Not sure $149 Disney After Hrs event is doing well... (ETA: reviews in 1st post)

[jknc]

Let's just say I was stupid enough to spend $750 for my family of 5 to have 3 hours of extra hours with low crowds. Then I read that they are letting some people in for FREE. I don't know about anyone else but I would be beyond pissed off.

Could not agree more.
Nothing wrong with having a night be free for DVC members, but this last minute "freebie" next to paying customers just has a bad smell to me.
Would anyone be surprised if some CM's were told they could attend for free as well?
Disney does not want the bloggers posting pics/videos of a non-energetic, dead crowd.

 

[Hikergirl]

I wouldn't be mad if DVC members get in for free, nothing wrong with them getting perks the rest of us don't get.

 

[IrishNYC]

I wouldn't be mad if DVC members get in for free, nothing wrong with them getting perks the rest of us don't get.

I agree. How many paying customers would really know about this freebie if they didn't see it here? I really don't see anything wrong with giving a freebie to a few loyal DVC people 24 hours before the event takes place - what better word of mouth if it's a success?

 

[JimmyV]

I guess what bothers me is Disney's refusal to play in the free market sandbox. Especially when so many people post on Boards such as this that the market will always prove to be the decider as to whether this is fortune or folly. I have said from Day One that $149 is an absurd price for this. $69 is more like it. (Ideally, it would be more like 10,000 people at $39, but let's not kid ourselves.) Anyway...in a free market, if $149 is too high, you lower the price to find the equilibrium. But what does Disney do instead? It keeps the price at $149 and then let's a whole bunch of people in for free. So much for all the folks who say that if $149 is too high, Disney will be forced to reevaluate. The hubris of this company and its refusal to admit when it makes cringe worthy economic and public relations blunders continues to astound and confound me.

 

[IrishNYC]

I agree the price is absolutely cringeworthy.

I haven't read up on the details of it, nor have I read the thread(s) about the night event, but does it require park admission like the morning event does? The wording on the above screen shot of the DVC offer sounds like it doesn't require park admission..."can enter at 7pm." At $149 without additional admission price, it makes it a little more palatable. I still wouldn't do it, but for a one or two day quick visit where one might not be buying a longer stay ticket where you see a savings, that price isn't quite as cringey.

 

[chelynnah]

I agree the price is absolutely cringeworthy.

I haven't read up on the details of it, nor have I read the thread(s) about the night event, but does it require park admission like the morning event does? The wording on the above screen shot of the DVC offer sounds like it doesn't require park admission..."can enter at 7pm." At $149 without additional admission price, it makes it a little more palatable. I still wouldn't do it, but for a one or two day quick visit where one might not be buying a longer stay ticket where you see a savings, that price isn't quite as cringey.

The night time one does not require additional park admission and gets you into the park from 7pm. Along the same lines of a party ticket.

 

[Hikergirl]

No, it doesn't require a separate admission ticket. I was looking at one of these events for my dd if they are still doing it when she goes. Since I was planning on getting her a 1 day ticket anyway, the $149 instead isn't so crazy. I wouldn't mind if Disney decided the price could come down though.

 

[JimmyV]

It is a stand alone ticket without the need for other park admission. And the 7:00 entry bothers me. It will cause a crunch in the park between 7:00-10:00 and put downward pressure on ADRs from 7:00-9:00 all to the detriment of people who are already in the park. Want to make a special, limited admission event? Fine. But they should keep it separate from normal operating hours.

 

[hakepb]

I don't, at all, believe it's "free" to DVC.

I'm guessing Parks was below their "break even" point and DVC bought a big, discounted, group package. (DVC already bought 2 of these events this year, so they are aware of the cost)

The members going may not be individually paying, but I'm sure Parks gets some extra $$ for this deal.

 

[Micca]

It says more than 25 attractions -- not 5.

You're right! Thanks for the correction!

 

[Merx]

I agree. How many paying customers would really know about this freebie if they didn't see it here? I really don't see anything wrong with giving a freebie to a few loyal DVC people 24 hours before the event takes place - what better word of mouth if it's a success?

Probably those paying customers on these boards haha, they would know.

My 2 cents is that there might be better word of mouth if they'd just limit the event to paying customers and they get no crowds, and people will say "Wow, they was NO ONE at all at those 3 hours!"

 

[Planogirl]

Probably those paying customers on these boards haha, they would know.

My 2 cents is that there might be better word of mouth if they'd just limit the event to paying customers and they get no crowds, and people will say "Wow, they was NO ONE at all at those 3 hours!"

Yet when they do a villains event the rush of people is insane. I don't know...

 

[Karin1984]

Yet when they do a villains event the rush of people is insane. I don't know...

That probably has more to do with Disney hardly recognizing that there is a huge group of customers who love villains. Only recently they got more presence in merchandising and Club Villain. Those rushes are because villains are rare. This event has nothing rare to it.

 

[cruisingkat]

Since the price includes admission to the park at 7pm (like the MNSHP and MVMCP), I am surprised that they are not offering a discount to AP holders since they already have their park admission - much like they do for those parties.

 

[Planogirl]

That probably has more to do with Disney hardly recognizing that there is a huge group of customers who love villains. Only recently they got more presence in merchandising and Club Villain. Those rushes are because villains are rare. This event has nothing rare to it.

Maybe not rare but I imagine that people would know about the late night offering just as they do the villain events. Maybe.

I love villains too so I can't blame people for going en masse.

 

[Nancyg56]

I'd be asking for a refund if I paid for this event. Geez.

I don't understand why. Disney offers free things to a lot of folks that I paid extra for. Club Level entrance, room upgrades, etc. If I got my bloomers in a bunch every time I heard about things that I paid an additional fee for offered to someone else, I would never be. Happy.

The more I think about this the more mind boggling it is.

Disney sells exorbitantly priced tickets to a special after hours event billed as an extremely low crowd event.

So people buy tickets. But not enough people, so now Disney is giving others free tickets to this highly priced, limited crowd event??? To stuff it with people??

I don't even know.... I must be too stupid to understand what's going on.

No, not stupid at all. DIsney overestimated how many people would actually pony up to this event. The last thing they want is to have folks publicly discussing what a flop it was. Year and Years ago we used to take the kids to Riverside Park. There was a span of time when it was like a ghost town. You could walk on all the rides. Sound like a blast? No. There is something sad about a park that should be bustling with people practically empty.

I think Disney wants that happy spot....you know the magical feeling of "walk on" attractions but still enough people to make it seem like you were not the only loser to pay big bucks to play.

 

[Evoga]

I read that tickets were allocated for 6000 which put it way too big a crowd for the price for me. And I am one of the few who actually prefer paying for these events as long as you don't have to queue as that's the whole point of it to me.

I used to love those e-ride nights as quite a few times you could stay on the ride as many times as you liked as there was no one else waiting to ride it. I must have been on space mountain about 6 times in a row before starting to feel a bit sick. Now that experience is well worth paying for.

I also hope that they do keep offering free tickets to DVC members even though I am not a member as they have taken away a lot of perks from them over the years.

 

[Tomh]

I just think that the price tag is a bit steep on this.

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe not rare but I imagine that people would know about the late night offering just as they do the villain events. Maybe.

I love villains too so I can't blame people for going en masse.

I agree. But we can blame Disney for selling too many tickets to that event.

 

[mom2rtk]

That probably has more to do with Disney hardly recognizing that there is a huge group of customers who love villains. Only recently they got more presence in merchandising and Club Villain. Those rushes are because villains are rare. This event has nothing rare to it.

If it turns out that lines are short all night long, that will indeed be pretty rare for Disney these days.