APs are coming

[YourEveryDayAdam]

Without getting into the specifics of COVID and going down that black hole, I'm not sure I totally buy that from Disney's perspective. If demand truly were down, then prices typically have to come down as well (or at least not skyrocket like they are now). I don't think they're interested in actively reducing attendance in any meaningful way at their flagship theme park, even if they know that it will inevitably happen with the price increases.

I think their projections show that demand for their product has never been higher, and that's why they're charging us more and giving us less.

I'm not saying demand is down. If summer is any indication, demand is actually up. But if Disney is anticipating that the current reduced capacity levels are going to be the way things are for a long time, then SUPPLY is down.

When supply is low and demand is high, then the price goes up. The price going up reduces demand...Just look at the number of people in this very thread saying "I guess we're done with going to the parks" or "time to sell the ol' DVC"... The trick with economics and business is finding the perfect price point to which demand perfectly meets your available supply.

I'm saying that Disney may have determined that the existing capacity levels will stay where they are for a long time. They've already said park passes are here throughout 2022, at least...so they likely anticipate reduced capacity levels throughout all of 2022.

I've ALSO personally received "guest satisfaction" surveys from some of my recent trips this last year (Aug 2020, Mar 2021, and June 2021) and on the last two of them, they were asking questions like "would you be willing to pay more money for a reduced attendance experience" sort of vibe. I don't recall the exact wording of the questions, but it definitely left me with the feeling that they were exploring raising prices so that they could reduce capacity. It's very possible that is the path they are deciding to go down.

 

[CWTC]

It’s now confirmed on the DVC website that you must be eligible for membership extras…blue card…to buy the Sorcerer pass.

I assume this is the usual blue card benefit: even if you have a mix of points, as long as 1 contract gets you blue card benefits you are eligible?

We have 1 resale grandfathered in, 1 direct, and 1 resale (in process now) which will of course not have blue card benefits. The cynic in me is waiting for them to attach blue card benefits to each set of points or each contract rather than the member overall.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

Kind of off topic.

We're in the UK and currently have a 14 day UK ticket purchased (dated to expire mid 2022) and Boo Bash Tickets that we can't use because we are unable to enter the USA. Disney ticketing told me that the value of the Boo Bash tickets could be put toward an AP (or any other ticket purchase), and that I would likely be able to put the value of my 14 day ticket toward an AP as well.

I am a bit unsure of the method of doing this, do I need to bu my DVC AP through member services (after the 08 September), and can they also apply the 'discount' based on the value of those unused tickets. Alternatively, do I need to do everything through the Disney ticket line? Can they sell DVC APs?

 

[DisneyOutsider]

I'm not saying demand is down. If summer is any indication, demand is actually up. But if Disney is anticipating that the current reduced capacity levels are going to be the way things are for a long time, then SUPPLY is down.

When supply is low and demand is high, then the price goes up. The price going up reduces demand...Just look at the number of people in this very thread saying "I guess we're done with going to the parks" or "time to sell the ol' DVC"... The trick with economics and business is finding the perfect price point to which demand perfectly meets your available supply.

I'm saying that Disney may have determined that the existing capacity levels will stay where they are for a long time. They've already said park passes are here throughout 2022, at least...so they likely anticipate reduced capacity levels throughout all of 2022.

I've ALSO personally received "guest satisfaction" surveys from some of my recent trips this last year (Aug 2020, Mar 2021, and June 2021) and on the last two of them, they were asking questions like "would you be willing to pay more money for a reduced attendance experience" sort of vibe. I don't recall the exact wording of the questions, but it definitely left me with the feeling that they were exploring raising prices so that they could reduce capacity. It's very possible that is the path they are deciding to go down.

My issue with it is that the capacity restrictions they have in place right now.. it's essentially no restrictions at all for the majority of the year. We were there in late July. There were days when all parks had park pass availability on the day-of, and it was darn near shoulder to shoulder in every park. I think we've reached the point in the capacity restrictions where the park passes won't run out unless it's an uber-high demand period, like xmas/new years, spring break, easter. I don't think they're missing any gate-clicks at all with the current capacity, outside of the outlier periods.

Also, the park passes may have been introduced with the capacity restrictions, but I don't think they will ever go away, even if Covid disappeared tomorrow. It's here to stay. It's an extremely valuable tool for them. Covid was a great excuse for them to implement it.

 

[Sandisw]

I assume this is the usual blue card benefit: even if you have a mix of points, as long as 1 contract gets you blue card benefits you are eligible?

We have 1 resale grandfathered in, 1 direct, and 1 resale (in process now) which will of course not have blue card benefits. The cynic in me is waiting for them to attach blue card benefits to each set of points or each contract rather than the member overall.

Ye. It says you have to be eligible and as long as you hold a blue card, you are!

 

[Claudia1]

It’s now confirmed on the DVC website that you must be eligible for membership extras…blue card…to buy the Sorcerer pass.

I can't find that. Can you please share a link? Thanks!

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

My issue with it is that the capacity restrictions they have in place right now.. it's essentially no restrictions at all for the majority of the year. We were there in late July. There were days when all parks had park pass availability on the day-of, and it was darn near shoulder to shoulder in every park. I think we've reached the point in the capacity restrictions where the park passes won't run out unless it's an uber-high demand period, like xmas/new years, spring break, easter. I don't think they're missing any gate-clicks at all with the current capacity, outside of the outlier periods.

