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

[_caleb]

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.

I hope the park reservation system is designed to limit gaming the system. Not trying to trigger all the control freaks either. But my post isn't exactly "worrying before it happens." It's based on all how tryhard guests have gamed all the other reservation systems Disney has implemented, including ADRs, some aspects of Fastpass, Boarding Groups, and the cancellation policy on resort reservations. Disney doesn't care if these systems are fair to all guests, they only step in if the tricks affect their bottom line.

 

[britdaw]

Since I still have young children that require lots of time to rest, we hardly ever Park Hop, so that feature doesn't bother me but I know a LOT of people want it because they love other parks way more than the others and want to spend more time there. Hopefully it's back sooner than the end of the year.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I don’t believe park hopping will be back until things are back to normal. By normal I mean near 100% capacity and no limitations on spacing between people. Yes it’s east money for Disney selling park hoppers but when the capacity is limited, as it is now, there’s to much that would go into transportation getting people to different parks. Buses are very limited now. Don’t think monorail service is even running to Epcot yet, someone correct me if I’m wrong. They would lose money in a hurry with the crowds now and park hopping. Other reasons also as we all know. Keeping capacity at each park etc.This is my opinion of course.

 

[DCLcruiser]

People still hop? All 4 parks are full-day now that DAK has night time stuff. I guess, if you are a resident you might just go on a few rides in multiple parks, but for a trip? We just go for 4 days and we're done.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

You would think they would have the technology to allow someone to go on a waiting list for another park once inside the original park you reserved.

Yes, you would think that. BUT, I wouldn't want to be on a waiting list for a park that I Might get into, maybe.

 

[dreday3]

People still hop? All 4 parks are full-day now that DAK has night time stuff. I guess, if you are a resident you might just go on a few rides in multiple parks, but for a trip? We just go for 4 days and we're done.

We go only every few years for 9 nights and yes we hop. Morning a park, late afternoon pool, dinner or nighttime stuff at another park. Love it. Our favorite way to visit.

Of course we will go without hopping, but it will be sorely missed.

 

[ToTBellHop]

People still hop? All 4 parks are full-day now that DAK has night time stuff. I guess, if you are a resident you might just go on a few rides in multiple parks, but for a trip? We just go for 4 days and we're done.

Dare to dream, some go to WDW for more than 4 days.

 

[dreday3]

Yes, you would think that. BUT, I wouldn't want to be on a waiting list for a park that I Might get into, maybe.

Well, if you are flexible it could work. I wouldn't care if I got a notification later in the afternoon - Hey, hop over to Epcot if you want, reserve your spot now!

 

[JenniferS]

I was thinking about going in March. Maybe not now. It looks like my frequent trips to Disney are done unless the old way of experience the parks comes back. The over reaction to this flu strain is beyond anything I would have ever expected!

I was totally with you ... right up until “over reaction to this flu strain”.

 

[DCLcruiser]

Dare to dream, some go to WDW for more than 4 days.

Big bucks.

We used to hop, DAK AM before the heat, then something else, but now it's a full day park.

 

[havoc315]

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.

1 -- the discussion was mixed in with many other technology items. Suggesting that some of them would stay. No question that mobile ordering will stick around, for example. More contactless merchandise purchasing, etc. I wouldn't interpret him as saying that every bit of it is sticking around in its current iteration.
2 --The reservation system is not incompatible with park hopping. There are many ways you can adjust the reservation system to accommodate park hopping. Just like FP+, where you can book additional FPs after using the first three in your first park. You may be able to add a same-day reservation for a second park.
3-- When things return to "normal," a reservation system, for most days of the year, really won't hurt anybody. The key to the reservation system, from Disney's perspective, is it helps them know what crowd level to anticipate for any given day. There would be no reason to "close" reservations, except when the park reaches capacity. And we know, in normal operations, the parks rarely reach capacity -- mostly just at Christmas time. So yes, a few days a year... reservations might be hard to get, park hopping might be severely limited. But that already occurs at Christmas --- just now, you'll have notice of the "closure" in a different way. And on-site guests (including DVC) will likely continue to have priority in booking reservations.
4 -- Disney already charges more for park hopping privileges. And they are offering parkhopper 2021 tickets. The price increase in park hopping has been pretty significant. It's now almost $100 extra per ticket for park hopping. There is no way they will get rid of park hopping -- selling the park hopping privilege is a big revenue stream. Though the system could evolve -- like instead of paying extra for a "park hopper ticket," you pay extra for each additional park reservation.

In other words.... things change. The fastpass+ system is likely to see significant changes... other things may change. But I wouldn't have fear just because some of the operations will change a bit.

 

[havoc315]

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.

THIS.

If there are enough spots, then the reservation system is nothing worse than a quick click in the MDE app.
And we know, during normal park operations, there are enough spots most days of the year.

