Why is Disney discouraging Hopping?

[SlightlyGoofy]

We usually have AP's but seldom park hop, too much trouble. It is nice to have when the park we have chosen turns out to have an abundance of people and it helpful when we go to one of the smaller parks and then want to head over to the WS for dinner or whatever though. I can live without it altho I might find we miss it when we do not have that option.

Maybe DW can use fewer buses and drivers if people are not park hopping?

I have met CM's in one park on one day and another the next day. Met just such a one last year 3 different times, 3 different parks. I am betting that many of them are trained to work several different attractions. I know that some were being required to work at neighboring attractions during show times at their main job after 9/11. In other words, after seating the audience for Hall of Presidents they headed nearby to work somewhere else for a bit.

It seems fair to charge for options to those who want them rather than charging everyone whether they want it or not. Change is always difficult, especially for old people like me.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[grimley1968]

I love the new ticketing system. Basically, you pay for what you want, a la carte. We don't need the non-expiration feature, nor the "pluses", but we love to park hop, so we pay for only that feature. 7-day MYW tickets including park hopping are quite a bit less for us expensive than 7-day parkhoppers tickets were.

I definitely don't think WDW is discouraging park hopping. I think EMH evenings are a ploy to make sure people do purchase park hopping on their tickets.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

I haven't made up my mind yet about the new pricing of tickets. I think it really all depends on what you are used to buying in the past. Sure, if you go for 7 or more days, your going to like the new pricing. But, if you go for 5 days and like to park hop, you are not going to like it much.

I compared what it would cost to buy tickets that had the same features as what I bought last year. Last year I purchased 6 day park hopper plus tickets that included three plus features and they never expired. When I priced a 5 day ticket and added on the hopper feature, the plus feature and the no expiration feature, it was $52.00 more per ticket. That is why Disney did it. Either way they win. They can now charge more for tickets and make people think they are getting a discount. The big savings does not kick in until 7 days. So, if people extend their stay to get the ticket savings, then they will be spending more money at the parks.

Luckily, I bought my tickets through AAA. I could buy 4 day park hopper tickets for less than I could buy tickets with the hopper feature. When we got down to Disney, I added two days onto my tickets for only $11.00 more per ticket.

As far as not wanting to pay for features that you don't use, like hopping features that were included in the tickets, the hopping didn't cost extra. There was no added expense in hopping. I drive my car while I am down there so should I get a discount on my tickets and room since I don't use the buses?

Whether you like the new pricing is really going to depend on what you are used to buying. Either way, Disney is still pretty comperable to other theme parks.

 

[Cyndirella]

The new tickets worked really well for us. We would have bought 4 or 5 day hopper tickets (under the old system), but found with the MYW tickets it didn't cost a lot to add extra days. So we bought 8 day tickets with the hopper option and had entry for every day we were there. It was really nice to go in the parks for an hour or two and not feel like we were "wasting" a day on our tickets. I think they cost about the same, maybe a little less, than the 5 day hopper.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Why is Disney discouraging Hopping?

1) Not sure they are actually discouraging it.
2) They just want to get paid for the service.
3) Buses are expensive to operate (bus, fuel, driver).
4) Monorials are almost deserted during the day.
5) During the day, buses frequently run empty.
6) If the hopping goes down, they can adjust buses.
7) If hopping goes up, they can adjust buses, and be paid for it.

 

[Bete]

For the cost budget traveller, they can get a no frills ticket, now. For the traveller who wants to do it all, now they can with many add-ons. AP holders can always park hop, anyway.

I don't want to pay for a feature I don't need or want. This new way of getting tickets allows everyone to customize to your exact needs and wants. Now, I will admit you have to plan your vacation more to decide what features are important to you.

The very best part of this ticket plan is you can change your mind any day of your trip and upgrade. The only catch is they will make the charges apply retrospectively for your whole ticket plan time; so, I think one better decide early on, if they choose to upgrade in any way.

I went for a basic ticket package for the first week of October. I'm beginning to feel it may be crowded at the time we are going. If so, I will upgrade to park hopper pretty quick in our stay; so, if one park is too crowded, we'll just go to another. You even get more hours per day to do the parks with park hopper now because you can go to the early EMH park of the day and later go to the late EMH park, if there are two EMH on the same day. That's quite a bonus of hours for the $5 extra surcharge per ticket, per day. Even if this doesn't happen everyday of your stay with EMH, it's still quite a deal. Also, you still can go to the early park of the day and go to the one that closes the latest and have more hours at the park that way. I think the $5 surcharge per ticket, per day for those benefits are a fine tradeoff.

