April showers bring May flowers, and apparently they also bring reader mail. Walt Disney World Update writer Mark Goldhaber answers the first couple of letters this week. Matt S. writes:
We’re headed to WDW the last week in August. We’re staying at Old Key West using our Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points. Do you know if the free late summer dining recently announced would translate to our reservations? I wouldn’t think so, but you never know.
The free dining plan is only for folks buying a Magic Your Way package to stay at the resorts. Sorry. We’ll be at Old Key West the last week of August as well, and I wish that we could use the free dining plan.
On a side note, I checked out the paid version of the dining plan and figured out approximately what the value of the food that we’d buy off of it would be. It looked like we would save a few bucks with it, but then I remembered the DVC and AP dining discounts, and my Disney Dining Experience card discounts, and in the end it would probably cost us more than buying stuff a la carte. And without the plan, we won’t have to worry about which meals cost which credits.
Of course, with the free dining promotion going on, I hope that you’ve already made your dining reservations!
Brian B. writes:
In your park update, regarding the Tea Cups incident, you wrote, “…While it shouldn’t be necessary to remind anyone, perhaps in light of this incident it wouldn’t hurt to say it, anyway. Folks, they’re attractions at a theme park. If you miss a particular chance to get on it, you’ll get on the next time. If you’re so focused on doing one particular thing at a specific instant, perhaps you’re not in the right frame of mind to be enjoying the park in the first place. Relax, take a deep breath, put a smile on your face, and calm down. Your experience will be much more enjoyable than if you manage to force yourself into getting on one cycle earlier.”
I certainly agree that a place in line is not worthy of a fistfight. I certainly agree that Victoria Walker deserved at least the conviction that she got… if not more.
On the other hand, I certainly can understand why some people get frustrated over line-jumping at WDW and Disneyland. It is common for people to get in line while some other members of their group does something else. Then the latter walks through the queue to “catch up” with the others that have been in line.
When I was in elementary school such behavior would be called “cutting in line” and would not be tolerated by the kids OR the adults in charge! Nowadays it’s considered acceptable behavior by a large enough minority of people to make it a common occurrence at the parks.
It’s irritating and frustrating that Disney has a rule against line cutting, but doesn’t enforce it. If they gave out flyers at the park entrance that read, “here’s how we define ‘line cutting’… and if you do it, you’ll be escorted from the park for the balance of the day,” and followed through by escorting some parties out. Guess what? Line cutting would come to an end and the cause of frustration for many folks would be eliminated.
After that, they can work on the “no smoking except in designated areas rule.”
I do agree with you to some extent. However, I’d also like to note that my advice was aimed at all guests, not just folks like Victoria Walker who are upset at a perceived loss of place in line; it also was for people who are trying to push their way forward and cut into line. Perhaps I didn’t make that clear enough. Everybody should act in a way that would not upset him or her if they were in the other person’s shoes. But then again, isn’t that a great prescription for life in general?
Cast Place editor Shoshana Lewin answers a couple of letters from eager high school students who can’t wait to become Disney Cast Members. Ashlyn writes:
I am a 17-year-old student who is looking into working at Disneyland. I absolutely love the atmosphere of Disneyland and wish to be employed after college. I am not sure what job I would like to take there, but I would like to know how and when should I apply for a job. I will not graduate college until 2011, but I am sincerely interested in Disneyland. Thank You.
Look into the Disneyland College Program and Career Start Program. You can work at Disneyland for a semester while you are in college and learn about where your interests are—and you can live nearby now, as well. It can give you a lead over other applicants when/if you want professional opportunities with the company. Check out cast place on MousePlanet for more information about it.
Alyssa E. writes:
My name is Alyssa and I am a senior in high school. I have my heart set on joining the Disney College Start program and found your story really inspiring because I’m planning on majoring in journalism starting next year at Midwestern State University. I know this is something I want to do because of my absolute love for everything Disney, but I was wondering if the program benefited your career as well. Also, you said that the summer programs were harder to get into, so I was wondering which programs were at good times concerning college courses. Thanks so much for your help!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the stories. The programs are very different now than they used to be. These days every program takes place during the school year and some overlap the summer (WDW has a summer session, but that is mainly for internships).
