LOVE or HATE FP+ Anyone's mind been changed ??

[flicx]

What point are you trying to make here... that Disney should be cheaper and go after these guests, or that their pricing is about right, or that it's too expensive? I'm not following. Per the Disney marketing material, a family of 3 can go for $909 for 3 nights. That's pretty... reasonable.

Since I couldn't fix my other response I will reply to this. Three day tickets for a family of three with a 10 year old are now 292.88 tax included per person on the Disney site. That's about 900 just for tickets!

 

[lauradis]

Not that you should take the time to read my history of posting, but I've made it abundantly clear I understand the problem that FP+ has created for those people. I have agreed over and over that FP+ does not work for people who like to do what I refer to as "power ride".

What might come across to you as not understanding- is that I think it's a good thing that they stopped it. I think more guests getting to ride is more important than a few guests getting to ride a lot.

We will have to disagree about this. I think the person that takes the time to plan and be informed, should get to ride more, then someone that just shows up.

 

[cakebaker]

Again don't put words in my mouth!

I believe I said the same thing you did, just used different words to do it. But if my understanding of what you meant to say is wrong, can you explain what you mean by " Seems a lot like a Disney can do no wrong mentality"?

Because I take that as meaning you think the person can't see what Disney does wrong. In other words, they only see good when there is clearly bad there. To use another poster's label- a pollyanna.

Show me where I made the mistake in that conclusion, please.

 

[MrInfinity]

We will have to disagree about this. I think the person that takes the time to plan and be informed, should get to ride more, then someone that just shows up.

How many times have I heard that argument that FP+ is bad because it requires you to plan ahead and be informed. I love the planning aspect of FP+. Love love love it. FP- was the opposite of planning. It was show up and know how to be faster and what to do in what order to maximize rides. Now I can plan that ahead, and avoid competing in the parks.

 

[flicx]

I believe I said the same thing you did, just used different words to do it. But if my understanding of what you meant to say is wrong, can you explain what you mean by " Seems a lot like a Disney can do no wrong mentality"?

Because I take that as meaning you think the person can't see what Disney does wrong. In other words, they only see good when there is clearly bad there. To use another poster's label- a pollyanna.

Show me where I made the mistake in that conclusion, please.

Again you assume.

 

[lauradis]

Since I couldn't fix my other response I will reply to this. Three day tickets for a family of three with a 10 year old are now 292.88 tax included per person on the Disney site. That's about 900 just for tickets!

900 for three days
900/3=300 a day
Most parks are open about 12 hrs day
$25.00 hr for a family of three or $8.33 per person.

I don't know about you but you will be hard pressed to find any entertainment venue of Disney size for that price.

 

[JimmyV]

No dog in this fight, but, here is a simple calculation that is not "solving for "x" trying to make up a big number (or a small one):
Family of 4 who flies:

Air=$315 per person=$1260 (I don't know about you, but those days of $99 per person r/t are definitely over.)
Hotel=$165 per night (all in, taxes and fees included) for 7 nights = $1,155
Tickets = $350 per person = $1400
Meal Plan and any other food = $60 per person per day for 7 days = $1690

Total = $5495.

Every one of these line items can be shaved except tickets. But not by very much. If the airfare is on sale and you catch a $200 per person flight, and you stay at a hotel for $110 per night and you eat QS for every meal, you can get that down to $4090. So bottom line? A family that flies and stays for a week and stays on site is pretty much looking at $4K minimum

 

[cakebaker]

We will have to disagree about this. I think the person that takes the time to plan and be informed, should get to ride more, then someone that just shows up.

And there's where the problem starts. You assume, like others on this thread- that those who weren't as successful using paper fastpass failed to plan or are just uninformed. That is simply false.

We can agree to disagree on whether or not spreading the wealth with rides is a good policy, but the idea that somehow if you didn't like paper fp you were just uninformed or didn't take the time to plan and just "showed up" is not true.

That would be like me claiming, if you don't like FP+ it's because you're uninformed, don't bother to plan and just show up. Does that sound offensive to you? It does to me.

 

[Laketravis]

I like parts of FP+. I don't like parts of FP+

Because I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.

