AP Park Hopping Could Soon Be No More??

[iKristin]

I was just reading this article and it kind of makes me nervous since I'm a Deluxe pass holder myself...I can see taking the park hopping option away from the SoCal passes but not from the Deluxe. That will cause a lot of people to drop their passes I think. I know that I would not want to pay over $300 for a Deluxe pass if it was for Disneyland only.

http://www.screamscape.com/html/disneyland_resort.htm#General

 

[Sherry E]

I have a Premium right now, but I can envision the Premium prices skyrocketing even more than they usually do just to compensate for the dreaded "park hopping problem." That is, IF this change happens, of course.

What irritates me is that Disneyland Resort/TDA itself creates these problems by making AP's so available in the first place - and I'm not saying this is a bad thing, nor am I launching a 'bash the AP holders' speech. There is too much AP-bashing and locals-bashing as it is! It's a great thing that AP's are so readily available to people of all sorts of different geographic locations and income levels. But DLR creates this problem, and then they try fixing it (IF this change happens, that is) in a way that will be very annoying and controversial, and in a way that basically punishes the people (Deluxe and SoCal AP holders) who took advantage of the great deals DLR has been offering (payment plans, low cost/low level AP's, etc.).

Sigh. I wish that DLR could sometimes leave well enough alone, but I guess that will never happen. And because I love DLR so much and am permanently attached to it, I will keep buying whatever they dish out, I suppose.

 

[idkmybffminnie]

I'm just about to get my first AP and now this! I'll enjoy it while I can.

 

[iKristin]

I just think that they shouldn't do the monthly payment option...It's a nice feature but would be even better without it. Less AP's the better lol

 

[FlameGirl]

This will be interesting to see how they deal with this.

Personally, there is a line between price and service received where if Disney keep increasing the price and deducting from what you get from paying it, that we could potentially see throwing in the towel and finding other places to vacation. We like to go for 10 days so a Deluxe AP makes sense for us. If it ever did come to charging our CC on file every time we decided to hop, that would be when we would have to break up with Disneyland.

 

[skiingfast]

Screamscape reports news and rumors. This didn't just happen so it's only a rumor.

It has a big flaw in the article too. They might tack a high premium onto the one day PH. It's already 30% more. That is a high premium.

 

[pixiemomof3]

I am buying deluxe ap's next year for us. Is this something that is true or not true? If it is when will it be happening?? I don't like the sound of this

 

[sonnyjane]

I am buying deluxe ap's next year for us. Is this something that is true or not true? If it is when will it be happening?? I don't like the sound of this

This is rumor as of now, and not only is it just a rumor, but it is a rumor of something that is being discussed as one of many possibilities, not even a rumor saying it will happen for sure. Please do not work yourself up over it. Stay around the boards and if anything DOES happen in the next couple of years, you'll read about it here before making your purchase.

 

[iKristin]

Yeah don't come to conclusions that it's a for sure, we know how rumors go It could easily be an idea that's being tossed around and they will likely (if they're smart) not even go through with it.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I don't understand why they don't just get rid of the So Cal annual passes? It seems like this article says (and I have read in many other places) that increased crowds are due to local residents who have the So Cal passes.

They could just have two tiers of passes--Deluxe and Premium, and see how that goes first. I have many relatives in southern California who have the So Cal passes just because they are so affordable and they can go whenever they want (and when their date isn't blocked). They can go in for fireworks, ride a few rides and then go home. If they had to pay the Deluxe price, then that would probably elimate many locals from buying a pass--because it is a bigger commitment.

But even with this said, I went in June and July (June dates were unblocked for So Cal passes) and the crowds were really bad both times. The June dates were much more crowded--but July was up there too. This is not the Disneyland I knew even 4 years ago. Things have changed crowd-wise in the past few years drastically, making a visit very challenging. We have gone every summer and almost every spring for the last 10 years, and I notice a big difference in the crowd levels from the last few years.

