My Co-Worker didnt syay in a Disney Resort but still got extra magic hours...

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

This attitude is becoming more and more prevalent unfortunately. Several weeks ago I had a coworker, who asked me how much a trip to WDW costs, as he was thinking about taking his son down there next fall. When I tried to explain that it depended on the time of year and which resort he stayed at, he tried to press me for an exact price. I told him I didn't really know, but to look at the WDW site, decide when he wanted to go and where he wanted to stay and I'd see what discounts I might be able to find for his time frame, but since I usually used an AP discount for a room discount and the TiW card for my meals, I didn't really know what the full cost of a trip without an AP would run. He then got the brilliant idea that I could give them my AP and they could use if for a room discount and his wife's park ticket. When I immediately refused he got mad and said he didn't see what it would hurt since I wouldn't be using it that week and it'd save them alot of money. Uh, how about because that would simply be wrong, plus when the wife got caught with my ticket, WDW would not only go back and charge them full price for their room, but they'd also take up my annual pass. He actually got really mad and said he couldn't believe I could be that prudish and selfish that I wouldn't let them use my AP to save them money. He said it wouldn't hurt anything and he was sure lots of people did it. He just couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Oh my. Not good.

I think if all the KTTW cards were going to have RFID chips in them, the chip could be scanned at every ride so if someone has an invalid KTTW card it wouldn't work and they couldn't ride.

 

[asmit4]

I know DW does what works for them financially but evening EMH is a racket. The parks are FULL of people - sure they can't ride the rides (supposedly) but they are THERE-- Taking up the walking space, standing in lines to checkout etc. I would MUCH rather PAY for EMH. Also, not doing the wristbands was the END of EMH. We have our old KTTW cards and I highly doubt anyone would check them. LOADS of people use old ones to ride rides. I'd never do this myself but LOTS of people would. Heck- people BRAG about it

 

[Sam81]

Still not buying it. For people who take a long break in the middle of the day, and for people who park hop, EMH work pretty much as advertised -- fewer people in the parks (particularly in the morning), and shorter lines for the rides. There's evidence right in this thread that when it doesn't work that way, part of the problem is people cheating the system. EMHs are a valid perk for a lot of people -- I don't value that perk for the same reason I don't value onsite transportation; I'm not going to use it, for my own personal reasons. Apparently you don't value EMHs, either, but that doesn't mean they hold no value.

The higher crowds later in the day are an unintended, and unwanted, consequence, but anyone who does the least bit of scheduling research is going to know about them, because nearly every scheduling site and book mentions that issue (I can't remember any that didn't). Meaning most people posting here were not bamboozled by Disney marketing.

It’s only a “perk” if Disney allows it to be. If they do not check cards consistently (as some have stated) then no it is not a perk and thus has no value. So if you booked your onsite hotel because you thought only resort guests could ride, then yes you got had.

If they really want to protect this “perk” then they need to consistently enforce checking cards. And that includes checking dates, making sure my card doesn’t say Judy or Mary and making sure 3 Sam Smiths don’t try to get in line in a row.

I also think the “oh noes the children” shock is a little much. Today I drove (with my kids in the car) over the speed limit AND didn’t cross in a cross-walk. Someone call CPS! Come to think of it didn’t Walt create “dummy” companies to buy the land up? That doesn’t seem very transparent and ethical. Oh well that doesn’t count!

 

[Cherinva]

I agree, they should be banned for life. I’m on hold waiting to speak to Bob about it right now.

OP I would call HR immediately and also put a call into CPS, I mean how dare they ride the Tea Cups when they are not paying guests…err…paying guest staying onsite visiting the designated park at the designated time.

Seriously? Does it really matter? Would I go out of my way to get new tickets – probably not, but in the grand scheme of things does it really matter?

Yes....it matters. Why? Because those that make a choice to pay the price and stay on property get added perks (to me they are of value)...we get transporation, the dining plan and EMH. If we choose to use them or not, is up to the person, but for me these are things that make me want to stay on property. And using someone else's KTTW card is just plain wrong!!!! (as is the fact that the person who's card is was LIED to Disney in saying they lost the card and got a new one)

I still wish Disney would go back to the wrist bands..

 

[Tink415]

I liked it when you had to pay for EMH...

But I know I'm in the minority.

I liked it better too!! But it was just at MK. It was certainly worth the $10 I recall being charged.

 

[Colleen27]

Allow me to play devil’s advocate, so currently there are multiple threads with people complaining the EMH are being cut from 3 to 2 hours. One of the core reasons being that the attendance figures during those hours are not supporting the cost to keep the park open. Now wouldn’t you want the extra people in the park? Wouldn’t that actually help the cause?

That depends on if you believe that attendance is actually the cause of the cutback. I don't think it is; the attendance argument hangs its hat on a very narrow set of circumstances (post-midnight EMH at the MK) and ignores the fact that for the parks (MK in slow seasons, Epcot year-round and Studios in all but peak times) when EMH ends by midnight or 1am the crowds remain steady until the end.

