If swan/dolphin are included in the 1/2 hour Early Theme Park Entry and there is no substitute for DME for those staying at Disney owned resorts, then the swan/dolphin become one the best deals in Disney. Nice accommodations, good restaurants, walk to 2 parks, lower prices than Disney Deluxe … I’ve never stayed at either before, but would consider them in the future.
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I had heard that too. I’m employing the head in the sand technique. If I don’t KNOW they’re gone…are they really gone?
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That would be my people for sure, and most of them aren’t teenagers anymore…
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DFB Guide said this:
We also reached out to Disney about the Lyft-based rideshare offering at Disney World, Minnie Vans. In an official answer, Disney noted that at this time, “Minnie Vans will remain temporarily unavailable but they hope to bring the offering back in the future.”
So, maybe there is hope…
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SEE!!! YAY!
/Snoopy Dance
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So no more EMH, no more DME, no more complimentary Magic Bands, no more mailing the souvenir luggage tags and the magical extras card before your trip… a lot of the little magical things about staying on property are disappearing.
The wording of the announcement on the Parks Blog seems somewhat ambiguous to me.
As a reminder, the Extra Magic Hours benefit was suspended when Walt Disney World Resort reopened last summer, and as we continue to manage attendance with health and safety top of mind, Extra Magic Hours will not return.
Does this mean they’re continuing to monitor the situation and when things are more back to normal EMH will come back? I don’t think so, but the wording leaves it open to interpretation.
I know all these little changes save the company big money at a time when they’re scraping for revenue, but I’m feeling the snowball effect of these cuts and wondering if it’s really worth the high price of staying on site anymore… 
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First thing my DH said when I gave him the update of the cut was “There you go, we don’t have to stay onsite unless we’re using points”. I’m constantly fighting to stay onsite, and the nighttime EMH cut might have put the nail in my proverbial coffin.
Bonus though, I might be getting extra Butterbeer time if we end up staying somewhere in the middle /shrug
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In my mind I look at things from different angles. Disney has a contract with a company that runs the bus service. They don’t pay per bus they pay a set fee. The hotels are closed and the ones that are open are not full. The bus company does not care they say pay me. Disney is paying this bus company money to run people to and from the airport that aren’t there. So in other words Disney is losing money paying for busses that people are not taking. If you were paying for something you weren’t using you would stop just like Disney is. The bus company is make out like bandits when Disney was fully running they made lets say 200 trips a day. Now they are making 50 trips and getting the same amount of money. Their contract with Disney is coming up for renewal and Disney does not want to pay the same price for 50 trip that they were paying for 200. Also the bus company said that they will offer bus service to Disney after their contract is up but now you will have to pay the bus company.
I also remember the 80’s when if you stayed on property you got in 1 hour early and stayed 1 hour later.
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This is a common occurrence at DLR.
I am starting to think that WDW will never look the way it was before to me, b/c of lack of the following: FPP, DME (I didn’t use it but friends did), extra evening magic hours. I hope that when things return to normal some of these things will return. I truly have no interest if there is no FPP. I do not do well with lines and neither do my kids.
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I think that is the convenient excuse that is supposed to make the public not complain about changes. .
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I could see Disney officially dropping the term “Extra Magic Hours” to institute the Early Entry, but then offer something they call “Magical Nighttime Hours” or “Evening Magic” that they offer to on-site guests in the future. No way suggesting they will do so, only that if enough people are annoyed that there are no longer evening EMH, they could bring back the same concept under a new name at some point and still claim that EMH was eliminated.
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They’ll probably charge you for it.
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They already have something for that: After Hours! Or one of their parties.
Exactly, so they know people will shell out for it. So why give it away for free?
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(Not speaking to Miss directly, just using her comment as a diving board)
I have an intimate knowledge of several board rooms where someone new comes in and implements changes that will save the companies MILLIONS! Based 100% on their gut feeling and “years upon years of experience”. Fast forward 3 years and Joe Know it All is nowhere to be seen and the company has someone new in their place. You just have to hope that the someone new looks at the data and understands what drives lift.
In the MDE thread, Randall mentioned that only one person on the blog didn’t have a strong adverse reaction to the removal of MDE. (I have never used it and what I did hear from my SIL’s using it, it was a horrible experience) Yes, everyone on the Touring Plans website loves it. All of the people on this site. But what about the millions who aren’t avid, Disney-fanatic, over planners. People who haven’t already committed the price of a small home for the privilege of a guaranteed week stay a year on property for the next (-)50 years. As much as I hate to say it, our annual dues have nothing to do with keeping perks active.
They need to find a way to attract money to make up for the lost revenues incurred during the pandemic. The were/are in the middle of a complete overhaul for some attractions, and have several others being built from the ground up. That’s lots and lots of money they were counting on the 2019/2020-22 attendance to make up for, in particular, this years 50th celebration.
They aren’t going to find that money giving people who have already paid for lodgings and tickets extra time in the park, costing them X amount in cast member salary and attraction wear and tear. No, they are going to make that money on extra parties/paid events on top of the normal ticket price.
The “free time” is now EMEMH, funny enough, dislodging the people who were paying for the early morning meals that got them extra time. Clearly that wasn’t as much of a money maker as the night time events are targeted to be. To be honest, I think the Moonlight parties have all been building up to this, long before the pandemic. A test run. One I never got to participate in, but would have loved to have been a apart of.
I was just reading an article in the OC Register that spoke of how by 2055, they are predicting that single day use tickets at DLR will be around $1500 if it follows the trend set since Eisner ran the show.
I still believe MDE will be replaced with another alternative, such as in house Uber like Minnie vans or the like. I believe that if enough people show discord with having to handle their own luggage, they will find another service to fill that role.
But night time EMH, I think that’s a thing of the past because there are enough people, like me, who will pay for the privilege of not having to get up at 4am (or 11pm for our neighbors across the Pond) their time to rush to a park on the off chance they “might” get a boarding pass for an attraction they haven’t been on yet.
I’m not saying it’s wrong or right. I’m saying, again, Disney is a massive corporate conglomerate first. Beloved nostalgic “Magical” family destination second.
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We have many family who will NEVER RD… and I’ve considered just paying for nighttime parties and ditching my AP due to reduced crowds.
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I kind of LOVE that idea.
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Also, (SQUIRREL) look how TINY that castle is. It hurts that Cinderella’s Castle has forever made me disappointed in Sleeping Beauty’s castle. At least I know it was Walt’s.
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