This doesn’t sound good (EMH going away?)

[LSUmiss]

...........that people who have a different opinion than you on a topic are 'whining'.

Let me ask you this. What harm is it for Disney to offer an exclusive event to those that can afford it (DAH), while still offering a much less exclusive event, but still something of value, to those that can't (EEMH)?

And, this is only my own opinion, so it could be wrong. But, my guess is that the number of resort guests who can afford to benefit from DAH is significantly less than those who can benefit from EEMH. So, from my perspective, with all of the cutbacks in 'free' perks, of which this is just one, Disney is negatively impacting a much larger percentage of their customer base than can ever benefit from the new, upcharged, perks.

This is being taking out of context as usual on these boards. I only asked why some ppl were “whining” about giving up something that admittedly no longer enjoy. That is a strange concept to me. That’s NOT the same thing as accusing anyone of whining about it if they still enjoyed it.

 

[SaintsManiac]

My husband brought up a valid point last night and maybe it came up in this thread already. I admit I have lost focus on it.

Are they shifting EMH to morning at MK in order to have more later nights at HS? Is this a plan to make sure to have enough staff over at HS?

I'm not trying to make excuses for Disney by any means. I just don't think we ever give them the credit of having a bigger plan in mind.

 

[mom2rtk]

My husband brought up a valid point last night and maybe it came up in this thread already. I admit I have lost focus on it.

Are they shifting EMH to morning at MK in order to have more later nights at HS? Is this a plan to make sure to have enough staff over at HS?

I'm not trying to make excuses for Disney by any means. I just don't think we ever give them the credit of having a bigger plan in mind.

That's what I assume is going on. You know, because all those additional paying patrons won't be adding enough to the bottom line to actually add hours without taking them away from somewhere else. It's utterly ridiculous.

 

[The Pho]

My husband brought up a valid point last night and maybe it came up in this thread already. I admit I have lost focus on it.

Are they shifting EMH to morning at MK in order to have more later nights at HS? Is this a plan to make sure to have enough staff over at HS?

I'm not trying to make excuses for Disney by any means. I just don't think we ever give them the credit of having a bigger plan in mind.

If that were the case, seems odd to be doing it months after Star Wars opens. Runaway Railway seems to be opening months after this change. The only other factor would be when Rise opens, which should be prior to Christmas with exact timing unknown, but that certainly shouldn’t require the same number of staff as Magic Kingdoms Magic Hours.

 

[dreiwhit]

Of course there will be those who will be happy to give Disney more money no matter what.

Yes. And those folks are part of the problem. Until they stop sniffing the pixie dust, Disney will count on them to show up no matter what prices increase and benefits go down. They know that a lot of Disney fans operate under the "shut up and take my money" mantra.

They’re gonna get nailed when the economy crashes, and honestly they deserve it. There is no valid reason to stay onsite anymore:

Recessions historically have occurred every 8-10 years. I'm not sure when will occur - if I had to guess, we'll definitely have a recession in the next 10 years.

On our After Thanksgiving 2016, we were quoted $4400 to stay on site, have "free dining" and six day non hopper tickets. We said no and stayed off site. Our total vacation cost, including meals, rental car, tickets, gas, off site lodging was around $2400. I don't know about y'all, but $2000 is a pretty big chunk of change to spend just to stay on site.

When we go to Disney during Party Season, which is just about the only time we go, I can absolutely say YES we very much plan around Magic Kingdom evening magic hours.

We planned around them, but we would go at RD to MK. By the time the party crowd shows up, we've already done what we want to do and are ready to go. For us party days are helpful.

For us, the daily charge for parking and other money grabs are a whole box of "final nails". We're not going in 2019. 2020 is likely out too.

What did it for us was paying more and going to parks that were much more crowded. Having to fight the crowds gets frustrating. After a while you start wondering "what am I really getting for my money?" and "is it worth the money?" and "what else can I be doing with the money?"

For us, the answer was no, it was no longer worth it. IF we go back to WDW, its going to be a very long time.

You don't need to go back 18 years to have that experience that people are "whining" about, that is part of the issue. One thing after another in rapid succession in the last 5 years or so to devalue the resort stay and reduce the experience of the regular ticket holder.

We did three WDW trips between 2016 and 2018. I could actually see the changes during that time. Our trip in 2016 was probably the last good trip we had there.

 

[mom2rtk]

You slowly reduce because then people don’t notice as much. If they just cut them completely, there would be an uproar. Slowly cutting back avoids the boil point. They’ve already cut evening hours at Animal and Studios, so cutting Magic isn’t outrageous now. They can also still advertise it as a benefit since they offer them in the morning still and in the evening for Epcot.

This water's nice and warm. Come on in. What are all those bubbles?

 

[Tigger's ally]

We know though, you have enough cash to pave over any issues you run up against and if it doesn't effect you it is of no concern.

Wow. No way around it, that wasn't nice at all. ARghhhhh

 

[ChipnDale79]

This is being taking out of context as usual on these boards. I only asked why some ppl were “whining” about giving up something that admittedly no longer enjoy. That is a strange concept to me. That’s NOT the same thing as accusing anyone of whining about it if they still enjoyed it.

Honestly, when you say people are “whining” they are automatically going to get defensive. Voicing displeasure in things is not always whining, in fact voicing displeasure is often times how changes are made.


Like it or not, we are all like minded individuals that love Disney here, so when people see something they don’t like that Disney does, this is the first place they are going to vent that frustration. Does it do any good? Honestly, no idea, maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, but I do believe Disney pays attention to this forum and a handful of others. Do I enjoy EMH? Honestly not as much as we used to, but that’s also because they aren’t as available as they used to be, and like you, we have small children as well. However because I have paid the premium, I would like to have the option to utilize those hours.


