WDW to prevent AP holders from visiting parks many mornings

[Memorymakerfor4]

I was there a couple weeks ago. If that's lighter than you were expecting at the parks, I'd hate to see what you were expecting!

I've never seen the pools more crowded. Possibly because of the AP mess. People are stretching out tickets, or maybe not even going because tickets are so expensive and there is no sign of APs in the future.

If there are incentives, which I don't see happening soon, I think it would be opening some AP purchases for a minute.

I saw a post elsewhere on social media this morning saying this very thing. Pools more crowded than normal and most of the people this person talked to said they were doing resort only stays because they were locked out of APs.

 

[whiteness]

That would be a nice option. But absent of that, I think the directions are clear enough that people understand that when you buy a ticket you then go back and book the days that you just checked that said parks had room.

The fact that some guests show up at the park with tickets and no reservations is sufficient evidence that Disney needs to fix this.

By this logic, should airlines only allow you to purchase tickets not associated with any specific dates or destinations, and then expect you to sort those details out at some future time after the purchase? Imagine the chaos that would quickly ensue.

 

[Sandisw]

The fact that some guests show up at the park with tickets and now reservations is sufficient evidence that Disney needs to fix this.

By this logic, should airlines only allow you to purchase tickets not associated with any specific dates or destinations, and then expect you to sort those details out at some future time after the purchase? Imagine the chaos that would quickly ensue.

That’s nowhere even the same situation. But yeah, airlines overbook seats all the time. And we have been bumped even when we didn’t agree to it because no one volunteered. We got rebooked the next day and given $100 each for our trouble. Didn’t make up for losing a whole day of vacation.

I definitely agree that Disney could change it and require you to pick a park when you buy

But that does not mean the current system is hard to understand or that the rules are confusing.

If the vast majority of people are using it with no issue, then it’s not broken.

And the facts show that there have been very few days of the year, even last minute that someone showed up at WDW and all parks were booked.

Again, simply my opinion that there is nothing wrong with the current set up.

 

[tjkraz]

I was there a couple weeks ago. If that's lighter than you were expecting at the parks, I'd hate to see what you were expecting!

I've never seen the pools more crowded. Possibly because of the AP mess. People are stretching out tickets, or maybe not even going because tickets are so expensive and there is no sign of APs in the future.

It's commonplace for resort pool chairs to be fully claimed on summer days, often with people looking to grab any opening. Not really sure how the crowds could be any bigger than that.

 

[tjkraz]

I think people who purchase a ticket should be required to reserve specific dates and parks at the time of purchase. And they should be allowed to change them later. A guest should not be allowed to purchase a ticket for a specific number of days without any assurances that they can enter a specific park on a specific day for every day they have purchased.

That's exactly how the Disney websites work. You don't even check-out and pay for the ticket purchase until after you're selected the number of days AND parks.

This likely goes back to third party ticket vendors, AAA and others who sell discounted passes which are not pre-validated against the website. I don't see any way that Disney would force Undercover Tourist to complete those validation steps before allowing a customer to purchase a ticket.

I remember when Disney was actually about customer service but it seems that has gone out the window as well. It's literally a chore to go to Disney these days and I'm betting attendance figure will reflect that....if they are honest.

Keep in mind this whole issue Disney has CREATED has 0 to do with actual park capacity issues.

It has to do with capacity to the extent that guests are effectively routed to the park with the most resources rather than over-burdening other parks. Imagine there's an average daily guest cap of 50k at Magic Kingdom. You staff for 50k, and Park Pass gives them the ability to project that attendance.

If you're staffed for 50k and (without Park Pass) 70-80k show up, everyone has a lesser experience. If you staff for 80k and only 40k show up, you're wasting resources that could have been better used elsewhere.

Park Pass does add a certain administrative burden to the guests. And I feel for those who are somehow unaware of it. But in my mind, it has the potential to address other guest satisfaction issues, namely the "wow, Magic Kingdom crowds were horrible today" issue.

 

[whiteness]

That’s nowhere even the same situation. But yeah, airlines overbook seats all the time. And we have been bumped even when we didn’t agree to it because no one volunteered. We got rebooked the next day and given $100 each for our trouble. Didn’t make up for losing a whole day of vacation.

I definitely agree that Disney could change it and require you to pick a park when you buy

But that does not mean the current system is hard to understand or that the rules are confusing.

If the vast majority of people are using it with no issue, then it’s not broken.

And the facts show that there have been very few days of the year, even last minute that someone showed up at WDW and all parks were booked.

Again, simply my opinion that there is nothing wrong with the current set up.

I agree that it's not a perfect analogy. Anyway, I'm still hoping that Disney will make it work better for people.

 

[Madame]

That's exactly how the Disney websites work. You don't even check-out and pay for the ticket purchase

That’s not how it worked when I purchased tix right before the G+ change. I purchased then had to go back in and select park days. Has it changed in the last month or so? Maybe the Canadian version of the site is different?

