On the contrary, they DO need to fill empty seats. Hubby and I went last year when they were offering CM discounts (one of the last discounts available now) and the place was empty. Only about 15 tables were being used, about 20% of the place. The place was so quiet and strangely embarrassing for the servers and performers. I am an AP holder even though hubby is a CM--and we look into all discounts available to either catagory. I think they need to bring discounts back to the HDDR like there was in the past. But remember, when there were discounts, they were only for the 9:30 PM show, obviously not a popular time for alot of folks. Once upon a time they use to also offer an AP discount for the luau too. (I've been an AP holder for 10 years, so have watched alot of changes, some good, some bad). You should always check the AP section of the Disney site for changes and updates. I visit it about once a week. I got a great AP discount of 30% off my AK tour in May.