The big G+ rides at HS gone by 1:07!

[Disturbia]

We could always find headliners day of. The only ones that were sometimes impossible are the same that are now $ILL. FOP, 7DMT, etc.. but everything else was doable with a little persistence. Bummer that it was tough for some folks.

I get the drawback of staying offsite or being local, but it makes sense that onsite guests had perks since they were ponying up big $$$ directly to Disney for staying onsite.

The old system may have been too skewed towards onsite guests. I would have been fine with allowing EVERYONE access to FP's on the same day, like 2 weeks prior to their first arrival day. There was no need for 60 days out for onsite, and 30 days offsite or local. Just make it 2 weeks, or 30 days or whatever, but make it the same for all guests. Doing that would level the playing field and still keep all the awesome things that FP+ allowed.

• Prebooking rides
• Booking at the times you choose
• Ability to sleep in
• Ability to modify you FP without cancelling
• Having peace of mind and a lower stress level going into your vacation

etc...

Dan

They should have never implemented a product that’s successful at Disneyland (Maxpass) to WDW. Disneyland is only 2 parks and has so many rides and because you can walk between the parks you have access to even more rides. I think they just saw $$$$. It has multiplied stress levels exponentially.

Someone made the observation that there are fewer children. I think decision making CMs with small children should go through the parks without perks and see what it’s like. Plus stop trying to market to the Universal crowd with all the tech changes. Disney has more rides for smaller kids and they need to refocus on their target market.

So don’t even try building a Pandora extension without a banshee/direhorse carousel!

 

[godfather927]

If they made all rides $ILL that immediately would stop all of our vacations to WDW. It's expensive enough already. Can you imagine the added cost if everything was $ILL? Keep in mind a lot of families are there. We are a family of 5. No way. That cost would add up FAST

Dan

Standby would of course still be an option. Universal's Express Pass is a $100+ surcharge per person. Making everything $ILL would surely be cheaper as an a la carte model for families who wouldn't want to ride all the included rides.

 

[Figvention]

I can't speak for everyone, but I don't have the kind of money to pay that high ticket price just to walk around and look at the nice landscaping.

Preach!

The counter weight Disney has is their new customer base is 25, single, kidless, spends most of their money on food/drinks (highest profit part of the parks), and REALLY CARES about posting pictures of themselves with pink cupcakes on The ‘gram. They don’t want you to ride more than a ride or two (then you have to come back) and thus are forced to spend money on being not bored (food/drink). Families are no longer the prime target. Affluent single people have become “Disney adults” and spend MUCH MORE than the family of 5 clogging up lines and packing a lunch. The family gets in the way of the 29yo who is running to pay for a 15 dollar drink at Flower and Garden booth

 

[snikki]

Preach!

The counter weight Disney has is their new customer base is 25, single, kidless, spends most of their money on food/drinks (highest profit part of the parks), and REALLY CARES about posting pictures of themselves with pink cupcakes on The ‘gram. They don’t want you to ride more than a ride or two (then you have to come back) and thus are forced to spend money on being not bored (food/drink). Families are no longer the prime target. Affluent single people have become “Disney adults” and spend MUCH MORE than the family of 5 clogging up lines and packing a lunch. The family gets in the way of the 29yo who is running to pay for a 15 dollar drink at Flower and Garden booth

They're also very tech savvy and don’t mind being on their phone all of the time.

 

[Figvention]

I

They're also very tech savvy and don’t mind being on their phone all of the time.

I’m very tech savvy, doesn’t mean I’m giving up thousands to be herded by an app I have to play all day long (this is called work in the real world). Tech Savvy and phone addicted are separate beast

 

[Disturbia]

Preach!

The counter weight Disney has is their new customer base is 25, single, kidless, spends most of their money on food/drinks (highest profit part of the parks), and REALLY CARES about posting pictures of themselves with pink cupcakes on The ‘gram. They don’t want you to ride more than a ride or two (then you have to come back) and thus are forced to spend money on being not bored (food/drink). Families are no longer the prime target. Affluent single people have become “Disney adults” and spend MUCH MORE than the family of 5 clogging up lines and packing a lunch. The family gets in the way of the 29yo who is running to pay for a 15 dollar drink at Flower and Garden booth

We travel as a family of 5 and our flights for this upcoming trip alone are $3,000 (on Spirit!). Art of animation suites used to be around $370 and is now $600? so around $6,000. With younger kids and allergies we spend upwards of $1500 on ADRs alone for a week. I don't think we spend less, especially given that we go home and buy kids Disney clothes, shoes, bags, movies etc etc.

I agree that the target customer has changed and it reflects in the CM attitudes (don't care, don't try to create magic).

 

[Westerner]

I maintain that G+ is probably kinda ok if they could just fix the booking times problem.

Are you referring to the complaint that G+/$ILL return times shift unexpectedly after booking?

If yes I think that is one thing that everyone agrees needs to be fixed. Especially for $ILL's!

