Is every DLR guest equal?

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

Is every DLR guest equal? Does buying a ticket to DL/DCA make everyone equal? I ask because from reading this Board, I sense some tenseness between locals, Grad Night students, AP members and the out of town tourists who travel and view DLR as a destination resort.

I guess the stand one would take depends upon where they are sitting. Traveling from Hawaii, I can understand the current out of town tourists at DLR frustrated and disappointed with the over crowding caused by the many school groups in addition to the normal crowd. The student spends minimal amount for a ticket ($100 for example) and eats inexpensively. Meanwhile, an out of town tourist is paying (for example) $400/PM for a DLR hotel room, $300 a day in food for the family, airline fare (or daily parking), paid leave from work, kennel care for the pets, etc..., and they feel squeezed out by the students who only paid $100.

I don't think there is any solution. Disney advertises locally, nationally and internationally. Disney appears not to care. Apparently Disney treats all income/guests as equal. For those who spend the minimal amount...they view every guest as equal. Those parents who average daily costs for taking a family vacation to DLR averaging $1K a day most likely feels cheated.

No easy answer. A student/ local/ AP member who's daily trip cost minimal compared to a tourist could tell a tourist to go to WDW or elsewhere. Meanwhile, Disney reduces park hours, service and manpower and smiles as the dollars flow in from all guests. Locals and tourists alike.

 

[brianerickson]

I may not be the best person to answer this, but as a kid from Western Michigan who was born under a bad sign that currently works at a Goodwill store of all places, the fact that I not only get/got to visit one of the parks but the two main locations twice but potentially multiple times over the course of a few short years is nothing short of mind boggling to me.

I mean, I notice the locals; they're obvious; I distinctly remember this past January waiting in line at Toy Story Midway Mania (not really relevant to the story, but a fun inclusion nonetheless) behind a pair of friends that apparently had driven over from Long Beach to celebrate one of their birthdays on their day off and being absolutely blown away by that knowledge. I remember spending the rest of the time in line weighing the pros and cons of living that close (I decided that it'd be a con, because if you end up going often enough the place doesn't seem special anymore, and I never want that to happen) even...

I've also seen both sides of those locals too. I got jeers from some of them when they saw I had the audacity of wearing my first timer button in my Mickey hat, but there were also some who couldn't have been nicer; one family even insisted I ride in front of them on Pirates when they heard it was my first time and where I had come from (currently living in the Philadelphia area). It really is a mixed bag.

Personally, I would love it if we could all just come together and bond over our appreciation for one of the greatest feats of engineering ever observed by humankind, but since we're not the type of species that can find much common ground it seems, I guess questions like these will forever go unanswered.

 

[bumbershoot]

Traveling from Hawaii, I can understand the current out of town tourists at DLR frustrated and disappointed with the over crowding caused by the many school groups in addition to the normal crowd.

At first I thought "you can?" because I think it's ridiculous that any of us should be irritated by any other group unless they are actually right there doing something offensive. But then I remembered the attitudes of my friends in college who were from Hawaii, and how they despised any tourists and had rude names for us, and I suppose now I can see how you can understand it. And seriously... I'm saying that those people were my friends, so I'm not saying bad things about them or you, but it was an attitude that seemed VERY specific to Hawaii. My friends from other tourist locations (socal, ski areas, etc) didn't seem to have the same hatred.

mean, I notice the locals; they're obvious

You do? The only time I EVER noticed a group of "locals" it was because they were wearing YMCA shirts from a local area.

And, funnily enough, a family I know from my local YMCA was there at the same time as I was (neither of us knew the other would be there), and since my family is rather involved in the Y, when the mom of that family saw that group then saw me, they thought I was there with the YMCA and it was a Tacoma WA YMCA group!

So she mistook locals for Washingtonians.

I'm not sure it's as easy to tell as some think personally. Unless someone is literally telling you where they are from and where they drove in from, I'm just not sure we should assume we know.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Ideally, every guest is special, no matter how much money they spend. The guest who has to budget very tightly and the guest who can spend lavishly should both be treated as equally special. Most CMs that we know take pride in striving to make magic for each guest, regardless of whether the guest is local or not, rich or not, AP or not, first timer or veteran. I think Disney cares very much about guest experience and they try hard to be as fair as possible when there are so many different circumstances to consider. Disney isn't responsible if other guests aren't willing to be as broad minded or open hearted.

 

[brianerickson]

You do?

Yep!

