No more 20 percent merchandise discounts for PAPs

[RachaelA]

I honestly haven't made up my mind yet on the FP+ yet.
From the podcast I heard and the articles I've read so far it seems like Disney have not completely figured out the magic formula yet.

I think so far they're doing trials on the RFID part and the attractions popularity based on the sample guests they're taking.

I personally think for my family's purposes we can probably do the 6mo advance thing with no problem because we have little ones and our rides options are limited. So I would just do the same rides almost every day...

Now, my big issues are the rumors about only being able to use the FP+ on:
- 1 park per day
- 1 attraction per day (no repeat on the same day)
- a really small # of FP per day (3 or 4?). We usually can do at least 5 or 6 FPs a day at MK and that's with a nap in the afternoon. Cutting that number to almost half is just not right.
- the rule unused FP? If we miss the time do we get the FP options back on the cards and they are automatically cancelled? What if we miss it due to maintenance issue or some other disney issue (transportation problem)? All that is really unclear to me.
- Tour groups? Some of us have seen the big tour groups at certain times of the year. I don't know the capacity of the FP+s but is it possible for a huge tour group to be controlled by 1 Travel Agent hence giving the 1 person access to make huge numbers of FP reservations in 1 click?

That's why I'm still unsure yet.

I'm curious what the outcome of the FP+ is going to be for DVC members. Because if its based on buying multi-day tickets, many DVC members have APs and there is the rumor of limited FPs for annual passholders. Hopefully its based on if you are staying at a Disney resort and NOT on tickets.

 

[locodemickey]

The AP price is $425 versus the PAP special of $399. Only $26 per pass is what I see as a savings. (Unless I am missing something) I was going to purchase the PAP only because of the 20% discount. I don't buy that much merchandise, but another 10% would have been nice. Now I am holding off.

I needed to buy 5 passes, so I saved about $130. I am happy we will be able to come and go as we please among the water parks and Disney Quest, but I was very much looking forward to the 20% off. We certainly will not buy as much now. I was planning on buying a lot from the grocery store as the discount makes it much more palatable. We usually stay 3 weeks in the summer, so they won't be getting much extra from us. I spend more at 20% off, not 10% - just a psychological thing.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

This is more about the Fastpass+ Comment - forget about a 20% Discount - That's just Disney's greed bursting at the seams!

Let's chat about Fastpass+

OK, I understand - there are anal retentive people that LIKE to plan every last minute of their day at Disney....

However, the madness has to end someone.

The folks that are anal retentive need to just deal with their obsession, and let everyone else have a good experience.

Before too long, we are all going to need a Fastpass to USE THE FREAKING BATHROOM!!!!!

OK, let's look at Disneyland - you don't need to make dining reservations 6 months in advance.

At WDW you HAVE to make your dining reservations 6 months in advance if you don't want the horrible restaurants that you can walk up to 9 months out of the year.

This whole thing of reserving your place ahead of time is OUT OF CONTROL!

I really don't care if someone is going to make a once in a lifetime trip to WDW - their experience should not come at the expense of making a Disney vacation approachable.

It's bad enough for first time visitors - but then you go and add all of this obsessive compulsive bull-crap, Disney is going to shoot themselves in the foot! Photopass, Photopass Plus, Fastpass, Fastpass Plus, 180 day advanced dining reservations, 190 day by day advanced reservation for Disney Resort Hotel Guests, and THEN you throw in the Quick Service Dining Plan, the Plus Dining Plan, the Deluxe Dining Plan, the Premium, the Platinum - and REALLY the ability for the average person to plan a Disney vacation on their own become nearly impossible.

I think it is all out of control!

I wonder how they are going to theme the interactive queue for the restrooms?!

Next will be numbered assigned parking spaces, numbered assigned tables at Quick Service Dining locations, attractions that will be booked up 6 months in advance, resorts that will be booked up 12 years in advance, and last minute resort reservation guests will only be allowed to experience attractions on the TV in their room - and they will have to order room service because there won't be a dining reservation to be found - even for the Plaza Restaurant!

It's about time for Disney Fans who think all of this is ridiculous to start bombarding Disney with letters!

I think I could go for a great steak about two months from now....OH, wait - I don't have a reservation - I should have planned that meal FOUR MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!!

