Another example of “pay more, get less”..water park hours reduced

[nicko]

I just noticed that July water park hours have been reduced to 10-7 PM for July. Earlier this year, the online summer water park hours were showing 9 – 8 PM so this is a recent explicit reduction.

I travel to WDW every year in July and the water parks were always open 9-8PM. Is it a big deal? Yes to me it is. It’s very hot and busy in July. Living in a cold and snowy climate, for me the highlight of my family's trip is time spent at the water parks, especially at opening when the slides are not busy. Now that opening has been pushed to 10 AM, the quite period will be reduced. I pay more and get less value.

This change, coupled with all the other recent cutbacks (during a period of record profits and attendance) have finally pushed me to declare our upcoming trip to be our final vacation to WDW.

I have been a loyal WDW visitor since 1990. A trip to WDW has never been inexpensive, but I always felt that Disney gave me value for my money. Recently, it’s all about cuts and how to extract more money from visitors. I guess it’s time to discover the rest of this country. Will I be back? Probably at some point, perhaps when Star Wars land opens. That could be a while given Disney’s recent track of taking an exceedingly long time to finish any park additions (shops excluded of course).

 

[Ninja Mom]

Welcome to the new era at Disney parks, especially at Walt Disney World but coming very soon to Disneyland. I'm calling it the "Pay more, get less, Disney death spiral". The emphasis in this new era is no longer on the guest experience but rather it's all about how much money Disney can extract from a guest's wallet.

With it's reputation of already being an overpriced vacation, after enough people experience this new era they won't be back and they'll be sure to warn their friends and family about how much the Disney experience has gone down hill.

~NM

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm sorry, that's disappointing especially since it is such an important part of your family's trips. Everyone has a different breaking point where it may not feel like a good value anymore.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Welcome to the new era at Disney parks, especially at Walt Disney World but coming very soon to Disneyland. I'm calling it the "Pay more, get less, Disney death spiral". The emphasis in this new era is no longer on the guest experience but rather it's all about how much money Disney can extract from a guest's wallet.

With it's reputation of already being an overpriced vacation, after enough people experience this new era they won't be back and they'll be sure to warn their friends and family about how much the Disney experience has gone down hill.

~NM

Sounds like it's already happening at DL too

http://micechat.com/122782-disneyland-cutbacks/

 

[msdroz]

This change, coupled with all the other recent cutbacks (during a period of record profits and attendance) have finally pushed me to declare our upcoming trip to be our final vacation to WDW.

Will I be back? Probably at some point, perhaps when Star Wars land opens.

So does that mean this isn't your last trip? Not trying to be a jerk but there are a lot of people complaining on this site but like you said, there are plenty of other vacation options, both domestic and international for the price of a Disney trip!

 

[asbyrneva]

You're still 3 months out. They tend to update water park hours just like they update other park hours. Yes it may still close at that time but my money is that they update. I'd watch as the get closer to memorial day etc and finish hiring all the summer staff.

 

[ArwenMarie]

You're still 3 months out. They tend to update water park hours just like they update other park hours. Yes it may still close at that time but my money is that they update. I'd watch as the get closer to memorial day etc and finish hiring all the summer staff.

When we go at the end of August each year they are usually 10 am. So the fact they moved the rest of the summer to 10 am seems deliberate IMO

 

[DOOM1001]

Its a pretty big deal as during peak water park season many visitors come early,stay for a couple of hours or into the mid afternoon and by 5pm or so you start seeing the crowds decrease giving you lower wait times for the slides.So if you shorten the opening and closing hours you're going to end up with more crowds at all times.Disney is going all out in an attempt to cut back their costs and finding ways to suck every penny from guest.Obviously they're going to find people to spend $150 for that after hours event or spend $35 to park a couple hundred feet closer but at least when I see things like that it makes me tighten up my wallet and think about how much or what I spend my money on.Universal just raised the price of their AP's but at least there you see 2-3 new rides pop up every year,they're opening up a new water park next year and amazing new hotels are getting built,it makes you want to give them your money,even if they're going from being a relatively cheap option to another expensive one.I hear people claim this money grab by Disney is due to their new Shanghai Disneyland going way over cost so they have to save as much as they can and make as they can at their other parks to cover it,if this is true I'm not digging it!!

 

[pa. dad]

There will be a lot more people at a 10am opening than a 9 am opening so more people scrambling to get a good spot and more people trying to get a locker.
What hours are the Sea World and WetNWild waterparks open? I've been to the WetNWild park and there's lots of fun things to do there also. I know this is their last year and it will be replaced by the new Universal one next year. I do like the Disney waterparks but the only way that Disney will offer more is if people go to their competitors if the competitors offer the better deal.

