AP WDW to be discontinued?

[disneyma]

There has been some rumors floating around stating that they are going to bring back some type of "smartcard" This would work the same way as the the old ABCD tickets. This would phase out AP passes over the next year or two.

Does this sound even sound like this could be true??

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by disneyma
There has been some rumors floating around stating that they are going to bring back some type of "smartcard" This would work the same way as the the old ABCD tickets. This would phase out AP passes over the next year or two.

Does this sound even sound like this could be true??

I could certainly see them using some type of smarcard that would allow you pay for an immediate fast pass.

Universal is currently doing that a variation. By noon time (on busy days) free Universal express passes are gone. You either have to buy an express pass plus, be staying at a Universal hotel or wait 2 hours (for popular attractions).

 

[HB2K]

While this is a great theory (going back to the ticket system so that each ride has a measureable ROI)...the creators of this theory have only forgotten one thing.

The customers.

I seriously doubt that in this day and age that going back to a "pay per ride" system would fly with the general public.

I think the smart card technology could be implemented for fast pass (although why? They've already got a system in place that tracks you via the magnetic strip on the admission media).

 

[disneychrista]

I highly doubt that they will remove Ap's from any Disney - US parks. I believe they would be shooting themselves in the foot (or pocketbook) to do so. If not for the Ap I would not be making the multiple trips that I do now. I would likely only make 1 trip every 12 - 18 months. So while I may not be spending on admission each trip I am eating there & spending there. I am sure I am not the only one.

 

[ohanafamily]

I have to agree, there is no way that they could go back to the pay-per-ride concept. I for one would probably TRY to sell my DVC...

 

[Micca]

Are we sure this isn't two different subjects? 1) Instituting ABCDE ride tix, and 2) Doing away with AP's ???

 

[jwfla422]

Couldn't imagine how many thousands of thousands of locals would also be affected out if they were to do away with APs. That would be a very rash business decision.

 

[scauzilloc]

I don't think Disney would spend so much air time promoting the APs. Here in Florida at least every 30 minutes their commericals for Aps air on TV as well as the radio. If they were planning to cancel it would they continue to push it? It doesn't make sense. But you never know.

 

[SonicLogic]

Well, I have 21 AP vouchers left that I bought 2 years ago. I'm good for the next 2 decades!

 

[disneychrista]

Originally posted by SonicLogic
Well, I have 21 AP vouchers left that I bought 2 years ago. I'm good for the next 2 decades!

Why would one buy so many AP vouchers? What would happen if they did (though I do not think likely) do away with the AP program?

 

[wdwguide]

Originally posted by SonicLogic
Well, I have 21 AP vouchers left that I bought 2 years ago. I'm good for the next 2 decades!

I don't think they'll do away with the APs anytime soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if you shot yourself in the foot by doing this. All it takes is a tiny little policy change, and Disney is very good at changing policies to save them money.

 

[hopemax]

The "stuff" that's been floating around about the discontinuation of the AP mostly concern the situation at Disneyland.

The lukewarm opening of DCA, and the continuing stagnation of DL appears to be leading to a drop in the $$ per guest per visit. The price for the APs ranges from $105 (S. CA pass) to $215. With so much of DL's visitors coming from a local area, and thus have the ability to visit several times per month, you're looking at an effective admission costs of less than $18 for a once per month visitor with the expensive pass, or less than $5 a visit for the "twice a month" visitor on the cheap pass. And some of those visitors on the cheap pass visit a lot more frequently than that. I've got to imagine that the park's expenses per daily visitor (attraction CM's, janitorial services, ride costs etc.) are more than $5.

The people with AP's say that it balances out because they spend more on food & merchandise, but the park isn't even operating main restaurants like Club Buzz (think Cosmic Rays for you WDW folks), full time. It only serves "snacks" in the afternoon. And many other food and shops are open only limited hours. It doesn't "feel" like that much is being spent on food & merchandise by the group as a whole (otherwise why are things closed). 'Course, closed locations only serve to teach the AP's that they can survive without eating or buying within the park making the situation even worse. [Yes, I know there are some AP's who do spend buckets of money per trip, but it doesn't do much good on the whole, if only a small percentage of AP-ers actually do that.]

The "answer-of-the-day" to the problem is looking at eliminating the AP's. The online columnists with sources found out about it, wrote their articles, and now message boards are talking about.

WDW's AP passes are more expensive to begin with, and there are a lot more "out-of-town" users so many more passes are being used for shorter periods of time, meaning the effective price per visitor per day is higher. Plus all those "out-of-towners" actually are spending more by staying at the hotels, and eating within the park since WDW is a multiday stay vacation. I don't think WDW AP-ers have to worry too much about AP's going away until huge numbers of locals are buying extremely cheap passes and visiting the park weekly or daily.

