WDW announces ticket price increases
in [Disney Parks]
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From: Lilith on 8 Aug 2010 19:56 On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 09:13:01 -0400, Jeffrey Gordon <jeff(a)jeffreygordon.net> wrote: >But they don't really want to reward those of us who keep coming - they >know that it's an addiction and that we'll feed the habit regardless of >discounts, special offers and the like. I don't look at it as an addicition. It's a love affair. -- Lilith
From: Jeffrey Gordon on 8 Aug 2010 22:41 In article <400u56lu80gliprbqmuk153vnsjk8ba8dl(a)4ax.com>, Keane <keane(a)keanespics.com> wrote: > On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 09:13:01 -0400, Jeffrey Gordon > <jeff(a)jeffreygordon.net> wrote: > > Okay, let's jump into it with both feet. :-) > > In a way, they do, but not in the traditional way you think, > especially since you have to buy into each perk level. It's an odd > business model that I'm not sure would work anywhere else... > > There's three (main) classes of WDW guests. The on-site package .... > The package class gets some sort of overall discount over full .... > The AP class gets unlimited park access, and deeper room .... > The DVC class gets a really nice room at a really nice place .... > > Note that none of these are rewards for being a frequent customer. > They are rewards based on how committed you are to being a > frequent customer. But they are essentially perks for the frequent > visitor. There's a distinction there, but I sometimes wonder how much > of one... > > Okay, have at it. :-) I generally agree with your assessment of the situation. It's up-front pay to play all the way with Disney, whereas with "traditional" loyalty programs, it's pay-as-you-go-with-attainment-tiers. But again, I think there's a fourth class. Those that eventually become loyalty members through years of behavior. They weren't willing or able to commit up front, but have, in essence, done so. Now granted, they don't have the future obligation (which counts for a lot), but they still have what they have. Disney has actually recognized this class, to some degree, in their 407-WDISNEY line when they ask when and how often you've been here. They know that there's a group of people that needs to be treated differently. I also agree with the person who talked about trying to go back and award visits post-visit. Total nightmare... and there would be something people would want for that prior visit "credit"... so it would be almost impossible to introduce without pissing someone off. But I disagree that it would be hard to do based on the information that Disney has. Heck, conclusive biometric data alone could be used to reconstruct the last few years. ;) > >And, as a businessperson, I respect them for their decision to do the > >things that make them the most money. Even when it means that I don't > >get the best deal. > > I agree, if they can justify the money. (In the recent past, that > answer has been 'yes' for me, but it's irritating when money from > the parks goes to propping up some other losing area of the Disney > Company... :-) Agreed. > I think they really try to make sure there aren't apparent classes > of WDW guests. Every guest should be treated the same. (This > excludes sponsors, VIP's and those with really large sums of money > they want to part with, of course.) Also agreed. But there ARE classes... and unless you're blind, you know it. Not everyone gets to stay on the VIP floor at the Grand Floridian. Yet even the person staying in a cabin at Ft. Wilderness knows the EXISTENCE of the GF and other Deluxe resorts. So there's one element of "class" differential. There's even the on vs off-property differential, made real by EMH's. And there are countless financial indicators (just look at a little girl staring longingly at another little girl who has gone through a BBB makeover and you understand this one in a heartbeat). I AM, however, grateful that Dis has never instituted the pay-for-FP system. I also appreciate that they seem to make some things a little harder to find (even on their website) so that you actually have to go hunting for them - such as the extra tours, fireworks boat rentals, etc. And I like that, apparently, a member of the general attendance population is selected for things like being Grand Marshal of the parade(s) and/or the Family of the Day @ MK. ~Jeff TDC Experiment 626 and Guardian of Stitch Kingdom
From: Lilith on 8 Aug 2010 23:02 On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 16:21:47 -0700 (PDT), Judy <j2728(a)catlover.com> wrote: >On Aug 8, 6:50�pm, Lilith <lilith...(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:20:14 -0500, Keane <ke...(a)keanespics.com> >> wrote: >> >> >On Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:52:46 -0500, Lilith <lilith...