I figure they are going to check your room key upon entry ( which they do now ) and then give you a STAMP on your hand to verify-
I doubt you will have to show your room key on every ride. thats a disaster waiting to happen.
I figure they are going to check your room key upon entry ( which they do now ) and then give you a STAMP on your hand to verify-
I doubt you will have to show your room key on every ride. thats a disaster waiting to happen.
I think that if they get rid of EMH, they will have to offer something to make staying on property more appealing, besides free parking. Quite honestly, I would pay a few extra bucks to get thinner crowds on an extended ticket. Didn’t they offer something like that in the past, before EMH was free with on property stay?
I am not looking forward to having to take my tickets out for every attraction. The laniard is a great idea, but I prefer the wristbands.
The problem is that would be no different than the hard ticketed events. You would still need to either clear out the park at, or prior to, the start time of the "E-Ticket" night or "paid EMH," or find some way to tag those that are there "legally."
If they want to keep the park open, but only let certain people - resort partons - on rides/attractions after a certain hour, then they will need to go back to something like the old coupon books that could be dispersed at the resorts or have wristbands, pins, lanyards, etc. to flag ride/attraction operators that this person is eligible to participate.
The point I was trying to make, but didn't, was that in removing the wristbands and having ride/attraction operators checking KTTW cards, I believe the system will become broken very quickly, providing the impetus to have the EMHs become hard ticket (paid) events available only to resort patrons. In my opinion, this would be just another way to stick their hands even more deeply into the vacationers pockets.
I couldn't agree more! It's not like someone at Disney just up and said, "Hey let's do away with wristbands, just because." I'm sure this was thought out, pros and cons, as most business decisions are. Is it perfect for everyone? No. Is the demise EMH a forgone conclusion? Absolutely not. Do people stay onsite solely because of the evening EMH perk? I believe people stay on site for a great number of reasons, maybe one of which is evening EMH... Will people cheat the system? Probably, although I'm apparently so naive that they concept of giving my wristband to someone else for this purpose didn't even cross my mind until I read this post.
And yes, I have a child, yes I've been there for EMH - yes, I have taken out my passes for fastpasses countless times - yes, I've worn pants without pockets - yes, I've had my pass demagnitized and yes, I do put charging priveleges on my card. In case anyone was wondering...
I too will wait to see how it works before critiquing the change. I have stood in some LOOOOONNNG lines waiting for my wristband too, so that wasn't the perfect solution either.
And finally, as for the cost-cutting part of the discussion. If Disney can find ways to cut costs that doesn't upset guests or cast members too greatly, I'm all for it. If they make money, they stay in business, and then they can maintain and/or expand my favorite vacation destination!!!
Question: If you loose you room card, can you get it replaced somewhere within the parks?
If you can, I see the risk of loosing your card as minor. If you cannot, the effect of forcing you out of the park would make me reconsider staying on-site.
I am never afraid to tell Disney how I feel. Doing so, is all that has us returning in Sept. I was starting to get very excited, thinking that this trip may salvage the one we had in Feb that sent us home, burning mad in the car for 16hrs, however, if our day at MK ends up being a disaster, then whatever this new EMH system becomes (better or worse), won't matter to me much anymore. It will be a LONG time before I go back and I will never become a DVC member, because after 3 trips of planning there and loving it as much as I do, I don't think that, over time, my heart can handle the change of business that happens and the care that seems to be dwindling down, even after the short 2 years that I have been going to Disney. We shall see, but I can see our perks changing in the future and that will disappoint me. I just talked DH into DVC, too.
One of the times I was a guest on property, we intended to use our card for a purchase and somehow the stripe got messed up. We had to return to the resort to have it fixed (aka - getting a new one), so if they are able to issue them from MK, Epcot, etc, then it is something relatively new.
We experienced this this year as DVC members with annual passes. We used our annual passes to enter the park and the Key to the World card only opened the door. The CM at the entrance asked us to have them out when we entered early for EMH at the MK one day, but the CM at the turnstile barely glanced at it - definitely didn't check dates. Guess that is the same as the new system for evening hours.
