News Walt Disney World Adds Water Park Perk for 2025 Resort Guests

[nickys]

Two things:

(1) Disney say that rooms undergoing maintenance are still counted as part of inventory. From the 2022 Annual Report, page 45, footnote 5:

Available hotel room nights are defined as the total number of room nights that are available at our hotels and at DVCproperties located at our theme parks and resorts that are not utilized by DVC members. Available hotel room nights include rooms temporarily taken out of service.

Is that still true?

(2) I ask because I was corresponding with someone last week who was trying to reverse-engineer the number of WDW hotel rooms by looking at "occupancy percentage" and "occupied room nights" from a recent 10-K filing.

The issue was that using those 10-K numbers indicated 1,200 more hotel rooms than any other source we could find. A hundred rooms I could understand. But we're talking about two decent-size deluxe resorts' worth of rooms.

My comment was that if the math isn't mathing, it's time to verify the definitions.

Thinking about the DVC resorts….

3% of rooms at each resort
plus anticipated breakage, which I assume is 1-2% of rooms ( if DVC is 98% occupied )
plus undeclared rooms at newer resorts
plus possibly Vero Beach which could be included under the “at theme parks and resorts” clause.

How many rooms would that make?

 

[DisneyCane]

Interesting it’s only valid on check-in day? Perhaps they believe it will limit (the possible) cannibalization of theme park attendance? Certainly and interesting perk!

Probably very few people buy an admission ticket for thier check in day. Unless you are driving from somewhere in FL or south Georgia it's not really possible to get to central FL and enter a park before the early afternoon so you're paying for a half day at best.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Why have you never asked?????

There are 2 ways to book dining, one works for length of stay, the other has always been dicey / glitchy / call it what you will.

I can elaborate if you want. Maybe elsewhere, so as not to go completely OT.

Oh…I have…

Been on the phone with tech many a time

“Master resets”…new logins

Never holds.

At somepoint I just gave up…having dvc and in the past APs tied in made me not want to rig it more than it already has been

 

[MisterPenguin]

You apply it BEFORE you go to the airport…

That’s not how sunscreen works.

Indeed. If you're going on a plane you should be applying anti-cosmic-ray lotion.

 

[JoeCamel]

Indeed. If you're going on a plane you should be applying anti-cosmic-ray lotion.

You don't ever want to get Cosmic Ray's I like the Gamma grub

 

[esskay]

Weird perk when most people are coming internationally so dont arrive till mid afternoon at the earliest (significantly later if they're unfortunate enough to get the asleep shift at MCO security).

 

[ToTBellHop]

Weird perk when most people are coming internationally so dont arrive till mid afternoon at the earliest (significantly later if they're unfortunate enough to get the asleep shift at MCO security).

Most people are NOT coming internationally. What a strange claim.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

That’s not how sunscreen works.

Maybe because we only have a 2 hour flight we have applied it beforehand and even with our fair skin we never had a problem…but of course, YMMV

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Probably very few people buy an admission ticket for thier check in day. Unless you are driving from somewhere in FL or south Georgia it's not really possible to get to central FL and enter a park before the early afternoon so you're paying for a half day at best.

That’s not true AT ALL…when we fly down from NJ, we take the earliest flight down (from EWR) usually around 7am, and can be in our resort by 10 am…2 hour flight (carry ons so no waiting for checked bags), and go…we also take the latest flight home so we get our $$ worth…almost full first day (travel day down and travel day home)

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Indeed. If you're going on a plane you should be applying anti-cosmic-ray lotion.

Smells better than a large portion of the passengers…

 

[The Colonel]

Almost makes me wish I didn't have 20 water park days left on old tickets.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Most people are NOT coming internationally. What a strange claim.

Ehhh…that’s just a duster excuse propogated on boards…

Disney is losing its grip on the US market some…so a few years ago all of a sudden the myth was created that 50% of travelers were from out of the country…

Nothing ever turns out bad for King Bob…afterall

 

[arich35]

Does anyone know when you are able to book cash rooms at DVC villas? Is it 11 months out as well?

