Jeff in BigD
Oldschool DISer
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
True, but that doesn't mean we can't better explain the reasoning behind our opinions, no?Originally posted by Pinnie
I guess you and I are just going to have to agree to disagree.
But again DL stays open much later & MK is the flagship park, so shouldn't there be a little parity among the two, especially with WDW having a higher percentage of visitors that aren't local? I'd feel the same way if the park consitently opened to the public at 9am & had an EE at 7am, then changed it to where the new opening times are 11am & started EE at 9am.I don't feel "Screwed" paying extra for e-ticket night. IF the hours were in writing somewhere, then I could say I agree with you. But as the disclaimer usually says, "Hours subject to change without notice". I also don't think it is "punishment" as much as it is "rewarding" the guests staying onsite. It is all in the perception.
Because most guests view AK as a half-day park (much like MGM) & wouldn't want to really spend a full day there. Believe me if there was a way to convince guests to pay extra for staying longer at that park, they'd do it in a heartbeat, but the truth is they can't. Epcot is the only other park it might work at, but with as much walking needed as it does people are usually exhausted anyway. I do feel that the parks should run on a later schedule & wouldn't mind it a bit if it opened at, say 11am & didn't close until 11pm or 12am.As to AK, I understand that the park's open/close cycle is dependant upon animals. But, FL is on Daylight Savings Time, and during the summer the sun is out a LOT longer ....following that out, why isn't DAK open later in the evening when it's a bit cooler, because we all know that park is a sauna in the summer? Zoos up here do have longer hours in the summer. Just musing.....
True, but for most guests the trip is either a one time thing or the trips are few & far between. I think if you polled most repeat guests (barring locals & the freaks like us ) you'd find that most of them only come once every 2-5 years. While it might not be a big deal to you, it might be to them.I am an AP holder, and try and come down 2 - 4 times a yr. so it really doesn't matter all that much if WS opens later than FW.
I went in '99 & the monorail was only going one way (because of construction for DCA) & then I went in April 2001. Most of the rides were operational & if they were down, they weren't down for long. You do make a good point about the transportation, though wouldn't cutting down from a bus for each hotel to consolidating the bus to stop at all of the hotels make sense? We usually stay at the Disney Village, so we do share a bus with 8 or so other hotels. It seems sensable & I've never seen a completely empty bus. Perhaps I'm wrong & a DL guru can help me on this, but I believe that for a period of time they did offer e-nights & I know for a fact that they offer EE, even though they don't really need to.As to DL, I was there last year and was disappointed how many attractions were down for rehab. The monorail was only operating one way, Matterhorn was down and don't even get me started on DCA!!! Only thing there that was worthwhile was Soaring. But it got me to thinking about *maybe* why they can extend their hours longer than WDW. They save a ton of money on transportation costs. They don't have to shuttle guests back and forth to resorts, and since they don't have the number of onsite resort guests, e-ticket nights are moot.
Yes, but we've come to expect more from Disney. If the shady guy down the street or even your grocer that you've been going to for years pulls a fast one on you, you just shake your head & either accept it or move on. If your uncle does it (& continually does it), you can't help but feel a deep sense of disappointment & sorrow.I guess I would be more upset if Disney was the ONLY company that is cutting some things that we, as long time guests, are used too, but they are not. I fly down and no longer get in-flight meals (Ok I know...airline food sucks) but it's not offered any more (nor can I even BUY a sandwich on board) and my ticket prices have risen ( that's the perk of living in a city that is a hub to a major airline).
I realize where you're coming from, but I can't make myself believe that it's "this or nothing". I've never really been one to "settle" for things (maybe that's why I'm still single ), especially when someone changes the deal or expectations just because of money. Yes, it is important, but if that's the sole factor driving the company these days, then Walt's dream truly is dead.Will any of these things keep me away? Nope. I know the bottom line is Disney is a business and needs to answer to the stockholders first, as much as I'd like to believe otherwise. If I don't like something, I will complain and hope that someone is listening. But I will choose my battles and if means closing a park a few hours early as opposed to closing a park altogether, then I know where my energy will go.