But...... but..... Marker...... They're doing this to me, I just know it! They've probably been following my trip plans on here with the entire goal of inconveniencing me as much as possible and driving me away to other theme parks!! :pout:
I agree with you, give it a chance and see how it works before declaring the end of Disney as we know it. The stamps idea someone mentioned seems like it'd be a lot quicker (and hence less expensive) than wristbands, maybe that's the plan? I remember (at least I think this was at Disney) when years ago if you left the park and wanted to come back you got your hand stamped with a UV visible ink and showed that when you returned.
I agree with BMan62 that the EMH perk for resoort guests will eventually become a hard ticket event.
It's just the way that Disney does business these days. They get you hooked on something for free, like the dining plan, and then they slowly start taking things away.
The free parking for resort guest will probably be next.
Since becoming a DVC member, I have read a lot of posts from people complaining about services and perks going away while the prices keep going up.
I've also had a lot of trouble making reservations for places like the Beach Club Villas and the Wilderness Lodge. Our home resort is OKW, but we'd like to try the other resorts sometime.
If this is the direction that Disney keeps going in, I will seriously think about selling my DVC timeshare.
Just another reason to avoid the over-crowded EMH nights.......
My first visit to DW was 2003 and I had the one time joy of experiencing an "E-RIDE NITE" - I think it was $12.00 a person, boy do I miss that experience every time I visit Mickey's World. Although the event wasn't EMH, the crowds were low and the cost was reasonable.
I think the Disney Marketing Wizards have already tested a version of the new EMH hard-ticketed event - can you say Princess and Pirate's Party? As long as the Marketing Wizards can recycle a $40.00 hard-ticket event with a different theme and the guests are willing to pay for it, I think we all have seen the future of "EMH", or E-RIDE nights, it’s only a matter of time.
Anybody have any ideas on where to get lanyards? I'd rather have a pouch-like lanyard but I'd like to have some "character" to it - like Mickey Mouse or Walt Disney World logo on it. I'd rather not have to punch a hole into my key when I get it.
I'd also like to get them before we get down there for our trip in October.
Thanks in Advance.
BTW, I liked the arm bands; kept them for our scrapbook but I'm willing to try something new if it will work.
I think you can put us in the category of "I hope I don't lose my KTTW". I will definately not be putting charging priviledges on our keys this trip. In the past we didn't mind waiting in line for 2-3 min. for an EMH wristband. It really wasn't a big deal for us. Oh well, we'll continue to roll with the punches. In the big scheme of things, this change really doesn't rate high on our radar. Now, if Disney begins charging for EMH, we'll really start to re-think things.
We bought our lanyards at our local dollar store. We have Mickey, Tinkerbell and Cars themed lanyards.
Call me Pollyanna, but I'd so rather be pulling out my KTTW card to get on every ride during EMH, than to be pulling out my MetroCard to be getting on the subway for a commute into work or back home at night. Like they say... a bad day at Disney is still better than a good day at home! :mickey:
And I think the idea of the hand stamp upon entering the park is brilliant. Or at the resort at check-in... hmmm, maybe a tattoo (temporary ... only joking).
I agree, Kathy. The crowds should be better, if the cards are checked properly.
We have regular pin lanyards that they sell in the parks, however, we bought the card holders at the park and some resorts. The card holders are plastic, some with the ziploc tab on the top of the pouch, others with an actual zipper type thing on the top. Mine has a Tinkerbell on it, I have seen some with a Mickey Mouse.
I am sure that they will program the key printing machines to make the valid dates much more clear on the tickets after September 7th. It will be easy for a CM to do at a glance. It will be easier to abuse but not that bad, IMHO.
The biggest hassled will be digging the cards out. I'm sure the CM will look at only one of our cards if I have all 6 in my hand.
I cannot get upset about the change at this point... I'll reserve judgment until after it has been implemented and I actually have experienced it.
But I do not see how this procedural change alone will precipitate a significant increase in the level of EMH abuse.
This change will not increase the number of WDW resort (on-site) guests who:
1) have friends/relatives who either live in Orlando or who are staying off-site at the exact same time as them; and
2) are unscrupulous enough to abuse the system.
And, as a previous poster stated, these individuals just as easily could have cheated the current system using old EMH wristbands. Personally, we have A LOT of EMH wristbands from previous visits, in a vast array of colors.
Perhaps I'm giving WDW too much credit... but I just do not have the doomsday attitude that a small procedural change signals the erosion of every benefit of being an on-site guest! :mickey: