Evening Magic Hours for Deluxe Guests Only

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Hey hope you enjoy it! I did the Disney After Hours after bashing it and it was fun! But I don't know I'd do it again.

Planning on trying my first official Mickey ice cream bar And partaking in Disney park popcorn for probably the first time since 1990 lol

 

[cakebaker]

one of the reasons they're long gone, is because disney cut the park hours...and now for the rest of us, the magic hours.

Last week, MK closed at 9 all week long......

All true. But it doesn't change the fact that EMH's were not what they used to be. Once they started running until 11, they became pretty useless. People will stay up that late with no problem, but midnight seems to be the line they don't like to cross. I believe closing at the MK is at 11 now, at least until mid July, then 10 after that. I'm not happy with the early closings either, never understood how closing earlier made things safer. I'm not blind to Disney's faults, I just don't see the change in EMH's as one of them- and I'd say that regardless of what level of resort I'm at. Clearly, I wouldn't qualify on this trip if they were available.

 

[dez1978]

Exactly. And the super cheap studios which is what people are pricing when they try to say it's cheaper (and even at their cheapest they still are not cheaper than All Stars. Pretty silly of anyone to even try to argue that LOL) are extremely limited and sell out quickly. The two times we tried to price renting, they were unavailable. Which meant going up to the next price level, which was most definitely not cheaper than All Stars.

Which I suppose raises the point that there are "levels" of Value. The "slums" of All Stars, and then the upper class PoP and AoA People are using Pop and AoA to make the "DVC is cheaper/same" argument.

I used POP and AOA bc they were the only available values for the week I randomly picked.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

You are concerned that some people can't afford deluxe, but have you thought about all the people who can't afford a first or second trip to Disney because they don't have parents able to pay for their vacation.

Yes I totally agree. I wish it were more affordable overall. I know I'm super lucky that my parents paid for that vacation.

 

[Sue M]

Three words.....Star Wars Hotel. That place will book up so fast your head will spin and while prices haven't been announced, rumors are it will cost in that price range for 2 people.

I thought the price was per person!

 

[Heather07438]

It is possible to rent DVC for $200/night, there’s just a steep learning curve to the whole process. It’s complicated. Most people won’t get the $200/night rooms until more familiar with DVC and renting. For studios most renters are paying $300-400/night.

Moderates go for over $300 now too, but mods can get discount offers plus have the flexibility to cancel/reschedule which DVC usually doesn’t have (unless you wanna pay extra for insurance).

 

[StaceyHSD]

So I have some questions for the people pushing DVC rentals which are definitely a great option for some people. If you’re renting points do you have to pay in full up front? Also, the booking is non-refundable, correct? So what happens if you have to cancel? Or what happens if there’s like a hurricane or something so all the flights are cancelled? Is travel insurance an option?

 

[Meglen]

So I have some questions for the people pushing DVC rentals which are definitely a great option for some people. If you’re renting points do you have to pay in full up front? Also, the booking is non-refundable, correct? So what happens if you have to cancel? Or what happens if there’s like a hurricane or something so all the flights are cancelled? Is travel insurance an option?

Some rental websites let oyu piece the price over time with an upfront down payment but if you do it from a person on the board expect them to want it up front. Also yes its risky. If you cant go you lose the money. The only thing that can happen is the person you rented from could try to move your dates and you pay the difference. which we had to do to move our Dec 2020 to Oct 2021 but only if the points can be moved to the new date some times its at the end point and they would lose the points.

 

[Meglen]

It is possible to rent DVC for $200/night, there’s just a steep learning curve to the whole process. It’s complicated. Most people won’t get the $200/night rooms until more familiar with DVC and renting. For studios most renters are paying $300-400/night.

Moderates go for over $300 now too, but mods can get discount offers plus have the flexibility to cancel/reschedule which DVC usually doesn’t have (unless you wanna pay extra for insurance).

I would not expect any discounts coming back anytime soon saddly

 

[amdphenom]

It is possible to rent DVC for $200/night, there’s just a steep learning curve to the whole process. It’s complicated. Most people won’t get the $200/night rooms until more familiar with DVC and renting. For studios most renters are paying $300-400/night.

Moderates go for over $300 now too, but mods can get discount offers plus have the flexibility to cancel/reschedule which DVC usually doesn’t have (unless you wanna pay extra for insurance).

Also for the most part the Deluxe resorts aren't that nice if you just want to go to the parks. Sure they may have a walking path to parks but for the rest, busses or monorails are the only way. Pop and AoA with Skyliner are faster and more convenient than bussing to DHS/Epcot so long as it's running. If AoA busses are being slow, take the Pop bus and vica versa, nevermind due to the room count and non shared busses they have more frequent busses in general.

 

[Heather07438]

So I have some questions for the people pushing DVC rentals which are definitely a great option for some people.

If you’re renting points do you have to pay in full up front? Usually 50% up front and the balance 90 days before arrival.

Also, the booking is non-refundable, correct? Yes, you need to commit to your stay.

So what happens if you have to cancel? You forfeit the money you paid to that point.

