Send email to wdw guest solutions bring back FP for onsite guests

[Smugpugmug]

I think people need to realize that the days of a free skip the line service are over. I'm not saying that because I enjoy paying for something that used to be free. Trust me, I don't. But free Fastpass is not coming back. The money Disney makes from the ILLs alone cements this.

At the end of the day, Disney is all about the money. That's their main concern.

 

[WEDWDW]

;With all the discussion about DAS abuse vs. Genie plus, how about writing to disney to bring back FPs for onsite guests. There is zero incentive to stay onsite at this point. The extra magic hours they offer stink. Genie plus is a failure. If enough people write they may take action. Just an idea.

As others have mentioned,The Disney Bubble is THE incentive and why we will ALWAYS stay in a Disney Resort.

To us,staying in a Disney Resort is part of the experience on the same level as the Parks.

Hopefully the Disney Resorts benefits pendulum will one day start swinging back toward the Guests.

We've come a long way from THREE HOUR EVENING EXTRA MAGIC HOURS-miss those days!!!!

 

[reddog21]

As others have mentioned,The Disney Bubble is THE incentive and why we will ALWAYS stay in a Disney Resort.

To us,staying in a Disney Resort is part of the experience on the same level as the Parks.

Hopefully the Disney Resorts benefits pendulum will one day start swinging back toward the Guests.

We've come a long way from THREE HOUR EVENING EXTRA MAGIC HOURS-miss those days!!!!

e-ride nights for like $10 per ticket.....the memories!!!

 

[WEDWDW]

e-ride nights for like $10 per ticket.....the memories!!!

Had forgotten all about E-Ride Nights!

Memories indeed!

 

[Elle23]

I think people need to realize that the days of a free skip the line service are over.

It’s not about cost to me. If Disney offered Fastpass+ for a fee, I would buy it. I refuse to buy Genie+ because it is awful.

 

[dez1978]

I once thought the same thing, that staying onsite wasn't worth it. My sister in law and I planned a kid free trip, highly recommend btw. We figured with no kids, we could stay offsite. Stayed at the Hilton in DS (the one with the lazy river) using points. I thought oh it can't be that bad and it would be "free". We could use their shuttle in the morning, and take the bus to SSR and walk back to the hotel. No biggie, just 2 adults, right? Never again lol. I didn't want to deal with renting a car, paying for parking etc. A car might have made it easier, but I don't want to mess with driving in that mess.

I do admit to wishing the luggage service and ME would come back. I do miss that. But other than the cost, I don't have much problem w/ Genie +. Even during Spring break, we still managed to ride all the rides, and it wasn't that big of a deal honestly. No worse that FP+ other than the cost.

 

[georgina]

I'm offsite for at least half of my trips, so nope, not lobbying for more onsite benefits here! Sometime I have a car, sometimes use Uber or Lyft, it's much less expensive and I have never really cared about the whole Disney bubble thing. I do usually stay onsite at Universal though, much more worth it.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

As others have mentioned,The Disney Bubble is THE incentive and why we will ALWAYS stay in a Disney Resort.

To us,staying in a Disney Resort is part of the experience on the same level as the Parks.

Hopefully the Disney Resorts benefits pendulum will one day start swinging back toward the Guests.

We've come a long way from THREE HOUR EVENING EXTRA MAGIC HOURS-miss those days!!!

I disagree. The disney bubble is losing its magic. two plus hour lines. Deluxe resorts are over 500/night. Where is the value? Universal, for the same price for deluxe hotel rooms gives free unlimited express passes to their guests. My kids are more excited for Universal, especially with the anticipation of Nintendo land soon. We still use our dvc resorts, but spend zero time and money at disney. We also purchase that night or two at universal for the free express pass. Much worth it. Disney has lost my money- and we spent alot there.

 

[WEDWDW]

I disagree. The disney bubble is losing its magic. two plus hour lines. Deluxe resorts are over 500/night. Where is the value? Universal, for the same price for deluxe hotel rooms gives free unlimited express passes to their guests. My kids are more excited for Universal, especially with the anticipation of Nintendo land soon. We still use our dvc resorts, but spend zero time and money at disney. We also purchase that night or two at universal for the free express pass. Much worth it. Disney has lost my money- and we spent alot there.

For us the definition of The Disney Bubble is being On-Property 24/7.

It means being immersed in "Disney" the entire vacation.

Anything "extra" we get from staying On-property is just a "bonus".

We love never seeing the inside of a car from the time we arrive at our home airport until the time we arrive back at our home airport.

We usually stay at Pop Century or the All-Stars because we love the over-the top Disney theming.

We love the freedom of hopping on a bus or the Skyliner and returning to our Resort to recharge for a couple of hours before heading back out.

