If Disney cuts the perks for the on-site guests..

[*Fantasia*]

If Disney eliminates the perks for the on-site guests such as: DME, EMH, and the bus service has been cut and on schedule (no longer continuous, but runs on the hour)... no longer can send packages to your resorts and no longer can transfer your luggage to your new resort if you're doing a split stay. Would you still be willing to stay on-site? What other perks can you see if you stay on-site besides the LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION and Disney keeping the grounds clean? Those who normally don't rent cars, would you be renting one now?

This is not a debate.. THIS IS JUST A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION. No rumors. Thank you!

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm a DVC member, so yes, I'm staying onsite most of the time.

Under the described hypothetical circumstances (drastic cuts in Disney park tranportation so that buses run once an hour) yes, I would be renting a car.

 

[WsPrincess]

I also am a DVC member so I am staying onsite but yes, I would rent a car. I think that all these cuts would be major and I think would hurt Disney.

 

[Fluff724]

Are there rumors of any of that happening?

We drive to WDW from 3 hours away so the only perk we use is EMH, so we would probably still stay on property. I would expect the prices to be lower though.

I think Disney would lose HUGE business onsite if they did this though. A huge selling point for staying on property is not needing a car.

 

[Planogirl]

I prefer to have a car but won't have one this year except for a few days. I guess that I'll know the answer after our stay this year.

I don't mind staying offsite so I'd probably do that unless a few favorite Disney resorts had good prices. I like a lot of attractions around the Orlando area so I'm not one who loves to just disappear into WDW.

 

[magicaldisney]

Are there rumors of any of that happening?

We drive to WDW from 3 hours away so the only perk we use is EMH, so we would probably still stay on property. I would expect the prices to be lower though.

I think Disney would lose HUGE business onsite if they did this though. A huge selling point for staying on property is not needing a car.

The only thing is that PM EMHs are being cut down to 2 hours instead of 3 hours starting in January. Posts, like this one, are what cause bad rumors to get started. Not everyone understands that the OP is speaking hypothetically.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Are there rumors of any of that happening?

We drive to WDW from 3 hours away so the only perk we use is EMH, so we would probably still stay on property. I would expect the prices to be lower though.

I think Disney would lose HUGE business onsite if they did this though. A huge selling point for staying on property is not needing a car.

Hi.. I don't mean to scare you.. This is just a hypothetical question. Sorry if I scared you.. That is definitely not my intention. here. I hope you have a wonderful and magical time at Disney! Yes! Take advantage of that EMH!! We always do EMH!

 

[EpcotBill]

Are there rumors of any of that happening?

We drive to WDW from 3 hours away so the only perk we use is EMH, so we would probably still stay on property. I would expect the prices to be lower though.

I think Disney would lose HUGE business onsite if they did this though. A huge selling point for staying on property is not needing a car.

EMH isn't going away yet but it's official that evening hours will be reduced from 3 hours to 2 in January. Disney keeps making cuts and raising prices so I wouldn't expect them to lower prices.

One perk that they haven't messed with yet is free parking for Resort guests. If they ever take that away I might have to start thinking about staying elsewhere; like a Royal Caribbean cruise or Las Vegas or Jamaica. I don't think they will do away with free parking though because it would bog down their transportation system even more than it is now.

About 8 years ago we stopped doing Disney twice a year. We didn't renew our AP's and started going once and doing something else with the other vacation time. We did that because of the price increases and cuts then and it's only gotten worse.

 

[Masonmj84]

Yes, I would stop staying on-site if Disney cut those perks (especially, DME, bus service, and split-stay luggage transfer).

IMO, it would be totally idiotic for them to do away with DME. This is a huge selling point, especially for families that fly in with young kids. Not only do you skip baggage claim and the rental car counter, you also skip the hassle of dealing with car seats (especially painful now that airlines charge for checked luggage). For us, not having to deal with car seats is HUGE. Checking bags at your resort before flying home is also big.

Moreover, DME is a brilliant marketing tool that tends to lock guests on-site for their entire stay. To me, this is the obvious reason that they don't charge extra for it.

In a worst-case scenario, I could see them charging a nominal fee for DME but I can't ever see them doing away with it or making it prohibitively expensive (wouldn't be in Disney's best interest to do so). I also can't ever see them doing away with the resort bus service (especially given the massive capital investment they've already made to the system) and sort of doubt they would ever chrage for this (more likely just cover costs by increasing rack rates and lessening discounts). Resort-to-resort luggage transfer is a more likely way for them to nickel and dime guests and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they started charging for this. But I doubt they'd do away with it.

 

[cjsm&d]

EMH isn't going away yet but it's official that evening hours will be reduced from 3 hours to 2 in January. Disney keeps making cuts and raising prices so I wouldn't expect them to lower prices.

One perk that they haven't messed with yet is free parking for Resort guests. If they ever take that away I might have to start thinking about staying elsewhere; like a Royal Caribbean cruise or Las Vegas or Jamaica. I don't think they will do away with free parking though because it would bog down their transportation system even more than it is now.

About 8 years ago we stopped doing Disney twice a year. We didn't renew our AP's and started going once and doing something else with the other vacation time. We did that because of the price increases and cuts then and it's only gotten worse.

