Disney Early Morning Magic - Details & Prices

[Ninja Mom]

In the bigger picture, what we see Disney doing is that during an era of high park attendance, Disney is reducing EMH.
They are then monetizing access to EMH.

Shouldn't the priority be on enhancing the guest experience by EXPANDING operating hours to accommodate the higher attendance?

The new "Disney Magic" is entirely focused on profits. Concern for the guest experience is just lip service now. Disney is now intent on suckering inexperienced people to come to the parks and spend ridiculous amounts of money for less than satisfactory experiences. The thought that there is a large supply of people willing to pay money for this type of experience is an illusion. It's only a matter of time before word gets out that the current Disney Parks experience is a massive rip off and not worth the time or the money.

If you talk to your neighbors and friends who are considering going, even without them being aware of all the price gouging and up-charging going on now, they feel that Disney is overpriced. Imagine their surprise when they find the large recent price increases in resorts and park tickets. They probably won't be aware of all the recent cuts in staff and entertainment and the construction walls but when they come home after spending thousands of dollars for the new Nickle and Dime Disney experience they are not going to be happy. That's in addition to waiting in longer lines after getting on 3 FP rides in hot and humid Florida. Those long lines in the heat are a family's dream vacation!

When their friends ask about their Disney parks vacation they are going to get an earful. This is going to make people second guess going to Disney. Disney is at the point now of "NOT being worth it" for most families due to the cost and the eroding experience. All it's going to take is a layer or two of people to experience this for themselves and then spread the word.

Those of us that are savvy with Disney oriented social media see this now. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the people that are interested in the Disney parks experience catch on.

Way to go Disney Parks leadership!

~NM

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We don't know if they are reducing EMH. We know they are reducing access for people with early ADRs.

 

[nilla]

No - you've got it correct. With as much pre-planning us "insiders" do, way in advance, springing this on us at this late date (I really feel for you people that are there on these "test dates" for DAH in April without knowing exactly how this will affect crowds) really puts our hard-worked plans in a quandary.

I have a BOG PPO ADR in June. I, personally, will not pay $69/$49 pp ($285) for my family of five for this new "event". If this Early Morning one happens on the day of my BOG ADR, then, yes, it WILL affect my plans - and yes, I WILL be annoyed.

But I can't make any changes yet to my plans because I don't know what the dates are. Perhaps they'll start in April/May like the evenings ones to start. When will they decide to move into June? Sometime mid-May? After I've had to make my FP+ plans and then try to rearrange them once the 30-day window opens up to everyone? (bye bye on-resort-perk-of-60-days-FP+-window) Will they start at one or two days per week in April/May? But then decide it's working so well they make it 3-5 days per week???

I'm getting even more annoyed writing this. LOL

Not diminishing the relevance of your experience or planning, but our plans to hit 7DMT right at rope drop last year were scuttled when we were met with an already long queue, and I think the BOG early ADR people were the reason. Not much sympathy from me, but I can can certainly see where you're coming from

 

[HopperFan]

I don't think this is an end to EMH.

A perk such which is so heavily marketed and suddenly removed would have Disney on the defense from the first lawyer ready to file a class action suit with all the guests impacted by the decision.

If it were to happen ...... suing them because they basically adjusted hotel guests park hours something they technically didn't pay for? Every single piece of every thing at Disney says subject to change. I remember when tips were included in DDP = gone. Price still went up. Appetizers used to be included in DDP = gone. Price still went up. Photos used to be included in some Character Meals = gone. Price still went up.

Disney can change their product any time they want and they have all the legalize in place to protect them.

 

[IrishNYC]

[QUOTE="decoy7375, post: 55416381, member: 80274"Staying at a monorail resort allows guests to leave their accommodations later in the morning. Coming from Pop or offsite we would need to be at the bus or in the car 2 hours plus before opening in order to be at the rope.[/QUOTE]


Two hours for the bus? Ridiculous assumption.

 

[dkrauss]

I would personally not pay for this extra time just for 7DMT.........but that's me.

