Reservation expansion

[Chi84]

That plan makes sense. At Universal my family will go to one park on the morning and hop over to the other for the afternoon.

The plan I hear people do that makes no sense to me is either walking through Epcot not riding anything grabbing food and hopping to DHS. Or going to MK for the morning hopping, hopping to Epcot for lunch and leaving. It doesn't seem worth it to hop to a park to eat and leave. I feel it's a huge waste of time.

Obviously, it makes sense to them! I think if you go often enough or have a long enough stay, it's easier to just do what you like without worrying about whether you're "wasting" time or money. That's such a subjective thing.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Obviously, it makes sense to them! I think if you go often enough or have a long enough stay, it's easier to just do what you like without worrying about whether you're "wasting" time or money. That's such a subjective thing.

Just like it's subjective to act like my opinion was absurd for wanting to stay in a park all day.

 

[brettf22]

Why would I waste hundreds of dollars and hours transferring between parks? Going to 4 Disney parks and 1 Universal park in a 9 day visit (2 travel days and 2 pool days) and wouldn't think twice about wasting time and money jumping around. To each his own I guess.

Interestingly, this is a function of how Disney has created a “must do it all” environment, based on how tickets are priced. Back in ye olden days of a low entry fee and ticket books, there was much less of a feeling of “wasting time” and “getting your money’s worth.”

There’s a corollary here with Genie+. Once you start charging to skip the line, the more people feel the need to “get their money’s worth,” which, in part, has lowered guest satisfaction.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Yes. 4 days of park tickets for family of 5 with Genie + = just shy of $3,000. I want my money's worth. For everyone that's probably a different meaning. No rope drop for us, no running around from ride to ride to squeeze in the most. But also not taking 60- 90 minutes plus to walk to park exit, wait for transport, travel to another park then wait again to get into and experience a 2nd park in 1 day. And shell out another $500 for the pleasure? I'm there 9 days so speaking for me, and me only there is no compelling reason to do it.

 

[mysto]

Wait, am I wasting my time at DisneyWorld or not wasting my time. I'm not sure. If I use up more time wasting my time is that a win or a fail?

We need a philosophy of touring thread, or maybe degree.

 

[dreday3]

Yes. 4 days of park tickets for family of 5 with Genie + = just shy of $3,000. I want my money's worth. For everyone that's probably a different meaning. No rope drop for us, no running around from ride to ride to squeeze in the most. But also not taking 60- 90 minutes plus to walk to park exit, wait for transport, travel to another park then wait again to get into and experience a 2nd park in 1 day. And shell out another $500 for the pleasure? I'm there 9 days so speaking for me, and me only there is no compelling reason to do it.

It's funny because I feel the exact opposite and having 9 park days.

Because we are there so long I don't feel the need to cram everything in one day. Rather we spread park time out, allowing us to tour one park in the morning and eat dinner at another park if we choose.

Everyone's touring style is different.

 

[Jrb1979]

The whole hopping discussion comes back to what I said earlier. The majority of Disney guests aren't ride people, they are experiences people.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

The majority of Disney resort guests are on tickets with hopping privileges. Being on the monorail or skyliner or even the busses (for some) is part of the experience. I’ve never heard anyone say they considered that to be a waste of time. Once you’re on property, you’re at Disney World. Being outside the park gates themselves is just a technicality. The feeling of being there and experiencing it all extends far beyond the park gates.

 

[Communicora]

The majority of Disney resort guests are on tickets with hopping privileges. Being on the monorail or skyliner or even the busses (for some) is part of the experience. I’ve never heard anyone say they considered that to be a waste of time. Once you’re on property, you’re at Disney World. Being outside the park gates themselves is just a technicality. The feeling of being there and experiencing it all extends far beyond the park gates.

Wow is that true? I had no idea. I only hopped when I had an AP and I never purchased the upgrade because it was usually way too expensive for me or the people I was traveling with. I had no idea it was that common.

 

[Chi84]

The whole hopping discussion comes back to what I said earlier. The majority of Disney guests aren't ride people, they are experiences people.

I'm not sure if it's a majority, but definitely a significant number. The number of experiences other than rides is what makes WDW special to us and draws us to visit. It's also why Disney can't just use the same type of expensive line-skip systems used at other parks. The rides alone don't have as much value as they do at parks where rides are the only thing to do. WDW was built to be more than just rides. I suspect that's the reason the line-skip system was free all these years.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Well at least we all have options and can decide what's best for our own families. And yes there's plenty of opinions on this topic if you look at touring blogs and videos and comments from guests. I'd be surprised if "the majority" are paying for park hopping but maybe so. I'm off property as well, with a rental vehicle and paid parking so that also factors into the equation. I can see if you're on property, using Disney transport and want to mix and match where it could be appealing.

