Magical express being phased out

[VillainV]

Jan 16, 2021 8:38:44 GMT -5 meganew said:

Jan 15, 2021 21:43:41 GMT -5 starryfish said:

Yes those are all gone now except magic express

I assume fastpass will come back when Covid is really done though. I don’t see them giving up that perk forever.

Apparently they’re getting rid of it completely and replacing with some kind of digital line thing?

[chocolatepie]

Jan 16, 2021 8:38:44 GMT -5 meganew said:

Jan 15, 2021 21:43:41 GMT -5 starryfish said:

Yes those are all gone now except magic express

I assume fastpass will come back when Covid is really done though. I don’t see them giving up that perk forever.

Fastpass as we know it is not expected to return, though they could always surprise us... Rumor is that they will probably move to a MaxPass type (paid) program like DL. Because they can  

[rachelgreen]

Jan 15, 2021 21:43:41 GMT -5 starryfish said:

Jan 15, 2021 13:39:47 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

Have they really gotten rid of ALL those things? Man, that definitely does pretty much erase the case for staying on-site. Literally...that cancels like every reason I had to justify staying at a Disney property. Do you think they will renew services in a post-Covid-bounce bacK? Or are these permanent changes?

Yes those are all gone now except magic express

Dont forget no more dining plans either. For some, not a big deal. For us, we love character meals plus the prepaying of our meals. I didn’t want to think about it once there.

[sent]

My not-an-economist guess is that they're cutting back on all of this stuff because they can and because the parks are currently not their focus. Disney's stock price spiked really high not too long ago because of Disney +. The parks being closed or scaled back and the cruises not running apparently did nothing to affect the stock price. Maybe when this whole virus thing (hopefully) settles down, DL reopens and the cruises start running again, they'll look at park attendance and bookings and make decisions to add perks at that time as a way to entice people. Or maybe they think that demand is going to be so great, they won't need to add anything because people will want to come back no matter the cost.

[nicolewi]

I'm sad that all my knowledge on fast passes and dining plan choices from my last trip will now be basically useless! I feel like I got a degree in "Disney," but now I can't use it. Boo.

[SusanBAnthony]

Jan 24, 2021 5:34:11 GMT -5 sent said:

My not-an-economist guess is that they're cutting back on all of this stuff because they can and because the parks are currently not their focus. Disney's stock price spiked really high not too long ago because of Disney +. The parks being closed or scaled back and the cruises not running apparently did nothing to affect the stock price. Maybe when this whole virus thing (hopefully) settles down, DL reopens and the cruises start running again, they'll look at park attendance and bookings and make decisions to add perks at that time as a way to entice people. Or maybe they think that demand is going to be so great, they won't need to add anything because people will want to come back no matter the cost.

Isn't their ideal guest someone who comes in for 2-3-4 days and spends a ton of money per day, not a family trying to have an economic vacation with the beat price per day?

Someone flying in for a weekend trip will just uber. They won't bother with waiting for a bus. And Disney gets more money from them.

[sent]

Jan 25, 2021 6:57:33 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Jan 24, 2021 5:34:11 GMT -5 sent said:

My not-an-economist guess is that they're cutting back on all of this stuff because they can and because the parks are currently not their focus. Disney's stock price spiked really high not too long ago because of Disney +. The parks being closed or scaled back and the cruises not running apparently did nothing to affect the stock price. Maybe when this whole virus thing (hopefully) settles down, DL reopens and the cruises start running again, they'll look at park attendance and bookings and make decisions to add perks at that time as a way to entice people. Or maybe they think that demand is going to be so great, they won't need to add anything because people will want to come back no matter the cost.

Isn't their ideal guest someone who comes in for 2-3-4 days and spends a ton of money per day, not a family trying to have an economic vacation with the beat price per day?

Someone flying in for a weekend trip will just uber. They won't bother with waiting for a bus. And Disney gets more money from them.

I know over on disboards, they always said Disney's ideal guest that spends more per trip is the family including those from overseas that is making the once in a lifetime trip. The annual passholders are not their favorites from a spend standpoint. 

It would be interesting to read more into their financials and their parks strategy now that Disney+ is so successful.