New survey .. proposal .. Tiered Ticket Prices

[Jennasis]

Yes and some also predicted the demise of standby lines altogether along with a lot of other things that never came to passn...

Not yet...

 

[Angel Ariel]

Yes and some also predicted the demise of standby lines altogether along with a lot of other things that never came to pass.

While it hasn't happened park wide, or in WDW - and to be clear, I'm not claiming it has - apparently the FP+ only tests at WDW were brought west. Anna and Elsa at DCA are fastpass only, as is the Royal theatre in Fantasy Faire in DL. This tells me that while it hasn't happened at WDW yet, it isn't off the table - anywhere. Regardless of what fastpass program is used.

 

[pumpkinhead10a]

They should charge less for busy days as you get to do a lot less stuff. You only get to do 6 to 7 rides on those busy days with wait times benign 11/2 too 2 hour wait times for each ride. If Disney keeps up with the nickel and dimes charges and they are going to loose in the end by chasing families away!!!!

 

[macraven]

i hope the tier system never happens.
it was hard enough for me to change the way i think and get used to the new fp+ system.

i hate having to be nickle and dimed to death in order to have fun.
but, if that does happen, i'll still be doing the motherland each year but probably cutting back on the longer stays.

i plan my trips in advance and prefer certain months and dates each year based on what is happening for that time period.
that i won't change, but i won't be staying onsite for more than a week if the tiering system ends up costing a significant amount more than what i have the budget set for.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

That is what people said about "pre-booking your attractions" and now we know this as Fastpass Plus. If Disney is asking about it, you better bet there is a plan.

Amen. Now if this generates too much bad PR, things might change, but I'm sure Disney is hoping it won't.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

Yes and some also predicted the demise of standby lines altogether along with a lot of other things that never came to pass. I see no point in worrying over something that may well never happen. Seasonal pricing? Perhaps. Locking you in to a specific park each day? I'll be the first one to eat my words if I'm wrong ... It will never happen.

I would pack your words in a lunchbox.

 

[cakebaker]

While it hasn't happened park wide, or in WDW - and to be clear, I'm not claiming it has - apparently the FP+ only tests at WDW were brought west. Anna and Elsa at DCA are fastpass only, as is the Royal theatre in Fantasy Faire in DL. This tells me that while it hasn't happened at WDW yet, it isn't off the table - anywhere. Regardless of what fastpass program is used.

Yes but the prediction I'm referring to was that FP+ was just the precursor to all reserved attractions. Since DL doesn't even have FP+, obviously that was wrong. And we can say "not yet" about a million things.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

You already get killed on the resort cost during busy times. Now they are wanting you to pay more for busy times when you actually get to do less??? The person who thought of this should be fired. Of course, Disney will keep finding ways to nickel and dime you until the public says enough is enough. They've even gone so far as to monitor how much soda you can get from a fountain, really?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Yes but the prediction I'm referring to was that FP+ was just the precursor to all reserved attractions. Since DL doesn't even have FP+, obviously that was wrong. And we can say "not yet" about a million things.

All I'm saying is that it can't be said that nothing came of the fp+ only tests at WDW. DLR doesn't need fp+ to implement getting rid of standby lines, clearly, as they have already done so in 2 locations. As I said, I wasn't claiming it was park wide, or even being upset about it at all - just pointing out that it has in fact been implemented beyond a short test phase like at wdw. Clearly it isn't off the table, which is all I said (and is different than "not yet").

 

[cakebaker]

All I'm saying is that it can't be said that nothing came of the fp+ only tests at WDW. DLR doesn't need fp+ to implement getting rid of standby lines, clearly, as they have already done so in 2 locations. As I said, I wasn't claiming it was park wide, or even being upset about it at all - just pointing out that it has in fact been implemented beyond a short test phase like at wdw.

Ok, I don't disagree. But that wasn't what I was referring to.

 

[ghtx]

They should charge less for busy days as you get to do a lot less stuff. You only get to do 6 to 7 rides on those busy days with wait times benign 11/2 too 2 hour wait times for each ride. If Disney keeps up with the nickel and dimes charges and they are going to loose in the end by chasing families away!!!!

I'm pretty sure that's not how supply and demand works.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Ok, I don't disagree. But that wasn't what I was referring to.

I was just expanding on the discussion.

Eta: since fp+ is still pretty much in.its infancy (and still "technically" in testing, isn't it?), discounting predictions seems a bit early to.me. most of those predictions I read that were like what you word here were not "this is what Disney will be like 1 or 2 years from now", but more down the line than that. IMHO, it is too early to definitively discount anything.

 

[cakebaker]

...Eta: since fp+ is still pretty much in.its infancy (and still "technically" in testing, isn't it?), discounting predictions seems a bit early to.me. ...

I'm quoting this portion because that's the portion I'm interested in addressing.

It's not too early to say that it was wrong to say that fp+ was the precursor to doing away with standby. If anything, DL proves that. They have done away with standby in a couple of instances and they don't even have fp+. So for them, doing away with standby came first. It's already happened, it's an easy call. I didn't say it would never happen- I said fp+ wasn't the sign that it was coming as some predicted it was. I remember the TSMM thread when they did the testing and it was declared then that it was surely a definitive sign that WDW was doing away with standby lines- and it wasn't.

