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You're going to pay to ride.
- Thread starter Brad Bishop
- Start date
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Give it time…if they’re at pre-plague levels and rocking 2.5 hour lines…you’ll get the sneers nonetheless
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
Oh yes! It’s not a matter of if they will begin charging for parking at Disney Springs, it’s a matter of when!
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
It might be because of the astronomical costs of everything else and the average duration of a visit…
…but I’m having a polling sample check into that
Gee, I hadn't even thought about a "small surcharge" / "small fee" for "pay-for-park reservation".
They could spin that with, "When COVID hit it sent us all into a whirlwind of uncertainty. Each of struggling with the loss of jobs, customers, etc. (this is how they show that they're one of you). During those trying times, Disney implemented a park-reservation system to keep you, and your family, as safe as possible. This system has both startup and daily daily costs that we have to account for. As such, we're adding a $5 reservation fee to each ticket per day to help recoup those costs and keep both your family, and our cast members, safe."
^^^ Yeah - they could sell that.
Soon you'd be seeing on this board (and others), "It's to keep everyone safe! Think of the cast members! Think of the children!!!"
One of the best ones they pulled, and it was defended, was the parking fee at resorts to help make everything "green". Then they killed the Magical Express. Yeah - they were concerned about $$$GREEN$$$ back then but sold it to the public as "doing our part to fix the Earth..." and people bought right into it.
Just to be clear: While I can write pretty good approximations of the BS that corporations will spew. I hate all of it. The worst ones are when someone gets hurt or dies and you get the generic corporate-speak about how they mourn their tragic loss without claiming any responsibility.
No. "For just an additional $49.99/person, you can guarantee your park reservation so your family can spend a worry-free, Magical day at one of our parks."
(you didn't tie in "family" nor "magical")
They've already figured out how to sell the parks multiple times per day (except for the mornings - people are too lazy to get up at 6AM so that they can spend $75/head for an extra hour at the MK - haven't cracked that one, yet).
...so why not sell the ticket multiple times?
I think you're missing the original bit:
At all the other parks you're paying to skip the lines.
At Disney, you pay to be IN the line (virtually) and the other line, which you're thinking is the normal line, isn't the normal line. It's the "Standby line". It's where you go when you don't have a reservation but are willing to wait.
Every other place the normal line is just the normal line and when you pay to skip the line you just go right up to the ride, show them your pass, and hop on the ride (literally skipping the line - no reservation, no "I gotta be there between 1-2PM").
Muffinpants
Well-Known Member
Six flags gives you a beeper thing that tells you a time.
Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
It's cause Disney is trying to use it for something it's not. It's not made it control crowds.
NickMaio
Well-Known Member
Let Bob and the mouse know......please.We used it Thanksgiving week and it was useless everywhere but MK. Having to pay to get Remy, ROTR and SDMT really turned us off. The whole system is inherently flawed on return times etc. Needless to say our annual WDW trips are probably done for quite some time.
Everyone on here.......email Wdw......DO IT NOW WHILE YOUR MEMORY IS FRESH.
NickMaio
Well-Known Member
Welcome to Wdw-head in the clouds- magic.com.
That's how it's done here.
Thanks for sharing.
For the first time in my life.....I'm not really looking to go back.
Almost 4 decades of annual wdw trips.
Genie and LL are too bitter to swallow now.
I think Bob's business approach is a bit too linear.
It reminds me of when some public transportation says, "We've fallen short on our numbers! We'll have to increase fares to make up the difference!"
They don't get:
- increasing fares will only cause a decrease in passengers
They never consider:
- if you spent more time keeping it nice you'd have better ridership. No one wants to go to work, or come home from work, in a dirty box smelling of urine.
- if you spent more time figuring out where people are going and how to get them from point A to B as quickly as possible - people don't want to take a 2hr transit ride to replace a 1hr car ride. You can get away with it being slightly longer, but you can't double it.
With Bob:
- Why is it free if I can sell it?
- What's the max I can sell it for?
- If I can't sell it and make a profit, why am I even offering it?
He seems to apply that linear logic to everything without any thought that one item (a good guest experience) might help another item (merch sales, ticket receipts, etc.).
It reminds me of when some public transportation says, "We've fallen short on our numbers! We'll have to increase fares to make up the difference!"
They don't get:
- increasing fares will only cause a decrease in passengers
They never consider:
- if you spent more time keeping it nice you'd have better ridership. No one wants to go to work, or come home from work, in a dirty box smelling of urine.
- if you spent more time figuring out where people are going and how to get them from point A to B as quickly as possible - people don't want to take a 2hr transit ride to replace a 1hr car ride. You can get away with it being slightly longer, but you can't double it.
With Bob:
- Why is it free if I can sell it?
- What's the max I can sell it for?
- If I can't sell it and make a profit, why am I even offering it?
He seems to apply that linear logic to everything without any thought that one item (a good guest experience) might help another item (merch sales, ticket receipts, etc.).
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
They do that already…which was forewarned/foretold years ago
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
The parking garages are owned/operated by RCID and are not allowed to charge for their use.
mergatroid
Well-Known Member
Disney want more money with LL and Genie+, can't argue with that and we won't be using it in March when we visit. However the part of your post here makes little sense as you're guessing the reasons people pay to skip lines and saying it's different at Universal. If we're guessing why people purchase Express and saying it's because they have lot's of $$$$$, it means that Universal has done a number on you and convinced you that they're doing you a favour by allowing you to pay to ride even though you've already paid to enter just like Disney are now doing. In fact they've done such a good job doing that, that you're here giving them a free pass on offering you a chance to pay to ride at Universal whilst criticising Disney for copying that format.
