Agree to Disagree! DISUnplugged Show March 22!

[Andrew Collier]

Life isn't fair peeps, we don't all get a participation trophy in life (one of my new favorite Kevin quotes!!)

I feel like your post is sort of indicative of this growing issue with class we are having in America (and I don't think you are American, but you make the example well.) Without getting political, a lot of the conversation has become around "well, I've got mine, and too bad if you can't have that experience." Which seems to be the opposite of what you think of when you think Disney. Which, like Steve and Theresa said on the podcast, is sad.

 

[Princess Jes]

I feel like your post is sort of indicative of this growing issue with class we are having in America (and I don't think you are American, but you make the example well.) Without getting political, a lot of the conversation has become around "well, I've got mine, and too bad if you can't have that experience." Which seems to be the opposite of what you think of when you think Disney. Which, like Steve and Theresa said on the podcast, is sad.

I'm not sure I agree with that.
As Kevin or Pete (I think) said to Teresa, do you want to live in a communist society where everyone gets the same thing?
I don't!
The fact is, it IS too bad. I don't think everyone should have to foot the bill because some people can't afford something.
I'm far from well off, I earn a reasonable wage for an Aussie, but not a great one, and nor does my husband. We choose how to spend our money, and we can't have the name brand clothes or go out for dinner multiple times a week, but that's life.
And it arguably costs a crapload more for me to visit Disney than it does for most Americans.
Disney isn't a right, it's a privilege.

 

[DisneyKevin]

a lot of the conversation has become around "well, I've got mine, and too bad if you can't have that experience."

Again...I don't understand this.

No one is losing an experience or being told that they can't experience something being offered. Every admission continues to offer fireworks, parades , shows etc. And they are being offered in the same way they were offered from the very beginning in October 1971.

If you were to purchase tickets to any live event, concert, sporting event etc, there will be higher priced seats with a better view offered to this that wish to purchase them.

This model has been around since he beginning. Hotels, cruise ships, airplanes, concerts...all offer the pay more/get more option.

Nothing has really been taken away.

 

[KingLlama]

Disney isn't a right, it's a privilege.

I have it on good authority that this will be the 2017 marketing campaign for Disney Parks.

 

[Boski]

I think a lot of this outrage is because this is just another straw that is being placed on the camel's back. A lot of people on this board and other sites have commented over the past few years about the decline of the parks. Everything from CM training, CM pay, Towel Animals, EMH being cut, price increases, special priced events, etc. Many see this as yet another attempt by Disney to squeeze more money out of people while offering a lesser product than they have over the years.

 

[Boski]

I have it on good authority that this will be the 2017 marketing campaign for Disney Parks.

 

[Princess Jes]

I have it on good authority that this will be the 2017 marketing campaign for Disney Parks.

If I wasn't a married woman Llama-Sama, I'd say "I love you"
But I am... So too bad!!

I think a lot of this outrage is because this is just another straw that is being placed on the camel's back. A lot of people on this board and other sites have commented over the past few years about the decline of the parks. Everything from CM training, CM pay, Towel Animals, EMH being cut, price increases, special priced events, etc. Many see this as yet another attempt by Disney to squeeze more money out of people while offering a lesser product than they have over the years.

The alternative was that the park would have just been closed though, so how does this affect those who don't want to pay the $149 for it?

 

[Boski]

The alternative was that the park would have just been closed though, so how does this affect those who don't want to pay the $149 for it?

Its a good point but I could argue that they are letting these guest in at 7pm. So those who have purchased a normal priced ticket are going to experience a fuller park because these guest can enter while they are still in there.

But I think the theory is that this is a test to see how popular this is and if Disney can continue to cut back on EMH (which they have done year after year all while increasing price and resort fees and cutting CM's hours and pay) and make people pay for them.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

So, to add on to it....just saw the news that they will now be offering "Early Morning Magic." $69 for adults and $49 for kids...7:45am entry to MK - access to certain Fantasyland attractions - continental breakfast at Pinocchio's.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I think a lot of this outrage is because this is just another straw that is being placed on the camel's back. A lot of people on this board and other sites have commented over the past few years about the decline of the parks. Everything from CM training, CM pay, Towel Animals, EMH being cut, price increases, special priced events, etc. Many see this as yet another attempt by Disney to squeeze more money out of people while offering a lesser product than they have over the years.

Consumers speak loudest with their wallets.

Until Disney feels a financial hit....things will continue in this manner. Disney needs to make money.

