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View Full Version : AP survey hints at black out strategy



olegc
09-22-2016, 06:49 AM
Several reports surfaced today about surveys being conducted in parks asking AP holders whether they would buy a ticket to see a new attraction or just wait two months until their pass was valid.

http://www.slashfilm.com/ap-block-out-for-star-wars-land/

Seems like it could be a setup for the way Star Wars land would be opened but Disney would not confirm. I know in the past new attractions have debuted closer to Memorial Day to capture the broad summer season but maybe now they are rethinking it. It also doesn't go into whether current passes would have their dates changed. Maybe they would even consider an even higher priced pass to get you access. Who knows...

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Berry Princess
09-22-2016, 08:36 AM
I thought I saw something about this a bit ago. Wouldn't surprise me if they did this. The fact is they made a big mistake IMO putting it in DL when the crowds in that park can be pretty bad most days. Throw in Star Wars when it opens and how many days will we see them shutting the gates because of Apers and all other kinds of guests that are planning to make sure to go when it opens? Yet the fact is there are those APers that will pay for anything and everything Disney will add on as extra no matter the cost and Disney knows it. What wouldn't surprise me is if they were to open it in the summer after the So Cal APs are blocked. Which in turn would be where they could offer those people tickets for a day in the summer to go or they could wait the 2 months. But would they do this with the other APs or would they ones open in summer be allowed in as usual? If they did block the others or all but the top...the fact is there are also many Apers that do not live in the area as well so it would be an added cost for them in their vacation if they chose that time to go and see it. Which would they? Or would it just depend on how much extra? No matter what some may think, and wish, the fact is that Disney wants the parks as full as they can be. To them it equals money. Which in turn I can see them doing something like this for the money. They are a company and will always look at ways they might charge people for other things outside the ticket/food/merchandise.

AnotherJenny
09-22-2016, 09:22 AM
Didn't DCA 2.0 debut after the So Cal blocks had started for the summer? I had Premium at the time, I got lucky and mine expired on 6/15 that year. (Although in the end I renewed anyway.) I had some friends that paid for the preview experience that the offered, but I didn't think it was worth it for me.

I also remember they did the AP merchandise preview on Stage 17, that included food samples and a photo op at least a month in advance. I didn't buy anything, but I did camp out overnight for LE pins when DCA opened and bought some things on BVS that weren't in the preview. Then when they did the preview for the 60th, they charged $100 for the privilege of shopping a day or two early. There has to be some kind of medium between a totally free preview that runs for a week on a massive scale and charging $100 for access one day early. I thought it was cool at the DCA opening that so many people already had shirts and hats to wear. But ever since then they've limited any kind of preview event to press and bloggers. Which I understand why that's who they want to see something first, but most of the time they're just bringing their kids and then posting the press release if anything at all. Did they need to block off Tomorrowland for a whole day for Season of the Force for that? Regular park guests can be asked to use a hashtag and once people see it online, they'll find the rest of the posts and pics that way.

candles71
09-22-2016, 09:35 AM
Jenny, I was thinking SoCal passes were blocked by the time Carsland opened on June 15, 2012 as well. So, I didn't see this as any different. I think they were able to get in on AP preview days before hand. I don't recall there being a charge for those though, just a very slammed system to sign up. We saw it during the party/media day. You couldn't pay us to be across the Esplanade in DCA on the 15th. The 90 minute line for Matterhorn was bad enough. As we entered DL just after they opened DCA's gates (fireworks went off while we were waiting at the crosswalk), the line to get in to DCA was snaked across all the way to the Monorail track. The lines to get in to DL were 3 people deep.
We ONLY went because we had won party tickets, we had no intention of going until the crowds had died at least a little. So, no even if we were blocked we would not pay to be there as it opens. Even if we weren't blocked we likely wouldn't be there at opening.

bumblebeeonarose
09-22-2016, 02:17 PM
They are a company and will always look at ways they might charge people for other things outside the ticket/food/merchandise.

Private parties with exclusive time in the new land in the month leading up to the official opening of Star Wars Land could be in our future.

