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

[ToTBellHop]

Hopefully eliminating every scumbag exploiting it…

It’s a huge problem. Despicable because it hurts people who actually need DAS and, perhaps more important to Disney, leads to a ton of complains from people paying money to wait in long Lightning Lanes.

This was less of a problem with free Fastpass since people couldn’t complain about not getting enough for their money. But that ship has sailed, run aground, sank, and imploded.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Yikes

Well this will increase the split resort stays

 

[ToTBellHop]

Well this will increase the split resort stays

Better hire more baggage handlers!

 

[PREMiERdrum]

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.

The legal implications of these filings are far above my BA Communications degree, but... as I understand it there are "active" and "inactive" classifications of rooms. In this case, I'd assume there are benefits to categorizing rooms under construction as active, whereas rooms mothballed in demand adjustments are inactive?

Besides direct info from people I know, a GM's recent comment regarding daily occupancy as reported on that resort's daysheet stuck with me. I noticed the number was low, and he insisted that wasn't yet factoring the buildings they had just recently taken offline and out of inventory.

 

[lentesta]

The legal implications of these filings are far above my BA Communications degree, but... as I understand it there are "active" and "inactive" classifications of rooms. In this case, I'd assume there are benefits to categorizing rooms under construction as active, whereas rooms mothballed in demand adjustments are inactive?

Besides direct info from people I know, a GM's recent comment regarding daily occupancy as reported on that resort's daysheet stuck with me. I noticed the number was low, and he insisted that wasn't yet factoring the buildings they had just recently taken offline and out of inventory.

Ah, that’s the question: are mothballed rooms counted?

 

[Disstevefan1]

I mean, if we're keeping track, wasn't bringing back the 32-year-old Voyage of the Little Mermaid an explict part of Disney's strategy? (And in this case, I'm being serious.)

I heard from a site that cannot be mentioned here it may have been a mold issue that closed the Little Mermaid and they simply fixed it and will re open it unrelated to EPIC.

I really, really think Disney is doing the wait and see approach. They do not want to spend a cent more than they have to in WDW. Besides, its too late anyway. It takes Disney 5 to 7 years to DO ANYTHING!

If they thought they needed more capacity, they would so something with the Stitch space and the Play Pavilion.

Just my opinion, Disney will wait and see and continue to cut staff and raise prices.

 

[AJT607]

Where are all of these mothballed rooms at? We have seen crowds at the resorts during every recent visit. And we have been at deluxe, moderate and values.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

I heard from a site that cannot be mentioned here it may have been a mold issue that closed the Little Mermaid and they simply fixed it and will re open it unrelated to EPIC.

There was apparently a mold issue in that facility, but it could have been dealt with any time over the past 4 years. Remediating the mold and developing a new show *now* is a pretty clear indication that they believed they needed to, for... reasons.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Where are all of these mothballed rooms at? We have seen crowds at the resorts during every recent visit. And we have been at deluxe, moderate and values.

PORS, CS, AS... of recent.

 

[SplashJacket]

There were/are significant changes planned for DAS with regard to reducing demand on Lighting Lane capacity.

Unbelievable overdue. Very curious to hear the mechanism.

 

[monothingie]

PORS, CS, AS... of recent.

There are entire sections at CS that have empty parking lots. Pretty obvious the respective buildings are shuttered.

 

[surfsupdon]

I’m fascinated in the drop off of occupancy at the Resorts. Like provide details please!

Bc of the current direction, I am happy to see this.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

What? It’s greater than 3 oz. Has to go in the checked bag. It’s a bit inconvenient to dig through the checked bag at check in to move it over. Doable? Sure. But it requires planning. Not everyone is that organized.

You apply it BEFORE you go to the airport…

 

[monothingie]

I’m fascinated in the drop off of occupancy at the Resorts. Like provide details please!

Bc of the current direction, I am happy to see this.

$$$ vs Value

It is more profitable for them to reduce room inventory than dilute the current pricing.

 

[surfsupdon]

$$$ vs Value

It is more profitable for them to reduce room inventory than dilute the current pricing.

So which hotels are sitting empty ish.

After 9/11, CBR sat closed and unused. But they used that time to transform OPR and give us Shutters, plus add to the pool (IIRC). So at least work was being done.

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

This is an interesting perk but I see it as similar to the free mini golf that comes with some packages. Drives some people to the waterparks that otherwise don't have many people at them but logistically extremely difficult to get to and so time squeezed with it being day of check in only that not even worth the bother. This is what I'd call an 'unvitation'. Look at what we're giving you free! *No direct transportation for most hotels, water parks only open until 5pm, Even if you have the first flight in of the day, by the time you get to the resort, and then to the water park, maybe you get an hour or two if the buses are running in a timely manner to get you there/transfer what have you.

 

[monothingie]

So which hotels are sitting empty ish.

After 9/11, CBR sat closed and unused. But they used that time to transform OPR and give us Shutters, plus add to the pool (IIRC). So at least work was being done.

I had been told that CS, CBR, POR, AKL, BWK are problems.

Also if you see any DVCs with availability for cash reservations, then they’re a problem too. (DVC Inventory gets allocated to cash reservations if not utilized for points) SS and OKW.

 

[Tha Realest]

PORS, CS, AS... of recent.

All resorts that are non-DVC. I have to believe there’s a mechanism in the deed issues that prevent them from taking whole blocks of DVC offline without some make good to the “owners” (to say nothing of disclosures). Plus it seems easier to hide in plain sight a building at a value or out of the way moderate rather than, say, Big Pine Key or Moorea.

 

[BrianLo]

Quite an interesting and creative lever. I think it definitely speaks to many different topics, but one in particular that the water parks are not really being utilized very well. Perhaps if this proves exceedingly successful there will be a bit of investment back into the water parks. I had not personally realized they haven't been operating more than one water park at a time.

The biggest beneficiaries of this are going to be split stays. Which includes the aforementioned excuse to make sure one doesn't only do a Universal resort stay.

Which on that topic... I'm personally planning to do an exclusive Universal trip in Fall 2025, but from DVC. I wouldn't have done Disney whatsoever, but now I'm probably going to at least do whatever water park I'm missing due to current closures. If that's a success or not for this marketing campaign, I can't say. But I guess I'll probably spend some more money on property than I would have otherwise.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Where are all of these mothballed rooms at? We have seen crowds at the resorts during every recent visit. And we have been at deluxe, moderate and values.

Mothballed rooms don’t have anyone in them

Both occupancy and attendance have been falling steadily for the last year