Price Hikes Galore! (Genie+ variable pricing, ILL, refillable mugs, SWGE lightsaber and droids)

[Chi84]

I agree his first post was.

My post up there was asking, if they saw nothing at all wrong with the way thing were, what would it take to change that idea?

Half of what I listed weren't things that have even occurred - just asking if he didn't apparently have any problems at all with the current downhill slide, what would be something that made it worse.

I expressed what I didn't like in a later post (not directed at him) and he proceeded to essentially try to refute everything I said with stuff we all know isn't true - plenty of seating around the parks, plenty of tables around World Showcase, etc.. and then of course, we get up to his final post where it seems like he completely snapped.

I understand what you’re saying, but I didn’t read your post as neutral in tone. Sometimes that’s hard to convey in written form.

As far as the stuff we know isn’t true, you picked two examples that I would dispute to at least some extent. We do tend to visit at less busy times (and spend little time at MK), but I’ve always been able to find a place to sit and rest for a few minutes and we found several tables around the World Showcase last year. Disney really has expanded the number of tables recently.

 

[MrPromey]

I understand what you’re saying, but I didn’t read your post as neutral in tone. Sometimes that’s hard to convey in written form.

As far as the stuff we know isn’t true, you picked two examples that I would dispute to at least some extent. We do tend to visit at less busy times (and spend little time at MK), but I’ve always been able to find a place to sit and rest for a few minutes and we found several tables around the World Showcase last year. Disney really has expanded the number of tables recently.

Point taken but seriously - I rewrote the post and added a video. Watch the video if nothing else, please.

I realize I'm way more excited about that video than I should be but it reminds me of all of us on here sometimes and I assume, we must all look as insane as the people in that conversation for as serious as it is, to anyone who just stumbles across this place for the first time out of nowhere.

 

[Indy_UK]

I can’t figure out what guests Disney actually want?

I don’t buy that they actually want to lower attendance.

Where do DVC owners fit into this? Are these the people they want? We’ve committed for upward of 50 years of accommodation, yet are maybe like annual pass owners who are likely to spend less per visit?

DVC owners aren’t going to be the families who visit visit every 5 years so I don’t get where we fit into their overall plan?

 

[Chi84]

Point taken but seriously - I rewrote the post and added a video. Watch the video if nothing else, please.

I realize I'm way more excited about that video than I should be but it reminds me of all of us on here sometimes.

I did!

As far as having a side, I’m not sure exactly what that means. I can tell you that I’ve noticed a huge decline in the guest experience as far as the “all-inclusive” feel WDW used to have. Elimination of DME and resort airline check-in, the addition of resort parking fees, a paid skip the line system along with ILLs, the need to reserve a park and the inability to park hop until after 2pm; all of these things have made WDW less enjoyable. The elimination of FP+ has been a huge negative for my family (not everyone’s - mine).

Some of the negative things people mention, such as limited housekeeping, lack of variety on menus, and things of that nature I still believe are somewhat attributable to COVID.

There are other things that WDW has done (or that we can now take advantage of) in recent years that have made our trips more enjoyable. We enjoy some of the newer rides like FOP and Remy and some of the newer restaurants. We love being able to rent cabanas at the water parks (maybe that’s just new to us). We also like the dessert parties for the fireworks viewing and some of the after hours events.

We thoroughly enjoyed our last few trips. At least DH and I - the rest of the group struggled with Genie+ on our last visit. I don’t blame consumers for buying what the company is offering if it results in a better experience for them. WDW will change when and how the market demands.

I guess my “side” if I have one is that it’s okay to go WDW and enjoy the things you like about it without being vilified for - or rudely questioned about - your choices and preferences. I’m not on board with the ridicule and insults no matter who is doing it. For the most part, I “like” posts that I agree with - that doesn’t mean I stand by every other comment made by that particular poster.

 

[MrPromey]

... DVC owners aren’t going to be the families who visit visit every 5 years so I don’t get where we fit into their overall plan?

Almost leads you to believe there really is no overall plan, doesn't it? At least not a long-term one since it isn't like DVC is something they've recently swept under the rug and aren't actively still trying to sell.

Not to beat the Bob drum yet again but this mixed-messaging to their most loyal customer base seems completely on brand for current management's style of miscommunication with their customers, their talent and pretty much everyone else.

 

[MrPromey]

I did!

As far as having a side, I’m not sure exactly what that means. I can tell you that I’ve noticed a huge decline in the guest experience as far as the “all-inclusive” feel WDW used to have. Elimination of DME and resort airline check-in, the addition of resort parking fees, a paid skip the line system along with ILLs, the need to reserve a park and the inability to park hop until after 2pm; all of these things have made WDW less enjoyable. The elimination of FP+ has been a huge negative for my family (not everyone’s - mine).

