Expect more premium events with recent organizational changes

[pax_65]

I agree! That's why I'm sort of sad that the Halloween Party closes the parks early to regular ticket holders. If we hadn't bought Party tickets, we wouldn't be able to see MK fireworks on our last night of the trip (a tradition).

Exactly. Obviously you have to close the Magic Kingdom early for these events, I understand that. But at a certain point it really does affect regular guests. When you buy the pass you expect the Magic Kingdom to be open in the evening during your trip. We've actually moved away from our late November/December trips because of the Christmas Parties. They have them FOUR times a week now - that means the Magic Kingdom would not be available in the evenings for more than HALF the week - and likely PACKED on the other 3 nights.

 

[21stamps]

You get the equivalent of that cheaper with a VIP Tour.

Cheaper? The VIP tour is a 7 hour minimum..it's almost double the price he quoted.. I think people would grab that FP option.. but very few, about the same amount who do tours.

 

[21stamps]

This new package does look like it includes margaritas! Not sure if the old one included alcohol so maybe that's part of the additional charge?

They also added seating.. and fun themed drinks. I'm choosing this over a holiday wishes dessert party if it goes past September.
The seating is the main reason why we haven't done it before.

 

[Figment2005]

The point is, things were previously offered as part of a regular admission are now being charged for as an up-charge event.

Everything that was in Star Wars Galactic Nights was previously included with regular park admission. Once it became a premium experience, it was charged at $130.

Yes everyone can choose, but the point is, Disney is intent on driving short term profits, and to do that, they are increasing guest spending in any way they can, which in many cases takes value away from the guest.

So getting unlimited deserts and drinks while watching fireworks from a private seating area was offered in the past free of charge to all guests? I never knew this!

 

[21stamps]

So getting unlimited deserts and drinks while watching fireworks from a private seating area was offered in the past free of charge to all guests? I never knew this!

I wish I could find the article, but I remember reading an interview with Matt Ouimet where he said-

"Cheap attendance is bad attendance".

Going on to say that if you overcrowd with little profits, then it doesn't benefit the company or the consumers. You can raise revenue by providing excellent customer service and options...while at the same time raising Customer enjoyment.

 

[ford91exploder]

Yes, because lifting the sound track off of videos is the big boogy man in the closet. Holy cow you'll dig deep...

You can't pirate the movie without the sound track and using a camera and microphone, makes for a lousy sound track. Now because of closing the 'analog hole' you can't use a set of cheap headphones at 35,000 ft you have to have an expensive battery powered something, Gone are the days of grabbing a 9.95 headset or earbuds at the airport store. Now you need a $99.95 something.

 

[The_Jobu]

Now you need a $99.95 something.

Do they even come charged out of the box?

 

[disney4life2008]

I think this is great. It would give families the opportunity to choose if they want to splurge on something. As long as it doesn't detract from the overall experience of the other guests, who cares. I am already doing the dessert bar this trip.

Lol choose? Yea right, they are going to eliminate or substantially reduce current offerings to add in an up charge.

 

[ford91exploder]

Do they even come charged out of the box?

Not in my experience

 

[ford91exploder]

I wish I could find the article, but I remember reading an interview with Matt Ouimet where he said-

"Cheap attendance is bad attendance".

Going on to say that if you overcrowd with little profits, then it doesn't benefit the company or the consumers. You can raise revenue by providing excellent customer service and options...while at the same time raising Customer enjoyment.

Trouble is there is NOTHING cheap about base admission cost at Disney

 

[21stamps]

Trouble is there is NOTHING cheap about base admission cost at Disney

The point he was making is that you can raise profits by offering "extras" which raise guest satisfaction as well. You can also raise prices where you feel that people will pay, i.e. Food, tickets, merchandise.

 

[ford91exploder]

The point he was making is that you can raise profits by offering "extras" which raise guest satisfaction as well. You can also raise prices where you feel that people will pay, i.e. Food, tickets, merchandise.

I did not read it that way, Sure you can boost attendance by cutting prices but by definition that's not good attendance.

Disney is TAKING AWAY things that used to be included in admission i.e. prime parade/fireworks viewing areas and sticking a pricetag on them.

I'm from the boston area, And Fenway park has gotten MASSIVE upgrades but one thing John Henry and team have not done is taken AWAY fan favorites and put a price tag on them.

Yes prime seats which NEVER existed like the Green Monster seats have been added, A prime seating area was created out of a storage area and exclusive dining was added in yet another storage area. And YES I've paid to be in all the 'NEW' areas of Fenway simply for the coolness factor. But my experience did not deny the family with bleacher tix the opportunity to stand for a while by 'Pesky's Pole'

But even if a fan goes in with a bleacher ticket there are no 'velvet ropes' around areas traditionally available to everyone. Contrast this to WDW's approach where velvet ropes are closing off more and more of the park to the regular day guest.

 

[21stamps]

I did not read it that way, Sure you can boost attendance by cutting prices but by definition that's not good attendance.

Disney is TAKING AWAY things that used to be included in admission i.e. prime parade/fireworks viewing areas and sticking a pricetag on them.

I'm from the boston area, And Fenway park has gotten MASSIVE upgrades but one thing John Henry and team have not done is taken AWAY fan favorites and put a price tag on them.