I wouldn't pay more to be among the first because it isn't important to me, but to many it is. It would be interesting if they sold blackout tickets again after discontinuing them. Or maybe they're hoping people will pay full price and/or upgrade their APs so they aren't blocked when Star Wars opens.

jswtsang
09-22-2016, 09:17 PM
Maybe because I'm getting old and crochety, or maybe it's older and wiser, but I'd definitely wait it out. I remember being there when Monsters Inc. ride opened and waiting and excruciating 2 hours to ride it. Afterwards my then boyfriend, now husband said "I want that two hours of my life back" and we were just two adults. I cannot imagine trying to wait that long with children. I have waited with my little ones for about 45 min for peter pan, but only because they *really* wanted to go and were willing to wait. I was not around when the little mermaid ride debuted, but went for the first time last year and was so pleasantly surprised with how quick the line was. We like star wars but I would rather wait until the hype dies down.

Engine74
09-23-2016, 12:50 PM
Maybe because I'm getting old and crochety, or maybe it's older and wiser, but I'd definitely wait it out. I remember being there when Monsters Inc. ride opened and waiting and excruciating 2 hours to ride it. Afterwards my then boyfriend, now husband said "I want that two hours of my life back" and we were just two adults. I cannot imagine trying to wait that long with children. I have waited with my little ones for about 45 min for peter pan, but only because they *really* wanted to go and were willing to wait. I was not around when the little mermaid ride debuted, but went for the first time last year and was so pleasantly surprised with how quick the line was. We like star wars but I would rather wait until the hype dies down.

Mermaid was not too bad when it opened since it is a "people eater" ride. Toy Story was bad when it opened. The queue was across the boardwalk by the Screaming launch area then you crossed over to the normal area. Same with the subs when they reopened. The queue started back in Fantasyland by the smoking area then along the water to where it is today. Hopefully one of the new attractions in Starwars Land is a "people eater" style like Mansion or Mermaid.

jswtsang
09-25-2016, 07:22 PM
Mermaid was not too bad when it opened since it is a "people eater" ride. Toy Story was bad when it opened. The queue was across the boardwalk by the Screaming launch area then you crossed over to the normal area. Same with the subs when they reopened. The queue started back in Fantasyland by the smoking area then along the water to where it is today. Hopefully one of the new attractions in Starwars Land is a "people eater" style like Mansion or Mermaid.

That would be good, my son loves Star Wars, which is odd because he's only 4 and we've never watched it, but whenever he sees anything star wars, he exclaims STAR WARS! lol. I also love the fast queues, give me Mansion, Pirates, Mermaid or Small World any day! :)

AnotherJenny
09-25-2016, 09:36 PM
The first week or so Little Mermaid was open the line continued on the other side of the walkway by Golden Zephyr. I had been on it during the AP preview, but my sister's AP was about to expire, so I waited in it for something like 90 minutes. I couldn't believe I was doing that for a ride I had already been on.

bumblebeeonarose
09-26-2016, 06:07 PM
The first week or so Little Mermaid was open the line continued on the other side of the walkway by Golden Zephyr. I had been on it during the AP preview, but my sister's AP was about to expire, so I waited in it for something like 90 minutes. I couldn't believe I was doing that for a ride I had already been on.

We were there days after it opened. My mom was with us for just three days and we waited well over an hour so she could ride it. Day she left we went without her and there was no line. The day she rode it local passes were not blocked (M or T in June), we went on Wednesday and the park was less crowded. Since then I haven't seen a line longer than 10 minutes for Mermaid, and it's usually basically a walk-on.

sjhanksaz
10-04-2016, 03:42 PM
So lets say you purchased a 12 month pass but they were going to black out 3 months of it for an opening of something like star wars land. Would the pass be good for 15 months then or would they discount the price because you were actually buying only a 9 month pass?

3Princesses1Prince
10-04-2016, 03:47 PM
So lets say you purchased a 12 month pass but they were going to black out 3 months of it for an opening of something like star wars land. Would the pass be good for 15 months then or would they discount the price because you were actually buying only a 9 month pass?

No. All passes are for 12 months. The number of block outs will determine the difference in pricing for the different levels.

Berry Princess
10-04-2016, 07:12 PM
I think if Disney was block out a whole 2-3 months that it would end up being certain APs and on top of it have that all figured out so the info was made aware by a certain time frame for those to decide if they wanted to stay with that AP or upgrade to whatever one otherwise. I would guess this is why they are asking the questions...as well as seeing if they can make money off those blocked if they are wiling to pay to get in during that time frame still or not. Yet I wouldn't be surprised if Star Wars was to open once 2 lower passes are blocked out and if they threw in extra days those are blocked out.

bumblebeeonarose
10-05-2016, 09:31 AM
So lets say you purchased a 12 month pass but they were going to black out 3 months of it for an opening of something like star wars land. Would the pass be good for 15 months then or would they discount the price because you were actually buying only a 9 month pass?

