News Nightmare Scenario Unfolds for Disneyland Passholders as Reservations Disappear

[CaptinEO]

‘Nightmare’ scenario unfolds for Disneyland passholders as reservations are snapped up

The widespread lack of reservations for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure has left annual passholders wondering if the new Magic Key is still a good value if they can’t get into the parks.…

www.ocregister.com

 

[el_super]

This was always part of the program. I called it back in the old thread.

Meanwhile CMs are getting their self-admission privileges back. Almost no blockouts (except Thanksgiving).

 

[el_super]

Everyone called out the flaws with the reservation system from the start.

It wasn't the reservation system itself that was the problem really... It was necessary.

It was the idea of selling access in a way where the access couldn't be gauranteed. There was no way to know when you bought a pass what the reservation availability or likelihood of visiting on a specific day was going to be.

I said before that Disney was either misrepresenting the new AP program or lying to their shareholders and now we know which one it really was.

 

[mickEblu]

It wasn't the reservation system itself that was the problem really... It was necessary.

It was the idea of selling access in a way where the access couldn't be gauranteed. There was no way to know when you bought a pass what the reservation availability or likelihood of visiting on a specific day was going to be.

I said before that Disney was either misrepresenting the new AP program or lying to their shareholders and now we know which one it really was.

True but we still don’t know how they respond to this. It seems like they re at a point where they either have to suspend selling a few passes or put out more reservations a little at a time or in bigger batches. They may not even have to suspend the passes. Who’s going to be the more expensive passes when they look at a calendar and see weekends booked 2 months out?

 

[Disney Analyst]

The drama is certainly starting, I have to think Disney will figure something out?

 

[Californian Elitist]

The drama is certainly starting, I have to think Disney will figure something out?

This is part of the slap in the face I was referring to.

Wow.

 

[mickEblu]

This is part of the slap in the face I was referring to.

Wow.

I’ll reserve judgment until I see how they respond but either way it can’t be good. More reservations means the parks are more packed. The only good thing for existing key holders would be the suspension of certain passes.

 

[Sailor310]

I was going to hold off getting a pass, but I got one the first day and went to the park the next day. I'm glad I did. There was no one there. I've been four times and feel like I have gotten my money's worth. I was worried they might oversell the passes or do what they're doing.

 

[SuddenStorm]

I'm genuinely curious about how they're limiting capacity here.

I mean, before the closure Disneyland hit capacity maybe once or twice a year- if that. So the park should theoretically have enough capacity to fit more people.

The 'limit crowds to increase satisfaction' vs 'use the fire dept capacity as your capacity and pack em in until then' debate is a tale as old as time- but everyone wants Disneyland to be less crowded until they're the one that can't go because Disney artificially capped capacity.

 

[waltography]

When I got the Flexpass I knew it was a gamble. My thinking was that the first year no one would get it, and luckily my gamble paid off. Besides a saturday in mid december I never had issues getting reservations.

Still miss my Flex Pass, moreso now with the key system. It was half the cost of my current pass, had MaxPass, and availability was pretty much always open.

 

[mickEblu]

Still miss my Flex Pass, moreso now with the key system. It was half the cost of my current pass, had MaxPass, and availability was pretty much always open.

Yeah we knew that was going to be short lived. Now you have 4 Flex Passes with some that can reserve 3 times the amount of days

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Unless I’m missing something…their goal was never to sell a new annual pass that allowed free reign as the old ones did? Diminishing returns on those that had gotten unwieldy.

 

[waltography]

Unless I’m missing something…their goal was never to sell a new annual pass that allowed free reign as the old ones did? Diminishing returns on those that had gotten unwieldy.

That's true. I think the optics of having essentially a full month blocked out ahead of time though is far more restrictive than what most folks hoped.

I'm fine with it for now (although it appears to be approaching two months ahead soon which is a lot), but I'd imagine more AP holders were expecting to be able to reserve a week or two ahead which isn't an unreasonable downgrade from day-of access.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

True but we still don’t know how they respond to this. It seems like they re at a point where they either have to suspend selling a few passes or put out more reservations a little at a time or in bigger batches. They may not even have to suspend the passes. Who’s going to be the more expensive passes when they look at a calendar and see weekends booked 2 months out?

The worst part is they are still aggressively advertising the keys on their social media sites, I see ads daily on their Facebook page. If they don’t have availability they shouldn’t be selling them anymore

At this rate I don’t expect many people to renew next year, and if they do it will probably be one of the cheap keys. No reason to spend hundreds extra for weekends if they aren’t available.

 

[mickEblu]

That's true. I think the optics of having essentially a full month blocked out ahead of time though is far more restrictive than what most folks hoped.

I'm fine with it for now (although it appears to be approaching two months ahead soon which is a lot), but I'd imagine more AP holders were expecting to be able to reserve a week or two ahead which isn't an unreasonable downgrade from day-of access.

To add to your response, ideally there was supposed to be a trade off. Reservations for less crowds but we re not really seeing that. If all visits were pleasant and not too crowded I’d care much less about the difficulty obtaining a reservation. But I think deep down we all knew that Disney wasn’t trying to really limit crowds in any meaningful way. This was always about them just them getting some more juicy data and being able to plan better to SAVE money on staffing.

 

[mickEblu]

The worst part is they are still aggressively advertising the keys on their social media sites, I see ads daily on their Facebook page. If they don’t have availability they shouldn’t be selling them anymore

At this rate I don’t expect many people to renew next year, and if they do it will probably be one of the cheap keys. No reason to spend hundreds extra for weekends if they aren’t available.

Which of course would be the best time to buy a Dream or Believe Key. Lol. These things are always so cyclical.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

Good. This was never going to be the old system. If no reservations you have to wait like everyone else. Makes the park more enjoyable.

 

[mickEblu]

Good. This was never going to be the old system. If no reservations you have to wait like everyone else. Makes the park more enjoyable.

The parks are still packed

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

The parks are still packed

Then good thing there are limited reservations to not make it even more crowded then isn't it?

 

[mickEblu]

Then good thing there are limited reservations to not make it even more crowded then isn't it?

Never mind.