Any role you take will absolutely help later in life, whether you choose to stay with Disney or go somewhere else (everyone will ask you what it was like to work there).
Disneyland just opened up housing, so you can now apply to the programs on either coast.
While you are working there, since your major is journalism, you can write for the cast member or college program newsletter or maybe help with the cast member TV shows. Feel free to e-mail with any questions you have!
Finally, staff writer Steve Russo’s April 18 article, “More or Less,” dealt with the perceived change in value of a visit to WDW over the years. He responds to reader comments on their own perception of value in this final group of letters. Michelle B. writes:
I read your “More or Less” article with interest. I’ve always compared WDW tickets with movie theater tickets in a “cost per hour of entertainment” ratio. The cost to see a movie now is $10 and lasts for 1.5 to 2 hours. So that’s $5-$6.66 dollars per hour.
A 1 day, 1 park ticket is $75.62. So if you spend between 11 and 15 hours in the park, you have the same entertainment value as a movie. And that is with the most expensive approach. The 7-day non-expiring with hopper is 8-11 hours of entertainment value compared with going to a movie. That seems pretty equitable to me!
That’s an interesting comparison. I wonder how it would work if you compared it to some concert tickets? Or maybe a sporting event? It might be fun if you had a few hours and a spreadsheet.
Brian S. writes:
One thing you didn’t mention in your piece about the value today versus several years ago is park operating hours. Being a left coaster, we tend to visit Disneyland more often than Disney World, however, we are constantly amazed at the early closing times of the parks at WDW versus the hours at Disneyland. In the summertime, when DL may be open until midnight or even 1:00 a.m., the Magic Kingdom is closing at 10:00 p.m. That’s 2 to 3 hours of park time that’s missed—also at night which I think is a fun time to be in the parks anyway.
You might, for a future piece on the subject, contrast the park admission price with the operating hours and see if that still equals a value.
That’s a valid point. It doesn’t strike home for me as much as others. We’re rarely in the parks for more than eight or ten hours in any given day, but for those that like to spend from opening to closing there, the number of open hours versus the cost is a valid measure.
Dan Y. writes:
A most interesting article. I have also read with some dismay the non-stop park bashing by people who profess their love of the parks and most things Disney. While my personal hit list is somewhat mixed, and all my choices are not the same as yours, Steve, I also feel that things aren’t nearly as bad as they’ve been portrayed in the Disney newsgroups.
I’ve noticed that usually the people who are the most critical are those who visit every week or even more often, and have the opportunity to spend more time seeing things that others don’t. Is there an occasional overflowing trashcan? Sure. Is this something that never happened back in the 70’s? I highly doubt it. I just got back from a week in the World, and didn’t see trash on every street, peeling paint on every wall, light bulbs out on every sign. There was a pretty skanky bathroom in Morocco one day, but that was by far the exception.
On the subject of food, for me the ‘Ohana pineapple/bread pudding thing is a huge deal. That pineapple with caramel sauce was such a perfect ending to a meat-heavy meal. I’m very glad to report that they now have restored this delicacy, if you know about it and ask for it. I did the old Dining Plan once, and wasn’t really wild about the added regimentation to my vacation. Now that they’ve greatly decreased the value, it’s a no brainer for me to avoid it. And I’m right with you, Steve, that we as tourists just shouldn’t have to plan six months ahead to get the restaurant that we want. And there’s one more issue you didn’t address – a lot of the fine dining restaurants have had their menus slashed. There’s simply no way a great restaurant like the Coral Reef should have only seven entrees on their menu, with only three of them being fish. I’ve eaten there for years, and can remember a choice of 18 to 20 entrees. And sadly this is happening at many of the nicer park restaurants.
