Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ummm... the very existence of deluxe hotels versus value hotels was a clear sign Disney was not treating everybody equally.

That is not correct. You paid more for more hotel amenities…more restaurants, better lounges and common spaces…etc

But once you left and went to the guest areas…you are ALL EQUAL. It is a lot of the draw that has made the place this popular.

That’s a mistake to go away from

It AINT luxury…it’s a mass family destination

 

[monothingie]

Ummm... the very existence of deluxe hotels versus value hotels was a clear sign Disney was not treating everybody equally.

In the parks. Prior, your park experience was not solely based on your income level.

 

[MisterPenguin]

In the parks. Prior, your park experience was not solely based on your income level.

Club 33

VIP tours.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

In the parks. Prior, your park experience was not solely based on your income level.

Well, except when Disneyland first opened and those that could afford more attra tion ticket books could go on more rides ... Or more recently those that could afford to stay on property got extra hours in the parks and had earlier access to book their ADRs and FP+ .... Or those that can afford VIP tours get an elevated experience ... Those that can afford dessert parties get a better firework experience, etc.

Always been stuff ... Just gets more and more exaggerated as time goes

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Ummm... the very existence of deluxe hotels versus value hotels was a clear sign Disney was not treating everybody equally.

Staying in a value resort does not imply that you're lesser though. I'm sure many people have stayed at the All Stars because they only really need a bed to sleep in and don't see higher costs as necessary when they're going to the parks open to close.

 

[jpeden]

Club 33

VIP tours.

Most day guest don’t even realize those are things, especially before they brought 33 to the east coast.

 

[CntrlFlPete]

Yesterday, the wait time for Toy Story Mania was posted as 80 minutes. I was on the ride within 10 minutes.

No joke.

the data person inside me wonders if they are using Geni+ sales projections to 'save' capacity for LL users over stand by capacity thusly inflating wait times estimates.

 

[Jenny72]

There is something particularly egregious about Genie+. When we went a few weeks ago, I didn't mention anything to my kids about how I felt about recent changes, because I wanted them to have a good experience. My son got pretty aggravated about watching all the Lightning Lane people stream in front of us constantly, even though I tried to be chipper, and it's so fun, haha! There's no way he would have gotten aggravated about Club 33 (whatever that is) or VIP tours, which he wouldn't have even known about. And how would he know what hotel other guests are staying at?

The Lightning Lane is just so in your face. It's a shame they can't hide it a bit. Although presumably they don't want to, so you'll feel compelled to buy it, too.

 

[monothingie]

Club 33

VIP tours.

Which impacted <1% of guests.

 

[Andrew25]

Club 33 & VIP Tours don't impact your wait-time nor do they make you feel as if your missing something from your experience. VIP tours are so small they don't impact wait-times significantly.

When you combine increased downtime, plus the fact that people who paid for Genie/Lighting Lanes are more "entitled" to a quicker queue, resulting in longer standby waits due to the ridiculous standby to lighting lane ratios... it's a huge mess Disney caught itself in because they decided to chase pennies and lack of actual investment into the parks.

I don't mean entitled in a bad way, more so that when you pay $20 for a ROTR pass you rightfully expect to get to the front of the line within a handful of minutes.


I visit WDW frequently on a weekly basis, and what I'm seeing from them is pretty sad when it comes to downtime. Even more frustrating is when they send out on a daily basis empty trains on Guardians/Tron early in the morning for 30-45 minutes due to the BG system.

 

[DisneyCane]

That is not correct. You paid more for more hotel amenities…more restaurants, better lounges and common spaces…etc

But once you left and went to the guest areas…you are ALL EQUAL. It is a lot of the draw that has made the place this popular.

That’s a mistake to go away from

It AINT luxury…it’s a mass family destination

Your bottom line is the bottom line. A family theme park is not a luxury destination. A luxury hotel is. Even skipping lines doesn't make it luxury.

 

[Jrb1979]

Your bottom line is the bottom line. A family theme park is not a luxury destination. A luxury hotel is. Even skipping lines doesn't make it luxury.

Tell that to Bob. He seems to think it is.

 

[Drdcm]

I read somewhere around here that they use sensors in the ceilings to estimate wait times now. Could be tied to MagicBands, I guess, but since they cannot guarantee everyone in the line has one, it seems like a poor idea to tie a wait time system to something that may or may not be detectable from a distance of greater than 3 feet.

You know the fingerprint scanners? They actually inject you with a tracker chip so small you can’t even feel the hypodermic needle. That’s how they know wait times

 

[Thepuma]

Staying in a value resort does not imply that you're lesser though. I'm sure many people have stayed at the All Stars because they only really need a bed to sleep in and don't see higher costs as necessary when they're going to the parks open to close.