We love the Resort Channels on the TV.

We love the huge Food Courts.

We love the huge Arcades.

We love the Resorts' Soundtracks.

We love the Gift Shops and talking to all of the CMs around the Resorts,especially the College Program CMs.

What offsite Resorts have Pools shaped like a Piano,a Guitar,a Bowling Pin?

What offsite Resorts have Disney Movies by the Pool and nightly campfires?

It would not be a trip to Disney World without being in The Disney Bubble.

It just all boils down to personal preference.

To quote the great Sly and the Family Stone:

And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee

 

[Genie+]

Convenience and consistency is what keeps us onsite. The experience for the money is the biggest driver for us.

When I compare outside options in each price bracket, nothing is a better value than what we can find onsite. Of course this depends on trip style - what you like to do and how you like to do it. Something like 4 Seasons is surely enticing but it’s not checking all the WDW boxes for us. We love popping beck in our room midday, having super convenient park access, and not having to think of logistics when our party splits up. Add in the theming and atmosphere and WDW resorts are like an extended playground outside the parks.

Room cost onsite is probably the one component I’ve never felt ‘gauged’ on. Part of that is we only book when we find a reasonable deal (like offers and DVC options), but always able to do so.

 

[paults]

If we didn't own DVC, we wouldn't even go to Disney anymore. To much money grabbing.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

I would not send an email to bring back free FP+ because truthfully that is unrealistic. I would send one to have G+ replaced with a paid FP+, because G+ is much more stressful and sleep invading then FP+. Plus, my DW and DDs all noticed that once G+ came out that I spend a lot more time on my cell at the parks and it was all because of G+.

We have been lucky and been able to do a lot of trips (around 50) to WDW. We always drive there so we have a vehicle so we always have transportation if needed. All but 3 trips we have stayed onsite and the 3 times we stayed offsite, it was different but we have totally enjoyed it. I know about 4 offsite hotel/resorts that I would have the same confidence in as I would staying at a WDW resort, and has just as good and even better theme and atmosphere then a lot of the deluxe resorts. Plus, it's not like every trip our room was great at WDW either, we have had a few rooms that were really bad. With that said, my family still would rather be in the bubble, especially now that our DDs are old enough to jump on WDW transportation (which we trust) and go to the parks by themselves and we would meet them there, this is a BIG plus for onsite. Also, I would prefer not to drive while on vacation if I do not have too and that's a big plus for me. LOL I will add that we rarely stay at a deluxe anymore because, for us, the value is not there anymore. Over the 20 years I realized that location is so over valued and definitely not worth the big $$ difference. The last few trips we have stayed at POP with the skyliner and it has not taken anything away from our trips and that we have just as much fun staying there as we did anywhere else, including a deluxe, and we save a lot of $$.

 

[gottalovepluto]

If we didn't own DVC, we wouldn't even go to Disney anymore. To much money grabbing.

So why don’t you sell? I haven’t done like any timeshare research but I was (for some reason idk now lol) under the impression Disney timeshares held their value better than other timeshares?

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I would not send an email to bring back free FP+ because truthfully that is unrealistic. I would send one to have G+ replaced with a paid FP+, because G+ is much more stressful and sleep invading then FP+. Plus, my DW and DDs all noticed that once G+ came out that I spend a lot more time on my cell at the parks and it was all because of G+.

We have been lucky and been able to do a lot of trips (around 50) to WDW. We always drive there so we have a vehicle so we always have transportation if needed. All but 3 trips we have stayed onsite and the 3 times we stayed offsite, it was different but we have totally enjoyed it. I know about 4 offsite hotel/resorts that I would have the same confidence in as I would staying at a WDW resort, and has just as good and even better theme and atmosphere then a lot of the deluxe resorts. Plus, it's not like every trip our room was great at WDW either, we have had a few rooms that were really bad. With that said, my family still would rather be in the bubble, especially now that our DDs are old enough to jump on WDW transportation (which we trust) and go to the parks by themselves and we would meet them there, this is a BIG plus for onsite. Also, I would prefer not to drive while on vacation if I do not have too and that's a big plus for me. LOL I will add that we rarely stay at a deluxe anymore because, for us, the value is not there anymore. Over the 20 years I realized that location is so over valued and definitely not worth the big $$ difference. The last few trips we have stayed at POP with the skyliner and it has not taken anything away from our trips and that we have just as much fun staying there as we did anywhere else, including a deluxe, and we save a lot of $$.

