Disney's Reducing the Value of staying on property

[monorailrabbit]

This will be the first year we don't plan all of our days for EMH - we have always stayed onsite and love the EMH - both AM and PM. This year, we made a schedule as far as what order we want to do things and are just going to stick with it - we usually move things around to make sure we never miss out on EMH. I'm interested to see how much of a diff it makes to us - I understand not everyone uses or sees value in them, but we do. I've also heard that non EMH parks usually feel less packed - will be interesting to see if we notice any kind of difference either way. For the record, this isn't the only reason we stay onsite, but we do consider it a valuable perk!

 

[Duffywannabe]

Because it's crappy, that's why.

They are a business and have to make decisions that some think are crappy all the time.

I said it before and fully believe it, Disney wants to lose customers right now. The parks are too full and it is affecting customer satisfaction. They will continue to take things away and charge more for things we are used to being free until some people start not coming. They will not lose revenue due to the higher dollar spent per guest. Guests will be happier because the parks will be less crowded. They of course can't make it obvious and that is why so many things are smaller annoyances. They don't want to turn everyone off or make is seems like only the rich can go. But it is happening and it is the plan Disney has.

 

[Mindy5767]

There is a slow, deliberate shift to premium experiences/upcharge experiences, to make Disney resorts more of a luxury brand. I bet they are making room for more of the Early Morning Magic upcharge by removing EMH days.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. I don't expect there will be daily EMH, except during Holiday weeks because they will be doing the morning paid EMH even though the last night one was supposedly a bust. Right now, Dec has AK closing at 5pm. I am planning on spending Christmas day at AK, I really do hope that it'll be open later. It has been in the past, but now, with Rivers of Light possibly maybe perhaps finally being offered by then, AK would need to be open later than 5pm even though it gets dark at 4:45pm Christmas week.

Part of the reason OP sees fewer EMH is that none are currently posted for AK for december. I would expect that to change once the dust settles.

I don't feel disney is reducing / trying to take away anything. I also stay onsite, but avoid EMH for the most part. I love the other benefits I get - ME, 180+10 for ADR, 60 day FP window. Not needing a car. I love being in the disney "bubble". Would still stay onsite if there were no EMH.

We stay onsite because we love Disney resorts. We bought DVC for that reason. I'm secretly hoping OKW will go condo so I can buy one. We have never ever done an early magic hour...in fact we've never made rope drop in any park ever. We just can't function in the morning on vacation like that. There used to be 3 hour late magic hours more frequently than there are 2 hour late magic hours now. We used to go to them all the time and we made out very well. Also, people may not remember that back during the 3 hour late magic hours, the characters were roaming all over the place. You didn't have to schedule spontaneity back then like you do now. Right now, I have an August trip and a December trip coming up. In August, it is still showing MK closing at 10pm every night. Really?? Its always been midnight for ages. In fact, it used to be 1am. I REALLY don't expect MK to close at 10pm and AK to close at 5pm the week of Christmas..that makes no sense, whatever EMH they decide to schedule. However, because of the uncertainty of August hours just a week before my Fastpass+ date it will really impact my plans because if MK is open until midnight, then there is nearly always a 11pm MSEP. Whether I even get to see MSEP actually depends on that because I just can't fit it in at 9.

 

[Mindy5767]

I can tell you that over the next 12-18 month, EMH is going to be significantly reduced. I'm not at liberty to say how, but some of the rumblings I heard were really not good. Makes you question if Disney will have the guts to go through with the addition of that $15 resort fee (which, I guarantee you, will not stay at that price point for long).

And there will be an enormous uprising if they try to impose that fee on DVC members because our maintenance fees ALREADY cover what they purport to cover with this fee. And no, it'll not stay at that price long. It sounds like you're saying that reducing EMH is a cost cutting measure. I'm sure it is. I'd love to get to a morning magic hour, but since we can't even make rope drop, I don't see this happening. I'll just assume its just like 1989!

 

[21stamps]

I will be there in December. Staying at the Contemporary. EMH did not impact my decision one way or the other on if we would stay on site.

There are 1 or 2 EMH days on our trip, I'm not taking advantage of either one though. Last year over 9 nights we did one EMH night at MK, didn't utilize any others.

 

[Hikergirl]

For my wife and I we don't really make our plans around EMH............its not purposeful..........its just we make plans based on other things. To me Early Morning Magic is being at RD.............

