DVC discount Epcot after 4???

[crisi]

Disney's net margin is about 10%. That means that if it costs $250,000 to analyze this and get it off the ground (I'd guess it would cost some more - there is the initial analysis, involvement of several divisions, marketing and training, system changes off the top of my head - I know that when I do simple analysis at work, its pretty easy to hit that $250k in labor before we even get around to implementing), it would have to add $2,500,000 in NEW revenue in order to pay for itself. And that revenue needs to be new revenue, not moved. In other words, every person that decides to get an "after 4" pass for Food and Wine instead of a 4 day park pass - that person has a negative impact on getting to your $2.5M. Also, money spent in non-Disney owned restaurants doesn't count - there are several of those in Epcot - as that isn't Disney's revenue. Money spent in Disney's restaurants that are already operating at capacity doesn't count - that's existing revenue just being spent by a different guest - its only making use of unused capacity that will count. So the only revenue sources you gain are people who buy this pass and WOULDN'T BUY A DIFFERENT MORE EXPENSIVE pass and then use this pass to utilize unused capacity in Disney owned restaurants.

Now, could it feasibly cost less? Possibly - in my experience running projects, I think thats a low estimate, but I don't work for Disney and don't know how many labor hours they spin in meetings. Could it bring in $2.5M in ADDED revenue, possibly. I sort of doubt it. There isn't a lot of unused capacity in Disney restaurants - and the temptation to skip a more expensive MYW ticket in favor of an After 4 pass for Food and Wine will subtract from revenue.

That also doesn't including any ongoing costs over time to maintain the additional admission media option. That's just your initial start up costs.

I have no problem if they do it. Its just that my napkin math says "there isn't enough in this for Disney for them to even bother to do more than napkin math."

 

[WDWDad]

wow that was a waste of a good napkin.

Please 2.5 MILLION to take something currently available to Florida residents and make it a DVC perk, Or a general perk? Cmon dude. Your making this way more technical than it needs to be. As your side is found of saying the Disney MBA's have all the #'s they need right now at their fingertips. Quite simply they could either pull the trigger on this, or not. I can understand either way. It is a completely economic decision. I have always understood this. I was merely arguing the fact that all those aganst the idea said it is a losing proposition. I argued otherwise. Whether it is worth Disney attention would be decided over time. Simply because it hasn't been done yet, doesn't mean it couldn't be done at all.

 

[crisi]

wow that was a waste of a good napkin.

Please 2.5 MILLION to take something currently available to Florida residents and make it a DVC perk, Or a general perk? Cmon dude. Your making this way more technical than it needs to be. As your side is found of saying the Disney MBA's have all the #'s they need right now at their fingertips. Quite simply they could either pull the trigger on this, or not. I can understand either way. It is a completely economic decision. I have always understood this. I was merely arguing the fact that all those aganst the idea said it is a losing proposition. I argued otherwise. Whether it is worth Disney attention would be decided over time. Simply because it hasn't been done yet, doesn't mean it couldn't be done at all.

No, $250k to take something available to Florida residents and make it a DVC perk.

We just spent $250k evaluating and implementing a third supplier for desktops in my company. And that isn't nearly as complex, since its a decision only involving IT and purchasing - there isn't any training or marketing involved.

The $2.5M is what it then takes in increased revenue in order to pay for the change.

Granted, if you pull the trigger on it without the analysis, you don't need to spend as much up front. But there is the possibility you'll loose money on this as DVCers would choose a cheaper ticket while their spend patterns stay the same - or even potentially DECREASE (a lot of resort restaurants are signature - if an After 4 pass sends you to Marrakesh rather than Jiko, Disney is out money). So you'll want to do the analysis.

Training could get very costly, as you have to make sure every guest services CM is aware of this option. You have to reprint your relevant ticket materials to include this option.

 

[Brian Noble]

I agree most DVCers have some type of ticket media. That doesn't mean that this type of option wouldn't work for some in addition to another form.

Actually, for a DVC Member who buys tickets now and goes to the parks more than a few days in a calendar year, it doesn't work. See my analysis here. So, the only reason to buy this after-4 pass is (a) you only visit the parks a few days per calendar year, (b) you don't buy tickets at all, or (c) you do visit more often, and would "drop down" to this pass.

Disney certainly doesn't want (c) to happen. It's likely that Disney isn't too keen on enabling group (a) to continue in their not-visiting-the-parks-often ways. That leaves group (b). And, again, group (b) is almost certainly a relatively small percentage of all DVC Members. In general, people probably don't buy DVC because the timeshares themselves are all that great---they are not---they probably buy DVC because staying in a Disney resort makes visiting the theme parks (i.e. "a Disney Vacation") easier and better.

 

[WDWDad]

Actually, for a DVC Member who buys tickets now and goes to the parks more than a few days in a calendar year, it doesn't work. See my analysis here. So, the only reason to buy this after-4 pass is (a) you only visit the parks a few days per calendar year, (b) you don't buy tickets at all, or (c) you do visit more often, and would "drop down" to this pass.

Disney certainly doesn't want (c) to happen. It's likely that Disney isn't too keen on enabling group (a) to continue in their not-visiting-the-parks-often ways. That leaves group (b). And, again, group (b) is almost certainly a relatively small percentage of all DVC Members. In general, people probably don't buy DVC because the timeshares themselves are all that great---they are not---they probably buy DVC because staying in a Disney resort makes visiting the theme parks (i.e. "a Disney Vacation") easier and better.

Agreed Disney certainly doesn't want (c) to happen. Common sense would suggest that Groups (a) and (c) wouldn't drop down to a pass that only allows admission to a single park, Epcot, after 4 pm. Whether you are at WDW for a few days per year, or many days per year chances are you are not there to only visit Epcot, and only do it during the evening hours. If you are then this certainly would be the pass for you. So it is extremely doubtful that anyone in these subgroups would drop down to only this ticket. Group (b) however is a small but potentially growing segement of the market that would be interested in this perk. As DVC members continue to age the allure of the parks may increasingly fail to motivate expensive multi day,multi park ticket purchases at the level experienced prior, and may fall short of Disneys expectations. We are already seeing rumors to the effect that Disney is seeking to increase participation by members who are unmotivated by the AP discount. There are also circumstances that would allow for this type of pass to be a valuable add on to an existing ticket media for certain travelers from groups (a) and (c). there are people right here on this thread that have indicated that they would be interested in this perk. You would have to allow for the possibility that there good judgement could represent other DVC members that would opt to purchase this current, but as yet not DVC eligible option.

 

[Brian Noble]

Tell you what. When they offer the after-4 pass to DVC Members, I will be the first to say that you were right and I was wrong, in the form of a glass of wine in the France pavilion. I'll be sure not to set the meeting time for anything before, say, 4:30.