Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Jrb1979]

Nobody knows. It is possible whatever new AP program is rolled out at DLR gets rolled out at WDW too when people renew. Also possible DLR and WDW keep completely separate programs that are not the same at all.

I could see it ends up working at DLR them bringing what ever they roll out to WDW. What I see happening is it being priced much higher then it is right now and more blackout dates. They already aren't keen on AP holders.

 

[hertamaniac]

The ironic part is there are some people that are traveling to get vaccinated and have a vacation. Anecdotal but I personally know a few Canadian snowbirds that flew down to Florida from Canada and got vaccinated.

Which pushed yearly and true Florida residents back in the line.

 

[Krandor]

I could see it ends up working at DLR them bringing what ever they roll out to WDW. What I see happening is it being priced much higher then it is right now and more blackout dates. They already aren't keen on AP holders.

And with the membership comment could be that go to a monthly sub model vs a lump sum model though that does make it easier to get an AP when you don't have to pay $1K at once but $100/month though right now making it easier to give disney money might be a good thing for them. It will be interesting to see how things go.

 

[Mit88]

Whatever it is they choose to do, I don’t imagine it’s going to be an absurd change that a majority of current passholders won’t do.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I really hope this doesn't come to FL

While I didn't move to Orlando because of Disney, it did play a tiny role, and it's been such a huge help with my mental health over the past 2.5 years. I'd be devastated if they got rid of it. I can't afford to pay for tickets several times a year

I think this week’s attendance levels have reminded WDW demand is fluid. AP revenue helps level that out in the books. And the reservation system helps them block APs when they don’t want them.

DLR is just such a different beast. I’m sad to see APs go away but I get it. Despite the changes and price hikes that should have cut AP demand, I don’t think they found a happy AP v. Normal Guest level at any point in the last few years. The program needed to thrown out the window and revamped.

I feel like crying admitting that. Don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford whatever “membership” they dream up. I don’t currently hold an AP but I have a couple times in years past and it was awesome to go to the parks for like a summer trip + a holiday trip. Alas it is what it is, fewer trips will save me money for other adventures!

 

[Krandor]

DLR is just such a different beast. I’m sad to see APs go away but I get it. Despite the changes and price hikes that should have cut AP demand, I don’t think they found a happy AP v. Normal Guest level at any point in the last few years. The program needed to thrown out the window and revamped.

I feel like crying admitting that. Don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford whatever “membership” they dream up. I don’t currently hold an AP but I have a couple times in years past and it was awesome to go to the parks for like a summer trip + a holiday trip. Alas it is what it is, fewer trips will save me money for other adventures!

As a personal question I have to ask. If the goal at DLR is to increase out of town guests is it possible we could see the return of rundisney to DLR? I'm driving distance to WDW but went to DLR for Avengers and Star Wars races. I still remember the signs going through DLR for "3rd shift custodial".

 

[gottalovepluto]

And with the membership comment could be that go to a monthly sub model vs a lump sum model though that does make it easier to get an AP when you don't have to pay $1K at once but $100/month though right now making it easier to give disney money might be a good thing for them. It will be interesting to see how things go.

They already had that option. In fact monthly payments of the AP is what was rumored to have driven the masses to DLR AP purchases.

 

[gottalovepluto]

As a personal question I have to ask. If the goal at DLR is to increase out of town guests is it possible we could see the return of rundisney to DLR? I'm driving distance to WDW but went to DLR for Avengers and Star Wars races. I still remember the signs going through DLR for "3rd shift custodial".

I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities logically... The construction of new lands of SWGE & Marvel will be done and the Eastern Gateway is deader than dead as is the 4th Hotel. Runs could bring in big money in off seasons and that revenue would be even more important with no or far fewer APs.

*I know little about the runs so I’m interested in others thoughts on this!*

 

[Krandor]

They already had that option. In fact monthly payments of the AP is what was rumored to have driven the masses to DLR AP purchases.

