Not sure $149 Disney After Hrs event is doing well... (ETA: reviews in 1st post)

[JimmyV]

So far we do not know if majority of people did not actually pay to attend.

I don't think majority/minority has anything to do with this. Here is what we do know. On typical EMH nights, Disney has never found the want or need to offer the perk to a select group of off-site guests in order to boost attendance. Disney has never found the want or need to offer free tickets to other hard ticket events with the exception of some mom-bloggers or perhaps some occasional DVC perks. Guests at AoA (or any other resort) have never been handed freebies to $149 events. There is something definitely different going on with DAH.

As for the "we don't know anything because there is no reliable information coming from reliable sources" argument, all I can say about that is that the chatter is pretty uniform. The numbers (in the hundreds) that we are hearing, coupled with the reports of free tickets being given away to fill out the crowd are either completely made up by a coast-to-coast conspiracy to sink this event; or they are anecdotal reports mixed in with some CM reports, blended together with rumor. I don't find the conspiracy theory to be credible. There are plenty of first hand reports/photos/videos of the crowd, (or lack thereof) to get a feel for the true attendance. While we can never know if this level of attendance is what Disney had in mind, we can know one thing for certain. The current attendance level of this event is absolutely unprecedented. It looks nothing like any other hard ticket event ever held at WDW, including E-Ticket Nights. Is is possible that Disney was shooting for this level of exclusivity? I guess anything is possible. But it just doesn't jibe with a company that is non-renewing the contracts of Streetmosphere Performers; cordoning off previously free fireworks areas so that it can sell that space; raising food prices by 10%-20%, etc. And it doesn't jibe with the handing out of free tickets. If Disney was shooting for a very, very, very sparsely attended exclusive event, why would it add more fannies in the attraction seats by giving away free tickets? The far more logical explanation is that Disney has an attendance goal in mind; it is not reaching that number; and it is giving away tickets to reach that goal. Majority/minority doesn't really matter.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Agree with all of this.
That's what I think people are not grasping- that this isn't aimed at ALL WDW travelers. It's to cater to a very SMALL segment.
All of these travelers can coexist and all can enjoy their vacations.

We have season tickets to an amusement park here. With our "gold" passes we get in the water park early, and certain times the theme park opens certain attractions early for gold pass holders. I don't think it costs the park too much money to do this.
They also charge for a "fast pass" which is more than the price of one day admission- this pass does very well even though the majority of park attendees claim "it's too much money".
There's always a market for people who will pay more for low crowds/low waits etc.

I think that people do understand the concept. However, some of us think that is aimed at more than the small number of people reported to have purchased tickets. Even Motley Fool stated that Disney would have to sell at least 1000, but more likely 3-5k for this to be a financial success.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

A value resort at $122 would not be any less of a cost to us than doing a DAH night compared to adding a 4th day.

But don't forget, since you would be staying off site that you would be saving another $20 (is that how much parking is now?) on parking. Unless the place you are staying has a free shuttle to the parks but they may not come back for you at 1 or 2 a.m.

 

[SaintsManiac]

A value resort at $122 would not be any less of a cost to us than doing a DAH night compared to adding a 4th day.

How do you figure? Unless you're going solo I don't see how that's possible.

 

[WillAustin]

Unfortunately the real disconnect is that a guest didn't need a premium DAH event to get many rides in a short period of time until relatively recently. Using legacy FP and EMHs, it was very easy. Not so much now.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Unfortunately the real disconnect is that a guest didn't need a premium DAH event to get many rides in a short period of time until relatively recently. Using legacy FP and EMHs, it was very easy. Not so much now.

In very large part because attendance is simply up. This event will allow those who see the value in it to escape the crowds for a bit.

I'm still waiting to see if they'll really market it and how they tweak it. I hope it sticks around in some form when we're there sweating in Aug.

