How to help WDW make more money and make guests happier

[d1gitman]

And that will really help Disney make more money? Which I believe was what the OP was asking for ideas on?

I for one would be more than willing to pay a little extra for my park pass and resort stay for a smoke free environment (or at least smokers staying in designated areas). We had to change rooms last trip because someone was smoking in the resort building we were in. It smelled like someone was hangin out in our bathroom smokings. In addition to our personal views of smoking, DS and myself have asthma, so it is a health issues regarding smoke as well.

So, to bring this back on topic, this is one DIS'r would would pay extra for no smoke.

 

[d1gitman]

If they would include either MYW passes or DDP with DVC ownership. I do not own DVC as it just doesn't add up for our family. If park passes or DDP were included, that would add a ton of value. It could be based on how many points you hold in DVC.

 

[Explodo]

I agree Whole Heartedly with the comments at having more events directed at the boys. Pirates...Cars...Monsters. Even more stuff with the Lost Boys would be great.

And they need to start doing something with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" my kids love this movie...and it is ripe for all kinds of events.

WE also agree that the food quality has suffereed tremendously in the past couple of years in reagrds to TS. Instead of nice sit down meal, we get to enjoy a very harried server and sloppily prepared meals. It's a shame TBH.

AND...Why can't they finish the walkway to the Grand Floridian? It would require a simple bridge over the canal. Heck it wouldn't be that much to make it a drawbridge...or some kind of retractable bridge (So the illuminations stuff could float by) This way you could have people walking to the GF instead of having to brawl their way through the mono-rail lines...or the boat wait.

And I wouldn;t mind paying 5 bucks more per ticket...as long as I knew that money was going to improving the attention to detail that Disney is known for...but is now unable to do to historical levels

 

[Colleen27]

I for one would be more than willing to pay a little extra for my park pass and resort stay for a smoke free environment (or at least smokers staying in designated areas). We had to change rooms last trip because someone was smoking in the resort building we were in. It smelled like someone was hangin out in our bathroom smokings. In addition to our personal views of smoking, DS and myself have asthma, so it is a health issues regarding smoke as well.

So, to bring this back on topic, this is one DIS'r would would pay extra for no smoke.

I don't think there's much Disney can do about that, though. All the rooms are already non-smoking and the resorts and parks have designated smoking area, but there will always be rule breakers.

 

[redrosesix]

Echoing from another thread -- more character meal options geared at boys, such as a POTC-themed meal.

Also, try to keep more current with successful films and shows -- for example, Wall-E is a huge hit with the kids, why is there no Wall-E in the parks. (I've noticed a rather poor marketing effort associated with Wall-E overall, honestly. How hard could it have been to have made igloo-style B&L lunchboxes for kids???) Additionally, the Playhouse Disney breakfast still features JoJo and Goliath, who are pretty much off the air.

So true. I have a girl myself, but when my brother asked me to recommend a great character meal for his 2 boys when they're there next month, my response was "Um, er, sorry." Great thing about girls is that they can enjoy all of the experiences -- the really girly stuff doesn't work at all for boys. My daughter would enjoy the pirate themed experiences as much as her cousins would.

And it would have been great to see Wall-E in Tomorrowland -- so surprised they haven't cashed in on that. It was the Saturday movie for the month of Feb. at ASMusic.

 

[redrosesix]

I would like to see a special FP for resort guests. Something like 2 FP per person per night that would be good for any ride that takes FP.

I would also like to see Park Hoppers as a free perk for resort guests.

Both of these ideas would not cost much to implement and would offer a real perk for staying on site which would make them more $$$ then the $50 cost of a hopper.

Love these ideas, since they don't really cost WDW more money ie. it doesn't cost them more money to let a family in 2 gates in one day as opposed to the family leaving and returning to the same park. Ditto for the FPs.

And with perks like these, any revenues they forego by giving the hopper passes out free would be more than made up from increased reservations (and dining, and gift shop sales) Let's face it, once guests are staying in the world, they probably spend most of their money there (as opposed to guests who stay off-site)

 

[sjrolaids]

I would like to see a special FP for resort guests. Something like 2 FP per person per night that would be good for any ride that takes FP.

I would also like to see Park Hoppers as a free perk for resort guests.

Both of these ideas would not cost much to implement and would offer a real perk for staying on site which would make them more $$$ then the $50 cost of a hopper.

I agree wholeheartedly with these ideas. Doesn't Universal Studios offer something similar for their resort guests? Seperate ride entrance? Something like that...can't remember.

 

[Glenn]

Some folks I know that went to WDW in Sept complained about people smoking in rooms they shouldnt. Maybe in large resorts Disney could make 1 building smoking ( I dont smoke) so people that really need it wont have to mess up other rooms. Disney could charge a premium for these rooms for the additonal clean up.
It was also mentioned on the boards that Disney is no longer sending free ballons or cards to rooms for a birthday. They could probably charge $2-3 for this to cover their costs & make a few cents & no one would complain about such an inexpensive cost.

 

[Colleen27]

Something else that would probably boost their merchadise sales - free shipping for purchases over a certain dollar amount in the Disney-owned shops. At $25 per bag I doubt many people are willing to carry home as many souvenirs as they once did, even if they have plenty of money to spend.

 

[lisalonglash]

There have been some GREAT suggestions in this thread! My suggestion list includes:

1. I agree with all the other posts about creating a character meal aimed more towards boys. A pirate-themed meal would be a huge hit - both for boys and their moms! LOL

2. Incentives aimed at making WDW more affordable for Canadians. WDW gets a TON of Canadian vacationers/DVC owners/AP holders. There are often deals aimed at specific US states, right? So, with the abysmal CDN$ exchange rate, WHY isn't Disney making WDW more attractive as a vacation destination for us? This is a massive market - they should get a much bigger market share IMO

3. LOVE the idea of special perks for staying on-site, such as free hoppers, free FPs, etc. If they did that, suddenly that $40/night off-site hotel wouldn't look so attractive to so many people kwim?

