What straw may break your camels back?

[palmtreelover08]

With the discussions about Napkins, decreased EMH, increased pricing, etc, it got me thinking..what would it take for Disney to drop for me to at a minimum stop staying on site. I think the following would make me consider off-site reservations.

1) No more free dining. I'll admit it- I've gotten used to it during my late summer trip. If they take away the dining, I could def. see myself looking elsewhere or possible cutting my stay down from 12-14 days to more like a week at a time. I already rent a car due to the bus cramming/overloading/line cutting etc.

2) If they take away the free parking for AP holders, even those that stay off site- that could cause me to actually start going to Universal/IOA instead. If I am going to pay to park, it wouldn't be "saving" me the $14or $15 per day to just stay at Disney..might as well go check out some of the other parks.

3) Taking away EMH in the AM.

How about you.. what would Disney really have to do to lose your business? We are a bunch of fairly rabid Disney fans on this board, so I think they would have to do some serious CHIZ...

 

[vicki_c]

None of those 3, although paid parking would bum me out. But I did it at US/IOA the years we had passes there, so it still wouldn't stop me from staying @ Disney.

I am hard pressed to think of anything that would make me stop staying on-site, but I own DVC. But even thinking about not owning DVC - I still almost always stayed on site prior to that (and still pay cash to stay on site when we run out of points). I just like it that much better, it's worth the premium price to me - entirely unrelated to anything with the parks. I like the resorts because I like the resorts.

 

[TDC Nala]

If they decide to focus specifically on children and families with children in all new offerings, and revamp previous rides and restaurants with that in mind (like taking out Victoria & Albert's to put in another princess meal, cancellation of the Food & Wine Festival to be replaced by a Disney Junior meet and greet or the entire WDW resort decides to go alcohol free), then I'm out of there.

I see the ones the OP posted, they look like straws for many, but I don't park a car there, I don't do morning EMH, and I would love it if the dining plan would go away entirely. I'd assume there are also a few parents for whom my camelback breaking straw would be fabulous.

 

[kaligal]

I stayed in WDW hotels all the time. Did all of them. Did a bunch of club level.

Then we just couldn't decide on which hotel and were browsing choices offsite. We decided, "What the hell. Let's try a three bedroom condo for $100/night. If it sucks, we can always go somewhere else."

The stays in WDW hotels have been few and far between since we found out how much more relaxing it in condos and houses. It's a much better vacation and a much, much, MUCH cheaper one, too.

My camel collapsed a long time ago, lol.

 

[palmtreelover08]

My camel collapsed a long time ago, lol.

Now that's funny!

 

[Alby]

If they removed Fastpass without replacing with something similar, and if they were successuful in cancelling all low - crowd periods and have summer - like crowds in all months, then I would probably not be back.

What would persuade not to stay onsite would be the closure of Epcot International Gateway and of Contemporary/ MK walking path. Location is all for me!

 

[Cafeen]

Nothing in particular, just make it somehow subjectively no longer worth the money that I'd pay to be there.

1) It could be removing discounts (rather than just FD, discounts in general has more potential), as that would up my cost quite a bit. However, I don't know if that would stop me, or just make me change the length or frequency of my trips.

2) This wouldn't bother me personally, so it wouldn't be my straw, but I would certainly recognize that it's more chipping away. ETA: However, even for off-site, I'm sure most people are saving far more than $14 per day staying that way, so it wouldn't really come into that much of account.

3) Again, doubtful that this would affect me all that much, but it would be more of a sign that things aren't as they were and more guest experience being lost for the value of the all-mighty dollar.

So, even with all three of those happening, I doubt I'd stop going altogether. However, it would certainly impact the length and frequency of my trips, as well as how much I expect to get out of them. There are so many other great places both inside and outside the US to travel to, that it wouldn't be that great of a loss to only do half my trip to WDW, and then another trip elsewhere. For now, it's just easy and I'm still getting out what I want for the money I put in, but we'll see if that changes.

Edit:
Erm, stay off-site... not go altogether...I should really learn about this whole reading thing.

Really, I'm just about ready to now. If I had transportation down there, and a way to save extra money on the food I enjoy (TiW is not available to me since I'm not a FL resident, nor do I go quite often enough for an AP) I'd probably be there by now.

 

[WsPrincess]

Nothing would really make me give up. I am upset with the change in EHM PM but I am sure I will get over it. I also am not a huge fan of the dining plan. We got free dining this last trip and honestly, a half way decent room only discount would have saved us more. We always fly so I think getting rid of Magical Express would be bad. I don't think right now I would quit going though.

 

[si-am]

If they decide to focus specifically on children and families with children in all new offerings, and revamp previous rides and restaurants with that in mind (like taking out Victoria & Albert's to put in another princess meal, cancellation of the Food & Wine Festival to be replaced by a Disney Junior meet and greet or the entire WDW resort decides to go alcohol free), then I'm out of there.

I see the ones the OP posted, they look like straws for many, but I don't park a car there, I don't do morning EMH, and I would love it if the dining plan would go away entirely. I'd assume there are also a few parents for whom my camelback breaking straw would be fabulous.

This would probably be my straw too.

Another would be a tiered FP system for resort guests, with Deluxe guests getting more FP options. (this idea is occasionally tossed around here on the boards.)

And actually, no more free dining (and no more dining plan of any sort) would make me want to go MORE! ;-)

 

[atp]

If they got rid of EMH I would very likely stay off site. Next time ago, if the hours are still reduced, I will seriously consider that.

If they stopped offering transportation for free I would FOR SURE stay offsite because then it's just not worth it anymore.

The only reasons I stay onsite is transportation adn EMH. Not having to leave Disney if I don't want to is a bonus too but it would be meaningless if I had to drive to every park, might as well just stay offsite.