I think they're counting on next gen being the new selling point of staying on-site and are looking to scale back or even eliminate EMH - first wristbands went away and off-site guests were allowed to stay which opened the door to the 'cheats' that allow them to ride, then characters were eliminated from EMH, now the EMH is shortened by 1/3.

 

[asmit4]

That depends on if you believe that attendance is actually the cause of the cutback. I don't think it is; the attendance argument hangs its hat on a very narrow set of circumstances (post-midnight EMH at the MK) and ignores the fact that for the parks (MK in slow seasons, Epcot year-round and Studios in all but peak times) when EMH ends by midnight or 1am the crowds remain steady until the end.

I think they're counting on next gen being the new selling point of staying on-site and are looking to scale back or even eliminate EMH - first wristbands went away and off-site guests were allowed to stay which opened the door to the 'cheats' that allow them to ride, then characters were eliminated from EMH, now the EMH is shortened by 1/3.

If this is true they better offer SOME benefit to values/mods too- b/c I am hearing (all rumor of course) that these benefits (nextgen) will be only for deluxes. I'd be ok with x # for deluxes given, a smaller # for mods etc. but there has to be SOME benefit to staying in a shoebox onsite for 100 bucks when I can get an entire condo right across the street at Bonnet Creek for 100 and still be 'under the DW sign'.

 

[POOHsie]

I also think the “oh noes the children” shock is a little much. Today I drove (with my kids in the car) over the speed limit AND didn’t cross in a cross-walk. Someone call CPS! Come to think of it didn’t Walt create “dummy” companies to buy the land up? That doesn’t seem very transparent and ethical. Oh well that doesn’t count!

Keeping the sale of large tracts of land under wraps by buying small parcels under dummy names is Real Estate 101. Disney bought about 30,000 acres -- 47 square miles -- twice the size of Manhattan -- combining parcels owned by many different people. If those people knew it was Disney buying worthless land in nowhere Florida, all of a sudden that land would cost $1000s per acre. And Disney wouldn't have bought it. Disney's first acre cost $80. After word finally got out that Disney was buying tens of thousands of acres, Disney's last acre cost $80,000. http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976719796

 

[Colleen27]

If this is true they better offer SOME benefit to values/mods too- b/c I am hearing (all rumor of course) that these benefits (nextgen) will be only for deluxes. I'd be ok with x # for deluxes given, a smaller # for mods etc. but there has to be SOME benefit to staying in a shoebox onsite for 100 bucks when I can get an entire condo right across the street at Bonnet Creek for 100 and still be 'under the DW sign'.

The last rumor I read about the next gen system was free at deluxes, discounted for mods & values, and full-price for off-site guests. Another version speculated that it would be included with all on-site stays but that the number of FPs you could pre-reserve would be different based on the tier of resort you choose. But at this point it is all just rumor and even if any of it was accurate at some point it may have changed since that aspect leaked out.

I'm with you on BC - shortening EMH and killing the value of the dining plans has me planning mostly off-site stays for my AP year.

 

[WDSearcher]

If this is true they better offer SOME benefit to values/mods too- b/c I am hearing (all rumor of course) that these benefits (nextgen) will be only for deluxes. I'd be ok with x # for deluxes given, a smaller # for mods etc. but there has to be SOME benefit to staying in a shoebox onsite for 100 bucks when I can get an entire condo right across the street at Bonnet Creek for 100 and still be 'under the DW sign'.

I think where those rumors are coming from is that NextGen is going to be rolled out in phases. That's been talked about since the beginning. And it's quite likely that the deluxe resorts will get it first, simply because there are fewer people to deal with if something goes wrong. You test on a smaller group so that when you get to the larger population (values), you've got as many bugs worked out as possible. There's no way, really, that Disney could roll this out to all guests at once without it being a huge cluster.

 

[asmit4]

I think where those rumors are coming from is that NextGen is going to be rolled out in phases. That's been talked about since the beginning. And it's quite likely that the deluxe resorts will get it first, simply because there are fewer people to deal with if something goes wrong. You test on a smaller group so that when you get to the larger population (values), you've got as many bugs worked out as possible. There's no way, really, that Disney could roll this out to all guests at once without it being a huge cluster.

I totally understand rolling it out to deluxes first for a couple of months and then adding on after the kinks are worked out....but if this 'benefit' isn't given at least in part to mods and values in the long run- watch the backlash. Is there any rumor/guestimate on when it would roll out? Perhaps end of 2013? Sooner?

 

[shalom]

And Disney wouldn't have bought it. Disney's first acre cost $80. After word finally got out that Disney was buying tens of thousands of acres, Disney's last acre cost $80,000.

Exactly. The only reason that land was worth more was that Disney brought the value. Disney paid a fair price for all the land they bought, because that land is only worth more now due to the efforts of Disney. It's not cheating anyone to make your own land more valuable, and it's definitely not cheating anyone to make the land around your property more valuable, which is exactly what Disney has done!

The reason Disney kept the purchase quiet is that they didn't want Disney World to suffer the same fate as Disneyland -- the price of property around Disneyland skyrocketed once people saw what a great money mine it was, and it was years before the corporation was willing to pay the price to buy enough property to put up a hotel. Disney would not have bought the land in Orlando at the prices their own success ultimately created, so no one in Orlando would have benefited if word got out before they'd bought enough land to accomplish Walt's goals.

