Park transportation is big and I can’t see them ever cutting back on it. I expect it will instead expand to reduce private vehicle usage. The priority park reservation benefit will be very important as more and more families begin to travel. Nothing kills a vacation quicker than finding out the parks are full.
Magic Bands are hugely popular and they’ll likely remain, but smart phones are also reducing their utility so why not charge those whom feel they need them instead of handing them out to every visitor. Originally I felt the Extra Park Hours were great until I realized everyone else did too. Now I avoid the parks staying open late and go to where the crowd is predicted to be fewer. The 30 minute early entry remains to be seen … as you said, what comes with it? The biggest loss I see is allowing Disney to check your baggage through to your final destination when departing. Getting through security at MCO is hard enough. I’m sure buses will still run (for a fee) even after the train service begins.
The one thing I can’t understand why it hasn’t returned is having merchandise sent to my room. Removing this probably occurred due to the hysteria people had about “don’t touch this, don’t touch that”. I usually purchase merchandise during my visits, but not if I have to carry it around the parks. Is Fast Pass+ needed when park attendance is limited and without all the restaurants seating people how can we expect there to be a Dining Plan option? Both will eventually return.
What Disney needs to focus on is expanding hours along with bringing back live entertainment. With that accomplished all the other losses will seem negligible.
I completely agree about Merchandise Delivery. That was huge for me – I used it each and every trip, along with Airline Check-In. Those were my favorites. And YES YES YES, bringing back the entertainment should be first. Those Citizens are the best!
Honestly there is no reason to stay on site anymore. Any worthwhile reason has been cancelled. Hopefully Disney realizes they’re sending the experience downhill quickly
I do hope they hear our voices. While I love to charge to my folio via a MagicBand, I do miss the Merchandise Delivery, and the Magical Express was always so handy for my family. *sigh*
We stayed on property 12/29/20-1/5/21 at Caribbean Beach Resort. No Disney resort perks. The only one was transportation, and transportation was not up to normal Disney standards. Our plane landed at 1:15; we got on the magical express bus at 3:00. Then we still had to ride another 35-40 minutes to Caribbean Beach. Our first day we were going to Hollywood Studios. Counter service dinner closes at 5 there. It was stressful. Disney was one speed, slow. I couldn’t imagine a disney vacation without riding the monorail. Well, this one was it. No monorail ride. The monorail was not running from MK to Epcot. I didn’t think I would miss park hopping; I did. Multiple issues with bus transportation. I fell at Disney Springs due to an uneven sidewalk tripping me and it was getting dark. The Disney folks filled out an incident report. They said it happens all the time. Pain all night from the fall. Caribbean Beach staff helped us get to a clinic for an x-ray of my wrist. Reported the incident to Disney via email. I have not heard from them. Not my favorite vacation. When they take away transportation in 2022, we won’t have a reason to stay there.
I’m so sorry to hear that you had such a rough time, and I hope your wrist feels ok! The big time “temporary” closures have made it very difficult, especially when we are used to everything running as it should. :/
Don’t hold your breath. I was knocked down at ride heard nothing. Stayed at hotel when going back from Disney employee told me get on bus or walk back to hotel( I have vision problems and cannot stand.Lights kept flashing on bus and driver was horrible. Standing riders kept being slung down.Complained at hotel and guest services and never heard anything from them.
There is no need to cancel all these good services. You should lower your resort fees/hotel fees. You are putting more people out of work. We all love the perks while staying at Disney time share resort/hotel. Stop moving left or there will be no more Disney like CA
My family went to Disney for the past 18 years until last. We loved staying at the Disney resorts. First exciting experience was the magical express. It was the perfect start to a magical vacation. Now are we to spend more money to and from MCO? I couldn’t agree more with all the entertainment coming back including dinner shows. What is Disney without the Hoop de Doo? We went every year and loved it!! We need the famous buffets back too. I can go on and on.. but we are not going back until things get back to where they were. And please bring back the meal plan!!!
Maybe Disney’s Parks division losing $2.4 BILLION dollars in revenue in the 4th quarter of 2020 may have something to do with cancelling services and cutbacks in perks. I don’t know, you think that could be the reason??
Don’t forget Disney resort hotels started charging for parking a few years back. As a Florida resident who always drives the 3 hour drive, that was a hard pill to swallow.
As much as I love staying on property, there is no benefit to it now. Other resorts are looking more and more enticing. I realize they are trying to save money, but I think they made a very bad decision in getting rid of literally every benefit of staying on property. The prices are the same, in typical WDW fashion. When the Red Barn Inn offers more, its time to reevaluate my vacations. ( Not that I would ever stay at a Red Barn Inn )
As a peeved Premier AP here, it is obvious that they are substituting real benefits just for the privilege of being able to make Park Pass reservations. I live in California, There are 4 parks. They only allow me to make 3 park pass reservations. My last visit I had to buy a ticket to be able to visit all four parks. Sure sometimes you can get Epcot the day before after you have used your 3 passes but that sucks. I probably will be staying at the All Stars next time because paying an extra $ 50ish dollars a night is less expensive than having to buy a ticket.
