Upon discovering the Walt Disney World Moms Panel the first question that comes to mind is whether or not the "moms" are real. I have to wonder if all of these questions from real moms like you and I are being answered by some guy in India copying and pasting answers from a script. Please to be having a magical day at the Land of Disney!The Walt Disney World Moms Panel is basically Disney admitting that going to one their theme parks is getting way too goddamned complicated.
There's Magic Your Way Parkhoppers, Disney Dining Plans, dining reservations, Fastpass, more theme parks than Disney is able to properly maintain, inconsistent transportation options, free birthday tickets, annual passes, Southern California/Florida resident discounts, payment plans, child swap, expiration dates, specially ticketed events and early entry. It's no wonder visitng a Disney theme park has become a baffling ordeal.
The complexity of modern Disney theme parks has allowed third parties to step in and offer questionably useful services such as RideMax and Tour Guide Mike, not to mention a bevy of vacation planners, to help retarded people like us deal with Disney's confusing theme park policies and practices. You know the ones that go, "EX-DISNEY WORLD CAST MEMBER SPEAKS! ALL THE SECRETS TO GET THE BEST DISCOUNTS so just pay $15 and download this PDF of information that's freely available pretty much everywhere..." Since when does a theme park need tech support?
It's become a lucrative industry and perhaps the Disney World Moms Panel is meant to stifle such third party services. Why go to Tour Guide Mike when you can go straight to Disney?However, what I find surprising is that Disney doesn't even believe in their own advice.
The views expressed in the Walt Disney World® Moms Panel are those of the panelists, who are independent contractors, and may not be factually accurate. These views are not intended to reflect the opinions of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, its affiliates, its management, its agents or its employees. Panelists have received/will receive a trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort for their participation on the Panel.Here's a site what is owned and controlled by Disney, and most likely heavily moderated so no negative comments are posted, and yet the company will not stand behind the advice it offers? Disney is always in cover-your-ass mode. I wonder if when Iger speaks at a shareholder meeting the disclaimer above pops up on a video screen before he opens his mouth.
Okay, maybe the "Moms" are real since Disney apparently doesn't want to be held responsible for what they say. I mean, Disney shills aren't hard to find on the various Disney park message boards, after all. And boy do they shill. Here's a simple question that could have been easily found on a more streamlined and easy to use official web site.
I have already ordered tickets for our daughter and grandsons. Where are the Will Call locations for picking up the tickets?Alright, how would you answer this question? You'd probably list the will call locations, maybe even provide a link to a map. How do the Moms answer it?
The Will Call option is a wonderful option that Disney made available back in "2002" for guests who would like to purchase their Park admission tickets separately
Will call is wonderful? What? It's a standard feature of any venue that sells tickets to something. You pick up your tickets at will call. Suddenly it's this wonderful magical thing when Disney does it? Knott's Berry Farm has will call. Not even a cast member would call will call wonderful. "Hey cast member, where's will call?" "Oh, the magical wonderful fantastical will call booth is that way!"Remember, the Walt Disney Company, its subsidiaries and shareholders do not necessarily agree with the statement that will call is wonderful.
Unfortunately, they won't answer my questions.
Hello!What do people want to know when they are planning to visit a Disney theme park? How about, "Where is it?" and "Much much does it cost to get in?" It shouldn't be any more complicated than that!
I am the proud father of two cynical Disneyland® purists. We begrudgingly plan to visit Epcot® in May and are wondering about the best time to visit guest services and complain about the infiltration of characters and thrill rides into the park. When will Epcot® be restored to its former glory?
Thanks!
That's why I have all the answers, and if there's one thing I love about Disneyland purists it's that they always have completely reasonable solutions to the perceived problems they furiously rant about. Instead of creating a web site to help people plan their complex Disney vacation, why not make the whole experience less complicated? Here's what I would do at Disneyland and Disney World, where applicable.Immediately discontinue Fastpass.Give us IDP24's (Insufferable Disney Purists in their mid-twenties) a break.
Significantly decrease the price of 1-day 1-park tickets (some of the purest among us may even argue for the return of ticket books). Currently the deck is stacked against 1-day visitors. How long until Disney starts paying you to stay a 12th day?
Significantly increase the price of annual passes, eliminating SoCal and similar cheap passports.
Expand the monorail system to provide transportation to all theme parks, most hotels and most parking areas. Buses and trams can supplement monorail transportation, not replace it.
