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

[DebbieB]

It would be if the DVC branch paid the Parks branch an amount "x" for each DVC member who came.

DVC has a sales budget with their own money. They have said dues were not used for the free park events. I don't think that would be legal because members are given a budget each year that details where the dues money is going, they are for the upkeep of the DVC resort and managing the membership. Member events are not included. They get the money from their sales budget to encourage future sales.

 

[WillAustin]

I think some folks are confusing things:
Low attendance was a win for those people that purchased it (even more so for those that got free tickets!). They got what they wanted but I'm pretty sure it was a one time thing, either attendance will dramatically rise, or Disney will not have this after the initial 7 events. It doesn't make financial sense for them.

I agree. A win for a few people is definitely not a win for Disney. I'm betting on a significantly scaled back version later in the summer. Less hours, less cost, more people.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Could you expand on quietly go away. There are only seven events scheduled with zero indication of immediate continuation - so no events after mid-May doesn't mean it's going away.

I can't speak for mom2rtk, but for me quietly going away would be completing what's already scheduled and then we never hear about it again.

 

[Mikie]

Don't laugh I am not much for rides I like parades fire works. I love the parties. I rather go to the food and wine any day. I love atmosphere and entertainment.

I'm not laughing! I thought it was a good idea, but I misunderstood what you meant. I thought you were saying to sell DAH tickets to people leaving F&W as a way to get more sales. I thought hawking tickets at a park closing earlier, especially in a season that doesn't have long hours, is a good way to hit a target audience - people who night not be done with parks for the day, but all are closing too early for them. You were talking about extended F&W, though, right? Same principle could apply - your park is closed? Come on over to Epcot with limited tickets sold, enjoy Epcot at night, low lines for food and snack carts!!

 

[Love Tink]

I think it was smart marketing.

I think it is the opposite of smart marketing for people everywhere to see photos accompanied by the words, "We got free tickets!" If people know there are free tickets being handed out, they aren't going to line up to pay $150 per person.

 

[WillAustin]

I think it is the opposite of smart marketing for people everywhere to see photos accompanied by the words, "We got free tickets!" If people know there are free tickets being handed out, they aren't going to line up to pay $150 per person.

People who got free tickets certainly wouldn't be posting that they would have gone anyway if it cost them $150 each.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

People who got free tickets certainly wouldn't be posting that they would have gone anyway if it cost them $150 each.

Why not?? I went for free, and if they have it in Aug I'd likely pay to do it again.

ETA: And btw, I was not at all sold on this thing before getting the free tix and attending. I was going to wait to see how it turned out. So perhaps them giving me free tickets WAS a good marketing move...

 

[WillAustin]

Why not?? I went for free, and if they have it in Aug I'd likely pay to do it again.

$149 per person is a lot of money. I doubt a high percentage of those getting in free would be willing to spend that, whether they enjoyed it or not.

 

[Love Tink]

Why not?? I went for free, and if they have it in Aug I'd likely pay to do it again.

I could see people who got it free saying, "I'd pay to do it next time." Sure - annual pass holders, DVC, and the like who are excited about something new.

But the conventional wisdom, on this thread, has been that this event is designed for the one-time visitor or the one-day visitor. It seems it would need to be successful with that group to be sustainable.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

$149 per person is a lot of money. I doubt a high percentage of those getting in free would be willing to spend that, whether they enjoyed it or not.

While you can doubt it, Disney will survey and measure for it. Then they'll tweak or not as needed. Or cancel if they decide it's a bomb.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I could see people who got it free saying, "I'd pay to do it next time." Sure - annual pass holders, DVC, and the like who are excited about something new.

But the conventional wisdom, on this thread, has been that this event is designed for the one-time visitor or the one-day visitor. It seems it would need to be successful with that group to be sustainable.

I wouldn't personally put much stock in the bold portion.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

• We are DVC/AP and go 1-3 times a year.
• We can afford the upcharge events and enjoy doing NEW things.
• We have planned most trips off peak times. This year we're going in Aug. To escape the heat and get A TON done in MK might be worth it to us.

Perhaps they're thinking we're not the only DVC members who'd feel this way, thus the free tix to draw us in and get us sharing our experiences. Before the free tickets, I was in wait-and-see mode about this one.

Will that be enough? I don't personally think so. I think they should publicize more widely.

As with so much WDW these days... JURY IS STILL OUT on where this goes...

 

[Sammie]

$149 per person is a lot of money. I doubt a high percentage of those getting in free would be willing to spend that, whether they enjoyed it or not.

About the cost of concert or Broadway tickets for the same amount or even less time. It just depends on what you want to spend money on.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

About the cost of concert of Broadway tickets for the same amount or even less time. It just depends on what you want to spend money on.

Very true. I've paid more than that for show tickets more than once!

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Again, I don't think we know that it hasn't been successful.
Earlier in the thread someone claimed that economists said it was a disaster, or something like that. But no link was provided, and the event hasn't been going on long enough, so I don't know how any economist could reach that conclusion.

