markc said:
My main point of questioning this service is trying to justify or rationalize the cost of running it versus other services they could provide which maybe more beneficial. I'm not necessarily saying that it should be a service that benefits me personally as a Disney vacationer; but one that's going to add value to an average guest's experience by vastly improving the current "status quo". My issue is, that I don't forsee this as that much of a change from the current Mears service or that the "other" services that they've decided to provide will really benefit that many people. On paper it sounds nice, but when you start to think about it after awhile, the value just doesn't seem to be there (or at least justify the additional costs that Disney may take on by offering it).
The value is certainly there. What part of "free" as opposed to "pay Mears $30" make the value not there? As I said above, it doesn't matter if it's no better than what Mears already is - it's free, and the same thing for free is better than paying for it, from the guest perspective. I personally believe it will be better, only because I know Disney is going to try to make it as attractive as possible and I am sure they are already sensitive to these issues.
Exactly, however there are obvious factors that can be considered which can gauge certain issues fairly well (such as time, convienence, possible issues resulting from baggage being carried).
The baggage thing we can't comment on. It's unfair to say they will screw it up from the get-go. I too have expressed reservations about their handling of luggage; only time will tell on this one.
You can add me to one of those people who used to do the same thing. We'd rent a car, and only use it once or twice during a ten day stay. We didn't rent the car necessarily for transportation during our trip; it was just that we felt the added cost of having the freedom, if we should choose to go anywhere, was worth it and not being a slave to Mears' time schedule.
And my point is, and has been, that for SOME people, this will change. Before, it was "rent a car because it's just as easy taking a shuttle and not much more, PLUS the potential freedom is nice", now it's "hmmm...we don't have to spend anything at all, so why bother - we never use it anyway". I understand what you are trying to say - I can't live without my vehicle at home and make sure I never am without one, even when I don't need it. It just makes me feel better. But on vacation, many people will be happy to chuck the whole idea and just have Disney take care of everything. The couple hundred dollars spent on a week's car rental that you only use twice isn't going to hold the same "value" when Disney is offering free transport.
Well my family is one of those people too now; in all honesty, it's much faster driving yourself to the parks and the parking lots then it is depending on Disney transport. From any of the moderates, for example, there's an average time of at least 40 minutes to get from there to Epcot, Disney MGM Studios, or the Animal Kingdom (including the waiting time). However, via car, it was only 15 minutes (including the time it took to walk from the car to the main gate)..so you're looking on saving an upwards of at least 2 hours per day if you go to at least two parks. But I do agree, it's much more relaxing to take Disney transport (except of course, at the end of the day at the Magic Kingdom where everybody's crammed into the bus :lol: )
I've just had a different experience, I guess. I never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus on my last trip, with one exception - the bus from the TTC to AK took about 30. The bus service is almost universally efficent, and I'd much rather spend my time waiting on a nice comfy bench for the bus (even if I have to wait) than trekking all the way to a tram, then walking around a sea of cars in the parking lot to find mine, leaving, then repeating the process in reverse just to park hop. I park hop at least twice if not three times a day, so all that driving and parking is just a pain in the behind for me - that's what I come to WDW to get away from.
I bet there will be a lot of people who use this service..but again, my issue is whether or not this service is greatly going to increase the quality of transport from the airport vs creating an entirely different service which maybe more beneficial.
There isn't much they can improve on a shuttle. I don't care if it's an increase in quality, just that it at least maintains it. I've had a similar experience as wannabeBelle - Mears is definately servicable. It's not luxury, but it works for one or two people.
I think this is also where you and I disagree on. I don't believe that this is going to stop people from being captive on property. The majority of the people who will take advantage of this service are those who use Mears. Only a small perecentage of those who use this service will be those who used to get rental cars. Additionally, I think anybody who is really tempted to go off site, will still do so to check out Universal Studios. The dinners off site may stop, but that's about it. I just can't see a huge change in behavior of those who visit Disney nor can I see the cost of capturing those extra dinners onsite justifying the massive cost of operating a bus fleet going back and forth from the airport, setting up an infrastructure so that at each resort board passes can be obtained..etc.
Well, just on the dinners they'll do wel. And Universal will be less convenient, in any case - since they rarely add new attractions over there most people I know only go every few Disney visits. When I do Universal, I don't do day-trips from Disney, I transfer over there and stay on-site (FOTL access is like AC in a car - once you've had it, it's awful tough to go without it).
This isn't preventing anyone from doing anything, but in the grand scheme of things between the MYW passes and this new system, I just feel that more people will just say to heck with it and stay with Disney the whole time, just like it's very obviously supposed to do.
I feel that myself and other guests will lose because 1. it isn't going to bring in *that* much more money that will increase Disney's profit, which leads into #2. That there are better services/improvements that this "investment" could be better placed. I also know that *nothing* is free, especially with Disney, and the cost of implementing such an infrastructure for this service is fairly major, and that we are paying for it in someway (maybe not necessarily directly in the price of the resort, but it is included somewhere). It's sorta like wanting your tax dollars to go towards worthwhile projects; I don't mind paying inflated prices for a Disney vacation or even paying more during each visit; but I expect that they use that money towards projects and investments that are going to increase the value of any upcoming vacations for the average guest.
Well, I just don't feel like I would have the right to judge Disney like that, or expect them to cater only to me. Obviously Disney believes differently than you, or they wouldn't have made changes to all of these systems and implemented "Destination Disney". The tax dollars analogy is false - taxes are not a choice, supporting Disney is. If you truly feel they are abusing the money you give them, then that is something you need to look at personally. I could say the same thing about "Stitch's Great Escape" - or Magic Carpets of Aladdin, or Dino-whirl or whatever that horrid attraction is. It's just another feature at WDW designed to attract a certain type of guest, and yes, in some cosmic perception we all end up paying for it, but it's not as direct a relationship as you may imagine. In fact, I would be willing to bet that the money for "Destination Disney" features like this isn't coming out of operations, but marketing...
I'm never one for corporate kiss-butt, but then again I do recognize the situation for what it is. To be blunt, Mears and everyone else who has sprung up around Orlando has done so on Mickey's back - I don't blame Disney for wanting to take more control over their guests experience. Disney had no choice but to partner with Mears over the years because they are the only company in the area with enough scale to handle it, but they also had no control over the experience. This is the best soloution I think Disney could have come up with - it always has been odd that Disney didn't provide some service like this in the first place, as most resorts that strive to be all-inclusive already do in major tourist areas.
I think we've got a long wait to see, but I don't think any outcry at Disney spending money on refurbishing and driving some shuttles is going to change anything nor is it really warranted. This is going to be a huge service to people who need it, and those that don't won't be subsidizing it any more than any other attraction or feature at WDW. I never used EMH in the morning (I just can't get up that early), but I didn't complain that Disney provided the service, which I'm sure cost money (bringing people in early to work). It's all part of the whole WDW package, and given that resort prices haven't skyrocketed, and admission has actually gone down in a lot of cases, I just don't see where you think you will be spending more money.
I do understand the whole "you'll pay for it eventually" mentality, but I just don't think it applies in this situation.
AEfx