Also, the park passes may have been introduced with the capacity restrictions, but I don't think they will ever go away, even if Covid disappeared tomorrow. It's here to stay. It's an extremely valuable tool for them. Covid was a great excuse for them to implement it.

Yeah, I don't disagree. Park capacity is up. We were there in June, and while it felt busy, most of the lines were actually relatively short. Most ride lines were about 15-20 minutes. Even the REALLY long lines topped out at about 45 minutes. I think we waited 55 minutes for Runaway railway? Overall, we didn't spend a whole lot of time in lines...even for top tier attractions. Jungle Cruise had a pretty long wait also...but I think that was because they weren't filling the boats still, and people were wanting to see all the new stuff.

I imagine Disney hasn't figured out where the new normal capacity is going to be yet. COVID is such a wildcard that it makes it impossible. I'm guessing the new AP prices are there to plan for the worst, and hope for the best? Or they just haven't implemented the full reduced capacity plans yet. They may not even be planning on actually capping reduced capacity numbers, but if tickets are 30% more expensive, them some people will opt to no longer go and the numbers will reduce themselves.

I definitely agree with you on the park passes being here to stay. If they go away, I will be surprised. Disney knowing exactly how many people to anticipate at any park on any day is invaluable for planning for them...even just knowing how many security cast members need to be at the front gate to screen people.

 

[Sandisw]

I can't find that. Can you please share a link? Thanks!

It’s on the membership website so the link won’t post as you have to be logged in.

Its on the front page though. Just scroll down and you will see it. Once there, you can find the details.

Here is the language though

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

I assume this is the usual blue card benefit: even if you have a mix of points, as long as 1 contract gets you blue card benefits you are eligible?

We have 1 resale grandfathered in, 1 direct, and 1 resale (in process now) which will of course not have blue card benefits. The cynic in me is waiting for them to attach blue card benefits to each set of points or each contract rather than the member overall.

You will be fine. You have 1 direct contract so you're one of the "cool kids" as far as DVC is concerned...and given that DVC, so far, has been saying once you're one of the cool kids, you're always one of the cool kids...I don't think you really need to worry about it in the future either.

I don't even know how Disney would enforce a "you could only use your direct purchase benefits when using your direct points" sort of rule. Once you've got the AP, you've got it...even if you're staying off-site you can use the DVC AP to get into the park.

I could see maybe some of the less tangible benefits being tied to direct purchase points? Like access to Epcot DVC lounge or Top of the World being restricted to using direct purchased points while staying using direct points...but that seems like it would be hard to accomplish in reality, from a logistics perspective. This would also mean no member would be able to visit those spaces when they weren't using their DVC points, whether they bought ALL of their points direct or not.

 

[vicarrieous]

It’s now confirmed on the DVC website that you must be eligible for membership extras…blue card…to buy the Sorcerer pass.

Can you post a link to where it states this? Thanks!

 

[vicarrieous]

Can you post a link to where it states this? Thanks!

NM I See your screen shot. I still can't seem to find it though

 

[Sandisw]

NM I See your screen shot. I still can't seem to find it though

When you log into the DVC site, scroll down the main page. You will see the announcement and can click there for more details.

 

[vicarrieous]

When you log into the DVC site, scroll down the main page. You will see the announcement and can click there for more details.

Found it! Thank you! Clearly I missed that large banner!

 

[Dizney73]

Do we know HOW the passes will be purchased starting on September 8? Only by phone? or online?

 

[DeeBee3]

Was just there in August and all parks were less busy than people's reports from July. Now this was mid-August and I know some schools already had started, etc. HOWEVER, when I look to make future reservations on the DVC site, there is not a lot of availability between now and the 7 month window. So clearly someone has those reservations!! haha

 

[DVC92]

Will you be able to renew from the Gold AP to the new one with a DVC discount? These tickets are up $200 from the Gold I just renewed in March.

 

[Sandisw]

Will you be able to renew from the Gold AP to the new one with a DVC discount? These tickets are up $200 from the Gold I just renewed in March.

It sounds like when you renew a Gold pass after the new ones go on sale, you will pay the renewal price for the new Sorcerer pass, and now have that.

People eligible for renewal now can do it before Sept 8th, and then get one more year at the Gold renewal rate, with the gold benefits.

 

[Yinn]

Was just there in August and all parks were less busy than people's reports from July. Now this was mid-August and I know some schools already had started, etc. HOWEVER, when I look to make future reservations on the DVC site, there is not a lot of availability between now and the 7 month window. So clearly someone has those reservations!! haha

That might be either resort only stays or potentially people holding reservations who will later cancel.

Last week demand was as expected for this time of year. It didn’t seem any more or less busy, wait times were all about the same.

As of today, that all changed, most likely due to the remaining schools. Attendance dropped off a cliff.

We’re talking about being able to hit all 4 parks up in a single day empty. Even with a DAS, we decided not to use it at all today because it just wasn’t necessary and seemed silly.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Don’t forget to add in the cost of a rental car/Uber!!!

Sadly this is where we’re at too. I had 4 trips planned in next year but with all these extras it adds up! I didn’t want to do this but we cancelled 2 Trips. We are going for a weekend in February and then 6 nights in April. Then that’s it until likely 2023. Gonna try the Florida keys next or maybe even Vero. Finally wanting to switch it up

 

[Bjaiken77]

I’m happy they finally announced APs. I’ll be buying two September 8. I find the price to be reasonable. Day passes add up fast. I don’t mind paying for a premium product.