EMH being axed????

[Lizziejane]

Originally Posted by rlduvall

Makes sense in light of all the money they have invested in FastPass+. Maybe they figure FastPass+ eliminates the need for EMH, saving alot in salaries.

I must be missing something. I thought the new fastpass+ limited FP's to 3 per day, all in the same park. That in and of itself makes the FP system worse in my eyes, not better. And it certainly doesn't "compensate" for taking away EMH! EMH is one of the reasons we stay on-site. It would make me think long and hard about where to stay if they take EMH away.

[TygerHawks]

Originally Posted by BelleBeautyandtheBeast

I am far from an expert but I could see this being a real possibility. With FastPass+ they can "control" the number of guests that are in each park/area to help alleviate crowds and thereby reduce or eliminate the need for EMH. WDW uses EMH to direct the flow of guests to certain parks, although we mostly seem to see it as a perk lol.

Instead of EMH, the new perk for staying onsite would be the MagicBand with it's assorted features.

While initially crowds may be harder to predict on a day-to-day basis I am sure it would not take long for someone to figure out the new flow of guests based on FP+.

Though, wouldn't that mean they would utilize FP+ to entice people to certain parks? I can't see them limiting which parks could be reserved for certain days, so maybe something like only 3 FP+ except for on this day where you could use 5 at MK?

[mom2rtk]

Originally Posted by rlduvall

Makes sense in light of all the money they have invested in FastPass+. Maybe they figure FastPass+ eliminates the need for EMH, saving alot in salaries.

So far they have not shared anything about FP+ that will encourage folks to stay onsite. I figure it will just be what it is. If they eliminate EMH, then bookings will fall and people will go offsite. They will have to do something to keep those rooms full. Sort of makes me doubt them denying that they will treat onsite guests differently with FP+ though.

[Mickey3Boys]

Not cool! We book at Contemporary just for the extra hours over Thanksgiving. Way cheaper to stay at a house close by like we've done before! Boo!!!

[allthingsmickey]

Because our child is pretty young, we have mostly only been able to take advantage of the morning EMH. I have been looking forward do doing some EMH evenings as she gets older. We tried an evening EMH at MK last year and she made it until almost midnight. We had alot of fun in that last hour as the park emptied.
I will be sad if they take them away.
I guess whether we continue to stay on site will depend on what new advantages the new Magic Band and FP+ have for onsite guests.

[thebwit]

Ugh I hope not. We plan our days around the EMH. Well we avoid the park with the EMH when we are there because more people go to get an even more full day. If it does happen, my wife is going to freak when she starts planning our October trip.

[fairestoneofall]

while we don't plan our trip around evening EMH, there have been times we've gone into a park to enjoy them. i'd say that eliminating EMH would definitely eliminate my need for a park hopper. also, i'd re-consider staying onsite. there is a nice Hampton Inn nearby (with free breakfast) in which i'd be happy to spend the week.

[DAZY3BYZ]

Originally Posted by mom2rtk

So far they have not shared anything about FP+ that will encourage folks to stay onsite. I figure it will just be what it is. If they eliminate EMH, then bookings will fall and people will go offsite. They will have to do something to keep those rooms full. Sort of makes me doubt them denying that they will treat onsite guests differently with FP+ though.

Agreed! If they indeed get rid of EMH, they have to offer something to entice people to stay onsite or they will begin to lose a lot of guests to offsite hotels that are much cheaper.

[Mother Gothel]

If this is true, we will cancel our reservation at Grand Floridian for 10 nights in May and 10 nights in November and stay in 2 houses instead.

[luvgoing2disney]

So that would mean the only real advantages to staying onsite would be Disney transportation and the ability to have packages delivered to your room---as though THAT would be enough to draw guests to Disney hotels????

[Ds4angels]

As PP said, then they must be going to use the RFID band to entice guests to stay on site. We would have never been able to do all we did in MK w/o EMH hours and had we not did the EMH am hours at AK we wouldn't have had such a great 1st ride on the safari.
Great just when I get it all figured out and show dh how Disney is "worth it" they change it on us

[disfan4life1]

I've always been an on site person but recently spent a 4 night stay offsite. It actually wasn't so bad. The drive was always easy. Never had to wait on a bus and wonder if ill have to sit or stand. Parking was free with AP. yeah, there was no "Disney magic" at the hotel but I also realized that we were only there to sleep anyways. Spent day at parks from open to close or almost close. Will be willing to do it again if emh is taken away.

[RSWA2]

What "perks", like EMH, package delivery, etc. did on-site resort guests have in the past? Or was there no real advantage of staying on-site vs off-site before?

[cjnix29]

I really hope this isn't the case. We always take advantage of the morning hours. Now, aside from DH's Disney snobishness....the only thing really keeping us onsite is the Magical Express. Once that goes....We'll be using our timeshare off site, rather than trading into DVC.

[Lorien728]

I sure hope that is just a rumor.