I would really like to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in June... OH WAIT!!! There aren't any FREAKING RESERVATIONS LEFT!!!!!!!!!

Absurdity!!!!

This post should be plastered as every other post in every thread on the DisBoards.

 

[RatherBeWithMickey]

Surely no one bought the discounted PAP "just" for the 20% discount,

I did.

Me, too. I have had a premium pass for years (rest of the family only have regular annual passes), specifically for the extra discount. I do all the shopping, and it more than pays for itself. Have never used it for the waterparks or any of the other "perks". Count me as another passholder upset by this change. There will be less shopping from here on out, that's certain.

 

[cseca]

I'm curious what the outcome of the FP+ is going to be for DVC members. Because if its based on buying multi-day tickets, many DVC members have APs and there is the rumor of limited FPs for annual passholders. Hopefully its based on if you are staying at a Disney resort and NOT on tickets.

Hmm if they penalize AP holders I will be upset too

 

[RachaelA]

Hmm if they penalize AP holders I will be upset too

Go read the huge thread on the Theme Parks Board. Seems like AP holders are going to be limited on the number of days they can get FP+ Supposedly its 20 per quarter (so 5 days per quarter).

 

[cseca]

Go read the huge thread on the Theme Parks Board. Seems like AP holders are going to be limited on the number of days they can get FP+ Supposedly its 20 per quarter (so 5 days per quarter).

Thanks for the info.
Hmm...even worse than I thought.
Oh well, I guess we all just have to wait until Disney figure this thing out for good.

 

[Dis-n-Pix]

Back to the original topic... I believe another issue with having just one discount for both annual passes is the CMs do not have to worry what type of pass discount to give. We buy regular APs but many times have received the 20% PAP discount by mistake (not that I complained), but one rate for both passes will make it easier and quicker for CMs to process purchases.

I believe we will see more perks reduced or eliminated. I have heard attendence has been down, and the amount of money Disney has vested into construction (new addition to MK Park, renovations, and building new resorts) during the past few years is not a good sign of increasing perks for those of us that are frequent visitors. Disney knows they can make money from the first and infrequent visitors. In order to get money from the frequent visitors Disney will just eliminate or reduce the perks (PAP discount, TiW cost, etc.)

We are still planning on buying the PAPs, due to being less expensive. But are extremely disappointed with the discount reduction. Since they reduced the PAP discount we will not be buying any more than we usually do. We have no desire to go to the water parks, since we have access to the DVC resort pool where we are staying. So the only PAP perk we will probably use is the free admission to Disney Quest.

 

[RatherBeWithMickey]

Back to the original topic... I believe another issue with having just one discount for both annual passes is the CMs do not have to worry what type of pass discount to give. We buy regular APs but many times have received the 20% PAP discount by mistake (not that I complained), but one rate for both passes will make it easier and quicker for CMs to process purchases.

All the CM's have to do is press the appropriate button on the register. They are next to each other, so you do have to watch and make sure they press the right one. But I don't think having only one button will speed things up, since they are not actually calculating the discount themselves, the register does that for them.

 

[Dis-n-Pix]

All the CM's have to do is press the appropriate button on the register. They are next to each other, so you do have to watch and make sure they press the right one. But I don't think having only one button will speed things up, since they are not actually calculating the discount themselves, the register does that for them.

Actually before the CMs can press the appropriate button they need to look at the back of the pass, determine what type of AP it is, then press the appropriate button. Yes not much time is involved, but most errors I have had are due to the CM not reading the pass correctly. Also, the more I use my APs the hard it gets to read.

 

[nunzia]

Go read the huge thread on the Theme Parks Board. Seems like AP holders are going to be limited on the number of days they can get FP+ Supposedly its 20 per quarter (so 5 days per quarter).

hmm..until of course they come out with an AP+ and AP++ where for a small extra fee..ahem..you can be 'rewarded' with more FP+ per quarter

 

[OurDogCisco]

This is more about the Fastpass+ Comment - forget about a 20% Discount - That's just Disney's greed bursting at the seams!

Let's chat about Fastpass+

OK, I understand - there are anal retentive people that LIKE to plan every last minute of their day at Disney....

However, the madness has to end someone.

