Will you now buy an extra ticket or go elsewhere?

[KalamityJane]

I have family in Orlando, so more than likely we will not be returning to Disneyland after this trip. We visit my family at least once a year, now it will be cheaper to add our family vacation on to that trip and take it all at once. I am thinking we will probably either go to Universal Orlando and WDW, or to the beaches in FL.

I was able to get our 6 day PH this time through the Gay Days site at the price we paid last year, but with the price hike of $100 over last year, it is just not feasible after this trip. Also, with the prices of hotels rising as well, we can get more bang for our buck renting DVC points in FL than paying for a hotel room in DL.

 

[dvcterry]

We were not happy about the change. The upgrade to deluxe annual pass also didn't work because of all the block out dates, and weren't about to pay the premium. So we bought our park hoppers as our only option

 

[KCmike]

We usually don't do more than five days at the parks. We did add one more day this past summer for like $5 person and we just wanted it to see the 4th of July fireworks one night. When we stay onsite I like to take one day to just "hang out" around the pools and maybe hit the ocean one day. I have to admit though that since we're so far away we usually tie Disneyland into another part of our vacation like Yosemite, San Diego, or somewhere else.

I'm a little late to reading all of this news. Why are they limiting it to five days? Seems strange that they don't want more money? Doesn't sound like good business sense. Don't they want more money to be spent in their hotels, restaurants, etc.?

 

[jory29]

I mentioned your thread in post #178 of this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2980067 (This thread is to raise awareness to let Disney know, by emailing, phoning, etc., how dissatisfied each of us personally is with their new 'maximum on 5-days' Park Hopper Pass policy.)

Thanks for creating this thread, it is helpful for Disney to understand that we have no plans to spend more days in the Parks past the 5-day Park Hopper, nor have any DISboard members planned on upgrading to an AP.

 

[Started With a Mouse]

You might also check out the Ronald Reagan museum and see if they are still hosting the Disney display.http://www.reaganfoundation.org/

We have not been there yest but know others that have and they say it is wonderful.. and personally, after my kids annual passes are up this year.. we are done with Disney. I can not afford the prices anymore....

There are so many things to do in Southern California... Disney might be finding that they cut off their nose to spite their face as my Mom use to say...

The Reagan Library Disney archives display is first rate. Also, you can finish up the day with a drive down to Malibu, and have a sunset dinner. We recommend Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. Very relaxing.

 

[GrandBob]

We have DAPs. We bought the vouchers in June 2011, just before the June 2011 price increase; and we activated them in Nov 2011. So they're valid for our upcoming trip this October.

We were somewhat unhappy with the June 2011 price increase, and very unhappy with the May/June 2012 price increase. I had already determined that we're not renewing the APs. DGD is 9 now, and will be 10 by the time we'd consider another trip next year. We had already determined that she's old enough to do some other vacations with her. We'd like to take her to Washington DC and other historical sites on the east coast. And when she's a little older, say 12 or so, we'll probably take her to Europe. That's not to say that we're never taking her back to DLR; but Disney's policies are moving another DLR trip way down in priority relative to other places we may go.

I'm glad that DLR was a viable place to take her when she was small. I empathize with those of you who still have small kids and want to take them to the Disney magic. Recent turns of events are a real downer.

-Bob

 

[Mugglemama]

We would absolutely not buy an extra ticket just to stay for more than 5 days. Which means we wouldn't go at all, because 5 days isn't really enough time anymore to make a trip to DLR worth it to us. The parks keep getting more crowded, and add to that extra attractions to see in CarsLand (and whatever comes next)....we would need more time to do the things we wanted to do while there.

We bought AP's this year, as well (first time we'd bought them in 9 years - we'd had them before when we lived very close to DLR). And although we *might* try to squeeze one more visit into the parks out of them before they expire (we haven't seen CarsLand yet), we are done with Disney after that for probably a long time. Maybe for good.

We had considered renewing our AP's, but after the last crazy price increase coupled with the overall change in what our DLR experience is now compared to say, a decade ago...for us, that experience isn't worth that much money. If we could still have the kind of DLR experience we used to have, then I would perhaps renew. But every time we go now it just feels more and more crowded with each consecutive visit...guest behavior is nuts at times, which definitely takes away from the "magic" (and my biggest issue with that is that it appears to go largely unchecked by CM's...)...so, when all is said and done, it's just not the experience we're looking for anymore.

Which makes me sad. But I'll get over it. We're going to switch out our DLR trips for different, non-Disney, vacations. We already bought six flags AP's and have been using those....and we're now planning various trips to other parts of the country (many of which have a six flags that we can visit during our travel), and will likely start hitting Universal, as well, when the HP addition comes to CA. My kids have also been asking to go to KBF.

We miss the way DLR used to be....but the changes in the past five or six years have turned it into a destination that doesn't really appeal to us anymore (which is a bummer because we wanted to be lifers, lol!)

I'm still not even sure we're going to go through the trouble and cost to use these AP's again before they expire.....I keep checking the boards for some incentive to go, lol. We'll see.

 

[humboldthny]

We will suck it up and buy 2 extra days....we are traveling from NC and will probably go to DL once every 5 years or so - we go to WDW much more often. I'm not happy about having to add the extra days (why can't it just be for CA residents or something? why punish all of us?) but we will do it grudgingly and not without a few choice words to the CM regarding this policy.

