*Rumor* Extra Magic Hours going away

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Got to remember, REVENUE IS KING.
2) The "hotel" resorts are not filling.
. . . Wilderness Lodge has the highest "hotel" capacity percentage on-property
. . . All Stars have the second highest (regular guests, plus cheapie convention types and sports team families (eg. Pop Warner, Cheerleaders)
3) That is why they like to build DVC's.
. . . they claim they will not build another Disney-owned "hotel" at WDW
. . . construction costs are repaid within 2-3 years, not 20-40 years
. . . so, the massive profits are garnered almost immediately
. . . then, profits are guaranteed profit every year from the timeshare owners
. . . captive ticket buyers, whether daily or AP's
4) FROM THE RUMORS WE HEAR (repeat, RUMORS)
. . . they want to get more revenue
. . . the "free" EMH is not filling the resorts with guests, so the benefit is not longer meeting the capacity goals
. . . revenue could be increased if they charged for EMH to anyone who wants to buy a ticket
. . . the "old" EMH sold up to 5,000 tickets per EMH evening at $12/person (up to $60,000 in tickets, plus food and souvenirs)
. . . that would take the place of 450-480 room revenues (less the room costs, like maids, laundry, toiletries/soaps, electricity, water, etc)

NOTE: Remember, these are rumors, but we keep hearing them during "Team" meetings. Of course, we have been lied to before. I remember specifically asking if Tusker was going Character for dinner, and the manager said "No Way, Ever." But, I had already known two of the CM's who did auditions for a character dinner in AK. Right then and there, we lost faith in two of the managers . . . and we have not trusted them since! One even remarked in an "off" moment why we did not pay attention to her. Not being one who is shy with an opinion (who would have thought), I told her the reason. I also mentioned that many of us are retired executives not the high school dropouts they are currently hiring, and do not believe in telling employees/subordinates "BULL". She said she was just "towing the company line". I told her we know there are confidential matters and she should have just said "No Comment" instead of lying to us.

 

[Planogirl]

This is interesting Rusty. I never thought about them potentially bringing back "pay for EMH". It makes sense though.

As for Management and their stories, I'm afraid that that is typical in most corporations. I find out more about our company's plans in the press than I do at work. Our managers just pretend to be clueless.

 

[elle325]

If you look at the park hours for January on the Disney website, extra magic hours are still offered. Granted they only have park hours posted through January 4th and I suppose they could charge extra for them, but at least they still exist

 

[doconeill]

I didn't think any of the resorts on Hotel Plaza Blvd were allowed to participate in EMH. I knew Swan/Dolphin and Shades of Green did but didn't know that the Hilton did. In my opinion, EMH are a great perk to on site stayers and disney would be crazy to change it.

It wasn't well known, but the Hilton has been the only exception out on Hotel Blvd., and has been for years. I believe they are also the only one with a character meal as well. It is interesting that it appears to be ending for them. S/D, on the other hand, bent over backwards just to get the 60-day FP+ window for their guests, whereas SoG and Hilton have not.

We are going January 22-31, 2016 and from what I found online today I am seeing extra magic hours. With that said it appears they have strayed from their normal extra magic hour schedule from the past. I have been used to arriving on a Friday and being able to go to Epcot until 11pm with EMH. Looks like that will have to be on Tuesday now

https://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_January.pdf

They've shifted around a bit in the past couple years as they reduced the number.

If you look at the park hours for January on the Disney website, extra magic hours are still offered. Granted they only have park hours posted through January 4th and I suppose they could charge extra for them, but at least they still exist

It doesn't appear as if there is any immediate change in EMH (except perhaps the pattern). If they switched back to "E-Ride Nights", I expect that to be announced LONG in advance.

 

[Dismom820]

I sure hope not! we like the extra magic hours...especially at night...its like a "ghost town" without the crowds! although, i don't think it would ever change my mind about staying onsite! the only way I wouldn't stay onsite is if Disney takes away Disney transportation...we stayed offsite last year and driving and parking was a PAIN! i NEVER want to deal with DTD again driving my own car! hahaha as long as they continue to offer transportation, i'll continue staying onsite! its worth it for me!

 

[Jon84]

I would guess they'll still be there in 2016 and 2017. UK TAs have brochures into late 2016 that still mention them

 

[CerysG]

It seems kind of antiproductive to do this if your hotels aren't filling up. It's not like they are going to abandon them since they already have them so why wouldn't you want them as full as possible plus the revenue from DVC? With the Euro zone being in poor economic shape and the Canadian dollar being low they need to do something to bring their out of country guests in. I noticed they gave Canadians free dinning starting mid August rather than the end of August. This is smart because school doesn't usually start till after Labour Day so people might be more inclinded to go even with the lower Canadian dollar if the get a significant deal. Just some of my thoughts.