People buy Hondas because they last, they've come to expect quality & are willing to pay for it. Honda could lower the quality, while still charging what they had before. If they do though, they better let the folks know what they're getting themselves into & slap a Kia emblem over the H. They also shouldn't whine (or fire some random scapegoat) when people call them out for having a lesser quality product & sales drop. You can only ride on a repuation for so long & while it takes years to build a name, it only takes moments to destroy it. I just don't want the name Disney to be interchangable with the likes of Six Flags, etc.
Yes, but we can't ask why it was ok then to stay open that late & now they have to close at 6pm?Originally posted by DisneyKidds
So how, and when did that change - and did it change completely? Now remember, we aren't talking the 80's and a 1 am close as a reference point. That was a decade gone by and we can't live in the past.
Yes, I do (pardon the pun) remember the magic.Lets wander down 90's memory lane. It is the Early 90's. The MK is open until midnight in the summer - EVERY NIGHT!!! (caps and exclamation thrown in for Baron - he likes those things ). What larry described above is the way to go. You still have that wonderful latenight (granted, not 1 am) when you finished watching the fireworks, or even the late parade, and then rode Splash Mountain three times in a row - WALK ON!!! Barons pixie dust filled the air.
Yes, I wouldn't complain about an hour. I do think that it was a little uncool that even people who were on property (ie Disney Village) weren't able to to have the e-night as an option if the hotel didn't have Disney® as part of the name. We wanted to stay somewhere nice, so we'd stay at the Buena Vista Palace. It wasn't the sky high cost of a decent room at a premier Disney® hotel, but was certainly a lot nicer than the budget Disney® hotels. What killed me is that the staff at the hotel were cast members (mickey name tag & all) & you could buy tickets to the park in the lobby, but we weren't eligable for EE or E-nights. From what I understand this is the case with most DV hotels. I could see how a lot of people would get upset & find this to be pretty disingenous.FAst forward to the late 90's and the advent of E-night in response to.........whatever. Now the park closes at 11 . However, a new option - for $10 you can stay in the park for another three hours. Most of your favorite rides are open and there is NOBODY!!! there. BTW - there were still two, count em two, parades and the fireworks. If you saw the early parade and then the fireworks you could still work your way over to your mountain of choice and ride it with no line. If you weren't staying for E-night there was still plenty of pixie dust - just an hour less to enjoy it. However, if all you could see fit to do was stand at the gate with your arms folded and say 'I want my hour back' you might not have known it. So, no..........
That aside I think 11 is a decent hour (though you might be wondering what happened to midnight), with no great variance in the open hours & not something to gripe that much about.
Actually it wasn't "free".....at this point there is no flaw in my premise. You lost an hour (from 12 to 11) but got back three completely free and empty hour - just as empty, if not more so, that the 11:00 to midnight hour in the Pre E days. So it was 1/8 of the park - big deal.
I agree that the idea was filled with good intentions, but so's the road to hell.Riding rides until 2 am WAS DIFFERENT - and Magical. Riding your fave mountain again and again with no line WAS DIFFERENT - when you did it for THREE HOURS, as opposed to the one hour from 11 to 12 when you could have done it in the past. THAT was the case with E-night when it first began.
Yup, it's a great big reality-slap in the faceThat is where my E-night good time premise stops. Fast forward another year + and it is down to a 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 closing and you are truely only buying back something you had peviously and should have had for the price of regular admission.
LOL. Actually in my ripe old age of 26, I'm finding myself more & more in the good old days syndrome camp & I'm certainly not an Eisner (or Damien as we like to call him ) apologist - I hope you guys already knew that.Originally posted by DVC-Landbaron
Anyone in particular you had in mind, Jeff?
Since the quantity versus quality mindset infested the company.Originally posted by manning
Since when do you have to pay for a perk????????
Well, Barnum did always find new ways to surprise & shock the audience. Eisner does this too, but not in good ways. Just when you think you've seen it all & your opinion of him couldn't get any lower...*zing!*Hey Landbaron, do you think Eisner is related to P.T. Barnum. He's pretty good at finding suckers.