Bye Bye DME?!?!?!?!?!?

[slruud]

Saw a mention of this in an earlier thread. Just got off the phone with WDW making room reservations for January. She said to be prepared for no DME for 2008. She said DME was supposed to be for 50th anniversary(sp) and has to end some time. I have read somewhere on this board that DME was supposed to be extended to 2011, but we will see. She put it at 90% that it will go bye bye. Bummer.

 

[debster812]

Saw a mention of this in an earlier thread. Just got off the phone with WDW making room reservations for January. She said to be prepared for no DME for 2008. She said DME was supposed to be for 50th anniversary(sp) and has to end some time. I have read somewhere on this board that DME was supposed to be extended to 2011, but we will see. She put it at 90% that it will go bye bye. Bummer.

Of course WDW is free to do whatever they want, but they are on record as stating that DME will be around at least until 2011.

CRO CMs are 'almost' as reliable as bus drivers when it comes to the rumor mill.

I suspect that because they are not booking packages yet for 2008, she was unable to add DME to your reservations yet.

 

[bradk]

wow, well she'd know ... :/

i wouldn't count on it. the entire point of DME is to keep the eye on the prize. if it was just for the 50th, did you have her attempt to explain why it went for a year longer? and after the HCOE ended, then they actually went and moved it from side a to side b.

it was initially under a pilot program. disney fought so much flack and did so much work to justify to the airport that it deserved to be there. it's so much money in disney's pocket.

the airport did lock them in until 2011. you can be sure they're not calling it quits after a couple of years.

 

[CarolA]

Saw a mention of this in an earlier thread. Just got off the phone with WDW making room reservations for January. She said to be prepared for no DME for 2008. She said DME was supposed to be for 50th anniversary(sp) and has to end some time. I have read somewhere on this board that DME was supposed to be extended to 2011, but we will see. She put it at 90% that it will go bye bye. Bummer.

Is it not amazing? Disney apparently has high level executive management decisons released via CRO, Bus Drivers and DVC "Kiosk sales people" (there is a thread on the DVC board where one of them told the guest all kinds of cool things) And on a daily basis a CRO cast member either tells a caller that "discounts are coming soon" or "there are no discounts coming"

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all these CMs are doing is "spreading the lunchroom gossip" Take all of the "info" you get with a grain of salt and don't waste time worrying about it until you hear something more offical.

 

[goofy4tink]

As in every aspect of life, people love to feel that they are 'in the know'...I don't care if it's your brother-in-law, your gas station attendent, a DVC kiosk worker, or CRO...everyone wants to feel important. Disney has already stated that DME will be around until 2011. Now, will it be the same DME in 2011 that we know today? Probably not...I'm sure Disney will be tweaking this puppy a bit.
But, I certainly am not worried about how I'm getting to BWV in July '08 or to whatever resort I end up at in Dec '08!! I know I'll be on that DME bus.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

I would think they might start to charge you for it but they are not getting rid of it at all.

I wonder what the rates would be.

 

[CleveRocks]

Saw a mention of this in an earlier thread. Just got off the phone with WDW making room reservations for January. She said to be prepared for no DME for 2008. She said DME was supposed to be for 50th anniversary(sp) and has to end some time. I have read somewhere on this board that DME was supposed to be extended to 2011, but we will see. She put it at 90% that it will go bye bye. Bummer.

Okay, this is just plain wrong. She doesn't even have her "facts" straight.

DME was launched on the first day of the Happiest Celebration on Earth, which was the 50th anniversary of Disney parks. This was May 5, 2005. The HCOE was to end in the Fall of 2006, to last 18 months. When it was launched, it was announced that DME, being part of the HCOE, would disappear at the end of the HCOE, in the Fall of 2006.

However, in April of 2006, Disney signed a contract with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority to keep DME going through December 31, 2011. This was announced at a press conference. No rumors. Official press conference and a legally binding contract.

The CMs who work at the Disney Reservations Center are experts at resort reservations, theme park tickets and dining. Beyond that, I would not put much credence in anything they say. I'd believe them like I believe bus drivers. Bus drivers are experts at Disney Transport as well as making guests laugh and feel comfortable, but I'm not going to sell Disney stock when one of them tells me he knows for a fact that Animal Kingdom will close for good next Tuesday (that was a good one when I heard it last year). They are not privy to Disney's plans, as this CM proved with her lack of knowledge of a legal contract and a press conference done over a year ago! She's so out of touch that her "hot rumor" is more than 17 months out of date. She was right about DME being for the 50th anniversary (the HCOE), but then beyond that it's clearly her speculation ... and clearly she doesn't know that there are real facts.

Let's put this silly rumor to bed, please.

 

[CleveRocks]

Is it not amazing? Disney apparently has high level executive management decisons released via CRO, Bus Drivers and DVC "Kiosk sales people" (there is a thread on the DVC board where one of them told the guest all kinds of cool things) And on a daily basis a CRO cast member either tells a caller that "discounts are coming soon" or "there are no discounts coming"

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all these CMs are doing is "spreading the lunchroom gossip" Take all of the "info" you get with a grain of salt and don't waste time worrying about it until you hear something more offical.

I wish I'd read this before I posted before ... woulda saved me some typing!!!

 

[bradk]

actually i don't recall any official announcement that the program itself was ever set to end after the HCOE. it was a pilot program. OIA and Disney were evaluating if the program had legs. it was always the apparent intention for Disney to continue, they just had to be comfortable with it and OIA had to be comfortable with it.

ETA: did some digging. this article lays out the result of the current negotiations, even explains why DME was moved to the B side. to highlight, one of the sticking points was that OIA had its own analyst estimate that DME was costing the airport to lose 200K - 1M in revenue. that's why the price per guest went up (for Disney) and has the framework to rise again in the future. that's also why they were moved to the B side, to have more bus spaces so they could move more guests.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney1606mar16,0,7629711.story

so DME was never just intended to be just a celebration thing. it launched WITH the celebration, but the reality is that it's such a good deal for Disney, they'll keep it as long as the airport lets them.

 

[Maxwell]

Just because they are contracting with OIA until 2011 doe not mean that it will stay free unitl then. They will probably start to charge in the near future.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Absolutely – but that’s not what the CM told the original poster. She/he said the service itself was ending “soon”, no mention of free vs. paid.

 

[dburg30]

Well I'm sure it will be going away. I mean I can only guess how much it costs WDW to operate that, and the money to build the new monorail route and stations has to come from somewhere!!!



/sarcasm off

And am just having a little fun with some of the rumors that seem to pop up from time to time, even in my short time here.

 

[ducklite]

Just because they are contracting with OIA until 2011 doe not mean that it will stay free unitl then. They will probably start to charge in the near future.

That's my take on it. Usually when there's smoke, there's fire, and i've been hearing the "No MOre DME" rumour a lot lately. I think it probably translates into "No More Free DME." I can certainly see WDW putting a price tag on the service, perhaps half the cost of Mears might work.

But I do'nt think it's going to be free forever. I don't even think it will remain free until 2011. Just because people are booking with free DME now, it doesn't mean that those folks won't be called a month or two prior to their trip and informed that in 30 days it will no longer be free. They have every right to cancel any "free" program at any time, with minimal notice.

Anne