 

[rteetz]

It seems kind of antiproductive to do this if your hotels aren't filling up. It's not like they are going to abandon them since they already have them so why wouldn't you want them as full as possible plus the revenue from DVC? With the Euro zone being in poor economic shape and the Canadian dollar being low they need to do something to bring their out of country guests in. I noticed they gave Canadians free dinning starting mid August rather than the end of August. This is smart because school doesn't usually start till after Labour Day so people might be more inclinded to go even with the lower Canadian dollar if the get a significant deal. Just some of my thoughts.

I think Disney feels that EMH aren't as big of a perk as they used to be. Disney also doesn't really like them from an operational standpoint having to keep the parks and rides open longer costs more.

 

[doconeill]

Regardless, everyone repeat after me...

They aren't going away (yet...)
They aren't going away (yet...)
...

 

[CerysG]

I think Disney feels that EMH aren't as big of a perk as they used to be. Disney also doesn't really like them from an operational standpoint having to keep the parks and rides open longer costs more.

It maybe that there numbers bare this out and maybe they would only need to have them during really busy seasons. Just seems yhey need to do something to fill their hotels. Universal is building another one that would be considered value and it gets early access. Now I love staying at Universal because of the unlimited front of the line pass when you stay at there 3 older hotels. So not only are there 4 star hotels cheaper than Disney but you get early access and front of the line. We ultimately split our trips and do both and stay at both resorts because we don't want to drive and just like the convince. Guess we'll see what happens and we aren't planning to go for 2 years and only if the Canadian dollar isn't really low.

 

[doconeill]

Talking about EMH and filling the hotels...maybe EMH isn't enticing enough to fill the hotels...but what is the potential impact on occupancy if it was removed? Would it dive even further? I think that's the tough choice they need to make. Something new has to come along.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I would guess they'll still be there in 2016 and 2017. UK TAs have brochures into late 2016 that still mention them

Yet, all brochures say, "Subject to Change".

 

[Andrew015]

Talking about EMH and filling the hotels...maybe EMH isn't enticing enough to fill the hotels...but what is the potential impact on occupancy if it was removed? Would it dive even further? I think that's the tough choice they need to make. Something new has to come along.

Here's something to ponder (perhaps it has already been discussed in prior pages - if so, my apologies):

Perhaps there's a correlation to EMH leading to less park days for some families. My family was able to hit so much of MK between midnight and 2:00 am on one recent EMH evening that we decided to nix what was supposed to be another MK day a few days later. We still ended up at another park, but perhaps some folks are figuring out in the planning stages that only 1-2 days of a given park are needed thanks to EMH rather than what would usually be 2-3.

Perhaps a stretch. But on the other hand, there could be some merit to this.

 

[RescueRanger]

I would love for them to bring back the old e-ticket nights. It was well worth the extra money. The current evening emh is usesless and as crowded as during the day. We skip the evening ones now. We loved having a limited amount sold and smaller crowds. I am sure if they did it now it would be for all of the parks instead of just MK. Well at least after AK expands.

 

[Dean Marino]

1) Got to remember, REVENUE IS KING.
2) The "hotel" resorts are not filling.
. . . Wilderness Lodge has the highest "hotel" capacity percentage on-property.....

I HAVE to ask about this one - because I know YOU know . Sandy and I ALWAYS go to the Lodge, twice per year - and for about 3 years now, we keep hearing from our WL Restaurant CM friends that the hotel is "just plain empty". We've also noticed that, staying there, we just see a lot fewer folks in the lobby or restaurants, contrasted with the previous 7 years .

So - I'm checking how you worded this.... WL has the highest capacity percentage . But is the hotel we love getting a decent occupancy rate? I like low crowds too - but not to the point that a place I love gets hurt .

 

[TeamD3]

Following!

 

[DonnainIllinois]

I would have to say that I do not think emh will go away. That is one of the "perks" they sell to try to get people to stay on property. Probably the biggest perk. If that is no longer offered, people are going to choose to stay off-property because it is cheaper. Disney does not want that. They may scale it back though. Then they can say they still offer it.

 

[rteetz]

I would have to say that I do not think emh will go away. That is one of the "perks" they sell to try to get people to stay on property. Probably the biggest perk. If that is no longer offered, people are going to choose to stay off-property because it is cheaper. Disney does not want that. They may scale it back though. Then they can say they still offer it.

It's not as big of a perk as it used to be. I think transportation is a bigger perk for most compared to EMH.

 

[circus4u]

It's not as big of a perk as it used to be. I think transportation is a bigger perk for most compared to EMH.

In our case, I have to agree 100%. During our last five trips, we did he extended evening hours a grand total of one time. Then, we only stayed about 45 minutes. However, four of those five trips, we used the Magic Express and one time we rented a car. My wife and I both agree, Magic Express was the way to go. The downside to Disney transportation was at park closing, to say we despised it is in understatement. We quickly learned that the bus crowds were much better about an hour before park closing or to leave during the parade, fireworks, etc. (After you see them once or twice, it's no big deal leaving early.) Transportation is definitely a bigger perk for us than extended hours.

 

[FunFamily]

Evening extra magic hours are indeed "magic." It would be a shame if they were cut back any further. My family and I view EMH as part of the benefit for paying more to stay at a Disney resort instead of off-site.