Disney Surveying VIP and add-on theme park ticket options

[Tekneek]

I think I paid $12 for an E-ride night in 2004. Charging $125 per head is obscene.

My memory tells me we paid even less than that for an E-ride night in July of 2004. It certainly wasn't more than that and we were in MK until 3 AM.

There may end up being some diamonds in the rough in this, but at best it is a boring idea to me. At worst, it leads to unintended problems inside the parks. Basically, anything that strives to make Disney parks more like all the competition makes me skeptical from the start. If they do it, I hope it is wonderful and everybody loves it.

[Tekneek]

I generally disagree with the idea that WDW should make all guests be treated equally. Everybody is NOT equal, some people are more successful than others and some are just plain lucky. I work hard and save and if I want to enjoy the fruit of my labor by blowing huge chunks of cash for the fun of it, at WDW or anywhere else, why should I be denied spending the extra bucks I want because somebody thinks it's not fair?

Maybe they should just go back to the admission fee + extra for each ride concept that Disneyland started with. Then we really sort out those who want to pay their way and those who don't.

[MidnTPK]

While some ideas stink worse than others, all appear to be bad IMHO.

Okay I hear you. But criticizing is easy. So IYHO...do you have any suggestions on how to make things better? What about if these are offered in addition to today's park offerings, not replacing/substituting something?

I'm sensing in your comment that you assume these would be replacing existing things, rather than adding to what exists today...or is it just a general change-is-bad-and-scary opinion?

Do you think the way things are today are as close to perfect as possible? Like Disney needs to get rid of FastPass all together....

[SurferStitch]

I would absolutely go for the unlimited FP fee, as long as they could do something for us AP holders, like maybe an adder to our AP. There is nothing wrong with those who pay the extra fee getting that perk.

We loved E-nights, but when they were $10 and $12, not $125. Free snacks and different fireworks don't call for an additional cost of $113 per person.

[MidnTPK]

Folks...I wouldn't focus on the specific numbers/prices in this too closely. Interactive surveys often use this technique to zero in on a price. The person who sent the screen shots of the survey to Ricky Brigante may have gotten one set of prices, and someone else taking the survey got a price one-quarter of the first respondent. Disney could use the different answers to both gauge interest and see what people were willing to pay.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Okay I hear you. But criticizing is easy. So IYHO...do you have any suggestions on how to make things better? What about if these are offered in addition to today's park offerings, not replacing/substituting something?

I'm sensing in your comment that you assume these would be replacing existing things, rather than adding to what exists today...or is it just a general change-is-bad-and-scary opinion?

Do you think the way things are today are as close to perfect as possible? Like Disney needs to get rid of FastPass all together....

While I am tempted to post a three-part mini-series, I type (and edit) too slow for that.

In general, I don't think much needs to be improved upon for the ticketing/fastpass/VIP dynamics at WDW at they are now. The idea of unlimited fastpasses for $150 seems like a money grab that goes too far. I actually do think things are pretty close to perfect.

I think the FP situation for TSM and Soarin should be addressed somehow, but this would only make those situations worse! Something simple like resort guests get to pre-register for their first fastpass of the day by signing up for it at the Concierge desk the day before; or distributing FPs at the front gate prior to park opening. The madness that is TSM really took away from my experience at DHS in June. I was so stressed about not getting a FP (25 minutes after the park opened) that I grew to hate DHS because of all the chaos TSM created. The best solution would be to build additional capacity (tandem attractions) for TSM, but yeah right!

I don't have a change is bad mentality, but don't fix what isn't broke. You cannot start offering unlimited fastpasses to some folks without taking away fastpasses from others. That is replacing existing things, not adding to them (well, other than adding gobbs of money to Disney's bottom lime).

While I could go on about the other ideas (all appear to be MEGA money-grabs) the FP thing bothers me most.

[AgentP]

I was at a local theme park last weekend with my Dad and he said, "They should sell tickets for people who just want to watch and not ride the rides." This is a great idea. Many people go to the parks and never step foot on a ride. It seems fair to charge them less for a ticket. They will still go in, buy food/drink, merchandise and keep Disney happy. Whenever we go down, we usually have at least two grandparents and/or a pregnant woman who could benefit from this pricing structure.

[PopPhan]

I was at a local theme park last weekend with my Dad and he said, "They should sell tickets for people who just want to watch and not ride the rides." This is a great idea. Many people go to the parks and never step foot on a ride. It seems fair to charge them less for a ticket. They will still go in, buy food/drink, merchandise and keep Disney happy. Whenever we go down, we usually have at least two grandparents and/or a pregnant woman who could benefit from this pricing structure.

