By now the Christmas lights have most likely been put away until needed
some time later this year, the Chia Pet you received in that Yankee gift
swap has found a niche in the closet, and most importantly that treadmill
you bought to help you lose that weight may have actually been turned
on a few times.
It’s that time of year again for everyone to sit down and make their
New Year’s resolution lists. Why should Walt Disney World be any different?
They shouldn’t.
In this session we’ll look at some resolutions that could serve well
on both sides of the Walt Disney World turnstiles. The purpose here is
to look at win-win situations and not a one-sided wish list that caters
to guests only at the expense of the resort.
Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom. Photo by Brian Bennett.
This resolution list may not be endless but it may have a few ideas worth
discussing.
Admission Media Simplification
It seems that most first-time guests are frustration by the different
admission media offerings of the Walt Disney World Resort. Although it’s
easy to argue that giving guests many different options caters to guest
needs the many choices also leads to a lot of head scratching.
So here’s our first New Year’s resolution. Simplify the admission media
choices.
How?
First limit guest to two choices: Multi-Day Passes and Annual Passes.
The multi-day pass allows the guest to define how many admission days
he or she needs – purchasing only that number of days. The more days purchased,
the lower the cost per day. The only other option is to purchase a premium
flavor, which adds in water parks and maybe Disney Quest.
Annual Passes remain as is…Regular and Premium.
This simplifies the choices and makes it easier for the guest to decide
the best option. Think of the relief of the guest who now knows that the
only decisions to make are (1) how many days and (2) whether or not water
park and Disney Quest admission need to be on the pass.
This simplification also helps the employee: there is no longer a need
to spend about ten minutes describing all the options available, hoping
not to overlook any detail.
Fastpass Central
Sometimes you hear of an idea and you say, “I wish I had thought
of that one!” This is one. It is the brainchild of Sue Pisatauro
of Small World Travel.
Fastpass at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Photo by Brian Bennett.
Sue’s idea focuses on Fastpass and she suggested that a Fastpass Central
could be placed in each theme park. This centrally located Fastpass station
will allow guests to secure a Fastpass to their favorite attraction without
having to trek all the way over to the where the attraction is located
in the park.
This idea has great merit. First this is a big time saver to the guest.
This station will list the distribution times for all the Fastpass attractions
and give the guests a real-time indication of which attraction they need
a Fastpass for at that time. Sometimes the greeter boards are a bit off,
especially when it takes time to get from the greeter boards to the attraction.
Yeah the board said 15 minutes waiting time…but when you get there it’s
now a 45-minute queue.
How does the resort gain from this? Well, the centrally located Fastpass
station hastens the guest’s ability to put off standing in line idly instead
of doing some shopping or grabbing a snack. It’s a win-win situation and
brings the Fastpass concept to a new level.
Nice thinking Sue.
Alternating Nighttime Spectaculars
This idea stems from the evolution of Disney-MGM Studios from its first
year to the present. In the early 90’s MGM offered “Sorcery In the
Sky” for it’s nightly fireworks spectacular. As the Millennium approached,
so did Fantasmic. As always you’ll find guests who prefer one to the other.
But what about those guests who would like to see both?
The Disney MGM Studios boasts two night time shows. Photo by Brian Bennett.
This resolution calls for MGM Studios to consider an alternating schedule
for Fantasmic and ‘Sorcery In the Sky”. By alternating these shows
the theme park offers guests the opportunity and choice to enjoy both
events.
An alternating schedule may mean goodness from the theme park’s perspective
as well. The assumption here is that by limiting the number of Fantasmic
performances the park could very well see a cost savings. My guess is
that Fantasmic is the more expensive of the two shows. Fantasmic involves
many performing cast members who could very well be performing in other
parts of the resort during those nights that “Sorcery” is being
shown. Then again, if they were not “on the clock” that night,
wouldn’t payroll be lightened? I guess it would come down to which of
the two shows is the most costly.
So it’s possible that moving to an alternate schedule of Fantasmic and
“Sorcery” would offer guests more entertainment choices and
possibly save some operating expenses for the theme park. Seems like a
potential win-win situation to me.
Hotel Tours
We all know about the many different “behind the scenes” tours
offered at WDW but there may be a different type of tour that is just
begging to be offered to guests. This resolution, also credited to Sue
Pisatauro, calls for the resort to consider offering hotel tours to the
Disney owned resorts.
Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Arusha Rock Lookout. Photo by Brian Bennett.
This idea stems from the constant debate about staying offsite versus
onsite. If guests, who have never experienced an onsite resort, got the
chance to see first hand what some of these resorts are like, wouldn’t
there be a chance that a percentage of these guests would more likely
try an onsite resort for their next vacation?
These hotel tours can be offered for the basic hotels and can originate
from the parks.
From the guest standpoint, they are given a chance to see what their
hotel room and amenities would be like, while from the resort’s standpoint,
it is an opportunity to do a little marketing and maybe help convince
a guest to really consider staying onsite.
Restaurant Hopping Card
I’ve often wondered why the Fantasmic Dinner Package surfaced. I can
only wonder that the reason behind this MGM offering is to entice guests
to dine more often at the park’s restaurants.
If that is the case, then why not offer guests an opportunity to “earn”
a free meal at a Walt Disney World theme park restaurant by offering an
“Around the World Dining Card” in which guests can earn a free
meal?
Teppanyaki Dining Rooms is a fun place to enjoy a meal. Photo by Brian Bennett.
Here is how this could work. A guest dines at a park restaurant that
is part of the program. At the end of the meal the guest’s card is stamped
to indicate proof that the guest has eaten there. After so many stamps
the guest is entitled to a free meal at one of those restaurants on the
program.
This works for the guest because it gives an incentive to eat in the
park. For the resort it encourages guests to eat in the parks and may
actually increase the number of restaurant patrons that the resort currently
enjoys.
Other Resolutions?
So will these resolutions join others on the heap pile and just be a
good thought that never comes to fruition? You never know. It is always
good to think about what changes would be welcomed by all involved. It
is those changes that offer a win-win situation that deserve a chance.
So here is a challenge to you. What resolutions would you like to see
made by the Walt Disney World resort? Remember, it’s the win-win resolutions
that should be considered.
Next Time
It’s time to take a mid-winter look into Mike’s Mailbag.
Class dismissed.