Not really by looks, though; it's generally hard not to hear them while in line

 

[goofy4tink]

Ok. I'm one of those that posted about the crowded parks last week. Third time at DLR. I was just there in Dec and had a great time. I don't feel that I'm any more special than anyone else, nor do I feel any less special.
I didn't feel that this stay was nearly as good as the one in Dec. And that was due to the crowds. I still maintain the DL is too compact to handle large masses of guests. It's its' 'compactness' that makes it so charming and fun! But put too many people in there, and it's less than fun.
So, having said that, I won't go at this time of year ever again. I love WDW...I prefer it there. So, that's where I'll go.

 

[Malcon10t]

What would you like Disney to do?

I am an annual passholder. I know there are some APs who spend very little. But I also know a LOT of us spend a lot of money in the park.

I also know tourists who don't stay on site, find hotel rooms at rock bottom prices, pack food so they don't have to buy food in the park, purchase souvenirs at Target or Walmart, and don't spend money either.

Kids from schools - Some spend a fair share, some don't.

How do you propose Disney make if fair for all?

 

[Indiana Scott]

I think Disney treats everyone equal within reason (they treat celebs better..). But there are certainly some folks who feel they have more ownership of the parks than others.

 

[DLgal]

Is this really a problem? I'm a local. For a time I wasn't, and we came here on vacation.

Frankly, I don't give it any amount of thought. I don't care how much any given random person spent to enter the park and I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't care at that level either. For their calculations, they use mathematical averages. If it's crowded and people are spending money, Disney is happy.

To me, crowded is crowded. Makes no difference WHO is making up the crowds. I have been an AP holder and local for over 10 years. I can say with a good amount of certainty that on any given day, the majority of visitors are CA residents. I think it has been that way since 1955.

 

[StormyCA]

Of course, every guest is equal inasmuch as we all paid to get in and we all have the right to be there and to enjoy our time as we see fit (within the rules, of course). The amount we paid is irrelevant as we all paid what we were asked to pay by Disney. We are also all equal in that CM's should treat us all politely and helpfully. But do all Disney guests see the other guests as their 'equals'? No, I expect they don't. But that reflects poorly on them whether they be tourists, APs, locals, or your Aunt Matilda, and not on the other guests, nor on Disney's CMs.

 

[Skiton]

I get the "local" mentality. I live in Colorado and those of us who ski roll a collective eye at the Texans (not trying to be regionalist, but it always seems to be the Texans) who manage to get themselves on advanced runs and can't get down. We were at DL this past week and I did see one girl wearing a t-shirt saying "LOCALS ONLY!" It got my back up a little, because it was very rude. I mean, I understand that if you're local, you probably consider DL to be "your" park and resent all the interlopers sometimes. But, my family paid a bunch of money for airfare and hotel and had to block off time from work and school just to come hang out at this magical place for a few days. Same as those Texans probably did to come to my state. Long and the short of it is, you don't get "dibs" just because you're local. But at any rate, it's not Disney fostering those feelings or treating anyone differently, it's the guests themselves.

There were 3 grad nights while we were there and I wasn't mad about them. I knew about it in advance. I think it's a really cool thing that Disney does for graduating seniors and I wish I'd had an opportunity like that when I was in school. I only get mad if they're being totally inappropriate around my kids, but we only saw that once. Most of them were very well behaved.

 

[Disney Rose]

I'm from Australia so it's a big production to take the family to Disneyland, and we can't easily return. However, I wouldn't for a second think we should get priority. It's just a risk you take when coming from afar - the park may be unexpectedly busy. Disney do try to offset this a little with perks like early entry for staying on site.

Events like grad night sound amazing (for the grads)! I tend to think the park primarily belongs to the locals. The tourists are guests in their city/country.

I live close to Australia's theme parks and have an AP to my favourite, and so that may be affecting my viewpoint. (Not that our parks are anything like Disney).

 

[SMD]

I think the premise of the first post is false. It says the school groups cause over crowding. First, the parks are not overcrowded. Disney sells the school group tickets and the other tickets and keeps the gates open. If the park feels too crowded to someone, then they can choose not to add to those crowds. Second, why is it the school group causing the crowds? If there are 200 school kids you could just as easily say the parks would be less crowded with 200 less out of town guests or 200 less APs or 200 less of some other group. Again, Disney allows all those people into the park at whatever price point they paid, so the amount paid for a ticket is obviously not an issue to Disney.

 

[Shanti]

Aloha,

Is every DLR guest equal? Does buying a ticket to DL/DCA make everyone equal? I ask because from reading this Board, I sense some tenseness between locals, Grad Night students, AP members and the out of town tourists who travel and view DLR as a destination resort.