-Stuart Smalley

Oh, and I think these threads would be much better off if people didn't spend so much time arguing vernacular.


.

 

[cakebaker]

Again you assume.

That's your explanation of what you meant by "Seems a lot like a Disney can do no wrong mentality"????

That's not an explanation at all.

 

[flicx]

What point are you trying to make here... that Disney should be cheaper and go after these guests, or that their pricing is about right, or that it's too expensive? I'm not following. Per the Disney marketing material, a family of 3 can go for $909 for 3 nights. That's pretty... reasonable.

This is a response to this post. See basically quoting a family of three can stay at Disney for 909 for 3 nights. Yet I get called out for my prices?

900 for three days
900/3=300 a day
Most parks are open about 12 hrs day
$25.00 hr for a family of three or $8.33 per person.

I don't know about you but you will be hard pressed to find any entertainment venue of Disney size for that price.

 

[BugsDaddy]

"Cool aid drinkers"
"Rose colored glasses"
"Disney can do no wrong mentality"

I think you see a lot of these type of things thrown out when someone posts a positive FP+ experience. Along with, "if you liked it, it is because you went during a slow time or because your expectations were low or you don't really know how to tour the parks correctly".

As If you don't want to ride every headliner coaster 3 times a day, you are somehow being short changed on your experience.

There are people that dislike FP, people that love it and People who could care less either way (which I think is the actual majority).

I will say that I have seen the advocates of FP plus on this board recognize on many occasions that some people have legit reasons not to like the new system. From the detractors, you don't see the like response very often, if at all. It's almost as if their entire argument hinges on EVERYONE hating FP+ to align with their own opinion and any disention on that point is met with resistance.

 

[JimmyV]

So how long til these increases make Disney say we shouldn't be concerned about pricing them out?

I don't think it's a matter of pricing people out so much as it is a reversion to the "once in a lifetime" trip. This Board is heavily skewed toward the "We go every year", or "We go twice a year", or "This is our third trip since FP+" crowd. Back in the day....1971-1985, I didn't know anyone besides my family that went every year, and our situation was different, though not completely unique. We went to FL every summer to visit the grandparents, even before WDW was built. And we drove. So after WDW opened, and we were driving right by it on the FL TPK, it made sense to stop. Sort of my dad's way of rewarding himself from having just spent 2 weeks sleeping in his mother-in-law's house. But besides us, there were no "we go every year" families in our neighborhood or in my school. We were the "lucky ones". Before DVC, there was a much greater realization that WDW was a "once in a while" vacation. And today's pricing makes it that again. I don't really see any great shift, other than a shift away from some very favorable post-9/11 pricing. We are seeing an adjustment away from that and back to the way things used to be. Save up for 5 years and go on the 6th. Not every year for Food and Wine.

 

[SmithSmith]

No dog in this fight, but, here is a simple calculation that is not "solving for "x" trying to make up a big number (or a small one):
Family of 4 who flies:

Air=$315 per person=$1260 (I don't know about you, but those days of $99 per person r/t are definitely over.)
Hotel=$165 per night (all in, taxes and fees included) for 7 nights = $1,155
Tickets = $350 per person = $1400
Meal Plan and any other food = $60 per person per day for 7 days = $1690

Total = $5495.

Every one of these line items can be shaved except tickets. But not by very much. If the airfare is on sale and you catch a $200 per person flight, and you stay at a hotel for $110 per night and you eat QS for every meal, you can get that down to $4090. So bottom line? A family that flies and stays for a week and stays on site is pretty much looking at $4K minimum

The discussion was about how a "poor" family could afford WDW. I know many families that fit that description, and they do travel (usually camping), but you know what they don't do? Fly! Too expensive! Why fly for $1260, when you could drive for $260?

 

[lauradis]

This is a response to this post. See basically quoting a family of three can stay at Disney for 909 for 3 nights. Yet I get called out for my prices?

I got it.

But then you can look at the price of Disney as in only the price of tickets.

Because If you take a vacation, Disney or not.

1. you have to stay somewhere
2. you have to drive or fly there
3. you have to eat.

So really the only cost that I associate with Disney is the price of admission to walk in the gates. More then likely its just me, I'm a weirdo like that.

