Grand Floridian shouldn’t allow non hotel guests

[StarCruzer]

It is true that their average income is lower than the US, but they don't need to pay for multiple cars and insurance like most of us here. Food, home maintenance and medical costs are also lower in general, so when you put all of that together, their disposable income could be higher than some of us in the US. To say they don't have as much money to throw around, I simply can't agree and I would say that's actually an insult to the Japanese culture.

I can lead a horse to resources but I can't make em read

I have Japanese and American friends who live in Japan. My sister does marketing for a Japanese company. I've personally spent a lot of time in Japan and I'll be living there in about four months. And I've provided statistical resources that show trends in the Japanese economy and spending.

So I can say with a high degree of confidence that 1. Japanese people expect quality services when spending their money on "extras" such as entertainment and travel and 2. they generally have less spending power for such things in comparison to Americans.

If you have resources that back up your opinions feel free to share

 

[Lumpy1106]

Even on a slow day, the resort monorail will take longer than one thinks it will. Clearances to stations, safety checks, brake tests all factor in. It isn't a very speedy form of transportation. But it is still very cool IMO.

They moved the Disneyland hotel but did not re-route the monorail. That speaks volumes to how expensive the monorail is. Credit to Disney and Bob Gurr - they tried it, it worked in a theme park, but anywhere else it has been tried (Seattle, Las Vegas) it has been a novelty at best. There is a group that is pushing for one to be part of the next extension of mass transit in LA. The numbers don't work - it's too expensive and doesn't move enough people. It will be light rail if it happens at all.

 

[cbailey1616]

Wanting to ‘wall off’ from the undesirables your own resort ‘amenities’ while in turn expecting unfettered access to other folks resort amenities = entitled

Imagine thinking this a class issue when all people want to do is have access to the resorts amenities they paid a premium for.

 

[nuhusky123]

Imagine thinking this a class issue when all people want to do is have access to the resorts amenities they paid a premium for.

Interesting perspective right?

I totally get the perspective of wanting to go to resorts to enjoy the offerings even when not a guest. I’d even support that view if Disney didn’t do such a bad job with well anything. It in this case making sure paid guests and not after thoughts.

But that seems to be the Disney mo. Ignore the loyalist, ignore dvc and take and take until they realize they perhaps took too much

So the question in my mind comes down to who to punish more

Punish the paid guest or the non paid

 

[atthebeachclub]

I can lead a horse to resources but I can't make em read

I have Japanese and American friends who live in Japan. My sister does marketing for a Japanese company. I've personally spent a lot of time in Japan and I'll be living there in about four months. And I've provided statistical resources that show trends in the Japanese economy and spending.

So I can say with a high degree of confidence that 1. Japanese people expect quality services when spending their money on "extras" such as entertainment and travel and 2. they generally have less spending power for such things in comparison to Americans.

If you have resources that back up your opinions feel free to share

What you need to be looking at is not spending power of Japanese citizens or US residents as a whole though, but rather those who visit WDW. This subset is likely quite different than the mean or median spending power per person for residents of either entire country. I do agree that quality is likely more important in Japanese culture overall though. Looking back at the original comment though, not sure how Japanese visitors were brought up; I heard much more French than Japanese on my last WDW visit.

 

[fla4fun]

It’s not an attack on any one person to say Disney won’t miss you. We are all replaceable. All of us. The thing is, as painful as it is to contemplate, we repeat guests won’t be missed by Disney if we stop going because there will always be a first time family there to take our place. Always. A first time guest who doesn’t know how things used to be and believes when they come up against crowds that “that is just the way it is at WDW”. A first time family willing to spend money on all the extras that we may have tried and no longer feel are a good value. Disney is such a huge company that one or two, or even 100, families saying they won’t go back, and actually following through, means nothing to them. Disney doesn’t care if someone sells their DVC, or stops buying an AP, or if we just quit going altogether. In fact, the more we complain, the happier they may be when we go for good. A small business would be more likely to listen and consider changes because they can’t afford to alienate their customer base. At this time, Disney is big enough and popular enough that they don’t need to worry about it, so long as what they do is legal.

Disney used to be more restrictive in allowing people to travel to the resorts. I know this because I have experienced it myself. I remember having to show my resort ID when boarding transportation that connected to the resorts. Obviously Disney has decided to be less restrictive than they used to be, even taking into account the restrictions on parking if you are not a resort guest. There are plenty of amenities deluxe resort guests receive that day guests cannot access, and those are what you pay for when booking there. Having dining and shopping open to all makes Disney a lot of money. I doubt they want to give that up.

