How to help WDW make more money and make guests happier

[bellazachmom]

Ok, I've not seen this yet.

Dh and I have been to the world several times, but always spend most of our time in the theme parks. We would really enjoy taking a Disney vacation that involved everything else the world has to offer.

I would love to see some kind of pass that would allow limited park time, with unlimited play time for searacers, horse back riding, miniature golf, surrey bikes, fishing, canoes, etc.

It just doesn't make sense to pay extra for all of the wonderful activities outside the parks, when you've paid so much to be inside the parks. However, I can't justify going all the way to Disney and not going inside the parks.

How about unlimited activities with park time after 6pm, for a price similar to full park passes??

Actually, there was something VERY similar to this when we went in 1994 -- It was Disney's Food&Fun
Pass and we LOVED it!!

Now, it didn't provide reduced park admission because back in those days you ended up with a "length of stay pass" that got you in to all the parks from the minute you checked in until midnight on your check-out day, park hopping included!!

The "Food" part of the Food&Fun card gave you 2 TS meals each day (appitizers, meal, dessert AND tip!!), can't remember if they were specified Breakfast and Dinner or if that is just what we choose to do every day. The "Fun" part gave us unlimited use of all of Disney recreation activities -- hubby golfed quite a bit, I rode horses, we took out searacers and those little boats at Y&BC and, our absolute favorite perk ... an Illuminations cruise on Breatless!!

That's right!! And for our 7 night trip, 2 adults, we paid just over $700 for this ... boy, we sure miss that deal!!

 

[redrosesix]

Another idea, but I'm pretty sure not everyone will love this.

Where we live we separate our garbage into 4 bins, not 2 -- trash, paper, recyclables, compostables. I felt very weird throwing so much into the garbage can when we were in WDW.

So, I'd like to see WDW provide the option of separating my trash the same way. They would make or save money by doing this, since paper can be sold to paper recyclers and I'm sure they have some place on all that land where they can compost.

Not that everybody has to do it -- go ahead and throw it all in the garbage if you're ok with that -- but I think that a lot of people who are used to doing it this way would automatically separate their trash.

 

[pearlieq]

My thoughts:

1.) Loyalty program. Goodness knows I've spent my share of money at WDW. I bet I'd be willing to spend more if they give me rewards for it. Some kind of point/gift system.

2.) Perks for onsite guests. I think free hoppers or a fastpass per day is a great idea. Sometime to sweeten the deal when you're paying $250/night for a Hilton-type hotel of middling quality.

3.) No more canned rides. Disney's key was always innovation and uniqueness. I would rather wait an extra year for a new attraction than get a copy of something at another Disney park or an off-the-rack type of ride like Triceratop Spin.

4.) Enforce your own rules, nicely but firmly. No smoking outside of designated areas. No Heelys. No cuts, no buts, no coconuts.

5.) Quit gouging. I don't mind if you have to raise ticket or resort prices. But $28 for a chicken entree at a lame resort sit-down restaurant? $100+ for no expiration? $30+ for a stroller? Those are irritating and insulting. There are better ways to make your money.

6.) Think like a guest. There are little things that Disney does for their own convenience that bug me, because they are inconvenient to be as a guest. Take leaving the park in the early evening. I'm tired and I want to get back to my hotel soon. Why make the only exit gate all the way down to the right? Why not make it right at the center outside of the turnstiles? Do things to make it easier and nicer for the guests, not because it's more convenient for the company.

 

[d1gitman]

My thoughts:

1.) Loyalty program. Goodness knows I've spent my share of money at WDW. I bet I'd be willing to spend more if they give me rewards for it. Some kind of point/gift system.

2.) Perks for onsite guests. I think free hoppers or a fastpass per day is a great idea. Sometime to sweeten the deal when you're paying $250/night for a Hilton-type hotel of middling quality.

3.) No more canned rides. Disney's key was always innovation and uniqueness. I would rather wait an extra year for a new attraction than get a copy of something at another Disney park or an off-the-rack type of ride like Triceratop Spin.

4.) Enforce your own rules, nicely but firmly. No smoking outside of designated areas. No Heelys. No cuts, no buts, no coconuts.

