Imagine Key Blockout dates for 2024

[CO2CA]

That's what they want, but they will never get that here. The culture is different and Disneyland is and has always been a locals park. My family moved to northern CA in 1994 and I didn't even step foot in Disneyland until 1996 and that was for Grad Nite. Didn't come back until I moved to So Cal in 2001. And we were a HUGE Disney family when we lived in NJ. We went to WDW every other year growing up. Disneyland wasn't even on our radar as a place to visit once we moved to CA, and I'm not sure why. We kept flying to Orlando as a family.

When they decided to add DCA and Downtown Disney and the Grand Californian and Paradise Pier hotels, they were desperately trying to make this a "vacation destination" like WDW, but it has never really worked. Sure, they have increased their reach of non local visitors, but they will always need to have the support of the locals here.

You can see how WDW has practically eliminated the annual passes over there and they are doing fine. WDW probably never needed an annual pass program at all. It seems to be a reluctant offering over there. But they do have the vacationers to support the parks and hotels over there.

I'm not for eliminating APs or even saying that Disneyland does not need the revenue from those passes. I am just for eliminating the monthly payment option. I think that would limit more of the higher tier passes and would sort of funnel people into less days they could visit because they are only purchasing the pass that they can afford to pay in a lump sum.

 

[LKing]

I'm not for eliminating APs or even saying that Disneyland does not need the revenue from those passes. I am just for eliminating the monthly payment option. I think that would limit more of the higher tier passes and would sort of funnel people into less days they could visit because they are only purchasing the pass that they can afford to pay in a lump sum.

We renewed our passes in person. The cast member's first response was that they weren't selling the pass we wanted. We repeated that we wanted to renew. He seemed surprised. Anyway, when it came time to pay, he said, "This is a large sum of money. Are you sure you want to pay at once?"

 

[starlite_]

I'm not for eliminating APs or even saying that Disneyland does not need the revenue from those passes. I am just for eliminating the monthly payment option. I think that would limit more of the higher tier passes and would sort of funnel people into less days they could visit because they are only purchasing the pass that they can afford to pay in a lump sum.

You are assuming they want to have less ppl buying higher tier passes. If they did then the most expensive option wouldn't be available year round.

 

[Wesley815]

We renewed our passes in person. The cast member's first response was that they weren't selling the pass we wanted. We repeated that we wanted to renew. He seemed surprised. Anyway, when it came time to pay, he said, "This is a large sum of money. Are you sure you want to pay at once?"

What an odd response. A "large sum of money" to one person may be pennies to someone else, and I wouldn't comment whichever way. Guest's money is paying his salary.

Disney really seems to push monthly payments. I recently renewed as well (online) and you have to click through extra step to switch webpage total to full price as it defaults to monthly payment.

 

[disney-inspired]

What an odd response. A "large sum of money" to one person may be pennies to someone else, and I wouldn't comment whichever way. Guest's money is paying his salary.

Disney really seems to push monthly payments. I recently renewed as well (online) and you have to click through extra step to switch webpage total to full price as it defaults to monthly payment.

I would assume that continuous cash inflow looks good on financial records?

 

[joseph821]

I would assume that continuous cash inflow looks good on financial records?

Yes. Steady income flows is best.

 

[LKing]

What an odd response. A "large sum of money" to one person may be pennies to someone else, and I wouldn't comment whichever way. Guest's money is paying his salary.

Yes, I agree. It caught me off guard. We renewed in person because I was paying a portion with a gift card. You can use a GC online, but apparently $1000 max and it needs to cover the full cost of the purchase. By that, I mean that one can't pay a portion on GC and the rest on CC. We had to go in person to do that.

The reason that I shared his comment, and his look of surprise, is because it made me think that most people pay monthly.

 

[twodogs]

If DL can do things to entice more day visitors, I think they will drop the MKs (or the lower priced ones). Until or unless they can’t, they will keep the MKs (but restrict them as they see fit). They don’t like or dislike a certain guest. They like the monetary value any guest brings. Period. So some day, it may not be a “locals” park, if they can get non-locals to fill the parks and spend more per day. If locals start to spend more per day than non-locals, they will court the locals. Like any major public company, they have teams of analysts that look at the earnings per guest per day by guest type. They know (on average) exactly how much profit they make on MKs and on onsite guests and on offsite guests, etc. Whatever combination of those guests make them the most money (without eroding the guest experience to the point of lowering attendance (but they may take it right to the limit)), that is what they will try to attract. It is often a moving target, so what made them money in the past may not be what makes them money this year or next year.

 

[twodogs]

Also, I don’t think DLR needs MKs to ”fill the parks” during slower times. They just want people (whoever they are) to spend money in the parks at all times. So they will be constantly calculating how to achieve that, and then adjusting their offerings and pricing and hotel promos and So Cal promos and available MKs accordingly.

