*Rumor* Extra Magic Hours going away

[ChipnDale79]

Yup, when WDW closes for a 5 year long refurb to rebrand everything Marvel...

Wait, no star wars?!?!?!?!

 

[doconeill]

Wait, no star wars?!?!?!?!

Nope, Disney is going to trade the Star Wars license for Marvel. That's why they aren't committing to Star Wars Land.

 

[Polydweller]

This whole thread is a prime example of prople way overreacting to non information. As pointed out the January hours now showing EMH under the placeholder titles that were always there. The best thing to do is to not let one's uniformed possibly panicky assumptions take over and wait for official news.

 

[peg110]

I suppose that's why one shouldn't spread rumors... It gets everyone in a panic.

 

[rteetz]

I suppose that's why one shouldn't spread rumors... It gets everyone in a panic.

Well it has been rumored for years that Disney is going to eventually do away with them. Disney doesn't like them from an operational standpoint.

 

[skier_pete]

Well it has been rumored for years that Disney is going to eventually do away with them. Disney doesn't like them from an operational standpoint.

But even THAT point is just that - a rumor. Sure Disney shortened the evening ones to cut costs, and did away with the DAK ones (which may come back once the park expands), but as pointed out elsewhere in this thread - getting ride of EMH doesn't make good financial sense for Disney. They have 25,000 rooms that they need to fill on site - and if even just 10 % of people would stop staying on site because of EMH leaving - that would be a HUGE hit. (Because you know they wouldn't lower room rates in that case.) The cost of running a few rides in each park for EMH is a drop in the bucket compared to the losses they would take without it. I'm sure they know that.

The theory that "Oh they can give on-site visitor more FP+ options" isn't that great either. It's about perceived value, and I think if you gave me say 4 FP+ instead of 3, that seems like a poor incentive to stay on-site versus a few extra hours in the parks.

 

[Crickey]

If you can open one park and get people in early that also means that they will be looking in the shops maybe buying things or getting food . EMH makes Disney money

 

[doconeill]

If you can open one park and get people in early that also means that they will be looking in the shops maybe buying things or getting food . EMH makes Disney money

That's what they said about Fastpass when it came out. And all accounts have been that it didn't work...

 

[peg110]

That's what they said about Fastpass when it came out. And all accounts have been that it didn't work...

Are you saying that Fastpass and EMH are failures?

 

[doconeill]

Are you saying that Fastpass and EMH are failures?

I didn't comment on EMH. I'm not sure they expected people to go early just to shop and eat. EMH was meant to be a draw for guests to stay on-site at the resorts.

But from the business view of Fastpass, the expectation was that instead of waiting in lines, guests would spend more time shopping and eating, and thus seeing a significant jump in revenue from those sources. But it has long been stated that that jump didn't happen. Guests instead went to wait in other lines. From a revenue standpoint, Fastpass was a failure.

 

[msdroz]

Trying to book for 2016 and it states these benefits... no mention of emh But lists shopping options!

Add tickets to upgrade to a Magic Your Way Package and enjoy Magical Extras such as 4 rounds of miniature golf (before 4:00 PM


ur vacation package includes your room accommodations, theme park ticket(s), Disney keepsake luggage tags (one for each person in your travel party) and any other items you have included, such as Memory Maker, dining, vacation insurance, flight or ground transportation. In addition, you receive the following:

Walt Disney Travel Company Package Benefits
As part of purchasing your package through Walt Disney Travel Company, you receive the following Magical Extras upon checking in at your hotel:

Things to Do

• Miniature Golf
  Receive 4 vouchers, each valid for one (1) round of miniature golf prior to 4:00 PM on one (1) day for ONE (1) Guest at either Disney's Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course or Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course.
• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
  Receive 4 vouchers per package, each valid for one (1) general admission to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on one (1) day for ONE (1) Guest. Valid only on event days. Some events require an additional admission charge. There are no events on certain days. Days and hours of operation of concessions, venues and attractions vary. Visit www.espnwwos.com for more information.
• Splitsville Luxury Lanes
  Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of bowling; receive 10% off the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages (dine-in only); and receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Splitsville Luxury Lanes at Downtown Disney West Side. Blockout dates for bowling and food and non-alcoholic beverages are: December 20, 2015 - January 4, 2016.
• Sammy Duvall’s Water Sports
  Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of all activities, including parasailing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, tubing trips and personal watercraft rentals at Sammy Duvall’s Water Sports Centre at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Restrictions apply. Excludes merchandise. Subject to availability. For reservations call (407) 939-0754. Guests younger than age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call. Due to capacity limitations, occasionally it may not be possible to accommodate Guests at the time they choose to visit.

