Why Do People Struggle So Much With Snack Prices?

[blueboxdoctor]

Of course the prices of the concession items in sporting venue is often required to generate money to maintain the stadium that often get very little usage in any given year. Think about how often some football stadiums are actually used? Sure they can have some arena events there besides football but most don't have that many you probable are lucky to see any given stadium used more than 20 times in a year... but the stadiums need constant upkeep whether used or not

True, but even so, it shouldn't be a surprise that a place that holds an event or is designed for tourism will have higher prices. And WDW offers better value in terms of food than an Eagles game does. But I do understand your point about the stadiums/arenas having to be maintained (though, increased ticket prices and parking prices, I think $40 for regular lot parking now, doesn't help their image much either). And on the plus side, WDW does let you bring food and drink inside the parks, so that's pretty nice (at least the Eagles stadium only lets food in when wrapped in clear plastic, and drinks can't be brought in, and while I do believe part of that has to do with safety, which I'm good with, I also can't help but feel it's also just to sell more drinks inside the stadium).

 

[Weather_Lady]

High prices are a part of going to Disney. Guests who are shocked by the cost of a drink or snack (or who don't know that they can bring in their own, and get free iced water on request) have only themselves to blame, as they haven't done their homework. Twenty years ago, they could have plausibly claimed to be shocked, but not now, when there are a million screenshots of Disney menus all over the internet...

 

[flynnibus]

Are you arguing prices are too high and will cause consumer sentiment to shift to "Disney is too expensive" and result in significantly lower crowds? I'd say Hallelujah to that. Not only would crowds decrease, Disney would be forced to offer better experiences if they choose to operate with current price models. At this point, it really isn't deterring people, would you agree? I see a lot of people complaining, but WDW's guest growth keeps increasing, although dipped slightly last Q.

In a competitive open landscape that would happen much faster. If we were talking gas stations, and there was another down the street offering the same thing.. yes. But Disney is a bit of a unique beast because of the legacy it built in the decades prior. It has become engrained in the public psyche that Disney IS the family vacation everyone must do at least once.. it's that legacy and goodwill that Disney lives on.. yet puts at risk with all this blood from the stone pricing strategy. This is also complicated by the people that are just blinded by their addiction they will pay almost anything until it breaks them. Even in that demographic you've seen many people that used to go far more frequent, cut back. In SoCal especially with the soaring AP prices people have been forced to wake up and make changes.

Since Disney has that net thrown far and wide.. while they've burned customers, there are still plenty who haven't been wronged buying in on the Disney legacy and throwing money at Disney. Disney's national draw means a wider market of fresh meat.

How far must Disney go before they fatally damage that public image?? That's speculation.. and it takes a long time for the results to accumulate. But I think its already started.. especially in SoCal.

Given that the P&R margin is around 20%, are you saying breaking it out by theme parks specifically would result in higher margins, indicating resorts bring down the average?

I'm saying I don't know know because we don't have the numbers. It would be foolish to assume its higher or lower when you have no basis. WDW is also a unique beast due to the insane overhead of it basically being it's own locality. Focusing on something like DLR would be more adapt if you wanted to compare to other industries or competitors. DLR has almost worst pricing than WDW when it comes to food.. but Cali is more expensive and it lacks the additional revenue streams that WDW has.

I just look at Universal and see essentially the same thing, don't you?

UNI pretty much operates in the shadow of WDW when it comes to pricing tolerance. I don't see UNI as a leader in the industry when it comes to pricing trends and models.

The purpose of bringing up margins in other industries was to illustrate that people are willing to pay the price for which they find value in the product/service. AAPL could charge less for their products but they don't because people will pay, just like at Disney

Sure as a principle.. but when you try to compare like to like to argue what the resulting number SHOULD be in terms of balance and tolerance.. you can't compare completely different industries and argue one is out of the norm compared to the other.

You're making a 30k argument that is fine, and then trying to support it with facts and figures that are completely wrong and misapplied. Nevermind the justifications you've put out earlier in the thread about the rules of business..

 

[Michael Shahi Mathis]

I just got back from WDW on a wonderful 8 day trip. If anyone else was there, you know it was pretty warm (over 90 several days) and water/drinks were definitely a huge need. There was 0 rain too.

I constantly heard things like:
"$3 for water is robbery!!"
"Why is water $3??"
"$4 for ice cream?"
"Why is Powerade $4.25?"
"Mickey isn't out here because he's too busy in the back counting our money!!"

Give me a break. What do people expect, honestly? We all get that water is expensive on a per bottle basis, but isn't it just the cost of doing business? Expensive snack items aren't a Disney thing. This is the case at most amusement parks, Fairs, and concessions (movies, shows, sporting events, etc). They have to make money on this higher margin stuff because despite what so many think, they don't make huge margin on park entry.