I think if you went back several years, you would find that the Podcast team discussed Disney's figuring out a way to sell two tickets a day.

I believe this conversation took place around the time of the Pirates and Princess' party.

With The Pirate party, the Halloween Party and the Christmas party...there were a couple of months of double dipping on tickets.

 

[kbelle8995]

When people start describing Disney as a luxury, I start hearing Thurston Howell III from Gilligan's island.

Look I admit when they had the Halloween party, the Pirate party and the christmas party, I was one of the ones complaining. My complaint at the time that the AP discount was not much to tempt me to go and maybe AP holder should get a deeper discount. I didn't go to any of these by the way and still haven't.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Again...I don't understand this.

No one is losing an experience or being told that they can't experience something being offered. Every admission continues to offer fireworks, parades , shows etc. And they are being offered in the same way they were offered from the very beginning in October 1971.

If you were to purchase tickets to any live event, concert, sporting event etc, there will be higher priced seats with a better view offered to this that wish to purchase them.

This model has been around since he beginning. Hotels, cruise ships, airplanes, concerts...all offer the pay more/get more option.

Nothing has really been taken away.

First, I fully agree with you Kevin in this and your other post ... Disney is a business and they would not be doing their job properly if they didn't find ways to exploit what some guests are will to pay for extra experiences.

But to your last line about nothing being taken away, it seems like with some of the recent items some things are being taken away:

- Removable of FP+ for parades, etc: Yes you can still see the parade, but this was a positive for some people and not having this lessens their experience
- Extra morning hours in Fantasyland: Previously you could do rope drop and get to Fantasyland before lines built. Now there will already be people there that paid extra to be in there early

These are small things but for some people lessen their experience and I can understand why it's making them less excited for upcoming trips or feeling that some of the "magic" is being removed. Again, this isn't unfair, but I can understand why people are feeling more negative about visiting the parks

 

[amberg93]

The fastpass areas are relatively new, maybe 2-2.5 years I think?
People waited on the curb for two+ hours before that...

As it happens, I've been five times. All my trips? 2012 to 2015. My second trip, Oct 2013 has fastpass plus testing and I was able to use the FP viewing area for Wishes. Every time since then we've used either a parade FP or fireworks FP. We are part of a group that has had this be part of our Disney experience and we can't be the only ones. For us, those viewing locations were a great useage of our FPs, so to take something that was free and start charging for it instead (possibly) or to just eliminate it entirely (which, let's be real, makes no logical sense with what they built) leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Consumers speak loudest with their wallets.

Agreed, that's why we cancelled our Christmas trip. Will it make a huge difference if it's just us? No, but we'll get the personal satisfaction of knowing we aren't paying the premium costs for everything. Sure, we'll end up going back, but probably in a cheaper time frame and we definitely won't do the add ons we were planning to.

When people start describing Disney as a luxury, I start hearing Thurston Howell III from Gilligan's island.

Look I admit when they had the Halloween party, the Pirate party and the christmas party, I was one of the ones complaining. My complaint at the time that the AP discount was not much to tempt me to go and maybe AP holder should get a deeper discount. I didn't go to any of these by the way and still haven't.

Disney is a luxury, but it shouldn't be a huge one if you don't want it to be. The original plan was for Disney to be a place where families could go together and enjoy themselves. It feels like the new idea is to price a lot of families out, or to make one time visitors out of them and I'm not okay with that. Adults without kids are obviously welcome (I'm one of them) but let me tell you, seeing my cousins faces as they took in the magic was really special and the more kids that can experience that magic, the better.

 

[pontikes67]

Here's the real deal. The TRUTH as in every discussion is in the MIDDLE!

In 2011 we brought my kids and inlaws to Disney for their first trip. On that trip I did HDDR for the first time, I bought the Category 1 seating, and because of my amazing aura AND my awesome seat location, I ended up in the show as Davy's Angel. Best Angel ever? Possibly. We paid for that experience and it gave us a better location and ultimately a chance to be a part of the show, but while the seat location was paid for, being apart of the show was completely random and "magic" (also a great photo opportunity that left my children questioning Daddy's judgement). It was the combination of things that made it magical.

When we dined at CRT (again something we PAID for), my daughter was Princess of the Day...it just happened that we arrived first (we had NO idea). It was one of those MAGICAL moments, like being chosen as Family of the Day (which hasn't happened for us yet). Again, part 'pay', part 'magic'.