Interesting. I know six flags where I live has really been pushing subscription memberships vs annual passes since it gets them money every month. They don't bill it as spreading out an AP over a year but you simply subscribe and pay $X/month. Minimum 12 month commitment and after that can cancel anytime.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Interesting. I know six flags where I live has really been pushing subscription memberships vs annual passes since it gets them money every month. They don't bill it as spreading out an AP over a year but you simply subscribe and pay $X/month. Minimum 12 month commitment and after that can cancel anytime.

Ah, DLR was still a one year commitment but you could opt to pay monthly. I think it was a rock and a hard place for Disney.
Rock- so many people could afford it
Hard place- so much money in the Mouse’s coffers, how could they say no to the revenue stream?

By the end stuff was so out of whack the best day to visit DLR was a major holiday like 4th of July. So many blocked APs it was said to have made that a quieter day than the days surrounding it. Balance was just not found. Hmm... maybe it will be a points type membership? Get X number of points per year and pay Y number of points each day you want to go to the park. Disney could adjust the point price depending on predicted popularity level of the day.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Does this foreshadow Walt Disney World ending Passholders program next year? They’re not selling new ones. Will APs not be able to renew next year?

That’s the Q we all want an answer to.

I see a good sign and a bad sign
Bad- not allowing new purchases
Good- it was not hooked in with DLR’s announcement today

 

[Mit88]

That’s the Q we all want an answer to.

I see a good sign and a bad sign
Bad- not allowing new purchases
Good- it was not hooked in with DLR’s announcement today

While I do see them changing the structure to WDWs AP tiers eventually, if not in the near future, I don’t think not allowing new purchases really means much. The capacity keeps raising, but the AP Buckets are still filling up, even if it’s not everyday. And they also don’t feel they can provide enough for guests to offer them the pass, or at least that’s what they say. Imo if that’s how you feel, how do you explain selling single day tickets for the same price ? I think it’s more that they’re already filled with AP demand, and they also want to gain more revenue charging for single/multi day passes, especially for locals that are going often and would have paid much less for an AP than the amount they are on other tickets

 

[Krandor]

Ah, DLR was still a one year commitment but you could opt to pay monthly. I think it was a rock and a hard place for Disney.
Rock- so many people could afford it
Hard place- so much money in the Mouse’s coffers, how could they say no to the revenue stream?

By the end stuff was so out of whack the best day to visit DLR was a major holiday like 4th of July. So many blocked APs it was said to have made that a quieter day than the days surrounding it. Balance was just not found. Hmm... maybe it will be a points type membership? Get X number of points per year and pay Y number of points each day you want to go to the park. Disney could adjust the point price depending on predicted popularity level of the day.

Or they could do like WDW and keep resevations long term and have different buckets to pull from.

There are lots of options on how they could go and it will be interesting to see what route they take.

 

[kylenne]

Yeah but when they first open demand will be CRAZY for months. California has been so shut down for so long- look at Downtown Disney when they reopened that people ciricling in their cars for a couple hours hoping to get in. And let’s be real- Downtown Disney sucks. I’m terrified to think of what the line up will be for the actual parks!

“But you have to pay for the parks!” I know- BUT CA has a huge budget surplus despite COVID shutdowns, apparently because high income folks kept their jobs. I absolutely don’t think that is a coincidence to the timing of this announcement, I believe they are Disneyland’s target audience upon reopening (which imho is Fall at the earliest). And I believe the new membership opportunities will roll out after that wave of demand is done.

We don’t actually disagree here. They 100% did it this way to avoid what happened in Tokyo. Same exact guest demographics in terms of way too many local AP holders vs. capacity even in non Covid restricted times, and too much pent up demand upon reopening . OLC tried a lottery system for AP holders to get into the park which was an unmitigated disaster—crashed site, very few people even able to get in, and in the end they were forced to cancel everyone’s APs to level the playing field. People were rightfully pissed too. It was a hot mess.

Disney is just skipping to the last step with CA. They really had no choice, they couldn’t afford a disaster like that after the FL AP debacle and with no reopening in sight for the CA parks. Like I said, it sucks but way less so than what happened in Japan

 

[kylenne]

Does this foreshadow Walt Disney World ending Passholders program next year? They’re not selling new ones. Will APs not be able to renew next year?

I literally renewed my AP this past Sunday after taking the extension instead of a refund. Still being offered a free magic band even (which I was a little surprised about!).

