WDW Ticket Prices

M

mnagel55

Member
Brad Bishop said:
I'm at 7 years being an AP up in Georgia.

I think I'm out at this point, too. Same as you, I could manage it if I wanted. The problems are:
- it's too busy (which the price hikes will help with) - there doesn't really seem to be an off season any longer
- too much planning (FP+, Dining, etc.)
- the value is gone. I used to think, "yeah, it's more expensive, but it's Disney!" Now it's more just, "Yeah... That's just too expensive. I feel silly paying that, now."
- the parks need love (DHS and Epcot, specifically). Thankfully, it looks like this is starting to happen.

I'm not saying I'll never return or that I hate the place or that them raising the price is wrong. I'm just saying it's enough to where it bumps me out.

I think I'll be more of Universal guy for a while and maybe try to hit Busch Gardens in Tampa and up in Williamsburg. Dollywood is also a good call for me.
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Brad said it better than I could. We have 1 last trip planned as a family coming up in May. After that the kids are now older (17 &19) and will either have school or jobs. After the May trip I think we are done for awhile. Its been 3 years since the last trip mainly because its just been too hard to organize.

Again Brad said it best...not mad....and will go back...but this is just ridiculous. We used to buy the 10day non-expiry and whenever a business trip came up my wife and I would pop-in for a day or 2. Now that option is gone I can guarantee we won't pay $100+/day. I am more ticked about the non-expiry than I am the price increase.
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Nmoody1 said:
I just don't get any justification of increasing prices in a park that has removed parades, attractions and entertainment.

Hollywood Studios now offers less than ever before? At a quick count I think they have as many actual rides (not attractions) as they have dining establishments.

I absolutely hate what disney are getting away with. The whole Walt Disney World experience has become anything but spontaneous, there is no fun anymore, there is very little that's new and prices squeeze and squeeze every penny out of people.

AP holders should really stand up and create more voice - DVC likewise. Not just rant about it on discussion forums but in more main stream media channels. Compare benefits of a Walt Disney World AP to that of a Disneyland AP (where they have special events and exclusive showings). At disneyland you can walk up to a table service restaurant and get a seat. People need to share more of their negative MM+, poor dining offerings and lack of park innovation to their friends.
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First of all, I agree about the lack of spontenaity on a WDW vacation with the 180 day ADRs and the scheduling of what attractions to see or ride down to the half hour.

However, the justification for the price increase if very simple. "Because they can"! Room occupancy is in the high 80% to low 90%. The MK is packed to capacity on most days. People were willing to pay what seemed like astronomical prices up until now, so it stands to reason, they will continue to pay a few dollars more and not pay attention to the continually eroding quality of the WDW experience of years ago.

After 9/11, many people were leary of flying, the economy was starting to slow down so attendance at WDW dropped to the point where an offer was made of 3 free nights / park tickets when you bought 4 nights. So when attendance is down, prices go down, when attendance is up they raise prices until attendance starts to go down. Simple supply and demand.
 
Pixie VaVoom

Pixie VaVoom

Well-Known Member
My DH saw a write-up for raising ticket prices over the weekend, looked over at me and pronounced "I'm DONE!!" At those prices he has no more interest in WDW. I have to agree with him !! It is just NOT worth THAT...not when I can board a cruiseliner to ...well practically anywhere !!, and the ticket pays for my room, a variety of entertainment, exercise and spa, and you can eat one entire side of the menu if you want to. $ 105 to be bounced around like in an overcrowded human pinball machine is not my idea of a good value. We are going elsewhere.
 
freediverdude

freediverdude

Well-Known Member
betty rose said:
How was Universal for you, it would be a first time for me.
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Universal has a lot of new things, and seems like a more exciting experience right now than Disney. Disney seems like the old familiar, "feels like home" feeling. As far as cleanliness, service, etc., that stuff is about equal. The Universal resorts are a better buy as far as deluxe for a cheaper price, with unlimited express included.
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
freediverdude said:
Universal has a lot of new things, and seems like a more exciting experience right now than Disney. Disney seems like the old familiar, "feels like home" feeling. As far as cleanliness, service, etc., that stuff is about equal. The Universal resorts are a better buy as far as deluxe for a cheaper price, with unlimited express included.
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I will be looking at going this summer, thanks for the information....Now I have to sell my "oldie" but goodie, family on a new change.
 
Brad Bishop

Brad Bishop

Well-Known Member
freediverdude said:
Universal has a lot of new things, and seems like a more exciting experience right now than Disney. Disney seems like the old familiar, "feels like home" feeling. As far as cleanliness, service, etc., that stuff is about equal. The Universal resorts are a better buy as far as deluxe for a cheaper price, with unlimited express included.
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Universal is really stepping up their game with the Harry Potter stuff. They also plan to invest $30M/year for the next 10 years (It's some huge figure like that - correct me if I'm wrong) in new attractions and, from what it sounds like, largely reworking the parks to get rid of that 1990s feel to them. I expect that USF/IOA will be quite the premium parks in 10 years.

The Harry Potter stuff shows that they know how to do it right. There's no cheese in those rides. Many of the older rides have a good bit of cheese in them:
- The pop-up mummies in The Mummy
- The flying cow with obvious eye-bolts coming out of it's back in Twister
- Poseidon - the battle at the end

I expect all of these will get replaced or at least fixed up over the next 10 years.
 
matt9112

matt9112

Well-Known Member
JimboJones123 said:
Welfare and entitlement are not sound business strategies.
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What's entitled about paying thousands to visit a theme park that continues to cut corners? The best resorts on property are a joke for the cost. The disney world empire is built on false dreams and magic not sound price structure. The park tickets themselves are not horrid it's the fact that you DO NOT get what you pay for.
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
From the 2/24 issue of the Chicago Tribune Business Section". I thought it was both sad and amusing.