Does the fact that I am replaceable mean I won’t ever take Disney to task for things I don’t agree with? Of course not. Some things, like paying for perks that were once included (LL I’m looking at you) I simply won’t partake in. Other things, I will choose my battles. I am more likely to speak up if something is a health or safety issue than an issue of inconvenience. In the case of this thread, if Disney was allowing more people in the GF lobby than the fire codes permit, then I would definitely speak up. If the crowd is simply causing me to have to wait for a second monorail, then I won’t. I can’t tell looking at a crowd who is a resort guest and who isn’t, and I can’t tell which resort guests paid more for their accommodation regardless of where they are staying. It could very well be that someone staying at the Poly and coming to the GF for dinner is paying as much or more for their room than the average GF guest.

I feel bad for everyone that the GF lobby is congested this year. Maybe Thanksgiving being late this year contributed to the problem. I hope a solution can be found that works for everyone, resort guest and day guest alike.

 

[CastAStone]

Is this a case of, "if you don't see a problem with the loitering, you are the one doing it"?

lol. I have stayed at GCH and experienced a lobby crowded to the point of annoyance, but I have no idea who the people were in there, and in any case, it was Chinese new year, and Disney was advertising things in the lobby to come see. So like of course people came.

I would say my annoyance was similar to how I am also annoyed in fantasyland - it’s too damn crowded but I don’t blame the crowds for that - as you point out, I am the crowds!

 

[nuhusky123]

It’s not an attack on any one person to say Disney won’t miss you. We are all replaceable. All of us. The thing is, as painful as it is to contemplate, we repeat guests won’t be missed by Disney if we stop going because there will always be a first time family there to take our place. Always. A first time guest who doesn’t know how things used to be and believes when they come up against crowds that “that is just the way it is at WDW”. A first time family willing to spend money on all the extras that we may have tried and no longer feel are a good value. Disney is such a huge company that one or two, or even 100, families saying they won’t go back, and actually following through, means nothing to them. Disney doesn’t care if someone sells their DVC, or stops buying an AP, or if we just quit going altogether. In fact, the more we complain, the happier they may be when we go for good. A small business would be more likely to listen and consider changes because they can’t afford to alienate their customer base. At this time, Disney is big enough and popular enough that they don’t need to worry about it, so long as what they do is legal.

Disney used to be more restrictive in allowing people to travel to the resorts. I know this because I have experienced it myself. I remember having to show my resort ID when boarding transportation that connected to the resorts. Obviously Disney has decided to be less restrictive than they used to be, even taking into account the restrictions on parking if you are not a resort guest. There are plenty of amenities deluxe resort guests receive that day guests cannot access, and those are what you pay for when booking there. Having dining and shopping open to all makes Disney a lot of money. I doubt they want to give that up.

Does the fact that I am replaceable mean I won’t ever take Disney to task for things I don’t agree with? Of course not. Some things, like paying for perks that were once included (LL I’m looking at you) I simply won’t partake in. Other things, I will choose my battles. I am more likely to speak up if something is a health or safety issue than an issue of inconvenience. In the case of this thread, if Disney was allowing more people in the GF lobby than the fire codes permit, then I would definitely speak up. If the crowd is simply causing me to have to wait for a second monorail, then I won’t. I can’t tell looking at a crowd who is a resort guest and who isn’t, and I can’t tell which resort guests paid more for their accommodation regardless of where they are staying. It could very well be that someone staying at the Poly and coming to the GF for dinner is paying as much or more for their room than the average GF guest.

I feel bad for everyone that the GF lobby is congested this year. Maybe Thanksgiving being late this year contributed to the problem. I hope a solution can be found that works for everyone, resort guest and day guest alike.

Not the what but the how it was said on multiple posts

Lots of people disagreed with me and most were very civil. But the person who kept saying you won’t be missed struck a nerve with emoji use and how

My perception of those particular posts was not one of civility in a debate

 

[AstroBlasters]

I think we have that with Poly Tower 2BR Penthouse

I would have booked it if my wife didn’t REALLY want to stay at GF for our upcoming trip. The views from that room are going to be incredible.

 

[Disneylover99]

I think people are mentioning GF and the deluxe level pricing in particular because that is the resort where the problem is happening. It’s not that Grand Flo is some special resort that must be protected at all costs.

I was responding to a poster who said the Grand Floridian is the flagship resort of Disney World, designed to set the standard for luxury and guest experience. So, according to them, it seems that the GF is on a pedestal above all others.

 

[tjkraz]

Grand Floridian lobby tonight at 6:15pm

 

[eandt]

Imagine thinking this a class issue when all people want to do is have access to the resorts amenities they paid a premium for.

