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disneyholic family
04-13-2002, 11:27 AM
was early opening in DL eliminated? (like in WDW)
if so, do you know if it will be reinstated in the summer?

MammaSilva
04-13-2002, 02:36 PM
early in, magic morning or what ever they were calling it ended in January with no return date mentioned :(

disneyholic family
04-13-2002, 07:49 PM
too bad...
from my point of view, that's the one most detrimental change they've made....
and the one that shows disney management's current lack of respect towards its customers....and lack of interest in the desires of its customers.....
maybe they've been hiring former universal managers.....

Uncle Dick
04-14-2002, 12:50 AM
Having never purchased a vacation package through Disney, I was never really thrilled by the whole Magic Morning thing. It was always disappointing to be right in front for the rope drop and then get there and encounter a long line of early entry guests. I might feel differently though if I shelled out the dough to stay on property.

berol
04-14-2002, 01:43 AM
It's coming back (if you call it that) as a tour according to disney.com. It doesn't say how long it is, if they'll change the park opening time to make room for it, or if it'll include rides. Seems like it'll have to have a few rides if they want the tour to sell.

"...we're planning to offer one tour in the early morning as the stage is being set for Disneyland... slated to begin sometime this summer."
http://disney.go.com/insider/today/page2.html

disneyholic family
04-14-2002, 06:09 AM
yes....exactly.....you found it annoying to find people already in the park....that's the point.....that's the marketing ploy to get you to stay on property in WDW or buy a disney package at DL....
after all, the disney hotels are way overpriced if there are no added benefits to using them (like early entrance)....
from a purely practical point of view, 9 am is very late in the day to open in the dog days of summer when you want to make good use of the cool early morning hours....

berol...
i'll have to check out this tour option...could be interesting...

EandCDad
04-14-2002, 06:41 AM
Actually, i think they open at 8am during the summer. At least that's what Disney.com says and what I remember from previous years. Which means the gates may open as early as 7:30. My suggestion, as always, be there as soon as the gates open.

I'm gonna agree with Uncle Dick on the magic mornings thing. We rarely stay overnight (since we live about 1.5 hours away) and I love the fact that, now, if I get to the park right when it opens, I can ride a plethora of rides with little or no lines. I couldn't really do that with magic mornings.

I do agree that it seems like it might hurt Disney property hotels. Maybe they are counting on the cost savings of not running the rides offsetting the loss. Doesn't seem like it but this a decision that benefits me in the interim, so I'm not gonna complain.

That tour looks pretty cool, but it doesn't look like it lets you in early to ride the rides, just to go on the tour.

MammaSilva
04-14-2002, 07:30 AM
I agree with EandCdad, the tour doesn't look like it will include rides, the only advantage other than getting some great Photo ops minus crowds would be that you would be IN the park when the rides opened and be 'that much closer' to your favorite....waiting to see what the price tag will be before considering it when we go again. I agree that early in was a great incentive to go thru Disney for the vacation but it got to where it wasn't exclusive to the propertys or Disney Travel, heck every hotel that is in the area had the early in passes they just charged for them over and above the cost of the flex passes. Now with our APs I save tons by staying on Harbor and booking my rooms myself instead of going thru the travel company

disneyholic family
04-14-2002, 09:14 AM
my guess is that DL is far more dependent on local patrons, so as You both said, it's probably a good decision from that point of view...
the opposite is the case for WDW.....so the jury is yet to come in as to whether it was a good idea there.....as an example....we'll be in WDW for 3 weeks...normally we spend every night in an onsite property...in very very expensive accomodations.....]
this year, of the 3 weeks, we're spending exactly 7 days on property and the rest in the top off property hotel...where you actually get true service for all that money.....
i suspect there will be others like us who will make that move....
i would NEVER have considered going off property if not for the discontinuation of early opening...
and of course, the moment people set foot off property, so begins the erosion of disney's control.....people will consider the universal properties (where you get really great value in terms of both early admission and all day express entrance into the rides)....

anyway....i think they better think it out again...

berol
04-14-2002, 12:44 PM
I noticed disney.com has the opening times up thru most the summer, so I bet they won't change them. Maybe they'll take the tour thru the most of disneyland for the half-hour before the rope drop and toontown after? Seems like an obvious thing to let people ride a fanasyland ride or 2, but watch it end with breakfast at Plaza Inn while the rope drop is going on.

The tour is kinda puzzling. If it's just a tour, the only customers I can think of would be people that wake up by 6am and want a shorter tour that won't get in the way of ride time. Seems like a pretty dinky number of people. I guess we'll figure it out in June.

Dave Z
04-15-2002, 10:13 AM
Originally posted by Uncle Dick
Having never purchased a vacation package through Disney, I was never really thrilled by the whole Magic Morning thing. It was always disappointing to be right in front for the rope drop and then get there and encounter a long line of early entry guests. I might feel differently though if I shelled out the dough to stay on property.