 

[FlameGirl]

Or, why don't they limit the number of SoCal passes that they sell by holding a lottery?

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Can anyone explain why park hopping is a problem?

It seems to me that if park hopping is no longer cost effective, you will have more crowding in DL. I don't see Disney putting $1 Billion into CA and then making it more likely that guest will not visit that park! -- Suzanne

 

[TeddiBarra]

What irritates me is that Disneyland Resort/TDA itself creates these problems by making AP's so available in the first place - and I'm not saying this is a bad thing, nor am I launching a 'bash the AP holders' speech. There is too much AP-bashing and locals-bashing as it is!

In 100% agreement here. Some soluations:

I really think they should erradicate the so-cal select level completely.
Probably should price increase or split the other socal pass- something like:
1 park per day pass - same relative cost and block out dates as the so cal pass has right now.
Hopper So Cal pass- increase the price to maybe only $50 less than the DAPs.

MOVE TO the 3-6 days multiuse tickets that do NOT have the "14 days from first use" rule- whether restricted to so cal zip codes (or maybe not!)
but restrict those so they are the kind only available thru Disneyland directly (so they can have names printed on them)
Or a make those "tickets" in "AP Pass" FORM- ie a card like a pass, but with "3-6 admissions" on it. Could do a high maker up on 1 day 1 park vs Hopper options.

I think gutting the AP's is not a good option. But I think you should lure folks to other options- to avoid the "Friday night" issues and/or try to keep an accurate body count per park.

 

[TeddiBarra]

I don't understand why they don't just get rid of the So Cal annual passes? It seems like this article says (and I have read in many other places) that increased crowds are due to local residents who have the So Cal passes.

Disney doesn't want them to NOT come, though. They just want to control or manipulate (and I don't use those words in a derogatory way at all) their habits. They NEED and want those locals in the park, spending on parking, souveniers and (mostly) food. They keep DTD thriving, they are more self reliant and use less guest services as well.

 

[ScooterL]

Interesting...I just did a Disneyland Resort survey and one of the things it asked about was crowd levels, and whether the quality of my visit was affected because of crowd conditions. So apparently they are looking at that aspect.

Though from what I've read here, crowds have been really bad lately - and that's during a time when the So Cal-type APs are blocked out, so you can't blame it on them.

 

[TeddiBarra]

Can anyone explain why park hopping is a problem?

It seems to me that if park hopping is no longer cost effective, you will have more crowding in DL. I don't see Disney putting $1 Billion into CA and then making it more likely that guest will not visit that park! -- Suzanne

Crowd control! Pure and simple. It's logistics.
For every attraction they add, the max # of people in the park increases. For instance, adding toontown and adding Carsland actually allows them to go to the fire marshall and get a new max # for each park.

Now consider the draw of WOC (last year maybe, not sure this is so much of an issue, so that's one point i disagree with the author of this article about)- which draws thousands of ppl potentially back into DCA from DL. They have to be able to manage the foot traffic, the food (where will those thousands of dinner meals now be served), and stay within their max capacity. They are rightly worried about crowd management after Carsland.

Remember they just introduced the multiday 1 park per day tickets (not surprisingly they did this a year ahead of Carsland, which gives them time to see how many # utilize that instead of hopping). I'm sure they are watching those ticket sales very closely- to see if ppl are willing to save a few bucks per ticket as a tradeoff to not hop.

I think taking hopping off the table completely is a big big mistake, or even severely restricting it. Making the Socall Passes be 1 park per day, and telling them they can "add" the hopper option for a flat fee of $50 or steering the so call passes toward mutilday tickets (without the 14 day fuse) could be other options. They also did a 3 day ticket for So Cals this year that has a longer "fuse" (i think it's 45 days?)

 

[TeddiBarra]

Things have changed crowd-wise in the past few years drastically, making a visit very challenging.

Yes. For a few reasons this has happened.

Biggest reason, IMO: Free Birthday promo from 2009 and GADGAD promo. Many people became first time AP holders using the free $70ish bucks toward reducing the cost of an AP. Consider the So Cal APs- the upgrade charge was less than $100 out of pocket.