Imagine

 

[Sandisw]

Define public. Do you mean public as in open to other guests staying somewhere at wdw or public as in literally anyone in the world can go into any wdw resort whenever the mood strikes. Just curious if you feel there are any access boundaries

The boundaries are what Disney defines them to be. So, in this context, yes, anyone can visit because that’s what is being sold to guests, staying on site or off. Access to all resorts for shopping and dining.

Right now, Disney doesn’t care to limit which guests visit their properties. And it is a big selling points for many guests.

For me personally, I am a fan of how Disney has it set. There are many resorts out there that give guests access to sister resorts.

I mentored before, if I was asked if WDW should limit access to resorts then my answer is no.

 

[Sandisw]

Interesting perspective right?

I totally get the perspective of wanting to go to resorts to enjoy the offerings even when not a guest. I’d even support that view if Disney didn’t do such a bad job with well anything. It in this case making sure paid guests and not after thoughts.

But that seems to be the Disney mo. Ignore the loyalist, ignore dvc and take and take until they realize they perhaps took too much

So the question in my mind comes down to who to punish more

Punish the paid guest or the non paid

Except you didn’t pay for exclusive access to the lobby, shops, or dining locations, because It has never been an exclusive space.

Now, you can certainly want to see WDW change the policy…but to say you paid extra for use of the lobby or other spaces because you are a resort guest?

That simply is not accurate because WDW never sold it to you that way when you bought into the resort.

 

[matt and beth]

I feel the same staying at the Polynesian anytime. I love it and bought there because I love it so much. But recently we have found ourselves booking elsewhere because of the chaos. The lobby is always insane and we can’t even watch fireworks from the beach because of all the people. I’m not paying all those points to stay there for chaos. That is why we bought DVC to stay deluxe and avoid the chaos of the values. So I get that it’s unavoidable so decided AKL is more my speed. Just wish I would have figured it out before we bought there

We love Poly and the vibe. But… the people crashing the resort quick serve, pool, and beach, from TTC, was pretty insane when we visited. It just took a few kind naive souls holding the gate open for the flood the proceed.

 

[jbreen2010]

The gingerbread house is in the main hotel lobby...not the DVC lobby, correct?
I'm confused why we might think that DVC should get some exclusive access to the main hotel lobby.

Now - as a per - could a "Welcome Home" reception once a week in December with a cocktail and private space next to the gingerbread house be nice for members - ABSOLUTELY. (One can dream...maybe this could be added if they have more exclusive tiers for the new program....probably the $799/year level...lol.)

 

[AstroBlasters]

The gingerbread house is in the main hotel lobby...not the DVC lobby, correct?
I'm confused why we might think that DVC should get some exclusive access to the main hotel lobby.

Now - as a per - could a "Welcome Home" reception once a week in December with a cocktail and private space next to the gingerbread house be nice for members - ABSOLUTELY. (One can dream...maybe this could be added if they have more exclusive tiers for the new program....probably the $799/year level...lol.)

Go look at the pictures for the monorail line in the Grand Floridian owners thread.

 

[tjkraz]

Go look at the pictures for the monorail line in the Grand Floridian owners thread.

The pictures from a MVMCP night during Thanksgiving weekend?

Tonight was also a MVMCP. From a friend visiting GF tonight, I was told the line stretched to the elevators around 5pm, but there was no wait to board by 6:30pm. To me, this sounds more and more like peaking demand from resort guests headed to the Christmas party rather than tree gawkers. Especially since Poly guests can fill the monorail first. If only a handful of people get off at GF, only a handful more can board. That’s how lines form.

 

[Chuck S]

The pictures from a MVMCP night during Thanksgiving weekend?

Tonight was also a MVMCP. From a friend visiting GF tonight, I was told the line stretched to the elevators around 5pm, but there was no wait to board by 6:30pm. To me, this sounds more and more like peaking demand from resort guests headed to the Christmas party rather than tree gawkers. Especially since Poly guests can fill the monorail first. If only a handful of people get off at GF, only a handful more can board. That’s how lines form.

That makes sense, especially with the current price of park passes. Many people may be using the Christmas Party as their only park entry for the day, rather than as I've done as an AP holder, spending the day in the MK and getting their wristbands inside the park.

 

[AstroBlasters]

The pictures from a MVMCP night during Thanksgiving weekend?

Tonight was also a MVMCP. From a friend visiting GF tonight, I was told the line stretched to the elevators around 5pm, but there was no wait to board by 6:30pm. To me, this sounds more and more like peaking demand from resort guests headed to the Christmas party rather than tree gawkers. Especially since Poly guests can fill the monorail first. If only a handful of people get off at GF, only a handful more can board. That’s how lines form.

Is that normal for all of the hard ticket events?