I do believe Disney has taken a cue from all the patrons who do the early ADR's to be first in line at 7DMT. They added Peter Pan's Flight and Winnie the Pooh to try to spread it out Like a few others have said my wife and I have done the early ADR in the MK to get castle pics.........so this kinda hits that . I also agree with the folks who say this isn't marketed at folks like us (from the boards ). I could see this being big for TA's to push to first timers or infrequent visitors as a way to ride 7DMT multiple times.

Will this stay..........we'll see I guess. I just can't see paying $69 to ride 7DMT for an hour at 8am in the morning..........just can't

Doug

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

We used a FP for 7DMT (rode it again during Wishes) and waited until Wishes to ride PP. While both are "fun" - neither are worth paying extra money for.

 

[JimmyV]

But does anyone else feel like this is the start of the demise of EMH?

No

Well, here's my take. Assume that on Friday the MK has morning EMH. According to Touring Plans, the following attractions will be open:

• Astro Orbiter » Buck Rogers-style rockets revolving around a central axis
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin » Whimsical space travel-themed indoor ride
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant » Disneyfied midway ride
• Enchanted Tales with Belle » Interactive character show
• it's a small world » World-brotherhood-themed indoor boat ride
• Mad Tea Party » Midway-type spinning ride
• Magic Kingdom Welcome Show » Characters and Dancing intro to the Magic Kingdom
• Meet Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairytale Hall » Character meet-and greet
• Meet Ariel at Her Grotto » Character greeting venue
• Meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall » Princess Meet-and-Greet
• Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater » Mickey Meet-and-Greet
• Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater » Tinker Bell Meet-and-Greet
• Mickey's PhilharMagic » 3-D movie
• Peter Pan's Flight » Indoor track ride
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel » Merry-go-round
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train » Indoor/outdoor roller coaster
• Space Mountain » Roller coaster in the dark
• Stitch's Great Escape! » Theater-in-the-round sci-fi adventure show
• The Barnstormer » Small roller coaster
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh » Indoor track ride
• Tomorrowland Speedway » Drive-'em yourself miniature cars
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover » Scenic tour of Tomorrowland
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid » Track ride in the dark
• Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress » Audioanimatronic theater production

The cost of entry is included in your hotel stay, assuming that you are staying on site.

A few days later, on Tuesday, there will be an Early Morning Magic day where the only attractions open will be:

• Peter Pan's Flight » Indoor track ride
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train » Indoor/outdoor roller coaster
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh » Indoor track ride

The cost to ride those three attractions is $69 per adult and $49 per Disney child. Which would you do? Which would most people choose to do? If Disney truly intends to derive profit from its new waffle hour, doesn't it have to remove the alternative that is both free and more expansive?

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

In the bigger picture, what we see Disney doing is that during an era of high park attendance, Disney is reducing EMH.
They are then monetizing access to EMH.

Sorry - EMH is not free. You would be paying for it by an increase in the rate you get charged at a Disney Resort - it was monetized the minute they introduced it. Obviously this is not itemized on your bill, but the additional cost of running EMH is factored into that cost. The sad reality is that inflation exists - things get more expensive year over year.

 

[nilla]

The new "Disney Magic" is entirely focused on profits.

From what I've read, a lot of these changes are about increasing revenue, but not necessarily for profits, since much of the revenue is going to offset losses elsewhere.

 

[recmouse]

As a DVC member, how do any of the things you mention affect you? You are not forced to buy DAD or EMM, you won't pay resort fees (I think? You have your own dues, right?).

I'm a DVC member too... this is another whole issue as why more DVC people are questioning on selling their points. The perks are not what they once were...and yes we pay dues... alot! But that's for the DVC Boards.

 

[gsp4ever]

Maybe it should. Perhaps we need a separate MK entrance for the monorail resort guests--you know like the gate from inside the Grand Californian to CAP. I mean paying 500+ per night ought to have its perks.

 

[Ellwood970]

In the bigger picture, what we see Disney doing is that during an era of high park attendance, Disney is reducing EMH.
They are then monetizing access to EMH.

