Reservation system here to stay? Update from Josh D'Amaro

Dan Deesnee

Dan Deesnee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
https://www.cinemablend.com/news/25...sney-worlds-pandemic-changes-are-here-to-stay

So Josh said this back on August 26 and I thought it was thread worthy. To me this would prompt me to sell my DVC as I would go day less than I do now. I can only assume park hopping would never come back either but maybe they'd let you reserve 2 parks on one day. I also have no clue how this would work with annual passes.

What average family visiting Disney (not the crazies like us that go frequently) is going to pay insane prices then possibly not get into the parks they want on the days they want?

To me this would kill attendance. If they want lower crowds, they'll definitely get them by leaving this reservation system in place.

Someone talk me off the ledge before I go list my DVC for sale.
 
Chi84

Chi84

Premium Member
Well, I would wait to see what actually happens. Sometimes ideas are floated to see what kind of reaction they get. I doubt Disney is going to implement a system that will drastically limit the experience people currently enjoy. Anything is possible, I guess, but I would wait until a system is actually put into place before deciding I couldn’t work with it.
 
Rosso11

Rosso11

Well-Known Member
Dan deesnee said:
https://www.cinemablend.com/news/25...sney-worlds-pandemic-changes-are-here-to-stay

So Josh said this back on August 26 and I thought it was thread worthy. To me this would prompt me to sell my DVC as I would go day less than I do now. I can only assume park hopping would never come back either but maybe they'd let you reserve 2 parks on one day. I also have no clue how this would work with annual passes.

What average family visiting Disney (not the crazies like us that go frequently) is going to pay insane prices then possibly not get into the parks they want on the days they want?

To me this would kill attendance. If they want lower crowds, they'll definitely get them by leaving this reservation system in place.

Someone talk me off the ledge before I go list my DVC for sale.
Click to expand...

Don’t get nervous. Read his quote more carefully. He’s talking about reservations within the park. Not reservations entering the park. They make so much extra money on park hoppers they would never permanently get rid of it. It’s free money for them.

“We figured out a way to really push hard on technology, really accelerate some of the ideas that we’ve had for a long time. So you think about things like reservation systems in the parks that we can manage capacity and therefore guest experience a little bit better. It’s working exceptionally well for us. Things like mobile order, Roger. So you can walk up to a restaurant, have your meal ready for you when you arrive. Things like queue reservations systems that we’re executing in different ways. Or even how you might pay for merchandise but without transacting with a credit card. And this technology, it doesn’t only help us during a time of a pandemic, but I think it actually leads to a better cast and guest experience. And so, these are things that are helping us now, but I think they’re here to stay.“
 
T

techgeek

Well-Known Member
Park hopping is basically free money for Disney. It's hard to imagine them not bringing it back as soon as it's logistically feasible.

I also can't realistically see Disney capping attendance by such dramatic measures that park reservations would even come close to selling out outside of peak holiday weeks. How many times did MK trigger phased closing in 2019? How many times did any of the other parks ever go into phased close?

Now, can I believe that Josh wants a 'stunningly accurate' attendance forecast so resources can be managed down to the n-th %? Yes, yes I can. I think that's what this could be about going forward. Removing the guess work about who's going to show up when, especially APs.
 
E

easyrowrdw

Well-Known Member
techgeek said:
I also can't realistically see Disney capping attendance by such dramatic measures that park reservations would even come close to selling out outside of peak holiday weeks. How many times did MK trigger phased closing in 2019? How many times did any of the other parks ever go into phased close?

Now, can I believe that Josh wants a 'stunningly accurate' attendance forecast so resources can be managed down to the n-th %? Yes, yes I can. I think that's what this could be about going forward. Removing the guess work about who's going to show up when, especially APs.
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Which is something they can largely get from fastpass reservations. And what would I get for it? At least booking fastpasses gives me a clear benefit - short waits at my three desired attractions. I get nothing from just reserving a park in advance. As you said, the parks are almost never at capacity.
 
djkidkaz

djkidkaz

Well-Known Member
I take it as "Park Reservation System is here to stay for the foreseeable future". He could have worded it better. But eventually they will go back to the norm sometime next year. Once the US feels the virus is under control and the restrictions are lifted on the parks, there will be no reason to still force a reservation. Disney already has procedures in place to very accurately predict attendance so it isn't something that they would need to keep for that purpose.
 
Tom P.

Tom P.

Well-Known Member
They are currently selling Park Hopper tickets for 2021. And for any tickets that begin after March 7th, when the first water park is scheduled to re-open, you can purchase the Park Hopper Plus that includes the water parks. I think, at least for the moment, that Disney is expecting park hopping to be back in 2021. That could change due to the COVID-19 situation, of course, but I don't see them shelving park hopper tickets permanently. As others have said, that would leave way to much money on the table.
 
Chi84

Chi84

Premium Member
_caleb said:
As long as the system can’t be gamed, I‘m fine with reservations. But when the Suburban Sports Family locks up more reservations than they need just to keep their options open, it’s a problem.
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I don't think the park reservation system is sensitive to that degree. I remember a thread with people going on about "selfish" people booking FastPasses and then not using them. If it becomes a problem, Disney will fix it as they did with ADRs. But I don't think it's good for the blood pressure to start worrying about people gaming the system before it even happens. It just sets off the folks who feel compelled to control other people's behavior down to the last degree and causes the threads to go negative. Just my opinion.
 
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castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
I don’t think it’s the reservation system upsetting people but rather the lack of spots available in the reservation system. If this would continue when we get back to more normal attendance level it doesn’t bother me to take a few seconds to go onto the app and hit a button that I’m coming. Already there’s been plenty of days where I wanted to go to Epcot and reserve my spot as I head out the door.
 
HarperRose

HarperRose

Well-Known Member
castlecake2.0 said:
I don’t think it’s the reservation system upsetting people but rather the lack of spots available in the reservation system. If this would continue when we get back to more normal attendance level it doesn’t bother me to take a few seconds to go onto the app and hit a button that I’m coming. Already there’s been plenty of days where I wanted to go to Epcot and reserve my spot as I head out the door.
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I think it's both. The lack of availability and the restrictive nature of the current system is keeping some people away. The way the system is right now benefits mainly locals.
 
Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
We park hop every day, sometimes more than once! That's just the way we keep some spontaneity in visiting WDW,, and it's our favorite way to tour. IF that option went away, then we would go away too. I really like scheduling one park that we want to go to each morning, then park hopping where we want to go At That Moment for the rest of the day/evening. That's a big part of our vacation.
I agree that park hopping is a big money maker and I can't see WDW getting rid of that, at least I hope!
 

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