You gotta understand DLR and WDW are entirely different beasts when it comes to guest demographics. WDW is a tourist’s resort whereas DLR is much more locals oriented. DLR has insanely high numbers of local APs relative to tourists going there. People just don’t travel to go to the CA parks like they do FL because they’re smaller and there’s less to do—nobody takes big week long vacations out there except hardcore Disney fans, it’s much more common to simply include a few days in Anaheim as part of a vacation in LA and the surrounds (sometimes Vegas). When I lived in the Phoenix area my roommates would drive there for the weekend. You get some international travelers from Asia and Australia but nowhere the numbers you see in FL like the UK contingent. So even in normal times DLR is much more reliant on locals. It’s a hangout spot for them even.

I would also suspect that even the AP demographics look a lot different. I know my roommates didn’t have them. That’s not to say that DLR doesn’t have out of state APs but I would think WDW has enough to be a significant minority. Literally everyone I talked to at BC on my last trip late 2019 were out of state APs like me who came down for the holiday weekend.

WDW APs won’t go away but I can easily see them being restructured somehow and I wouldn’t be mad if platinum got more perks and was differentiated more from the other tiers besides lack of blackout dates. Every other park’s AP program works that way and plat really ought to get more for the price...I’m not just saying that because I have one either. I still effectively have unlimited park access when I’m ready to get on planes again, but that’s only because I always stay on site.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

And that’s perfectly fine. Being able to go to the parks on a consistent basis is whats most important. Will it be more expensive? Almost definitely. Is it going to be as expensive or as exclusive as something like Club 33? No. Will you be able to walk into the parks 365 days a year? Possibly not. But let’s be honest for a second. If you’re local to either WDW or DLR and able to go to the parks for however many years you’ve (general, not you specifically) been a passholder, who has gotten the better end of the deal, the customer, or Disney? There have been people that have gone to WDW parks in 2021 that well beyond pay for an entire years worth of an AP and then some. The fact that I can go down to Florida twice a year and the AP pays for itself is enough to know it’s a steal, even with the price increases. And that’s not including discounts for food/merch/rooms etc

I can only speak for myself, but if one of these “memberships” suddenly became let’s say $3,000 a year. If I were a local, I would pay that in a heartbeat.

If you go regularly those annual passes are such a good deal.

Even if they change it to a monthly membership thing - if they charge $200/month, which works out to $2,400 a year, which is a lot more than now, but even with that, if you average 2 park days a month you are coming out ahead vs day tickets

 

[MrsBooch]

OT, but after a few safe trips this fall/winter including to WDW and doing everything pretty close to right for 10 months my husband caught COVID during a visit to the ER last week and has given it to my son and I. Hoping it’s a mild case. Stay safe friends!

I will be praying for you guys - I hope it’s very mild

 

[FrankieWinthrop]

It’d be nice if platinum got more. If you’re in state and willing to pay the higher price, great, but I’d suspect a majority of platinum holders are out of staters like us who only have that option. We can’t just hop in to make a YouTube video or grab lunch. We have to make hotel reservations and drive/fly down. We should definitely at least get more than 3 park reservations!

 

[karen4546]

Does this foreshadow Walt Disney World ending Passholders program next year? They’re not selling new ones. Will APs not be able to renew next year?

They are not selling new ones at the moment, but they are renewing at the moment. AND-they are letting those that canceled their passes during the shutdown to get new ones. They are also allowing those passholders that have children that turned 3 during the shutdown to purchase a pass for that child.

I know that perks with DVC membership are never guaranteed, and they make sure to point that out when buying. But, they also make sure to mention said perk especially if you were already a Platinum passholder. I know our guide told us the Gold Pass would be a good fit since we did not travel during the black out dates.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

I'll be making 3 trips within 1 year and am super salty I can't upgrade to an annual pass

That said, as an out-of-stater the cost of a Platinum Pass was always hard to justify (even factoring in discounts we would usually break even at best, this year is a bit of an anomaly) but if they added more "perks" or a level that made sense for the way we do Disney I'd buy in a heartbeat. So patiently sitting and waiting to see what happens...