5.) Quit gouging. I don't mind if you have to raise ticket or resort prices. But $28 for a chicken entree at a lame resort sit-down restaurant? $100+ for no expiration? $30+ for a stroller? Those are irritating and insulting. There are better ways to make your money.

6.) Think like a guest. There are little things that Disney does for their own convenience that bug me, because they are inconvenient to be as a guest. Take leaving the park in the early evening. I'm tired and I want to get back to my hotel soon. Why make the only exit gate all the way down to the right? Why not make it right at the center outside of the turnstiles? Do things to make it easier and nicer for the guests, not because it's more convenient for the company.

ITA

 

[TRICKY_TINK]

someone should compile all these and mail it to disney. I 50th the boys themed meals.

 

[jayandstacey]

OK - some other ideas to help Disney Make More Money while Making Guests Happier:

1. Find a way to include outsiders into the park via the web - and charge a bit for it. Would you pay, say, $1 to join the "American Idol" experience for a day on your computer? You could see the one live performance during the day, then watch the finale live - and vote at both, along with the WDW live crowd. I can also imagine other TSM-like rides where maybe a WDW guest pairs with an online participant to play.

2. To echo the "frequent flier" theme - yes, allow points and treat it like a casino does - where "comps" are given every now and again based on spend. When I come down and spend $10K on my trip, a nice "here sir, thank you for your patronage" would be nice. Maybe I'm not quite a whale, and whales get this. But I don't think so.

3. Offer WAY more in-park tours and personalized options that cost money. How cool would a guided candlelight ghost tour of the MK be, one that ends with a (walk on) ride of the Haunted Mansion? Or a "control tower" tour of the major ride control centers? Or a ride on Goofy's bus around the park? Some of these things exist now, but for instance I wanted to do something like that with my little ones (7 and 4) and it seemed they were all age-restricted.

4. Open very small test market areas around the country, and tie them to the main parks. I know this has been floated before - I'm thinking glorified Disney Stores that might have a ride or two. They might actually be used to test "ride" experiences before the big show in Orlando. Make the stores unique destinations unto themselves

5. Design some kind of "flex" buildings that allow for a rapid theme change of a ride for new movies that come out. For instance, Aerosmiths' rollercoaster could easily be re-worked for some other theme- have rides that use the themes of new disney characters and can change easily as needed. I see TSM as a good example of this, like a Wii system, the screens could easily show other things and the pulling the plunger could make other things happen.

This is a hard question as by and large, Disney is very good at making money while pleasing guests.

 

[DisKate]

I would love a pirate themed meal! And a loyalty program would probably encourage me to come more often...maybe similar to the Disney Visa deal where you can get special offers and a free 5x7 as some of the perks?

 

[d1gitman]

regarding FP's. a thought I had on past trips was if they could let you map out all your FP's for the day. This could be something they could charge for and still be able to incorporate/control the FP volume for the free FP crowds. Basically it would be like making ADR's for rides. to control it, they could make it 1 FP reservation per hour with a 20 min window to get in the FP line. The difference could be that if you miss your time slot, you miss out, thus not overloading the FP line with late-comers.

I would pay an extra $50pp/pd to make AFPR's (advanced fast pass reservations).

 

[Cory's Gal]

I honestly love ALL these ideas. I don't get to WDW that often, we are on about a 3 year cycle, but I think a lot of these ideas are easily changed.

I am glad that they finally changed the Playhouse Disney show at DHS. We took my son in January of 2007, and other than knowing Pooh, and a little bit of JoJo, he had NO idea of who these characters are. I am glad it's updated with MMC, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins. They could easily update that character breakfast keeping the LE guys, and adding Handy Manny, and maybe Darby.

I would also like to see the Great Movie Ride updated with Disney Classics, there are so many Disney movies that have no representation in the parks and that would be an easy way to incorporate more in a smaller space and make the GMR a more family oriented ride, there is so little for small kids at DHS.

Also, FREE PH for onsite guests would be AWESOME!! I am okay with how Fastpass operates but if they wanted to add a generic fastpass for guests for like 2 rides a day, that would be great too!

I also think Disney should utilize the internet SO MUCH more! Make it easier to view your reservation, make ADR's, make requests, order baskets/cakes, etc...

I also think it would be great to have characters around in the lobby at the resorts for pictures and autographs. I think that would be a great perk for resort guests.

Keep the good ideas coming and maybe someone will take notice...