 

[lisalonglash]

I agree wholeheartedly with these ideas. Doesn't Universal Studios offer something similar for their resort guests? Seperate ride entrance? Something like that...can't remember.

Yes, I think it's called "front of the line" pass? They sell the same privilege too - Express Pass or something like that. When we return to US/IOA in a couple of years (to see Harry Potter world!!!), we will be purchasing the special passes. I think the off-site pass available for purchase was about US$20/person for one day.

 

[dizluvah]

I would be thrilled if Disney would ENFORCE the no heely's policy. Every trip one of our party is slammed into by an out of control kiddo with wheeled shoes of some kind.

 

[erincon23]

I second (third? fourth?) the idea of more character meals for boys! I have two older boys (16 and 13) who still enjoy meeting the characters, but none of the ones they really like -- Toy Story, Incredibles, pirates -- are in the meals! They're no longer interested in Winnie the Pooh, were never interested in princesses (unless they'll go on dates) and at this point are only marginally interested in Mickey (sad sad mommy).

I'd like to see dining plans available to off-site guests. This would definitely make us more interested in staying in the parks for meals rather than leaving during the day. I did the meal plan last fall with a friend when we stayed at Pop, and it was great, but we're staying off-site this next trip (less than a month away!) and would love to do the dining plan but we can't.

I realize it takes quite a long time to develop something as large as a complete ride, but it couldn't take much longer than the creation of a movie to develop some kind of attraction that would come out near the same time as a new movie! The interest in something like Incredibles or Wall-E wanes over time -- think how popular it would be to have SOMETHING themed to a movie you're pretty sure will do well available as the movie comes out! A special limited-time character meal, a stage show!

I LOVE Disney, as do the rest of you, obviously, but there's so little change from visit to visit that sometimes I wonder why I keep going back. Yes, I know, the familiarity and generally high quality keep pulling us back in, but I'd love to see more change from year to year. Keep our interest! Provide a new attraction to draw in people who aren't as fanatical as we are! It doesn't have to be on the scale of Expedition Everest, but keep things exciting with new events we can anticipate!

OK, that's my two cents.

Oh, and put refrigerators in all the rooms...

Erin

 

[AnnaS]

More options for DVC owners. I would love to see more pass discounts. We don't do annual passes. We usally do a 10 day no exp. We get 2 full years out of it.

I would be happy with a small discount too. Match the prices from undercovertourist, ticketmania, etc.

 

[Colleen27]

Some folks I know that went to WDW in Sept complained about people smoking in rooms they shouldnt. Maybe in large resorts Disney could make 1 building smoking ( I dont smoke) so people that really need it wont have to mess up other rooms. Disney could charge a premium for these rooms for the additonal clean up.

It was couched in pretty, guest-driven language, but the decision to eliminate smoking rooms was most likely a cost cutting measure for Disney. Insurance and maintanence costs are higher for businesses that allow smoking, and I don't think many people would be willing to pay a premium for smoking rooms that was substantial enough to make up for the higher costs. Not to mention the added complexity of an extra bookable class of rooms, one that many guests would not want to be assigned to. It is one thing to offer water views or pirate theming - if bookings are low for those rooms, Disney can always upgrade folks who booked standard rooms and everyone is happy. People wouldn't be so happy about getting a free upgrade to the smoking building, you know?

 

[JoanneNC]

It was couched in pretty, guest-driven language, but the decision to eliminate smoking rooms was most likely a cost cutting measure for Disney. Insurance and maintanence costs are higher for businesses that allow smoking, and I don't think many people would be willing to pay a premium for smoking rooms that was substantial enough to make up for the higher costs. Not to mention the added complexity of an extra bookable class of rooms, one that many guests would not want to be assigned to. It is one thing to offer water views or pirate theming - if bookings are low for those rooms, Disney can always upgrade folks who booked standard rooms and everyone is happy. People wouldn't be so happy about getting a free upgrade to the smoking building, you know?

I thought Florida state law was no smoking in any hotels?

 

[rosiep]

I would like to see a special FP for resort guests. Something like 2 FP per person per night that would be good for any ride that takes FP.

I would also like to see Park Hoppers as a free perk for resort guests.

Both of these ideas would not cost much to implement and would offer a real perk for staying on site which would make them more $$$ then the $50 cost of a hopper.

That's a good idea: No cost to Disney and an added perk for on site guests

 

[katiebelle21]

I would like to see a special FP for resort guests. Something like 2 FP per person per night that would be good for any ride that takes FP.

I would also like to see Park Hoppers as a free perk for resort guests.

Both of these ideas would not cost much to implement and would offer a real perk for staying on site which would make them more $$$ then the $50 cost of a hopper.

I love these ideas! I also liked it when the characters used to walk around the park--I think it added to the magic of the place.

 

[Colleen27]

I thought Florida state law was no smoking in any hotels?

I don't believe so, unless it has changed recently. When Disney first went non-smoking we thought about staying at the Dolphin because they still had smoking rooms available, but DH ultimately decided he'd rather hoof it to a smoking area every now and then than stay offsite.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Here's my list:

1. More fantasmic shows
2. Bring the original DP back with the appetizers, and the tips included even if the price has to go up a few dollars.
3. Allow guests to make ADR's online.
4. Fix up the transportation system. Sometimes the bus to Epcot comes every 3 minutes, while the bus to AK comes once an hour.