Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

[CAspace]

Let's be frank and honest: It may be a good idea to stop selling annual passes. Jim Hill writer and former imagineer Mark Eades might be right. Is it really in Disney's best interest to have so many regulars at the park each and every day? Beyond what we as individuals think what about for the collective general public, does our constant presence contribute to the park in a positive way other than financially?

P.S I really wanted to call this thread "Should Disney: Stop Selling Annual Passes" There is no way as far as I can tell to change the header of the thread.

[cellarhound]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

:whistling

(Waiting for Sediment to arrive...)

[2DieFR]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Uh oh, another AP-bashing thread...

Watch out CA for the angry :mob:!

That being said, I think it's a little unfair to say that AP's ruin the park experience. Bad apples will turn up, be it AP's, tourists or otherwise included. There are those who 'abuse' the annual pass and thus the park too, but most just love the park and bought the pass so they could enjoy the magic that much more.

[MickeyMania]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Not a terrible idea for a thread, but the fact that you didn't say anything other than to go read Jim Hill makes it a poorly executed one that may end up in the Community Outpost instead of being kept here.

Perhaps you should expand on that? Quick?

[CAspace]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Post edited. I figured since the last thread I started has hit 10,000 views perhaps it was time to start a new one. If we dig real deep we may find some truth to last years Jim Hill media article regarding stopping the AP program.
Don't get me wrong, from the selfish standpoint I would never want to see the program end but in looking at the picture from a different angle, it may be a good idea. Not for us as individuals but for the benefit of the general public as a whole, then again perhaps Ap's are like the cheerleaders at a sports game, perhaps we really do add to the magic.

[2DieFR]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

He had something else written at first but he edited it... Hmmmm.

[cellarhound]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

I have been reading articles on Netflix and "Throttling."

The AP is an amazing entertianment value, but some of us do wonder if unlimited, really should mean unlimited...

I personally think that the AP's are too good a value... So Cal Residents should not be allowed to purchase one for 20-someodd bucks more than the price of a day's park hopper... That is a little insane, even with the blackout limits to it...

[Disney50]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Well, I wouldn't stop selling ALL of the AP's but the premium one can leave. IMO it's not a much better value than the Deluxe. I mean really, can anyone go to DLR everyday? And parking included, well okay, if I'm 6 years old I'm going to drive there and get my parking for free! And it seems that SOME people with premium seem to be the people that think that they can get anything they want, because they payed over $300.

EDIT: If Disney stops selling AP's where DCA will lose a lot of money because unfortunately most of the guests are AP's, or guests will park-hopper tickets.

[fantasmicrazy]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Let's be frank and honest

I don't know about honest, but i know i am Frank. LOL Annual passholders are the people that bring in the most money besides tourists!

[gibbage]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Well if you think about it, getting rid of the cheap AP's will only clear up the "crowds" during the week days during off season. Honestly, there are no crowds on the week days during the off season!!!

Also, most AP's cant go on Saturdays, and thats the most busy time of the week. So what do you propose to do to clear up crowded Saturdays? Kick out the tourist's?

Think about it. AP's are there to make Disney money and to put people in the park during off season and low traffic days. Thats why most AP's have the busy days blocked off. This is not contributing too over-crowding as much as people wish it was. Not many people can afford the $350 AP, and if they could and it was not an option, they would be at Disneyland anyways since they have the money!

[Saddlesore Swanson]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

I figured since the last thread I started has hit 10,000 views perhaps it was time to start a new one.

I don't know why, but I laughed really hard when I read that line.

----
Dear Disney,

Don't stop selling Annual Passes. At least don't stop selling Deluxe and Premiums. The others can go.

Keep it real,
A. Stings

[MickeyMania]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

No, the Premium and Deluxe are the ones that the need to leave behind, and their prices perhaps should go up a little bit more. Do you know what an AP costs at WDW? Almost $500.

Furthermore, the people who buy these Premium and Deluxe APs are not all locals. Many of them are from out of town, some further away than others. Even if they aren't from far away, that they're willing to spend so much on adission typically makes them a Disney afficionado who makes the company a lot of money. Take any number of MiceChatters here, or a guy (for instance) like CircaRama who buys Subs figures and Walt's Apartment tours. You don't want to cheese them off and away from Disneyana by taking away their big ticket. If you take away Deluxe/Premium, they will come less often, and the company will lose income from the customers who spend some of the most per-person.