Yes prime seats which NEVER existed like the Green Monster seats have been added, A prime seating area was created out of a storage area and exclusive dining was added in yet another storage area. And YES I've paid to be in all the 'NEW' areas of Fenway simply for the coolness factor. But my experience did not deny the family with bleacher tix the opportunity to stand for a while by 'Pesky's Pole'

But even if a fan goes in with a bleacher ticket there are no 'velvet ropes' around areas traditionally available to everyone. Contrast this to WDW's approach where velvet ropes are closing off more and more of the park to the regular day guest.

This thread reminds of a situation I was in last week.. we were in line for a ride, about 65 minutes, the guy in front of us kept complaining over, and over, and over, about how the fast lane line slows down the line for everyone else.. and he "doesn't think it's fair" and "sheer company greed". Repeatedly. So annoying.

Do I sometimes do a little silent groan when Fast Lane peeps prevent me from boarding the train, or make the wait longer.. sure. But, I don't spend time getting angry or complaining about it. They paid for it. I would do in consistently if I had money to throw away lol.
I don't begrudge anyone for spending money to make their time better, more efficient, more comfortable, more enjoyable, whatever. And I don't begrudge the company for giving them an option to do so.

The fact is, it's a waste of time being angry or annoyed with any kind of upcharge situation. Just not worth stressing yourself out.

 

[The_Jobu]

I did not read it that way, Sure you can boost attendance by cutting prices but by definition that's not good attendance.

Disney is TAKING AWAY things that used to be included in admission i.e. prime parade/fireworks viewing areas and sticking a pricetag on them.

I'm from the boston area, And Fenway park has gotten MASSIVE upgrades but one thing John Henry and team have not done is taken AWAY fan favorites and put a price tag on them.

Yes prime seats which NEVER existed like the Green Monster seats have been added, A prime seating area was created out of a storage area and exclusive dining was added in yet another storage area. And YES I've paid to be in all the 'NEW' areas of Fenway simply for the coolness factor. But my experience did not deny the family with bleacher tix the opportunity to stand for a while by 'Pesky's Pole'

But even if a fan goes in with a bleacher ticket there are no 'velvet ropes' around areas traditionally available to everyone. Contrast this to WDW's approach where velvet ropes are closing off more and more of the park to the regular day guest.

Do they still have those days where they close the MK early for people who have a hard ticket to come in? That really boiled my potato.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I wish I could find the article, but I remember reading an interview with Matt Ouimet where he said-

"Cheap attendance is bad attendance".

Going on to say that if you overcrowd with little profits, then it doesn't benefit the company or the consumers. You can raise revenue by providing excellent customer service and options...while at the same time raising Customer enjoyment.

This is the problem Shanghai Disneyland is facing. Solid attendance, very low guest spending.

 

[Roknrollrghostr]

Do they still have those days where they close the MK early for people who have a hard ticket to come in? That really boiled my potato.

Do you mean "Disney After Hours"? I think it boiled a lot of people's potatoes. They did away with it so far. From what I recall, attendance was so poor that they offered it to DVC members for free. Basically evening extra magic hours that you had to pay for with less things open and free Mickey Bars. At least the morning one had a breakfast buffet.

 

[asianway]

Do you mean "Disney After Hours"? I think it boiled a lot of people's potatoes. They did away with it so far. From what I recall, attendance was so poor that they offered it to DVC members for free. Basically evening extra magic hours that you had to pay for with less things open and free Mickey Bars. At least the morning one had a breakfast buffet.

The DVC event was a completely different concept

 

[Biff215]

The DVC event was a completely different concept

I believe they're talking about the After Hours events that sold so poorly that they did allow DVC members to attend for free, not any of the Member Magic events planned just for DVC.

 

[pax_65]

This thread reminds of a situation I was in last week.. we were in line for a ride, about 65 minutes, the guy in front of us kept complaining over, and over, and over, about how the fast lane line slows down the line for everyone else.. and he "doesn't think it's fair" and "sheer company greed". Repeatedly. So annoying.

Do I sometimes do a little silent groan when Fast Lane peeps prevent me from boarding the train, or make the wait longer.. sure. But, I don't spend time getting angry or complaining about it. They paid for it. I would do in consistently if I had money to throw away lol.
I don't begrudge anyone for spending money to make their time better, more efficient, more comfortable, more enjoyable, whatever. And I don't begrudge the company for giving them an option to do so.

The fact is, it's a waste of time being angry or annoyed with any kind of upcharge situation. Just not worth stressing yourself out.

As I said before, I have no issue with the premium stuff EXCEPT when it hurts the value of the admission pass I purchased. If I can still do everything I used to do, fine. But YES - if they allow people to purchase additional FPs, that would mean that my admission pass no longer has the same value because my wait times will be longer so I will be unable to enjoy the same number of attractions in a day.

The price of admission to Disney parks keeps going up, which I guess is inevitable. But I want to at least keep the same value of that pass. If they raise the price and decrease the value, UGH... not magical!

 

[The_Jobu]

Do you mean "Disney After Hours"? I think it boiled a lot of people's potatoes. They did away with it so far. From what I recall, attendance was so poor that they offered it to DVC members for free. Basically evening extra magic hours that you had to pay for with less things open and free Mickey Bars. At least the morning one had a breakfast buffet.

Yah that's the one. Glad to hear they did away with it.