One more thing—I’d love to see threads devoted to all of the articles on MousePlanet, similar to what they have at other web sites (“click here to discuss this article”). There’s value in being able to send you an email, but it would be much cooler to post my thoughts in public and read the thoughts of other park fans. Just a thought.
Thank you for those kind words. What a great response you supplied. We seem to agree on many items—maybe most. Yours was the second response I had specifically mentioning the Coral Reef.
Regarding the discussion… that does exist but it seems that the threads are infrequently used. We, at MousePlanet, need to do a better job of getting the word out I suppose. I’ll mention it to the folks that run the site. In the meantime, look in our Columns General forum on our MousePad discussion board.
Cathy S. writes:
First, I’ve been enjoying your columns.
Second, in your column looking at the “Good Ole Days” you left out one of my biggest gripes in the negative column on dining: The homogenizing of the menus. There is so little variety between the restaurant choices, and each restaurant seems to have fewer choices. For example, at Coral Reef, there are only two dinner entrees that are non-fish seafood (one crab and one shrimp, though since the crab is King Crab, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was seasonal). No mussels, clams, oysters, etc. Even the Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace had its menu made less adventurous from when they first opened.
First, thank you so much.
Second, you’re absolutely right… for many, but maybe not all, WDW venues. You are dead on regarding the Noodle Station. What started as a wonderful idea quickly disintegrated. Now, it’s almost never open when I’m there. I haven’t been to Coral Reef so I’ll take your word on that.
Nicholas S. writes:
Steve, I can think of a logical follow-up column for you. Unfortunately, it will be a lot tougher to research and write: “What about the intangibles and the little things?”
Live entertainment, park hours, cleanliness, cast member attitude, quality and selection on restaurant menus, handling of guest issues, park upkeep, quality and selection of merchandise… and my personal “favorite,” ubiquitous synergy. This stuff is harder to list, and harder to quantify. But I think it’s a major source of the nostalgic feelings you see.
Here are a few observations regarding dining. There are very few restaurants that require booking within the first week of the six-month window. They can probably be counted on one hand. Even at three months, seatings are available at most locations, particularly in the resorts. This may not be the case for the week after Christmas or July 4, but those are exceptional cases.
One might well say “I don’t know where I’ll be or where I’ll want to eat three months from now either, so the point still holds.” My thought is that the same argument largely holds two weeks out as much as it does three or six months out, but there’s no reasonable way the booking window would ever be cut to two weeks. The issue is simply one of demand exceeding supply.
Second observation – “Gouging” is when the guy charges you $12 for a gallon of water after an earthquake. In the case of WDW buffet locations, one has other options, such as menu-service sit-down locations. I don’t see this as “gouging”. And it will help cut down on restaurant shortages, as higher prices will reduce the demand at those locations. This doesn’t make the higher prices any more pleasant, of course, but I see it just as a business decision. If those locations are still full during those peak periods, the decision was a good one. (In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t have a problem with the guy charging $12 for water, either.)
You’re right… those intangibles, while extremely important to us, are very difficult to quantify. Maybe that’s why Disney does so much polling of their guests.
You make a great point about the ‘book ahead’ concept, but the point I tried to make (obviously ineffectively) was the loss of spontaneity in dining. At home, if we head out on a Friday night for dinner, we can usually decide spur-of-the-moment where to go. I may have to wait a bit for a table but, excepting a few exclusive places, we’ll be seated. Not so at Disney any longer but it used to be possible to get same day reservations and even (gasp!) walk-up seating.
Gouging, to me, is a more subjective thing. I understand your point. Gouging is defined as “to cheat somebody or act dishonestly by demanding an unreasonably high price for goods or services”. What’s happening is neither cheating nor dishonest but… are they demanding “unreasonably high prices”? You’re right that they have every right to ask whatever price the market will bear but we don’t have to like it. (And I DO have a problem with the $12 water guy, but that’s why they’re opinions).