It will be interesting to see how Disney reacts to the new Universal water park. We don't know a lot of details other than a big volcano but I'd bet that Disney knows a lot more. Disney really hasn't made a lot of improvements or new rides in their water parks in years. If they see the people leaving their hotels to go to the competitors waterpark, I'd bet that they'll react then.

 

[nicko]

The move to 10 AM to 7 PM is absolutely deliberate. As an uber planner, I start filling in my Excel sheet of park hours in January (for a July trip). I then periodically update my Excel sheet monthly as park hours get finalized. I had captured 9-8PM for both water parks. Recently they were dialed down to 10-7PM. Every year going back 3 years, the water parks were always at 9-8PM. The hours of operation did not fluctuate.


As the person at work who is known as the "go to Guy" for Disney World vacation planning, I have enthusiastically encouraged and advised dozens of families over the years to visit Disneyworld. I don’t do that anymore. Now when someone at work tells me they are considering going to DisneyWorld my reaction is "Hey that’s great. I hope you have a good time." and I end the conversation.

 

[capegirl]

Considering that you can pretty much count on an afternoon downpour in the summer months, a reduction in water park hours is very disappointing, and no longer worth the added cost. Another loss.

 

[kelleybean]

This one is a problem for us too! We don't do regular AP's (priced us out long ago) but the water park AP's are actually a pretty decent deal. We go right at 9:00, hit all the slides we want with reasonable waits, then do the lazy river or wave pool when it gets more crowded and head out by 11:30. If we are at Blizzard Beach, then we go eat at AoA's food court. This strategy works for us really well on even busy days like 4th of July. If they start opening at 10:00, this significantly diminishes the value for us because there are a lot more people at a 10:00 opening vs. 9:00. We had been on the fence about renewing our water park AP's, this change would definitely have us not renewing.

 

[McKelly]

I understand your disappointment......the waterparks are big draw for us too - especially with teens. We love the 9am openings. Hopefully they will change the hours as summer approaches.

 

[Laz]

I have not been back to WDW since they started FP+. I have been getting my Disney fix at DLR. After hearing about all the budget cuts, I may not return for quite a while. Having said that, I wonder if WDW and DLR are less concerned about past guests, and instead are focused on first time and newer guests? If your family has never been to either (esp. WDW) resorts, They have no basis to compare during their first visit. To these newer visitors, it could feel like a true magical experience.

 

[aretha30]

This is the first year we have added the WP and more to our hoppers. This has me rethinking that move. We had planned to hit the WP's at 9 and stay until 12 or so, this way we avoided the crowds. This reduction in hours really puts a ding in our plans. Hopefully we can still get a few hours or relative quiet before the massive crowds hit.

 

[lovethattink]

I'm local and I know many PAP who have renewed with a Platinum Pass instead of a Premium Platinum. Wonder if locals dropping the water parks has any bearing on water park hours?

 

[jerseygal]

This one is a problem for us too! We don't do regular AP's (priced us out long ago) but the water park AP's are actually a pretty decent deal. We go right at 9:00, hit all the slides we want with reasonable waits, then do the lazy river or wave pool when it gets more crowded and head out by 11:30. If we are at Blizzard Beach, then we go eat at AoA's food court. This strategy works for us really well on even busy days like 4th of July. If they start opening at 10:00, this significantly diminishes the value for us because there are a lot more people at a 10:00 opening vs. 9:00. We had been on the fence about renewing our water park AP's, this change would definitely have us not renewing.

Noticed that the hours were 10-5 when I looked for May, wow! Hey, I like your idea of AoA food court...never been to AoA, assume that you have to drive there? Is AoA food court much better food options that at BB? THANKS!

 

[lovethattink]

Noticed that the hours were 10-5 when I looked for May, wow! Hey, I like your idea of AoA food court...never been to AoA, assume that you have to drive there? Is AoA food court much better food options that at BB? THANKS!

You can hop on an AoA bus from BB, assuming you used Disney transportation to get to BB. Otherwise, yes, you can drive to AoA. I love the Surf and Surf burger.

 

[Mikie]

I know a lot of people think "it's only one hour on each side" or "I don't do the water parks anyway, so no bother to me". However, we don't do water parks and I still try to follow news like this. If fewer people go to the water parks, where will they be instead? At whatever park I was hoping to catch low crowds. These changes affect everyone, even when we may think they don't because of our touring patterns. Disappointing.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

So many of the recent changes and reductions seem to be sending Disney in the same direction as all of the other theme parks.

Many other theme parks across the country reduced hours many years ago. That translates to this: the only time they are open is when they are packed. We have stopped going to those parks. Disney always seems special specifically because it has extended hours for those of us who believe the first and last hours in the park are the most magical times to be there.

That means the best hours to be there are cut, which means those of us who do everything we can to enjoy the parks with fewer crowds are left with fewer and fewer options.