I've never understood the value in the top tier Disney Hotels. How long are you actually spending in the Hotel/Room itself?

When we are in Orlando for 2 week holidays we wake up at 6am...do the 7am reservation shuffle and out the room.....we don't often get back till 11pm!!....so basically we are paying for a bed!!....and a $200 Art Of Animation bed ain't much different to $800 Grand Floridian bed.

For us there's just no value in paying for top Disney hotels. We only stay on property to get the (very few) benefits...hence why we stay at either AoA, Pop or one of the other off site affiliate hotels...as paying any more for us is just wasted money. But I understand everyone's situations are different.

 

[Drdcm]

I've never understood the value in the top tier Disney Hotels. How long are you actually spending in the Hotel/Room itself?

When we are in Orlando for 2 week holidays we wake up at 6am...do the 7am reservation shuffle and out the room.....we don't often get back till 11pm!!....so basically we are paying for a bed!!....and a $200 Art Of Animation bed ain't much different to $800 Grand Floridian bed.

For us there's just no value in paying for top Disney hotels. We only stay on property to get the (very few) benefits...hence why we stay at either AoA, Pop or one of the other off site affiliate hotels...as paying any more for us is just wasted money. But I understand everyone's situations are different.

I think you can get a good deal at a deluxe resort through DVC rentals. If you haven’t, you should check it out sometime. Often I can get a good one at a comparable price to booking a moderate directly through Disney. I agree with you… though we can afford it, we aren’t the type to pay normal prices for deluxe.

That being said, I’m still pretty bitter about the loss of evening extra magic hours to everyone. I think it was a despicable move. Could have added extra days just for deluxe resorts and I would have been able to stomach it better.

 

[Trauma]

Iger is to busy figuring out how to split up the company and sell it off to care about any of this.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

I've never understood the value in the top tier Disney Hotels. How long are you actually spending in the Hotel/Room itself?

When we are in Orlando for 2 week holidays we wake up at 6am...do the 7am reservation shuffle and out the room.....we don't often get back till 11pm!!....so basically we are paying for a bed!!....and a $200 Art Of Animation bed ain't much different to $800 Grand Floridian bed.

For us there's just no value in paying for top Disney hotels. We only stay on property to get the (very few) benefits...hence why we stay at either AoA, Pop or one of the other off site affiliate hotels...as paying any more for us is just wasted money. But I understand everyone's situations are different.

I never understand people who vacation like that staying on Disney property at all.

Last time I went for a "parks only" trip as you described, stayed at a cheap Marriott property offsite for a nickel, Uber'd right to the park entrances (both Disney and Uni) exactly when I wanted from the front door of my hotel, and used the hotel simply for a bed with significantly less logistical hassle and crowds than a value Disney resort.

I frankly get the Grand Floridian or AK Lodge guest, I really don't get the All Star guest paying that much for that experience.

 

[Thepuma]

I think you can get a good deal at a deluxe resort through DVC rentals. If you haven’t, you should check it out sometime. Often I can get a good one at a comparable price to booking a moderate directly through Disney. I agree with you… though we can afford it, we aren’t the type to pay normal prices for deluxe.

That being said, I’m still pretty bitter about the loss of evening extra magic hours to everyone. I think it was a despicable move. Could have added extra days just for deluxe resorts and I would have been able to stomach it better.

The one benefit they changed that I actually like is the fact that you can get into ALL the parks 30 minutes early, rather than it being 1 park on a rotation system. I used to have to plan my days around the ones that were early entry.

Other than that, the benefits are pretty mediocre.

 

[Trauma]

I've never understood the value in the top tier Disney Hotels. How long are you actually spending in the Hotel/Room itself?

When we are in Orlando for 2 week holidays we wake up at 6am...do the 7am reservation shuffle and out the room.....we don't often get back till 11pm!!....so basically we are paying for a bed!!....and a $200 Art Of Animation bed ain't much different to $800 Grand Floridian bed.

For us there's just no value in paying for top Disney hotels. We only stay on property to get the (very few) benefits...hence why we stay at either AoA, Pop or one of the other off site affiliate hotels...as paying any more for us is just wasted money. But I understand everyone's situations are different.

I wake up scratch my eyes and can walk to Epcot in the Florida sun in 4 minutes.

What do you not understand ?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In the parks. Prior, your park experience was not solely based on your income level.

The only “strata” in parks before these idiots crazy was “pecos or liberty tree?” And “medium Mickey plush or large?”