The folks that are anal retentive need to just deal with their obsession, and let everyone else have a good experience.

Before too long, we are all going to need a Fastpass to USE THE FREAKING BATHROOM!!!!!

OK, let's look at Disneyland - you don't need to make dining reservations 6 months in advance.

At WDW you HAVE to make your dining reservations 6 months in advance if you don't want the horrible restaurants that you can walk up to 9 months out of the year.

This whole thing of reserving your place ahead of time is OUT OF CONTROL!

I really don't care if someone is going to make a once in a lifetime trip to WDW - their experience should not come at the expense of making a Disney vacation approachable.

It's bad enough for first time visitors - but then you go and add all of this obsessive compulsive bull-crap, Disney is going to shoot themselves in the foot! Photopass, Photopass Plus, Fastpass, Fastpass Plus, 180 day advanced dining reservations, 190 day by day advanced reservation for Disney Resort Hotel Guests, and THEN you throw in the Quick Service Dining Plan, the Plus Dining Plan, the Deluxe Dining Plan, the Premium, the Platinum - and REALLY the ability for the average person to plan a Disney vacation on their own become nearly impossible.

I think it is all out of control!

I wonder how they are going to theme the interactive queue for the restrooms?!

Next will be numbered assigned parking spaces, numbered assigned tables at Quick Service Dining locations, attractions that will be booked up 6 months in advance, resorts that will be booked up 12 years in advance, and last minute resort reservation guests will only be allowed to experience attractions on the TV in their room - and they will have to order room service because there won't be a dining reservation to be found - even for the Plaza Restaurant!

It's about time for Disney Fans who think all of this is ridiculous to start bombarding Disney with letters!

I think I could go for a great steak about two months from now....OH, wait - I don't have a reservation - I should have planned that meal FOUR MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!!

I would really like to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in June... OH WAIT!!! There aren't any FREAKING RESERVATIONS LEFT!!!!!!!!!

Absurdity!!!!

I like the way you think. I mentioned this whole FP+ thing on the $399 PAP page and I got totally brushed off. Everyone is convinced it is rumors, blah, blah... Nobody seems concerned but I am. Even though we own DVC it still costs us a lot to get to WDW and we could easily $5k per trip (for airfare, maintenance fees, food, souviners (spelling?), etc.. So, of course, I want it to be the best trip possible. We are still commando tour type family. Just the way we roll. I guess, I'll be spending my DVC points on DL and Aulani. We are going in November to WDW and I'm nervous about the experience.....

 

[SharonS]

You never know...with this Fast Pass + thing, they may make the number of fast passes different between regular AP and Premium AP. Universal only grants access to FOL after 4 for their premium pass.

I am also very disappointed in Disney with regards to the 20% discount. As others have stated, I don't use the waterparks, and decided to pay the extra $14 for the premium vs ap renewal because of the 20% discount. This also meant that I had to put that money out sooner since the vouchers needed to be purchased by the end of December. My AP doesn't expire until the end of January. I don't believe for a minute that they didn't know this was going to be cut. As a matter of fact, when I spoke with a CM about purchasing, she stated the discount was 10%. I didn't purchase at that time, but called back and did so later and specifically asked about the 10% vs 20% and mentioned what I was told, and the CM said the other CM must have looked at the regular AP discount.

Count me in with the folks that is not impressed or happy about what I have been hearing about Fast Pass +. I go 4 times a year, and definitely do not want to deal with trying to make reservations for ride times at a certain day mark. It's bad enough with DVC and having to be on the phone right at 11 month mark anymore to get a BW view room. Since all the dining stuff, I don't even bother to try and make dining reservations, as you can never get into the restaurants you want now at short notice. I could not get into Mama Melrose for my entire December trip when I tried about 2 weeks out.

As some other have stated, I am ready to start looking at other places to spend my money and time. Disney is beginning to be too much of a hassle. I can honestly say that I never thought I would say that. I am starting to rethink keeping DVC.

 

[tiggerteach]

I think Disney should be giving AP members Nd DVCers more perks not take them away! I was upset they are reducing the discount! I'm glad we didn't renew our passes yet.

 

[bgraham34]

I think Disney should be giving AP members Nd DVCers more perks not take them away! I was upset they are reducing the discount! I'm glad we didn't renew our passes yet.

