This is really disappointing: According to CityWalk General Manager Connie Colley, CityWalk is not going to be offering annual passes in the near future.
You'll recall that last fall they offered anyone with a Pleasure Island Annual Pass a completely free, no-strings-attached CityWalk Annual Pass. That was a brilliant move on Universal's part to capture the PI crowd who was being left homeless (or clubless) because of the PI closure. The free pass was valid until March 31, 2009, a date that is now rapidly approaching.
At the time this offer was rolled-out they hinted that they were also considering actually selling annual passes too at prices comparable to what PI charged. ($59/yr) The months continued to pass by though and no AP offer. Today I checked with CityWalk and the response was that they're not going to do it.
I think this is an error on CityWalk's part. Universal has been brilliant so far in going after the PI crowd, first with free entry coupons in the Sentinel and then with this free AP offering. Universal clearly has captured a lot of us. But why not offer a CityWalk Annual Pass to locals? If you checked my Pass usage you'd see I visited at least weekly and often more. You'd see that I club hopped a lot. If you could see my credit card bills you'd see that I spent at least $35 each visit and often more. Many PI people would purchase a pass, many locals would too. The AP sales revenue would be tremendous let alone all the liquor sales you get from it. But very few of us will come out very often at $13 per person per visit. Ain't gonna happen. Please reconsider.
hmm, not what I wanted to hear. I've been spoiled with the City Walk pass and formed a weekly weekend habit of attending and that habit is going to be hard to break. Maybe that's all part of Universal's strategy - give them some bait, then get them hooked, then get them to pay. Whatever their intent was I still appreciate what they did.
ReplyDeleteNot what I wanted to hear either.
ReplyDeleteSure the strategy was to get you out there on a regular basis. But an annual pass that locals could purchase gives them a big cash infusion plus liquor sales every time a user comes out. Without the pass I may visit 1x per month instead of 6-8x per month as I have been.
I totally agree! Please reconsider, Connie!!
ReplyDelete