 

[kilarney]

Part of the theory with Disneyland is that for the local AP holders, if they went less (and paid full admission), they would also "splurge" more in the park. As it stands now they just aren't spending much in the park.
There is also a theory that the "magic" just isn't there if you go more than a couple of times a year. While DCA and the number of rides in DL that are closed may the cause of less "magic," there is some truth to this. Guests who feel the "magic" are more likely to spend money.
And lastly.... when you compare the price of an AP to other Los Angeles area attractions (skiing, sports, etc), the passes are way underpriced. The reason they are so cheap is because there is some decent competition amongst amusement parks. Any other form of entertainment is much more expensive. I mean really... just over $100 for 200 plus days of admission... that's downright cheap!

 

[SonicLogic]

Originally posted by disneychrista
Why would one buy so many AP vouchers? What would happen if they did (though I do not think likely) do away with the AP program?

Disney admission media is good forever. I still have some old ticket books from Disneyland that are still good (but worth much more as collector's items). When you purchase an AP voucher, it stays valid until you exchange it at guest relations for your AP. The clock then starts to tick on the day of the exchange and the AP is valid for one year. The vouchers never go bad or out of date.

However, there are times when you must upgrade an older voucher. For example, we had purchased several vouchers before Animal Kingdom (AK) was opened. Our AP vouchers were still good, but when we exchanged the vouchers for AP's, the CM asked us if we wanted to upgrade them to include AK. We paid a small fee to upgrade those AP's, about $12.00 best I recall.

The reason why we purchased so many AP vouchers several years ago was due to a special (and short lived) discount that was offered by The Disney Store. Some of you may remember that about two years ago, The Disney Store ran a special offer on WDW AP's. You could buy an AP voucher with the Disney Club discount (10%), plus they gave you a T-shirt and a gift card for $50.00! I bought so many that my local Disney Store ran out and I had to drive 50 miles to another store! Then I cashed in the $1,250 worth of gift cards for Disney Dollars!

Within less than a week, The Disney Store realized that this deal was too good and they took it off the market. Haven't seen as good a deal on AP vouchers since.

 

[lenshanem]

this seems liek it woudl be kicking themselves in the butt. So you atek away the DL Aps. What wodul many of the locals say? Probably oh well! So they woudl end up losing on the price of the Aps those peopel would have bought AND any small amount of money they might ahve spent. I have a friend who has an AP there and I honestly don't think she'd go anymore if they took it away. Mayeb once in a bule moon? They grew up living near there. To them it is like going out to the movies for a bit. I don't think by them taking away the AP she is going to want to spend that amount of money for a day's pass to go for a Saturday afternoon. At leats with the AP DL is guarantted soem money from locals for admission, plus at leats cokes, snacks, etc.

 

[roymccoy]

kilarney, I have to disagree with you that DL is "downright cheap" compared to other SoCal area attractions. Universal Studios, Sea World, Magic Mountain and the Queen Mary all have a "buy one day and get the year free" program. You could make the argument that DL is OVERPRICED at $105-225 per year for an AP. Knott's Berry Farm's AP is about $109 but it includes parking and you can add on Soak City for another $15. Disney won't get rid of the AP program for one simple reason. They already tried it and failed miserably. Remember when DCA first opened and they suspended AP sales? There was such a hoopla among the locals, the media and even the CM's that they couldn't have returned the program any quicker. They even had to dramatically drop the price of the AP's (It had been $129 for just DL) just to make sure that everyone came back. Personally, I think the dropping of the AP's right before the opening of DCA is part of the reason that DCA failed in the beginning. I was there the first days and weeks of the park and it was a ghost town. (Even more than it is now.) SoCal residents are used to getting into theme parks cheaply. We just go more often and we spend more while we're there. Disney isn't going to be able to buck this SoCal trend, especially with the parks in the condition that they are currently in. The "we can charge more because were Disney" doesn't work anymore. They lost the ability to do that when they let the parks go down hill.
No, Disney must now pay the price for their years of cost cutting and play the game just like Magic Mountain, Knott's and Universal always have. I remember back in the 80's gladly paying $239 for a pass that just got into DL, but that was when there was still the Submarine's, The Skyway, The Peoplemover, The MotorBoat Cruise, Circlevision, Big Thunder Ranch, America Sings, Country Bear Jamboree, Monorail, Keel Boats, many more restaurants with better food, longer park hours, etc. You also woudn't have found all three of the "mountain" rides down at the same time and Small World and Haunted Mansion down couple months a year for the cheap overlays.

Disney has got to learn that there are consequences to their actions.


Roy