 

[drizgirl]

The majority of Disney resort guests are on tickets with hopping privileges. Being on the monorail or skyliner or even the busses (for some) is part of the experience. I’ve never heard anyone say they considered that to be a waste of time. Once you’re on property, you’re at Disney World. Being outside the park gates themselves is just a technicality. The feeling of being there and experiencing it all extends far beyond the park gates.

We always hop at DLR but almost never at WDW. My days in the parks are very limited and there are always more things I want to do than I have time for. I consider it too much of a time suck. The monorail can be fun, but hopping between parks by monorail is very limited. And I don't consider Disney bus rides to be magical.

But to each their own. I love staying in a park open to close and have done it many times, including early park entry in the morning straight through to the end of a hard ticket party. Everyone enjoys the parks differently.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Wow is that true? I had no idea. I only hopped when I had an AP and I never purchased the upgrade because it was usually way too expensive for me or the people I was traveling with. I had no idea it was that common.

Generally speaking, yes. It often depends on resort and length of stay (from what I understand: shorter stays less likely, deluxe resorts more likely). Day ticket guests without a resort stay are far less likely to purchase hoppers.

 

[Hawg G]

Cutting through Epcot to the monorail was something we did a lot when staying at the Beach Club.

Cutting through? It's like a mile walk from Beach Clubs closest point to the Monorail Station.

 

[Hawg G]

Yes. 4 days of park tickets for family of 5 with Genie + = just shy of $3,000. I want my money's worth. For everyone that's probably a different meaning. No rope drop for us, no running around from ride to ride to squeeze in the most. But also not taking 60- 90 minutes plus to walk to park exit, wait for transport, travel to another park then wait again to get into and experience a 2nd park in 1 day. And shell out another $500 for the pleasure? I'm there 9 days so speaking for me, and me only there is no compelling reason to do it.

You can also take a nice break from the parks mid day, by taking that 90 minute, relaxing, jaunt back to your resort room for a nap! To then wake up and do it again to go to a new park.

 

[Hawg G]

Generally speaking, yes. It often depends on resort and length of stay (from what I understand: shorter stays less likely, deluxe resorts more likely). Day ticket guests without a resort stay are far less likely to purchase hoppers.

Meaning the people with more money to spend are more likely to fall for Disney marketing when making their reservations.

I mean, on Monday, you can hit Hollywood Studios in the morning, and MK in the evening. Then on Thursday you can hit MK in the morning, and hop over to Hollywood Studios in the evening!

for a small fee....

 

[Chi84]

Meaning the people with more money to spend are more likely to fall for Disney marketing when making their reservations.

I mean, on Monday, you can hit Hollywood Studios in the morning, and MK in the evening. Then on Thursday you can hit MK in the morning, and hop over to Hollywood Studios in the evening!

for a small fee....

I wouldn’t call it falling for Disney marketing. More like choosing how they want to spend their vacation time.

 

[dreday3]

Meaning the people with more money to spend are more likely to fall for Disney marketing when making their reservations.

I mean, on Monday, you can hit Hollywood Studios in the morning, and MK in the evening. Then on Thursday you can hit MK in the morning, and hop over to Hollywood Studios in the evening!

for a small fee....

So what.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Park hopping is approximately $8/person/day extra for a week long trip. I personally don't find it surprising that most on site vacationers add it. I also didn't anyone is "falling" for anything. It's not like Park Hopping is a scam. It's giving you something directly in return.

The reason for deluxe resort guests purchasing it in the highest frequency isn't because those people have "more money." It's because Park Hopping is easiest at their two most popular deluxe resort areas.

 

[drizgirl]

Park hopping is approximately $8/person/day extra for a week long trip. I personally don't find it surprising that most on site vacationers add it. I also didn't anyone is "falling" for anything. It's not like Park Hopping is a scam. It's giving you something directly in return.

The reason for deluxe resort guests purchasing it in the highest frequency isn't because those people have "more money." It's because Park Hopping is easiest at their two most popular deluxe resort areas.

Park hopping is $56?

And of course that's on top of all the other additional charges. Transfer from the airport, hotel parking, Genie+, increased ticket prices, increased hotel prices etc.