(a)gmail.com> >> >wrote: >> >> � � Though I've stayed on site once >> >>it was a major hassle that I seriously don't want to go through again. >> >Really? �I'm the opposite. �I like having to turn my brain off to the >> >point that I don't have to remember how to operate a motor vehicle. >> >> I'm not talking about the hassle of motivating around WDW. �I love to >> have Disney do the driving too. �I'm talking about the hassle of the >> reservations. �Quite a while ago I tried to reserve ten nights. >> Apparently I couldn't get a ressie like that. �I ended up doing three >> nights at ASM, three nights at PO, two (rather expensive) nights at >> Grovsner and two more nights back at PO. �That doesn't include the >> fact that some of my reservations were cancelled because I was trying >> to make them more than three months in advance and something about >> being able to accept credit cards more than 90 days out. �Seems I >> kinda split the 90 days between the four sites and because I didn't >> contact them within a certain period of time to re-confirm with a >> credit card they were dropped. �I was able to recover from this but it >> just gets too involved trying to make simple reservations. >> >I can' t imagine your not being able to get the 10 days at one place >that you would have liked. Was it a very busy time of year? I knw >some people opt for dividing there stay between 2 resorts in order to >try out different resorts. Usually if you keep on trying you may have >a good chance of getting what you want due to cancellations. >I also don't understand them not being able to accept credit cards >more than 90 days out. I have a reservation at the Poly in December >(that I may or may not keep) but I paid for it in December 2009 with a >credit card. >it's too bad that you feel as you do about staying onsite- >Judy The stay was towards the end of May with a little overlap with Memorial Day. I was adjunct teaching at the time and was somewhat constrained to going after classes were over in mid May. I'd estimate that this was about 15 years ago but a precise year I don't recall. Maybe they did things differently back then or maybe there weren't enough resorts for the demand and it complicated the process. And there was that rather longish wait on the phone to a non-800 number. I dunno. But that is the way it went and it rather soured me on the whole on-site experience. Nowadays I stay at a Studio 6 on Irlo Bronson across from Old Town. Not far from WDW and pretty direct for getting on I-4 for UO. Not quite the Disney feeling but it will have to do. -- Lilith
From: Brian on 8 Aug 2010 23:38 On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:50:27 -0500, Lilith <lilithpap(a)gmail.com> wrote: >I'm not talking about the hassle of motivating around WDW. I love to >have Disney do the driving too. I'm talking about the hassle of the >reservations. Quite a while ago I tried to reserve ten nights. >Apparently I couldn't get a ressie like that. I ended up doing three >nights at ASM, three nights at PO, two (rather expensive) nights at >Grovsner and two more nights back at PO. That doesn't include the >fact that some of my reservations were cancelled because I was trying >to make them more than three months in advance and something about >being able to accept credit cards more than 90 days out. Seems I >kinda split the 90 days between the four sites and because I didn't >contact them within a certain period of time to re-confirm with a >credit card they were dropped. I was able to recover from this but it >just gets too involved trying to make simple reservations. > >Add to that the time wasted in having to pack up the car in the >mornings, leaving the car at the one site, going back, pick up the >car, check in at the new site, unload the car, rinse repeat, rinse >repeat.... That's time away from the parks or DD or just cooling down >from the day's activity. Is it that difficult for them to allow me a >long stretch of time at one of the economy resorts and let me >guarantee payment more than three months out? That's why I've never >stayed on-site more than the once. This seems bizarre that you had to do this. We went two years ago at this time of year. We made reservations for a week about 6 weeks before we went. We didn't get our first choices but we were able to stay in the same place all week. I don't know if Florida has this law, and it seems like a nasty thing to do, but in many places you can't be forced to leave if you are already occupying a room. We've never done it and we found out about it many years ago when we couldn't get into the room we had booked at a 5 diamond resort because the woman there wouldn't leave.
From: Alpha on 9 Aug 2010 13:10
Keane says: > On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 01:57:41 +0000 (UTC), Alpha <notreal(a)verizon.net> > wrote: > >>Keane says: >> >>> On Sat, 7 Aug 2010 12:26:04 +0000 (UTC), Alpha <notreal(a)verizon.net> >>> wrote: >>> >>>>Keane says: >>>> >>>>> (I'd say "Maybe the Dining Plans will go away, too," but I'm not >>>>> kidding myself...) >>>> >>>>Free dining might not go away, but they're whittling down its value >>>>so much that I think there will be fewer takers. >>>> >>>>-- Alpha >>> >>> You underestimate the marketing powers of the word, 'FREE!' ;-) >> >>:-) Fewer takers -- maybe not few, but fewer. Fewer enough that it's >>recognizably different in restaurants? Who knows. > > If one could take the argument to the masses (i.e. the free dining > guests) that free isn't free when you're paying full rack rate, I > think you might be successful. > > But if you tell someone something's free, even if the amount of > free stuff isn't as much as last year, free is still free. Even > though it's not. But I'm not sure your average guest knows that, > and I'm not sure your average guest will even look into it. I mean, > everyone knows food is expensive, right? Yes, there will always be people who have a Pavlovian response to the word "free". And back in the pre-free dining days, there were always people who booked a package, even though you could buy the elements of it yourself more cheaply. Free dining in its original incarnation was so popular because it was a slam-dunk on the cost-benefit analysis. People crunched the numbers, blinked their eyes, and couldn't believe Disney was offering it. But the more restrictions Disney adds to free dining, and the less value in the benefits of the offer, the more people will take a look and then decide to pass, just as they did with standard packages in years past. -- Alpha |