For some perspective on what traffic can do, it took us 70 minutes after we boarded the Disney bus to get from DTD to AKV on a Saturday evening in March. We are veteran WDW vacationers but that was a new one for us.
That's terrible.
It never took me 45 minutes. Ever.
Funny stuff and sounds all too familiar!
No. It is a Rosen hotel. Not part of Uni, but it may be on the list of hotels they have some kind of deal with. It's a nice place to stay. If going to Uni, I'd rather be in one of their hotels, but if you prefer to be offsite, Shingle Creek is not a bad choice at all!
No it's Harris Rosen, an independent hotelier
Couldn't agree more that a loyalty program would be a huge boost for Disney and also a benefit for loyal guests. I brought this up on the original Next Gen thread (or maybe it was this one 200+ pages ago) but the general consensus seemed to be that MyMagic+ would not have a loyalty component to it. It's a shame because they really work and offer guests perks at the same time. I made the analogy to Casino loyalty programs and how I know people who won't stay anywhere but a Harras property in Vegas since they are addicted to the total rewards program. When competition is heating up and Universal is building more hotel rooms now is the time Disney needs a loyalty program. They could easily offer free things like the opportunity to book unique character meals and/or exclusive meet and greets to lower level guests while true "whales" could be offered free or discounted rooms, park tickets or meals.
Some people are just more adept at driving than others.
Well I blame Lee. After all, Spirit left him in charge. Next time hopefully Spirit will have the good sense to leave me in charge during his next departure.
I agree that prices have not gone up dramatically at the Value Resorts. However, less than 10 years ago, we paid $66/night (with tax) at POP.
In 2011, we paid $143/night for the Dolphin for Thanksgiving week.
In 2012, we twice paid $120/night for a 2-bedroom suite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, essentially on WDW property.
In March 2013, we rented DVC points at $7/point at AKV, which worked out to $273/night for a 2-bedroom villa at a WDW Deluxe Resort. (AKV is really nice!)
There always are bargains to be had but it takes effort and patience to find them.
Over the last 6-8 years, Disney has not increased prices at WDW resorts, especially the Value Resorts, as drastically as tickets, food, or merchandise. They have to compete with offsite accommodations. Still, a room in mid-July at POP is $141/night even with the summer discount. Any way you slice it, that's a lot to pay for essentially a small motel room.
A garden view room at the Grand Floridian for that same mid-July week is $408/night with summer discount, which should be enough to make most people gag. I'm sure people enjoy it but my idea of a vacation is not to cram into a single room with my spouse and two children, certainly not at $408/night.
My point is, even with "discounts", WDW rooms are really really expensive for what you get.
Nothing new in the MagicBand part; this was well understood and part of the old T&C. However, the reference to the long-range readers not automatically detecting RFID cards is relatively new. As stated in Iger’s earlier response to Rep. Markey’s letter:
It looks like Disney reevaluated its RFID technology and determined it’s capable of more than what was originally stated. Disney no longer is claiming the “short-range chip” contained in the RFID cards “cannot be detected by the long-range readers”; only that they will “not automatically detect radio frequency cards”. This wording modification suggests long-range readers are capable of detecting RFID cards and, instead, the system is being redesigned to not “automatically” detect RFID cards using long-range readers.