 

[whiporee]

Unfortunately the real disconnect is that a guest didn't need a premium DAH event to get many rides in a short period of time until relatively recently. Using legacy FP and EMHs, it was very easy. Not so much now.

Only if you Rope Dropped and knew all the tricks. Otherwise, all the legacy FPs were gone quickly during the day and you were condemned to standby for most rides. Getting a lot of rides in a short period of time has been a problem ever since Disney opened.

 

[whiporee]

I don't think majority/minority has anything to do with this. Here is what we do know. On typical EMH nights, Disney has never found the want or need to offer the perk to a select group of off-site guests in order to boost attendance. Disney has never found the want or need to offer free tickets to other hard ticket events with the exception of some mom-bloggers or perhaps some occasional DVC perks. Guests at AoA (or any other resort) have never been handed freebies to $149 events. There is something definitely different going on with DAH.

As for the "we don't know anything because there is no reliable information coming from reliable sources" argument, all I can say about that is that the chatter is pretty uniform. The numbers (in the hundreds) that we are hearing, coupled with the reports of free tickets being given away to fill out the crowd are either completely made up by a coast-to-coast conspiracy to sink this event; or they are anecdotal reports mixed in with some CM reports, blended together with rumor. I don't find the conspiracy theory to be credible. There are plenty of first hand reports/photos/videos of the crowd, (or lack thereof) to get a feel for the true attendance. While we can never know if this level of attendance is what Disney had in mind, we can know one thing for certain. The current attendance level of this event is absolutely unprecedented. It looks nothing like any other hard ticket event ever held at WDW, including E-Ticket Nights. Is is possible that Disney was shooting for this level of exclusivity? I guess anything is possible. But it just doesn't jibe with a company that is non-renewing the contracts of Streetmosphere Performers; cordoning off previously free fireworks areas so that it can sell that space; raising food prices by 10%-20%, etc. And it doesn't jibe with the handing out of free tickets. If Disney was shooting for a very, very, very sparsely attended exclusive event, why would it add more fannies in the attraction seats by giving away free tickets? The far more logical explanation is that Disney has an attendance goal in mind; it is not reaching that number; and it is giving away tickets to reach that goal. Majority/minority doesn't really matter.

I don't think anyone's argued that it was sparsely attended. I don't think there's agreement on how many tickets were comped, or how many people Disney wanted, but I don't think anyone's making the case that there were a lot of people there.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

In very large part because attendance is simply up. This event will allow those who see the value in it to escape the crowds for a bit.

I'm still waiting to see if they'll really market it and how they tweak it. I hope it sticks around in some form when we're there sweating in Aug.

And now waits are up due to staffing cuts. You're going to wait a lot longer when managements has decided to only run one Dumbo spinner or only load safari vehicles at one platform

Only if you Rope Dropped and knew all the tricks. Otherwise, all the legacy FPs were gone quickly during the day and you were condemned to standby for most rides. Getting a lot of rides in a short period of time has been a problem ever since Disney opened.

This may have been true at peak times but we never had problems getting FP to headliners throughout the day. The only exception was TSMM which would usually run out around noon.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

And now waits are up due to staffing cuts.

Data to support this?

 

[Angel Ariel]

A value resort at $122 would not be any less of a cost to us than doing a DAH night compared to adding a 4th day.

I'm not sure how that's numerically possible. Adding a 4th day onto a ticket is $35/person. Even with just 2 people, that's $70 to add a day, and $122 for the room. So $192. That's numerically less than the $300 that it would be for those 2 people to go to DAH. Drinks for 3 hours for 2 people don't add up to the $108 price difference.

Now the *subjective value* of that $100 price difference may not be much to you personally - but *numerically speaking only*, it is less of a cost to get a value room and add a 4th day than it is to go to DAH.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Agree with all of this.
That's what I think people are not grasping- that this isn't aimed at ALL WDW travelers. It's to cater to a very SMALL segment.
All of these travelers can coexist and all can enjoy their vacations.

