PM EMH drops from THREE Hours to TWO Hours

[GAN]

Just another reason why we are going less often. Instead of once per year we are now going once every 3 years. Less service for more money means I take my business elsewhere

We've been doing the same thing -down to every three years or so. We own DVC and usually rent one years points and then bank/borrow another for our trip year. We still love to go but there are too many negative changes and not enough new to entice us. It's a big world out there with a lot to offer and all this lends us to ask the question -is WDW worth it anymore? Two years ago we spent 2-weeks in Italy ..lodging, trains, car rental, restaurants, attractions, wine -all came to around $3,000(less airfare, which we had mile points for). Wouldn't 2-weeks in WDW be close to the same?

 

[Phatoomch]

I'm seeing that those who go every year 1 (or more) times are the ones who seem most affected by this. Can I be so bold as to say that maybe you've just 'played out' your Disney trips to the point where every change is magnified? Like anywhere else, when you go too often it becomes just another trip.

Just an observation.

 

[nobodies36]

I haven't read the whole thread, but noticed something in March. A few times we wereat MK close to closing (not EMH night) and the hours were extended there and then, I am assuming, due to crowd levels.

What if Disney has chosen to cut the EMH to 2 so that when it is quiet they can close and when it is busy they can choose to stay open or use those man hours to stay open on non EMH nights when crowds are higher than expected and therefore had an impact on ride times?

It is possible that they are only cutting the EMH nights to two so that they can extend when needed and close after two when the park did not reach specific day figures. That way, Disney can cut costs, and people will expect to close after 2 and be pleasantly surprised if they decide to extend the hours that day.

Just a thought.

 

[rgf207]

We've been doing the same thing -down to every three years or so. We own DVC and usually rent one years points and then bank/borrow another for our trip year. We still love to go but there are too many negative changes and not enough new to entice us. It's a big world out there with a lot to offer and all this lends us to ask the question -is WDW worth it anymore? Two years ago we spent 2-weeks in Italy ..lodging, trains, car rental, restaurants, attractions, wine -all came to around $3,000(less airfare, which we had mile points for). Wouldn't 2-weeks in WDW be close to the same?

We own DVC also and that is our exact plan. Rent 1 years worth of points and bank the next

 

[TLSnell1981]

I'm seeing that those who go every year 1 (or more) times are the ones who seem most affected by this. Can I be so bold as to say that maybe you've just 'played out' your Disney trips to the point where every change is magnified? Like anywhere else, when you go too often it becomes just another trip.

Just an observation.

Well, it took 30 years, free dining, generic souvenirs, broken rides, tarps, reduced monorail service, price hikes, streamlined FP, dining penalties, etc., etc...to get "played out". The last couple of years, have turned me off.

 

[patsal]

Chip. chip. chip....here we go again. And of course it will be guest request, guest demand or some other fictional conclusion made up by the bean counters. I have been going to Disney less and less. Venturing off property more and more, choosing other non-FL destinations and I can't say I am unhappy with my choices. We get a car and we spend time at Universal City Walk, that will continue as WDW really has nothing to offer me at night. I am on vacation I do not want to do what can be done while I am at home. Sleep, watch a movie, go bowling....

 

[Circus181920]

As a loyal Disney fan, I myself am extremely disappointed at the recent changes that have been going on at WDW, this just being one of them. It seems that the quality and quantity are both decreasing while the prices keep increasing. I don't understand why Disney thinks it's ok to drop the services that they provide to guests while also charging them more. The decrease from 2 to 1 snacks a day on the QS DP was bad enough and now a drop from 3 to 2 EMH evenings are not positive indications of where WDW is heading in the upcoming years. The competition (shall I say Universal?) is clearly stepping up its game with the huge expansion of HP and the recent new resort announcement. While the Fantasyland expansion is impressive, Disney cannot loose its magic, which I am afraid is starting to slowly happen. Disney has always had a more difficult time appealing to the teenage/young adult crowd in comparison to Universal and I think cutting back EMH will only hurt Disney in its ability to do so (especially since Pleasure Island is gone now as well). As a young adult myself, I enjoyed staying at the parks until the early morning and am upset that the opportunity to do so is now cut back.

 

[mac_tlc]

I probably shouldn't be surprised at the reaction ---- but I am. A change of one hour three or four times a week and everyone is flocking offsite? Staying on site still gets me free parking -- worth $14 every day.

And for those who continually say everything goes away, they increased the DVC annual pass discount by $49 --- A 49% INCREASE in benefits. Worth more than almost any perk they offer.