 

[mkycrzy1971]

(6) I agree that some sort of fastpass for resort guests would be great for the parks. For some reason, Some time ago when FP first started I thought this was a perk for staying onsite, but I could be wrong maybe it was always open to all park guests.

I was thinking the exact same thing...I think when we went during the 1990's...I am not sure when they changed this....anyone else know for sure?? I would LOVE if they would go back to this....sometimes I wonder why they changed it.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

The free park hoppers for staying on property sounds great too.

 

[Jubaby]

There are definitely some great ideas on this thread. Some of my favorite are:

1) A Loyalty Program for repeat guests. Earn some kind of points or rewards for those who spend lots of money at Disney and return year after year.

2) Free Park Hoppers for Resort Guests

3) Definitely more visibility for new movies, even if it's just a Character Meet & Greet Opportunity. Promote those movies and sell the merchandise! It's a no-brainer.

4) I prefer the old Dining Plan even at a higher price. The new one is just too complicated and confusing with so many additional charges for tips and such.

5) More attractions and characters meals geared for boys. Come on - give us something here!

6) They definitely need to computerize many of the functions of CRO. Especially ADR's - they can surely put in some kind of safety for abusers, like not allowing overlapping reservations, or more reservations than days on your meal plans, etc. It would be nice to be able to view your reservations online and make special requests, order birthday cakes, etc. without having to call, call, call! And I would think that they would use less employees as well.

Great ideas - Keep them coming!

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

I guess I am going to be the lone voice who says Keep the fast passes free. I don't ever want to see FP's for sale at Disney.

I completely agree---maybe offer more to resort guests, but the day they start charging for line cutting privileges is the day I won't go back.

 

[d1gitman]

...the day they start charging for line cutting privileges is the day I won't go back.

more room for me

actually, as others have posted, FP for all park guests is fine with me but there should definitely be some FP advantage for guests staying on site.

 

[WDWTigger72]

more room for me

actually, as others have posted, FP for all park guests is fine with me but there should definitely be some FP advantage for guests staying on site.

LOL Ditto on the when people stop going LOL! I found this article or disney fastpass patent pretty interesting for those who may want to read it. I have seen it on a few different sites, but it was never implemented yet:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2007/09/05/new-disney-patent-application-reveals-that-fastpass-for-pay-is-not-far-away.aspx

 

[iluvwdw5]

I would like to see a special FP for resort guests. Something like 2 FP per person per night that would be good for any ride that takes FP.

I would also like to see Park Hoppers as a free perk for resort guests.

Both of these ideas would not cost much to implement and would offer a real perk for staying on site which would make them more $$$ then the $50 cost of a hopper.

YEAH!!!!!! THAT IS A GREAT IDEA!

I eat, sleep, and breath DISNEY since my first trip in '05....this idea would certainly get me (and my family of 5) back more and more!

 

[Shagley]

I wish they would add a round of mini golf as one of the options on the Water Park and More ticket option.

 

[redrosesix]

I wish they would add a round of mini golf as one of the options on the Water Park and More ticket option.

I totally agree! We never use ours up, and I couldn't believe it last year when they told me they couldn't be used there. I know the mini-golf costs way less, but I'd be willing to take the loss.

 

[JB2K]

I second (third? fourth?) the idea of more character meals for boys! I have two older boys (16 and 13) who still enjoy meeting the characters, but none of the ones they really like -- Toy Story, Incredibles, pirates -- are in the meals! They're no longer interested in Winnie the Pooh, were never interested in princesses (unless they'll go on dates) and at this point are only marginally interested in Mickey (sad sad mommy).

It's not just the parks, it's the Disney orgranization, as a whole, who seem to have forgotten all the young men, out there.

In recent years, cable's "Disney Channel" has been pretty-much geared to girls with "Hannah Montana", etc. Disney corporate obviously saw this as a flaw, as they very recently converted the "Toon Disney" cable channel to the new "Disney XD" which exclusively caters to our young fellas, out there.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if parks leadership at Disney takes this new ball and runs with it...

 

[d1gitman]

It's not just the parks, it's the Disney orgranization, as a whole, who seem to have forgotten all the young men, out there...

maybe they went overboard in forgetting about young men because they once used to associate with the King of Pop, who couldn't forget about young men.