DHS to get rid of evening Extra Magic Hours?

[rteetz]

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...s-discontinuing-evening-extra-magic-hours.htm

 

[rteetz]

EMH doesn't make much sense when you've closed all but five rides, might as well save on labor too.

Well the things that did close weren't really part of EMH anyways. The backlot and LMA weren't that popular.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Right, you slowly boil the frog so it gets used to the water...you take away the EMH now b/c there are only 5 rides, and you bring it back solely as a paid event once Star Wars opens...guests will have forgotten they ever got free EMH for this park by then and will be looking to turn over money as fast as they can for the formerly free experience...

 

[Madonna3]

Right, you slowly boil the frog so it gets used to the water...you take away the EMH now b/c there are only 5 rides, and you bring it back solely as a paid event once Star Wars opens...guests will have forgotten they ever got free EMH for this park by then and will be looking to turn over money as fast as they can for the formerly free experience...

exactly.

 

[mom2rtk]

"Due to lack of demand......"

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

So basically I was correct in thinking that the Early Morning Magic and Disney After Hours events would start killing EMH.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Right, you slowly boil the frog so it gets used to the water...you take away the EMH now b/c there are only 5 rides, and you bring it back solely as a paid event once Star Wars opens...guests will have forgotten they ever got free EMH for this park by then and will be looking to turn over money as fast as they can for the formerly free experience...

Yep. I highly doubt we'll see EMH come back as it is now once they take it away.

 

[Metaleeka]

I enjoyed them when I was there last friday, but I definitely was thinking that it felt like they weren't really necessary. The park feels a bit small right now.

 

[jaxonp]

It'll come back... I've found EMH to be useless at parks with little to do. Its either dead, rarely, or it's incredibly packed because most on-site guests assume it to be less busy so they all show up to the one park that's open that night and boom... mess. TSMM, ToT, RnRc are always packed during EMH.. Maybe when SWL and TSL open with 4 more attractions will EMH become a necessity.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

It'll come back... I've found EMH to be useless at parks with little to do. Its either dead, rarely, or it's incredibly packed because most on-site guests assume it to be less busy so they all show up to the one park that's open that night and boom... mess. TSMM, ToT, RnRc are always packed during EMH.. Maybe when SWL and TSL open with 4 more attractions will EMH become a necessity.

Ummm...no...I think the reason has been stated here

 

[Spacedog1975]

I'm 50/50 on EMH returning. For me it's such a huge part of the on site bonus, that I'm not sure I wouldn't consider a Disney Springs adjacent hotel if they were to cease.
I'm not a morning person, so morning EMH isn't a selling point for me.

 

[PlainJane]

I'm 50/50 on EMH returning. For me it's such a huge part of the on site bonus, that I'm not sure I wouldn't consider a Disney Springs adjacent hotel if they were to cease.
I'm not a morning person, so morning EMH isn't a selling point for me.

Things like this are why it's no longer that important to me to stay at a Disney Resort. First they reduced the evening hours from 3 to 2, now they're outright taking it away at a park. Location however is important to me, so when it makes sense Wyndham Bonnet Creek is perfectly fine with me.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

This is sad. AK evening magic hours used to be my favorite, especially since it was the only time you could see that park at dark.

I also miss the days of MK evening magic hours where the park would stay open until 3.

I know this is a downer post, but eh, that's what happens when Disney keeps cutting the stuff you enjoy.

We usually try to rent a car since we've had some bad bus wait experiences over the past few years. I'm not seeing much incentive to spend higher and higher hotel rates to stay in Disney property.

I know some people will cry 'but the Disney bubble! The hotel magic!'. Doesn't mean much to me, we go to Disney to enjoy the parks, not the hotel, we're barely in the room ever. I'm sure it's different if you enjoy a lot of hotel down time.

 

[Hoodie]

Honestly, there's nothing there right now. We arrived late, did pretty much everything, had lunch, and still managed a boat trip to EPCOT and made it back for the Star Wars fireworks.

 

[Hoodie]

This is sad. AK evening magic hours used to be my favorite, especially since it was the only time you could see that park at dark.

I also miss the days of MK evening magic hours where the park would stay open until 3.

I know this is a downer post, but eh, that's what happens when Disney keeps cutting the stuff you enjoy.

We usually try to rent a car since we've had some bad bus wait experiences over the past few years. I'm not seeing much incentive to spend higher and higher hotel rates to stay in Disney property.

I know some people will cry 'but the Disney bubble! The hotel magic!'. Doesn't mean much to me, we go to Disney to enjoy the parks, not the hotel, we're barely in the room ever. I'm sure it's different if you enjoy a lot of hotel down time.