Actually it is realistic to request limited amounts of complimentary fp for on site guests. You yourself just said the value is no longer there to stay in the deluxe resorts - which I completely agree. If you are able to travel at less busy times of year, it is probably a bit more manageable. However, we must travel in the summer. The parks are miserable now, unless you purchase genie plus, which when i purchased it, was only able to get two rides that were not my top choices. So i refuse to buy it now. As i said our dvc resort is now our base but we eat in celebration and visit universal. I do think it is unrealistic to have unlimited FP's for onsite guests as Universal has; however, limited complimentary FP's for onsite guests are not unreasonable. We have been going since the mid 70's and have seen many changes. In the 90's I remember waiting in long lines (no FP's then). When we went in the early 2000's when my kids were small, we stayed offsite, and on our first ride, watched as people walked past in the FP lane, we initially thought they must be the onsite guests and it was a perk of staying onsite - in which case we would have booked next trip to stay onsite. Once we learned that was for All guests we were ecstatic and quickly learned how to use FP. We purchased into DVC shortly after. If lines were miserably long all the time, we never would have purchased DVC. There is currently zero incentive to stay onsite vs. off, including staying at epcot resorts or MK resorts - because the parks are miserable, unless you are planning a resort only stay. We must travel in the summer when it is one of the busiest times of the year and the hottest. Standby lines are usually around 1 to 2 hours.

 

[AttheParks]

I love staying onsite and not having to rent or use a car. I miss luggage transfer and magical express the most. I actually have great success with and like Genie+. I hope it doesn't change. So much better than FP limits or having to be locked into times way in advance. Oh - and the days of having to criss cross the park to get FP tickets from the machines before they were all gone for the day.

 

[Minnie1222]

The parks are miserable now, unless ypu purchase genie plus, which when i purchased it, was only able to get two rides that were not my top choices. So i refuse to buy it now.

Did you purchase Genie+ when it used to be $15 flat rate? It was more difficult to get rides back then due to the high number of buyers. Ride selections are much easier now with the increased Genie+ cost.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Did you purchase Genie+ when it used to be $15 flat rate? It was more difficult to get rides back then due to the high number of buyers. Ride selections are much easier now with the increased Genie+ cost.

No, I purchased last summer. We can only go in the summer. I got two non-preferred rides with G+. Tried multiple days with the same results. At close to 30. per person per day - it was Not worth it. No more - will spend our money elsewhere. I have purchased a room at Lowes Universal as a throw away night for the free unlimited express for two days there. We are using DVC as our base and going out from there.

 

[Lisann]

Here are my thoughts on the whole Fastpass vs Genie.

I hate the whole idea of Genie anything.

Here’s why.

When Fastpass was offered (for free, and rightfully so), I could pick out my three must-do attractions for the day. Then, I could breathe and be stress-free for the rest of the day, fitting in a few more attractions here and there, mostly with no rushing around. And this was even when the parks were quite crowded. It was great.

Genie+ doesn’t work like that and it cost a small fortune for everyone in your party.

I know I’m gonna hear from some of you here that “it’s a business” and Disney has to make money, but let me tell you why it sucks.

It’s like asking your friends over for dinner and when you all sit down at the table, you are given your entrée. However, those of you that have paid the host extra, get to receive utensils with which to eat your meal. The rest of the guests can certainly enjoy their dinner and have their entrée, however, they have to use their hands.

What’s the problem? It’s the same meal, right? Both guests can still have dinner, right?

It’s just quite rude on Disney’s part. We are all guests inside the theme park, and should be treated as such. Fastpass worked, and it was fair for everyone.

 

[maxiesmom]

Fastpass only worked if you didn't mind walking all over the park, hoping to get one for the ride you wanted. And it worked best if you were at the parks at open. There was too much walking to a ride, only to have it out of fastpasses for that day. It wasn't a great system either.

I'm guessing the whole evening hours being only for deluxe resort guests is to get people to pay that $500 and up a night to stay at the deluxe resorts. They are adding value to that deluxe resort.

 

[Lisann]

Fastpass only worked if you didn't mind walking all over the park, hoping to get one for the ride you wanted. And it worked best if you were at the parks at open. There was too much walking to a ride, only to have it out of fastpasses for that day. It wasn't a great system either.

I'm guessing the whole evening hours being only for deluxe resort guests is to get people to pay that $500 and up a night to stay at the deluxe resorts. They are adding value to that deluxe resort.

I think I meant Fastpass+...so there was no walking all over the place.

And as far as the resorts, my argument wasn't about them because those are tiered to begin with. In other words, WDW doesn't have a "value" theme park, a "moderate" theme park, a "deluxe" theme park, so my argument is not with the resorts...only Fastpass+ ... which in my opinion worked great. My days, again, no matter how crowded, had much less stress and planning and looking at the phone, etc.

I'm just not a fan of Genie+. To each his own.