Evening Magic Hours for Deluxe Guests Only

[ChipnDale79]

Current Disney pricing makes other vacations attractive. You can tour Europe for what a Disney vacation costs. You can go to an all inclusive resort.

this. we drive to disney.

Im looking at 2022 options. To fly out west and do national parks and other things, its starting to look cheaper for us. That was not the case for us in the recent past.

 

[cakebaker]

I mean... If they let all the rif raf (the masses)in than the EMH at night wont be as appealing with the higher crowds, and they wont get more people staying deluxe/dvc.

I dont personally care but you know this is the reason.

That's ridiculous. If you don't care, stop stirring the pot with nonsense. What the heck is "the higher crowd"????? And am I rif raf when I stay at a value, but a "higher crowd" when I stay deluxe? Does it take a sprinkle of pixie dust to do that? I wonder if I dress differently or maybe I wear better clothes, more makeup...not sure how I'm identified in the parks by others so they'll know which one I am.

 

[Jrb1979]

Right and if you think about it from a business strategy front it does two things: Encourages guests on the fence toward a Deluxe resort or even a brand new shiny DVC contract.

From the business side it makes sense. It's still a bad taste in my mouth. It's no wonder so many Disney fans are jumping ship to the competition down the street.

 

[Kmedders]

Agreed. The posters who already booked $$$ Disney resorts based, in part, on amenities listed when they made their reservation have a right to have issues.

Current Disney pricing makes other vacations attractive. You can tour Europe for what a Disney vacation costs. You can go to an all inclusive resort.

This is why I don't take Disney cruises. I can get the same cruise destinations for FAR less on other cruise lines. I'm not going to pay thousands more to have the Disney name stamped on my cruise. I'm also not mad Disney cruises are so expensive. It is what it is, and I choose to spend my vacation dollars in other ways.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

They should consider how many of their value/mod customers they're alienating, too. Make the resorts themselves actually worth their price, that will entice people to stay deluxe.

I feel like they have underestimated the number of people who will stay elsewhere versus upgrade to deluxe.

 

[Moliphino]

That's ridiculous. If you don't care, stop stirring the pot with nonsense. What the heck is "the higher crowd"????? And am I rif raf when I stay at a value, but a "higher crowd" when I stay deluxe? Does it take a sprinkle of pixie dust to do that? I wonder if I dress differently or maybe I wear better clothes, more makeup...not sure how I'm identified in the parks by others so they'll know which one I am.

Higher crowds is just more people.

 

[Meglen]

[deleted ]above poster posted what I wanted to say

 

[Kmedders]

Yup this upcoming trip we are going for 7 nights at AK and payed about 2k thats 285$ a night thats on par with pop,AoA for october..

Yes! I stayed 9 days at AKL renting points 2 years ago for $1,600 Memorial Day week. The same room through Disney was $3,200.

 

[cakebaker]

Higher crowds is just more people.

Got it, but I still question if I'm rif raf when I stay in a non qualifying resort and move up the ladder when I stay at deluxe or dvc. I think the lower crowd levels doesn't have much to do with Disney's reasoning for doing this. It's just a side benefit for guests. I think they're doing it simply to get more people to stay at their deluxe resorts. I'm not sure they really care to entice people to stay DVC, but it would be pretty hard to exclude DVC members after the kind of money they have invested with Disney.

 

[Olaf05]

I think this is a great strategy by Disney to increase their bottom line. When I first saw the headline I thought of immediately changing my moderate reservation to a deluxe but the change takes place after my trip. I am sure a lot of people are like me who don’t see the value of a deluxe because we spend most our time in the parks. A park perk for just deluxe guests will absolutely change how I book my next trip.

 

[Meglen]

Got it, but I still question if I'm rif raf when I stay in a non qualifying resort and move up the ladder when I stay at deluxe or dvc.

you def read my entire post wrong. I even put what I meant.. rif raf as in everyone else and many many more people not as in lesser human...

 

[dato63]

I booked deluxe because I wanted to stay there at Christmas. That extra hour was not mentioned at all. So, I can honestly say if they had offered the extra hour to moderates to fill the resort - or club level to entice them, I don't see myself here complaining. Because it was not a "thing" offered to me when I booked, and then removed.

Just like in past years when they would offer free dining - but only at certain resorts. People would change resorts to try to snag those deals, and they would be limited like X number of free dining at Pop, or X number of free dining at AKL, depending on what resorts Disney was trying to fill. There were times we didn't benefit, because I called - and either it wasn't offered where we were staying, or the few that were offered were already snagged.

