Post here regarding WDW cutbacks, changes & Complaints

[Eeyore2U]

I know we will. Like I said, we'vew been this week for many years. It's nice to have school vacation a week later then most. Good luck on your trips. I'm sure the PD will be there for you. I hope you don't get an ulcer worrying!!

 

[cforza]

Smart school district! What's the PD?

 

[Eeyore2U]

Pixie Dust.

When you live in New Hampshire, it seems that the state and ski resorts are in cahoots and it works well!!

 

[cforza]

Thanks, I'm learning. And speaking of ski resorts, gotta go watch the slalom!

 

[MulanMom]

Raidermatt....EE days for MK were Sat., Mon. and Thurs. Based on the comparison you posted for the past weekend, you can probably add 3 hours to the 2001 total for the MK weekend. I know that you've done a comparison for MK between this year and last. Have you also done the same for Epcot, MGM and AK? I'd be curious. I would think the biggest change would be seen at Epcot since the hours at FW were cut from 9-9 to 9-7 and WS went from 11-9 to 12-9, as well as the elimination of EE.

To all...it's interesting to read this thread. I've read Edina's initial post of just throwing up hands and not booking WDW resorts because of being frustrated. And I have to say I've been there...and this was before 9/11! I've seen cutbacks/changes occur over the past 5 years or so which have made me very unhappy with the company. It seems that now, with the post 9/11 cutbacks, more people are being affected by and can actually see the cutbacks. On one hand, it's good to know that I'm not the only one with these experiences. On the other hand, it saddens me to see it happening.

I still go to WDW, last trip was in early Oct. 2001, the next is March 2002. I can't say any trip was ever a total flop. But I can say our experience at times was eroded by certain events that have occured. What those experiences have done was make me scrutinize a potential WDW more objectively where before it was a decision of the heart!;-) (Yes, I was totally obsessed with all things Disney! A very expensive habit!!!)

Now, when I don't put my money where my mouth is, I blame it on my kids, who are toddlers/preschoolers. Don't want them missing out on the Disney experience!

Sharon

 

[treesinger]

EE never affected me and family very much. We tend to sleep in a bit and often stay offsite in our timeshare. We're at Vistana this year and we've heard that it's great! Anyway, yeah, EE is a nice benefit if you are staying on campus. It doesn't personally affect me and mine since we're more likely to stay til closing than to get there at opening. I guess they feel the CC is an equal benefit. Well, they were HOPING it would be a bigger benefit. I think it's bunk. The loss of EE is one more reason to stay off site in the future. It's a shame since when our kids get older, I'd like to stay on site for them so they can have Disney 24/7 while there.

I'm not likely to stay on site for quite a while. When I was there May 2000, I think we went in early one day. It's either go early or stay late for us. And we'd rather stay late. Of course, cutting he nighttime hours is what's really going to affect us. We'll just have to wait and see.

We're getting there March 3 and I'm hoping that the Spring Break crowds aren't too terribly bad. I figured getting there the first week of March might alleviate some of that problem, but I'll let you guys know.

Jason

 

[kevind65]

We have also booked off-site this year(Vistana Resort, May28th-June11th). Thats 15 nights of accomadations that we had originally booked at CBR on-site. The loss of EE and the shortened hours at the parks played only a small role in our decision to change our accomadations plans, but, it probably was the straw that broke the camels back for us. We are bigtime amusement park goers, so trust me, all parks cutback whenever necessary or if they can get away with it, not just Disney. That said, our family has been strugling to justify the higher cost of on-site disney resorts as compared to off-site. We had always used the benefits afforded only to disney resort guests as a rational for paying the extra cost for basically a "hotel" room on site. Now that there little to no advantages to staying on-site, we are having a hard time justifying paying the added costs. ex. Vistana Resort-2BR,2BA,1100Sqft Villa,$110per night----CBR,400sqft hotel room$104 per night.......with 4 people in our party this year...its a no-brainer which is the better choice. another note: Those who accept disney's reasoning for dropping EE was because people wanted the character caravan? I got some property to sell ya!! Disney eliminated EE because it cost them money to open the parks early. They have E-nights because they can get another $12 from guest to cover their expenses. There it is,plain and simple, no other explanations needed. accept it people and deal with it! The only true way to voice your opinions on this is to not stay on-site when you go. if enough people do this, disney will get the hint. Also, I'm a true disney-nut!! I'll never stop going to the parks..but, that doesn't mean that I have to be blindly loyal to them if I don't feel the resorts end is holding up value wise. I will be there this summer and will have a blast as always I'm sure. I'll let you know if I made a mistake staying off-site.

 

[raidermatt]

MulanMom- No, I didn't do a full comparison for the other parks, though by "eyeballing" it, there is a difference. Not too much with AK. Epcot made the change you alluded to, which only effects some people, depending on how they work their way through the park. MGM also had a small difference.

Somebody (you?) had pointed out the timing of Easter as being a factor in the small change in March, and I believe this is correct. An "eyeball" of April does show a bigger difference. May is not posted yet, and I believe that's because Disney is still evaluating attendance trends.

I don't dispute that there has been a decrease in hours. But it's pretty much in-line with the 10-15% drop in attendance cited by Disney, and other Orlando tourist-reliant attractions. Now, when attendance picks-up, I would expect hours to increase. If that does not happen, my opinion on the situation would change.

