Deluxe and FP

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Whether people like it or not, there already exists a tiered system based on how much you are willing to spend. Furthermore, I don't think the OP is proposing anything out of line with Disney's other ventures (e.g., DCL and concierge). Pay to play is everywhere in Disney: you can get unlimited fast passes with a VIP tour, you can do the Pandora rides with a DAK after dark tour, etc etc. If you are willing to spend enough money, you can have a very different Disney experience than a regular guest.

I'm sure Disney has thought about incentivizing deluxe resorts, but the truth is that people are already paying a premium without additional perks. People (me included) pay for Deluxes to get the location, upgraded rooms, etc. Disney has no need to add perks, because deluxe room occupancy rates are very high all year.

Yes but that's how Disney has set it up. There are base perks for all and then there are all the upcharges also available for all. There are base perks for staying on-site as well. Disney has no problem with these..you just have to pay for them. That's different than saying by virtue of staying at a Deluxe we will give you more than those not staying at Deluxe in terms of base perks. That would, at least at the moment, be seen strictly as a way to alienate.

Disney doesn't say only those staying at Deluxe resorts are eligible for the tours. Disney doesn't say only those staying at Deluxe resorts are eligible for EMH. The OP is suggesting that by virtue of staying at a Deluxe resort you should be eligible for x,y,z.

Pay to play is not the same as what is being talked about here on this thread.

 

[ClareH37]

Not everyone who stays at a deluxe resort pays rack rate, for example, my first stay at BWI was heavily discounted so much so that it would have cost us more to stick with our original non discounted rate at POFQ, it’s not so clear cut to suggest that just because someone stays at a deluxe resort they should get extra benefits.

One of my good friends will no longer stay at the Disney deluxes and now prefers the Four Seasons, no need to worry about FP+ as an off site guest when you book a VIP tour, but that’s a whole different subject lol

I can also see Disney offering extra benefits/additional FP+ capacity for a set fee, hope I’m wrong though.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't know if they will ever outright sell FPs, but I think we will see more and more specialized tours centered around hard-to-get FPs. For example with pandora, if you don't have FPs for FOP and don't want to wait several hours in line, there is a $250 tour you can do. If you don't have a FP for 7DMT, you pay for EMM. For FEA there is a Frozen dessert party... Imagine what there will be when Star Wars Land opens... All the hard to get FPs have pay-to-play experiences.

All that stuff is not what's being talked about here. Again you're not excluded from the add-ons by virtue of where you stay. Disney says "you want to pay for this experience? Ok then here's the cost". Disney is not saying "sorry only those who stay at Deluxe can purchase the tour for Pandora"

 

[anomamatt]

That's different than saying by virtue of staying at a Deluxe we will give you more than those not staying at Deluxe in terms of base perks. That would, at least at the moment, be seen strictly as a way to alienate.

My point is that Disney does this with their other ventures. For example, DCL and concierge. So while I don't think WDW has any need to further incentivize the deluxe resorts, it's not outside "Disney norms" to relate room choice with perks.

A WDW example would be Minnie Vans. These are currently only available to guest of Deluxe resorts (and one moderate).

To be clear, I am not saying I think deluxes should get anything else. And I certainly don't expect Disney to offer anything else (barring some large recession that impacts visitors), because they don't need to. Why offer a perk when people are already more than happy to pay for the rooms.

 

[anomamatt]

All that stuff is not what's being talked about here. Again you're not excluded from the add-ons by virtue of where you stay. Disney says "you want to pay for this experience? Ok then here's the cost". Disney is not saying "sorry only those who stay at Deluxe can purchase the tour for Pandora"

Yes, I'm aware. I brought up these pay-for-play activities as a reason why WDW is unlikely to further incentivize deluxe rooms.

 

[RmeDad]

So can I assume those of you who feel all resort guests should have the same park benefits, no matter the level of stay, then feel that off property guests should be allowed fast passes at 60 days just like the on property guests get? Seems like a benefit based on level of stay to me.

 

[KenHutch]

I like Disney's setup the way it is now. Fair to all. We normally stay moderate POR or FQ. Next year AKL and the difference in price for 2 weeks is truly scary. That being said after this trip my daughter will be starting college so this is my last chance for a long while to treat her like the princess she is. That's what staying it worth staying deluxe. Her smile.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So can I assume those of you who feel all resort guests should have the same park benefits, no matter the level of stay, then feel that off property guests should be allowed fast passes at 60 days just like the on property guests get? Seems like a benefit based on level of stay to me.

I've always wondered about the 60 day vs 30 day thing. I would have to imagine because the way they set it up rather than the old way of only available 1 at a time at the park on the day of means they need to have some sort of incentive to stay onsite vs offsite. The timing window of FP benefit didn't exist before until they decided to have people pre-plan and provide 3 to begin with.

