Disney Resort Survey

[supersuperwendy]

Since we typically travel for one week a year option C is perfect for us. I would love it if they'd offer this as an option in addition to the the AP discount.

 

[ryels]

Since we typically travel for one week a year option C is perfect for us. I would love it if they'd offer this as an option in addition to the the AP discount.

That's the situation I'm in. I think the AP discount is great, and I certainly wouldn't want them to do away with it, but for those of us who can't spend more than a week per year, it would be nice to have some other option available to us to get discounted park tickets.

While none of these plans are optimal, they are way better than the current alternatives to the AP discount which are non-existent.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We buy AP's and the family members who are the most likely to come with us live in FL now, so they'll be getting APs too.

 

[Geezer]

My biggest fear is that this program would replace the AP discount instead of adding another discount for those who don't use APs. That would probabl result in me not going to the parks as often. Those of us who use the APs would probably choose not to do parks as much, and that's why I think it would be counter productive if they replaced the AP discount with one of these programs.

Now if it was just another discount option where people could choose the new discount or the AP discount...I'd be all for it.

 

[dianeschlicht]

It always scares me when DVC puts out these types of polls. It usually means an "enhancement' to our membership that results in something being taken away. I'm quite sure this would mean the demise of the AP discount if they did it.

 

[missycj96]

I like the annual pass because I like to spend small parts of the day in the parks and not worry about getting money's worth or wasting an admission day. What I love about dvc are leisurely vacations where we enjoy the "resort" aspects of the dvc resorts like the pool, community hall activities, restaurants etc. So I almost always prefer an annual pass and the dvc discount makes it cost effective to buy the passes for my whole family. That is why none of the options would work for me and the annual pass discount is my preference. This way I can pop into a park and do a few things while spending time enjoying all the resort offers. Otherwise I certainly could not vacation at Disney frequently - I'd be too tired.

 

[mdsd8700]

I would hope that Disney wouldn't do away with the Annual Pass discount for DVC members, although it doesn't work for us it is a great perk for the many who purchase the AP and wouldn't want to see an "enhancement" taking it away.

With that being said I voted that none of the options really work for our family. We need a bit more flexibility to our tickets. I like the concept of what MJC2003 posted. So many vistits spread out over so many years. We don't do WDW every year so this option would work well for us. As well another poster mentioned UT prices and that Disney would have to be better than those. For our family this is especially true. We get 10 day non expiring hoppers and they last 3 trips (which for us could be 5 years). So I would have to figure out the cost of both before I could determine if the Disney option would save money.

 

[JimC]

Also took survey and have AP, so no interest in their offer. They then asked if the options would affect my answer, which it did not.

 

[Sammie]

I think one of the biggest drawbacks to the plan that was offered was paying for the whole thing upfront. With a family, that could be a big chunk of change paying for several years worth of tickets at once. And I really don't see Disney offering a time payment plan. There would be costs involved for them to monitor the program and make sure the plan was paid monthly. Remember, Disney doesn't allow monthly payments for APs, why offer such a plan for hoppers?

I agree that the best plan for most members would be a straight 10% to 15% discount on hoppers. But what would be the advantage for Disney? DVC members staying at the DVC resorts, and using ME, are likely to go the parks anyway. Offering a small discount is not going to increase the number of people in a park, and likely won't increase Disney's bottom line.

Don't you think that now that Disney has monthly payment plans for Florida residents, they might consider something similar for DVC. I don't want them to do away with the Annual Pass options, but due to work schedules in our family now, I am in favor of another option besides AP discount.

 

[Chuck S]

Don't you think that now that Disney has monthly payment plans for Florida residents, they might consider something similar for DVC. I don't want them to do away with the Annual Pass options, but due to work schedules in our family now, I am in favor of another option besides AP discount.

Why would they need to take payments from DVCers? FL residents have a choice as to whether or not to go to the parks. Locals don't use lodging, so there is nothing to keep them onsite. Making it easier for FL residents to pay for Disney could easily help increase the number of days they will go to the parks, and influence the number of APs sold.

DVCers, on the other hand, are already staying at a DVC resort. If they used ME from the airport, they aren't likely to rent a car or pay for transportation to competitors. They are already onsite, so taking payments for park passes will not likely increase the number of park days.

 

[Checkers]

I didn't get this survey from DVC, but if I did, I would vote "not interested" just as I did here. We buy APs and love the AP discount from DVC. Since we prefer to go to the parks at least a part of every day we are at a DVC location, we often will get 28 or more days on each AP. If I took any of the options presented, they would be getting me in there a whole lot less than they do now. That seems to me to be counter productive for them.

It always scares me when DVC puts out these types of polls. It usually means an "enhancement' to our membership that results in something being taken away. I'm quite sure this would mean the demise of the AP discount if they did it.

My sentiments exactly!

 

[hmillerbarilla]

We buy APs because we go at least twice a year, sometimes four.

I'd hate to see the loss of the AP discount, and that would really infulence the amount of times we travel to Disney. It's usually, "well our passes are still good, so let's go!"