Some of the negative things people mention, such as limited housekeeping, lack of variety on menus, and things of that nature I still believe are somewhat attributable to COVID.

There are other things that WDW has done (or that we can now take advantage of) in recent years that have made our trips more enjoyable. We enjoy some of the newer rides like FOP and Remy and some of the newer restaurants. We love being able to rent cabanas at the water parks (maybe that’s just new to us). We also like the dessert parties for the fireworks viewing and some of the after hours events.

We thoroughly enjoyed our last few trips. I don’t blame consumers for buying what the company is offering if it results in a better experience for them. WDW will change when and how the market demands.

I guess my “side” if I have one is that it’s okay to go WDW and enjoy the things you like about it without being vilified for - or rudely questioned about - your choices and preferences. I’m not on board with the ridicule and insults no matter who is doing it. For the most part, I “like” posts that I agree with - that doesn’t mean I stand by every other comment made by that particular poster.

By 'side' I just mean, some of us are mostly positive about stuff at the resorts these days, some of us are mostly negative and some of us pretend to be agnostic but in this holy war, sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Overly dramatic way of putting it? Of course.

 

[UNCgolf]

I can’t figure out what guests Disney actually want?

I don’t buy that they actually want to lower attendance.

Where do DVC owners fit into this? Are these the people they want? We’ve committed for upward of 50 years of accommodation, yet are maybe like annual pass owners who are likely to spend less per visit?

DVC owners aren’t going to be the families who visit visit every 5 years so I don’t get where we fit into their overall plan?

They want you to buy DVC but not actually visit the parks unless they have an attendance downturn.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Almost leads you to believe there really is no overall plan, doesn't it? At least not a long-term one since it isn't like DVC is something they've recent swept under the rug and aren't actively still trying to sell.

Not to beat the Bob drum yet again but this mixed-messaging to their most loyal customer base seems completely on brand for current management's style of miscommunication with their customers, their talent and pretty much everyone else.

I mean, unless I misunderstand, DVC guests have already committed large amounts of money to Disney. They’re locked in. From a bottom-line obsessed execs point of view, there’s absolutely no need to woo them. In fact, since you already have a lot of their cash guaranteed, better to minimize their presence in the parks to leave more room for folks who haven’t already legally contracted to give you money for a decade or two.

 

[ceecee101]

Interesting. As I mentioned above we haven’t been in 13 years. After we booked I must’ve gotten a minimum of 5 emails from Disney pushing DVC on us.

 

[MrPromey]

I mean, unless I misunderstand, DVC guests have already committed large amounts of money to Disney. They’re locked in. From a bottom-line obsessed execs point of view, there’s absolutely no need to woo them. In fact, since you already have a lot of their cash guaranteed, better to minimize their presence in the parks to leave more room for folks who haven’t already legally contracted to give you money for a decade or two.

I realize that for everyone who's already bought, it's easy to take the "we have your money so we don't care what you think" attitude.

That's basically how every other timeshare business operates so Disney's "following the market trends" just as with stuff like resort parking and surveys asking questions about resort fees, etc. but since they're still actively selling in many places across WDW and the end of the earliest existing contracts aren't that far from expiring (where they'll have renewed inventory to sell again) it's hard to imagine what that sales pitch must look like these days to rope people in.

No discounted APs, no APs period, no assurance people will even be allowed into a park on a given day of their visit?.. on top of all the regular stuff that has turned many of us non-DVC folks sour in recent years?

I don't think most consumers are lemmings and that includes the ones that are still happy with the state of WDW today but it seems like management sure must be looking at them that way.

 

[Lilofan]

I have absolutely no desire to travel outside the United States and have never owned a passport. So that is wrong rather than just different from you?

You are assuming that's wrong.

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

I mean, unless I misunderstand, DVC guests have already committed large amounts of money to Disney. They’re locked in. From a bottom-line obsessed execs point of view, there’s absolutely no need to woo them. In fact, since you already have a lot of their cash guaranteed, better to minimize their presence in the parks to leave more room for folks who haven’t already legally contracted to give you money for a decade or two.

shhhh - we've already transfered our 270 point contract to our adult children (hey, they wanted it). Selling our 30 point DVC Contract around DEC. A number of DVC sucke.... umm, "patrons" are doing likewise. . Current DVC owners NEED these sucke.... umm, "patrons" .

 

[Casper Gutman]

I realize that for everyone who's already bought, it's easy to take the "we have your money so we don't care what you think" attitude.

That's basically how every other timeshare business operates so Disney's "following the market trends" just as with stuff like resort parking and surveys asking questions about resort fees, etc. but since they're still actively selling in many places across WDW and the end of the earliest existing contracts aren't that far from expiring (where they'll have renewed inventory to sell again) it's hard to imagine what that sales pitch must look like, these days to rope people in.

