Why is Disney discouraging Hopping?

[Buttercup Roberts]

Hiya folks,

Based on the insane summertime EMH crowds, it seems to me the new Magic Your Way tickets are eliminating Hopping for most resort guests. People just won't pay extra for Hopping, evidently.

Do you think this is something Disney is doing on purpose, trying to herd the majority of guests into one park at a time, for staffing reasons? Maybe it saves them money that way? I think it's pretty short sighted, because they're telling guests they are getting a perk and they're really giving them the longest possible lines.

I just wondered what everyone's take was on it. I for one am not going anywhere near EMH parks anymore, and that's a shame, because I'd love to stay out to 1 or 2 a.m.!

 

[Laurajean1014]

I believe that WDW is doing everything to encourage hopping.

 

[SarahandPaul]

I believe that WDW is doing everything to encourage hopping.

Ditto

 

[LAinSEA]

I posted a question very similar to this thought a little while ago and I'm hoping to hear if MYW has impacted plans.

I don't know if WDW considered the impact MYW's extra cost for park hopping would have on attendance especially on EMH nights when they changed the ticket policies. I would agree that the Ultimate Park Hopper tickets offered with the packages my husband and I used on our two visits made our vacations flexible and enjoyable. Given that experience, I would mostly likely pay for the park hopping privileges in the future. But I can't say that I don't resent the "nickle and diming" to pay for that flexibility.

-Laurie

 

[opal]

I think that we have always paid for park hopping flexibility.....even if we didn't necessarily use it. At least now we have a choice. I like that I no longer have to buy "extras" for the water parks and pleasure island if I'm not planning on going there. I have 15 admissions to the water parks from 7 day hoppers from January trips when it was just was too cool to go the water parks. I really don't need any more. The last few Jan trips we cut our stay to 5 days so that we could buy hoppers without the extras. In 2006 we will be going for 7 days again. This time we will buy 10 day, no expire, with hopping and save the extra days for a future short trip. Hmmm...I guess that means I will go back and book a room for yet another trip, eat lots of Disney food and buy lots of Disney trinkets.....Do you suppose that was the whole idea?

 

[Chuck S]

I would guess that they tracked the old ticket usage and determined that a substantial number of guests did not park hop, so they made it an add-on option to make the tickets "cheaper" for marketing purposes. I know we have had APs for years, and rarely hopped from one park to another, unless we spent the day somewhere and decided to have dinner at EPCOT.

 

[jeminni]

This next trip in Sept will be the first time I'm not park hopping. It will be interesting to see if I enjoy having to just be in one park per day or if I'll really miss the luxury of going to whatever park I wanted to. I changed it to no park hopping this time because I am going by myself, wont be going to any water parks or disneyquest ( which both my DS 20 and DD18 loved to do)

 

[mking624]

Even with the addition of base tickets, the most popular ticket remains the 4 day park hopper. The base ticket is just a nice addition for those who prefer not to hop (especially those on a first trip to WDW).

 

[C.Ann]

First of all, when I visit WDW, park hopping is very important to me.. Having said that, I like the fact that I can purchase that option WITHOUT having the "pluses" added too because quite frankly, I don't use them..

I think the group I'm traveling with on our next trip will also be very pleased with having these assorted options..

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Park hopping for us is a necessity for our WDW trips so we would pay extra for it no matter what!

 

[philaround]

There would be no way for Disney to figure out which park to boost the staff level. Just because there is now an extra charge for park hopping which may lead to fewer people park hopping, there is no way to tell ahead of time which park will for sure have the heavier attendance on any particular day. The ride and attraction CM's are not interchangeable from one area to another as each ride and attraction has different ride restrictions, loading and unloading procedures, and operating procedures. Due to this Disney would not be able to move CM's from one park to another at some later time in the day without causing some very serious safety issues.
The only possible savings Disney could reap with fewer people park hopping is in the transportation division and I don't believe the savings would be large enough to make fewer non park hoppers an effective cost saving measure. JMHO

 

[we3disneygo]

last trip was our first time hopping and we LOVED it we will gladly pay to park hop!