Yeah well TDO does not care. They already have your money. Its a real shame like you said they should value who they have as customers. It costs nothing to keep a happy customer but it sure does take a whole lot of money to get an unhappy customer back.

 

[goofy4tink]

I upgraded my expiring 8 day hopper to the prem AP a few weeks ago while in WDW. It cost me about $45. Yes, I used the pass to get that 20% savings. But, in the big WoD store, in DTD, the CM badly overcharged me. And do to my own stupidity, I didn't catch it until I got home and actually looked at the receipt! She double charged me for a kids jewelry box ($24) and for a three pack of girls size 4 'somethings'..no idea what..(about $20). That total did away with the 20
% discount!!!!
And since we went to DQ once, I figure that the upgrade paid for itself. Will I get a voucher prior to the 31st for a new prem AP? Nope. Just not worth it to me. My current AP will get me to early Dec '13. After that, we'll see.

But I have to agree that Disney is getting really greedy. First it was TiW...charge us an addtl $25 now that Disney has us hooked on the TiW card. Now, change the 20% discount to a 10% discount with the Prem AP. After they give DVC owners such a great deal!!!! Yet another instance of Disney/corporate greed. Yes, I realize it's a business. But heck.....I'm not really feeling the Disney love lately. I've been thinking of heading to other places for vacations..this is just the frosting on the cake. And yes, Disney already has my DVC dollars. But that doesn't mean I have to spend the rest of my vacation dollars at Disney parks/resorts. I can rent out those points, and go elsewhere.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I guess I'm confused. How is taking away a discount that isn't even a GUARANTEED discount being greedy?

Is it nice to have the discount? Yep. But it was never a guaranteed discount in the first place. Heck, up until 2 years ago, there wasn't even an AP discount beyond World of Disney at DTD. What am I missing?

 

[CRobin]

I guess I'm confused. How is taking away a discount that isn't even a GUARANTEED discount being greedy?

Is it nice to have the discount? Yep. But it was never a guaranteed discount in the first place. Heck, up until 2 years ago, there wasn't even an AP discount beyond World of Disney at DTD. What am I missing?

I think the anxiety here is that DVC started pitching the PAPs 2 months ago at the time when one of the benefits was the 20% discount, and you had to purchase the PAP by 12/31/12. Many did so prior to last week when they dropped the discount back to 10%.

Everyone knows that certain benefits are not guaranteed, but they are angry for purchasing something when the benefit was offered and then having it pulled even before the pass is valid.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[CarrianneB]

We were planning to purchase premium AP's after Christmas with the DVC discount. Part of my rationale was that we could get the TIW discount (reduced), we could get the 20% merchandise discount (reduced), and we would have incentive to squeeze in an extra trip or two staying at a Disney resort hotel (non DVC). With the lost benefit, I'm thinking of skipping the extra trip and just go to WDW for 7 days. Plan B was a Princess cruise in 2014. At this point, the Princess Cruise appears to be leading in our decision process.

We'll have to decide soon as the DVC discount expires December 31st.

Do people really buy that much merchandise that the extra 10% decides another vacation or not? We bought ours for an upcoming trip and it was all about getting the waterparks, extra days etc so we could justify another trip. If it was all about the merchandise discount I would need to reconsider how much stuff I bought.

 

[nunzia]

I guess I'm confused. How is taking away a discount that isn't even a GUARANTEED discount being greedy?

Is it nice to have the discount? Yep. But it was never a guaranteed discount in the first place. Heck, up until 2 years ago, there wasn't even an AP discount beyond World of Disney at DTD. What am I missing?

I agree..sure, discounts are nice, but Disney doesn't HAVE to do any of them. As long as they provide a quality product at what I consider a decent value, I'm in. I do not see Disney as getting greedy..I see them as making wise business decisions. And I still see them as a top brand in service, quality and experience. Disneyland Deluxe APs, as I've said, cost full price for DVC members for renewal..we have been getting a 'special limited' discount of 10%onsite for a long time now and if it goes away, then OK I enjoyed it while I had it..same with DVC discounts at DLR..pretty decent, but not guaranteed and not required for me to enjoy my trip.