PM EMH drops from THREE Hours to TWO Hours

[stormer]

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.

Exactly!

 

[Planogirl]

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.

I agree with you but Disney can keep the facade of getting this extra perk while cutting back on it and thus saving money. Not that the two hour EMH isn't still an extra perk but now it's less of an extra perk.

Someone in another thread mentioned a gradual erosion of perks and extras and that made sense to me.

 

[Colleen27]

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.

I think they believe that won't/can't happen, and they might be right. A huge swath of the American population believes Disney World to be expensive, hot, crowded, and an essential part of the American (and increasingly the British, Brazilian, etc) childhood experience, so Disney can deliver crowded parks, high prices, and still have a virtually endless supply of first-timers with low expectations packing the parks.

 

[hakepb]

Basically EMH is funded by Disney Resorts. But Resorts keep paying more for free dining, ME, increasing discounts....

I'm guessing the average Resort customer would rather book slightly lower rates than the extra EMH.

Haven't they already cut evening EMH a lot? I thought it was said there used to be an evening EMH 6 nights a week, including DAK.

 

[back2disney]

More cutbacks.

I swear, Disney cannot be doing very well financially.

They are doing fine, just look at the stock price..
If it was for financial reasons then its because of greed, billionaires trying to squeeze out some more millions..

I'm hoping its because of some improvements we haven't been told yet.

 

[KatieKat]

We never do EMH, so the actual hours themselves don't bug me. I just don't want more people at the other parks because of it!

 

[GAN]

We never do EMH, so the actual hours themselves don't bug me. I just don't want more people at the other parks because of it!

The result of reduction/elimination of EMH would likely be more people in all the parks for longer period of of time ...or simply more people in the parks up until closing. So they should or will bug you.

 

[hookedonears]

With the number of on-site hotel rooms increasing, you'd think they would want to increase EMH, not decrease.

Any chance they could be increasing the number of evening EMH per week or maybe have it at multiple parks each night?

Your right. The increase in the number of on-site hotel rooms has diminished EMH in general as a perk for staying on property. Disney needs to do something more for these guest. Park discounts, meal discounts, FP's, something.

 

[back2disney]

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

Unless parking goes up by a factor of 10, you can stay offsite in a resort just minutes from the park with washer dryer, pools with slides for a week for the cost of 1 day at the deluxes. You can ride the monorail and tour the onsite resorts to see what your "missing" or try it out for a few days if you have the cash.

Florida real estate got hit hard a few years ago. Lot's of great deals off-site..

 

[maganda]

Unless parking goes up by a factor of 10, you can stay offsite in a resort just minutes from the park with washer dryer, pools with slides for a week for the cost of 1 day at the deluxes. You can ride the monorail and tour the onsite resorts to see what your "missing" or try it out for a few days if you have the cash.

Florida real estate got hit hard a few years ago. Lot's of great deals off-site..

Yup. A short drive, my own private pool and my family doesn't have to share one bathroom for a week. My AP gets me free parking too.

 

[DebbieB]

Basically EMH is funded by Disney Resorts. But Resorts keep paying more for free dining, ME, increasing discounts....

I'm guessing the average Resort customer would rather book slightly lower rates than the extra EMH.

Haven't they already cut evening EMH a lot? I thought it was said there used to be an evening EMH 6 nights a week, including DAK.

It depended on the time of the year, I think 1 night per park per week was always the usual. For DAK, they added an extra morning EMH to make up for the evening.

 

[MurphyJoe]

Yup. A short drive, my own private pool and my family doesn't have to share one bathroom for a week. My AP gets me free parking too.

And an AP allows one to purchase the Tables in Wonderland card and actually save 20% on all table service meals and liquor. It you're eating table service (or visiting bars and lounges) you'd almost assuredly come out ahead versus using the dining plan.

 

[Grog]

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.

Not initially, but it became about the money very quickly, and it's been about the money for years. It's not like this is something new.

People here talk a lot about Walt, but tend to forget about his brother Roy. Walt was the imagination guy and Roy was the finance guy. In later years Walt even said (don't ask for a source as it's been many years since I read this. It was in a biography of Roy Disney) that Roy helped to keep him grounded financially and told him when too much was too much. He said that without Roy, DL would have gone bankrupt. If that had happened, all that swampland in Florida would still be that...swampland.

We've thrown so much Pixie Dust™ on the legend that is Walt Disney that too many here forget that he, and Roy, were also businessmen.