Several years ago we paid to stay in a deluxe. While we were checking in, there were people being moved from value/moderates as they were overbooked. So, I paid more for my deluxe room than they did. Simply because their resort was overbooked. It was timing. They benefitted from the timing. I didn't get a cost break on my room. Never even occurred to me to be upset. I am pretty sure my thoughts were "wow, some pixie dust landed on them".

We picked what we wanted, and were able to afford, with limited perks being offered coming off a year of not traveling. Any perk they offer now is just that, a post booking surprise perk.

 

[Grumpy Mouse]

Perks - or benefits - will always be somewhat proportional to a participant's level of financial contribution. This is not an axiom exclusive to Disney - it pretty much applies to all things in a capitalistic society.

The bigger issue is clarity - or transparency of benefits. This piecemeal rollout of announcements and the ever shifting sands of benefits is absolutely maddening.

Every visitor or potential visitor to Disney - whether DVC or non-DVC - should have a clear understanding of the full spectrum of benefits, restrictions, and the associated costs. In that way, it would be far easier for guests to match available budget with potential benefits. In essence you could see what a benefit 'costs' and make an informed decision about whether or not you want it.

But thinking that Disney will be giving you that benefit for 'free' is a pipe dream. If those days ever existed, they are over now.

 

[StaceyHSD]

Right and if you think about it from a business strategy front it does two things: Encourages guests on the fence toward a Deluxe resort or even a brand new shiny DVC contract.

Or, you know, encourages guests to go down the street and never come back.

Disney is no longer the only game in town when it comes to offering a nice (and actual premium) resort experience (often for less money). You would think they would step it up rather than nickel and diming their guests. But whatever! Disney can do what they want and I’ll vacation elsewhere until they make it worth my while to come back. And I’ll be damned if I’m coerced into paying deluxe prices just to have any chance of having a good time.

 

[BrianL]

I've been thinking about this, and again, while I think it's fine for higher tier guests to have more perks, lower tier guests need to get some perks to justify staying there. I mean, the rooms aren't that special - it's really about the location. What did they previously offer? DME from/to the airport, early FP booking window, booking dining through stay length, park transportation, and extra park hours, this being the most enticing thing as the prime location has everything to do with access to the parks. Now at Values and Moderates, they are basically only offering proximity to the parks, transportation, and an extra 30 minutes per day. That is a downgrade from pre-covid for sure. Park hours are the most important perk for many, and I think they need to figure out a way to enhance that for onsite guests. They ahve to offer SOMETHING - even bring back free parking would be a pretty nice thing, especially with DME being phased out.

I think they could do some hybrid of FP/EMH and make that work in tiers, where the higher cost stays get more access, but Value isn't shut out either. If they don't, those value resorts may lose a lot of business eventually, thought I doubt it will happen right away. They will probably do this for a while, then revise it when they need to, but it's unfortunate that they'll want to ride it out as long as possible.

 

[cakebaker]

you def read my entire post wrong. I even put what I meant.. rif raf as in everyone else and many many more people not as in lesser human...

Then rif raf is the wrong term, because that basically means trash, lesser, lower class. Glad you cleared it up.

 

[mshanson3121]

Sorry - but I disagree. Everyone can choose to save up longer to afford the deluxe accommodations if that's what they want. Additionally, anybody can rent a DVC room on a deluxe property for very close, if not equal, to the price of a value or moderate. Staying deluxe does not equate to more money. It could be that family saving up longer and going fewer times, charging the entire trip on a credit card, renting DVC, etc. So many different answers. But to say that it is a clear sign of wealth is way off base.

A value room is $188 with tax for our trip. Cheapest DVC rental was $400. That's not close.

 

[Meglen]

Then rif raf is the wrong term, because that basically means trash, lesser, lower class. Glad you cleared it up.

My apologies, I always used it as clutter or stuff or mass of something lol learn something new everyday haha. Meaning disney wanted them smaller to keep the benefit looking good for people to spend at deluxe.

 

[Kmedders]

A value room is $188 with tax for our trip. Cheapest DVC rental was $400. That's not close.

No, that's not close. But, look at other weeks throughout the year. I pulled up Labor Day week at AKL and you can rent a standard room for $157 per night. That's less than your value room.

 

[Jrb1979]

Got it, but I still question if I'm rif raf when I stay in a non qualifying resort and move up the ladder when I stay at deluxe or dvc. I think the lower crowd levels doesn't have much to do with Disney's reasoning for doing this. It's just a side benefit for guests. I think they're doing it simply to get more people to stay at their deluxe resorts. I'm not sure they really care to entice people to stay DVC, but it would be pretty hard to exclude DVC members after the kind of money they have invested with Disney.

I understand what the Mouse is trying to do. My gripe has never been with those who want to pay for an overpriced Hilton. My gripe is with the Mouse pretty much saying unless you pay us big bucks to come we don't want you and don't care about you anymore.