A heart is a like. We just have no option here for the thumbs down equivalent or dislike.
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You didn’t just open up another can of worms…
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Some argued that the scheduled morning hours (and evening after hours) events went part and parcel with the reduced operating hours of the park compared to prior years so there was some of the same “Disney is selling stuff that everyone used to get for free”. That said, there seem to be more people upset about this new change.
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Was tipping mentioned and I missed it???
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They do, just not to the same degree. They have been staffing at lower levels since reopening in July 2020. This benefits them financially by reducing their staffing budgetary line item.
But G+ and LL$$ will benefit them all the more as they keep staffing lower AND have guests paying for these products.
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Yes - they know precisely the bare minimum number of CMs they need in the park on a given day — and they staff to exactly that and not one more.
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Park hours make a massive difference for average experience, even if you don’t plan on using all hours. If the park is only open for 8 hours, everyone is going to be there for the same 8 hours and compete for ride spots. If it’s open for 12 but people stay on average 8, different groups will be there at different times with rides on average 2/3 as crowded. I think this is a bit misleading, because families, while planning, might think, “well, 8 hours is enough for us”, without noticing ride capacity implications
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All of this? Is why this feels like a big old F-U to those of us who have gotten them, and keep them, where they are financially
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It’s not indirect. You’re correct.
I agree with most of what @ryan1 has said in his thread opener. I’ve even thought 99% of it myself but haven’t bothered to turn it into a post.
But staffing is absolutely a DIRECT budgetary cost. There’s simply way it isn’t
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So it’s a direct - but limited - effect.
I think it is semantics, but again, doesn’t change my point. If you want to call it direct, fine.
But that didn’t affect that many people. G+ affects every single person who goes through a gate. That’s the difference. That’s why the outcry!
I thought those early morning magic things were an absolute disgusting money grab. So I didn’t buy them. And I continued to tour quite effectively just the same.
But G+ feels like it will have a direct impact that could suck all of the fun out of our vacation. I stood in some terrible lines this summer. I swore I would never do that again. But here’s G+ (that I am unlikely to participate in with my family of 4) so that’s where we will land.
So that’s the outcry. I pay the same ticket price but as ryan said earlier, my ticket is less valuable now because someone else will purchase the upcharge. It’s far far different from EMM in that way
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There are 20 million+ and counting millionaires in the country. The wealth gap got WORSE during the pandemic. Disney is catering more and more to the 1%ers and the “trip of a lifetime” type people that won’t care about an extra 60 bucks a day if it means they wait in line less. They have stated they basically don’t care as much about repeat business and AP holders, whom they don’t make as much profit. It’s wishful thinking that this is just “temporary”. I am definitely gonna wait and see before I plan another trip. Meanwhile I am enjoying being a UO passholder.
This analysis ryan1 has written is very eye opening and leaves me a little frightened. I didn’t even think about the “Snowball” effect, people getting pissed off at lines, buying G+, making more people wait longer and getting pissed… hmmm, I wonder if that was in the Disney business plan…
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I don’t see how it could NOT be. It is the nature of how paid skip-the-line systems work at pretty much all amusement parks EXCEPT Disney (up until now).
Excellent point. It seems to be part of the long slide…
I completely agree! (In the 2nd half of my post! )
I originally said it is a “perception problem” but have changed that to read “problem”. Because I think it’s a problem
I thought @davej point is an interesting one to go along with this and the rest of the conversation; that these paid morning and evening events were like the early harbingers of where we are today. They secretly impacted our experience by using up staff that could otherwise increase park capacity and decreased park hours. I was never going to pay for one, but it never occurred to me how else it might be impacting my trip.
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UOR’s highest tier of AP is less than half of the "Incredi-Pass.
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Yup, but that only works if your family truly enjoys the UOR experience. It was a once in every 5+ years experience for us, especially as we have one kiddo that won’t ride anything more challenging than Spiderman which cancels out over half of both parks for him.
True. However, universal does only have about half of what Disney does. So the prices are on par. I’m sayin this as someone who loves Universal. (More than Disney even. )
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