Yes, having a party of 6 is prohibitive for LLPP. Maybe someday. ![]()
We are VERY ride-centric on our trips, but I still won’t buy LL and I still haven’t had a problem getting done what we want. We are good at RD and good at waiting in line. What we do often end up losing is shopping time. But since that ends up saving me money, I really can’t complain. I’d rather spend the money on longer stays or food.
I can’t see it as “stealing”…. companies routinely allocate resources to customers they perceive as preferred and the non-preferred customers have a “lesser” experience because of it.
If two people go to Steakhouse 71 and have a meal… bill is $200 for each. One person pays cash, or with their Amex card… they pay 200. Other person pays with a Disney Visa… that customer gets 10% off, plus 2% kickback in points, so they pay 176.40 for their meal.
Two customers being treated differently by Disney because one is preferred. And it affects Customer 1 because his meal cost remains higher than it otherwise might be. Steakhouse 71 got 376.40 for both checks together…. the non Disney Visa guy is subsidizing the Disney Visa guy… (nevermind the fact that the Amex guy may be getting a kickback too in some other form - airline miles or cash back - so the poor cash paying customer is subsidzing them both)
Happens in non disney context too… Delta spends a bunch of money and resources on customers that are more valuable (upgrades, lounges, dedicated customer service agents, priority boarding, etc) and so, I pay higher fares, more in fees, and spend more time waiting to board, de-plane, etc. etc…..
Home Depot has dedicated parking, checkout and customer service desks for contractors - all resources that I am not able to access, and so my experience at Home Depot is lesser becasue those resources are not available to me….
So… crappy… sure, but we all know the deal….
Hmm. I don’t think your analogy is the same at all. Because one customer isn’t having a reduced experience because the other person has some benefits. They are getting what they paid for.
In the case of LL, every time anyone pays for (and uses) a LL, it whittles away at the experience of the other guests. Disney is profiting, but taking the time from their other paying customers.
Ironically, even those paying for LLMP are getting a reduced experience anytime OTHER folks pay for LLMP and use it. They go from having little to no wait to a longer LL wait. So even there, Disney profits, and takes time away from other LLMP paying guests!!!
I just realized after reading this thread that LL can now be so expensive that it might be cheaper to do a split stay and utilize a deluxe resort for EEH at MK.
I think EP can be done without LL fairly successfully, especially if you have 2 days.
I have an AP. I have gone to HS three rope drops in a row instead of purchasing LLs.
I disagree…. A reduced experience takes many forms… increased prices due to discounts to a favored group is a reduced experience…. Longer waits due to shorter waits to a favored group is a reduced experience…. Increased fees to one group due to discounts or perks to a favored group is a reduced experience…
It is just how resources are allocated by a business…. Revenue is equalized based upon all perks allocated to all groups…
If there were no fastpasses, but only standby, that would be the same as if there were no discounts to one group instead of another…
But businesses always try to increase loyalty by incentivizing the experience of those willing to spend more at that business.
This is why I buy SP for FOP instead of MP if I don’t need LL for a different park.
I can ride Navi then EE then KS during that first hour and head to FOP later. So I find that to be very valuable.
I brought my sisters in July amd was able to take them around the parks (1 per day) as efficiently as a plaid with MP and a FOP and GOTG SP. It was incredibly satisfying, and really important because the heat advidories were some of the highest on record, so we efficiency and breaks.
Reminds me of when we were in WDW last fall and ran into a local family from home with a plaid. DD10 and DS8 heard DW and I mention that the other family was with a plaid and then the kids were asking questions about what a plaid is.
DW says to them “Dad’s our plaid.”
This is my new motto! ![]()
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100%!! If only we ould skip security after the first park.
Another once-was perk that has disappeared into the sunset!
But, honestly, is it really a needed benefit these days? The changes Disney made to security, other than at park opening, it is barely a blip in time. Even if you get pulled aside for bag check, it is adding an extra minute or two at most. Usually it is a straight walk-through.
I would love it that very short lived service still existed. There is usually one day on my trip where I do a “greatest hits”. It isn’t just the securty you skipped, you went backstage to backstage! So parking then taking the tram, or waiting for a bus, THEN securty, through the ticket booth etc.
You wouldn’t be using parking/tram. And you would have a bus (or perhaps monorail in the case of MK to Epcot) in either case, no? I get why it was, at one time, useful and probably “felt” cool. But I just don’t see that there is much in the way of actual time savings. Mid-day, going through security and tapstyles takes almost zero time. Even if it saved you a few minutes, it is an expensive endeavor for Disney to offer to literally save a handful of minutes at best. I can see why Disney would stop offering it.
For the demo that I am talking about, you got in a bus or van backstage and got dropped off backstage at the next park. It was never going to be long lived because it was very impractical.
There is a big time and energy difference between coming to and from the parking lot (whether you use Disney transportation or drive) and being able to pick up transport inside the park. Especially on a super hot day! It wasn’t just about skipping security.
I frequently drive in these kinds of days, I have found it much easier. Typically I splurge for the one day on preferred parking, so that is like my Temu version of backstage to backstage.
I just meant, even if you drove to the first park, if you were using such a service, you wouldn’t be going back to get your car…you would be taking the “backstage” transport. Which means the comparison these days would be to drive to the first park, and use park-to-park transport between parks throughout the day, and eventually returning to the original park to pick up your vehicle.
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