We just returned and spent 1/2 the trip offsite. It has been almost 20 years since I had stayed offsite. I am a devotee of staying onsite. Or I should say I *was*. The offsite part was so much easier that the onsite portion, largely due to the transportation issues. Should they start to eliminate onsite perks like EMH, I really don't see a reason to go back to onsite.

 

[OldsDr]

Please never forget this is one more thing that the cost is already baked into the admission ticket or hotel price, it was never free it is a perk. I am going to keep an eye on how this develops at the other parks. We are planning a trip for 2018, it will be a 5 year break in visiting WDW, longest I've gone without going since 1993 (it will tie because I went in 1988) If these things keep happening will be looking at some of the nicer offsite hotels, or maybe look at doing Disneyland, I've always wanted to take my kids on MR Toads wild ride.

 

[mab2012]

I don't buy the argument that paid early/late hours is a step towards getting rid of EMH. To believe that, you'd have to believe that EMH was offered in the first place for no other reason than to make people happy. Are any of us that naive?

EMH and paid after-hours events both exist for the same reason: because Disney thinks they can make more money by offering them. EMH just does it in a more subtle way, as a hook to fill their hotels at exorbitant rates. That's not to say that EMH won't be discontinued, but if it is, it won't have anything to do with the existence of a paid option. EMH will continue as long as Disney feels that the extra money brought into their on-site ecosystem by holding EMH outweighs the cost of keeping the parks open - and not a moment longer.

The only way I can draw a line between paid extra hours and EMH is if Disney thinks that the existence of EMH is both actively dissuading on-site guests from paying for extra hours events, AND they think that the loss on those potential after-hours ticket buyers is greater than whatever benefit they're gaining on the hotel side by continuing EMH. None of those numbers are easily measurable (even for Disney, and certainly not for the causal observer), but IMO that first assumption is flawed to begin with. How many people are saying "well, I would pay for exclusive access, but I really don't need to because I can just do EMH instead"? I think those who are inclined to shell out for after hours access are doing it anyway, even with "free" access to EMH, because they know that EMH is really not all that exclusive.

Basically, if the net financial impact of EMH is positive, they'll keep doing it (unless they can find some even cheaper way to entice people into on-site accommodations). And if it's *not* making them money, it was probably going away anyway. And neither of these scenarios are likely to be significantly impacted by the introduction of paid extra hours.

JMHO.

 

[tlmadden73]

Right, you slowly boil the frog so it gets used to the water...you take away the EMH now b/c there are only 5 rides, and you bring it back solely as a paid event once Star Wars opens...guests will have forgotten they ever got free EMH for this park by then and will be looking to turn over money as fast as they can for the formerly free experience...

Ditto that.
Plus, this could be a sign that they plan on closing more things before more things open. (You would think that TSMM would have to close for an extended period to incorporate it into the new land)

I think that EMH will go away entirely for all parks and they will find some other perk to give to resort guests to make up for it so they can offer an early or late night hard ticket event in EVERY park.
Personally I always wonder how much EMH is a "draw" to stay on-site. It's a great perk once you are there, sure. But does it make a family make that onsite/offsite decision? I would argue just giving away a 4th fast pass to every onsite guest would get people LINING UP to stay onsite.

But, there is no way that Disney doesn't monetize something once Star Wars lands opens up.

But for EMH at DHS currently? Yes .. why have it when the park only has 5 rides TOTAL at a park that will probably see more things close before they open.

 

[PlainJane]

Personally I always wonder how much EMH is a "draw" to stay on-site. It's a great perk once you are there, sure. But does it make a family make that onsite/offsite decision? I would argue just giving away a 4th fast pass to every onsite guest would get people LINING UP to stay onsite.

I think the time of year a person travels could affect how important EMH are to someone. The park hours are so short in the winter, as opposed to the summer where EMH almost seem excessive.

I've become more of a rope drop and leave shortly after lunch kind of park tourer, but I use to love evening EMH. Having access to EMH definitely factored into the hotel choice.

 

[mom2rtk]

Personally I always wonder how much EMH is a "draw" to stay on-site. It's a great perk once you are there, sure. But does it make a family make that onsite/offsite decision?

Yes, it's a critical factor in whether we stay onsite or not.

I would argue just giving away a 4th fast pass to every onsite guest would get people LINING UP to stay onsite.

But, there is no way that Disney doesn't monetize something once Star Wars lands opens up.

They have over 30K onsite rooms. I personally don't think they have the inventory to do that. I don't even think they will when they open the new lands.

But for EMH at DHS currently? Yes .. why have it when the park only has 5 rides TOTAL at a park that will probably see more things close before they open.

I would argue that with tiering at DHS, EMH is even more important there than at the other parks. With less rides in a given park, access with a reasonable wait is even harder, making EMH an important tool.