Shouldn't the priority be on enhancing the guest experience by EXPANDING operating hours to accommodate the higher attendance?

The new "Disney Magic" is entirely focused on profits. Concern for the guest experience is just lip service now. Disney is now intent on suckering inexperienced people to come to the parks and spend ridiculous amounts of money for less than satisfactory experiences. The thought that there is a large supply of people willing to pay money for this type of experience is an illusion. It's only a matter of time before word gets out that the current Disney Parks experience is a massive rip off and not worth the time or the money.

If you talk to your neighbors and friends who are considering going, even without them being aware of all the price gouging and up-charging going on now, they feel that Disney is overpriced. Imagine their surprise when they find the large recent price increases in resorts and park tickets. They probably won't be aware of all the recent cuts in staff and entertainment and the construction walls but when they come home after spending thousands of dollars for the new Nickle and Dime Disney experience they are not going to be happy. That's in addition to waiting in longer lines after getting on 3 FP rides in hot and humid Florida. Those long lines in the heat are a family's dream vacation!

When their friends ask about their Disney parks vacation they are going to get an earful. This is going to make people second guess going to Disney. Disney is at the point now of "NOT being worth it" for most families due to the cost and the eroding experience. All it's going to take is a layer or two of people to experience this for themselves and then spread the word.

Those of us that are savvy with Disney oriented social media see this now. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the people that are interested in the Disney parks experience catch on.

Way to go Disney Parks leadership!

~NM

There was the perception since they opened that we got an excellent experience at a reasonable price. I never felt they were being greedy. Now I see the greed. Watch now how often the word greed is mentioned. I think it will ruin their image.

 

[Sevey13]

Since riding 7DMT was an unintended perk of early BOG, it's not "affecting" them at all. It was a bonus that some got, but no one was entitled to, and now some can pay for the privilege of.

Agree. It was a nice thing that people enjoyed, but certainly wasn't part of the BOG breakfast package. The ride was ready to go early, so they let people who were there early on.

I know the article said EMH will still happen during this. But does anyone else feel like this is the start of the demise of EMH? First the extra ticket for extra night time hours and now the ticket for extra morning hours. Seems fishy.....I guess they know they can make money off it.

Not at all. If for no other reason, there is a fixed amount of money they can make off this. No stores and other restaurants are open, so the only $ Disney can make off this is the $69 or whatever they charge for the event. That's $69 per guest income. Consider a guest arriving for EMH. They walk down main street and get pulled in for a Starbucks coffee and a croissant ($11). Its their first day in the parks...time to buy those Mickey Ears ($15). Son sees a new pin he's gotta have ($11.95). A Photopass Photog takes a great family photo in front of the castle in the early morning light ($15). Time to ride Splash Mountain before the lines. Look at that on-ride photo! So adorable. Gotta pick that one up! ($15). See what I mean? In 30 minutes of EMH, Disney has already made almost as much income off a person ($67.95) as they will in a whole two-hour time frame, with the potential for more. Any way you crunch it, EMH means more money for Disney than this event so EMH aren't going anywhere.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

We know they are reducing access for people with early ADRs.

Getting early access to the park was a by-product of an early ADR. It wasn't a promise. It's like the guests that booked an early ADR and then found out Main Street was closed for a commercial taping and all they would get would be breakfast, no early pictures on empty Main Street, no early access. I guess they could have asked for their money back, who knows if they'd get it, but all they were entitled to by making the ADR was the breakfast. The restaurants were open early because they are popular and they want to move more people through the restaurants.

also, they still have EMH. Not on multiple nights in a week at MK like they used to, but I don't think they've had multiple nights for quite awhile. I used to go on Sundays and they were moved off Sundays at some point. I don't follow morning EMH but they still have that. It is possibly being assumed that instead of a paid event, they could have added more EMH in a week (are resort guests entitled to more than one morning and one evening EMH per park in a week?) or just extended public hours. Havent seen dates on the morning thing, but the evening is on 6 nights in a non-peak season on a weeknight (except for one Sunday) when they ordinarily would not have extended public hours because it's not their busiest time. Extended hours could still happen on a weekend.