Places to Eat

• House of Blues
  Receive a 20% discount on the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner at House of Blues at Downtown Disney West Side. Valid for dine-in only. Excludes Quick-Service location. Discount limited to 6 Guests per party. Gratuity not included. Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise, excluding CDs, art, sundries and sale items, at House of Blues at Downtown Disney West Side.
• Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company
  Receive 20% off your entire purchase at Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company at the following locations at Walt Disney World Resort: Magic Kingdom park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park, Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park and Downtown Disney area.
• Planet Hollywood
  Receive 15% off the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages at Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney West Side.
• Portobello Country Italian Trattoria
  Receive a 10% discount on the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner at Portobello Country Italian Trattoria at Downtown Disney Pleasure Island. Offer not valid for merchandise.
• Wolfgang Puck Grand Café
  Receive a 10% discount on the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner at Wolfgang Puck Grand Café at Downtown Disney West Side. Offer not valid for merchandise.

Places to Shop

• LittleMissMatched
  Receive 20% off the non-discounted price of merchandise purchased at LittleMissMatched at Downtown Disney Marketplace.
• Something Silver
  Receive 15% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Something Silver at Downtown Disney West Side.
• Arribas Brothers
  Receive 10% off purchases at the Arribas Brothers stores at Downtown Disney Marketplace, Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot. Excludes glassblowing custom/special orders (torch and furnace work), Herend, Hummel, Liuli, Nao Collection by Lladró, Starlite Collection (Acrylic), Swarovski, Wendt & Kuhn and shipping charges. Some other restrictions apply. Discount may not be combined with any other offer.
• Basin
  Receive 10% off your entire purchase at Basin at Downtown Disney Marketplace or Basin White at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.
• Curl by Sammy Duvall
  Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Curl by Sammy Duvall at Downtown Disney West Side, excluding sale items, watches, sunglasses and electronics.
• Pop Gallery
  Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Pop Gallery at Downtown Disney West Side. Published artists excluded. Not valid toward shipping. Other exclusions may apply.
• The Hairwraps Company
  Receive one charm with a value of $5 with purchase of a hair wrap at select Walt Disney World locations. Excludes pre-made wraps.

 

[doconeill]

Those are all extras you get for booking a package. EMH is an extra you get for staying on-site regardless of package.

Extra Magic Hours DID get added to the travel agent schedule. As mentioned before, there was nothing more than a panic rumor that happens every year.

 

[peg110]

I didn't comment on EMH. I'm not sure they expected people to go early just to shop and eat. EMH was meant to be a draw for guests to stay on-site at the resorts.

But they way you commented (quoting another post about EMH) kind of led me to believe that you were saying EMH was a failure just as Fastpass was. That is why I asked.

But from the business view of Fastpass, the expectation was that instead of waiting in lines, guests would spend more time shopping and eating, and thus seeing a significant jump in revenue from those sources. But it has long been stated that that jump didn't happen. Guests instead went to wait in other lines. From a revenue standpoint, Fastpass was a failure.

While I cannot disagree that Fastpass may have been a failure at getting people to go to the shops or to eat more, I disagree that it's a failure. I think that if something like the Fastpass hadn't been implemented, that, people would leave the parks earlier out of frustration, thus lowering the chances of shopping and eating in the parks.. Let's face it, it's a park, and people go to parks mostly for the entertainment first and then food and shopping. If Disney wants to get more people in the stores and the restaurants I think the only way they are going to do that is to lower prices and/or increase the service (so that you don't wait in line to get your $20.00 burger).

 

[ChipnDale79]

While I cannot disagree that Fastpass may have been a failure at getting people to go to the shops or to eat more, I disagree that it's a failure. I think that if something like the Fastpass hadn't been implemented, that, people would leave the parks earlier out of frustration, thus lowering the chances of shopping and eating in the parks.. Let's face it, it's a park, and people go to parks mostly for the entertainment first and then food and shopping. If Disney wants to get more people in the stores and the restaurants I think the only way they are going to do that is to lower prices and/or increase the service (so that you don't wait in line to get your $20.00 burger).

Id be interesting to know what the average number of attractions before and after fast pass plus per person is. That's not something we'll ever know, but that number is a big determination in if FP+ is a success or failure.

I have no data to back this up, just pure speculation based on post on here and from interaction with others, so I could be wrong, but I'm hearing people are spending more times in line because of FP+. If that's the case, that means people are spending more time in lines and less times in gift shops.

This thread has turned into whats successful and whats not at wdw, so we're talking about a lot more than magic hours now, but for me personally, if they want more money from my wallet at gift shops, they should offer better products.

I have zero problems buying things at wdw, but I will not buy junk. I can't tell you how many t-shirts I've bought that have shrunk rather quickly vs other t shirts from other places. I refuse to buy a t-shirt at WDW because of this. I have 2 must haves for my trip next month, a pin in the shape of a mickey head with the flag from a country in world showcase, and a coffee mug. Other than that, it has to be worth it. Honestly, that's all I bought last year, plus 2 other pins. I walked around with money in my wallet to spend, but I ended up taking it home with me instead of spending it.