No discounted APs, no APs period, no assurance people will even be allowed into a park on a given day of their visit?.. on top of all the regular stuff that has turned many of us non-DVC folks sour in recent years?

I don't think most consumers are lemmings and that includes the ones that are still happy with the state of WDW today but it seems like management sure must be looking at them that way.

I mean, looking around the parks, I tend to agree with the execs that the lure of “the brand” is still strong enough on its own to sell a whole lot of DVC memberships.

Of course, I’ve never gotten it. My family got one of the earliest DVC pitches, back when the resort was still in its golden age, and even then they seemed like a rip-off that could negatively impact WDW.

 

[MrPromey]

shhhh - we've already transfered our 270 point contract to our adult children (hey, they wanted it). Selling our 30 point DVC Contract around DEC. A number of DVC sucke.... umm, "patrons" are doing likewise. . Current DVC owners NEED these sucke.... umm, "patrons" .

Wow, taking advantage of your own sucke... kids by gifting them your albatross!

That's very Game of Thrones.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

As much as we all hate price increases, the reservation system, Genie, etc what’s the solution to overcrowding?

I was just watching a video from DL from last week and it was packed to the breaking point, the hoops we have to jump through to get reservations, the parks being more expensive than ever, the breakdowns, the bad show, etc doesn’t seem to be impacting attendance at all.

Short of dropping APs and significantly raising the price I don’t know what else they could do, and honestly I’m not even sure that would work. It’ll be interesting to see how Dec attendance is at DL with 2 full weeks of no APs.

I’m not even sure expanding their parks could offset the demand at DL and MK at this point, there’s just not enough suitable land to satisfy the demand.

 

[TQQQ]

It'll be interesting to read your experiences and observations. I hope these boards don't bias/shadow your expectations.

It's still a wonderful place and if you're not jaded by the price tag then you're friend will be right where you left them, just a bit older with some new stories to tell.

It’s really nothing like it was 13 years ago. It is much much worse and I don’t think that’s even debatable . Never mind the cost aspect. If I had to guess , prices have probably gone up 300%+ higher than the rate of inflation

 

[Rickcat96]

As much as we all hate price increases, the reservation system, Genie, etc what’s the solution to overcrowding?

I was just watching a video from DL from last week and it was packed to the breaking point, the hoops we have to jump through to get reservations, the parks being more expensive than ever, the breakdowns, the bad show, etc doesn’t seem to be impacting attendance at all.

Short of dropping APs and significantly raising the price I don’t know what else they could do, and honestly I’m not even sure that would work.

I’m not even sure expanding their parks could offset the demand at DL and MK at this point, there’s just not enough suitable land to satisfy the demand.

Do we really believe the parks are overcrowded? or is the cutbacks on shows, some food not open yet and addition of Genie+.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Do we really believe the parks are overcrowded? or is the cutbacks on shows, some food not open yet and addition of Genie+.

That may have a minor impact but the pathways were barely passable in places, it’s pretty bad when you watch a video of a Disney park and your first thought is you’re glad you’re not there.

 

[MrPromey]

Do we really believe the parks are overcrowded? or is the cutbacks on shows, some food not open yet and addition of Genie+.

My Magic 8 Ball says "All signs point to Yes, Yes, and Yes... Plus some"

 

[Casper Gutman]

As much as we all hate price increases, the reservation system, Genie, etc what’s the solution to overcrowding?

I was just watching a video from DL from last week and it was packed to the breaking point, the hoops we have to jump through to get reservations, the parks being more expensive than ever, the breakdowns, the bad show, etc doesn’t seem to be impacting attendance at all.

Short of dropping APs and significantly raising the price I don’t know what else they could do, and honestly I’m not even sure that would work. It’ll be interesting to see how Dec attendance is at DL with 2 full weeks of no APs.

I’m not even sure expanding their parks could offset the demand at DL and MK at this point, there’s just not enough suitable land to satisfy the demand.

There is only one answer, everyone knows it, but Disney has spent billions trying NOT to acknowledge it - increase capacity. Build more rides, restaurants, interesting stores. Staff everything. Add entertainment, both in theatres and on the street. Utilize every inch of the park - there should be NO unused restaurants, rides, or stores. Start really thinking about a fifth (or third in CA) park.

But…

All that is the sort of spending with no clear ROI Wall Street hates. So, trapped in a broken system it helps perpetuate, Disney spends huge amounts and doesn’t address the problem, all to avoid spending LESS on the things Wall Street dislikes but which would address the problem.

And Genie doesn’t do anything to address crowds.