What is going on with Disney parks?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I feel like even state side I get those emails far too late to be helpful.

Like thanks for sending the email at noon when the ADRs are bookable at 6 AM...

That's why I had been asking about the countdown in MDE but yes I know what you mean been there myself lol

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've always been jealous They usually have "get one week free' offers for UK. Buy 7 days get 7 free, or buy 14 days and get 7 free. I costed out CBR a few months back for a full package with resort/tixx/food between the best offers in US and UK. UK prices were 40% less than US. I was tempted to go to the Dibbs and find someone to stay with us for the trip, lol. I'd still save money if I paid for their trip.

On the one hand it makes sense I mean they are coming from a lot further away but still. Makes me laugh though thinking about taking out an ad for a person to come along

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yeah, before 2017, we just rang in our ADRs. In 2017, I got MDE.

Ah well that makes sense

 

[Heather07438]

On the one hand it makes sense I mean they are coming from a lot further away but still. Makes me laugh though thinking about taking out an ad for a person to come along

Maybe their travel style is different. They have longer breaks and and more vacation weeks.
On longer trips, they don't need to use every possible park hour which is cheaper for WDW. Affording the expensive flight + trip signals they're likely to afford shopping too.

They take it easy and have money to spend. It could be they're giving WDW the same profit per head as stateside guests, even with the big discount that was used to lure them in?

 

[Heather07438]

Let's open a site. Rent a UK guest dot com

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe their travel style is different. They have longer breaks and and more vacation weeks.
On longer trips, they don't need to use every possible park hour which is cheaper for WDW. Affording the expensive flight + trip signals they're likely to afford shopping too.

They take it easy and have money to spend. It could be they're giving WDW the same profit per head as stateside guests, even with the big discount that was used to lure them in?

From at least some people that have commented in various places on the DIS they do tend to take longer vacations.

 

[LizzyS]

So, because u are a returning guest that have been to Disney so many times that u have figured out all the little tricks and strategies to give u a better experience, u feel it's ok for Disney to not share this information so that first time guests can't take advantage of this knowledge specifically for ur benefit, and u think that's ok...wow...believe it or not, there are people who save their money for years just to be able to take their kids to Disney for 1 time and 1 time only, they will never be able to spend that kind of money again, and u would rather Disney not to help them navigate and strategize and give valuable information to help ensure they have a great trip just for the single fact u can keep enjoying ur multiple trips....its very obvious I have a completely different outlook on this topic than u and the one that liked ur post.

I was fully prepared before my first trips to DLR & WDW because of this very forum, which is rich with information and free for anyone to join. What that poster was saying was that there are SO MANY sources out there online (and in print) on how to navigate and have a successful trip to Disney, that it's not really an excuse to not be prepared because Disney itself doesn't spoon feed you tips on how to navigate their parks.

Also, any question in the world that you can think of, the people here that go frequently are more than willing to answer and are awesome.

 

[adam.adbe]

On longer trips, they don't need to use every possible park hour which is cheaper for WDW.
[...]
They take it easy and have money to spend. It could be they're giving WDW the same profit per head as stateside guests, even with the big discount that was used to lure them in?

For any Disney trip, once you go beyond four or five days, the ticket prices start to average out to a much lower daily rate, and the resort rates become the major cost. Those 'free' days are zero cost to Disney, it's the same math that drives the annual pass, except here the pass is only good for two weeks. Even throwing in free dining, which the UK packages often do, still works out for Disney, because again, they're filling a room for 5+ nights, and guests with free time on their hands are more likely to simply sit by the resort pool, where they are cheap to accommodate, and likely to spend heavily on Disney priced drinks.

More simply: Disney can goose demand in the US by running limited promotions (pin codes and bounce backs), or last minute deals, without lowering the effective rate for all guests. International travelers, who seldom have the luxury of flexibility, can take advantage of deals 'on tap', but those deals are designed to lock them into longer stays. Everything else comes down to maximizing average per-guest revenue within those two demographics.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I was fully prepared before my first trips to DLR & WDW because of this very forum, which is rich with information and free for anyone to join. What that poster was saying was that there are SO MANY sources out there online (and in print) on how to navigate and have a successful trip to Disney, that it's not really an excuse to not be prepared because Disney itself doesn't spoon feed you tips on how to navigate their parks.

Also, any question in the world that you can think of, the people here that go frequently are more than willing to answer and are awesome.

Yup!

Also I question what the helpful tips would even look like. Disney can’t say things like “our EMH actually kind of stink, especially at night, avoid the parks where they are for lower crowds”, “book your useless tier 2 options at the beginning of the day at DHS in the hopes that you can blow through them and get a 2nd FP for something that really matters”, and “for the love of god, don’t make an ADR at Tony’s!”

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yup!

Also I question what the helpful tips would even look like. Disney can’t say things like “our EMH actually kind of stink, especially at night, avoid the parks where they are for lower crowds”, “book your useless tier 2 options at the beginning of the day at DHS in the hopes that you can blow through them and get a 2nd FP for something that really matters”, and “for the love of god, don’t make an ADR at Tony’s!”