As much as I understand your view on this, I have questions: Because they did not have this option, did your dad not enter the park? Why should Disney, or any other park, offer a non-ride ticket when they know that can get the full ticket price? Would the number of people entering a park on any given day increase with this option, or would the number stay relatively even but with less income for the company?

[AgentP]

Would the number of people entering a park on any given day increase with this option, or would the number stay relatively even but with less income for the company?

Well, I think that the attendance would go up in the parks. But this wouldn't affect wait times for rides, obviously. It would make the parks more crowded, but do we want the parks to be empty? As for my Dad, nope, it did not prevent him from going to the park. However, he did not buy a single thing while he was there because he felt like he was being overcharged. If the ticket had been less, I would bet that he would have bought the grandkids (8 of them at the park with us) all something and at least a snack for himself. When we travel with the grandparents, they usually stay at the hotel while we go to the parks or go to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk. Do these places seem overcrowded?

[waymickey]

I don't like most of the options. I live in Jersey near six flags and they have the unlimited fast pass for rides at a steep price . It really does mess up the lines and really does not work well.

I do like the resort idea with unlimited food and recreation I would look into that however they already have the dinning plan which is cheaper.

They should look into updating tommorow land . It is not really futuristic at all anymore.

[PopPhan]

Well, I think that the attendance would go up in the parks. But this wouldn't affect wait times for rides, obviously. It would make the parks more crowded, but do we want the parks to be empty? As for my Dad, nope, it did not prevent him from going to the park. However, he did not buy a single thing while he was there because he felt like he was being overcharged. If the ticket had been less, I would bet that he would have bought the grandkids (8 of them at the park with us) all something and at least a snack for himself. When we travel with the grandparents, they usually stay at the hotel while we go to the parks or go to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk. Do these places seem overcrowded?

Again, I see your point, but add those people from the Boardwalk and/or DTD to the parks -- what is already busy becomes very crowded. In that there are times of the year where the parks will reach one, or more, of the closure stages, this could make it even worse.

BUT, my point is that why should Disney do this when they don't HAVE to to get people in the parks. It's not park entry that they have concerns about, but rather sales inside the park - food, drink, merchandise. THOSE are the things they need to look at - the price, quality, and demand for those things.

These are just my opinions, though, so are meaningless in the scheme of things.

[BrerGnat]

I think Disney needs to re think which attractions offer FP in the first place.

At DLR, Toy Story Mania does not have Fastpass. Lines average 30-40 min.

FP has gotten out of hand. It should really only be for a select handful of attractions in each park. Lines overall would be shorter.

[Ian]

I sort of feel like, overall, Fastpass doesn't save me significant time waiting in lines.

Figure even if you're pretty dilligent about FP, you're still going to have to wait in standby lines for some rides that have FP because you're limited in the number that you can hold at any given time.

So what ends up happening is on some rides you FP and wait less and on some rides other FP and they wait less. But 10 minutes waiting to ride Winnie the Pooh followed by 30 minutes for Peter Pan adds up to the same 40 minutes of waiting had I just waited 20 minutes for both of them.

Ya know? I think FP is overrated.

[AgentP]

BUT, my point is that why should Disney do this when they don't HAVE to to get people in the parks. It's not park entry that they have concerns about, but rather sales inside the park - food, drink, merchandise. THOSE are the things they need to look at - the price, quality, and demand for those things.

I think they are thinking about sales inside the park. They are getting Nana in the park. She walks in, gets a discount on her ticket and thinks she got a great deal. Then, while the grandkids are riding rides she buys them all something in the parks. Then, she takes them to a restaurant and buys them all dinner. These things would not have been bought by Mom and Dad who are riding the rides with their kids instead of shopping the whole time Disney will more than make up for the discounted ticket price.

[waymickey]

But Nana is hurting from the economy too and the merchandise is pretty much all the same in the parks or at the resort. So Nana will stay at the resort sit by the pool and save a bundle and buy all the kiddies presents from the resort.

Our trip in July/August the pool and resort were packed. I spoke with many who did not go to the parks at all and just stayed at the resort. They made that their vacation.

[VWL Mom]

I think the unlimited FP is a great idea but I would offer it as an included benefit for resort guests and AP holders. IMO they need to pick up the draw to keep people on-site, this would help.

Not so sure on the special ticket for those not riding because people would work around it. Buy 2 tickets to ride, 2 tickets to walk and switch. I have seen this happen since EMH went to cards.