Or what happens if there’s like a hurricane or something so all the flights are cancelled? You eat the days missed. I have exactly this risk. We rented BWV $144/nt for this Sept. It’s cheap enough that I’m comfortable losing the money in that slim but possible chance.

Is travel insurance an option? The brokers offer insurance. It certainly can help but it’s not cheap and for most scenarios won’t be a full refund.

I prefer renting thru owners privately on the boards. Still there’s a lot to learn about point charts, booking windows and Use Years. Then you are in a position to understand what an owner can or cannot do if you needed to cancel or reschedule. Some owners will let you change dates once, others do not. When changing dates you’ll probably need to take whatever resort still has availability, like SSR, OKW or AKL.

 

[Moliphino]

Just for fun, I looked at March 20-26 2022. Spring Break season. Pop for that week is 1567 for the cheapest room. AOA LM room is 1751. Or you could rent DVC thru Davids that SAME week at Old Key West, have a bigger room and this Deluxe perk, for 1786. So for $85 more, you could have a Deluxe resort for that week. I know it's not the same EVERY week all year. But it absolutely is doable for less than 1 single meal at Disney.

Pay $85 more for horrible buses. I actually prefer Pop to OKW (and Saratoga, and any resort with a ridiculous number of bus stops and terribly laid out bus routes).

 

[MJJME]

What about the club level rooms? You could pay more at a club level room and have access to buy extra fp at 90 days and this was only available to CL guests. So you paid extra for a room to be able to pay more to get more fp and no one else was allowed to buy more or pick them early. To me that isn't any different than pay more to stay at this resort and get an extra hr or 2 a couple of nights.

Not the point...I don't think anyone cares if they get extra if they pay for it.......its getting stuff taken away that bothers them (free parking, free magic band, free ME, advanced FP booking, EMH) all used to come with your price and now they dont

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

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.

That IS how this all feels. We generally stay deluxe - you'd think I'd be happy about this, but it's actually the opposite. The benefit of one hour on "select" nights is a pretty slim perk to begin with. It doesn't do much of anything for anyone except marginalize guests staying moderate or value. It feels sleazy. It *definitely* doesn't feel magical. They literally took something away that used to be for everyone, only to give it back to some. It's just yucky, and it makes me feel disappointed in their brand.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I can’t imagine the uproar if they go to tiered or paid FP. The boards might blow up.

 

[Boopuff]

Look at the post-covid crowds flocking to WDW - IMO right now, they are getting much, much less in terms of value for their tickets. I would never choose to travel to WDW until I get the full value of my ticket. And honestly, my family isn't an early morning EMH group. no way. So even when that was a "perk" we never used it. Some families never stay late, so honestly will this after-hours perk matter to them?

 

[MJJME]

They could do anything but that doesn’t mean it’s likely. You’re just pot stirring at this point.

what? no im not....im just saying to make it an actual benefit, there needs to be little to no lines when it starts or it negates the benefit

 

[mom2rtk]

Just for fun, I looked at March 20-26 2022. Spring Break season. Pop for that week is 1567 for the cheapest room. AOA LM room is 1751. Or you could rent DVC thru Davids that SAME week at Old Key West, have a bigger room and this Deluxe perk, for 1786. So for $85 more, you could have a Deluxe resort for that week. I know it's not the same EVERY week all year. But it absolutely is doable for less than 1 single meal at Disney.

Unless you're a family with a schedule that just won't accommodate firmly committing that far in advance.

 

[StaceyHSD]

If you’re renting points do you have to pay in full up front? Usually 50% up front and the balance 90 days before arrival.

Also, the booking is non-refundable, correct? Yes, you need to commit to your stay.

So what happens if you have to cancel? You forfeit the money you paid to that point.

Or what happens if there’s like a hurricane or something so all the flights are cancelled? You eat the days missed. I have exactly this risk. We rented BWV $144/nt for this Sept. It’s cheap enough that I’m comfortable losing the money in that slim but possible chance.

Is travel insurance an option? The brokers offer insurance. It certainly can help but it’s not cheap and for most scenarios won’t be a full refund.

I prefer renting thru owners privately on the boards. Still there’s a lot to learn about point charts, booking windows and Use Years. Then you are in a position to understand what an owner can or cannot do if you needed to cancel or reschedule. Some owners will let you change dates once, others do not. When changing dates you’ll probably need to take whatever resort still has availability, like SSR, OKW or AKL.

See now, this is exactly why I’d be reluctant to rent DVC points. I’m a solo traveller and I don’t have kids so I could take the loss on one of those good deals but why would I risk that? If I was a family on a limited budget there is no way I’d risk a family vacation on these limitations if I couldn’t absorb the potential loss. And forget hurricane season.

 

[Heather07438]

its getting stuff taken away that bothers them (free parking, free magic band, free ME, advanced FP booking, EMH) all used to come with your price and now they dont

This is exactly what DH didn’t like.

And he’s a pretty easy customer. He doesn’t like chipping prices down or looking for a bargain. The increased WDW costs didn’t bother him but the idea of taking away so much of what used to be included for free aggravated him. Not easy to do.