The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[Mouse Trap]

So we can concur that All is well for Orlando's economy?

Oh, yes. Nice little economic indicator right there. Those are good numbers across the board, especially the REVPAR.

 

[John]

I believe those numbers are easily attainable, unlike attendance which is very secret and you nor I will ever know.

absolutely. Occupancy numbers are given to hotel staff daily.

 

[randyrut]

Funny you mention the Westin Copley place. I visit Boston a couple times a year, and I've found that Westin to be the poorest value of any place I've stayed in Boston.

The Westin in Times Square is an amazing hotel.

 

[Cesar R M]

There's an entire site dedicated to people talking pictures at WDW and USO. It is pretty comical.

As bad as the website for "Walmart people"?

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

As bad as the website for "Walmart people"?

Mmm... Nahhhh, nothing tops that!

 

[John]

OCMD is Ocean City, MD. Just meant we would be doing a cheaper beach vacation.

Shout out....to OC....Goin' down the ocean hun!

 

[asianway]

I missed this story earlier from the sentinal. Another month another increase is hotel occupancy.

Hotel occupancy, room rates rise again in May
July 3, 2014|By Jim Stratton, Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida hotels had year-over-gains again in May, with occupancy rates and average daily room rates increasing compared with the same month last year.

Hotels filled 71.5 percent of their rooms in May, compared with 67.2 percent in May 2013, according to the STR travel research firm.


Average room rates also rose, hitting $105.08. That was an increase of more than $5 over the same time last year.

Revenue per available room — a key industry measure that accounts for occupancy rates and room prices — jumped almost 13 percent, rising from $66.78 last year to $75.18 in May.

Through the first five months of the year, revenue per available room was a little more than $88, up more than 11 percent compared with 2013.

Area hotels are posting strong numbers as the economy and consumer confidence improve. Analysts say demand for travel is up, and there is a greater willingness among consumers to spend on trips and vacations.

That also has been reflected in the tax paid on hotel rooms in Orange County. For May, tourist-tax revenue was almost $16.3 million, a 9 percent increase over May 2013, county officials said.

Orange County Comptroller Martha Haynie called the numbers "another nice increase" that demonstrates "the strength of our hospitality industry."

The STR report breaks the Orlando hotel market into seven geographic areas and five price classes.

Six of seven regions posted higher occupancy rates, with the exception being hotels north of Orlando. All five price classes of hotels saw occupancy rates and revenue per available room rates increase.

Leading the way were hotels in the "upscale" category, one step below luxury hotels. Upscale hotels saw revenue per available room jump more than 23 percent compared with the same time last year. Those in the "economy" class — one step above the least expensive properties — saw revenue rise by more than 18 percent.

jstratton@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5379

So everyone is aware, WDW does not report results to STR

 

[Bolna]

No, you still missed the point. Probably because you're not seeing this as a international phone user.
The phone is a brick, I will definitively not waste space/weight by bringing it to a trip where I know it wont work other than WIFI.

Id go with a Ipad/tablet or just use the kiosks there.

I am from Germany. I am an international phone user. I thought I made that clear in my previous posts...

Your phone is not a brick - it is something like an ipod touch. And it has a functionality that for the desired vacation spot is very useful. Why bring an ipad that is cumbersome to carry around through the parks? And if you have wifi you can use a message service like whatsup or imessage or use skype to make phone calls.

If you don't want your phone around because it is so big and heavy then that's a personal choice, but really not at all a flaw of MM+ (and in case you have missed that, just like me saying that I am from Germany, I am not at all a fan of MM+ in general!!)

 

[Stevek]

You know how much crap I get from people in real life because of posters who do things like that?

It becomes more & more difficult to defend being on this message board lately.

You're pretty involved in the Disney community both here and off the boards so I can only imagine how challenging it might be to manage both sides. Probably easiest just to not engage with folks that make remarks. No way everyone is going to like everyone that you like or everyone that I like and the nature of pretty much every message board allows people to hide behind their screens and pick others apart. Engaging them only keeps the conversation moving and creates frustration with those defending said person. We are all guilty of it...just hits home alot more when it's someone we know and/or respect.

But I think we can all agree that Ricky B deserves everything he gets here, right? I'm kidding of course.

 

[NormC]

It was beneficial to Marvel when they were in desperate need of cash. But in no other way does it benefit Marvel. Currently, the contract greatly favors Universal. I'm sure Disney/Marvel would get out of it if they could.

Of course it benefits Marvel. They get paid by Uni for doing nothing. Uni does not "own" anything to do with Marvel. They license theme park use of a subset of characters in an exclusive territory. That's it. They cannot change the characters, use them in films, sell them or anything not in the contracted license agreement. They pay Marvel/Disney for what they are allowed to use. Marvel/Disney also gets merchandising revenue from all of the Marvel products sold at Uni. How does Marvel not benefit? The only downside for Disney/Marvel is they cannot use certain characters in WDW. They can use them in all of their other parks and can license them to other users outside of Uni's exclusive territory.

