Theme Park Review Premium Membership Questionnaire

[snorkymn]

I voted no. I consider taking a TPR trip about as premium as you can get. So any premium membership, IMHO, should be included as part of that. (At least for a year after the trip)

 

Of course, those that aren't paying thousands to do a TPR trip, may more easily come up with $40 to join the club.

[psyhunterson]

Ι don't like the idea of another subscription for coasters. I already have one that comes with a magazine.

 

I love this site and the thought that it will have a payment requirement is sad.

 

As for the trips, it'll be great for those who attend regularly, but for me who lives at the other side of the world, the whole thing will offer nothing.

 

I prefer to support TPR by buying cool coaster stuff and dvd's from the online store.

 

I guess nothing is for free anymore...

[robbalvey]

I'm also a little annoyed that I wouldn't be able to get into events without getting this membership, because previously I could with just a regular membership.

Um...where did it say you wouldn't be able to get into events without getting this membership?

 

We would offer certain trips and events just for Premium Members, but we will still offer quite a few events for non-Premium Members as well, just like we always have.

 

I love this site and the thought that it will have a payment requirement is sad.

I really think that many of you are not READING the thread before you are posting. TPR as you love it now, WILL NOT BE CHANGING!!!

 

There won't be any changes for non-premium members.

 

--Robb

[psyhunterson]

If everything in the site stays accessible for everyone (coastertube included), then it's fine for those who'd like to pay for some extra things ofcourse...

[Jojo19799]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

I think this is a great idea.

 

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

At the moment no.

 

3. Is this something that interests you?

Very much so.

 

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

I am interested in joining. I was thinking about joining ACE just for some of the events, but I would much rather go to the events with other TPR members.

 

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

Would having a premium membership let us have some sort of discount on trips as well? Even if you didn't offer a discount on trips, it wouldn't bother me because I feel that the price for trips is very reasonable.

[fordprefect11]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

 

It sounds like a really good idea, but will I really benefit as I live in the UK and it's too expensive to trave abroad to all the fantastic parks both in the US and internationally

 

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

 

Not really you've pretty much got it covered, unless you could negotiate travel discounts for international members, or all member that need international travel (rising costs of airfare and TPR being so big surely you can negotiate with a global airline for some form of discount?)

 

3. Is this something that interests you?

 

Sure am interested, and wish there were more decent theme parks in the UK

 

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

 

Can't see that I would benefit due to the lack of theme parks in the UK, but if I were due to travel to USA again, I would probably join for the year that included that trip so I could get some real use out of it.

 

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

 

How about a "guest membership card" I assume that most people have a partner or family that may or may not love the coasters as much as the main premium member but goes to the parks together. If a full premium member gets early admission and all the other benefits and additional $40/$50 for their partner would be a bit expensive just so they could go together so a guest membership card or "premium member +1" system could be a great addition

[tigerxeyez]

For some reason, I'm not getting the option to vote in the poll, but Wagner and I most likely would pay for the premium membership.

 

Never mind! It worked now!

[bckpack]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

3. Is this something that interests you?

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

 

1-Great, another forum or blog wants to upsell me a premium membership; I've seen this before.

2-No

3-Not interested at all.

4-I wouldn't make use of any of the perks and, honestly, I'm tired of getting hit up or having premium features held over my head for joining / donating.

5-Although not evident by my post count I have been checking TPR almost daily ever since I came across it looking for WDW info 5 years ago. My issue is that I have a lot of interests. I regularly participate, or at least lurk, in forums or blogs related to theme parks and Disney, woodworking, firearms and concealed carry, mountain biking, self sufficient living and a few others. At least one forum or blog in each of these categories has come up with a premium membership option within the past year. At first I thought it was a neat idea but quickly became irritated when more features were taken away and only offered at the premium level. I cannot afford to join the premium club for every site I enjoy reading.

 

Additionally, while hoping that current stuff won't change who is to say that threads I would be interested in aren't posted in a members only forum which I don't have access to. I would be missing out even if I never wanted to go on a TPR trip or purchase anything from the store.

 

Another concern is whether this is only putting off the inevitable. What happens when the revenue from memberships dries up? I'm the last guy to ask about how internet advertising works and the costs associated with running a forum but I've seen examples of promises to remain "ad free" turn into "ad free for paying members" to "ad free except for screened sponsors", etc. While I understand that someone has to pay for the forums I would be much more apt to donate a few bucks a year instead of feeling like I'm missing out unless I join the premium club.

[robbalvey]

If everything in the site stays accessible for everyone (coastertube included), then it's fine for those who'd like to pay for some extra things ofcourse...

That's the plan!

[antmcmullen]

1. Sounds great. It supports the website and has benifits plus reduces the eye sores caused by Banners

 

2. for $40/$50 I think this is obsenely good value for the things your offering Perhaps have small adverts for non premium people?

