News Passholder Benefits Shifting

[mistyj]

Some interesting news in the same vein from from the other coast... Just saw a tweet from DLR announcing the lifting of some June block out dates for lower level APs and a ticket discount for same day, 1-day parkhoppers through the summer. $89 for Value days.

Check out @DisneylandAP’s Tweet:

 

[Rodan75]

I definitely appreciate those. I actually had a CM ask me (in the Figment store). I was stunned. They have a few benefits of course. But they do very little for passholders.

I think they have definitely done more over the last 2 years for Passholders than they did in the previous 5 years. Last week every retail associate and server asked if we had DVC or Annual Pass discounts. For a few years, it seemed like they were told not to ask.

 

[monothingie]

If they do the 13 for 12 promotion again, you know that things are not well.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Off topic but I wish they did the promotions like they used to... Remember the year you got in on your birthday for free??? We planned a trip from Ohio just to do that. My bday is 6/12 and hers is 6/13. So Disney got ticket money out of us for the other person on a two day trip that we would have never done without the promotion.

 

[bhg469]

I picture something like a food truck festival, but nicer, inside Wonders of Life.

Something like Fast food Blvd at Universal would be a welcomed sight but I am not sure how it would fit the area.

 

[winstongator]

I don't hate the offer of magnets. I just lol that it's truly a 'benefit'. It's something that could be mailed. Like Universal does. But I don't mind having special magnets or other things given away to passholders (how about something a little bit nicer than a magnet? What about giving out attraction posters again? Pins? Mugs? A lot they could do). But I don't think it should be a "main perk" of being a passholder.

It's definitely a little pull to get pass holders to the park more, which is interesting. The time-dependence agrees with that too. Maybe an AP was planning 3 trips, but a magnet is outside one of their trips, so they add a weekend. My trip I added was one day I had to myself. Drove down & back from Jacksonville one Sunday. The magnet will have less impact 'generating' a trip from an out-of-state AP than a FL AP. That it's something harder for out-of-state APs to get, might tell us that it's targeted at FL APs.

I think the change in October 2015 was specific to the FL passes. At least, the biggest change was to the FL no-blackout pass: $529->$649. The Silver equivalent pass went from $329->$389. They added a no-Christmas or Spring break pass option at $549. So you could pay about the same, but miss out Christmas and Spring Break. We were planning on going at the time, so we picked the no-blackout option.

Back on topic: that price change must have changed FL resident AP behavior. Plus, the advertising effect of the magnets has to have a bigger impact in FL where you see them a lot more.

Aren't there seasonal pass holder pins you can buy? Getting something 'free' always feels better, but there is a lot of pass holder specific merchandise to buy.

The biggest perk, and the only one I'd need to be an AP, is the unlimited park access. With single-day tickets well over $100, our average ticket cost per day was around $30/person. Bold added because every park day has a lot of other expenses to go with it. Even those insano days I drive down and back the same day, I have $40 in gas (less when it's all 4 of us going), and my time. Other days you add in hotel & food. What are my other entertainment options for $30/person?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

10 years ago we were entering the worst summer for the US economy in over 50 years. Go back 20 years. Lots has happened around the world, in the US, in FL more specifically (epicenter of housing bubble?), and at WDW. So much has happened, it's hard to determine what is the real cause for different changes. Except when they changed pass holder pricing from 2015 to 2016. Pretty sure that had a big impact on the slight attendance drop that year.
.

Let me clarify: I wasn’t making an economic comparison to ten years ago...I was talking about operational and price strategies and how things have changed. Without droning on...I think 3 major changes have completely altered the experience and expectations:

1. The self labeled “moving to luxury” movement over the last 5+
2. The spacing of crowds over a 12
Month calendar...it’s been very effective with a mixed strategy or marketing and limited period hooks throughout the year.
3. The prebooked, autmoted ride and reservation systems...that’s a bigger game changer than I had originally anticipated because it’s driving crowds unknowingly to additional sales.

Housing market flattened out 1/2007...Lehman went 8/12/08...big bottom out mid 2009-2012 when the masses went WDW “coupon crazy”...those were of course unique bellweathers

 

[RSoxNo1]

Who would have thought 20 years of mediocre to poor decisions and indecision in EPCOT would have led to the park failing to surpass pre-Animal Kingdom attendance #s?

@marni1971 might disagree, but I have little confidence they know a way to fix it.

 

[marni1971]

@marni1971 might disagree..

Nope.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Who would have thought 20 years of mediocre to poor decisions and indecision in EPCOT would have led to the park failing to surpass pre-Animal Kingdom attendance #s?

@marni1971 might disagree, but I have little confidence they know a way to fix it.

Agreed...all the dirt they’re shuffling now is not a unified plan...and Epcot is the one park that needs one. The Eisner “revamp” was abandoned...this seems like iger’s attempt at bandaids as well.

I don’t really hate anything they’re doing (frozen is still the dumb move)...and I hope it all works out...but from a thematic perspective only rat fits...just my opinion as an Epcot defender.

 

[celluloid]

You know what would be a great perk for not only Annual Passholders but any frequent visitor or first time to EPCOT?

Having the end of Club Cool all the way through the big hallway of nothing leading to The Land and Living Seas not smell like a sewage line break.

