PDA

View Full Version : Premium/Deluxe Annual Passholder Appreciation tours!



snappy
08-13-2003, 03:56 PM
How about giving us REAL VIP tours of the backstage areas and behind the scenes of all E ticket rides. Make it a limited number of Annual passholders in seperate groups. How about before the part opens when maint. is running their check list of safety precautions. Just a thought. What do you think? What would you suggest? Is this Possible? Would you go? What would you really like to see?

rexfarms
08-13-2003, 09:39 PM
Sorry to be negative but it isnt going to happy. :( I'd love to see it happen though.

sydney
08-14-2003, 07:48 AM
The main reason that this is not possible is the sheer number of annual passholders (by all accounts over half a million, even by conservative estimators). So many of them would be interested in tours like these that they would have to make the price so expensive that only a few people could afford them.

But of course disney has already considered this-- they do offer tours like the ones you suggest. They're known as "club 33 events" and I'll give you three guesses as to the only group of people who can take them... (and even they have to pay a sizeable chunk of change to go, on top of their dues).

The tours/events are not held on a regular basis or schedule, but from what I've heard, basically for new attractions shows, they do an event, or for new movies to meet the creators, etc, as well as touring parts of theme park operations.


Remember that while disney certainly appreciates your patronage as a passholder, you are paying far LESS money per daily visit than those that come in on one day or multi-day tickets or those that stay at the on-property hotels.

I look at it this way: Disney shows me they understand how much I love the park by making it so that every entrance to disneyland now costs me only about 3 dollars. And believe me, I "appreciate" that. :) :)

If at some point in the future I find myself with (litteraly) thousands and thousands of dollars to spare, I will certainly be putting myself on the waiting list to join the club. Until then, I'll have to be happy with going to disneyland whenever I want for peanuts a day, while everyone else pays 20-30 times more. :)

cryan71
08-14-2003, 12:49 PM
Also, having been backstage, its pretty dull. And why would you want to know how everything works, can't you just enjoy the magic?

hbquikcomjamesl
08-14-2003, 02:36 PM
Actually, while I'm sure there are plenty of backstage areas that qualify as "dull," there are also plenty, probably including those that might seem "dull" to those whose jobs involve looking at them every day, that are utterly fascinating to visitors.

That's why WDW visitors, myself included, will gladly spend $200 to spend a day with a Disney Institute guide, delving into the backstage areas of American Adventure and Body Wars, and visiting such places as Wardrobe, Creative Costuming, Central Shops, and the Parade Building, and walking through the Utilidors, and then turn around only two years later, on their very next visit, and spend the same $200 on the same tour, and spend their "flex features" on a backstage tour of the WDWRR.

That's why backstage visits were always the biggest draws at DL's passholder parties.

That's why I will remember -- yet also keep silent on the details of -- my visits into the bowels of the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain, until the day I die, and why I sent several letters to DL management when the DL backstage tour program was cancelled after only a few short weeks, and why I'm always delighted whenever the Walt's Footsteps tour ventures into a backstage, or even quasi-backstage, area.

Bruce Bergman
08-15-2003, 09:18 AM
As a techie, those backstage elements are the interesting things for me. Bring on the tours! :geek: I only regret that I missed the first few AP Parties with the cool backstage stuff :cool: - I got my pass after that, just in time for the Light Tragic party... :eek:

Unfortunately, I have to work on my "101 Walk-off" list to get to see these things. And the list is short - a walk-off halfway through Indy and a walk-off of Mr. Toad is about it.

Though there are the 'stucks' until they could restart the ride: Stuck 20' over London for 45 minutes on Peter Pan. Since both people in the car knew how to climb (Art Lew) I asked them to simply throw us up a rope, a harness, a helmet and a Rescue-8 descender (all of which were out in the parking lot in my trunk, here's the keys) and we would just rappel down, but for some strange reason they didn't go for it... :p

And 'Six-Shot' in the back of Jungle Cruise for a while... :fez:

--<< Bruce >>--

timothym
08-16-2003, 02:45 PM
A former neighbor of mine was training to be a professional landscaper when his entire class was invited to come to Disneyland at dawn to see the grounds crews in action. (I think they were recruiting.)

He said that he never realized just how beautiful the park was until he saw it in the early morning light with no crowds.

Now that is a "backstage" tour that makes me jealous.

Pirate Girl
08-16-2003, 09:44 PM
That would be rad beyond all reason, if only it were possible!

Pirate Girl
08-16-2003, 09:46 PM
Originally posted by timothym
A former neighbor of mine was training to be a professional landscaper when his entire class was invited to come to Disneyland at dawn to see the grounds crews in action. (I think they were recruiting.)

He said that he never realized just how beautiful the park was until he saw it in the early morning light with no crowds.

Now that is a "backstage" tour that makes me jealous.

:eek: [Jaw Hitting Floor] That is so awesome!