Also, its important to note that Disney parks are still open longer than Universal (exception-Animal Kingdom), even though they charge the same admission price. They also offer more parades/shows. Sea World even raised their prices last week. I know, Universal has a few more discount opportunities for mulit-park/multi-day tickets, but you also get fewer operating hours and attractions/restaurants that are not even open when the gates open. I'm not coming down on anyone, just pointing out that if you really want to get the best value, you have to look objectively at the entire picture, not just Disney's cuts. If you do that, and decide you want to stay off-site, or skip Disney altogether, that's great. Disney will get your message loud and clear.

 

[MulanMom]

Raidermatt...The thoughts I posted about the hours comparisons were things that came to mind while reading your posts. If the cutbacks in hours don't affect my enjoyment of the parks, then I don't really care. Actually, since I usually go in the off-season, I am used to reduced hours. Honest, I'm not trying to give you a hard time!

That being said, I *am* concerned that WDW will not extend hours when the crowds dictate it. In years past, if MK were unexpectedly crowded for a day (and it has happened in off-season, such as May, when the parking lot was closed early in the day), then they would extend park hours and add an extra parade. Though I'm sure they still do it at times, we had been at MK in 2000 when the park hours should have been extended and weren't because of a scheduled e-night. It was a Friday night and one of the few times a nighttime parade and fireworks would be shown over the course of a week. I would think it would be a no-brainer that the possibility was very strong the park would get crowded!

Pretty much I have a wait and see attitude. I've no idea what to expect for our March trip. I would like to be pleasantly surprised!!!

Sharon

 

[TDC Nala]

I was at the MK in February 2001 for a Friday night where they did extend the hours when there was an E-night scheduled. They extended hours from a 7 PM closing to a 10 PM closing. Since there wasn't any way I was going to be able to stay up until 1 AM for E-night, I went over to Guest Services and asked if they'd buy back my E-night ticket. They agreed to do this, probably because I had only one ticket.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I see "Subscribe to this thread" below. How do you "Unsubscribe"?

 

[Terk-1]

Got a phone call this morning from the executive offices down at WDW regarding my e-mail about Early Entry. She was very pleasant and we had a nice conversation. She did inform me that they have received numerous e-mails regarding the demise of EE. She said the main reason for it being cancelled (besides the expense) was that not enough people that were staying on property took advantage of it. She also mentioned about having to cut costs after 9/11. We talked about this issue and I gave her my thoughts. I recommended more advertising about this special perk from CRO, as well as at check-in may help increase the numbers. I also recommended maybe bringing it back for one day per park, instead of twice a week for EPCOT & MGM and 3 times for MK. I also mentioned about how Birnbaum's (who is the "official" guide to WDW) indicates how crowded these days can be and that may also discourage people. She also mentioned that they received alot of e-mails as to why replace EE with a character caravan when there are plenty of opportunities for people to meet the characters all over all 4 parks. She did indicate that they are in the beginning stages of trying to possibly bring EE back. She said if they get enough of a response to bring it back, then it may come back soon.

Ok, now here is where we can make a difference. All those in favor of the return of EE, PLEASE e-mail Disney and ask for its return.

 

[Babblin'Boo]

Second that, wholeheartedly and full of hope...


wdw.guest.communications@wda.disney.com

 

[bweagle]

My next trip is not until summer 2003, but I'll make sure to add my email to the list to let them know how much we enjoyed them

 

[CarolAnnC]

bump

 

[CarolAnnC]

**

 

[mickgal]

I got a nice phone call from a CM yesterday. She wanted to talk about my email regarding early entry. She told me that the park has seen a great increase in number of guests in the past 3 weeks. She said she can't guarantee that ee will come back. However, with the increase in guests they may consider it.

We talked about how they have added e ticket nights. But this isn't that great for people with little kids. I have little kids and they are up in the morning ready to go then tired by 8 pm.

She spent alot of time helping me with other questions I had and even called me back with an answer to a question I had about the Pirate Adventure Cruise.

I think they were surprised by the number of people there this month. Let's hope they see that we are ready to travel and will start early entry again!

Mickgal

 

[cforza]

Help me understand something. Many of us got phone calls stating how EE was discontinued because no one used it. Who were all those people, hundreds of them, waiting with me to get into Early Entry? Where they just animatronic creations of the Iimagineers, who didn't want me to feel lonely? Could that be it?

 

[raidermatt]

Many of us got phone calls stating how EE was discontinued because no one used it.

If you were told no one used it, that would be inaccurate. You should point that out to Disney management. Clearly some used it. Disney's point is that not enough people used it to justify opening the parks, which carries a tremendous cost.

You can choose to believe them or not, but without knowing the numbers of guests who used it, the cost to operate the parks, and the amount of money spent by these guests during EE, there's no proof one way or the other. We only know that if it were a money maker, we KNOW Disney would do it. The only question is whether they would do it if it cost them money, and how much of a loss they would choose to accept. But again, the answer is only speculation.

Writing to Disney is still the best way to let them know how one feels.

I sincerely hope Disney is able to justify bringing it back at some point. Even though it has no benefit for me or my family, it clearly does for some.

 

[raidermatt]

mickgal- A good sign is that United recently added flights to their schedules, and recalled some furloughed flight attenedants (I think 1200 of them). I don't know if any of these flights are to Orlando, but overall its a good sign for travel, which is a good sign for Disney.