 

[michelleh1]

we'll also go elsewhere instead of buying additional tickets for our extra day while in Anaheim. this is also our last trip for a very long time since DL is more than twice as much as other destinations for us.

 

[FourM's]

We love Disneyland, It's our favorite Disney park. But.... I think that we would spend our extra days at the beach or another theme park. The kids love Disney so we normally don't leave property. Looks like we might visit US or Knotts for our extra days on our trip this June.

 

[HappyHaunt]

5 day tickets have always been enough for us. Usually 4 days is even enough. So it won't be an issue for us. It's still cheaper then Disneyworld only because of the plane tickets for us to fly.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

When the additional days meant that it cost less to just stay at DL then that always won out although I've been wanting to get back to other attractions that I haven't been in years. Now with the price change I feel much better about going to Universal, Knotts or even taking the train down to the Zoo or Sea world.

With HP coming to Universal maybe we'll take advantage of discounted additional days there. Hard to say on that but we won't start increasing the entry cost per day for DL because we would like to stay longer. And AP's are not necessarily the answer because of the blackouts on everything except the Premium so in many cases regular tickets make more sense than going that route.

 

[ducky_love]

We won't be visiting as frequently. We'd gotten back into the habit of going once a year and we'll just find somewhere new to go for a few years. Disneyland Paris doesn't have these ticket restrictions and we've never been. Ironically, we have the option of WDW hoppers at our fingertips but this had just left me with a bad taste. It feels like they don't want people to come from far away.

It is sad. Before this we were hunting for airfare in March to return for a milestone anniversary. (this November is for my DH's bday). DL had become our place to celebrate. Oh well- I'm sure they won't miss us!

 

[mshrm]

Im relieved to read that I'm not the only one that seems to be feeling like they don't really want our business or worse that the parks just feel like this is a great way to squeeze more money out of its guests.
T

 

[MamaChelle]

My family and I are looking at other options, DL isn't one of them. We will take our 5 days and spend our other 5 days elsewhere. We have Legoland (buy one day get one day free), and going to check out the Discovery Cube and then just do some other relaxing things. Our one and only trip a year is to Disneyland and that is our main focus and not offering 6+ day hoppers really bums our trip. We can't afford to spend $100+ a ticket on top of already spending $300 a ticket for our family of 4. Thats just ridiculous. Hopefully they come up with a solution soon that benefits everyone because my family and I would love to spend 6-7 days in the parks.

 

[nyjets53]

This is my first trip back to disneyland in 42 years, wife and the little guy never been there...we are DVC members and go to the world every year and then some...we decided to do to the land this year and are going to be there 10 days, and as DVC members we have gotten into the habit of not rushing anywhere and enjoying everything disney offers...

we are buying an annual pass and this is now forcing us to plan another trip next year to go back and we have already started planning a 2 week trip for next year...

stopping at the grand canyon for a couple of days and driving around cal to see more of the sights we've always wanted to see and then some time at the land again...

if you are staying 8 or 9 days for an extra $180 you buy the pass for each and how much is it going to cost to go see lego land, universal, the zoo per day, knotts berry farm, plus all the extra driving time...and yes it still stinks that i can't add 3 days cheap but we have adapted...

 

[CourtFool]

We will not buy and extra ticket. In fact, we may go somewhere else that can give us added value for a longer stay. If we are going to go through the expense of air fare and hotel, we want a longer vacation.

 

[ValpoCory]

We will suck it up and buy 2 extra days....we are traveling from NC and will probably go to DL once every 5 years or so - we go to WDW much more often. I'm not happy about having to add the extra days (why can't it just be for CA residents or something? why punish all of us?) but we will do it grudgingly and not without a few choice words to the CM regarding this policy.

Before you buy the 2 extra days, be sure to ask to upgrade cheaply several times on different days. You may get some Pixie Dust. If you had no luck, you can buy the new 2 day passes on your way into the park on day 6. Make sure to ask the DLR hotel concierge desk if you are staying onsite. There have been reports of successful cheap upgrades at the hotel this month.

 

[cp11]

That's the question I keep wrestling with! We are going in July for a special graduation trip and our original plan was to stay Sunday to Sunday and get a 7 day park hopper. We are going to stay at DLH for the first time and thought it would be great to have a few days where we hit the parks early and then lounge by the pool or take in a movie in the afternoon. Then back to the park in the evening if we feel so inclined. I was really hoping for that type of a trip. Now we're thinking Sunday thru Friday or Saturday and not hitting the park on Sunday but waiting until Monday; which feel so wrong! But so does shelling out money for 2 1 day PH that would just be for half a day. So I don't know what to do. We really don't want to leave the resort area this time around either. All Disney. All the time is my daugher's request for this trip.

My head spins!

We are also going for our DD's graduation, trip at her request! We tried to talk her into Hawaii!

We are still trying to figure out what to do after this announcement was made. Ugh

 

[Daisybelle]

We are also going for our DD's graduation, trip at her request! We tried to talk her into Hawaii!

We are still trying to figure out what to do after this announcement was made. Ugh

Hopefully all the people emailing and calling will make an impact soon!

And yay for having daughters that still love Disney!