I do think discounted tickets are a great idea for those that don't buy APs. It may make those members that don't buy APs go more often. maybe?

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

I voted for none of the above.

I would much rather have 10 day park hopper passes with no charge for no expiration. It would just be logical for DVC owners to have a no expiration option on park hopper passes as we can then be more flexible with our travel plans.

 

[ryels]

I voted for none of the above.

I would much rather have 10 day park hopper passes with no charge for no expiration. It would just be logical for DVC owners to have a no expiration option on park hopper passes as we can then be more flexible with our travel plans.

That's a neat idea too. That fee for no expiration drives me nuts. I loved the old days when all park tickets were no expire.

That would be a cool perk for DVC owners. And maybe they could allow ticket lengths greater than 10 days as well. That goes hand in hand with one of the earlier suggestions on this thread.

Disney should listen to us!

 

[Chuck S]

That's a neat idea too. That fee for no expiration drives me nuts. I loved the old days when all park tickets were no expire.

That would be a cool perk for DVC owners. And maybe they could allow ticket lengths greater than 10 days as well. That goes hand in hand with one of the earlier suggestions on this thread.

Disney should listen to us!

Again, though, how would any of these ideas actuallyincrease the number of days spent in the parks? What is in it for Disney Parks division?

Say they would allow a 15 day non-expiring ticket. Some members would use that ticket for 3 to 5 years. Not much incentive revenue-wise for Disney Parks.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

Again, though, how would any of these ideas actuallyincrease the number of days spent in the parks? What is in it for Disney Parks division?

Say they would allow a 15 day non-expiring ticket. Some members would use that ticket for 3 to 5 years. Not much incentive revenue-wise for Disney Parks.

We would increase our days in the parks!! We currently are one of those families who buys the park hopper no expiration and stretches them about 5 years. This past December we spent 2 days in the park and really contemplated going a third but decided not to and save the tickets for next year. If we could repurchase our tickets cheaper (no charge for no expiration) we would have been in that park in a heart beat!!

We used to spend much more time in the parks in the old days!!

 

[Kathi OD]

We got that survey after our trip in April. I think I responded 5 days for 5 years. Generally, we only visit for 5 days each year, and at the same time of year, so an AP doesn't make sense for us.

Personally, I'd much prefer if they just offered a set discount off whatever kind of ticket you would want to purchase; maybe 10%. I won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen.

As far as the question "what would Disney gain by offering a discount to DVC members" is concerned, I know that now our children are grown, DH and I do not do the parks every day of our stay. We are spending more and more days either at the resort, at DTD, and at other attractions in the area. A discount on park tickets might entice us to spend a few more of those "off" days in the parks.

 

[ryels]

Again, though, how would any of these ideas actuallyincrease the number of days spent in the parks? What is in it for Disney Parks division?

Say they would allow a 15 day non-expiring ticket. Some members would use that ticket for 3 to 5 years. Not much incentive revenue-wise for Disney Parks.

Granted, we aren't looking at this from the business side of things, only from the DVC member perspective.

But if Disney did offer a variety of discounted park ticket options for DVC members, couldn't they then use that as a selling point for DVC? I know that I've talked to people who were interested in DVC, who suddently became not interested as soon as they found out you don't get discounts on standard park tickets. The annual pass discount, while great, isn't very useful to folks who can only come for a week per year.

Maybe such perks aren't as big an incentive as I think they are, but it seems like it should help DVC sales, at least in theory. It would certainly make DVC membership seem a little more "special." (For that matter, a DVC discount on the Dining Plan ought to do the same.)

But I could be wrong, just throwing it out there.

 

[DisneyEater]

I voted not interested. I usually go for longer than 7 days and many members I know will make multiple shorter trip. And what if you want to take a cruise or go to DL or one of the other options they offer 1 year. I think maybe they need a more flexible option.

 

[Chuck S]

Granted, we aren't looking at this from the business side of things, only from the DVC member perspective.

But if Disney did offer a variety of discounted park ticket options for DVC members, couldn't they then use that as a selling point for DVC? I know that I've talked to people who were interested in DVC, who suddently became not interested as soon as they found out you don't get discounts on standard park tickets. The annual pass discount, while great, isn't very useful to folks who can only come for a week per year.

Maybe such perks aren't as big an incentive as I think they are, but it seems like it should help DVC sales, at least in theory. It would certainly make DVC membership seem a little more "special." (For that matter, a DVC discount on the Dining Plan ought to do the same.)

But I could be wrong, just throwing it out there.

Each sub-operating company of Disney is responsible for showing profit. Parks can not consider higher DVC sales as a reason to offer discounted tickets. In the previous park admission program, DVD (DVC's sales and development arm) paid for those free park admissions. Sales is not loikely to finance a discount, unless they do so without offering any other sales incentives. And it may apply only to "new" sales customers.

Any discount, for any business, Disney Parks or your local market, is designed to increase sales. The bottom line is that Disney IS a business and has to look at it from a business point of view. Just as restaurant discounts are designed to increase traffic for that location. Discounts have to be verifiable and justifiable to the business.