They're probably looking at a lot of different things. Maybe another pass type (such as one that is only blocked in the summer and Christmas). Also could be looking at when to block the lower level passes during the year(s) that they debut Star Wars (and maybe Marvel). So they could change the current blockout dates for the SoCA passes in upcoming years (they fluctuate some now) so that they cannot visit Star Wars at all for 2 months because it opens say the last week of June and they block those two passes until the end of August.

I don't think the idea is to restrict those who have the no blockout (or Christmas only) passes. The idea is to block those at the lower level so that: A) They buy a higher level pass that year, B) They stick with their pass and are not part of the crowding problem during initial opening because they are blocked out, C) They buy a one day pass so they can experience Star Wars earlier than they otherwise could.

currence
10-05-2016, 10:11 AM
So lets say you purchased a 12 month pass but they were going to black out 3 months of it for an opening of something like star wars land. Would the pass be good for 15 months then or would they discount the price because you were actually buying only a 9 month pass?

I don't see them changing from being a 12 month pass, but as long as they only open a new something special in one park, the pass would presumably still be good in the other park. So for Star Wars land, you could still go to DCA and for Marvel/ToT you could still go to DL. This is probably even easier to implement at WDW, where they have more parks.

Not addressed in this survey but also a possibility is that they make Fastpasses not work for the first x period after an opening. It would probably be a lot easier to code and a lot easier to tell people that since they never promised Fastpasses with admission they can take it away without notice. But, since many AP holders would still wait in a physical line (like we all did for The Little Mermaid), I'm not sure what good that would actually do.

olegc
10-05-2016, 11:54 AM
I think it states on all pass documents that entrance is subject to change - so even though you buy a Signature for every day except last 2 weeks of the year - they could change that policy for temporary needs (3 months being the temporary). Also, if the speculation around the queues is any indication, the lines will be so long without FP that I would dread what FP would do - and that's why FP+ may be the necessary thing (as well as saying no FP for a while).

currence
10-05-2016, 12:45 PM
Also, if the speculation around the queues is any indication, the lines will be so long without FP that I would dread what FP would do - and that's why FP+ may be the necessary thing (as well as saying no FP for a while).

If you go the other direction - make the line FP ONLY - you don't have more people queuing than you have a place to put them. Increase the number of FP (or FP+ ) to the maximum allowed based on ride capacity, and if you kept it off the grid (like Carsland initially) you could program just those machines to not work for AP holders. If an AP holder wanted to get a FP, they would then have to buy a day-ticket so that it would work with the machine. DL would still have to deal with the bad publicity of being sold out early every day, but they wouldn't have the bad publicity of 3+ hour waits in line.

And with Fantasmic & World of Color now being FP only, there is a precedent to doing something like that.

Of course, I participated in an AP survey years ago where a lot of cool ideas were discussed but to date nothing from that survey that I recall has been implemented. Who knows what they will actually do when the time comes.

candles71
10-05-2016, 02:43 PM
I think it states on all pass documents that entrance is subject to change - so even though you buy a Signature for every day except last 2 weeks of the year - they could change that policy for temporary needs (3 months being the temporary). Also, if the speculation around the queues is any indication, the lines will be so long without FP that I would dread what FP would do - and that's why FP+ may be the necessary thing (as well as saying no FP for a while).
Universal added black out dates to our last pass.

Disneyphile
10-08-2016, 02:16 PM
Instead of passes with blackout dates, it would just make more sense to have one big non-blackout AP at a premium price and 5 and 10 day tickets with a one-year expiration. The crowds would even themselves out more, and people would stay for an entire day, thus purchasing food and drink as well. It would be more profitable for Disney, and more affordable for guests.

currence
10-08-2016, 03:21 PM
Instead of passes with blackout dates, it would just make more sense to have one big non-blackout AP at a premium price and 5 and 10 day tickets with a one-year expiration. The crowds would even themselves out more, and people would stay for an entire day, thus purchasing food and drink as well. It would be more profitable for Disney, and more affordable for guests.

They sort of have that with the 2 & 3 day So Cal tickets in the Spring. We are planning on treating those as a mini-AP if we get them next year.