Disneyland by Reservation: Would you be opposed?

[Blurr]

So I was just thinking (A dangerous past time, I know ♪) about how popular Disneyland is currently and about how a lot of folks think things would be better if someone like Walt (or at least someone with his philosophies) were back in charge of things.

For the sake of this discussion, let's pretend a portal in reality is torn open someplace in Anahiem and Walt is able to return. Let's also, for the sake of discussion assume that he comes in on a crowded, stressful day and decides to change things "for the better".

Whatever your personal belief that Walt would do, just imagine that he has done that (with the exception of growing outwards, being landlocked to it's location in Anahiem). *cue pixie dust* *poof* The park is now perfect in your mind.

Well, the park was crowded before while things maybe weren't so perfect and now, things in the park are even better. Somehow generations, nay, legions of fans more are now drawn to the property because of whatever improvements you've imagined in your mind (after all, if things are now truly better, why wouldn't they be?).

Walt is now faced with the dilemma of preserving the Guest experience while wrestling with the demand brought on by this point in time, Disneyland forced to bear the weight of it's own success. What seems like the logical solution? Probably capping attendance at a point where the Guest experience no longer suffers yet the parks still remain profitable. This brings up the conundrum of folks on Wall Street/Investors/etc. not liking that park profit is essentially capped on any given day but again, for the sake of discussion, let's pretend Walt is in charge and that doesn't concern him.

So Walt conducts his research, looks at the tech available today and arrives at the decision to make Disneyland entry by reservation only. Would you be opposed?

This is just the way of thinking that I arrived at. Obviously I don't know what Walt would really do in this situation but I wonder if folks out there would be open to the idea of reserving days for Disneyland in advance (a la the Flex pass and most likely paying upfront to avoid no-shows)?

State/National parks already do this. A weekend getaway to some requires you to select your campsite often 6 months in advance in order to secure time there. Would you be opposed to treating Disneyland any differently if it meant a perfect experience?

There are obviously some flaws to this, some might say it prevents some folks from visiting at all if they don't manage to secure a spot. Another issue might be innovation, because if the park is popular enough to book out say, a year's worth of time in advance, what motivation would there be to create many/if any new offerings during that time when you know your park is going to be at capacity all year either way? The park may become reactive instead of pro-active. A final issue might be dealing with the frustration of trying to get a reservation at all.

But I'm curious what you all think. Would you be opposed to Disneyland becoming a reservation-only type of experience in an effort to preserve the Guest experience? Another option might be to simply lower the cap on attendance but I feel like that would cause more confusion and disappointment among day Guests arriving at a shot into the park. What problems do you think this might cause? What would you do differently? Or, what do you think Walt might do given the troubles he would be forced to face today? Disneyland has created generations of fans and even it's current state it continues to. How do you think Walt, or how would you personally, handle the ever growing legions wanting to break down the gates for just a few minutes in the Happiest Place on Earth?

DISCLAIMER: I'd like to point out that no one in this thread really knows with 100% certainly what Walt would or wouldn't do. This is all just for-fun conjecture and opinions. Have some fun with it and respect others.

[Quentin]

You know I wouldn’t be surprised to see them kinda move towards this in a sense by eliminating annual pass options until there’s simply just the signature plus and flex pass left as options.

[stovk]

For me, the short answer is yes I would be opposed. For the same reason I do not visit Yosemite anymore. The main reason is that it would destroy my perception and memories of a happier time in my life. I feel a reservation system just to attend would mar the perception of Disneyland being open and accessible to all. Although not the case, I do think it would give a "perception" of being for the "Elites".

JMO

[Blurr]

You know I wouldn’t be surprised to see them kinda move towards this in a sense by eliminating annual pass options until there’s simply just the signature plus and flex pass left as options.

I'd be surprised if Disney nowadays would do anything to purposefully limit the amount of profit they bring in. We know there is a cap on attendance but that cap is high enough to create some truly miserable experiences at peak moments during the year and I can't help but wonder if folks would be willing to forego freedom of date visitation in exchange for a perfected experience, assuming something magical happened and the philosophies of today's Disney totally shifted.