I do think they should offer a discount to seniors. I think they do at DL but not WDW.

[PirateLover]

So what ends up happening is on some rides you FP and wait less and on some rides other FP and they wait less. But 10 minutes waiting to ride Winnie the Pooh followed by 30 minutes for Peter Pan adds up to the same 40 minutes of waiting had I just waited 20 minutes for both of them.

Ya know? I think FP is overrated.

I think this is a really narrow way to look at it. I don't think every ride needs a fast pass but if you didn't have them, I don't think all wait times would even out as you are postulating. Think back to the days of pre-fast pass. During peak times, the popular rides had ridiculously long wait times (and still do). I still remember our trip in August of 1995. Every MK mountain was around a 2 hour wait. Space Mountain had the two lines servicing all riders, and both were out the door. The entire queue of Splash and Thunder were full, too. Back then you had no choice but to wait in those lines. Now you go in the summer, and the standby times are still super long, but you have the option to FastPass. If there was no FP, people at peak times would not be able to ride everything because they'd waste almost half their day waiting in line for the biggies as opposed to a half hour.

[Meteora]

I have to say, I don't love the unlimited FP idea--I know the prices are subject to change, but $150 per person is a LOT of money. We could afford it, sure, but...it seems excessive. And doesn't it go against Disney's original idea that he didn't want people with more money to get better service in the parks? To me, and this is just a matter of opinion, saying people who have more disposable income don't have to wait in lines is different than choosing a nicer hotel that costs more money. I don't know why, exactly. It just is.

I also think including it as an AP/on-site perk would not work, because then way too many people would have it. Even if only 25% of the theme park guests on any given say are on-property (and I suspect it's probably more), a fourth of the visitors having an unlimited FP would probably really make life miserable for those who didn't have it.

[TikiLounger]

I generally disagree with the idea that WDW should make all guests be treated equally. Everybody is NOT equal, some people are more successful than others and some are just plain lucky. I work hard and save and if I want to enjoy the fruit of my labor by blowing huge chunks of cash for the fun of it, at WDW or anywhere else, why should I be denied spending the extra bucks I want because somebody thinks it's not fair?

The feelings that many express about being cheated if somebody else gets to go in without waiting because they paid extra is nothing more than jealousy. Jealousy will make you a very unhappy person because no matter what, you can always find someone with more, bigger and better than what you have. How anyone who can afford to enjoy WDW in the first place can complain about someone else having a better time there is completely beyond me. I'm just glad to be fortunate enough to have ever had the opportunity to be there. So what is it to me if someone else gets to go every year, or several times a year. Should Disney put a limit on that too?

Even if WDW put policies in place to make everyone have the same exact experience, just remember, all WDW guests would be equal, but some WDW guest would still be more equal than others. Or to put it another way. When everybody is special, nobody is.

Well said, I agree...completely. It's not my mindset to compare myself to others in situations like this. I mean, one can't assume that, just because someone has spent more to be in the unlimited fast pass line, that they are any better off than me and I really don't care if they are, or aren't. We can never know the circumstances surrounding the vacation planning of other park visitors. I know some very wealthy people who wouldn't dream of spending extra for a service like this. They go cheap, and always have. On the other hand, I also have friends who, although they really shouldn't spend the extra money, do anyway to make a "once in a lifetime" trip special. So, I just spend what I want to spend for each trip...depending on what's going on for ME at the time and if someone else is at a better resort, staying for a longer period of time, or...if it's ever implemented...spending more to get on a ride before me, then so be it.

[magicofdisney]

To me, and this is just a matter of opinion, saying people who have more disposable income don't have to wait in lines is different than choosing a nicer hotel that costs more money. I don't know why, exactly. It just is.

Maybe because once we enter the gates, our accommodations have no impact on how we're identified as guests in the parks.

I have no problems with private tour guides. Probably because I see no intrinsic value with a private tour. But unlimited FP? Now that could be quite advantageous. And as much as I'd love to have it I don't see myself ever paying those prices for it. I know how to work the system to my advantage and I almost always leave content with my (ride and show) accomplishments. The unlimited FP would draw a fine line between "working it" and "leisurely" gain. I too cannot say exactly why it bothers me, but it does.

Ultimately, there is probably no real difference between purchasing the unlimited FP vs. a private tour vs. a private party (i.e. MNSSHP or MVMCP) as far as perceived value. Regardless of distaste, if there's a market for it, Disney will find a way to exploit it (and I'm surprised how long it's taking).