I guess the stand one would take depends upon where they are sitting. Traveling from Hawaii, I can understand the current out of town tourists at DLR frustrated and disappointed with the over crowding caused by the many school groups in addition to the normal crowd. The student spends minimal amount for a ticket ($100 for example) and eats inexpensively. Meanwhile, an out of town tourist is paying (for example) $400/PM for a DLR hotel room, $300 a day in food for the family, airline fare (or daily parking), paid leave from work, kennel care for the pets, etc..., and they feel squeezed out by the students who only paid $100.

I don't think there is any solution. Disney advertises locally, nationally and internationally. Disney appears not to care. Apparently Disney treats all income/guests as equal. For those who spend the minimal amount...they view every guest as equal. Those parents who average daily costs for taking a family vacation to DLR averaging $1K a day most likely feels cheated.

No easy answer. A student/ local/ AP member who's daily trip cost minimal compared to a tourist could tell a tourist to go to WDW or elsewhere. Meanwhile, Disney reduces park hours, service and manpower and smiles as the dollars flow in from all guests. Locals and tourists alike.

I agree this is a real problem with no easy solution.

 

[disneychrista]

From Disney's standpoint everyone is "equal" for the most part. They obviously give onsite guests perks that non-resort guests do not get (EMH for example). Everyone gets the same access to FP, dining reservations, etc.

 

[Minniekins]

The DL park doesn't belong to the locals in Cali anymore than it belongs to the nonlocals. It belongs to each guest that pays the entry fee to go into the park on any given day. That day is their day, whether they traveled 10 min or 10 hours to get there. Just because a local is lucky enough to live close enough to the DL park to be considered a local and can go often, doesn't make them a more special guest, entitled to anything more than someone else. And, just the same, just because someone comes a greater distance to get to the park and pays more for transportation or lodging or food or any number of other expenses possibly incurred when traveling, even for an extended time, that doesn't entitle them to more or special treatment to compensate for all they had to go thru and pay for to get DL. That's just life and the luck of the draw. Various groups may have access to different things at different times. But again, it's just the way things are. If you are a local grad you get to attend a grad night, if not, you don't. And that's a limited time thing. If you don't buy an AP, you don't get the perks of that. If you do pay extra for an event or a party, then you do get something else, but you paid extra for that. But everyone gets the same options with their basic park entry ticket.

Why shouldn't Disney treat all income/guests as equal? Why should one group or person be treated better with more entitlements than another with basic entry to the park? If someone chooses to take their vacay at DL, why should that person feel cheated that another quest who is local doesn't have to pay for travel, lodging, more food, etc? That's just life, that's how things are anywhere you go, wherever you vacation at, and that doesn't make it unfair. Everyone can't be a local, so someone has to travel.

We just came back from our first visit a week ago. Had a great time! Our last night was the first grad night on the 13th. It was a bit crowded that day but it was sorta more crowded than we had expected all week. But, I certainly wasn't feeling mad at the grad's thinking they paid less or got more value than me, or anything like that. That seems pretty silly and very entitled to be thinking that I should get something more because I paid more to get there since I had to fly there. I neer noticed any attitudes from any locals. And, we got lots of nice comments on our first timer's pins from CM's, and visitors, as well, which was fun!

 

[Pacific Northwest]

I don't care what other people spend (or don't) while in the park or to get and stay there. It's my choice to spend the money to take my family to DL. It will obviously cost me more than a local. Who cares? I've never had any problem with locals. In fact, I don't know if I've ever met one. Convention participants can buy cheaper tickets. So can California teachers. Does that bother me? No. Again, I choose to spend my money here. I don't have to. I am going in July this year. It will be busy. I know that ahead of time. I don't blame the locals, convention groups, etc. I don't have to go (but I do have to go in the summer). I can choose to take a vacation elsewhere, but what can I say? We love the house of mouse!

 

[avalon451]

Of course, one other thing we should take into consideration about the "locals" and their ability to just drive on over any time they want, or to participate in grad night cheap tickets or whatever, is that SoCal is one of the most expensive places to live in the US, cost-of-living wise. DH works for Boeing here in the Seattle area, and I've often thought how sweet it might be for them to send him to work in Long Beach for a couple of years. Then I could be a local and get an annual pass. Then I remember how expensive everything is and realize we'd live in a shack, compared to our home here.

Sure, we spend a lot of money on a vacation to Disneyland. Locals maybe not so much, but then they're paying to live in the area.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Lol!!! Yes, as far as Disney is concerned. The cast members working the park, or the cm servers at the restaurants will never know.

That said, there is (I believe) a hierarchy rank amongst the patrons.... If you can figure it out. I know there is at WDW, as many of us have discussed this.

MG

 

[MillauFr]

What on earth is a local anyway? Sounds like some nebulous term that could have a million different definitions.