 

[fgmnt]

Ehhh…that’s just a duster excuse propogated on boards…

Disney is losing its grip on the US market some…so a few years ago all of a sudden the myth was created that 50% of travelers were from out of the country…

Nothing ever turns out bad for King Bob…afterall

I always got the vibe that their ideal customer are eastern seaboard families that pull down associate vice president at a bank money. People that could potentially justify an AP if they live in Connecticut, even. The cheer groups, Latin America tours, and Brits just pad the rest.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

You apply it BEFORE you go to the airport…

Sunblock needs to be reapplied every few hours (really every 1-2 depending on how much you are sweating, whether you are swimming, etc). If you’ve got a 3 hour flight plus the time getting through security and waiting for your flight, plus the time it takes to get to the actual water park you are likely looking at 5-6 hours between when you put that sunblock on and when you actually need it… In other words, putting on sunblock before you get to the airport for your water park trip much later that day is pretty worthless.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

You just know there is someone at the food blog or the unmentionable place who is booking 7 resorts for one night only for the first week of January 2025 just to see if they can go to a water park for "free" every day and enjoy it in the cloudy 60-degree weather.

Oh, I bet anything they don’t allow one night stays in 2025. (Didn’t they do this with deluxe resorts to prevent people doing this to get evening EMH?)

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Oh, I bet anything they don’t allow one night stays in 2025. (Didn’t they do this with deluxe resorts to prevent people doing this to get evening EMH?)

I don't know if they ever started doing them again? I think the minimum currently is two, at least without calling into the mercy of WDWTC.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I always got the vibe that their ideal customer are eastern seaboard families that pull down associate vice president at a bank money. People that could potentially justify an AP if they live in Connecticut, even. The cheer groups, Latin America tours, and Brits just pad the rest.

And if you were Michael Eisner…you’d want to start a timeshare to lock them in…wouldn’t you?

Very good; Padawan

 

[lentesta]

I'm just throwing this out there. According to the latest RCID Comprehensive Plan:

• Typhoon Lagoon averaged 6,159 guests per day in 2019
• Blizzard Beach averaged 5,433 guests per day in 2019
• "Overnight Resort Guests" (including Disney Springs) averaged 97,107 in 2019

Interestingly, they used AECOM numbers for water park attendance. I assume that (for liability reasons) RCID did not have data that contradicted those numbers in a material way.

I'm not sure what each water park's capacity is, but I found these on the interwebs:

• Typhoon Lagoon park capacity = 7,200
• Blizzard Beach park capacity = 7,000

So there are around 97,000 resort guests per day, both parks averaged 11,500-ish guests per day, and they have capacity for an additional 2,700 guests before hitting capacity.

Let's assume the best-case scenario: all 11,500 water park guests are also resort guests. That leaves us with 97,100 - 11,500 = 85,600 guests eligible for this new benefit.

2,700 is 3.2% of 85,600.

So Disney expects less than 1 in 33 guests to take them up on this offer? I would not bet the rent on that. What am I missing?

 

[PREMiERdrum]

I'm just throwing this out there. According to the latest RCID Comprehensive Plan:

• Typhoon Lagoon averaged 6,159 guests per day in 2019
• Blizzard Beach averaged 5,433 guests per day in 2019
• "Overnight Resort Guests" (including Disney Springs) averaged 97,107 in 2019

Interestingly, they used AECOM numbers for water park attendance. I assume that (for liability reasons) RCID did not have data that contradicted those numbers in a material way.

I'm not sure what each water park's capacity is, but I found these on the interwebs:

• Typhoon Lagoon park capacity = 7,200
• Blizzard Beach park capacity = 7,000

So there are around 97,000 resort guests per day, both parks averaged 11,500-ish guests per day, and they have capacity for an additional 2,700 guests before hitting capacity.

Let's assume the best-case scenario: all 11,500 water park guests are also resort guests. That leaves us with 97,100 - 11,500 = 85,600 guests eligible for this new benefit.

2,700 is 3.2% of 85,600.

So Disney expects less than 1 in 33 guests to take them up on this offer? I would not bet the rent on that. What am I missing?

The benefit is only available on each guests arrival day, so on average each guest can only take advantage on 1/5th or so of their days onsite?