I've always felt that WDW figures in parking when setting prices at the resort (Deluxes between $350 and $400 per night!). And I'm sure the "free" WiFi is one of the things that were taken into consideration when they bumped up the 2013 rack rates.

In fact, while others complain about the parking charges at Swan and Dolphin, I appreciate that I save that daily charge because we don't bring a car with us. At the WDW resorts the cost is built in (IMO of course) whether have one or not.

As far as the O, I would definitely consider other options if WDW was to cut down on the perks.

 

[nansmama]

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[Terkina]

The reason we chose to stay onsite for our Disney trip in February 2013 was because we don't have to rent a car and we get EMH. If they cut DME and internal bus service we would look for somewhere off site.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

Since we own DVC, we would still stay onsite.

We like the feel of the resorts, the service that they provide, the location. So we would continue to stay onsite.

 

[Missytara]

Yes, I would find somewhere else to vacation.

The sole reason I choose Disney to be my choice of destination was the DME and the bus transportation. Not having to rent a car or having someone else do the driving is what really makes it a vacation. No having to figure out where you are going, worrying about damage to the car, finding a gas station, getting it back in time, etc.

Also, I find it the safest place to vacation solo. However, if I could find something just as good, like an all-inclusive resort, where I could spend the week relaxing and enjoying some things like pools, nice meals, and going in town once in a while, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I still love cruising, and would probably go back to solely doing cruises, instead of alternating years going to Disney and cruising.

 

[Mater246]

DME going away wouldn't bother me. When we first started going to WDW that wasn't offered so if it went away, we wouldn't miss it. We like the towncar service better because we like to stop at the store.

 

[momto2inKC]

If Disney eliminates the perks for the on-site guests such as: DME, EMH, and the bus service has been cut and on schedule (no longer continuous, but runs on the hour)... no longer can send packages to your resorts and no longer can transfer your luggage to your new resort if you're doing a split stay. Would you still be willing to stay on-site? What other perks can you see if you stay on-site besides the LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION and Disney keeping the grounds clean? Those who normally don't rent cars, would you be renting one now?

This is not a debate.. THIS IS JUST A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION. No rumors. Thank you!

We don't do EMH, usually rent a car instead of using DME and the buses, and don't have packages shipped back to our resort....so if they removed those we wouldn't even notice

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

If Disney eliminates the perks for the on-site guests such as: DME, EMH, and the bus service has been cut and on schedule (no longer continuous, but runs on the hour)... no longer can send packages to your resorts and no longer can transfer your luggage to your new resort if you're doing a split stay. Would you still be willing to stay on-site? What other perks can you see if you stay on-site besides the LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION and Disney keeping the grounds clean? Those who normally don't rent cars, would you be renting one now?

This is not a debate.. THIS IS JUST A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION. No rumors. Thank you!

Well, of the perks you have listed, the two perks that mean the most to me are continuous bus service to the parks and DME. If those were not offered, I could be more easily tempted to stay off-site. But more than likely, that magical feeling of staying in a Disney resort would still keep me on-site.

Here is the order of how I value the perks:

1. attention to detailing in the theme of each resort
2. magical feeling of staying in a Disney resort
3. continuous bus service to the parks
4. DME
5. Mickey Mouse and Stitch wake up calls
6. Must Do Disney with Stacey
7. towel animals and other special touches
8. hidden Mickeys and fun activities throughout the resort
9. EMH
10. transferring luggage between resorts for split stays
11. free parking
12. sending packages to the resort from the parks--rarely use this one!

I might rent a car, but the bus service on the hour actually doesn't sound bad. It would be nice to know exactly when the bus would pull into the resort, and as long as Disney sent enough buses for everyone that wanted to go at that hour, I would be fine with showing up at the bus stop at a certain time.

It doesn't really make sense from a Disney stand point though. Why would they want everyone from a particular resort arriving to the parks at the same time?

 

[Mickeygolf]

For us we'd still stay onsite. We're DVC members as well and love all the resorts for much more than the perks that are hypothetically being taken away. We've used each and every one of these perks, but removing any of them would not change the way we vacation at WDW. There are so many other perks to staying onsite than what was listed. Great accommodations, water craft rental, onsite restaurants and food courts, community hall activities, pool activities for the kids, the list goes on and on!!!

 

[LoveMyMoos]

Honestly, yes, I'd still stay onsite. We don't really do too much in the way of EMH. We have young kids and the littles aren't good late at night. Out of all of our trips, we've done EMH once, and it was a special deal I took my oldest to back in 2009. We don't even use the morning EMH. There is something extra special to me about staying on property. We always have our own vehicle or rent so buses aren't a huge deal for us. We stayed offsite once and it just wasn't the same. So cuts here and there aren't a deal breaker, yet. I will add that raising prices as a whole like they have will deter us from making trips in general. Next year I am doing my half marathon trip, but instead of a family trip to Disney, we're going somewhere else. There are just too many other things we can do and see for less money.

 

[minnie mum]

Your hypothetical situation cited the cutting of almost every perk for guests staying at on site resorts. Except one: the dining plan. Would you also see this cut as well? Would you also forsee Disney eliminating all special offers and discounts on resort reservations? In other words- do you forsee the Disney executives completely losing their minds and shooting themselves in their collective foot (feet??)? I can't imagine too many rational adults who would pay the going rack rates for even a value resort if there were not perks or incentives for them to do so.