Plus everyone tours differently. I have multiple DISers in my area and we get together fairly frequently. Now they go on trips more than my husband and I do but we all tour completely differently. We all have differently likes and priorities, different budgets, 2 couples are DVC, 3 of us couples also go to Universal, etc. One of the couples hasn't been to MK at night in many years opting to go back to the resort. At our stage in life my husband and I can't imagine missing out on all that park time plus the fireworks right there, etc. We all are different so what suggestions would be made for one wouldn't work for another; so many different ways to spin strategies. That said I'm interested on the reception Disney Genie gets.

Now Tony's lol I'll agree with you there (though I have heard through the grapevine some improvements have been made to the quality )

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Plus everyone tours differently. I have multiple DISers in my area and we get together fairly frequently. Now they go on trips more than my husband and I do but we all tour completely differently. We all have differently likes and priorities, different budgets, 2 couples are DVC, 3 of us couples also go to Universal, etc. One of the couples hasn't been to MK at night in many years opting to go back to the resort. At our stage in life my husband and I can't imagine missing out on all that park time plus the fireworks right there, etc. We all are different so what suggestions would be made for one wouldn't work for another; so many different ways to spin strategies. That said I'm interested on the reception Disney Genie gets.

Now Tony's lol I'll agree with you there (though I have heard through the grapevine some improvements have been made to the quality )

I just couldn’t resist the chance to pick on poor Tony’s .

I kind of think Disney genie might make things worse for clueless guests, unless of course it comes with the addition of the ability to pay for the hard to get stuff. What are the chances Disney isn’t going to utilize this to send crowds to less popular and less crowded areas?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I just couldn’t resist the chance to pick on poor Tony’s .

I kind of think Disney genie might make things worse for clueless guests, unless of course it comes with the addition of the ability to pay for the hard to get stuff. What are the chances Disney isn’t going to utilize this to send crowds to less popular and less crowded areas?

I feel like what I remember seeing about Disne Genie is it was similar-ish to Touring Plans like how it will suggest things to you. I know for TP you can have it build a plan for instance to minimize walking but of course that can come with riding specific rides that may 'historically' been lower at X time (all about different priorities there). I *think* that was part of the thoughtprocess behind Disney Genie where different plans based on your interests would be generated.

I think you're right it could def. be used the way that you are thinking. They do have a lot of data from MBs and other tracking patents they've come up with.

 

[Q-man]

What's the likelyhood that any Disney exec is going to take ANY of that list to heart?

They should. When those that have defended everything Disney and explained away the changes/cuts as recently as last year are now leading the pitchfork mob; it is the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

Even in that podcast the guys had a little bit of defending Disney in faulting people for crowding Main Street during parties for the entertainment attractions. People that aren't the regular park goers aren't going to know to go further to escape the party crowding and are just going to follow the crowds.

 

[Q-man]

I just couldn’t resist the chance to pick on poor Tony’s .

I kind of think Disney genie might make things worse for clueless guests, unless of course it comes with the addition of the ability to pay for the hard to get stuff. What are the chances Disney isn’t going to utilize this to send crowds to less popular and less crowded areas?

The slogan should be;
Tony's-
Making Olive Garden look good for 20 years.

 

[adam.adbe]

The slogan should be;
Tony's-
Making Olive Garden look good for 20 years.

Everybody : but that’s not possible!
Mickey : sure it is; anything is possible if you just dream!

 

[adam.adbe]

I think you're right it could def. be used the way that you are thinking. They do have a lot of data from MBs and other tracking patents they've come up with.

they already do that with auto-suggest fast passes, no reason to think genie will be any different.

 

[Heather07438]

The Genie looks like it suggests picking a style too, Pirate or Princess. That probably helps it decide what style to lean toward, Pirate probably for adventurous thrill seeking and Princess more about pretty experiences?

It could help if it is intuitive and quickly provides useful info in real time. I'm imagining it pulls up food and experiences in the vicinity that would interest the party, while it also tries to push the guest toward whatever currently has the lowest lines to better distribute crowds.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I kind of think Disney genie might make things worse for clueless guests, unless of course it comes with the addition of the ability to pay for the hard to get stuff. What are the chances Disney isn’t going to utilize this to send crowds to less popular and less crowded areas?

What's a better alternative? I seems like it would be a cluster if it tried to send everyone to 7DMT and CRT. I'm not sure how much it works in real time and how much it will be done during the planning process, but day-of guidance to less-popular areas could be really helpful. If I'm there on a crowded day, I might appreciate going to a less crowded restaurant where I can deal with my hangry kids, even if the food is mediocre, or a ride I can get on without a huge wait, even if those aren't "headline" choices. Since it's not possible to do "everything" at Disney, a clueless guest who books attractions that sound interesting to them is going to enjoy those attractions, and not necessarily feel they've missed out on something major if they don't ride 7DMT or SDD or FoP, just as many of us wouldn't feel upset if we missed CoP or the Tiki Room during our trip. Do you know what I remember about MK from my first visit in 1990? The Swiss Family Treehouse. I honestly remember nothing else about MK, but I thought that was the coolest thing.

