I have been following a number of rumors and leaks regarding Disney World’s record-breaking cap ex availability, which is a bit of jargon to say that there’s some money to be spent on projects at WDW. One of the reasons for that is a strategic delaying of Tron so that Disney can have back-to-back years of new E-Ticket attraction releases at a time when money may be harder to come by for smaller theme parks.
One of the back burner projects from the past that may finally be coming to fruition is the addition of Annual Pass Lounges around the parks. I’ve heard from sources within and around Disney that management is aware for the need to give some extra perks to AP holders. Many people in that Disney-fanatic category are finding that there are just less reasons to pull them back into the parks compared with years past. But that may change with a cheap and easy shift to lounges that those who go to the parks often may find very alluring.
The concept has been around for many years and is quite simple. At a few locations around the parks, provide lounges that only annual passholders can access, and provide some pleasant amenities in those areas. Sodas, coffees, and teas could be made available at a discount. Comfortable chairs, charging stations, massage chairs, and AP merchandise vendors are some of the items that one might expect if Disney begins to implement the lounges. Some of the proposed locations in the past have included spots like the upstairs area of the Imagination Pavillion, the HP lounge in Mission Space, etc.
Image Courtesy: Disney Every Day
Putting a few lounge areas into the theme parks for annual passholders is an easy perk for Disney to implement that has little cost in comparison to other expenditures. With so much extra money to go around as Disney spaces out developments, this concept may finally get off the ground. Honestly, it’s overdue.
And hey, if they go this route, can they just sell stuff like the Figment Popcorn Buckets there as well? One more location couldn’t hurt for the eBay scalpers.