Interestingly, my thoughts are if there is no Magical Express, and larger families rent a car, why stay in the parks or on property with a meal plan. It is likely many visitors will rent a car. No longer a captive audience with Magical express gone.
Since WDW and Disney+ the only two sources of revenue left,l during the iandemic, the WDC has no choice but to cut back on perks. But, with vaccines beginning to roll out, I’m confident that all of the Company’s divisions will cone back to life and the resort perks and programs will return, probably by this summer!
I think if it wasn’t for the DVC that Disney would not be around. It was and is guaranteed money for them. Not saying that they don’t try, but almost seems that they don’t have to anymore. I would need an ECV in Disney so getting my luggage and forward would be too difficult for me, so I may have gone on my last Disney trip, which is sad. Was hoping to celebrate my 70 on their 50th, but don’t see it happening.
My favorite perks were the package delivery to your hotel and the dining package. Yes, we had teenagers 🙂 I like the “Magical Bus” from the airport and can see Disney starting their own transportation department to start the vacation right.
Even with most perks gone, I will still stay in a WDW Hotel. Living on the west coast, It’s still a part of the magical experience when visiting. Next trip is in 2022 with the grandkids and I want to have that experience with them.
As a business man I know that Disney has lost $100’s of millions of dollars if not more in the past year and furloughed/laid off thousands of workers. Be patient and give them a chance to rebound and organize their plans moving forward. We all love Disney because they do such magical and exceptional things. All will be well soon and revealed.
There is no hotel in the world that compares to the service and friendly people at a disney resort. I live 10 minutes from the contemporary hotel now, so don’t need to stay very often any longer. but when we do want to stay I would never choose off property
Comments for What Perks Are Left for On-Property Guests at Disney World?
Larry
That’s a pretty thorough article … let’s hope WDW reads it, too.
Park transportation is big and I can’t see them ever cutting back on it. I expect it will instead expand to reduce private vehicle usage. The priority park reservation benefit will be very important as more and more families begin to travel. Nothing kills a vacation quicker than finding out the parks are full.
Magic Bands are hugely popular and they’ll likely remain, but smart phones are also reducing their utility so why not charge those whom feel they need them instead of handing them out to every visitor. Originally I felt the Extra Park Hours were great until I realized everyone else did too. Now I avoid the parks staying open late and go to where the crowd is predicted to be fewer. The 30 minute early entry remains to be seen … as you said, what comes with it? The biggest loss I see is allowing Disney to check your baggage through to your final destination when departing. Getting through security at MCO is hard enough. I’m sure buses will still run (for a fee) even after the train service begins.
The one thing I can’t understand why it hasn’t returned is having merchandise sent to my room. Removing this probably occurred due to the hysteria people had about “don’t touch this, don’t touch that”. I usually purchase merchandise during my visits, but not if I have to carry it around the parks. Is Fast Pass+ needed when park attendance is limited and without all the restaurants seating people how can we expect there to be a Dining Plan option? Both will eventually return.
What Disney needs to focus on is expanding hours along with bringing back live entertainment. With that accomplished all the other losses will seem negligible.
Lindsey Paris
I completely agree about Merchandise Delivery. That was huge for me – I used it each and every trip, along with Airline Check-In. Those were my favorites. And YES YES YES, bringing back the entertainment should be first. Those Citizens are the best!
jack
Honestly there is no reason to stay on site anymore. Any worthwhile reason has been cancelled. Hopefully Disney realizes they’re sending the experience downhill quickly
Lindsey Paris
I do hope they hear our voices. While I love to charge to my folio via a MagicBand, I do miss the Merchandise Delivery, and the Magical Express was always so handy for my family. *sigh*
beautiful gorgeous
We stayed on property 12/29/20-1/5/21 at Caribbean Beach Resort. No Disney resort perks. The only one was transportation, and transportation was not up to normal Disney standards. Our plane landed at 1:15; we got on the magical express bus at 3:00. Then we still had to ride another 35-40 minutes to Caribbean Beach. Our first day we were going to Hollywood Studios. Counter service dinner closes at 5 there. It was stressful. Disney was one speed, slow. I couldn’t imagine a disney vacation without riding the monorail. Well, this one was it. No monorail ride. The monorail was not running from MK to Epcot. I didn’t think I would miss park hopping; I did. Multiple issues with bus transportation. I fell at Disney Springs due to an uneven sidewalk tripping me and it was getting dark. The Disney folks filled out an incident report. They said it happens all the time. Pain all night from the fall. Caribbean Beach staff helped us get to a clinic for an x-ray of my wrist. Reported the incident to Disney via email. I have not heard from them. Not my favorite vacation. When they take away transportation in 2022, we won’t have a reason to stay there.