New rides: Nemo, TSMM, TLM, SW, WOC. All major and cool new things, so the parks continue to new things people want to come and see.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

This doesn't even make logical sense. Park hopping is to Disney's ADVANTAGE because it relieves the crowd in Disneyland. A major part of DCA was to draw people away from Dland and split their time between the two parks. Obviously that didn't work well when DCA opened and was such a flop, but ideally that's still the goal (Cars Land, for example). Park hopping eases overcrowding. Make the second gate as awesome and appealing as possible and pull people out of Dland in droves, while still keeping them in the resort.

Every person in DCA is one fewer person in Dland. If the point is to ease overcrowding without losing revenue, the best plan of action is to get as many people as possible out of one park and into the other. Restricting park hopping to only those with more expensive APs does the complete opposite.

Disney makes their money on food and merchandise, not ticket prices. Once you're in the resort, it doesn't matter which park you eat at or which park you buy souvenirs from, it's all resort money. Splitting the crowd between two parks rather than one is a win-win for everyone. Restricting APs to one park a day doesn't even make sense.

 

[TeddiBarra]

A major part of DCA was to draw people away from Dland and split their time between the two parks.

I disagree. DCA wasn't built for crowd relief or Disneyland overflow. It was built to make alot of money for Disney Parks & Resorts. It was built to increase crowds, to increase daily attendance. It was built to make Disneyland into the Disneyland Resort- the premier multiday resort in Southern California. George Kalogridis (president of DL) reiterated this in his speech for the opening of TLM ride.

Because DCA failed to draw MORE people, they decided to re-theme and fix their ****oos.

Disney is looking to walk a fine line- having a max capacity that allows them to still retain: a) ability to maintain their superior product and b) keep people happy with their visits to keep them coming back. Having the park at capacity everyday actually isn't what they want. Nor are light crowds.

 

[Mugglemama]

I hope this turns out to be an idea that fizzles out...we're supposed to be buying AP's next year. If they were to eliminate the hopping option on the AP's, there's NO WAY I'd fork out the money to buy them (we'd be buying them for 5 people, so that's about 2K).

I wish things at DLR were a little more predictable. You know, at other amusement parks (Six Flags, Knott's, etc.), you can always kind of predict what to expect, money-wise. This is true of every other entertainment venue I can think of as well...Sea World, water parks..heck, even the movies! With DLR, it's like..."Oh, let's plan a Disney trip for next year - but wait, let's see...prices will probably hike up two more times before then, and...um...hmm, one year it was only $5 per ticket, but this year it was $25 per ticket...etc., etc, what should we expect?" And now we might not even be able to PH if we shell out all that money for AP's? It's becoming impossible to plan effectively more than a couple of months in advance (and don't EVEN get me started on ride-closures and the fact that we usually have to find out about them on the DIS long before DLR ever posts any solid information). And quite frankly, with the recent changes (like having to deal with drunk people meandering around DCA...encountering people smoking pot in the walkways...dealing with trashy people who make out in ride queues, etc.), DLR definitely did NOT feel like a "superior product" to me on our last visit. (We have been going for years and years, and at one point we held AP's and were in the parks every week for 2 years during non-blackout times - and the aforementioned unpleasantness was something we NEVER saw in the parks until last Summer). The same issues exist to some degree in parks like Six Flags, but the difference is, I only fork out 1/3 of the money to go to those places, AND I don't have travel as far to get to one of those parks as I do to get to a Disney park.

I love going to DLR (or at least, I *have* loved it for many years), but seriously...am I the only one who thinks it's beginning to turn into too much of a PITA to deal with??? I like going there, yes...but I'm not so addicted to it that I will adhere to any and all nonsense that Disney throws at consumers just to be able to go. It's a big country, and there are a LOT of other places to go (that are cheaper AND far easier to travel to, and plan for).

Sigh.