We'll be taking our mother-in-law for the first time and she's 88; where not that young, either. Anyway, I don't think we will have the stamina to put in huge hours at the parks each day; so, park hopping will only be good for us, if it gets us to a less crowded park. One park a day will be quite enough for us. I think jumping around for us will be more upsetting than beneficial. I will see how it goes the first few days and then decide, if we want to upgrade. In the mean time, I've saved $5/day X 7 days X 3 adults = $105 for not taking the park hopper option, etc.

This new ticket plan really does allow you to do Magic Your Way which is the whole idea behind this Disney marketing strategy. I don't work for Disney, but I'm still plugging this plan.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I changed it to no park hopping this time because I am going by myself

I'm getting the hopping option because I am going by myself. I don't have to be at the same park all day with a dozen people.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

Disney is really good at their marketing by making people believe that since they didn't use options like hopping or plus features or no expiration date then they are saving money under the new tickets.

But, a 5 day base ticket with no added features cost about the same as the old 5 day park hopper plus tickets did. The old park hopper plus tickets had the hopping feature, the plus feature and the no expiration feature. So, you see, you were getting the add ons and not being charged extra for them. Now, it would be different if you could buy a 5 day park ticket with no added features today for less than what the old 5 day park hopper plus tickets used to cost.

The savings only kicks in at 7 days or more. And, I have read a lot of people on this board who have extended their trips because it was so inexpensive. So, Disney is getting their money from extra hotel days and extra days spending in the parks.

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

As long as I'm at WDW I'm happy!

 

[Bete]

We all know Disney increases park ticket costs; so, the old tickets prices would have gone up, accordingly; so, you can't compare it, now. They may have become very expensive tickets had it stayed the same way, if the add-on program had not been started; we will never know. It may be why Disney decided to go this route, instead.

I think it's wonderful that Disney is rewarding the longer, staying traveller; it makes total sense to me. I think it's smart business to do so. Loyalty should reap more rewards.

I don't think Disney will go back to the old way; it's done. I'm sure the ticket purchasing will change in the future but I'm satisfied with the way it's set-up, now. Pay for what you use.

The one improvement I could see would be to get some type of discount applied with more add-ons you purchase for your ticket like a tier effect.

 

[cobbler]

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.

I am like you. I have AP's and have rarely ever hopped. The only time we did was one night we decided we had to see Illuminations again and another time was for dinner. But for 95% of the time we don't hop and stay in one park.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

I don't think they will ever go back either, and, I am not sure that they should. I just don't like being told that the change was in my interest. Reminds me of when they told me that they were replacing extended hours with the Character Caravan because people in the surveys said they wanted to see more characters.

I know park tickets go up each year, they have to to keep up with increase costs. But, when you compare the two years, to get the same 5 day ticket, it cost about $52.00 more. Now, on a two hundred and some ticket, that is about a 25% increase. They don't usually go up any where near that much. I just think that they are really good at marketing to make people think they are getting a better deal now.

I would sincerly like to ask how many people would like for them to go back to the ticket per ride? Wouldn't that really be paying for what you use?

I even like the pricing for the longer tickets being cheaper. That is the part of the ticket I think they got right. I just don't think that people purchasing the 4 and 5 day tickets should have to pay for the discount that people buying 7 or more day tickets are getting.

 

[Bete]

I would sincerly like to ask how many people would like for them to go back to the ticket per ride? Wouldn't that really be paying for what you use?




You are too funny! I remember those days of a ticket for each ride. Even back then all coupon books were not alike, some were better than others (more e-tickets in them) even if, they cost the same. Our company got us the good coupon books; so, I know about it. Back then, the bigger companies got better coupon book deals, if they chose to work with Disney on having this for their employees. Also, you may not have wanted anything but e-tickets but you were forced to take other valued ticket coupons for lesser rides because it was a book of tickets. It's just some coupon books had more e-tickets than others making them a better book for value. Even back then it wasn't totally fair.

I hear you on the old tickets being a better deal based on what you are presenting. It's just, if this is the new plan, then I'm happy I don't have to pay more and not use features I don't want; that's all.

 

[DisFlan]

I think the new ticket structure for hopping is great! Last year we would have paid $292 for a 6 day hopper from AAA and thought it was a good deal. Now we can get it from Ticketmania for about $230, expiry. That's a WHOLE lot less. We don't need non-expire. We DO need hopping. I can't imagine not being able to hop. It would definitely hobble us.

I can't see this as anything other than Disney encouraging hopping.

DisFlan

 

[littlestix]

I'm going in Oct. for 10 nights/11 days. On my trip last year we only hopped one time, just to say we did it. I enjoy staying in 1 park for the entire day and taking things slow. Since we have 10 days in the parks this year I am definitly going with the no frills base ticket.