Count me in with the FL resident frustration factor, too. I've lived in FL since WDW has been in Orlando, and WDW has always made a place in their marketing strategies for FL residents -- whether it's discounted rooms, dining availability, whatever.
Not so anymore. I tried to book CSR the exact same week that I did in 2003, the first week in May. In 2003, I was offered FL resident discount room rates of $79 per night. The best the CM could do when I inquired about this year was $169. When I brought up what I paid only four years ago, she said FL residents were keeping WDW in business at that time due to the tourism industry being hit so hard from 9/11 and all the hurricanes that were streaming across FL. FL residents at that time were WDW's target market and that we're not anymore. Those were her exact words. And she wasn't rude about it at all. We actually had quite a lengthy discussion about employees of WDW and FL residents feeling shut out of so many promotions.
I realize this isn't the resorts board, but I think it shows that tourism's back up, we had a mild year with 'canes last year and there definitely is no longer an off season in Orlando.
I'm two hours away -- from my front door, I'm going through the turnstyles in any of the parks in two hours. I also travel frequently for business to Orlando, and, YES, my family comes with me for two- and three-day stays. We're theme park junkies.
I've been trying since February 27th to get either Chef Mickey's for breakfast or CRT for breakfast or lunch on Monday, 4/28. Every day, I've been calling. We're extremely flexible with our times. Four adults, two children. I was able to secure two dinners at resort restaurants (which is fine), but the popular places to eat in or close to the parks get sold out months in advance. Yes, I keep calling because I know folks cancel, but here we are a couple weeks away from our trip, and already I've got a bad taste in my mouth. I'm LOOKING to go off site. And I've looked before, tried some of the other theme parks of Orlando, as well as restaurants, and our family are no longer Disney purists. And I know I'm not alone.
But guess what? This trip we're going with newbies, "fresh meat" for WDW marketing. They're already saying things like, "Thank God we didn't stay on WDW property. What would we do for dining? My cousins are thinking of coming here next year; I'll need to let them know to stay offsite so they have dining options if they're not able to book their trip six months in advance."
For 30+ years, WDW has excluded no one. They've always had all sorts of enticements for everyone who chooses WDW for its travel destination, locals and FL residents included. What's left for FL residents now? An extremely high Three-Day Play pass, 5 percent discounts on rooms (yes, 5 percent) and restaurants whose quality has gone down, but the prices have increased for those paying OOP (again, namely FL residents and locals).
Five, ten years ago, we'd spend four weeks a year onsite at WDW, plus business trips. I'd never leave the World. Now we don't stay onsite, we don't eat nearly as much as we used to at the World -- because it's just easier to plan to eat offsite -- and Hard Rock gets my money for accommodations (which, BTW, offered me a $369 room for $144 for being a FL resident on our upcoming trip in a few weeks).
What will be interesting is what WDW will do to entice FL residents back when we have another awful hurricane season, when we have another terrorist attack, when something happens that's going to bring the tourism industry in FL to a screeching halt. For the first time in 30 years, my loyalties are no longer with the Mouse.
And I do not expect to walk into a popular restaurant anywhere on a Saturday night without a ressie and hope to get served. But WDW must realize that they are alienating an awful lot of folks -- folks that have gotten them through really tough times (9/11 and brutal hurricane seasons) by making it so difficult and stressful for the folks who live in their backyard to enjoy their parks, resorts and restaurants.
And this isn't about "FL residents vs. everyone else." A few here have mentioned things like, "What if this were the case in your hometown?" What's freaking a lot of us out is it didn't used to be like this. Yes, times have changed. Aren't we allowed to vent a little, too? Maybe get some feedback from others in our shoes?