[Blurr]

For me, the short answer is yes I would be opposed. For the same reason I do not visit Yosemite anymore. The main reason is that it would destroy my perception and memories of a happier time in my life. I feel a reservation system just to attend would mar the perception of Disneyland being open and accessible to all. Although not the case, I do think it would give a "perception" of being for the "Elites".

JMO

I understand this way of thinking. Though I should have probably added that reservations into the park would be open to and affordable for, everyone. My thinking going in to this is that something would need to change/evolve over time in order to truly preserve the perfect experience once inside the park with all the hordes of people who try to get in or who definitely would if the park were made "perfect".

Not that my goal is to change your mind, your opinion is perfectly valid and I appreciate you sharing it with me!

[stovk]

I understand this way of thinking. Though I should have probably added that reservations into the park would be open to and affordable for, everyone. My thinking going in to this is that something would need to change/evolve over time in order to truly preserve the perfect experience once inside the park with all the hordes of people who try to get in or who definitely would if the park were made "perfect".

Not that my goal is to change your mind, your opinion is perfectly valid and I appreciate you sharing it with me!

I understand what you are driving at and that is why I used the term "perception". All things being equal and if prices remained the same, I would just perceive the Park being only for the "haves". There is that little voice in my head saying, "You know, the uber rich don't have to make reservations."

[Steven Fonzi Brown]

Personally, I'd be in favor of a system where Disney would offer up to, say, 50% capacity of the park for reservations made a month or more in advance, and paid up front (no reservations, but you can switch your reservation to other dates for a small change fee). These reservations could be offered at a slight discount, since guests would be doing Disney a favor by giving them their money in advance, and also helping give Disney a good indicator of which days will be the busiest (which helps Disney plan better for staffing and whatnot).

You know I wouldn’t be surprised to see them kinda move towards this in a sense by eliminating annual pass options until there’s simply just the signature plus and flex pass left as options.

I'd be very much in favor of this. This puts annual passholders more on the same playing field as everybody else, while still giving them the perk they are paying for of being able to go to Disneyland multiple times in a year for one fixed price.

I would also be very much in favor of limiting passholders (with the possible exception of signature plus) to a certain number of days (7? 14?) in any given month. Even top vloggers/bloggers like Micechat and Freshbaked only go once or twice a week, so it seems like 7 days in a month should be plenty for most passholders. That still gives APs around 84 days per year (maybe slightly less if you subtract heavily blocked-out months) that they can visit the parks. That's still INCREDIBLE value, compared to regular guests who pay around the same amount for only 5 days at the park.

[hbdad]

I understand what you are driving at and that is why I used the term "perception". All things being equal and if prices remained the same, I would just perceive the Park being only for the "haves". There is that little voice in my head saying, "You know, the uber rich don't have to make reservations."

Not arguing with you, just wondering. Do you think Yosemite has a perception of being only for the "haves"? Your logic seems a little spotty to me. First you say reservations would make it seem like for the "haves" but then you state the "haves" or "uber rich" wouldn't have to make a reservation. That logic seems like reservations are for the "less haves" maybe?

[tarheelalum]

Disneyland, for the most part, is a locals park. Any sort system where advance reservations are required would not be the best interest of the locals who go when they want to go. So financially speaking I see that as a big barrier to anything like that ever occurring. Disneyland doesn't want to discourage the golden goose from attending. Even if others find that system more pleasurable for their trip.

[Eagleman]

Disneyland, for the most part, is a locals park. Any sort system where advance reservations are required would not be the best interest of the locals who go when they want to go. So financially speaking I see that as a big barrier to anything like that ever occurring. Disneyland doesn't want to discourage the golden goose from attending. Even if others find that system more pleasurable for their trip.

I find that being true.....in my case and other locals

I only live 10 miles south from the resort.......
and Disneyland /Knott's would not be places , were I would NOT
,make advance reservations !
I like playing by ear......
It depends how I feel and the weather.........

[micromind]

I'd like to see something like unlimited non-APs and when the attendance reaches a certain level, block APs from entering. In this case, APs would need to make reservations but not non-APs.