Yes, I know the reasons, but it does not need to be like that and no one is willing to fix it. The fact that any theme park managment is okay with it smelling like that for literally years is all kinds of wrong.

Oh hey,
and guess where you traditionally go to pick up magnets? Same said hall.

 

[matt9112]

incorrect.

too be fair we could argue theres only two rides that you need to use FP+ for and you can only pick one. (if you exclude frozens overated self) everything else is an easy walk on.

 

[matt9112]

We waited in the Frozen line twice during Memorial Day week. The first time it was posted as an 80 minute wait. The second time was 60. Both times we were on the boat in about 25-30 minutes. We noticed back in March that we didn't wait nearly half as long as the posted times. Is there something to that? Also, magnets? Magnets? They're expecting droves because of magnets?

ahmmm "free" magnets you should have seen the lines for the glasses

 

[mikejs78]

Agreed...all the dirt they’re shuffling now is not a unified plan...and Epcot is the one park that needs one. The Eisner “revamp” was abandoned...this seems like iger’s attempt at bandaids as well.

I don’t really hate anything they’re doing (frozen is still the dumb move)...and I hope it all works out...but from a thematic perspective only rat fits...just my opinion as an Epcot defender.

Frozen was an attempt to draw the princess crowd over to Epcot, and capitalize on the film's popularity. For what it is (thematics aside) I think it's a great Fantasyland C-ticket dark ride. Unfortunately it's billed as an E-ticket and it's in the wrong park. Guardians is the same. They could surprise me there by at least making it somewhat thematically fit, but I doubt it. Rat does fit, and Poppins and/or Coco (if either comes to pass) would fit. But they need to get beyond these one-off "fixes" and come up with a strategic direction that capitalizes on Epcot's unique strengths rather than trying to make it "more timeless, more relevant, more family, more Disney", or rather, Magic Kingdom II.

 

[monothingie]

When do they usually announce the AP price increase? <sarcasm added>

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Frozen was an attempt to draw the princess crowd over to Epcot, and capitalize on the film's popularity. For what it is (thematics aside) I think it's a great Fantasyland C-ticket dark ride. Unfortunately it's billed as an E-ticket and it's in the wrong park. Guardians is the same. They could surprise me there by at least making it somewhat thematically fit, but I doubt it. Rat does fit, and Poppins and/or Coco (if either comes to pass) would fit. But they need to get beyond these one-off "fixes" and come up with a strategic direction that capitalizes on Epcot's unique strengths rather than trying to make it "more timeless, more relevant, more family, more Disney", or rather, Magic Kingdom II.

Agree...

Coco wasn’t happening. That’s the type of “rumor” that the PCQ is about 99%. That was floated like the day after the movie premiered. It was a good movie and a moderate success (in today’s dollars)...but when does disney jump to build rides for those? The answer is never.

Frozen was silly because it wasn’t gonna maintain the kind of popularity they wanted to think it would and to put it in a pavilion as a
Replacement was a dumb, slippery slope move...

I think what you’ll see is that they will wait for mgm overflow into Epcot, gauge that, open the couple of new things underway, reevaluate, and then do more ip stuff after If property wide attendance rises and holds. So I don’t see major Epcot additions beyond the current slate till 2025 or so...just a hunch.

 

[JohnD]

Attendance recently has been not meeting projections across WDW, causing concern amongst management. As a result, a variety of programs have shifted. The big one being that most Low level Passholders can now visit during June (up to the 29th). Also, due to low Epcot Lite (now without a Festival) attendance, Passholder magnets have moved from studios (the expected attendance bomb) to Epcot (the actual one).

TLDR:
Lower Level Passholders are un-blocked until TSL opens
Magnets Move to Epcot
Attendance caused these

I see that Silver passholders are good through 6/29. TSL opens 6/30, though.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

I did this last month. I rope dropped FEA, had 9:15 FP for Spaceship Earth, 10:15 for LwtL, and 11:15 for Soarin'. As soon as I checked in to Soarin', I went into MDE, immediately got a FP for Test track for after lunch.

That’s the name of the game. Use the FP system to your advantage. Excellent planning on your part.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Shows the pointlessness from over confidence of Annual Passholders tiered system.

I am glad I bought the Weekday Pass, because basically the Fourth of July Heat of the summer time and Christmas week/spring break week. Times as a local I don't want to be in the heat and crowds anyway.

Hopefully this reminds people that it was never about spreading the crowds over the time of year, it is about allowing as many people in towards capacity for money and keeping per capita spending up. What would help things like that are discounts on Quick Service for Annual Passholders and Cast Members.

I don't see your point at all.

The ability to lift blackout dates is the absolute ideal for WDW. If crowds are high, they keep the blackout dates. If crowds dip, they remove them. It gives WDW the flexibility to level off peaks and valleys in attendance.

And WRT attendance: If FEA is down to 20 minutes, then yeah, huge attendance dip right now. But it sure as heck was not 20 minutes the first week of February when I was there. They've had two years of increased attendance. If this sudden seasonal dip happens, then that's a single data point. And a single data point isn't a trend. Now, it could be, but we don't know what the crowds will be in midsummer or fall.

 

[spectromagic04]

As of this afternoon the were still giving away the AP magnets at DHS Mickeys of Hollywood.