I think people grasp that concept just fine.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Only if you Rope Dropped and knew all the tricks. Otherwise, all the legacy FPs were gone quickly during the day and you were condemned to standby for most rides. Getting a lot of rides in a short period of time has been a problem ever since Disney opened.

The bolded was never our experience with FP at WDW, not even on our spring break trip in 2013, nor was it our experience with legacy at DLR this past November.

 

[JimmyV]

I don't think anyone's argued that it was sparsely attended. I don't think there's agreement on how many tickets were comped, or how many people Disney wanted, but I don't think anyone's making the case that there were a lot of people there.

That wasn't really my point. There are people making the case that this event may in fact be rolling out exactly as Disney intended, and that any suggestion of the event failing to live up to expectations is rumor and assumption. My point is that in order for this to be true, then Disney had to intend that this event be purchased by several hundred people, and that giving away tickets was always part of the plan. Again, anything is possible. But that would be antithetical to everything else that Disney is doing/selling right now. "Free" is not in their vocabulary, especially when it comes to a $149 commodity. And Disney has never measured "exclusivity" in the hundreds. Early (unsubstantiated) reports put the sales goals anywhere between 3,000 and 8,000 people. None of us has any way to know if that is true. But even the lowest numbers were in the thousands. I did not see thousands of people on Thursday. I've been to E-Ticket Nights when every open ride was walk-on, ride-over-and-over-without-getting-off empty. And I've been to EMH nights at 1:00-2:00 when it was the same way. And all of those nights had many, many, many more people than I saw on Thursday. DAH could be five times as big as it was on Thursday and still been "exclusive". I have to believe that this is what Disney had in mind.

 

[Kimberly9701]

How do you figure? Unless you're going solo I don't see how that's possible.

We are doing hoppers on our next trip.. Only because I have non expiring. If this was offered, which I highly doubt in December..there is not a big price difference. Regardless of hopper or regular tickets. And we have a more efficient visit than an all day ticket. That alone compensates for any price difference- Yes, that's my personal opinion.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Only if you Rope Dropped and knew all the tricks. Otherwise, all the legacy FPs were gone quickly during the day and you were condemned to standby for most rides. Getting a lot of rides in a short period of time has been a problem ever since Disney opened.

Agree!!! All of those nostalgia is being reported thru some kind of..I don't know..forgetfulness?
When has WDW ever had low crowds? For the majority of the year..not a "slow" time here and there.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Agree!!! All of those nostalgia is being reported thru some kind of..I don't know..forgetfulness?

Nope, not forgetfulness. We were pulling E ticket FPs in MK well into the early evening hours on our spring break trip in 2013. Same at DLR this past fall, during a runDisney weekend and the opening weekend of their holiday offerings (so not a slow time).

 

[JimmyV]

Data to support this?

You will never find "data" beyond the statistics that Touring Plans publishes. But when you get to an attraction and see that it is not running at full boarding capacity, it is not a leap to conclude that if more CMs were assigned to that attraction, then all boarding lines/areas could be used, and that this would speed up boarding and thereby shorten waits. That is an empirical fact. And we know that CMs are having their hours cut back. That is also a fact. Those are two "dots". One can connect them or not.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Data to support this?

I believe Josh at EasyWDW has posted about this and documented several examples. In addition, someone on another thrad posted that a CM at KS actually apologized for the wait citing the reduction in vehicles as the cause for the delay.

 

[JimmyV]

Agree!!! All of those nostalgia is being reported thru some kind of..I don't know..forgetfulness?

More accurately, people who believe that FPs were gone by mid to late morning are guilty of extrapolating the TSMM phenomenon far beyond its scope. While it is true that TSMM's FPs ran out by 11:00 most days, that was a unique situation. I can't tell you how many Space Mountain/Splash Mountain/Thunder Mountain FPs we pulled in the hours between 3:00-5:00 for use in the evening.