I liked MM because I live 400 miles away and typically could only go once in awhile. So MM was that perk that allowed me to stay ahead of the crowds. Locals don't need to 'see it all' in one visit like the long distance, once in awhile, visitor.

Plus, Wed & Sun, I think, never had MM, so that gave those two days to the local to be at rope drop without the MM crowd in front of them.

DZ

ralfrick
04-15-2002, 04:27 PM
"Having never purchased a vacation package through Disney, I was never really
thrilled by the whole Magic Morning thing. It was always disappointing to be right
in front for the rope drop and then get there and encounter a long line of early
entry guests. I might feel differently though if I shelled out the dough to stay on
property."

As was pointed out in another post, there was no early entry on Sun or Wed. More important, it was not necessary to stay in a Disney hotel, or any hotel for that matter, or buy any kind of package, at least since 1997. All you had to do was buy a flex pass at AAA, Disney Store, etc. In 1997 we had 3 day flex passes, even though we only went twice, so that we could go in early (hear that Mikey, we bought more ticket than we needed to buy; won't do that anymore.) In 2000 we bought 5 day passes because you could get early entry all 5 days. Last year there were 3 or 4 day passes, but only 1 early entry no matter which you got, so we only got a 3 day, although they comped you up to 4 days at that time. I've never stayed in a Disney hotel or bought a package. And the easy way to avoid lines after the rope drop would be to go to areas of the park that didn't open early, which was usually anywhere except Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

From a business standpoint it makes little sense to eliminate it, since, in my case, the availability, or non-availability of early entry had a direct impact on how much I spent for tickets. Plus, during the summer, when tha park opened at 8, early entry started before the free breakfast at our hotel, meaning more money for the mouse in food sales.

Uncle Dick
04-15-2002, 07:19 PM
Originally posted by ralfrick
As was pointed out in another post, there was no early entry on Sun or Wed. More important, it was not necessary to stay in a Disney hotel, or any hotel for that matter, or buy any kind of package, at least since 1997. All you had to do was buy a flex pass at AAA, Disney Store, etc.
What about non-locals who only visit the parks for one day (as my family always did)? They get the shaft.


From a business standpoint it makes little sense to eliminate it, since, in my case, the availability, or non-availability of early entry had a direct impact on how much I spent for tickets. Plus, during the summer, when tha park opened at 8, early entry started before the free breakfast at our hotel, meaning more money for the mouse in food sales.
I seriously doubt the amount of money spent on breakfast in the park is enough to offset the cost of running attractions early, paying CMs, etc. In any case, Disney has most likely run the numbers over and over enough to know what they're doing. If Early Entry was really that profitable, I think it would be back.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if it returned, now that I am a local, but I'd still feel bad for my family up north who wouldn't get to enjoy this extra perk without dishing out more money to Disney.

Aw, what am I saying anyway. Magic Mornings mean more hours for me. Bring 'em on, I say!

disneyholic family
04-15-2002, 07:48 PM
Uncle Dick....
i'm sure they've run the numbers....
but number running is a tricky business...
it's based on assumptions.....those assumptions can be your downfall....
again, while they may have assumed correctly for DL, i find it hard to believe the same is true for WDW....
the problem is, it is VERY difficult to quantify things like goodwill...
loss of total control of the customer, etc.....
part of the reason we're going back to IOA this year, despite everything is that in any case, we're staying off property for the first time in about 12 years.....and that's only because of the elimination of early entrance....
my son, the true disneyholic, even more lunatic about it than i am, even suggested that we stay at the portofino bay hotel for two days so that we can get early entrance and all day express entrance at universal....
that sort of erosion of total psychotic devotion to disney is indeed very hard to quantify.....and it may take a few years for the full effect to be felt...
nevertheless, i am convinced that vis-a-vis WDW, this was a classic penny wise/pound fullish decision....
the number crunchers should be fired for this one...

ralfrick
04-15-2002, 08:53 PM
"What about non-locals who only visit the parks for one day (as my family always did)?

Go on a Wed. or Sun. when there was no early entry.

disneyholic family
04-15-2002, 08:58 PM
let's try that again....

regarding WDW it was a penny wise/pound FOOLISH decision (thanks...i hate hate hate hate hate typos...my own that is...)

Uncle Dick
04-15-2002, 09:21 PM
Originally posted by ralfrick
Go on a Wed. or Sun. when there was no early entry.
1) How are they supposed to know what days Magic Mornings are?
2) What about church/school/work?

ralfrick
04-16-2002, 05:00 PM
1) How are they supposed to know what days Magic Mornings are?

I found out on the internet; phones would work as well.

2) What about church/school/work?

Most schools and jobs provide vacations. In religious matters I leave it to each individual to decide.

And if having early entry is that important to someone, recognizing this is all academic at this point, they could pony up for a multi-day ticket even if only going once. If it's worth it to them, they will. For example, paying to see Fantasmic from the balcony, or buying a more expensive ticket at Universal for a front of the line pass.