I still think many restaurants are pretty decent value, even without a meal plan. We ate at a favorite, Liberty Tree, and got the Pilgrim's Feast for under $20/person. This value for real food is better than a hot dog and fries and close to a standard lunch $15 lunch at a restaurant chain.

Also, they do offer free ice water if hydration is your concern. I just can't get over how much people complain about something so standard. I feel like people come to the parks feeling ripped off and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Because 3.00 For Water Is Highway Robbery..but do what i do...bring your own water bottle.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Because 3.00 For Water Is Highway Robbery..but do what i do...bring your own water bottle.

Agreed, if it were ones only option. But, bring your own water bottle is just one option. There are many and in order for it to be robbery one would have to be forced to do it. In all my years going there, I've never seen one person buying at gunpoint. Just a big exhibition of mental diarrhea over nothing.

 

[Beacon Joe]

I'm with the OP and don't find the snack prices all that bad. Some things are absurd, such as charing $4 for a bag of apple slices and $3.25 for a bag of chips at the Magic Kingdom carts. Other things are decently priced, such as $4.50 for a couple of cheesburger egg rolls (comparable burger egg rolls are >$5 from roach coaches where I live) or the chocolate waffle & ice cream at Animal Kingdom (try getting something comparable where I live for less than $6.00).

What put Disney's prices in perspective for me was when we (mistakenly) agreed to join some friends for a day at a Six Flags "park." My wife and I came out of that experience saying 1) "We're never setting foot in there again," and 2) "Jeez, Disney food prices are actually palatable."

 

[lazyboy97o]

What put Disney's prices in perspective for me was when we (mistakenly) agreed to join some friends for a day at a Six Flags "park." My wife and I came out of that experience saying 1) "We're never setting foot in there again," and 2) "Jeez, Disney food prices are actually palatable."

That you even thought to invoke Six Flags should be a sign of a problem with Disney's strategy.

 

[Beacon Joe]

No. It's really quite simple:

A) Pay more for really bad food at a filthy amusement park, or

B) Pay less for better food at a well-themed, enjoyable theme park

 

[lazyboy97o]

No. It's really quite simple:

A) Pay more for really bad food at a filthy amusement park, or

B) Pay less for better food at a well-themed, enjoyable theme park

That does not change that it should be a ridiculous comparison to invoke.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

In a competitive open landscape that would happen much faster. If we were talking gas stations, and there was another down the street offering the same thing.. yes. But Disney is a bit of a unique beast because of the legacy it built in the decades prior. It has become engrained in the public psyche that Disney IS the family vacation everyone must do at least once.. it's that legacy and goodwill that Disney lives on.. yet puts at risk with all this blood from the stone pricing strategy. This is also complicated by the people that are just blinded by their addiction they will pay almost anything until it breaks them. Even in that demographic you've seen many people that used to go far more frequent, cut back. In SoCal especially with the soaring AP prices people have been forced to wake up and make changes.

Since Disney has that net thrown far and wide.. while they've burned customers, there are still plenty who haven't been wronged buying in on the Disney legacy and throwing money at Disney. Disney's national draw means a wider market of fresh meat.

How far must Disney go before they fatally damage that public image?? That's speculation.. and it takes a long time for the results to accumulate. But I think its already started.. especially in SoCal.



I'm saying I don't know know because we don't have the numbers. It would be foolish to assume its higher or lower when you have no basis. WDW is also a unique beast due to the insane overhead of it basically being it's own locality. Focusing on something like DLR would be more adapt if you wanted to compare to other industries or competitors. DLR has almost worst pricing than WDW when it comes to food.. but Cali is more expensive and it lacks the additional revenue streams that WDW has.



UNI pretty much operates in the shadow of WDW when it comes to pricing tolerance. I don't see UNI as a leader in the industry when it comes to pricing trends and models.




Sure as a principle.. but when you try to compare like to like to argue what the resulting number SHOULD be in terms of balance and tolerance.. you can't compare completely different industries and argue one is out of the norm compared to the other.

You're making a 30k argument that is fine, and then trying to support it with facts and figures that are completely wrong and misapplied. Nevermind the justifications you've put out earlier in the thread about the rules of business..

Been reading this thread, and it is getting ridiculous!

First of all, Flynn, you are Not going to win an argument with Chef Mickey. He is well known to spout his "knowledge" and doesn't listen to others common sense discussions at all. So, give it up. You might as well beat your head against a wall because "you know who" will Always come back with some asinine comment, usually which is condescending in nature, because after all, YOU can't possibly know as much as he does. You gave it a good fight though!