 

[tjkraz]

That’s not how it worked when I purchased tix right before the G+ change. I purchased then had to go back in and select park days. Has it changed in the last month or so? Maybe the Canadian version of the site is different?

The Disneyland site (which I looked at first) makes you pick an actual park each day. Walt Disney World presents this after choosing number of days, ticket type and arrival date:

 

[Madame]

The Disneyland site (which I looked at first) makes you pick an actual park each day. Walt Disney World presents this after choosing number of days, ticket type and arrival date:

View attachment 685987

Not on my version. I got all the way to checkout with no screen to choose parks.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The Disneyland site (which I looked at first) makes you pick an actual park each day. Walt Disney World presents this after choosing number of days, ticket type and arrival date:

View attachment 685987

Not quite how it works at least at WDW you can look and in fact Disney highly suggest you do before purchasing tickets and selecting your first day for when your ticket is good for but you do not select the parks in any way shape or form during checkout.

Remember date-based tickets pre-date park reservation system by several years. Date-based is not new in the Disney world of theme park tickets.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The fact that some guests show up at the park with tickets and no reservations is sufficient evidence that Disney needs to fix this.

I'm not sure you've worked with the public if you actually feel this way.

Sure you may think Disney should do a better job but not by saying "The fact that", if you've worked with the public enough you know there will be some, sometimes a lot of people, that despite everything are completely clueless

 

[tjkraz]

Not on my version. I got all the way to checkout with no screen to choose parks.

I just walked thru it now and that's what it showed. So beats me.

 

[BeachClub2014]

The Disneyland site (which I looked at first) makes you pick an actual park each day. Walt Disney World presents this after choosing number of days, ticket type and arrival date:

View attachment 685987

The part that I find disturbing is that on three days in this screenshot alone, 50% of the parks are closed for reservations. Why? What makes Thursday, Friday, and Monday in late July so unusual as to shut off access?

 

[whiteness]

I'm not sure you've worked with the public if you actually feel this way.

Sure you may think Disney should do a better job but not by saying "The fact that", if you've worked with the public enough you know there will be some, sometimes a lot of people, that despite everything are completely clueless

Sorry you feel that way.

 

[Madame]

Page 1:


Page 2 (as you scroll down & answer):









Page 3 is the one right above this line.

This is the ONLY time park reservations are mentioned during the process, before the checkout. It’s after selecting the start day:

 

[Madame]

I just walked thru it now and that's what it showed. So beats me.

If you have the time and inclination could you post the screenshots of what you’re seeing? I’m just interested to see as I’ve bought 3 sets of tix since early Dec 2021 and each time I have to do park reservations *after* checkout. For someone who isn’t overly familiar with the system/wdw I could see how this gets missed after purchase.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Sorry you feel that way.

It's not a feeling, it's just how it is and if you've worked with the public enough you'd know it.

I wish signs, bold letters, hand spooning and everything worked for everyone but it doesn't. Retail and food people get it quite quickly that there is no way every single person they encounter pays attention to things, even right in front of them. Heck even when I was in corporate world people can be that way. I was in insurance world my husband in engineering. Oodles of stories to tell and across the nation, and globally (germany, canada, mexico, india, etc) somehow doesn't seem to matter.

Your opinion is Disney isn't doing it well enough, what isn't up for debate is that there will always be people, sometimes a lot, that still don't get it. Even ones who call for improvement to the park reservation system seemed to get that.

 

[tjkraz]

@Madame My screen shots look identical to yours. Except that after picking a day on the calendar, it slides open a section which displays the current status of every park. You don't actually select parks until after, but this status is appearing for me (in Safari browser).

 

[tjkraz]

For Disneyland, it actually forces you to choose a park each day before proceeding. (Note Disneyland is at capacity the first two days listed below, thus not an option. Both parks available on July 20)

 

[Madame]

It's not a feeling, it's just how it is and if you've worked with the public enough you'd know it.

I wish signs, bold letters, hand spooning and everything worked for everyone but it doesn't. Retail and food people get it quite quickly that there is no way every single person they encounter pays attention to things, even right in front of them. Heck even when I was in corporate world people can be that way. I was in insurance world my husband in engineering. Oodles of stories to tell and across the nation, and globally (germany, canada, mexico, india, etc) somehow doesn't seem to matter.

Your opinion is Disney isn't doing it well enough, what isn't up for debate is that there will always be people, sometimes a lot, that still don't get it. Even ones who call for improvement to the park reservation system seemed to get that.

It’s just a simple tweak though. Putting the park selection *during* the purchase process instead of after the checkout. I work with hundreds of teens yearly so I understand what you’re saying, but a simple adjustment puts the onus squarely on the consumer. I assume something in the system won’t allow for « holds » on the park reservations though so maybe that’s why.