 

[HM]

This thread has turned into whats successful and whats not at wdw, so we're talking about a lot more than magic hours now, but for me personally, if they want more money from my wallet at gift shops, they should offer better products.

agree, so much

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Id be interesting to know what the average number of attractions before and after fast pass plus per person is. That's not something we'll ever know, but that number is a big determination in if FP+ is a success or failure.

I have no data to back this up, just pure speculation based on post on here and from interaction with others, so I could be wrong, but I'm hearing people are spending more times in line because of FP+. If that's the case, that means people are spending more time in lines and less times in gift shops.

This thread has turned into whats successful and whats not at wdw, so we're talking about a lot more than magic hours now, but for me personally, if they want more money from my wallet at gift shops, they should offer better products.

I have zero problems buying things at wdw, but I will not buy junk. I can't tell you how many t-shirts I've bought that have shrunk rather quickly vs other t shirts from other places. I refuse to buy a t-shirt at WDW because of this. I have 2 must haves for my trip next month, a pin in the shape of a mickey head with the flag from a country in world showcase, and a coffee mug. Other than that, it has to be worth it. Honestly, that's all I bought last year, plus 2 other pins. I walked around with money in my wallet to spend, but I ended up taking it home with me instead of spending it.

Ive found we have to be careful with the tshirts now. The thicker Hanes ones are still good but the thin ones are just bad quality.

The other issue we find is that there just isn't a variety anymore. Everything is the same in every shop and it's Disney Parks and not specific location.

 

[peg110]

I have zero problems buying things at wdw, but I will not buy junk. I can't tell you how many t-shirts I've bought that have shrunk rather quickly vs other t shirts from other places. I refuse to buy a t-shirt at WDW because of this. I have 2 must haves for my trip next month, a pin in the shape of a mickey head with the flag from a country in world showcase, and a coffee mug. Other than that, it has to be worth it. Honestly, that's all I bought last year, plus 2 other pins. I walked around with money in my wallet to spend, but I ended up taking it home with me instead of spending it.

I feel the same way about it. While my kids are willing to accept "Junk" because of the "Impulse" I am more about the long term. I want value for my money. This includes EMH. If I had to pay "Extra" for EMH, I would not do it. (Okay, I know, I am paying extra for it by staying on property... I get it). Fortunately for me, I don't stay on property for the EMH. We have "Other Value" to it.

I cannot get the "Disney" experience, rides, shows, interaction any where but Disney. Gifts, trinkets, and certainly a plethora of food (often better quality and cheaper) can certainly be gotten elsewhere. So, much like you, while I have the money to spend, if I don't find a value in spending it there, then it stays in my wallet.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Ive found we have to be careful with the tshirts now. The thicker Hanes ones are still good but the thin ones are just bad quality.

The other issue we find is that there just isn't a variety anymore. Everything is the same in every shop and it's Disney Parks and not specific location.

I refuse to buy anything that says "Disney Parks" on it, I can not stand that. It's penny pinching in the most stupid way by DIS Management. I understand how they can turn out more of a product for cheaper that says "Disney Parks" vs "Walt Disney World" or "Disneyland", but how much are they really saving here? It's beyond stupid in my book.

I want something that's not generic, I want something that says Walt Disney World on it, or the resort I'm staying at.

We used to buy a Christmas Ornament from the resort we stayed at, that's changed as well too.

Again, I've budgeted the money for these types of things, and I can't tell you how many times I've went home with budgeted money in my pocket because I couldnt find something decent.

 

[maltdizzy]

While I cannot disagree that Fastpass may have been a failure at getting people to go to the shops or to eat more, I disagree that it's a failure. I think that if something like the Fastpass hadn't been implemented, that, people would leave the parks earlier out of frustration, thus lowering the chances of shopping and eating in the parks....

But Fastpass have always resulted in longer Stand-By lines for the same attractions. It's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" concept. What FP did was provide a placebo effect for customer satisfaction, "well, at least I didn't have to wait for..." If you could removed FP altogether for a ride, you'll probably notice a >25% drop in Stand-By wait times. Shopping-/dining-wise, for Disney, that might as well mean to for every consumer who gets through on FP, there are three more that are side-tracked.

I doubt Disney would ever drop EHM cold turkey. Or even phase them out altogether. I could see them being a big appeal in slower seasons, much like they've used Free Dining. And maybe dropping EMH from peak seasons would spread crowds out throughout the year, which seems to be a Disney goal.

Hanes "Beefy" tees are perceived as for out-of shape middle-age guys (like me). Thin t-shirts that shrink are in fashion these days. Both because Millennials often have the bodies to wear tight shirts and because sites like Threadless have created an ephemeral nature of t-shirts, where they should be discarded before the joke/message gets old or you are seen wearing the same shirt too often.

 

[judytudy]

I'm so glad this was just another nasty rumor!