If Disney had to give away tickets they did not hit the sweet spot. And I did post a link to a Motley Fool article that says that this will be a flop unless they can sell more tickets.

Exactly. I am sure there is a number that only Disney knows that says in order for an extra hours MK event to be profitable for them, they have to hit that mark. It has to cost a small fortune, in salaries, electricity, food, etc to keep it open X amount of hours. If you sell 25,000 tickets, you can lower the price. If you sell only 3000, then it stands to reason the cost would have to be much greater.

I think at times, some really forget this about profit.

As to the tickets given to DVC members, we really don't know if they were free or bought by DVD, which paid for the DVC exclusive event at the MK for the Anniversary DVC events.

So because another subsidiary of Disney Parks and Resorts might have paid for some of the extra tickets that makes it a success? Sounds like a shell game to me.

 

[Angel Ariel]

About the cost of concert of Broadway tickets for the same amount or even less time. It just depends on what you want to spend money on.

In this particular case, that's not really the same comparison. It's would you pay that for a broadway show, *after* having already seen the show for free?

Some shows, my answer to that would be yes. Other shows, once would be enough and I would not feel a need at all to pay for the tickets after having seen it for free.

ETA: But I am also a huge Broadway fan, have studied voice for years, and have friends in the musical theatre industry. Most regular Broadway consumers I know go to see a show once, and then they are done.

 

[Sammie]

In this particular case, that's not really the same comparison. It's would you pay that for a broadway show, *after* having already seen the show for free?

Some shows, my answer to that would be yes. Other shows, once would be enough and I would not feel a need at all to pay for the tickets after having seen it for free.

ETA: But I am also a huge Broadway fan, have studied voice for years, and have friends in the musical theatre industry. Most regular Broadway consumers I know go to see a show once, and then they are done.

I have seen Broadway shows multiple times and yes some were comp tickets, so yes for me that I would pay for something I have seen before.. I am pretty sure that in all the years we have been going, never been when tickets were limited to 3000, so while we have experienced the MK many times, not in this setting.

This event is something we would do once a trip if offered while we were there.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Out of curiosity-

How many on here complaining about the levels of customer service have been to WDW in the past 12 months?
I was there 10 days in September at Poly, and I can't think of one single complaint that I had. In fact, it was MAGICAL!
I'm hoping, and expecting, our upcoming CR stay to be the same. (I'm nervous about CR itself, but don't want to deal with a kid begging to go down the volcano slide in December). I haven't stayed there since I was a kid. And my concerns have more to do with how in love with Poly my son was, more than any budget cuts etc.

I'm just wondering why anyone wasn't made to feel like a "guest".
This is a genuine question, and I'd like to hear actual cases..not because they have "upcharge events" that you don't want to partake in.

I have been in the last 12 months. I have not complained. Does my position now have merit?

Though--they left our lockout actually locked out....and a couple of other things on our last visit. But it was otherwise good.

Oh--and at the poly, they left the last guest's milk in my fridge. That's not magical.

I still felt like a guest though. That has no bearing on whether or not that I agree that if you paid mega bucks for a ticket that in an example most guests got for free was fair. Feeling like a guest also doesn't influence whether or not observations are less than magical. Unless you have an anectdote on how leftover milk is a magical experience.

I know it makes me sound like a schill to some--but I take each visit as it is for that visit. Some are great and some have hiccups.

And on the $149 event---working with YOUR examples, IF 95% of guests got in free, then 5% didn't get what they paid for. As I don't think they intended to cover the costs of those guests.

There was that time I stubbed my toe and obtained a laceration and bled in the lobby of the Coronado. That was several years back--It was lest than guest like that the CM's didn't care that I had shared biohazard in their lobby. I was kind of mortified that they were ambivilent. I didn't expect a comped night in the castle, but I did expect Mousekeeping to be called to clean it up. When I worked at Vero Beach Resort as a mouskeeper for the lobby, that was something I would have been called to assist with. Paper towels and hand soap that I got myself as a guest just really aren't protocol.

 

[Sammie]

If Disney had to give away tickets they did not hit the sweet spot. And I did post a link to a Motley Fool article that says that this will be a flop unless they can sell more tickets.



So because another subsidiary of Disney Parks and Resorts might have paid for some of the extra tickets that makes it a success? Sounds like a shell game to me.

I don't think I mentioned at all whether it was a success or not, I have no idea. Not sure where you got that idea.

Everyone just keeps saying the tickets were free and all we know for sure is they were free to the guest but we have no idea if they were paid for by DVD. It is very possible they were part of the package for the Anniversary events at MK paid for by DVD.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I have seen Broadway shows multiple times and yes some were comp tickets, so yes for me that I would pay for something I have seen before but not experienced. I am pretty sure that in all the years we have been going, never been when tickets were limited to 3000.

This event is something we would do once a trip if offered while we were there.

I wasn't referring to you specifically. I was speaking generically. Yes, of course there are people who will see Broadway shows more than once. As I said, I'm one of them. That is not the majority of the Broadway-going audience, however.