But at the very least Disney, currently that is, isn't saying people off-site get no FPs period. They also give APs only 30 days too and I would assume it's because they have gotten the figures and seen that more AP holders stay off-site (by that I mean they don't stay on-site whether that is a hotel outside of WDW property or they come for the day and go back home if they live locally) than stay on-site. If they found that more AP holders stayed onsite versus offsite I have no doubt that they would provide the 60 day window to them as well.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My point is that Disney does this with their other ventures. For example, DCL and concierge. So while I don't think WDW has any need to further incentivize the deluxe resorts, it's not outside "Disney norms" to relate room choice with perks.

A WDW example would be Minnie Vans. These are currently only available to guest of Deluxe resorts (and one moderate).

To be clear, I am not saying I think deluxes should get anything else. And I certainly don't expect Disney to offer anything else (barring some large recession that impacts visitors), because they don't need to. Why offer a perk when people are already more than happy to pay for the rooms.

The Minnie Vans though to my knowledge is designed to be rolled out to all resorts eventually. Starting at the level they have figured would get the most usage is smart. If they thought more people staying at the Values would use the Minnie Vans rather than those staying at Deluxes I have no doubt they would have started there. Cost-wise I assume they are doing it in stages which does give them the benefit of tweaking things here and there.

I did understand that you were meaning there is no current need to further incentivize.

 

[RmeDad]

I've always wondered about the 60 day vs 30 day thing. I would have to imagine because the way they set it up rather than the old way of only available 1 at a time at the park on the day of means they need to have some sort of incentive to stay onsite vs offsite. The timing window of FP benefit didn't exist before until they decided to have people pre-plan and provide 3 to begin with.

But at the very least Disney, currently that is, isn't saying people off-site get no FPs period. They also give APs only 30 days too and I would assume it's because they have gotten the figures and seen that more AP holders stay off-site (by that I mean they don't stay on-site whether that is a hotel outside of WDW property or they come for the day and go back home if they live locally) than stay on-site. If they found that more AP holders stayed onsite versus offsite I have no doubt that they would provide the 60 day window to them as well.

So why would an incentive to stay at one level of stay over another, be any different?

 

[PSUGuy]

The person who brings water into the parks may be on a budget, but could equally be a well-off but careful spender, or annoyed at the prices charged in Disney and refuse to be ripped off. The person who doesn't bring in water may be not well off, but not want to carry it around, or be able to, or may want to be bag-free for easy entry, or just left it in the fridge by accident on that day. Judgements shouldn't be made on appearance only.

Anyway, as the old saying goes 'it's horses for courses'.

We not only bring water into the parks but also Pinot Grigio, during Food&Wine no less. This isn't a matter of poverty or penny pinching, it's a matter of principle, one of the few I actually have. It's unconscionable to charge for a 20 oz battle of water what a case costs at Publix and over the years the price for a double shot glass of wine has risen to a third or half of what a decent bottle goes for and as wine imbibers we know wine prices have been pretty stable over that stretch. The kids are grown, we both have good jobs and we don't scrimp on ourselves but I won't be screwed at the cash register just because we can afford it.

Bill From PA

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So why would an incentive to stay at one level of stay over another, be any different?

Well you've got base perks to keep in mind.

As of right now Disney has set up base perks and additional perks.

Disney didn't set up additional park perks for staying at a Deluxe over a Value. What they did set up is additional perks and amenities for resort perks for staying at a Deluxe over a Value. We wouldn't be having this thread at all if they set up the park perks based on what level of resort you stayed at.

As a business Disney knows they need some sort of benefit to entice people to pay more $$ to stay onsite vs offsite. They chose the FP booking window and EMH (though that benefit has diminished over time in terms of the number of EMH hours provided and days provided). They could have decided only those who stay onsite are eligible for multi-day park tickets for example. They could have chosen to not give offsite any FPs period.

You also have to think about your bottom line. Disney has a fine line to walk with keeping people onsite vs offsite. If they thought they could keep the majority of people onsite even if giving more FPs to Deluxes they would at least try it. I'm guessing at this point in time giving more and more park perks to those staying at Deluxe would run off more people to offsite than Disney would be comfortable with.

 

[Disneytam]

Just to stir the pot a bit, Universal's top three hotels (Universal Deluxe?) do give you an added benefit in their front of the line pass that comes for free to all hotel guests. We mostly stay at deluxe resorts at Disney and are AP holders at both Universal and Disney. When we stay at Universal we have always stayed at the Portofino Resort and really enjoy having the front of the line pass for almost every ride at Universal including the Harry Potter rides. I try very hard to never pay rack rate at either resort and on average the Universal resorts cost half of what we pay at Disney.