Ironically you're further criticising Disney for telling guests that "We're doing you a favour by letting you ride all these rides quickly by paying extra" as though they're disguising their upcharge and Universal aren't doing similar. The ironic part is Universal has done the same so well that you're here telling everyone that they're different and justifying them offering pay to ride like theirs is done with different intentions to Disney's and only Disney is wrong for offering this service.
More might pay for LL or Genie +, perhaps because they think they can only do everything by doing so however people do the same at Universal. Universal get less guests so their numbers will be less, however don't try to make out that you're not paying to ride at Universal by getting Express when you are. We do Halloween Horror Nights at Universal every year and they charge nearly double to upgrade to Express for that. There's signs and adverts everywhere urging you to upgrade "To see all the houses by buying Express", houses that you've just already paid to visit. In fact unless you get there at opening on a quiet night and stay all night, it's extremely difficult to see all the houses which is pretty much what Disney are doing yet Universal get a pass from you? Do you work for Universal by any chance, if not you should do
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Jrb1979
Well-Known Member
There is a big difference in what Cedar Fair and Universal offers and what Disney offers. The biggest difference is that Cedar Fair and Universal limit how many can be bought. Doing that makes it so that those who buy will have short waits and are able to ride everything. I do defend the Express Pass cause I use it whenever I go to Universal. I will never buy Genie+ as I can't ride what I want when I want.Disney want more money with LL and Genie+, can't argue with that and we won't be using it in March when we visit. However the part of your post here makes little sense as you're guessing the reasons people pay to skip lines and saying it's different at Universal. If we're guessing why people purchase Express and saying it's because they have lot's of $$$$$, it means that Universal has done a number on you and convinced you that they're doing you a favour by allowing you to pay to ride even though you've already paid to enter just like Disney are now doing. In fact they've done such a good job doing that, that you're here giving them a free pass on offering you a chance to pay to ride at Universal whilst criticising Disney for copying that format.
Ironically you're further criticising Disney for telling guests that "We're doing you a favour by letting you ride all these rides quickly by paying extra" as though they're disguising their upcharge and Universal aren't doing similar. The ironic part is Universal has done the same so well that you're here telling everyone that they're different and justifying them offering pay to ride like theirs is done with different intentions to Disney's and only Disney is wrong for offering this service.
More might pay for LL or Genie +, perhaps because they think they can only do everything by doing so however people do the same at Universal. Universal get less guests so their numbers will be less, however don't try to make out that you're not paying to ride at Universal by getting Express when you are. We do Halloween Horror Nights at Universal every year and they charge nearly double to upgrade to Express for that. There's signs and adverts everywhere urging you to upgrade "To see all the houses" that you've just already paid to visit by buying and using Express. In fact unless you get there at opening on a quiet night and stay all night, it's extremely difficult to see all the houses which is pretty much what Disney are doing yet Universal get a pass from you? Do you work for Universal by any chance, if not you should do
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
Now that I have experience using the system, I can say that it is inherently flawed. You are only getting your money’s worth if it’s for Magic Kingdom, and you are starting in the morning.
With the low ride count at the other three parks, it isn’t really worth it. But all of the people paying for the service make those parks a lot harder to enjoy. MK at night has most of the LL’s booked. But at the same time, every ride I went on was a walk on anyways. On “hell week”.
With the low ride count at the other three parks, it isn’t really worth it. But all of the people paying for the service make those parks a lot harder to enjoy. MK at night has most of the LL’s booked. But at the same time, every ride I went on was a walk on anyways. On “hell week”.
pluto77
Well-Known Member
Honestly, how are the Lightning Lanes at
Disney any different? If the other parks let people with express passes walk right on, as you say, then the people in the other line are “standing by” for them, are they not? Maybe they don’t have a name for it, but it’s really the same idea. It’s the line people go to when they can’t or don’t want to pay for an express pass and are willing to wait.
I admit that I haven’t been to Universal in awhile, and I haven’t used their express pass system, but I do see complaints online all the time about how people still have to wait 15-20 minutes in the express lane, and sometimes it’s not even any faster than the other line. Again, I don’t have first hand experience with that, but those complaints are coming from somewhere. And I know that Disney has the same issues sometimes, but I’m just pointing out how the lines are the same.
There are also parks, like Cedar Point, that have a high charge for Fast Lane, but it doesn’t include the most popular rides. You have to pay an even higher fee to get on those rides. These prices are sometimes triple or quadruple the admission price. So, one could argue that you are also paying per ride with that kind of system. Yes, the admission prices are lower, but is that a sneaky way of getting people in so they can gouge people on Fastlane in the park (along with food and merchandise)?
Saying something is “normal” is subjective, but, in the way we are using it, I still don’t see how Lightning Lanes are the “normal lines” at Disney, when there is a limit to how many they allow to be scheduled. We went over Thanksgiving week and never waited more than 5, maybe 10, minutes for. Lightning Lane. The majority of guests are still waiting in standby lines. You could argue you get less at Disney with the scheduling system, and I would agree, but it’s also not nearly as expensive. If they take away the limit, people aren’t going to see any benefit and will stop buying them. People are already figuring out that the current system is not worth it at certain parks and certain times. Anyway, a lot of people do just fine without Lightning Lanes, especially if they plan their day correctly.
I do think that it’s a flawed system. I’m not really defending how Genie+ is being implemented, but, the idea of paying to skip the “standby” line is the same as any other park that does it.