Doug

To me Early Morning Magic is sitting on the resort balcony sipping my coffee while the rest of the family is sleeping

 

[Shanti]

I'll just assume its just like 1989!

It's like living in 1989, and paying 2016 prices.

 

[SCSteve]

I said it before and fully believe it, Disney wants to lose customers right now. The parks are too full and it is affecting customer satisfaction. They will continue to take things away and charge more for things we are used to being free until some people start not coming. They will not lose revenue due to the higher dollar spent per guest. Guests will be happier because the parks will be less crowded. They of course can't make it obvious and that is why so many things are smaller annoyances. They don't want to turn everyone off or make is seems like only the rich can go. But it is happening and it is the plan Disney has.

I agree I think it's the intent of Disney to reduce crowds with the tiered tickets, morning and evening ticketed events and the huge price increase in annual passes. This should reduce crowds while making as much money as possible.

 

[goofy4tink]

I really don't need EMHs to make plans. I know where I want to eat. I actually tend to avoid evening EMHs during the warmer months...they're just too crowded. I'm one of those that would welcome the return of E-nights! For an addtl cost, around $12-15, you could go to MK for an extra few hours. It was quite wonderful. But, Disney told us that 'guests had told them they wanted more characters, not time in the parks', so they took E-nights away, and had characters in resort lobbies in the morning. Well..that didn't fly. Guests wanted to get to the parks, for the most part, so just walked right past the characters. That didn't stick around for long. So many people complained about no E-nights, that some of us think Disney came up with EMHs to replace them. But there are so many guests in the parks for EMH hours, it isn't really all that pleasant anymore! I would much rather they add addtl hours, for a fee, several times a week. They could do them at night, in the morning, whenever they wanted. They could do it at all parks, or just some. Not sure what a fair price would be, but it sure as heck wouldn't be $70 pp!!!

If, for some convoluted reason, Disney decides to add a $15 resort fee, they had best give me something for that fee!!! I usually stay DVC, and they can't add a fee to those rooms..it's against the contract we signed, if I remember correctly. But, I do stay at non-DVC resorts on occasion...and I'll be darned if I have to pay an addtl resort fee!!! I can stay at the S/D and do that!!!

 

[AngiTN]

That rumor about the resort fee won't die. One survey question gave that sucker life, didn't it.

I think I believe that is on the table as much as I think Disney is considering restricting which credit cards they take. Also a survey question I've gotten. Which card they say they are considering dropping changes on which card I said I plan to use). I don't think it's even a serious option

 

[cassie58]

I like staying on property for many reasons, but I like the EMH. Early morning EMH is great.
I like being able to ride a lot before the general crowd comes in.
I am also a night person, so late EMH are good for me too. Love the nights
when MK is open till 2am.

I agree with this completely. We plan for morning EMH as much as possible, and I as a night owl have loved the few nts. we have done, especially when MK was open till 3 am a few yrs. ago. Both of those have allowed us to get a lot done, and now with FP+, save those for later or another park in combination with EMH for planning. It is a perk we did not have on our first trip when we were offsite, and we saw the value on our next trip with August heat, the early hrs. helped a lot. While on any other vacation I would not want to jump up early, for Disney it is definitely worth it. With teens, we would now probably use some of each, as early mornings are harder, but like to utilize especially with the Tiers at Epcot and number of rides at MK to get done. It would be something for us that would make on property stays less valuable if we could not utilize those unless we did a paid event. Not standing in line for an hr. is a big incentive for me. For now hoping they keep them for our next trip, and if not we will be early for RD.

 

[21stamps]

If onsite perks are disappearing as some people have reported, at least you aren't alone anymore!

Well I don't know what perks are disappearing, but I'm pretty happy about the new complimentary bottled water perk, and the new toiletries perk! I actually forgot my toothbrush (I know right, but hey at least that and band aids were all that I forgot lol), but anyway I had to head to the resort store first thing upon arrival and buy one. So..the new perk is a nice back up just in case someone like me forgets something.

 

[AngiTN]

Well I don't know what perks are disappearing, but I'm pretty happy about the new complimentary bottled water perk, and the new toiletries perk! I actually forgot my toothbrush (I know right, but hey at least that and band aids were all that I forgot lol), but anyway I had to head to the resort store first thing upon arrival and buy one. So..the new perk is a nice back up just in case someone like me forgets something.