 

[Figvention]

We travel as a family of 5 and our flights for this upcoming trip alone are $3,000 (on Spirit!). Art of animation suites used to be around $370 and is now $600? so around $6,000. With younger kids and allergies we spend upwards of $1500 on ADRs alone for a week. I don't think we spend less, especially given that we go home and buy kids Disney clothes, shoes, bags, movies etc etc.

I agree that the target customer has changed and it reflects in the CM attitudes (don't care, don't try to create magic).

ok here is my 30 seconds economics argument, simply take it for what it is. It’s all about of the COGS, cost of good and services to be provided to you and your family is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the day tripper. Yep, they make money on your suite, but there is also building maintenance, front desk cast members, housekeeping, property tax, etc… There are 5 of you in the parks, all of the things you walk on/ride on are detrimental to those physical assets, they also need to staff for 5 people. All your ADRs require kitchen/front house staff. Yes Disney will make money off you, no doubt, but your COGS is very high.

Juxtaposed against Disney adult couples who are now treating WDW like Vegas. Less staffing for two as opposed to 5 or 6. When they do go they treat it like the trip of a lifetime and they eat/drink/purchase WELL above levels of a family. We were with friends at F&G in 2019 who spent almost 800 dollars in one day eating and drinking around the world/festival booths, which is almost pure profit. Less people in line, less wear and tear of physical assists. As a stock holder, Disney has admitted that they make ludicrous amount of money off Disney Adults. It’s about profit per head, day tripper outpace you easily.

Large hotels/convention center have a very low profit margin, the goal is to get you there to buy everything else.

 

[T'Lynn]

Are you referring to the complaint that G+/$ILL return times shift unexpectedly after booking?

If yes I think that is one thing that everyone agrees needs to be fixed. Especially for $ILL's!

Yes, that's exactly what I'm referring to. If everything else about G+ were the same BUT they fixed the times shifting then I think it would be ok. Not great, but ok.

 

[kranzaldua]

Juxtaposed against Disney adult couples who are now treating WDW like Vegas. Less staffing for two as opposed to 5 or 6. When they do go they treat it like the trip of a lifetime and they eat/drink/purchase WELL above levels of a family. We were with friends at F&G in 2019 who spent almost 800 dollars in one day eating and drinking around the world/festival booths, which is almost pure profit. Less people in line, less wear and tear of physical assists. As a stock holder, Disney has admitted that they make ludicrous amount of money off Disney Adults. It’s about profit per head, day tripper outpace you easily.

Some of my favorite (least stressful) trips are kid-free Disney with my husband or friends (shhhhh, don't tell my kids!), especially during F&W festival. I truly don't think we've ever spent more than $200-300 in a day though. $800?! That both impresses & terrifies me

 

[Figvention]

Some of my favorite (least stressful) trips are kid-free Disney with my husband or friends (shhhhh, don't tell my kids!), especially during F&W festival. I truly don't think we've ever spent more than $200-300 in a day though. $800?! That both impresses & terrifies me

Table service breakfast with drinks, all the snacks and drinks (some drinks alone are 12-15 dollars) at festival booths, table service dinner w/drinks and finishing off and evening with a bottle of wine in Italy and France. Adds up quicker than you think

 

[kranzaldua]

Table service breakfast with drinks, all the snacks and drinks (some drinks alone are 12-15 dollars) at festival booths, table service dinner w/drinks and finishing off and evening with a bottle of wine in Italy and France. Adds up quicker than you think

Yeah- we normally only do 1 TS daily and 1 QS daily. When F&W is going on, it pretty much counts as our QS- albeit the most expensive one, by far. I prefer to spend more time checking everything out, and it's rare we do 2 TS in a day. I could see how that would be possible in that scenario.

 

[Jrb1979]

Whatever happened to the days of going to a park to ride rides? Maybe I'm unique but I I visit parks to ride rides. Last time at Universal I did the Mummy 11 times in 5 days.

 

[Disturbia]

ok here is my 30 seconds economics argument, simply take it for what it is. It’s all about of the COGS, cost of good and services to be provided to you and your family is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the day tripper. Yep, they make money on your suite, but there is also building maintenance, front desk cast members, housekeeping, property tax, etc… There are 5 of you in the parks, all of the things you walk on/ride on are detrimental to those physical assets, they also need to staff for 5 people. All your ADRs require kitchen/front house staff. Yes Disney will make money off you, no doubt, but your COGS is very high.

Juxtaposed against Disney adult couples who are now treating WDW like Vegas. Less staffing for two as opposed to 5 or 6. When they do go they treat it like the trip of a lifetime and they eat/drink/purchase WELL above levels of a family. We were with friends at F&G in 2019 who spent almost 800 dollars in one day eating and drinking around the world/festival booths, which is almost pure profit. Less people in line, less wear and tear of physical assists. As a stock holder, Disney has admitted that they make ludicrous amount of money off Disney Adults. It’s about profit per head, day tripper outpace you easily.

Large hotels/convention center have a very low profit margin, the goal is to get you there to buy everything else.

Disney Springs has lots of shopping and a party atmosphere. They should expand offerings there and make it easy to access (monorail); I’ve read parking is a nightmare.