I think sometimes we veterans get caught up in booking something hard-to-get simply because it's hard to get. I planned two days of my upcoming trip around SDD as my tier 1 because I know it's not something I'm likely to get day-of. However, I'm going with my 4-year-old and I don't know if she'll be too scared to ride it. Honestly, she'd probably like AS2 or TSMM better, and if I knew nothing about FP, I'd have gone ahead and chosen those and been happy. As it stands now, I know I'll probably be able to get TSMM and AS2 as day-of FP if my kid doesn't want to ride SDD. But if I were a "clueless guest," I'd probably just ride TSMM, shrug my shoulders at the lack of SDD, and go about my day.

 

[ClapYourHands]

As far as having all this information at ur fingertips, well if u dont know it's even needed or exist, then why would u try and find it. For a first time guest, u go on Disney website doing ur research as everyone says but no where on there does it tell u that u also need to research Disney planning guides outside of Disney website. No where on Disney website does it even mention that extra planning outside their website is highly recommended. You call them up and they help u and guide u through the whole process and u feel like u done everything correct so why would someone keep going back online to research when they feel like they already done the planning. First time I went, I never even dreamed it was going require so much planning and when I started researching before my trip I sure as hell didnt type in " planning guide for wdw" I didn't even know such a thing existed, I type in wdw vacation and it brought up my disney experience site and that's what I used for my planning. After we got home from our first trip I got back online and started researching "how to get the best fp" and things like that and then I started to notice some dedicated Disney sites and some planning guides. But until I actually experienced it, I didn't even know planning guides existed and was needed for Disney and no where on Disney site did they mention it. So to say it's at people disposal and it's all their fault because they dont research is just absurd, u can't research something u have no idea what it is ur supposed to be looking for especially since when u do search Disney vacation it brings up mde and most are going to trust that the planning u go through with Disney is all that's needed.

I think your point about people not knowing what they don't know is important. If people don't know there's a whole process to planning Disney, they're not going to learn the process.

However, I disagree that people "need to research Disney planning guides outside of Disney website." NEED is a really subjective word. People who book their three FP for attractions that sound good to them are fine. I enjoyed AK before Pandora existed. If someone books FP for Kali, Safari, and Everest, waits standby on Dinosaur, goes to see Nemo and FOTLK, and eats QS, that person can have a great day, even without FoP or NRJ. We went to AK for the first time in 2016, and Pandora didn't exist at the park. We had a fantastic time on the existing rides, watching the shows (venues big enough for walk-ins), exploring the trails, watching the animals, and talking to the CMs from Africa about their home countries.

I have never eaten at a restaurant that requires an ADR. It just hasn't been how my trips work. Breakfast before the parks, bag lunch or QS, then dinner QS or out of park. I booked some ADRs for my upcoming trip, but those will be my first ever, and all booked within 30 days of going.

I agree that knowing the strategies can help me maximize my park experience over someone who hasn't done research, but if everyone's doing the same thing, the tactic ceases to work. Even getting up and logging on at 7am at 60 days doesn't guarantee you headliner FP because so many people already know about that. If even more people get up and book at 7am, the same number of FP are going to be available, but now you'll have more disappointed people who tried and failed. If Disney starts telling people which FP are difficult go get and which FP are unnecessary, then the person who would otherwise be content with second or third tier rides is going to feel slighted at missing out on the elusive 'headliner' FP.

 

[Heather07438]

What's a better alternative? I seems like it would be a cluster if it tried to send everyone to 7DMT and CRT. I'm not sure how much it works in real time and how much it will be done during the planning process, but day-of guidance to less-popular areas could be really helpful. If I'm there on a crowded day, I might appreciate going to a less crowded restaurant where I can deal with my hangry kids, even if the food is mediocre, or a ride I can get on without a huge wait, even if those aren't "headline" choices. Since it's not possible to do "everything" at Disney, a clueless guest who books attractions that sound interesting to them is going to enjoy those attractions, and not necessarily feel they've missed out on something major if they don't ride 7DMT or SDD or FoP, just as many of us wouldn't feel upset if we missed CoP or the Tiki Room during our trip. Do you know what I remember about MK from my first visit in 1990? The Swiss Family Treehouse. I honestly remember nothing else about MK, but I thought that was the coolest thing.

I think sometimes we veterans get caught up in booking something hard-to-get simply because it's hard to get. I planned two days of my upcoming trip around SDD as my tier 1 because I know it's not something I'm likely to get day-of. However, I'm going with my 4-year-old and I don't know if she'll be too scared to ride it. Honestly, she'd probably like AS2 or TSMM better, and if I knew nothing about FP, I'd have gone ahead and chosen those and been happy. As it stands now, I know I'll probably be able to get TSMM and AS2 as day-of FP if my kid doesn't want to ride SDD. But if I were a "clueless guest," I'd probably just ride TSMM, shrug my shoulders at the lack of SDD, and go about my day.

There is truth to that. The psychology gets me sometimes, like ooh we have to do 7DMT. The reality is we could have a perfect day without it.

I remember Bug's Life being so cool on a trip long ago before we knew the ins and outs of WDW. Anything may be what impresses unfamiliar guests because everything is new to them. And not needing to stand in a 90 minute line makes anything new even better!