 

[Fantasmiss]

I don't think you quite get this. WDW is of course a business and it works because of the illusion it creates; the "magic". That's their product; the illusion of a happy, magical place. But if Disney get too greedy and the fact that it is a business and that it is about the money becomes obvious to the visitor, the illusion bursts, "magic" disappears and Disney no longer have a product that works. It's a careful balance of how much they can charge vs still keeping the customer happy and spending the money. That goes for all business, but as WDW's product is an illusion/suspension of belief, it's an even more delicate balance. I'm in show business myself, I know how it works. It of course IS about the money, but it's got to look like it isn't.

Not initially, but it became about the money very quickly, and it's been about the money for years. It's not like this is something new.

People here talk a lot about Walt, but tend to forget about his brother Roy. Walt was the imagination guy and Roy was the finance guy. In later years Walt even said (don't ask for a source as it's been many years since I read this. It was in a biography of Roy Disney) that Roy helped to keep him grounded financially and told him when too much was too much. He said that without Roy, DL would have gone bankrupt. If that had happened, all that swampland in Florida would still be that...swampland.

We've thrown so much Pixie Dust™ on the legend that is Walt Disney that too many here forget that he, and Roy, were also businessmen.

 

[Grog]

For every DISer that goes there for the magic, there's a hundred, or even a thousand, people that go there because it's a theme park. Disney could do away with EMH altogether and I guarantee you they would still fill all their rooms and there would still be people giving themselves ulcers over getting that CRT ADR. I'm sure that there are people at Disney who have taken a business course or two and know just how far they can push the envelope before people really stop buying their product.

Don't get me wrong, I really do feel for those who value the extra hour that is being taken away. When I used to stay onsite it made a difference. Now that I prefer staying offsite it doesn't affect me, but I understand those it does.

Disney probably looked at overhead versus what was being spent in that last hour by the people that hadn't headed to the exits yet and decided this was in their best interests.

 

[KellyNY]

I wonder who actually survive all 3 hours. Maybe during slow times when park closes early, but during busy times like summer, not so much. Maybe they figured that running parks extra hour for few survivors just not worth it. I will not miss it.

 

[JCH]

I wonder who actually survive all 3 hours. Maybe during slow times when park closes early, but during busy times like summer, not so much. Maybe they figured that running parks extra hour for few survivors just not worth it. I will not miss it.

I think it depends how late the parks are open. If a park closes at 8 and EMH was 8-11, there were tons of people. For MK closing at 12 and EMH being 12-3, the streets are deserted. I would rather they just say that 1 or 2 AM is the latest a park will stay open rather than cut that last hour across the board.

 

[Phatoomch]

I think it depends how late the parks are open. If a park closes at 8 and EMH was 8-11, there were tons of people. For MK closing at 12 and EMH being 12-3, the streets are deserted. I would rather they just say that 1 or 2 AM is the latest a park will stay open rather than cut that last hour across the board.

I agree. In my mind, EMH are a great perk when the park closes at 8 or 9pm. I don't blame Disney for not wanting to pay wages and the power bill for that hour of 2-3am.

 

[brertoad]

I wonder who actually survive all 3 hours. Maybe during slow times when park closes early, but during busy times like summer, not so much. Maybe they figured that running parks extra hour for few survivors just not worth it. I will not miss it.

I think the best time to go is PM EMH. It is so much nicer in my opinion. One time we went on 11 rides in 3 hours (including Peter Pan, HH, Buzz, Splash Mountain, People Mover, Carousel, Pirates, Pooh, Philharmagic, etc). How can you beat that, there is no better time to go. Cutting it down to two hours is terrible. That last hour is where it thins out and you can get on those harder to get onto rides without waiting (like Peter Pan and Pooh, there is always a line at Peter Pan). Disney can afford to keep it open 3 hours.

 

[Phatoomch]

I think the best time to go is PM EMH. It is so much nicer in my opinion. One time we went on 11 rides in 3 hours (including Peter Pan, HH, Buzz, Splash Mountain, People Mover, Carousel, Pirates, Pooh, Philharmagic, etc). How can you beat that, there is no better time to go. Cutting it down to two hours is terrible. That last hour is where it thins out and you can get on those harder to get onto rides without waiting (like Peter Pan and Pooh, there is always a line at Peter Pan). Disney can afford to keep it open 3 hours.

Its not about 'afford' its whether it makes good business sense. Show any shareholder that their investment is working at a loss and you won't hear 'oh well, we can afford it'