Does WDW still want/ need local AP holders

[Aluminum Falcon]

It seems that WDW has made a lot of moves in the last year plus that discourage local AP holders, and locals in general. Does WDW want locals constantly visiting when you look at how crowded the parks are year round, and when you compare spending habits of locals v tourists.

 

[jesskeys91]

I mean, they are currently only selling the level of AP that locals can buy and have stopped selling the higher tier that is available to out of state tourists. Doesn’t really seem like they mind locals that much to me or they would have stopped selling them all together.

 

[MICKIMINI]

They may need those locals for the next year or two AND DVC Sorcerer Pass holders even though we are all apparently at the *bottom* of the Disney food chain...once the revenge travelers go home penniless IMO.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Apparently there is no need for APs anymore

 

[AnnaS]

They make more money selling day tickets

 

[OKW Lover]

yes they do want/need local AP's. Its a way to fill in the dips in attendance.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

I mean, they are currently only selling the level of AP that locals can buy and have stopped selling the higher tier that is available to out of state tourists. Doesn’t really seem like they mind locals that much to me or they would have stopped selling them all together.

They have cut out a lot of perks, and did. Completely ignore AP holders during the thick of the pandemic. That coupled with Disney doing research to find out where the money spending guests are, is good enough for me to believe they would be tired of local AP holders

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

yes they do want/need local AP's. Its a way to fill in the dips in attendance.

Do they really have many dips left, I know we’re in the thick of revenge travel, but it’s been talked about for years that Disney doesn’t have a down season anymore

 

[Liquidice]

I think we'll see if the recession comes along like many are predicting and attendance at Disney parks starts to suffer - then Disney will need those "less profitable" APs.

 

[DebbieB]

I was just looking at the Sorcerer AP calendar. All dates are available for all parks for the rest of the year (Except blackouts). On the other hand, some parks are sold out for ticket holders and resort guests for some dates in August. If they didn’t want AP’s, wouldn’t it be the other way around?

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

I think we'll see if the recession comes along like many are predicting and attendance at Disney parks starts to suffer - then Disney will need those "less profitable" APs.

Wouldn’t AP’s drop off as well, I think every sector would suffer equally, outside of DVC, which is locked in. There is no avoiding a recession, and a company can’t just shift to a “new” demographic to avoid it. People always tend to bring up that Disney will need them when the purse strings tighten, but I’ve never once heard that AP holders/ locals saved Disney during the down times. If anything an AP sounds like a luxury a lot would be giving up first during a recession. local AP holders are less profitable for disney, i don’t think you can even argue that point any longer

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

I was just looking at the Sorcerer AP calendar. All dates are available for all parks for the rest of the year (Except blackouts). On the other hand, some parks are sold out for ticket holders and resort guests for some dates in August. If they didn’t want AP’s, wouldn’t it be the other way around?

I’m sure they have to keep a certain number of slots available for AP holders on any given day at each park, otherwise an AP is just a discount park ticket with blackout dates (it’s really not much more than that now, but it is what it is)
I think my question was more leaning towards, do you think WDW needs or wants local AP holders anymore based on the actions they’ve taken over the past decade. It just seems to me like they’ve been trying to sever the relationship by slowly raising the temperature.

 

[CarolynFH]

I was just looking at the Sorcerer AP calendar. All dates are available for all parks for the rest of the year (Except blackouts). On the other hand, some parks are sold out for ticket holders and resort guests for some dates in August. If they didn’t want AP’s, wouldn’t it be the other way around?

The lawsuit in California is based on its being “the other way around,” specifically that someone with the equivalent of an AP with no blockout dates was in actuality blocked out on multiple dates due to the AP bucket being “full” while Disney was still selling tickets to day guests. My personal opinion (my guess) is that until the lawsuit progresses far enough to guide Disney on whether they can be “full” of Passholders but not “full” of guests with other tickets, things won’t change.

 

[Liquidice]

Wouldn’t AP’s drop off as well, I think every sector would suffer equally, outside of DVC, which is locked in. There is no avoiding a recession, and a company can’t just shift to a “new” demographic to avoid it. People always tend to bring up that Disney will need them when the purse strings tighten, but I’ve never once heard that AP holders/ locals saved Disney during the down times. If anything an AP sounds like a luxury a lot would be giving up first during a recession. local AP holders are less profitable for disney, i don’t think you can even argue that point any longer

APs might drop off a bit - but locals are more likely to continue paying, especially since locals can pay monthly and keep their APs. Locals don't have to contend with paying for a hotel room, flights, etc - so the cost to go to the parks is overall cheaper. During a recession people might not spend as much traveling, etc - but they still might want somewhere to go locally.

It has gotten Disney through past recessions - including the initial re-opening of WDW after it closed in 2020 when most people were not traveling - who do you think went to WDW? Locals.

Local APs are less profitable, yes - but during a recession, less profit is better than no profit. The reason I put the words "less profitable" in quotes wasn't because I think it isn't true - was more thinking it was a quote, but I forgot the words were actually that a guest staying 5-7 days is "marginally more valuable ... than someone who comes in on an Annual Pass".

The question though I guess is if Disney has pissed off too many local APs who will either choose to cancel their APs during a recession or have already cancelled and won't be coming back? I doubt that is the case though.

 

[jo-jo]

May be a dumb question but do locals spend a lot of money at disney? Maybe a snack or two. Do locals spent disney prices for meals that probably could be had for 1/2 the price off site?