Yeah, that bottle of water was great for making the morning coffee. And we didn't need the cute little toiletries kits but I saved them in my suit case in case we did in the future. Just leaving them in the inside pocket.

 

[fairy8i8]

I think that EMH are like the tiered tickets. They are used to help control flow in the parks to a degree. Morning EMH allow for a nice way for Disney to do a soft opening to accommodate visitors entering the park, and onsite guests feel special and feel that the 75-200% upcharge over other premium resorts in the area is an added value, even if they don't show up until 8:59, they can still walk in. Also evening EMH at a certain park keeps night owls happy without having all the parks open late, and gets people seriously thinking about onsite stays during less busy times. During busier periods, it helps distribute crowd flow. People staying out until 1-3am are not very likely to get up and enter the parks before noonish the next day.

Most visitors are not as sophisticated as people on these boards, so they often follow EMH (which is why most sophisticated visitors don't). Honestly, 7am EMH are awesome. It's my favorite as they are not busy at all because so few people get up, and the park still doesn't get busy until 11am. I followed "expert" advice last trip and didn't do morning EMH (8:05am ADRs in park instead, so I didn't have to wait at rope drop), and with a 9am opening, the parks were still busy by 11am, and I had 2 fewer hours to enjoy before leaving for lunch. We ended up staying until 2pm most days and my husband was beginning to get grumpy with the crowds (I was in a wheelchair, so busy walkways meant he had to be really careful so people didn't slam into my broken foot). Morning EMH and park hopper are the way to go if you are earlybirds like us. I honestly haven't tried evening EMH in recent memory because I have wanted to keep my son's normal bedtime as much as possible and only stayed up for special things like Wishes and F!, which of course I wouldn't dream of doing on a night with EMH.

Disney waits to post EMH times because they want to use it as a crowd control tool, so if it is not needed, they won't have them or have them as long. If things are going to get really busy, then they are put into place, which is why every morning Christmas week usually has 7am EMH. Especially on days where capacity could be reached, Disney is happy to let guests they have guaranteed access to the parks in first.

 

[Tom P.]

Personally that isnt any value for staying on property for me. The value is in being in the Disney bubble. Not seeing your car for 7 days, not seeing the "real world" all week, everything you do is themed to Disney for better or for worse. When i eat im not eating at mcdonalds or wendys like i am at home. Im eating at the disneys food court..again for better or for worse. Everything i do is through Disney. And thats the value for me. When i worked there last year i went to the parks almost everyday, but it wasnt the same. Because afterwards i had to drive back to my apartment or the next day i had to go to work. Thats when i really realized the value of a Disney vacation. And until they take that away their will always be immense value in staying on property

This.

The reason we stay on property is because... we enjoy staying on property. The added perks like being able to do 180+10 ADR's, or 60 day FastPass+ bookings, or EMH... all that stuff is nice and we take advantage of it. But none of that is the reason we stay on property. The reason we stay is because we like our entire vacation being within the Disney bubble, and we love their resorts. Simple as that.

 

[Mindy5767]

It's like living in 1989, and paying 2016 prices.

You got that right!!

 

[Mindy5767]

Yeah, that bottle of water was great for making the morning coffee. And we didn't need the cute little toiletries kits but I saved them in my suit case in case we did in the future. Just leaving them in the inside pocket.

What complimentary bottled water and toiletries perk? I never heard of that!

 

[AngiTN]

What complimentary bottled water and toiletries perk? I never heard of that!

At CR, and so far only CR has had this, not AKL, not Poly, not BWI, not BC (only other deluxe stays for us this year) we got big bottles of Dasani water (we used them to make coffee), little kits that had tooth brush, tiny tooth paste, floss; one with nail files and something I'm forgetting; and one with a shower cap.

 

[21stamps]

At CR, and so far only CR has had this, not AKL, not Poly, not BWI, not BC (only other deluxe stays for us this year) we got big bottles of Dasani water (we used them to make coffee), little kits that had tooth brush, tiny tooth paste, floss; one with nail files and something I'm forgetting; and one with a shower cap.

A coworker returned last night from CR and reported the same as others here. Hopefully it will go to all the Deluxe resorts soon.