 

[JimmyV]

(I really feel for you people that are there on these "test dates" for DAH in April without knowing exactly how this will affect crowds)

For the record, I was there in February, 2014 on the day when they first retired the legacy FP machines and were running FP+ all by itself. It was a nightmare. And now, I will be there in April when they start rolling out their ice cream/waffle parties. Not happy. I am beginning to think that Disney is stalking my visits and using me as a

 

[decoy7375]

[QUOTE="decoy7375, post: 55416381, member: 80274"Staying at a monorail resort allows guests to leave their accommodations later in the morning. Coming from Pop or offsite we would need to be at the bus or in the car 2 hours plus before opening in order to be at the rope.

Two hours for the bus? Ridiculous assumption.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that these were estimates. We actually were in line for the bus more than 2 hours before opening. We were not the only ones.

 

[gsp4ever]

From what I've read, a lot of these changes are about increasing revenue, but not necessarily for profits, since much of the revenue is going to offset losses elsewhere.

Yes, and it's not even a secret. We were there last week and a CM at Epcot talked openly with us about the budget cuts while putting great emphasis on , "BILLIONS lost by the cost overruns in construction at Disney Shanghai, BILLIONS"

 

[HopperFan]

No - you've got it correct. With as much pre-planning us "insiders" do, way in advance, springing this on us at this late date (I really feel for you people that are there on these "test dates" for DAH in April without knowing exactly how this will affect crowds) really puts our hard-worked plans in a quandary.

I have a BOG PPO ADR in June. I, personally, will not pay $69/$49 pp ($285) for my family of five for this new "event". If this Early Morning one happens on the day of my BOG ADR, then, yes, it WILL affect my plans - and yes, I WILL be annoyed.

But I can't make any changes yet to my plans because I don't know what the dates are. Perhaps they'll start in April/May like the evenings ones to start. When will they decide to move into June? Sometime mid-May? After I've had to make my FP+ plans and then try to rearrange them once the 30-day window opens up to everyone? (bye bye on-resort-perk-of-60-days-FP+-window) Will they start at one or two days per week in April/May? But then decide it's working so well they make it 3-5 days per week???

I'm getting even more annoyed writing this. LOL

It sounds like you can still enter MK early for your PPO ADR. You will still get less crowded photos, breakfast and be in the back of the park (a popular area) without have to crush with the rope drop people. That is all that comes with a PPO ADR.

Until 7DMT was built and opened, no one got a jump on rides, just a jump on getting to the lines for rides - which will still exist. It just happened that on most days the mine trains was approved for riding before official opening and Disney let breakfast folks ride. Pixie Dust, not guaranteed.

Sorry - EMH is not free. You would be paying for it by an increase in the rate you get charged at a Disney Resort - it was monetized the minute they introduced it. Obviously this is not itemized on your bill, but the additional cost of running EMH is factored into that cost. The sad reality is that inflation exists - things get more expensive year over year.

But you are not paying for it. It came as an indirect perk of staying onsite. Disney can add or subtract any perks they want. I don't think they would yank it out overnight ... but if events like this prove popular then they may phase them out over time. Guests have to decide if their resort meets their value criteria.

No one got comped by DDP when they took out two main perks when folks had already booked and/or paid for it based on the old perks. No one comped Guests when they started letting anyone ride those resort buses and might be standing because of it. Hotel guests were not comped when they reduced EMH days then night EMH hours. No one gets comped when rides are in rehab or break down for the day even though they paid for a ticket. Dessert party folks don't get comped even when the fireworks don't go off and their experience is less than magical.

 

[Sevey13]

I'm a DVC member too... this is another whole issue as why more DVC people are questioning on selling their points. The perks are not what they once were...and yes we pay dues... alot! But that's for the DVC Boards.

Yeah, I'm not DVC so I'm not up on all the intricacies. I was just curious how the person believed the things they specifically mentioned in that post affected them.