Lindsey Paris
I’m so sorry to hear that you had such a rough time, and I hope your wrist feels ok! The big time “temporary” closures have made it very difficult, especially when we are used to everything running as it should. :/
Laura L sullivan
Don’t hold your breath. I was knocked down at ride heard nothing. Stayed at hotel when going back from Disney employee told me get on bus or walk back to hotel( I have vision problems and cannot stand.Lights kept flashing on bus and driver was horrible. Standing riders kept being slung down.Complained at hotel and guest services and never heard anything from them.
Andrea
There is no need to cancel all these good services. You should lower your resort fees/hotel fees. You are putting more people out of work. We all love the perks while staying at Disney time share resort/hotel. Stop moving left or there will be no more Disney like CA
Anna
My family went to Disney for the past 18 years until last. We loved staying at the Disney resorts. First exciting experience was the magical express. It was the perfect start to a magical vacation. Now are we to spend more money to and from MCO? I couldn’t agree more with all the entertainment coming back including dinner shows. What is Disney without the Hoop de Doo? We went every year and loved it!! We need the famous buffets back too. I can go on and on.. but we are not going back until things get back to where they were. And please bring back the meal plan!!!
Tad
Maybe Disney’s Parks division losing $2.4 BILLION dollars in revenue in the 4th quarter of 2020 may have something to do with cancelling services and cutbacks in perks. I don’t know, you think that could be the reason??
Brian Wilson
Don’t forget Disney resort hotels started charging for parking a few years back. As a Florida resident who always drives the 3 hour drive, that was a hard pill to swallow.
Kristina
As much as I love staying on property, there is no benefit to it now. Other resorts are looking more and more enticing. I realize they are trying to save money, but I think they made a very bad decision in getting rid of literally every benefit of staying on property. The prices are the same, in typical WDW fashion. When the Red Barn Inn offers more, its time to reevaluate my vacations. ( Not that I would ever stay at a Red Barn Inn )
Thomas Nicolai-Vargas
As a peeved Premier AP here, it is obvious that they are substituting real benefits just for the privilege of being able to make Park Pass reservations. I live in California, There are 4 parks. They only allow me to make 3 park pass reservations. My last visit I had to buy a ticket to be able to visit all four parks. Sure sometimes you can get Epcot the day before after you have used your 3 passes but that sucks. I probably will be staying at the All Stars next time because paying an extra $ 50ish dollars a night is less expensive than having to buy a ticket.
Esther Markopoulos
Interestingly, my thoughts are if there is no Magical Express, and larger families rent a car, why stay in the parks or on property with a meal plan. It is likely many visitors will rent a car. No longer a captive audience with Magical express gone.
Tamara Dowd
The magic is disappearing. What next?
Matthew Brewster
Since WDW and Disney+ the only two sources of revenue left,l during the iandemic, the WDC has no choice but to cut back on perks. But, with vaccines beginning to roll out, I’m confident that all of the Company’s divisions will cone back to life and the resort perks and programs will return, probably by this summer!
Gencha
I think if it wasn’t for the DVC that Disney would not be around. It was and is guaranteed money for them. Not saying that they don’t try, but almost seems that they don’t have to anymore. I would need an ECV in Disney so getting my luggage and forward would be too difficult for me, so I may have gone on my last Disney trip, which is sad. Was hoping to celebrate my 70 on their 50th, but don’t see it happening.
Linda
My favorite perks were the package delivery to your hotel and the dining package. Yes, we had teenagers 🙂 I like the “Magical Bus” from the airport and can see Disney starting their own transportation department to start the vacation right.
Even with most perks gone, I will still stay in a WDW Hotel. Living on the west coast, It’s still a part of the magical experience when visiting. Next trip is in 2022 with the grandkids and I want to have that experience with them.
John
As a business man I know that Disney has lost $100’s of millions of dollars if not more in the past year and furloughed/laid off thousands of workers. Be patient and give them a chance to rebound and organize their plans moving forward. We all love Disney because they do such magical and exceptional things. All will be well soon and revealed.
Lalee
Thank you for bringing back my ex lover email Robinsonbuckler11 ((@gmail)) com………”
Lalee
Thank you for bringing back my ex lover email Robinsonbuckler11 ((@ gmail)) com……
ginny
There is no hotel in the world that compares to the service and friendly people at a disney resort. I live 10 minutes from the contemporary hotel now, so don’t need to stay very often any longer. but when we do want to stay I would never choose off property
Comments are closed.