Way back went, we had season passes to dorney park. Barely spent a dime in the park. Pack a lunch, drove about an hour, spent the day and drove home. Or am I unusually cheap?

 

[greeneyedchick]

The Reedy Creek District law required that Disney offer local residents a discount to the park. That is why Disney is still offering a Florida resident AP pass. Desantis is shutting down this district in a few years. When that happens, Disney will no longer be legally obligated to offer that.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

May be a dumb question but do locals spend a lot of money at disney? Maybe a snack or two. Do locals spent disney prices for meals that probably could be had for 1/2 the price off site?

Way back went, we had season passes to dorney park. Barely spent a dime in the park. Pack a lunch, drove about an hour, spent the day and drove home. Or am I unusually cheap?

From what Disney has reported, I think it was something like for every $10 dollars a “tourist” spends a local spends $1

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

APs might drop off a bit - but locals are more likely to continuing paying, especially since locals can pay monthly and keep their APs. Locals don't have to contend with paying for a hotel room, flights, etc - so the cost to go to the parks is overall cheaper. During a recession people might not spend as much traveling, etc - but they still might want somewhere to go locally.

It has gotten Disney through past recessions - including the initial re-opening of WDW after it closed in 2020 when most people were not traveling - who do you think went to WDW? Locals.

Local APs are less profitable, yes - but during a recession, less profit is better than no profit.

The question though I guess is if Disney has pissed off too many local APs who will either choose to cancel their APs during a recession or have already cancelled and won't be coming back? I doubt that is the case though.

I think that is a bit of an overstatement. For instance in a ten year window, if Disney replaced all AP holders with more profitable “tourists” for 8 years, and then went into a recession for 2 years (and that’s pretty lengthy), they would be much better off as a business taking 8 years with higher profits, and muddling through the remaining two. If Disney can shut their gates for months on end and survive, a standard recession isn’t as big a deal as it’s made out to be

 

[CinderEmma94]

May be a dumb question but do locals spend a lot of money at disney? Maybe a snack or two. Do locals spent disney prices for meals that probably could be had for 1/2 the price off site.

I am a local and Disney is where we spend our “fun” budget. We bring our own snacks but eat a QS meal on property 2-3 times a week depending on the weather and how long we stay. Most if not all of our “special event” meals are on property (birthdays, anniversary, etc). We moved here for the parks (not just Disney) and our spending reflects it. Our family and friends are all big Disney fans so that’s where we do a lot of Christmas and other gift shopping. I just wish we got AP discounts on QS dining lol. Obviously this could change in the future but it’s what works for us right now. Quick service at the parks for me and my preschooler (or even the whole family if we all go) isn’t much more expensive than eating a fast food meal off property.

Edited to add: we also plan “staycation” trips on property at least once a year. So we pay for hotel accommodations on property as well. Not as often as before we lived here, but we still do it.

 

[HopperFan]

MOST Florida AP holders are likely not LOCAL so that alone tosses much of the "no money is spent" out of the argument.

They have cut out a lot of perks, and did. Completely ignore AP holders during the thick of the pandemic. That coupled with Disney doing research to find out where the money spending guests are, is good enough for me to believe they would be tired of local AP holders

Except that Disney does not publish any of this information so this is simply guessing on anyone's part how much AP spend, and what Disney thinks about it. There is no argument for this.

Do they really have many dips left, I know we’re in the thick of revenge travel, but it’s been talked about for years that Disney doesn’t have a down season anymore

Perhaps Disney doesn't have a down season because FL AP fill in the foundation and "tourists" build on top of that.

Wouldn’t AP’s drop off as well, I think every sector would suffer equally, outside of DVC, which is locked in. There is no avoiding a recession, and a company can’t just shift to a “new” demographic to avoid it. People always tend to bring up that Disney will need them when the purse strings tighten, but I’ve never once heard that AP holders/ locals saved Disney during the down times. If anything an AP sounds like a luxury a lot would be giving up first during a recession. local AP holders are less profitable for disney, i don’t think you can even argue that point any longer

Again, you are simply guessing based on your opinion. Disney releases no facts on this.

May be a dumb question but do locals spend a lot of money at disney? Maybe a snack or two. Do locals spent disney prices for meals that probably could be had for 1/2 the price off site?

Way back went, we had season passes to dorney park. Barely spent a dime in the park. Pack a lunch, drove about an hour, spent the day and drove home. Or am I unusually cheap?

First off everyone keeps saying "LOCALS" as if every FL AP holder lives down the street from the parks. MOST Disney AP holders likely live where they have to book hotels, dining ADRs etc. I know of many who book a weekend at Disney every month. I have been booking 4-6 weeks every year.

And yes, because we do not have to lay money down to enter a park (easy to ignore what we paid for AP) we book dining, we paid stupid money for specialty drinks, we book special events like fireworks packages, etc. I've even bought After Hours several times even though I have AP.

The Reedy Creek District law required that Disney offer local residents a discount to the park. That is why Disney is still offering a Florida resident AP pass. Desantis is shutting down this district in a few years. When that happens, Disney will no longer be legally obligated to offer that.

This is very complicated and potentially will end up spending lots of time in court if it happens. I believe Disney won't make a move until after elections, which potentially will completely reverse this. Disney has enough on their side to tie this up in court for years if they want. And there are govt people who say it will likely be re-instated almost immediately with changes.

And if they really wanted a work around, they could just make the price of it so high no one buys it.