I just looked at the week we’re going in June, there are 4 hours total of Evening Magic Hours across all 4 parks for the entire week that we could utilize. There was a time not that long ago, when all parks had at least 1 night of evening magic hours for 3 hours during a calendar week. Those available hours went down from 12 to 4 now. So maybe the EMH are so crowded because there is less of them.

BTW that same week, if I want to give Disney an extra $1000 for my family of 4, we can attend what was the 3 magic hours at DAK and DHS which are now paid for after hour events.

 

[SaintsManiac]

That's what I assume is going on. You know, because all those additional paying patrons won't be adding enough to the bottom line to actually add hours without taking them away from somewhere else. It's utterly ridiculous.

But does Disney have enough staff? Everyone always screams "money grab," but do they have enough CMs to handle all of this?

I don't know the turnover rate and I know nothing about the CP. I'm just throwing my thoughts out there.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

But does Disney have enough staff? Everyone always screams "money grab," but do they have enough CMs to handle all of this?

As much as prices have gone up and perks have gone down, they can afford to hire more staff if they need it. They just choose to pass the extra money to the shareholders, which in our country is the expected thing to do, rather than staffing.

 

[LSUmiss]

But does Disney have enough staff? Everyone always screams "money grab," but do they have enough CMs to handle all of this?

I don't know the turnover rate and I know nothing about the CP. I'm just throwing my thoughts out there.

Some have reported the area workforce pool is dwindling. I don’t know if that’s true but maybe they don’t have the staff?

 

[SaintsManiac]

As much as prices have gone up and perks have gone down, they can afford to hire more staff if they need it. They just choose to pass the extra money to the shareholders, which in our country is the expected thing to do, rather than staffing.

I'm not questioning if they can afford it. I'm questioning if they can find enough people. Not everyone wants to work at Disney. Not everyone passes an interview.

 

[The Pho]

Some have reported the area workforce pool is dwindling. I don’t know if that’s true but maybe they don’t have the staff?

It’s not at all. Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities in the country while also being the one with the lowest average salary of any major city.

 

[mom2rtk]

But does Disney have enough staff? Everyone always screams "money grab," but do they have enough CMs to handle all of this?

I don't know the turnover rate and I know nothing about the CP. I'm just throwing my thoughts out there.

I'm not questioning if they can afford it. I'm questioning if they can find enough people. Not everyone wants to work at Disney. Not everyone passes an interview.

That's certainly a possibility. I doubt we'll ever know for sure what the real reason is, or if it's a combination of reasons. I just think if they could use a small hiring pool as an excuse to shift hours instead of adding hours, they will. If the labor pool is too low, how about paying overtime to some of their current staff with the onslaught of profits they will have in those opening months?

 

[LSUmiss]

I will add that if I were paying some of the prices some of you disclosed you pay, I would be angry too like the pp who mentioned the quote with “free dining”. Rack rate is absolutely ridiculous & often Disney’s discounts aren’t that great either. I priced our trip under the sun & fun deal that said “up to 30%” for deluxe rooms, but for CR, it was only a 15% discount. That’s nothing! I encourage ppl to explore the discount threads on these boards. I almost solely only book with a travel agency that I discovered through these boards. They have deals throughout the year & also have discounted park tickets. I have been using them since 2014 & have never had Disney beat their price.

 

[SaintsManiac]

That's certainly a possibility. I doubt we'll ever know for sure what the real reason is, or if it's a combination of reasons. I just think if they could use a small hiring pool as an excuse to shift hours instead of adding hours, they will. If the labor pool is too low, how about paying overtime to some of their current staff with the onslaught of profits they will have in those opening months?

Who's to say they won't pay OT? I guess I just have "Disney is the devil" fatigue.

 

[LSUmiss]

Who's to say they won't pay OT? I guess I just have "Disney is the devil" fatigue.

I think that’s what happens to me. At first, I might be displeased with the news too, but then I read so many posts that sound so entitled that I end up on the other side! It gets ridiculous!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So EMH is removed from MK in October at least that's what the schedule is reflecting (we know schedules can change so I'll leave that caveat out there).

Let's say it stays off the schedule. If it's not added back on in early January but DAH is on the schedule like it has been I'm not sure the labor thing pans out. Why have DAH if you don't have enough people to cover EMH. EMH was already on select nights and was 2 hours. DAH is also on select nights but is 3 hours. Even the idea of shifting the hours to DHS evening EMH to accommodate SWGE I don't think the labor thing pans out if they still have DAH at MK.

I could be wrong in how I'm thinking about it but that's just my thoughts for now on the labor aspect.

 

[Horizons-1]

My thoughts based on what we know at this time, which really is all we have to go by at this point, is that due to the increased MNSSHP events that start from August-October Disney has decided not to do any EMH because of staffing. It wouldn't make sense to have late nights every day of the week when you have parties going multiple times during the week.

Like others have posted, if we don't see this revert back in January then it's possible that Disney will make it permanent. However, since we are purely speculating at this point we don't really know what's going on.

 

[Patches Lee]

I just looked at the week we’re going in June, there are 4 hours total of Evening Magic Hours across all 4 parks for the entire week that we could utilize. There was a time not that long ago, when all parks had at least 1 night of evening magic hours for 3 hours during a calendar week. Those available hours went down from 12 to 4 now. So maybe the EMH are so crowded because there is less of them.

BTW that same week, if I want to give Disney an extra $1000 for my family of 4, we can attend what was the 3 magic hours at DAK and DHS which are now paid for after hour events.

Same here for our June trip, then throw in Typhoon Lagoon H2O twice a week.
I'm gonna go with the off wall theory they have a large booking, so Disney is going to pull evening hours for awhile then heavily promote "now with evening hours" like it was new.