch on YouTube otherwise?

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Hey don't take away the YouTubers, what would I watch on YouTube otherwise?

...other people desperately seeking fame and fortune??

 

[Phroobar]

...other people desperately seeking fame and fortune??

Fortune and Glory kid. Fortune and Glory....

 

[Phroobar]

Before the internet, Disneyland was never very crowded. They were underfunded and even considered possible to sell of to someone else. People looked at you weird if you said you are taking the day off the go to Disneyland especially without kids. It was just becoming popular due to the internet when 9/11 happened and killed the tourist industry. It wasn't until 2005 for the 50th anniversary that the park became popular again and the corporation took notice on how much the park could make money. It's been a steady climb up for the last twelve years. Vlogging is free advertising and is an easy thing to do. People want to become minor celebrities. Disneyland is a great backdrop for the mentally ill to spout nonsense. See Fresh Baked. It's a mystery to me why people haven't figured out that Disneyland is not fun to go to. I guess they expect long lines and poor show quality because it all looks so great on youtube.

 

[Disney Irish]

Before the internet, Disneyland was never very crowded. They were underfunded and even considered possible to sell of to someone else. People looked at you weird if you said you are taking the day off the go to Disneyland especially without kids. It was just becoming popular due to the internet when 9/11 happened and killed the tourist industry. It wasn't until 2005 for the 50th anniversary that the park became popular again and the corporation took notice on how much the park could make money. It's been a steady climb up for the last twelve years. Vlogging is free advertising and is an easy thing to do. People want to become minor celebrities. Disneyland is a great backdrop for the mentally ill to spout nonsense. See Fresh Baked. It's a mystery to me why people haven't figured out that Disneyland is not fun to go to. I guess they expect long lines and poor show quality because it all looks so great on youtube.

Everybody has a YouTube channel these days. Even I have a YouTube channel so I could share a trip video of my niece for my housebound dad.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Before the internet, Disneyland was never very crowded. They were underfunded and even considered possible to sell of to someone else. People looked at you weird if you said you are taking the day off the go to Disneyland especially without kids. It was just becoming popular due to the internet when 9/11 happened and killed the tourist industry. It wasn't until 2005 for the 50th anniversary that the park became popular again and the corporation took notice on how much the park could make money. It's been a steady climb up for the last twelve years. Vlogging is free advertising and is an easy thing to do. People want to become minor celebrities. Disneyland is a great backdrop for the mentally ill to spout nonsense. See Fresh Baked. It's a mystery to me why people haven't figured out that Disneyland is not fun to go to. I guess they expect long lines and poor show quality because it all looks so great on youtube.

I think we have to admit that we live in a time where a lot of people believe its "cool" to show others that they are at Disney.
There's an elitist mentality. No one is going to come out and say it, but there's a feeling I get that vloggers are essentially saying, "maybe you should work harder in your life and join us cool, smart people who have annual passes so you don't have to live a miserable existence." And then you have the side that weirdly agrees and says, "I live a miserable existence, and watching others have fun at Disneyland gives me a modicum of joy."

A certain % of AP holders tend to treat Disney like an exclusive club that they're members of because they have a pass, and everyone else is just a lowly "regular ticket holder". They expect small crowds and short lines, and feel their voice of displeasure has to be heard loudest.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

AP lifestylers filming themselves for thousands of subscribers to see? I simply don't believe it. It's too ludicrous to be true.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

AP lifestylers filming themselves for thousands of subscribers to see? I simply don't believe it. It's too ludicrous to be true.

Stranger things have happened....

 

[Phroobar]

I think we have to admit that we live in a time where a lot of people believe its "cool" to show others that they are at Disney.
There's an elitist mentality. No one is going to come out and say it, but there's a feeling I get that vloggers are essentially saying, "maybe you should work harder in your life and join us cool, smart people who have annual passes so you don't have to live a miserable existence." And then you have the side that weirdly agrees and says, "I live a miserable existence, and watching others have fun at Disneyland gives me a modicum of joy."

A certain % of AP holders tend to treat Disney like an exclusive club that they're members of because they have a pass, and everyone else is just a lowly "regular ticket holder". They expect small crowds and short lines, and feel their voice of displeasure has to be heard loudest.

Bingo! Give that person a cookie.

You can see that everywhere especially here. You could even reverse it and say, "I'm a tourist. These APs are making it too crowded during my semi-yearly vacation to Disneyland. Disney should discontinue APs so I can have the park to myself. I paid through the nose for this vacation and these people paid nothing. I expect more entertainment for my vacation money."

The problem with society is a false sense of entitlement.

 

[mickEblu]

I think we have to admit that we live in a time where a lot of people believe its "cool" to show others that they are at Disney.
There's an elitist mentality. No one is going to come out and say it, but there's a feeling I get that vloggers are essentially saying, "maybe you should work harder in your life and join us cool, smart people who have annual passes so you don't have to live a miserable existence." And then you have the side that weirdly agrees and says, "I live a miserable existence, and watching others have fun at Disneyland gives me a modicum of joy."

A certain % of AP holders tend to treat Disney like an exclusive club that they're members of because they have a pass, and everyone else is just a lowly "regular ticket holder". They expect small crowds and short lines, and feel their voice of displeasure has to be heard loudest.