Bottom line though I don't feel that Disney needs to add anything extra for staying deluxe, I really wish they would give a little more for the AP holders. The 20% off on many shops and restaurants that they are currently offering is really nice but that is supposed to end next month.

 

[nursejackie]

we both have good jobs and we don't scrimp on ourselves but I won't be screwed at the cash register just because we can afford it.

Bill From PA

That's it in a nutshell

 

[RmeDad]

Don't get me wrong, I am quite happy with what I get for my money. We have stayed Off-site, Moderate and Deluxe. We continue to stay at Deluxe because we can afford it and we enjoy the intrinsic benefits. I am just trying to make the point that perks are already in place for value of stay, so any additional would not vary from past practices.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just to stir the pot a bit, Universal's top three hotels (Universal Deluxe?) do give you an added benefit in their front of the line pass that comes for free to all hotel guests. We mostly stay at deluxe resorts at Disney and are AP holders at both Universal and Disney. When we stay at Universal we have always stayed at the Portofino Resort and really enjoy having the front of the line pass for almost every ride at Universal including the Harry Potter rides. I try very hard to never pay rack rate at either resort and on average the Universal resorts cost half of what we pay at Disney.

Bottom line though I don't feel that Disney needs to add anything extra for staying deluxe, I really wish they would give a little more for the AP holders. The 20% off on many shops and restaurants that they are currently offering is really nice but that is supposed to end next month.

Yeah but I already mentioned the Universal vs WDW thing. They structured their Express Pass differently than Disney's FP.

It would be like your FP at Disney let you go through the line again and again and again without having to do anything (like using up your 3 or scheduling a time). That's not how it works at Disney. Plus with Universal you do not get EP by virtue of buying a park ticket. With Disney you get FPs by virtue of having a park ticket.

You would also have to do the math and see if staying at their Prime Value and just paying out of pocket for EP (Unlimited version that is) comes out ahead if that perk is the only one you actually care about.

Universal has Premier which is Hard Rock and Portofino Bay which gets the EP included. Their Preferred level includes Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls but only Royal Pacific gets the EP included. Their Prime Value is Cabana Bay and Aventura. All 3 levels however include Early Access (or basically Disney's EMH just only for the mornings).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Don't get me wrong, I am quite happy with what I get for my money. We have stayed Off-site, Moderate and Deluxe. We continue to stay at Deluxe because we can afford it and we enjoy the intrinsic benefits. I am just trying to make the point that perks are already in place for value of stay, so any additional would not vary from past practices.

Perhaps it's the way then that people see it. For me giving more FPs to those staying at Deluxe or giving special EMH hours for those staying at Deluxe isn't just "any additional perk". Those perks are basically the opposite of what they have set up right now. I mean by all means they could go do that but they would be mudding the waters of park vs resort perks.

I look at it this way Universal has more park perks for their levels and Disney has more resort perks for their levels. They are just set up differently.

 

[hllb]

Whether people like it or not, there already exists a tiered system based on how much you are willing to spend. Furthermore, I don't think the OP is proposing anything out of line with Disney's other ventures (e.g., DCL and concierge). Pay to play is everywhere in Disney: you can get unlimited fast passes with a VIP tour, you can do the Pandora rides with a DAK after dark tour, etc etc. If you are willing to spend enough money, you can have a very different Disney experience than a regular guest.

I'm sure Disney has thought about incentivizing deluxe resorts, but the truth is that people are already paying a premium without additional perks. People (me included) pay for Deluxes to get the location, upgraded rooms, etc. Disney has no need to add perks, because deluxe room occupancy rates are very high all year.

The difference, though, is that those extra events are available to everyone to purchase, not just those staying at Deluxe resorts. So I do view that differently.

 

[SA mom]

Staying at a Deluxe Resort gives you the biggest perk of all: Location!

 

[Bree]

We not only bring water into the parks but also Pinot Grigio, during Food&Wine no less. This isn't a matter of poverty or penny pinching, it's a matter of principle, one of the few I actually have. It's unconscionable to charge for a 20 oz battle of water what a case costs at Publix and over the years the price for a double shot glass of wine has risen to a third or half of what a decent bottle goes for and as wine imbibers we know wine prices have been pretty stable over that stretch. The kids are grown, we both have good jobs and we don't scrimp on ourselves but I won't be screwed at the cash register just because we can afford it.

Bill From PA

We are the same way! I’d rather bring breakfast, water and snacks with me when I stay at the resorts. I’d rather keep as much money as I can in my bank account than pay the ridiculous Disney prices.

We are staying at the Grand Floridian right before Christmas. I’m bringing the usual breakfast, snacks and water. We only have one dinner reservation for the Candlelight Processional at Epcot.