 

[Kman101]

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.

Sure. But many have booked FP and never end up going to the park. You have to cancel your park pass reservation. It's a better tracking system. And I do believe they want to limit capacity in the future, even with park-hopping. They want control and they want to know exactly who's coming into the parks, which means they can staff accordingly.

I don't see park reservations going away, personally. (And both Bobs have acknowledged the crowding problem)

Day of fast-passes needs to be the way they go. I'd also suggest they start doing more virtual queues, despite the issues with getting one for RISE.

And to others, let's not pretend day guests and hotel guests dont, technically, get 'priority' so it's really not going to lessen the ticket for them. They are almost guaranteed a reservation.

But could you imagine having to book a park pass, book dining and book FP? I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to go anymore.

It's so much better without any of that, but now that crowds are slowly increasing ....

 

[allymonkey]

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.

To some degree, FP+ allowed them to do this because they knew that each day they had X number of people who made what basically amounted to "attraction reservations" so they could expect to see at least that many guests in the park that day. This would be a starting point for staffing planners. Then they could add in historic attendance data along with recent trends (had the economy taken a dive, excessively hot summer, new attractions opened, etc.)

But there was one unpredictable variable- what might guests do after or before their FP+ times. We usually schedule our FP+ choices for morning aiming to have one at 9 am, 10 am, and 11 am. Then we eat lunch in the park or go back to the hotel for lunch/ swim/ rest. Some nights our evening plans were based on where we had dinner reservations-- also data that Disney had access too. But some nights we would go to our resort bus stop and say "we'll go to whatever bus arrives first."

When park hoppers return and IF Disney continues to use some kind of reservation system that is more data they can use for staffing.

 

[Jrb1979]

I hope the park reservation system is designed to limit gaming the system. Not trying to trigger all the control freaks either. But my post isn't exactly "worrying before it happens." It's based on all how tryhard guests have gamed all the other reservation systems Disney has implemented, including ADRs, some aspects of Fastpass, Boarding Groups, and the cancellation policy on resort reservations. Disney doesn't care if these systems are fair to all guests, they only step in if the tricks affect their bottom line.

There should be a penalty for gaming the system. I know it's only Six Flags but for their reservation system if you booked a day a didn't show up you would be subject to blackout dates or have privileges taken away.

 

[FigmentFreak]

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.

Right now reservations might be an issue, but if/when capacity is back to normal, except Christmas time and maybe 4th of July, the parks don't normally reach capacity, so I don't see it being a big issues.

Personally, for me the issue will be the lack of park hopping. It will be hard to go back without park hopping, I love to do park bus lotto and just grab the first bus that comes to my resort and then park hop on a whim just because or do the am in one park and then take a break and evening at another park.

 

[UNCgolf]

I don't know if I'd go to WDW without the ability to park hop. I want to go to DHS, but it's impossible for me to spend a full day there; about half a day is all I need. Only Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom are really full day parks at the moment, although I could probably stretch a full day out at EPCOT if I had to.

There's no way they're getting rid of park hopping, though. Just look at how much World Showcase is hurting right now because it's not an option.

 

[nickys]

Well, if you are flexible it could work. I wouldn't care if I got a notification later in the afternoon - Hey, hop over to Epcot if you want, reserve your spot now!

A lot of people like to hop to Epcot for dinner. That won’t work so well if you can’t be sure you’ll get into Epcot.

But the reservation system could be updated to allow people to book a second park, either in advance or on the day.

 

[easyrowrdw]

Sure. But many have booked FP and never end up going to the park. You have to cancel your park pass reservation. It's a better tracking system. And I do believe they want to limit capacity in the future, even with park-hopping. They want control and they want to know exactly who's coming into the parks, which means they can staff accordingly.

I don't see park reservations going away, personally. (And both Bobs have acknowledged the crowding problem)

Day of fast-passes needs to be the way they go. I'd also suggest they start doing more virtual queues, despite the issues with getting one for RISE.

And to others, let's not pretend day guests and hotel guests dont, technically, get 'priority' so it's really not going to lessen the ticket for them. They are almost guaranteed a reservation.

But could you imagine having to book a park pass, book dining and book FP? I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to go anymore.

It's so much better without any of that, but now that crowds are slowly increasing ....

Yes, that's why I said largely. This certainly gets Disney more accurate information about who is visiting what park, but it does nothing for the guest. That's my issue with it.

 

[Gottalovepluto]

I don’t see the one park per day staying forever. On our trip last week we would have eaten at Epcot 2-3 more times instead had quick serve either at the hotel or in whatever park we were stuck with that day.

I’m definitely saving money on dinners during my upcoming trip since I can’t hop to EP. DS is too annoying to get to/from so hotel QS it will be.