We avoid the EMH at night almost all the time. It's just too crowded. As everyone is saying, the third hour is less crowded --- which is exactly why they are eliminating it.

Flame away ----


mac_tlc

 

[Colleen27]

I probably shouldn't be surprised at the reaction ---- but I am. A change of one hour three or four times a week and everyone is flocking offsite? Staying on site still gets me free parking -- worth $14 every day.

And for those who continually say everything goes away, they increased the DVC annual pass discount by $49 --- A 49% INCREASE in benefits. Worth more than almost any perk they offer.

We avoid the EMH at night almost all the time. It's just too crowded. As everyone is saying, the third hour is less crowded --- which is exactly why they are eliminating it.

Everyone is different. We're night owls, the whole lot of us, and we have kids so bowling (in a venue expected to be adults-only in the evening), bar-hopping, or movies aren't a big draw. We like the late hours in the parks, and photos of my DD posing under the clock on Main Street in the wee hours have become tradition. We're also a family of 5, so we pay a significant premium to be onsite, and with the demise of the DDP's value the late hours were the primary reason to do so.

Paying for parking isn't a big issue for us. $14/night when we're saving $100+/night on our lodging just isn't worth getting worked up about.

And yes, I get that they're eliminating the last hour because it is less crowded. That's my complaint. It is getting so that no matter what time of year you travel you have to deal with big crowds, and now they're chipping away at the less crowded hours of the day as well. I don't know about you, but my idea of a good time isn't spending the bulk of my day standing in lines, and that's where Disney really shone compared to other theme parks for us. We haven't been to Cedar Point in years because I refuse to spend my money on the wait-an-hour-for-a-60-second-ride experience, and I hate seeing Disney moving more and more towards that model in the name of the bottom line.

 

[WDsMouse]

I am an avid Disney fan, an annual passholder, and I was just at Animal Kingdom today. The crowds were just amazing. I hate to say it, but this really isn't going to have a big effect on people going to WDW. I'm always amazed how many people are at Disney, as I go all the time as well. They continue to raise prices and take away things, but people will still go. Until people stop going, they will continue to take away things to make them the most money. Unfortunately, that's still the bottom line.

 

[Colleen27]

I am an avid Disney fan, an annual passholder, and I was just at Animal Kingdom today. The crowds were just amazing. I hate to say it, but this really isn't going to have a big effect on people going to WDW. I'm always amazed how many people are at Disney, as I go all the time as well. They continue to raise prices and take away things, but people will still go. Until people stop going, they will continue to take away things to make them the most money. Unfortunately, that's still the bottom line.

Attendance won't be the only measure there, though. The question will be what effect, if any, it has on resort occupancy.

I'll be the first to say that this change won't stop me from going to WDW. What it will do is nudge me in the direction of Bonnet Creek or the DTD area hotels. We were willing to spend $200+/night for a value resort (two rooms or a suite because there are 5 of us) to get the super-late hours and the dining plan that we enjoyed, but with the loss of that best/last hour of EMH and the price increase that makes the DxDDP so much less of a value we have little reason to book onsite. We've been talking about staying at and maybe buying into Bonnet Creek for two years now but always ended up back on site for those perks; now the decision to try off-site for the first time got a lot easier.

 

[UpstateMick]

Well, it took 30 years, free dining, generic souvenirs, broken rides, tarps, reduced monorail service, price hikes, streamlined FP, dining penalties, etc., etc...to get "played out". The last couple of years, have turned me off.

Very well stated! I, too, am sick of Disney taking advantage of those who love it most! I love DisneyWorld! But, our last trip in February saw poor service, blah CMs, overpriced food, tarps, construction, ride break downs, and, worst of all, an overall run- down appearance. I will continue to go, and maybe we just hit the parks at a bad time, but Disney is getting one last shot and then I'm moving on if need be.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

Maybe it is time to take off the Disney blinders. You know, for a couple years now friends have been saying WDW has slowly been letting things go downhill. I simply didn't want to believe it. And then our January trip opened my eyes to what they were saying. I have never seen so many rides break down ever. It seemed POTC was closed more than it was open. And forget Peter Pan, it was open for a couple hours and closed for one, open then closed. Spaceship Earth? It's always been iffy, but good lord! That thing broke down not twice, but FOUR times ON THE SAME ride! We were on it for an hour. Thankfully, they hadn't gone all Kim Jong Il on the Fastpasses at that point so we didn't miss out on our rides, but that would have been an issue if we had. It appears do me WDW just wants to abuse the faithful for as much money as they can. They cut the Monorail service for Extra Magic and now they want us -- those who make it a priority to stay on Disney property -- to lose 33 percent of our late night benefits and go on like it's all cool? Well, it's not cool. I don't appreciate that treatment for my loyalty. You know, $2,500 ain't a lot of money to Disney, but it's a lot to me, and to many others here, I suspect. Until WDW starts telling us what they're gonna GIVE US for our loyalty instead of TAKING MORE FROM US BECAUSE OF IT, I'll be looking to Universal or to someplace up here, closer to home. It's Disney Magic, all right. Bit by bit I'm watching it disappear.