 

[JimmyV]

The discussion was about how a "poor" family could afford WDW. I know many families that fit that description, and they do travel (usually camping), but you know what they don't do? Fly! Too expensive! Why fly for $1260, when you could drive for $260?

Absolutely. I never boarded a plane until my Junior year in college. We drove everywhere. But also, see my post above. A "poor" family affords a trip to WDW by not going every year. Or every other year. Or every third year. etc.

 

[MrInfinity]

No dog in this fight, but, here is a simple calculation that is not "solving for "x" trying to make up a big number (or a small one):
Family of 4 who flies:

Air=$315 per person=$1260 (I don't know about you, but those days of $99 per person r/t are definitely over.)
Hotel=$165 per night (all in, taxes and fees included) for 7 nights = $1,155
Tickets = $350 per person = $1400
Meal Plan and any other food = $60 per person per day for 7 days = $1690

Total = $5495.

A family that flies and stays for a week and stays on site is pretty much looking at $4K minimum

Yeah, I buy this.

But, Air... some drive... we do. It runs about $250. And really, in ~any~ vacation you'd have to "get there". At Disney, they cover your airport shuttle. That's not trivial. Where you live will influence where you vacation because of those "getting there" costs.

Hotel and tickets are the main thing, and Disney is advertising $909 for this. Don't know the limitations there, but that's the offer in big print on the Disney site.

Meal plan / food... not really relevant, since you'd eat anywhere. And if you'd eat for $60/day at Disney, you'd probly eat for $60/day at Universal. If you'd eat at McDonalds or grocery stores elsewhere, you can do that at Disney too. Obviously you've pegged 4-adults in your DDP cost. That's probly just an oversight. Clearly a family of 3 (2/1) would not spend $240/day on food. It would be $140 max (DDP) or maybe $80/day on a budget, which is very doable, eating pretty well at QS, w/o having to go down to the grocery-level savings.

 

[lauradis]

I like parts of FP+. I don't like parts of FP+

Because I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.

-Stuart Smalley

Oh, and I think these threads would be much better off if people didn't spend so much time arguing vernacular.


.

Shh you.

 

[Laketravis]

But besides us, there were no "we go every year" families in our neighborhood or in my school. We were the "lucky ones"...

Reversion to the mean. I totally agree. The kids in DS9's class tell him how lucky he is. Our adult friends kid us about how often we go. To a very large demographic, WDW is something you only do once.

I personally feel that current attendance increases can be attributed in large part to pent up demand. For several years recently many families had to postpone that once in a lifetime adventure.

The entire FP debate could be moot in a few years.

 

[cakebaker]

I don't think it's a matter of pricing people out so much as it is a reversion to the "once in a lifetime" trip. This Board is heavily skewed toward the "We go every year", or "We go twice a year", or "This is our third trip since FP+" crowd. Back in the day....1971-1985, I didn't know anyone besides my family that went every year, and our situation was different, though not completely unique. We went to FL every summer to visit the grandparents, even before WDW was built. And we drove. So after WDW opened, and we were driving right by it on the FL TPK, it made sense to stop. Sort of my dad's way of rewarding himself from having just spent 2 weeks sleeping in his mother-in-law's house. But besides us, there were no "we go every year" families in our neighborhood or in my school. We were the "lucky ones". Before DVC, there was a much greater realization that WDW was a "once in a while" vacation. And today's pricing makes it that again. I don't really see any great shift, other than a shift away from some very favorable post-9/11 pricing. We are seeing an adjustment away from that and back to the way things used to be. Save up for 5 years and go on the 6th. Not every year for Food and Wine.

Our first trip to WDW was in 1987 when my daughters were 8 years old. We scrimped and saved and it was a fluke of finances that finally allowed us to go on what I was sure was a once in a lifetime trip. And even getting to go once, I knew we were luckier than a lot of people who would never afford any trip. It never occurred to me then, that 13 years later our circumstances would change so that we could afford trips at least once a year from then on. Even then though, that once in a lifetime trip was tightly budgeted. We stayed at the FW cabins, ate almost all our meals at the cabin and our huge and lavish treat was to eat at Cinderella's Castle. And never once did it occur to me that Disney was pricing me out of a vacation I deserved.