Yup definitely part of the effect social media has had on people in general. Look me eating at this restaurant. Look at me on this vacation. Look at me at Disneyland. Definitely not behavior that is exclusive to Disneyland or APers. I rarely post anything on social media but I have even had to kind of re-teach myself to live in the moment. A few weeks ago my wife asked me to film my son playing at the "water park" in Bugs Land and I literally said "no I'm just going to enjoy this, we ve filmed him doing this twice already."

 

[DLR92]

I hardly would think Disney going to severely change the way they charge and handle AP.

If people feel Disneyland is too crowded for them, perhaps consider another travel destination. Disneyland isn't the only amazing thing in the world.

 

[Phroobar]

Yup definitely part of the effect social media has had on people in general. Look me eating at this restaurant. Look at me on this vacation. Look at me at Disneyland. Definitely not behavior that is exclusive to Disneyland or APers. I rarely post anything on social media but I have even had to kind of re-teach myself to live in the moment. A few weeks ago my wife asked me to film my son playing at the "water park" in Bugs Land and I literally said "no I'm just going to enjoy this, we ve filmed him doing this twice already."

It's also weird to see so many people in line and every one of them staring at their phones. No one interacts with each other. Over at Space Mountain, the kids go nuts playing tag on the roof of the theater while not one adult watches because they are all watching their feeds. It seems this goes completely against why Walt built the park in the first place. It was a place for parents and children to have fun together not ignore each other with a stupid little screen.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

It's also weird to see so many people in line and every one of them staring at their phones. No one interacts with each other. Over at Space Mountain, the kids go nuts playing tag on the roof of the theater while not one adult watches because they are all watching their feeds. It seems this goes completely against why Walt built the park in the first place. It was a place for parents and children to have fun together not ignore each other with a stupid little screen.

You're basically pointing out that the fundamental guest experience at a Disney theme park has changed little since 1955. Theme parks in general are going to have to address the development of mobile entertainment at some point, particularly Disney parks with their massive crowds and high ratio of frequent repeat visitors. A huge switchback queue with nothing to do is not only a huge waste of time, but the perfect place for staring at your phone.

Who knows how Disney will solve for this, but maybe it'll be a combination of virtual queuing and algorithms that monitor and control the ebb and flow of guests, or some other data driven technology will be utilized in the future to minimize waits and keep guests focused and entertained.

 

[SoManyWasps]

You're basically pointing out that the fundamental guest experience at a Disney theme park has changed little since 1955. Theme parks in general are going to have to address the development of mobile entertainment at some point, particularly Disney parks with their massive crowds and high ratio of frequent repeat visitors. A huge switchback queue with nothing to do is not only a huge waste of time, but the perfect place for staring at your phone.

Who knows how Disney will solve for this, but maybe it'll be a combination of virtual queuing and algorithms that monitor and control the ebb and flow of guests, or some other data driven technology will be utilized in the future to minimize waits and keep guests focused and entertained.

I think a combination of virtual queuing and more highly detailed, semi interactive queues are the answer. Say what you will about Guardians, but the interior of the queue is done very, very well. To the point where unless I wanted a picture of something, I never had my phone out. I admittedly am a Marvel fanboy, however, so I get that unless the theme of the queue works for you, the allure of pulling out a cell phone may be too much for some.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I think a combination of virtual queuing and more highly detailed, semi interactive queues are the answer.

What I find interesting about the MB queue is that it isn't static: it can be easily updated and scripted to align with each new ride profile. They obviously can't scale this exact method to every ride everywhere, but I hope to see at least a few more queue experiences like this in the future.

 

[SoManyWasps]

What I find interesting about the MB queue is that it isn't static: it can be easily updated and scripted to align with each new ride profile. They obviously can't scale this exact method to every ride everywhere, but I hope to see at least a few more queue experiences like this in the future.

I said this in another thread, but the details added for the Monsters After Dark profile really ramp up the tension before the ride. The lighting, the disappearance of certain collection items, the general sense of foreboding all work great.

 

[mickEblu]

I said this in another thread, but the details added for the Monsters After Dark profile really ramp up the tension before the ride. The lighting, the disappearance of certain collection items, the general sense of foreboding all work great.

Yeah that seems to be missing from the original version. No sense of foreboding and they reveal the Guardians (and their comedy) too soon on that screen. That stuff should have been saved for the ride experience.

I haven't been on the Halloween version. I should be riding tmrw for the first time.

 

[SoManyWasps]

Yeah that seems to be missing from the original version. No sense of foreboding and they reveal the Guardians (and their comedy) too soon on that screen. That stuff should have been saved for the ride experience.

I'm going to have to disagree. They needed that stuff in the queue to subvert your expectations. This isn't Tower of Terror anymore. It's Tower of Zany Antics Feat. The Guardians of the Galaxy. The main ride profiles are frenetic, whimsical, and thrilling. This is especially improtant because the new theme is attracting a wider array of riders. Several people in line with me remarks that they never would have written Tower of Terror, because of how scary it seemed to them. Mission Breakout is still scary, but the ride wants you to laugh along with your fear, instead of having the ride laugh at your fear.