[Sun Bonnet]

I would be opposed, and I honestly think we'd stop going altogether though I'm loathe to even consider such a thing. We're passholders who go about once a week. We do not have fixed work schedules that would allow for much leeway in terms of making a reservation so we really value the spontaneity of being passholders. If the park were to change so much that locals needed to make a reservation in order to go, it probably wouldn't be very fun for us anyway.

I have to ask, and I'm really not trying to be rude, but if people are paying about the same as a passholder for 5 days, why not just get a pass? Even if it's a little bit more than your 5 day ticket, the merch and dining discounts would balance it out.

[Spongeocto4]

This would not benefit out of state or country guests. This would add to the list of reservations needed to be made for the trip:
1A. Plane Tickets and Shuttle/Taxi to Resort and from Resort.
OR
1B. Hotel Parking Lot Reservations for Drivers
2. Hotel Reservations
3. Park Entrance Reservations(Hypothetical)
4. Table Service Dining Reservations including special Dining packages for WoC and Fantasmic!
5. Maxpass, Fastpass+, and Regular Reservations for Fastpass rides and Entertainment
6. Boarding Reservations for Galaxy's Edge/Rise of the Resistance
7. Park Tours Reservations
8. Spa Reservations
9. Private Party/Wedding Reservations

How much does a guest need to be bogged down by reservation? Not all are applicable, of course. But as others mentioned, this seems more like a deterrent, than a benefit to the guests.

[oldpluto]

Do you all realize what bureaucracy a plan like this would cause? And should anyone who pays $1000 or more for a pass need to pay extra for a reservation? Too much!

[tarheelalum]

Annual passholders are the golden goose, as much as non passholders hate to hear that. Disneyland values AP more and won't do anything to hurt them and the steady stream of cash flow they bring.

[stovk]

Not arguing with you, just wondering. Do you think Yosemite has a perception of being only for the "haves"? Your logic seems a little spotty to me. First you say reservations would make it seem like for the "haves" but then you state the "haves" or "uber rich" wouldn't have to make a reservation. That logic seems like reservations are for the "less haves" maybe?

Key word is "perception". Can't explain it further.

[merlinjones]

IMHO, from all I know of him, Walt would not exclude the masses from his park in favor of those with special access. More likely, he'd have built more to accommodate everyone, unconcerned about maximizing return on dollar investment with what exists. It's a false argument that might have been a better debate without hypothetically dragging him into it.

[Blurr]

Do you all realize what bureaucracy a plan like this would cause? And should anyone who pays $1000 or more for a pass need to pay extra for a reservation? Too much!

Sorry, maybe I wasn't entirely clear in my OP but making the reservation and payment would act as your ticket as well in this hypothetical scenario, there wouldn't be two charges. Basically, folks (everyone) would need to buy their tickets/select their date in advance and once dates filled to what Disney decides is the cap for a "perfect guest experience", those dates would become unavailable and Guests would need to pick a different one, in an effort to make what time is spent there enjoyable for everyone.

Again, this is all in theory and obviously not perfect. I was just curious what folks might think and am happy to be hearing so many responses. Thank you all for sharing!

In the scenario that the park is perfected/becomes your dream park, what actions might you all take to handle the overwhelming demand that a "perfect" Disneyland operating at Walt desired levels would bring and do preserve the Guest experience?

Obviously as generations more fans are created and time/technology goes on and times change, Disneyland needs to change and adapt as well as each year it would become more and more a victim of it's own successes/perfection.

[merlinjones]

Remember, Walt didn't run a company that could reap 6 BILLION dollars at the global box-office alone. With that kind of money available to him, we would see wonders undreamed of in any medium (with the best of the past preserved). He often said that the money was only good to build new things.

[Stormy]

Sure, if by 'reservation' it meant that the number of guests would be reasonable. By that I mean much less that the current 'capacity' number, which is a hellacious crowd.

Reservations at the Natl Parks (which we visit frequently) for camping or lodging is one thing but they very, very rarely close the entrances. Certain of the parks that are easily accessed from populated areas (looking at you, Yosemite) can be unbelievably crowded in summer and 'gate closures' have happened (rarely). I really wish they would close when they get so crowded. The damage being done to structures, wildlife, and plantlife due to tourist levels is really awful.