What needs to go is SoCal and SoCal select. These people are all locals who come in and use the park like a mall, that hang out and take up space and are typically not as dedicated to Disney (the ones who are would most likely buy the more expensive APs if SoCal was cancelled.) Because they're here simply because they smelled a good deal, they also typically do not pay the inflated prices for park food, probably don't do as much shopping per visit as tourists do.

At least a dedicated Disney-head with the Deluxe AP may sometimes buy a lunch at the Blue Bayou, but the discount-savers will hesitate to even buy a Mickey Mouse bar. Meanwhile, they take up space in ride capacity and cramped walkways just like anybody else does. They also know how to use FastPass to the point of near-abuse, and getting rid of this tier will mean less of that garbage.

[Hyperbole]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

All I know is that Disney certainly isn't hurting for money. Despite what many people will say, AP's couldn't be hurting the company's bottom line that much.

[Circarama]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

I figured since the last thread I started has hit 10,000 views perhaps it was time to start a new one...

Yeah, I'm suprised you haven't broken that spoon you use for "stirring the pot".:botox:

[gibbage]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

What needs to go is SoCal and SoCal select. These people are all locals who come in and use the park like a mall, that hang out and take up space and are typically not as dedicated to Disney (the ones who are would most likely buy the more expensive APs if SoCal was cancelled.) Because they're here simply because they smelled a good deal, they also typically do not pay the inflated prices for park food, probably don't do as much shopping per visit as tourists do.

Like I said above, that would only clear up the week days, and both are blocked off anything near a holiday!!! That will not accomplish anything other then making DL a ghost town on the weekdays. That may seem appealing, but its not attractive to a paying tourist since there is no buzz or synergy. Only AP's like an empty park, and getting rid of AP's to get an empty park is pointless.

[MickeyMania]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Well if you think about it, getting rid of the cheap AP's will only clear up the "crowds" during the week days during off season. Honestly, there are no crowds on the week days during the off season!!!

I've heard conflicting evidence on this. First from people who for years have been saying that there is no off-peak season anymore because the AP program. That Pressler planned it this way because he wanted to turn Disneyland into The World's Largest Disney Store and a great way to do that was to capitalize on the surrounding metro area and lowball the park to people who can regularly come by and do some shopping. Unfortunately, they STILL have not righted the ship from this lousy strategy.

Furthermore, more sources say that the 50th celebration is so successful that there's more people than ever on any particular day, both tourists and locals. So if things are getting that bad, why not kill off these locals passes and un-congest the park a bit?

The SoCalers won't like it, I know. The park is a big tradition of the LA valley that stretches on and on, and the past few years residents have been going a lot more often than they used to. Now that everyone has had their "taste" of the park, it's time to pull the rug out from under this experiment and seperate the wheat (the AP that spends a lot of money) from the chaff (the thrifty APer who takes up space while never dropping a dime, and is generally a bad investment.)

The evidence is out there! Compare the number of APs in 2003 to 1993!

[cellarhound]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

Well, I am also for temporarly boosting prices during peek season, particularly the holidays... In other words, absolute black outs - you gotta buy a regular ticket... Also temporarly spiking ticket prices to meet demand... DL shouldn't be the same price on Christmas Eve as it is on any given Wednesday in April.

[Druggas]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

I think that the minimum AP should cost $250. That would rule out the AP's people buy for their kids just to have Disney babysit them. You know, the teenage crowd. But the AP program is what keeps Disney afloat during the off peak season where people don't want to pay full price when POTC is down. Or when the other attractions go down during their refurb. So let's just leave it alone or people like me who use DL to unwind, will be even worse with roadrage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MickeyMania]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

But the AP program is what keeps Disney afloat during the off peak season where people don't want to pay full price when POTC is down.

Strange. They never seemed to have a problem keeping the doors open the first 40 years. Well, from this issue anyway.

[Snakus]

Re: Disney: Stop selling Annual Passes

They should at least raise the prices of AP's, and don't they have plans to do so a couple of times a year for the next few years?

They should get rid of the So-Cal, and So-Cal select.