 

[Stevek]

We get the deluxe dining plan. I know everyone says this is the biggest waste of money, but I am curious if I am the only one who will admit to getting it. We are big eaters. But more importantly, it allows us to get out of the heat 3 times a day and sit down at nice restaurants. Those breaks are what keeps us going on our trips. Plus eating at places like Le Cellier, Be Our Guest, Cali Grill, etc are fun and interesting. Anyone else do this or are we the only nutbags?

One time we paid for it, one time we got it for "free."

I don't think you're a nutbag for doing it. As someone else said, if you can afford it, go for it if it's most convenient for you. I personally would not pay for it again as we didn't make full use of it and literally grabbed a boatload of snacks as we left the hotel because we had so many snack credits left. In most cases, we could easily make due with 2 meals and a snack. For our 2006 trip, I had to force myself to sit down and eat 3 meals a day to make sure I used all of the credits I received. Needless to say I came back a few pounds heavier.

 

[seascape]

So everyone is aware, WDW does not report results to STR

No specific company is included but your can determine Disney's hotel occupancy is you check out the 7 regions and figure out which one Disney is in because they make up the vast majority of it.

edit to add

Universal is in Internetaion Drive section. the proof is that that region has 1800 new rooms in 2014.

edit to add more. I am wrong. Disney is not in these number. these numbers total 116,000 hotel rooms and there are over 140,000. they also do not include timeshares.

 

[RSoxNo1]

This is completely off topic, but can someone tell me if keeping a FP+ for SDMT is worth it? Have never experienced it, and we have it for one day right now along with Splash and BTMRR. The other day we have Space, Splash, and BTMRR again. Thanks for any insight. Just dont want to waste it if everyone thinks the ride isnt very good. Thanks all.

From strictly a time savings standpoint it is worth it. Other than the Anna and Elsa FP+ and maybe Toy Story Mania on occasion there is nothing that is a greater time savings consistently.

 

[Stevek]

I understand this, but we always get expensive food at almost every meal and feel we save a lot doing it this way. Our bill at Le Cellier last trip was $823 alone.

Based on that, sounds like the Dining Plan would easily be in your budget and you're smart getting it.

 

[Mike S]

I'm kicking myself for wasting money on the regular dining plan last trip. We always wind up spending unused snack credits on the last day and come home with a sack of sweets we wouldn't have bought otherwise.

The one time I've used the dining plan was with a friend's CM discount. It was a pretty good deal

 

[bhg469]

Makes more sense then. You probably did save with it.
I couldn't handle getting a bill for $800+ on one meal. I'd faint.

I would ask where the dirty dishes are because I'm not gonna be able to pay that!

 

[LithiumBill]

There's an entire site dedicated to people talking pictures at WDW and USO. It is pretty comical.

I could use a laugh, please share.

 

[lebeau]

Of course it benefits Marvel. They get paid by Uni for doing nothing. Uni does not "own" anything to do with Marvel. They license theme park use of a subset of characters in an exclusive territory. That's it. They cannot change the characters, use them in films, sell them or anything not in the contracted license agreement. They pay Marvel/Disney for what they are allowed to use. Marvel/Disney also gets merchandising revenue from all of the Marvel products sold at Uni. How does Marvel not benefit? The only downside for Disney/Marvel is they cannot use certain characters in WDW. They can use them in all of their other parks and can license them to other users outside of Uni's exclusive territory.

Because the going rate for the theme park rights for Marvel would be a lot higher today than what Marvel asked for pre-movies when they were digging out of bankruptcy. They are locked into an agreement they would never make under the current situation. They would get out of this in a heartbeat if they could.

Of course the contract benefits both parties. It currently benefits Uni much more than it benefits Marvel/Disney.

 

[Jeffxz]

I understand this, but we always get expensive food at almost every meal and feel we save a lot doing it this way. Our bill at Le Cellier last trip was $823 alone.

If you are eating 3 table service meals a day, you might want to look into the Tables in Wonderland discount card instead. It costs $125 to buy ($100 for DVC & AP) but it will get you 20% off at almost all table service locations on resort property, the discount does include alcohol so if you regularly get a few bottles of wine with dinner the savings really add up.

http://www.tablesinwonderland.com

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

One time we paid for it, one time we got it for "free."

I don't think you're a nutbag for doing it. As someone else said, if you can afford it, go for it if it's most convenient for you. I personally would not pay for it again as we didn't make full use of it and literally grabbed a boatload of snacks as we left the hotel because we had so many snack credits left. In most cases, we could easily make due with 2 meals and a snack. For our 2006 trip, I had to force myself to sit down and eat 3 meals a day to make sure I used all of the credits I received. Needless to say I came back a few pounds heavier.

I'm surprised they haven't thought to come out with an option to create a custom Dining plan.
Like the ability to select x amount of QS/TS credits and/or snacks.
We got free dining this year and have about 9 QS credits that will probably go to waste.