 

[eastcarolinafan]

I probably shouldn't be surprised at the reaction ---- but I am. A change of one hour three or four times a week and everyone is flocking offsite? Staying on site still gets me free parking -- worth $14 every day.

And for those who continually say everything goes away, they increased the DVC annual pass discount by $49 --- A 49% INCREASE in benefits. Worth more than almost any perk they offer.

We avoid the EMH at night almost all the time. It's just too crowded. As everyone is saying, the third hour is less crowded --- which is exactly why they are eliminating it.

Flame away ----


mac_tlc

No flame here. I'm glad it seems to work for you. You do seem to be in a small minority though, which might explain why everybody seems so worked up. You avoid the EMH at night because it's crowded? That doesn't really add up. As one who always stays onsite, I do appreciate those Extra Magic Hours. Those hours are what makes paying WDW resort prices worth it. And I've been there, I know that comparatively speaking, the parks are not as packed. You can actually do stuff. Cut those hours, and why bother paying the extra money -- the pool?

 

[eastcarolinafan]

We haven't been to Cedar Point in years because I refuse to spend my money on the wait-an-hour-for-a-60-second-ride experience, and I hate seeing Disney moving more and more towards that model in the name of the bottom line.

Exactly!

 

[larryz]

We haven't been to Cedar Point in years because I refuse to spend my money on the wait-an-hour-for-a-60-second-ride experience, and I hate seeing Disney moving more and more towards that model in the name of the bottom line.

It's actually only 17 seconds, launch to brakes...

Fortunately, nothing at WDW is that short of a ride. But I can't see WDW putting in anything like Top Thrill Dragster. If they did, cutting the third hour of EMH wouldn't work, 'cause they'd never get the crowd to get out of line.

 

[stitchrulz]

As everyone is saying, the third hour is less crowded --- which is exactly why they are eliminating it.

mac_tlc

Isn't this the very purpose of the EMH in the first place, fewer crowds? If not, I guess it's just so those of us staying on-site can enjoy the parks without those pesky off-site folks and day trippers. (Just kidding, of course!) Wasn't there an old EMH promo that said something to the effect that it's like having the park to yourself?

No flames, BTW. It's been far too hot for that.

 

[Sue M]

 

[Fantasmiss]

Isn't this the very purpose of the EMH in the first place, fewer crowds? If not, I guess it's just so those of us staying on-site can enjoy the parks without those pesky off-site folks and day trippers. (Just kidding, of course!) Wasn't there an old EMH promo that said something to the effect that it's like having the park to yourself?

No flames, BTW. It's been far too hot for that.

 

[Fantasmiss]

Agree! Disney seem to more and more practice the kind of economy which might give them more money short term, but they'll be losing a LOT of business and money long term.

Besides they need to read up on why Walt started building theme parks in the first place. It was NOT about money, it works BECAUSE it's not about the money, and if it starts being about the money, it won't work.

I know it's a business, but if the guests keep being reminded of that, the magic will be as gone as the guests.

As a loyal Disney fan, I myself am extremely disappointed at the recent changes that have been going on at WDW, this just being one of them. It seems that the quality and quantity are both decreasing while the prices keep increasing. I don't understand why Disney thinks it's ok to drop the services that they provide to guests while also charging them more. The decrease from 2 to 1 snacks a day on the QS DP was bad enough and now a drop from 3 to 2 EMH evenings are not positive indications of where WDW is heading in the upcoming years. The competition (shall I say Universal?) is clearly stepping up its game with the huge expansion of HP and the recent new resort announcement. While the Fantasyland expansion is impressive, Disney cannot loose its magic, which I am afraid is starting to slowly happen. Disney has always had a more difficult time appealing to the teenage/young adult crowd in comparison to Universal and I think cutting back EMH will only hurt Disney in its ability to do so (especially since Pleasure Island is gone now as well). As a young adult myself, I enjoyed staying at the parks until the early morning and am upset that the opportunity to do so is now cut back.