Free dining is nice, but I would still go without it, I would just spend as little as possible on food and buy most snacks and breakfast at a grocery store.

I think that's all the perks they offer to those who stay on site, so I can't think of anything else they could take away.

 

[DebbieB]

Since I am a DVC member, free dining and discounts are not an issue.
Rarely use EMH and never to closing.
The napkin thing is laughable, that has to be the last thing I'm concerned about.
Not happy with the fastpass enforcement but it was good while it lasted.

Things I'm happy about:
DVC AP discount increased to $149
More resorts being built

Can't think of anything that would be the last straw.

 

[LilyWDW]

If they decide to focus specifically on children and families with children in all new offerings, and revamp previous rides and restaurants with that in mind (like taking out Victoria & Albert's to put in another princess meal, cancellation of the Food & Wine Festival to be replaced by a Disney Junior meet and greet or the entire WDW resort decides to go alcohol free), then I'm out of there.

I see the ones the OP posted, they look like straws for many, but I don't park a car there, I don't do morning EMH, and I would love it if the dining plan would go away entirely. I'd assume there are also a few parents for whom my camelback breaking straw would be fabulous.

This is pretty much where I stand as well.

I don't drive at Disney. I don't use EMH. I would cheer in excitement if they got rid of the dining plan (paid and free).

 

[disneyfanlincoln]

Free transportation is essential to me staying on site, we don't drive on holiday, it's not a holiday if I have to drive I do that at work ! So if the access to Disney transportation is either restricted or to be paid for, I would stay off site definitely. We stay on site to take advantage of resting in the middle of the day, if this was no longer an option, although I enjoy WDW hotels it would not make financial sense anymore........Not too keen about the reduction of EMH either.

 

[NLD]

It's not really about any one thing... it's about overall value and cost. I will say though, DME is huge for us, too. I LOVE not having to get a rental car. If free transportation goes away, and nighttime EMH is eliminated or drastically reduced, there's not a ton of reason for us to stay onsite.

They didn't get us this summer. I was trying really, really hard to justify an August trip, but just couldn't based on the prices for the time period we needed.

My parents have offered us the use of their timeshare this coming year. Immediately I thought about an off-site WDW trip. But... we're already planning a northern California trip for June... and even with free lodging, when I think about ticket prices, paying for parking, and food (and air and rental car, though those aren't Disney's domain).... it's still expensive. Too expensive considering it would be vacation #2 that year.

Sooo.... I'm not sure, but I've got this sinking feeling each year watching prices go up, crowds go up, and arguably value go down. I still LOVE the place and we'll certainly be back, but we may indeed skip 2013. Might just wait till the new Fantasyland is ENTIRELY done, and see what's what, at that point.

 

[sazzifrazz]

I already hit my boiling point last trip. We booked POR AB room with trundle. i specifically called and discussed the reasoning why we NEEDED trundle. My foster son is not allowed to share a bed with an adult. period! My husband and I and my dad were all going to be in one room. We arrived to find we were put in the mansions, and again, I explained. We were given a fold up bed. This beast of a bed only fit snug against the bed in by the door. all week we had to work our way around it and it took up so much space. i was not pleased! Then, the bus system was horrendous that week (December 10th). Seriously we waiting over an hour for busses on a few occassions. It really did ruin our trip. We wasted so much time with busses. That said, i will NOT spend my mom on Disney resorts. We stayed at Windsor Hills a few years ago for a fraction of the price and used our rental car. We were in the parks faster than when we stayed on property.

 

[amylevan]

Different strokes for different folks - I would cheer the end of the dining plan and we don't use EMH (don't need to when the crowds are low, and with a preschooler, the regular hours are more than he can stand anyhow...)

For us it would have to be the free transportation. We rarely drive and love the boats, monorail and busses.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

Hmm...I don't really know.

I mean, some stuff Disney does is a little absurd, but...whatever.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

If all of the meet/ greets went away so would we - that's half or more than half the fun of Disney for us.

Large crowds year round would probably put a large dent in our visiting habits too.

 

[bytheblood]

I already hit my boiling point last trip. We booked POR AB room with trundle. i specifically called and discussed the reasoning why we NEEDED trundle. My foster son is not allowed to share a bed with an adult. period! My husband and I and my dad were all going to be in one room. We arrived to find we were put in the mansions, and again, I explained. We were given a fold up bed. This beast of a bed only fit snug against the bed in by the door. all week we had to work our way around it and it took up so much space. i was not pleased! Then, the bus system was horrendous that week (December 10th). Seriously we waiting over an hour for busses on a few occassions. It really did ruin our trip. We wasted so much time with busses. That said, I will NOT spend my mom on Disney resorts. We stayed at Windsor Hills a few years ago for a fraction of the price and used our rental car. We were in the parks faster than when we stayed on property.

I am sure your mom would be very appreciative of this, too.

Sorry, but that made me laugh out loud....but I did understand your statement.

 

[starsweeper]

None of those would stop us:
1. We have never done the dining plan. I refuse to visit in Aug/Sept (lived in FL for a couple years) and we can eat cheaper off the plan when it isn't free.
2. We have never done AP, so it's either free WDW transport, or paid parking or taxi.
3. We missed out on EMH on our last visit and will on this upcoming visit due to off-site location.

We're paying $980 for a 3bd/3ba townhome with private splash pool steps away from the clubhouse at Windsor Hills (2 miles from WDW) in October. Our last trip was 2 connected king suites at Marriott OWC for free with DH's points. We plan to stay in a Contemporary 2bd suite in 2014/15 when all 4 kids are mobile and still young for proximity to MK, then we will likely go back to off-site.

Frankly, besides price, a lot of things are different than my visits as a teen/young adult. Despite that, I still have a desire to visit with my kids often.