The profit margins on the hotels will drop further if families didn’t travel. You would have to look at data once travel restrictions were lifted. International travel opened up Nov 2021

 

[Disturbia]

ok here is my 30 seconds economics argument, simply take it for what it is. It’s all about of the COGS, cost of good and services to be provided to you and your family is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the day tripper. Yep, they make money on your suite, but there is also building maintenance, front desk cast members, housekeeping, property tax, etc… There are 5 of you in the parks, all of the things you walk on/ride on are detrimental to those physical assets, they also need to staff for 5 people. All your ADRs require kitchen/front house staff. Yes Disney will make money off you, no doubt, but your COGS is very high.

Juxtaposed against Disney adult couples who are now treating WDW like Vegas. Less staffing for two as opposed to 5 or 6. When they do go they treat it like the trip of a lifetime and they eat/drink/purchase WELL above levels of a family. We were with friends at F&G in 2019 who spent almost 800 dollars in one day eating and drinking around the world/festival booths, which is almost pure profit. Less people in line, less wear and tear of physical assists. As a stock holder, Disney has admitted that they make ludicrous amount of money off Disney Adults. It’s about profit per head, day tripper outpace you easily.

Large hotels/convention center have a very low profit margin, the goal is to get you there to buy everything else.

How many people were in your party?

 

[pens4821]

I was following this thread leading up to my trip, so I’ll detail how my day went today. The four of us started in MK and hopped to HS. So we were planning on stacking. We rode sdd a couple rope drop days as well as tot but tot is our favorite so we prioritized tot.

quick version:
7 am rotr for 6 pm
710 tot 525
1030/1032 2 rnrc/2mmrr
1235 as2 620
250 2 mmrr 755
455 2 Mfsm 645

At 7 I booked an ill for rotr. After that we booked for tot. I did wait a few minutes to get one around 5. After that, two of us wanted rnrc and two mmrr. I booked rnrc no issue for 630 at 1030. I had to refresh a few times to get a mmrr but got that for 430 for the others. At 1230 I couldn’t find anything so I did as2 for 620 after refreshing for maybe 5 minutes. When 230 rolled around I couldn’t find anything. A couple times something would pop up then disappear. Finally at 250 I was able to get the two that didn’t do mmrr later ones for it. Then while I was waiting for the first two to ride mmrr I sat refreshing and was able to get Mfsm for two (the other two were heading back to the hotel so didn’t try to book four).

It was a tiring evening though. Once we started we non stopped walked the park as all the times were so close. We went mmrr,tot,rotr,as2,Mfsm,rnrc,mmrr from about 430 till 815. Was thinking of hopping in line for sdd to close out the park, but it’s been a long week and we are getting up early tomorrow. We left, and grabbed some food at the resort.

 

[Gentry2004]

Whatever happened to the days of going to a park to ride rides? Maybe I'm unique but I I visit parks to ride rides. Last time at Universal I did the Mummy 11 times in 5 days.

We are the same. DH and I are in our early 40's and our kids are 11 and almost 14. We also enjoy the shows, and sometimes the parades (though more when the kids were young) but all 4 of us, since DH and I were kids are all about the rides. And as I age and I'm less able to handle the new crazy coasters at the coaster-heavy theme parks, I'm so appreciative of all the attractions we can do at Disney without my needing to sit on a bench reading while the other 3 ride. At Disney I can ride every single attraction (even RNR and Everest as long as I only do 1x per day. I can't repeat those like my family!)

 

[HydroGuy]

We will be at DHS next Friday.

How early do you need to queue lately to see the Indiana Jones Stunt show? I am thinking about seeing the first show at 10:45. From what I read at least 30 minutes early. Is that enough?

It has been discouraging lately to see all the long lines that emerge at DHS so early in the morning. Depending on the LL windows I think it may be a good pivot to go see the 10:45 show.

Party of 2 with G+ and ETPE. Hope to get get an ILL$ for ROTR.

 

[amk43]

Nice. My hunch is that RotR return times will be more stable if you book around 7:17 bc the 7AM crush has passed.

This was my experience during President’s Day week. I tempted the fates by being a little picky about G+ and ILL times, and the 7:17ish booking was much more stable. I decided not to be picky about RotR, got booted out of the app, had to wait until 7:17 (refreshing constantly just in case), and found the booking fairly stable for it too at that time.

 

[georgina]

Whatever happened to the days of going to a park to ride rides? Maybe I'm unique but I I visit parks to ride rides. Last time at Universal I did the Mummy 11 times in 5 days.

why can’t we ride rides and eat and drink? As empty nest adults we ride all the rides but also enjoy a nice meal and a few drinks. DH is 67 and doesn’t need to ride anything more than once. I’m a few years younger and do the thrill rides like Space Mtn, ToT and Hagrids and Velocicoaster at Universal multiple times.

our May trip will be our first with G+ and I think we will buy it for one MK day and one HS day. Only ILLs will be RotR and FOP. There are no rides at Epcot that are must-dos for us so we will be enjoying F&G booths.