 

[sanapunk]

I love park hopping, cause I ended up going to one park in the morning, and back to MK for all "the good rides" at night.

 

[donnajon]

I think Disney messed up by having the base price of tickets be low and then add on options. I think they should have had the base price of the ticket be at the high end and include all of the extras and then, give a "Discount" if you don't want to park hop, or a no expire ticket or the water parks. Then people would think they were saving money if they didn't want it rather than spending money if they did want it. I generally don't park hop anyway so it wouldn't matter that much to me.

 

[Suzanne74]

I hope that most people don't hop - then I will go to the parks the day after EMH and they will be nice and empty!!

Seriously though - I like the option of adding what you can. The base tickets are very cheap though so it was tough for me to add the hopper aspect of it - but it is worth it to us. If the weather is bad, we may want to switch to say MGM, instead of AKL - or if there is a closing like MNSSHP, we can do MK in the AM and then something else later on. Plus, dd takes 2:30-4pm naps and AKL days would leave us bored at night. I like going to WS a lot a night so we had to do hopper.

The one thing I was REALLY surprised about was the cost of "no expire" to us it wasn't worth it and we used to always get this option.

 

[aubriee]

I have an AP, but am taking my son and D-I-L who do not. To get the free dining I bought us all 7 day MYW with pluses, but no hopping for our Sept trip. Since it's their first trip we didn't figure we would need the hopping option. If they suddenly decide they want a souvineer they missed in a certain park I can use my AP and hop over to get it. I'll be using my AP while I'm down there anyway and saving my MYW ticket for next year after my AP expires.

The only problem is that while I'm down there in Sept I'll have to use my AP to buy me discounted tickets to PI, DQ, and the water parks, since my son and D-I-L want to go to them. I can't use the pluses on the MYW ticket without activating the whole ticket. Next spring I'll have a 7 day MYW ticket with 5 pluses on it. I won't use those pluses when I make my solo trip, but they will expire 14 days after I activate the ticket. I was thinking about upgrading the ticket to a 10 day MYW ticket anyway when we go in Sept, but wonder if there is anyway I could change it to a 10 day with hopping priviledges and drop the pluses? I know you can't exchange the MYW tickets for a cheaper ticket, but can you swap pluses for hopping priviledges?

 

[Leota]

I like the different options & the ability to "build" your own ticket. I am currently an AP holder, but we are taking my StepSon & his wife & our Grandsons in Dec. The new ticketing system allows us to save money on buying 7 day hopper passes for them without pluses that we won't necessarily use in Dec. We'll save even more by getting the expiring tickets for just the length of their stay. With the new ticket structure, if they decide to skip a day or two, the cost difference between a 5 day & a 7 day is less than $10. No big deal.

I don't get the impression that Disney is at all trying to inhibit hopping. I think it's pretty savvy marketing.

 

[stczt]

We were thinking about not hopping and the encouraged us to get it. They came up with "what if your done with a park early and want to go somewhere else?"

 

[Rachie0507]

I don't think Disney discourages Hopping at all. I think people know how valuable the hopping option can be and therefore are willing to pay for it. If anything, Disney is just making more money off it because of the demand. I will always pay more for hopping privileges. My family tends to be morning people so we head to park early, get our fill and head back to the hotel for an afternoon swim/nap. Then in the afternoon, we usually hit a different park. We like variety!!

 

[Mickeyistheman]

If I don't Park Hop, I would never be able to see everything when I am there. I would always pay for that option. I never really used the extras when I am there i.e Waterparks and Pleasure Island. I mean if I go once during my stay I would pay our of pocket. I also have to say that adding the no expiration is questionable now too. If I am only going for 5 days I am pretty sure all 5 will be used so why would people spend that extra money to have a no expiration pass? I think Disney finally got it right with the pricing for the passes.