"Single-day tickets for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom visitors age 10 and older are rising to $105, a 75 percent increase from just a decade ago. Some might have hesitated to ask so much. But as Disney himself liked to say, "If you can dream it, you can do it."

The Magic Kingdom is always adding new attractions. The latest include the Swiss Family Loan Office and Country Bear Measles Quarantine"
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
From the 2/24 issue of the Chicago Tribune Business Section". I thought it was both sad and amusing.

"Single-day tickets for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom visitors age 10 and older are rising to $105, a 75 percent increase from just a decade ago. Some might have hesitated to ask so much. But as Disney himself liked to say, "If you can dream it, you can do it."

The Magic Kingdom is always adding new attractions. The latest include the Swiss Family Loan Office and Country Bear Measles Quarantine"
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You made my day:joyfull: Thanks so much.
 
BernardandBianca

BernardandBianca

Well-Known Member
betty rose said:
I will be looking at going this summer, thanks for the information....Now I have to sell my "oldie" but goodie, family on a new change.
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We bought the grandkids the complete DVD set of Harry Potter movies, and now guess where they want to go? Only problem is that this is no solution for the pricing, since UNI's two park ticket is even more than a WDW one park, and you really need the two-park if you're going to do all the Harry Potter stuff. (We bought an AP to UNI this past year because we knew we'd be going numerous times escorting visitors to see HP, but will probably pass this year.)
 
Nmoody1

Nmoody1

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
First of all, I agree about the lack of spontenaity on a WDW vacation with the 180 day ADRs and the scheduling of what attractions to see or ride down to the half hour.

However, the justification for the price increase if very simple. "Because they can"! Room occupancy is in the high 80% to low 90%. The MK is packed to capacity on most days. People were willing to pay what seemed like astronomical prices up until now, so it stands to reason, they will continue to pay a few dollars more and not pay attention to the continually eroding quality of the WDW experience of years ago.

After 9/11, many people were leary of flying, the economy was starting to slow down so attendance at WDW dropped to the point where an offer was made of 3 free nights / park tickets when you bought 4 nights. So when attendance is down, prices go down, when attendance is up they raise prices until attendance starts to go down. Simple supply and demand.
Click to expand...


I agree about supply and demand, I don't deny the parks and resorts are heaving - almost to breaking point, which makes the whole Hollywood Studdios trend of nothing new and slashing attractions seem criminal.

Maybe if people weren't looking at their smartphones to try and get a fast pass for 7 dwarfs or filming the fireworks through their iPad then people might look up and realise just how they were ripped off ;)
 
Nmoody1

Nmoody1

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
First of all, I agree about the lack of spontenaity on a WDW vacation with the 180 day ADRs and the scheduling of what attractions to see or ride down to the half hour.

However, the justification for the price increase if very simple. "Because they can"! Room occupancy is in the high 80% to low 90%. The MK is packed to capacity on most days. People were willing to pay what seemed like astronomical prices up until now, so it stands to reason, they will continue to pay a few dollars more and not pay attention to the continually eroding quality of the WDW experience of years ago.

After 9/11, many people were leary of flying, the economy was starting to slow down so attendance at WDW dropped to the point where an offer was made of 3 free nights / park tickets when you bought 4 nights. So when attendance is down, prices go down, when attendance is up they raise prices until attendance starts to go down. Simple supply and demand.
Click to expand...


I agree about supply and demand, I don't deny the parks and resorts are heaving - almost to breaking point, which makes the whole Hollywood Studdios trend of nothing new and slashing attractions seem criminal.

Maybe if people weren't looking at their smartphones to try and get a fast pass for 7 dwarfs or filming the fireworks through their iPad then people might look up and realise just how they were ripped off ;)
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
BernardandBianca said:
We bought the grandkids the complete DVD set of Harry Potter movies, and now guess where they want to go? Only problem is that this is no solution for the pricing, since UNI's two park ticket is even more than a WDW one park, and you really need the two-park if you're going to do all the Harry Potter stuff. (We bought an AP to UNI this past year because we knew we'd be going numerous times escorting visitors to see HP, but will probably pass this year.)
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If you're a florida resident the Uni AP is a great deal. The renewal price for the preferred pass is under $200.
 
Club Cooloholic

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
betty rose said:
Thanks for the heads up, I've been wanting to go to Disney's counter part.
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If your with a family of varied ages and riding rides is the main thing, Disney is going to offer more because there are more rides for you to do as a family. But I found Universal to have WDW beat in terms of how well developed the Wizarding World was. Are there many places in Disney World anymore that feel populated with special nooks and crannies, stores that sell things you can only get at that particular store and nowhere else in the park? Thats what you get when you stroll around Diagon Alley. And you don't have to pay or wait in a line to enjoy this stuff, just walking around is a joy. And the hotels are starting to beat out Disney too, I mean at Cabana Bay you can walk to the park in about 15 to 20 mins. And thats the farthest one. Also the merch at the hotel is pretty cool, hotel specific stuff with it's name on it, the refillable mugs have the hotel names on it...little things like that make a difference to me
 

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