It would seem the concern (and as noted by another poster - we're SPECULATING)...that the evolution of things like 'upcharging for everything' and the speculation that the 'random' selection of Family of the Day or Princess of the Day or even trying to compare to my portrayal of Davy's Angel will slowly erode to "For just $39.99 your Daughter can be Princess of the Day" or "$159.99 Family of the Day packages"...I realize that they're not going to make big bucks should that actually happen, but the thought of those who find it 'magical' (and we did find that moment of Princess of the Day totally magical) that fun random 'anyone can win' kind of magic might erode into... let's say... Jack Frost taking over the North Pole in Santa Clause 3, The Escape Clause (yeah, I went there...further proof I'm a DisNerd) where EVERYTHING can be bought for a price including the Nice List...is going to ruin the 'magic'.

So I guess, as long as 'pay to play' doesn't interfere with random 'magic'. The MIDDLE is where we'll find agreement.

Personally, we have no current Disney plans; I just like kicking this stuff around. I could never have this discussion with my non-Disney friends.

Incidentally, this is FREE - Kathy and Steve are Periscoping at Lights, Motors, Action!

 

[Boski]

Consumers speak loudest with their wallets.

Until Disney feels a financial hit....things will continue in this manner. Disney needs to make money.

I think if you went back several years, you would find that the Podcast team discussed Disney's figuring out a way to sell two tickets a day.

I believe this conversation took place around the time of the Pirates and Princess' party.

With The Pirate party, the Halloween Party and the Christmas party...there were a couple of months of double dipping on tickets.

I don't disagree with the point that Disney needs to make money, they are a business, I get it. I also hope they start taking a financial hit and that these complaints start reaching the higher ups in a hope that they make changes to counter act it.

 

[SarahDisney]

1. You're all enraged and sad about something that HASNT EVEN HAPPENED YET. They haven't taken away your PM EMH, this is separate to that. Y'all are stressed and worried about something that might not even happen.

This is very true, but I don't think that just because something hasn't happened yet, that means we can't discuss how we would feel if it did happen. Personally, I sometimes need a place to vent about my fears for the future. I know it doesn't help, but when I see something that looks like it's going in a direction I don't like, I might complain about it. I hope I'm wrong ... but I don't mind being on the record as worrying about nothing. It makes me feel better than not worrying about something.
Maybe in 5 years we'll all look back at this during our nighttime EMH at Magic Kingdom and wonder what we were thinking. But maybe we won't. We really don't know.

2. DLPark only has magic mornings a few times a week. I know that's not how WDW works and y'all are pissy that something is being taken away from you, but who's to say that IF this "replaces" PM EMH, that they won't offer 2 hours of AM EMH?

Have you ever been to Disneyland?
Please don't compare DL and WDW. It's comparing apples and oranges. Totally different parks, different demographics, different attendance. Just because something works at DL, doesn't mean the same system will work at WDW (and vice versa).
And as for additional morning EMH at WDW ... that serves a slightly different crowd than nighttime EMH. Personally, that "hurts" me in two ways - not only am I losing my late nights at MK (which is really one of my favorite things about visiting WDW), but I'm also now losing a late night somewhere else, since I have to go to bed pretty early if I want to be up for 7 AM entry into MK. I know some others may prefer more morning EMH, but I know that for me it doesn't work. (Not that my sleeping habits should affect Disney decisions, I'm just sharing how I personally would be impacted/feel about a change like that)

 

[Boski]

And now we have Early Morning Magic - Fantasy Land...................................................................

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Please don't compare DL and WDW. It's comparing apples and oranges. Totally different parks, different demographics, different attendance. Just because something works at DL, doesn't mean the same system will work at WDW (and vice versa)

I couldn't agree with this more. Great point!

 

[aspen37]

I'm feeling like the magic is slowly being sucked out of WDW.
Everyday lately it seems like there is a new way for Disney to make another buck.
If they tried this stuff at DL there would be a revolt.

I use to go to WDW 5 times a year. Last year it was 2 times. This year I'm not going. My dollars are starting to go further in Europe than at WDW.
So, I am speaking with my wallet and won't be going to WDW for a while. Now I will probably be going to DL where things are still simpler.

 

[k5jm]

Heck ya! I am all for 2 hours of EMH in the mornings! That would be the best thing EVER!! I could get all of my rides in and be sipping coffee on Main Street when the masses arrive.

**DISNEY - WHEN YOU READ THIS, TAKE THIS AS MY VOTE FOR 2 HOURS OF EXTRA EARLY EMH (now to be known as EEEMH) AT MK, EPCOT, DHS, and AK!!!!**