VRTP Membership Changes

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Not sure where you get Factory from?

 

[New display name]

I read it as he was calling the people that died, meat. 

But when I think about it, don't think it was intentional.

[REGIE]

Movieworlds notice is much more prominent being red . Which makes it hard to miss.  However dreamworlds is harder to spot. Took me a while just then till I noticed it. It’s blue and higher up making it hard to see.   But MovieWorld’s only says “important information” dreamworlds says “for maintenance page click here”.  2 easy to see buttons vs 1 harder to see button.  Both disappear when you scroll or at least they did on my device.  Don’t think either of them are winning this one.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

  

8 hours ago, REGIE said:

Don’t think either of them are winning this one.

I think the point is - neither of them are good, and both of them could do better. 

On 23/05/2023 at 7:59 AM, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

There is nothing wrong with their current approach, but they could do a better job than they currently do at pointing out their closures.

...

This is better than nothing, but still could do better.

...

• They should definitely improve on this - at minimum, make it bigger, contrast with the rest of the page (village does this better with the red bar) and don't let it disappear the moment you scroll - keep it showing on every page as part of the titlebar.

 

[Inverted]

We have cancelled our memberships after having them since they offered them.  I don't recall seeing a $189 peace offering though. 

Went to SeaWorld yesterday as a last visit.

First time getting to ride Trident.

(Every other time it has been down or have been told it's too windy to run,  funny we have seen it running on windier days) 

Now trident is a joke for a major theme park ride.   The ride itself is ok.   However we were advised when lining up that it only cycles every 15 mins due to the ride op procedure.   Now the middle seat is not for anyone above a certain height and most that will fit in that seat might be bit scared of the height.   So most cycles were 2 adults.  With 12 seats makes 24 riders + 2/3 kids. 

I don't know who at village thinks that a ride pushing 96 people an hr is a good attraction.   My advice to people going to SeaWorld is do this ride at park opening. 

Apart from this

Leviathan only opened for 1.5 hrs late in the day. 

Vortex went down and needed work. 

Jet rescue down for maintenance as is battle boats (as they should in winter) 

Even the penguins were down for maintenance 😋 probably needed to replace their batteries 😂.

Even thunder lake had a stoppage mid show for 5 mins cause part of the ski ramp came off and they had to tow the broken piece to shore.  This is for their safety I know but you would think it would be checked to see if looking dodgy before showtimes.  

Some smaller kiddy rides also closed. 

But they still crank up the membership 🤔

When we have gone the last few time we have eaten at the tavern.  So it's not like we don't want to support to parks however village have lost our $ 

 

 

 

[Brad2912]

The $189 offer is accessed by following the link in the original email.

i took up the $189 offer today but won’t be “activating it” until later this year when things start reopening.

I cancelled the membership debits after my next payment which will be the last at the original pricing meaning I have access thru to 30th June on my current pricing, and then I’ll be taking a holiday from VTP parks until I feel their is enough substance to warrant activating the 12 months - maybe even wait until white Christmas tbh

[downunder]

Wow, glad I didn't bother going to Seaworld on Sunday (possibly much the same as yesterday). I'd made the assessment it wasn't worth the risk prior to the trip. 

This membership thing has really blown up in their faces PR wise. As a potential customer, I didn't bother this trip just past based on broader issues with the parks, and that report in the previous post adds to the case against.

[Naazon]

Honestly, has it though?

It made some noise in the media for a day or two and the people on what they clearly determined as unprofitable memberships have cancelled which in business is a win.

Check back in a month or so and it will have blown over. Movieworld likely will have gains from this overall.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

21 minutes ago, Naazon said:

Honestly, has it though?

It made some noise in the media for a day or two and the people on what they clearly determined as unprofitable memberships have cancelled which in business is a win.

Check back in a month or so and it will have blown over. Movieworld likely will have gains from this overall.

I mean, it's a bit win\lose here.

Pros

• Those who take up the offer give them an immediate $189pp on the books right before EOFY. 
• Conversion rate \ Cancellation rate from Memberships means it's likely they'll finally be able to end the membership arrangements, so will reduce administration costs \ do away with debit success.
• The full ticket price comes to them

Cons

• They've pissed off a lot of long term customers
• A regularly paid revenue stream has ended
• Many folk who would drop in, have a beer or a snack, do a ride after work\school will stop coming in regularly - banking the '12 month activation' until there is a reason to visit. The short term opportunity to get additional revenue from these customers is gone.
• In-park spend will also drop from these guests when they return - the bill-shock of an upfront ticket won't wear off - people will feel like they're paying a lot more for their ticket now - even though for most its only about $40 (though that goes up to $70 after their first year) - simply because its a lump sum single price

Overall, i'm sure most members will retain some sort of annual pass. A few will cancel, though to have paid a membership for that long, they'll probably come back after taking a break.

Obviously I don't have the data, though it is technically possible for them to identify the converted members to see what their habits are like, it's hard to track in-park spending as there is no passholder discount to link spending to members (a missed opportunity IMO that Dreamworld really takes advantage of with their passholders) - in summary, they won't really know whether this conversion has negatively impacted those guests or not.

And they probably don't care.

Me personally, I know i'll visit eventually - when I have a reason to. I'm quite sure that the poor handling of this whole process will be in the back of my mind when I eventually return to the park - and it likely will influence what i'm willing to spend in park. 

[downunder]

I've been involved in a lot of product wind downs, and in my opinion which hopefully is obvious, just tell them the product is being wound up and here's your options, emphasising benefits. Jacking up the prices ridiculously and hoping people quit the product lol. It really creates a perception about VRTP.

I'll visit eventually too, though I'll be quite circumspect about it. Maybe some better product offerings for Fright Nights will get me up. Last year I wasn't going to bother and only went to Fright Nights because friends were going too, who I hadn't seen in 3 years thanks to COVID. 

At the end of the day VRTP can do what they want and consumers will do what they want based on what value perception they have of their product offerings.

[Gobbledok]

Once people have finished their piss and moan and urge to click the default like react on a gold coast bully facebook post this will have zero negative impact whatsoever on the place

It will just be yet another thing some theme park fans complain about along with the rest of the long list whilst they simultaneously show up and pay for their entry like always 

[westical]

On 30/5/2023 at 9:18 AM, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Those who take up the offer give them an immediate $189pp on the books right before EOFY.

On this point, annual passes are recognised on a straight line basis over the 12 month validity period. So they will have little impact to earnings this financial year. 

It will make cash look better, but there will be a near-corresponding unearned revenue liability.