There are plenty of definitive statements in this thread alone about an issue that has not even happened yet. It's never too early on the Dis to call anything, but since this particular thing has already happened it's easy.

The entire point of my comments to start with was to say that it's a bit early to declare definitely what a new pricing structure that has only been alluded to in a survey will be. So looks like we agree!

 

[Marionnette]

They should charge less for busy days as you get to do a lot less stuff. You only get to do 6 to 7 rides on those busy days with wait times benign 11/2 too 2 hour wait times for each ride. If Disney keeps up with the nickel and dimes charges and they are going to loose in the end by chasing families away!!!!

I'm pretty sure that's not how supply and demand works.

That's the way that it works with tangible goods that are available in finite quantities. However, when you're measuring an abstract such as perceived crowd size and its impact on the level of enjoyment, you're comparing apples to oranges.

 

[cakebaker]

Amen. Now if this generates too much bad PR, things might change, but I'm sure Disney is hoping it won't.

Perhaps it's a good sign that Disney is paying attention to what their customers think. If the results they get from surveys are overwhelmingly negative, they may well decide not to go ahead with it. What I'm fairly certain of, is that they won't do anything that they think will impact their bottom line negatively. That doesn't mean they won't do it, but if they do, it's because they know it increases profits. I see nothing wrong with that. Because in the end you only make profits when you sell something people want.

 

[WillAustin]

It's not too early to say that it was wrong to say that fp+ was the precursor to doing away with standby. If anything, DL proves that. They have done away with standby in a couple of instances and they don't even have fp+. So for them, doing away with standby came first. It's already happened, it's an easy call. I didn't say it would never happen- I said fp+ wasn't the sign that it was coming as some predicted it was. I remember the TSMM thread when they did the testing and it was declared then that it was surely a definitive sign that WDW was doing away with standby lines- and it wasn't.

Disney moves at a glacial pace.

There are plenty of options between all standby and no standby. I'm pretty certain we'll see FP+ only attractions at WDW over the next several years. I can easily see them making some new attractions (Avatarland) require FP+ reservations.

There were many who said nobody would ever pay a monthly fee for software or to play a game, or spend money on micro-transactions to buy features in software.

Other theme parks will follow Disney if they are able to pull it off. And I disagree with your premise that if crowds still show up it means that people like the system. If navigating a poorly designed system still gets a consumer to a product or goal they want, they begrudgingly put up with the bad system, especially if there is not an equal alternative to the end product they seek.

 

[Angel Ariel]

It's not too early to say that it was wrong to say that fp+ was the precursor to doing away with standby. If anything, DL proves that. They have done away with standby in a couple of instances and they don't even have fp+. So for them, doing away with standby came first. It's already happened, it's an easy call. I didn't say it would never happen- I said fp+ wasn't the sign that it was coming as some predicted it was. I remember the TSMM thread when they did the testing and it was declared then that it was surely a definitive sign that WDW was doing away with standby lines- and it wasn't.

FP+ has only been solidified in its current structure for just over a year. Considering the pace Disney moves at when introducing anything - be it a ride, or MM+ (just look at how long FP+ was testing various models before it settled into the one it's in now), yes I think a year is too early to definitively say anything about what FP+ is or isn't a precursor to. YMMV, obviously.

But, yes, in terms of the new pricing structure, a survey is a little. too early to definitively say anything about it. So there we do agree.

 

[cakebaker]

And I disagree with your premise that if crowds still show up it means that people like the system. If navigating a poorly designed system still gets a consumer to a product or goal they want, they begrudgingly put up with the bad system, especially if there is not an equal alternative to the end product they seek.

I didn't say anything about liking a particular system- I said people want what Disney is selling and in record numbers. As long as the positives far outweigh the negatives, it will continue, imo. There are may things about WDW I would prefer to see done another way- but in the end, I see enough value in it as it is that it's still very much worth what we pay.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

Lol - I received an email to participate in the survey today. I always do their surveys because I'm hopeful that it will one day translate into a PIN. (I know...I know.)

Anyway, as soon as I clicked the option that said I was an AP holder and a Disney Visa card member, it went right to a screen that basically said they were not looking for the opinions of people like me.

I took one about a month ago and it was all about MME and FP+. I had a *lot* of fun with that survey.

One of my favorite questions was "Do you think that having an Annual Pass makes you a good parent?" I wanted soooo badly to answer, "Yep. Most of the time I plop my kid in front of an episode of Jerry Springer with a can of Great Value cat food and a Coors Light. But buying that Annual Pass put me on the cover of Mother of the Year Magazine."

But I was too scared they wouldn't send me a PIN.

.

LMAO! Seriously, who made up these questions? Good parenting=multiple Disney trips using APs????

 

[lugnut33]

For those willing to pay more to have less crowds will you be OK with it if you get locked out? Because you know that buying admission tickets would become just like reservations at 180 days or FP+ at 60 days.

So now you'll have the triumvirate of pricing: higher pricing on rooms during busy times, higher prices on food during busy times, and finally park tickets being jacked up during busy times. Taking a look at the first two items I just mentioned (rooms and food) has there been any sort of a reduction in consumer pressure due to the higher prices? I think not.