 

3. Where do i sign?

 

4. I Can't see whats wrong with it.. Good Value for a Great Site/Service & Site

 

5. Muchos happier than Adverts for All.. COuld we have a membership tag like [Premium Member] userbar thing under the profile picture

[Moose]

I love this idea. I have met a ton of great people because of this site and would love to do something to help with its running and upkeep.

 

I am not someone who buys much from the store (though I LOVE my new hoodie), so this membership is a great way to help. I see all the perks as an added bonus.

[wiyoh1984]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

 

Where do I sign up?

 

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

 

I think the perks to be offered are good enough

 

3. Is this something that interests you?

 

Most definatly!

 

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

 

I'm all for it!

 

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

 

I think this is a great opportunity! I will sign up as soon as this new feature is available!

[reanimated35]

I think it's a great idea. Unfortunately, not for me as I live in Australia and only visit the parks on the Gold Coast

 

 

*I voted yes in the pole since I would sign up if in the US

[wiyoh1984]

I'm excited about the new premium membership; I look forward to sharing this information to my friends so they can join as well.

[KCForce]

I voted no at this point, as my spouse was laid off last year and just started back to work and we are trying to catch up on bills, so things that aren't necessities (though if my situation were different, I would have voted yes) are not being indulged at the moment. I did buy a couple of cd's this past year, so I helped contribute that way, and once things pick up, I'll buy more. I have a suspicion that others are in the same situation, and if things were different economy wise, they would jump all over it. I just don't have nor can I justify 40.00 extra dollars right now. Perhaps in 6 months, once we've caught up.

Peace!

[Kevin Long]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

 

This looks like a great Plan and VERY worth the investment. Certainly more cost effective to west coast members, simply due to proximity issues with a lot more theme parks. but over all a great value.

 

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

 

Not with this particular package. any smaller membership packages would be appreciated. although that might just make more work for you.

 

I might suggest banner ads on the site created by you specifically directing visitors to the TPR store. I think a great many people forget it is there unless reminded and you could drive non member traffic or wander in traffic as well. Plus most of us would not mind you pimpin' your own stuff. we all know the quality. As long as any ads are Very relevant to the subject at hand I think most people understand the need to make money to keep the site going.

 

3. Is this something that interests you?

 

No - despite what I have written and truly believe about the value of this package. As a mid westerner and an old dude who is very unlikely to go on a TPR trip, my money would be best spent directly in the TPR store.

 

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

 

See above.

 

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

 

I can see a potential problem if the number of preferred members exceeds the number of available trip slots too often. Plus the preferred members, while deserving of a break as members, seem to get a LOT more chance to go on a more popular TPR trip. Remember Jim Bakker selling 20,000 timeshares to a resort with 10,000 rooms. Why be preferred if you can't get into a trip anyway.

 

I think to grow the preferred members you need to make sure that some newbies can get into these trips as well, we were all new here once, and a trip is good way to get to know everyone further. It sounds like a new person could get squeezed out in the preferred lottery. If they can't get to experience a TPR trip they may not become preferred members.

 

Also Don't sell your trips too short, they are a great value unto themselves, maybe a preferred membership discount on those might be more equitable without squeezing out the non preferred member. Say 5-10% off your trip price.

 

Anyway my 25 cents worth.

 

Kevin Long

Old dude in the midwest.

[laracroft]

I'm not a huge fan of this. Not because of the money ($50 a year is nothing!), but because of the potential exclusion it could create.

 

The biggest perk would be getting priority placement on trips. But this would become meaningless if too many people had premium memberships (yes, I'm sure you have thought of this). Those who chose not to have premium memberships for financial reasons, or just for the principle of it, would be disadvantaged in terms of trip waiting lists, forcing them to get premium memberships if they really wanted to go on a trip. A lottery really seems like a fairer way to go. Or if Robb and Elissa pick who they want to be on the trips; hell they're your trips, you can do what you want!

 

A separate premium membership board/forum seems exclusionary.

 

I am definitely not arguing about the value for money offered here. I would pay it no problems. It's just the principle of it that I'm not sure I like. That being said, I'd probably pay it if there was a trip I really wanted.

[dammie16@vt.edu]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

 

This is an excellent idea and should not be viewed as a money making scam that will ruin the fun atmosphere of TPR! I only see it going bad if you get greedy and start taking things away from "free" members, but nothing I have ever seen on this site indicates that happening as you guys love your readers!

 

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

 

An East Coast Bash? haha but no I can't think of anything else.

 

3. Is this something that interests you?

 

Right now no because I can't really utilize it (Aside from the forum and discounts) and don't know if that would add up to the value of the membership. In the future when I will be able to go on trips, absolutely.

 

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

 

It has been said a bunch, but I can see this losing value from "exclusive" trips if 20-30% of people on here buy them and they become less exclusive, but even that isn't really a bad thing.