And it's quite likely that the deluxe resorts will get it first, simply because there are fewer people to deal with if something goes wrong.

This seems way more likely to me than the idea that it'll never be offered to other onsite guests. I'm with asmit4 in thinking the backlash to taking perks from Values and Mods without replacing them with something would be terrific. Disney didn't get where it is by being stupid.

 

[Rip]

The last rumor I read about the next gen system was free at deluxes, discounted for mods & values, and full-price for off-site guests. Another version speculated that it would be included with all on-site stays but that the number of FPs you could pre-reserve would be different based on the tier of resort you choose. But at this point it is all just rumor and even if any of it was accurate at some point it may have changed since that aspect leaked out.

I'm with you on BC - shortening EMH and killing the value of the dining plans has me planning mostly off-site stays for my AP year.

Well, given that it is costing Disney $ to develop it when the current system worked pretty well, I'd say that there will be some sort of charge for it. Whether that means a tiered level as you describe or something different remains to be seen, but one can almost guarantee it won't be "free", as the current system is.

 

[DisneyFive]

To the OP... I completely don't agree with what your co-worked did, but I have a hard time seeing it being all that prevalent. Certainly not enough to make a noticeable increase in the EMH crowd.

I'm not justifying it whatsoever, and don't agree with it, but I have a feeling that occurances like this wouldn't impact crowd levels much at all.

It's still plain wrong though.

Dan

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

I liked it when you had to pay for EMH...

But I know I'm in the minority.

Me too!!! Best 10 or was it 15 dollars that I ever spent. I would love for them to go back to that. Wasn't it still only for resort guest?

 

[Cyrano]

This does not assist trip planning so moving to TP community

 

[NancyIL]

My 2 adult kids and I were at WDW last week. The kids went to the MK's EMH Friday night, but my son didn't realize he left his room key at the hotel until he got to the park. I told them they would each need a room key for EMH, but they were able to get on the rides by showing only one room key. I'm glad for them, but the CMs clearly weren't doing their job.

 

[WDSearcher]

My 2 adult kids and I were at WDW last week. The kids went to the MK's EMH Friday night, but my son didn't realize he left his room key at the hotel until he got to the park. I told them they would each need a room key for EMH, but they were able to get on the rides by showing only one room key. I'm glad for them, but the CMs clearly weren't doing their job.

Or, they explained this to each CM and the CMs were being nice about it and letting the other kid on.

From Disney's standpoint, the one kid has a room key. He's saying that the other kid is with him but left his room key at the resort. That's not such a bizarre story that it's unbelievable. I'm sure it happens nightly.

Disney tends to trust its guests, just like when they ask how old a kid is for ticketing or meals.

 

[NancyIL]

Or, they explained this to each CM and the CMs were being nice about it and letting the other kid on.

From Disney's standpoint, the one kid has a room key. He's saying that the other kid is with him but left his room key at the resort. That's not such a bizarre story that it's unbelievable. I'm sure it happens nightly.

Disney tends to trust its guests, just like when they ask how old a kid is for ticketing or meals.

They (son and daughter) said they weren't asked about it, because the CMs weren't paying much attention.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Seriously? Does it really matter? Would I go out of my way to get new tickets – probably not, but in the grand scheme of things does it really matter?

That’s kinda my point. Disney markets this as a special “perk” that you only get by staying onsite. So the average Joe shells out $400 a night for a deluxe, thinking the extra perks are justifying the cost. In reality he has the same "perk" as the guest paying $150 for the All Star Whatever and the guy paying $59 at the Ramada.

So if you booked your onsite hotel because you thought only resort guests could ride, then yes you got had.


I also think the “oh noes the children” shock is a little much. Today I drove (with my kids in the car) over the speed limit AND didn’t cross in a cross-walk. Someone call CPS! Come to think of it didn’t Walt create “dummy” companies to buy the land up? That doesn’t seem very transparent and ethical. Oh well that doesn’t count!

Sam, I have to say you bother me a lot. My husband and I ALWAYS stay deluxe. (I have persuaded him to stay a few cheaper resorts over the years simply because I want to stay at each resort on property, but it takes some doing each time). If EMH was this big factor, why would we stay deluxe and not just stay at a value? There is much more to vacation than your logic allows. We prefer the perks of the deluxes (bigger rooms, better beds, inside hallways, proximity to parks, better pools, room service, etc). Staying on property even at the value level gives you much more than off site. (no need to rent a car, pay for parking, find parking, find your car at the end of the evening, drive to your hotel when you- the driver- are exhausted, etc. let alone the theming of Disney and its customer service).

As for why cheating and lying is wrong???? Seriously? My grocery store lets you scan and pack your groceries as you shop, so when you get to check out you just scan a barcode above the cash register and pay (your bags are already packed). According to your logic, it is fine for me to add a couple things to my bags without scanning them (and so not paying for them)? I mean who is it hurting? And if the store didnt want me to do that, they would watch my shopping more closely, right? According to you, a grocery employee should follow me around so I dont put things in my bag that I dont scan first. You really dont see this as a problem?