Ask a Disney Focused TA about this. Guest Retention within the company has become a very big focus. They’re loosing a lot of their most loyal and high spending guests…and they know it.
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Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Epcot81Fan
Well-Known Member
They have figured out the problem: Guests hate the Rivers of America.
Chi84
Premium Member
Of course they are; abject greed is not a good look for any company.
Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
I think this was way back before fast pass was even invented. There was nothing to skip lines with back then. There was no other option but to wait in line, and they were always moving, sometimes slower than others, but constant.
Ayla
Well-Known Member
They sure are.
Chi84
Premium Member
We started going to WDW in 1984 as adults; that was way back before fast pass was invented. I know what you're saying, but my experience was different. The lines were miserable and we had people in our party who couldn't stand in them. All these years later, we're those people.
Chi84
Premium Member
Appreciate your answer. Disney has made atrocious choices going back several years to when they started to charge for resort parking (since rescinded). I called to tell them why I thought that decision would cost them younger customers and all they kept saying was that they were happy the charge wouldn't affect us because we were DVC owners. Then they decided to do away with Magical Express, which was also a benefit used by families with young children.
Until COVID, my husband and I visited at least twice a year and took the entire family once every two years. We were happy with FP+ but could already see it cracking under the stress of insufficient capacity. We tried Genie+ and didn't like it; I don't expect the current paid system is going to be much better.
Others have discussed Disney's failed business model in far better detail than I can, but I just don't see the parks coming back from it any time soon, if ever. By the time they do, Disney will likely have gutted their customer base.
DH and I have moved from WDW to cruises for all except our once-every-second-year family vacation. But the family has now expanded to 6 adults and 4 children, 2 of whom are over the age of 3. So the costs of everything this year are going to be pretty high. We will continue with these vacations as long as everyone enjoys them. But I can say unequivocally that if Gran and Grandad weren't paying, no one would be going. And I don't see my kids saving up for an expensive vacation; they'll just move on. So will we - one way or the other.
I don’t think it’s greed as much incompetence. All companies want to maximize profit, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Disney just doesn’t want to or is unable to pull this off without shooting themselves in the foot in the process.
The problem for most guests has never been the high cost of Disney, because it’s always been there. But for most guests the high cost was offset by perceived value and quality compared to other destination options.
Now through the competition stepping up their game and Disney constantly floundering, mostly of their own fault, the value and favorable brand sentiment has vaporized. This coupled with management that prefers to have contempt for the guest rather than a willingness to cater to them, leads to the situation they’re in where they are significantly underperforming their segment and permanently loosing customers in the process.
Eric Graham
Well-Known Member
If I'm not mistaken, a few rides are going up in price for October. Just a buck or so:
blogmickey.com
Lightning Lane Single Pass Price Increase Coming Soon to Select Attractions at Walt Disney World
The price of Lightning Lane Single Pass will soon be increasing at select attractions starting October 18th
blogmickey.com
Chi84
Premium Member
I generally agree, although I’m not sure I would go as far as “contempt.”
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Been going since 1972 as a 23 year old for me the lines were not miserable-pre cell phones people actually talked while waiting in line ---met a lot of friendly interesting people in those linesWe started going to WDW in 1984 as adults; that was way back before fast pass was invented. I know what you're saying, but my experience was different. The lines were miserable and we had people in our party who couldn't stand in them. All these years later, we're those people.
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
This, and they have made it very clear they do not want passholders or locals. The stupid reservation system has turned off passholders and the games they play with idiotic good to go days. If they want to block holidays and what not like that fine, but the rest is complete idiocy put together by too many geeks in the kitchen and inept management who doesn't know how to run the parks anymore. But this is how they want it, so I don't want to hear them whine when the local bread and butter quits putting out, which already has to some extent, I know were about done. Its a pain to go anymore.
They’re chasing after a favorable guest mix that doesn’t exist in mass to offset the loss of the lower margin guest. Contrary to what the just graduated MBA who couldn’t find the Magic kingdom on a map would put in a financial analysis for his bosses.
Empty TS restaurants prove this conclusively.
The bigger problem they have with AP holders and locals is that even if Disney does a 180 and goes back to prepandemic ways of doing things (you know when the parks were jam packed) they still may not come back. Once you tick off a customer, they usually don’t come back.
Epcot81Fan
Well-Known Member
Once a company makes their customers feel like suckers, they are done.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
We’re in a similar situation, we used to go to DL monthly (as local APs) and WDW once or twice a year on average… with all the changes the last few years we now vastly prefer cruising or other vacations.Appreciate your answer. Disney has made atrocious choices going back several years to when they started to charge for resort parking (since rescinded). I called to tell them why I thought that decision would cost them younger customers and all they kept saying was that they were happy the charge wouldn't affect us because we were DVC owners. Then they decided to do away with Magical Express, which was also a benefit used by families with young children.
Until COVID, my husband and I visited at least twice a year and took the entire family once every two years. We were happy with FP+ but could already see it cracking under the stress of insufficient capacity. We tried Genie+ and didn't like it; I don't expect the current paid system is going to be much better.
Others have discussed Disney's failed business model in far better detail than I can, but I just don't see the parks coming back from it any time soon, if ever. By the time they do, Disney will likely have gutted their customer base.
DH and I have moved from WDW to cruises for all except our once-every-second-year family vacation. But the family has now expanded to 6 adults and 4 children, 2 of whom are over the age of 3. So the costs of everything this year are going to be pretty high. We will continue with these vacations as long as everyone enjoys them. But I can say unequivocally that if Gran and Grandad weren't paying, no one would be going. And I don't see my kids saving up for an expensive vacation; they'll just move on. So will we - one way or the other.
We are going on a DCL cruise in January and will be spending a few days in WDW since we’ll be in FL anyway, I’m getting more excited for the cruise with every passing day but getting less excited for the WDW portion with every passing day, after reading that LL prices are going up again I’m almost at the point of just accepting we won’t go on most of those rides if we can’t get VQs, we can afford it, I just hate feeling like I’m being fleeced, we’ve already decided to drop our DL APs next year to apply that money towards a couple more cruises and some national parks and it’s possible we’ll sacrifice the WDW portion on future trips also, we just feel like our money is better spent nearly anywhere other than the parks now.
Chi84
Premium Member
My husband and I probably won’t return to WDW if it’s just the two of us. We went on our first cruise earlier this year (the Fantasy) and immediately booked another cruise.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I did my first DCL cruise in 2022 (my gfs 2nd) and we had so much fun we bought the 10% off voucher before getting off the ship, we’ve bought that offer every cruise since, this will be our 4th DCL cruise in just over 3 years, we also have a Princess Alaska cruise coming up so I’m excited to see how the other lines compare.
In many ways cruising reminds me of pre 2020 Disney, expensive and requires a lot of pre planning but once you step foot on site the planning is done and you can relax and enjoy vacation, now with the constant need to get VQs, return times, mobile orders, etc it’s just a lot harder to relax at the parks now.
Chi84
Premium Member
We’re going to have our work cut out for us trying to catch up with you!
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
Oh, just wait until they see it start to impact new DVC sales...
SoFloMagic
Well-Known Member
I get it, but remember that the Disney news sources have to stir things up to make money.
The LLs went up by one dollar. I'm guessing the cruise was probably $10k+. Youre getting fleeced far more on the cruise than the lightning lane
BTW - No judgment whatsoever - you get to spend your money on what you want to! I'm just pointing out that stories like "Disney raises lightning lanes to record prices, hurting customers", while true, are also meant to stir the pot and not convey actionable information