 

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

 

Not that I can think of, maybe monthly discounts in the TPR store. Like Jan. is 5% off DVD's for members, Feb. is 5% off t-shirts, something like that.

[rollin_n_coastin]

This is fantastic. I like the idea that it's a choice and that the site will remain as is for all members. Being a member for a while now, I don't think anyone should fear losing out on all the main features of the site because you don't sign up for a premium membership. Robb and Elissa put their hearts into this site for everyone.

 

Is the site for everyone? Absolutely! Is the premium membership for everyone? Nope and the fact that you don't need it to enjoy the core benefits of the site will further set TPR apart.

 

That being said, I don't buy a lot from the store because of duty and shipping annoyances so any way to support the site without feeling guilty about downloading all the freebies is always welcome, like the Christmas present DVD. Definitely count me in!

 

I also love the idea of a quarterly or semi-annual pdf that could obviously be a lot of fun and uniquely TPR. Time will always be an issue so I'm sure that you'll find a lot of people that would love to help out on such a project. I know I would. It could go beyond re-stating news and provide commentary from certain members (I keep thinking of Dave's Take on whatever lol). Maybe a blurb on pole/ survey results, member profile(s), R&E happenings and anything unrelated. I love the weekly emails and they do most of the job when not checking the site frequently. Definitely agreed that if it's a simple re-hash of news and events, there would be no need since it's already done daily and weekly.

 

Cheers,

J

[robbalvey]

Not that I can think of, maybe monthly discounts in the TPR store. Like Jan. is 5% off DVD's for members, Feb. is 5% off t-shirts, something like that.

Well, I really wish we could do this, but as it is now, $10 DVDs, $8 T-Shirts, and $3 downloads are about as low as we can possible go!

 

--Robb

[petestrash]

Question for some of you that want a "monthly newsletter" from TPR -

 

At the moment we give you a "daily newsletter." What would be the benefit of re-hashing everything you read on the forum and putting it into another (more expensive to produce) format and then distributing it?

 

Unfortunately I don't get enough free time to digest all the great info on TPR.

 

I would pay for a subscription to an online newsletter (magazine format) where the months news and reviews have been summarized, with the option to print and read offline.

 

Peter.

[robbalvey]

I would pay for a subscription to an online newsletter (magazine format) where the months news and reviews have been summarized, with the option to print and read offline.

If someone could help us research software that could help us produce this, we would absoultely look into it!

[robbalvey]

I've updated the first post in this thread. See if that helps explain things a bit more. And to address the issue of more premium members than spots on a trip, I've added the part in bold:

 

Priority Placement on TPR Trips - This means that if we have a trip that has sold out and you are on a wait list, someone who is a premium member will have priority over someone that is not a premium member. Same thing also goes for during sign ups, if we have 50 spots on a trip, and 55 people signed up, if there is room available, the Premium Members will get a spot on a TPR trip over someone who is not a Premium Member. Please note that this is not a GUARENTEED placement on a trip, but you would be given "priority." If it ends up being that we have more premium members signed up for a trip than we have spots on a trip, well, that's a GREAT problem for us to have! I would **LOVE** to be in the position where we'd have to find a solution for this, and please trust us, we would find a solution that would be fair and make both premium members and non-premium members very happy!

[Reon]

1. What are your initial thoughts?

 

I feel a little uneasy. Its great that TPR continues to come up with great ideas, but I feel this may start to slowly turn TPR into a pay site. One of the things that brought me here in the first place is that it was a free site with so much to offer. Not that I'm saying pay sites are bad, I'm just a Jew that avoids spending money online (though I have bought a DVD and Hoodie in the store...) I know this is optional, but with all the perks, I'm sure as many people as possible would make the change if given a choice.

 

2. Can you think of anything else we could be offering?

 

On top of my head, no. Unless there was any way we could get discounts on TPR trips or something...

 

3. Is this something that interests you?

 

YES. I'm loving the exclusive trip since I always miss out on the normal TPR ones due to funding issues and lack of planning before they get filled up. Also exclusive info for park events and such is always a good thing.

 

4. Why would you NOT be interested in this?

 

The priority on TPR trip seating. Since those things fill up so fast and Premium members get their own trip anyways, it seems unessesary to hog the spots before people that save money for these things all year can even get a shot. I'm sure that there will be atleast 55 that make the premium change, and if they always take priority then there really wont be any new members making any trips...

 

5. Any additional feedback you can give us based on the information you see here.

 

Not really.

[themeparkologist]

Just a suggestion...

Maybe 45% of a trip group is priority members that are placed by a lottery/drawn from a hat as in they are not chosen. For 'normal' TPR members (55% of a trip), it will remain the same as it currently is with first come first served with waiting lists. In this manner the membership gets you a set number of lotto credits per year to increase chances of winning a place on a trip that they can put toward the desired trip(s).

 

Sorry that I make no sense.