S
I've been hoping they would add the JW Marriott, since it seems like the other Bonnet Creek resorts get the early entry.
P
↩ replying to ToTBellHopI was the TA and TD for a high school band group and had them there 2 weeks ago. On our last day I booked us a private, early in-park breakfast at DHS with an exclusive ride experience. We met our host outside the gates at about 6:50 a.m. and got to be ushered through the guest services end of the tapstyles, walking onto Hollywood Blvd as literally the only guests in the park. The kids - who come from a poor part of Ohio and most of whom had never left the state - felt like true VIPs. We had the place to ourselves for at least 20 minutes, taking leisurely photos without anyone in the background and arriving at Midway Mania for a pre-opening ride before Early Entry had even started. From there, it was a private breakfast service at PizzaRizzo.
Never a bad experience doing this for my group trips.
C
There are now 45 listed hotels eligible for early entry. Of those 45 hotels, 11 (24.4% of all eligibles hotels) are non-Disney hotels (not counting Swan or Dolphin who have essentially always been included in these perks).
L
↩ replying to Sans SouciWrite Marriott. They have to pay for the privilege.
T
↩ replying to Coaster LoverAnd yet I always feel like there's no one there that early.
D
Can someone explain the business reason for Disney allowing this? I assume those hotels pay Disney for this perk, but surely they will lose more money by people choosing to not stay in the expensive by comparison on-site hotels?
The perks for paying the Disney premium are being eroded more and more every year.
T
↩ replying to Dan DeesneeI’m sure they have data suggesting there aren’t too many guests who would otherwise stay at Pop who choose Drury instead. I presume they are trying to convince people who would otherwise stay at a random Hilton Garden Inn to go to Drury instead. Disney gets a kickback from Drury and these perks increase the odds that these guests will keep going to Disney parks and buying $8 pretzels. Plus, as I’ve said, I doubt many from these hotels actually arrive on time for EE.
P
↩ replying to Dan DeesneeIf they regularly have more operating capacity than is used by on site guests showing up, it's more revenue. And those at off site hotels have a much harder time getting to the parks 45 minutes before opening than people who are on site. So these people are theoretically paying full price for the last 3 sips out of a soda can.
M
↩ replying to ToTBellHopAlso, Drury also pays rent to Disney being in the "Disney Springs Area." Disney wants Drury to succeed.
M
Disney continues to jam its resort guests by making early entry less and less valuable. Each new non Disney resort addition to this list creates more and more competition at rope drop for Disney resort guests. This seems pretty instructive as to what Disney thinks of those who spend the extra money to stay on property.
T
I also think expanding the benefits to “good neighbor” off-site resorts is a nudge to capture some of those dollars as opposed to going to their competitors.
A
For anyone who has been to the nighttime extended hours recently... did you find it useful/worth it?
I was at Epcot this past week during one of those nights and found the park busier filled with resort guests while the other parks felt deserted. It's almost like the best plan is to attend the parks that don't have extended hours offerings.
D
↩ replying to m steveJust to be clear, these are not "new" hotels being added for Early Entry - Disney is just extending the non-Disney hotels that were dated recently to end in 2023, to participate in Early Entry though 2024.