 

[LKing]

Also, I don’t think DLR needs MKs to ”fill the parks” during slower times. They just want people (whoever they are) to spend money in the parks at all times.

Maybe they need MK holders to wait in standby lines so non-locals will purchase Genie +

 

[nalabear]

Maybe they need MK holders to wait in standby lines so non-locals will purchase Genie +

MKs are those Oscar seat sittings for G+! BTW, MKs DO eat.

 

[DLgal]

The reason that I shared his comment, and his look of surprise, is because it made me think that most people pay monthly.

Most people SHOULD pay monthly. It's a 0% interest loan from Disney. Why would I hand them $6400 now instead of letting that $6400 earn me $272 in interest over the next year (and yes, I have that amount in my Ally savings account earning interest)?

I honestly can't believe that the bean counters haven't caught onto this. They could be charging INTEREST on the monthly payment plan and be making a LOT of free money. It baffles that they offer these monthly payments for free.

 

[starlite_]

Most people SHOULD pay monthly. It's a 0% interest loan from Disney. Why would I hand them $6400 now instead of letting that $6400 earn me $272 in interest over the next year (and yes, I have that amount in my Ally savings account earning interest)?

I honestly can't believe that the bean counters haven't caught onto this. They could be charging INTEREST on the monthly payment plan and be making a LOT of free money. It baffles that they offer these monthly payments for free.

shhhh don't give them ideas

 

[Foxhound3857]

Most people SHOULD pay monthly. It's a 0% interest loan from Disney. Why would I hand them $6400 now instead of letting that $6400 earn me $272 in interest over the next year (and yes, I have that amount in my Ally savings account earning interest)?

I honestly can't believe that the bean counters haven't caught onto this. They could be charging INTEREST on the monthly payment plan and be making a LOT of free money. It baffles that they offer these monthly payments for free.

Bean counters know that loaning credit is a risk, and having someone pay in one lump sum, even if it accrues no interest, means the money is securely in their pocket right away and there's no chance of that person defaulting on their obligations or having to file for bankruptcy.

Remember, for small businesses and individuals, it's too expensive for creditors to try to fight the debtor over a bunch of maxed out credit cards and drag them into court just to find out they can't pay.

 

[irlandaise]

Bean counters know that loaning credit is a risk, and having someone pay in one lump sum, even if it accrues no interest, means the money is securely in their pocket right away and there's no chance of that person defaulting on their obligations or having to file for bankruptcy.

Then how come, as Wesley reported, the Disneyland MK ordering page defaults to a monthly payment purchase?

 

[Foxhound3857]

Then how come, as Wesley reported, the Disneyland MK ordering page defaults to a monthly payment purchase?

Probably because that's the method of payment most people prefer, according to their metrics. Personally I prefer to pay it all down at once and be done with it.

Hell, I use my credit card for just that purchase, both to build credit and to get cash back.

 

[DLgal]

Bean counters know that loaning credit is a risk, and having someone pay in one lump sum, even if it accrues no interest, means the money is securely in their pocket right away and there's no chance of that person defaulting on their obligations or having to file for bankruptcy.

Remember, for small businesses and individuals, it's too expensive for creditors to try to fight the debtor over a bunch of maxed out credit cards and drag them into court just to find out they can't pay.

But they don't have to even worry about this.

The current way of making monthly payments is via credit card recurring charge. If a charge doesn't go through or is declined for any reason, they simply deactivate your pass and make it worthless. No payment, no pass. It happens to people a lot.

They could simply charge a "processing" or "administrative" FEE on top of the monthly charge and still have you charge it to your own credit card. Or they could partner up with someone like Klarna or Afterpay and let them handle it while taking a cut.

You don't have to be the entity extending credit in order to charge interest fees.

Again, they are the ones pushing the monthly payment feature. They make it hard to pay in a lump sum.

 

[irlandaise]

Then how come, as Wesley reported, the Disneyland MK ordering page defaults to a monthly payment purchase?

Probably because that's the method of payment most people prefer, according to their metrics.

Consumers may prefer it, but if, as you say, vendors prefer lump payments, then you'd think that Disney would make a one-time payment more prominent on their MK purchase website. Maybe even put it as the first option.

But as DLgal just noted, this is a situation where the vendor can deactivate the purchased item if the buyer doesn't keep up on payments.

 

[LKing]

Most people SHOULD pay monthly. It's a 0% interest loan from Disney. Why would I hand them $6400 now instead of letting that $6400 earn me $272 in interest over the next year (and yes, I have that amount in my Ally savings account earning interest)?

I can't speak for others. In my case, I was using gift cards for the majority of the payment.