Immediately cease all promotions such as "What Will You Celebrate" promotion and declare 2009 the year of no promotions. Extend the year of no promotions by 18 months for no reason.
Finally, stop this ridiculous Moms Panel. Streamline the various theme park web sites so that basic, relevant information (like where it is and how much it costs) is easy to find. Theme park advertising should be gender and age nuetral. Disney theme parks are meant to attract children and adults, men and women, boys and girls, of all ages. Not just moms and their DS9 and DD5.
9 comments:
Awesome! Here's another: lower attendance cap at all theme parks so the maximum people in any park at any time before restrictions kick in is 20% lower.
And bring back the ticket books! I'll pay to ride the WEDway all day!
And lets ditch the new payment plan option on the AP's while we are at it.
I can see the ticketbooks being nostalgic and an improved value if you want to just ride a few rides, but it seems a great deal more inconvenient and annoying to me to pay to get into the theme park and then pay again to get on the rides. It's like the local carnival.
To compare:
Fastpass: "Okay, so with this free ticket I come back an hour from now to get in the shorter, faster line."
Ticketbooks: "Okay, so with this $50 books of tickets, I get to ride 3 rides on this list, 2 rides on this list, and 1 ride on this list. Plus the hard price to go on these other 4 things that aren't on the lists. And I can't buy just individual tickets for each list."
Unfortunately, if the idea was thrown around to have both a cheaper admission and pay for ticketbooks as well as a full park access pass, it would result in the ticketbook admission price being the same as it is now and the full park access pass being an excuse to jack the price up.
""Okay, so with this $50 books of tickets, I get to ride 3 rides on this list, 2 rides on this list, and 1 ride on this list. Plus the hard price to go on these other 4 things that aren't on the lists. And I can't buy just individual tickets for each list.""
The idea is that you'd now have the time to actually do those things.
When it comes to unlimited all day passes you're on a race against the clock to get the most value you can out of your pass. The deadline is whenever the park closes.
John Hench describes Disneyland's hub and other wide open spaces at Disney parks as areas that facilitate decision making. This is where families huddle and figure out what they are going to do next.
Now, who wins with ticket books? People who move around slowly. People who aren't able to zip back and forth through the park with 20 Fastpasses in hand. People who aren't willing to research all the ins and outs of Fastpass and other park policies in order to get the most out of their day. People who want to stroll the grounds.
I also think you get a clear indication of who rides what and attractions get to pay for themselves.
Who loses with ticket books? Annual passholders of course.
The biggest drawback to ticket books is culture shock. People used to an unlimited all-day passes may reject the idea and there would be mass confusion at first.
I'm not seriously advocating a return to ticket books, however. I would stick to the all-day pass while streamlining the experience in the other ways I suggested.
Ouch lol!
That was a close today on Miboards! You blew up there pretty easily. "SHUT UP" lol. Don't like those comments about setting themsevles on fire huh? Why? You planning on doing that on Thursday?
Just pointing out the hypocrisy inherent on these boards.
Uhuh. Keep it going, mods certainly called you on it. You're ripe for a banning lol.
Keep it up about the APers. Your obvious inferiority complex will get you to say the wrong thing one of these days and it'll cost you.
So, what is your deal anyways? You're poor and can't afford an AP and therefore hate those who have them?
I can see your argument (going back to the topic here) but I would argue that any system is open to "abuse"... Another likely senario is that you'd have people who are still trying to zip around and see everything because it's Disneyland and they want to. Only this time they have to pay an exorbitant amount on ticketbooks and by the end of the day they have a ridiculous number of unused tickets for the train and Storybook Canal Boats, which makes them feel ripped off. Or they buy an exorbitant full park pass, which makes the whole thing pointless.
That would probably be me... But then I'm a case of knowing and valuing Disneyland, such that "stroll through New Orleans Square, listen to a band set, sit in the Court of Angels" becomes an actual thing on the to-do list. It's only being forced by limited time that would stop me from seeing everything I can, like my two hours in Disneyland Paris or one day alotted in November for Tokyo Disney, since trips to a park are so few and far between for me.
If folks are approaching Disneyland like it's just an amusement park in which to enact their own Amazing Race, I don't know that the problem is the current admission system.
Your blog is really funny. The Mom's Panel is pretty lame. They are real--I know one--but you can definitely get better answers to your questions on The Dis or Passporter.
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