Disney1992
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2000
I am bummed that the WDW/Central Florida trip is gone from the website. I was planning on taking the trip in the Fall of 2017.
In the off chance that someone in the know reads this thread, here are my thoughts on what could be changed to make the itinerary more appealing.
Pricing needs to be seriously reconsidered. As many other threads pointed out, the pricing was way too steep for what was being offered. Using rack rates for the hotels and pricing for existing backstage tours, you are hard pressed to come close to the price listed.
Offer more exclusive backstage access, expand on existing offerings. Based on comments from other threads, a good bit of the offerings were very similar to existing backstage tours. I may be the odd man out on this one, but I'm OK with using the existing tours as a base but than expand on the tour, a longer private safari, more access to attractions and how they work, like Soaring; maybe a look at the attractions under construction. When we go to WDW, roughly every 3 years, we do try to do a tour each time. What appealed to me about this ABD, was I getting a bunch of the tours all at once, rather than every few years.
Dinner should be included each night. For most restaurants, you need an ADR if you want to eat there, even in the off season now. Not knowing exactly when the break times and report times for activities are, you can't book them ahead of time and you may not be able to grab a table service meal if you want. Another possibility, have a group reservation at a couple restaurants and the group breaks up as they wish.
Make sure the all the passes are Park Hoppers.
Adjust the Tour Options based on the time of year and the happenings planned. Have a Flower and Garden, Food and Wine, Halloween and Christmas tours. You can still have a core list of itinerary, but add on for the special happenings. People travel to WDW just for those events, make their trip even more special.
I was not a fan of the Central Florida day offerings. If the trip was still on, I had planned on using that day as a rest and relax morning/afternoon, before the late afternoon/evening activities begin.
Make it a WDW and Disney Cruise Backstage experience. Start off in WDW and conclude with a backstage 3 Day Dream Cruise. When on the Dream, have an overall backstage experience; like the Tours offered on NCL or Princess. You see the galley, laundry, entertainment areas, etc. Maybe you have a special Palo Dinner or Brunch for the Group.
You could even keep the Kennedy Space Center Portion of the trip, as you would go there in the morning and hop on the cruise in the afternoon.
Obviously, I have way too much time on hands.
Here's hoping the Trip does come back for 2017.
In the off chance that someone in the know reads this thread, here are my thoughts on what could be changed to make the itinerary more appealing.
Pricing needs to be seriously reconsidered. As many other threads pointed out, the pricing was way too steep for what was being offered. Using rack rates for the hotels and pricing for existing backstage tours, you are hard pressed to come close to the price listed.
Offer more exclusive backstage access, expand on existing offerings. Based on comments from other threads, a good bit of the offerings were very similar to existing backstage tours. I may be the odd man out on this one, but I'm OK with using the existing tours as a base but than expand on the tour, a longer private safari, more access to attractions and how they work, like Soaring; maybe a look at the attractions under construction. When we go to WDW, roughly every 3 years, we do try to do a tour each time. What appealed to me about this ABD, was I getting a bunch of the tours all at once, rather than every few years.
Dinner should be included each night. For most restaurants, you need an ADR if you want to eat there, even in the off season now. Not knowing exactly when the break times and report times for activities are, you can't book them ahead of time and you may not be able to grab a table service meal if you want. Another possibility, have a group reservation at a couple restaurants and the group breaks up as they wish.
Make sure the all the passes are Park Hoppers.
Adjust the Tour Options based on the time of year and the happenings planned. Have a Flower and Garden, Food and Wine, Halloween and Christmas tours. You can still have a core list of itinerary, but add on for the special happenings. People travel to WDW just for those events, make their trip even more special.
I was not a fan of the Central Florida day offerings. If the trip was still on, I had planned on using that day as a rest and relax morning/afternoon, before the late afternoon/evening activities begin.
Make it a WDW and Disney Cruise Backstage experience. Start off in WDW and conclude with a backstage 3 Day Dream Cruise. When on the Dream, have an overall backstage experience; like the Tours offered on NCL or Princess. You see the galley, laundry, entertainment areas, etc. Maybe you have a special Palo Dinner or Brunch for the Group.
You could even keep the Kennedy Space Center Portion of the trip, as you would go there in the morning and hop on the cruise in the afternoon.
Obviously, I have way too much time on hands.
Here's hoping the Trip does come back for 2017.
