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News Disney CFO Hugh Johnston Says Dynamic Pricing Is Coming to the Parks
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Purduevian
Well-Known Member
Not saying this is going to happen... but I can see at least 1 way it could help the guest...
Lets say they are currently at the hub and are looking for lunch. While browsing menus in the app to decide where to go, they see that Cosmic Rays lunch is 10% more expensive than Columbia Harbor house. So they go to CHH.
In the background, the reason Cosmic Rays is more expensive is because the kitchen is backed up, while CHH has readily available capacity.
The guest (assuming they didn't really care what restaurant) will get their food faster and potentially at the same cost as they would have if dynamic pricing was not in effect.
It could be used as a crowd control metric.
Edit: Also Mr. IAAPA has been saying this is coming for awhile https://forums.wdwmagic.com/search/6023322/?q=dynamic&c[users]=lentesta&o=relevance
Dranth
Well-Known Member
I don't think it is a good thing; it just makes sense they would do it. How bad it will be is entirely dependent on the specifics.
For example, if they charge one price for a specific day for the first 40,000 tickets at the MK and then start raising as it gets more crowded in bands (jumps at 45, 50, 55, etc.) it could be a workable system. On the other hand, if only the first person to get a ticket that day gets the base price and then it starts shooting up or the jumps in dollar amounts are insane, they are going to have issues.
Now, if they are going to try and tell people their fries and burger cost more at noon and less at 2:30 in the afternoon, I think you will see people a lot more angry. Try and tell them their Eeyore plush costs 50% more at close than at open and folks are going to revolt.
Anyway, that is why I was curious what Paris was doing as from memory it seemed like it was just ticketing and whatever their FP system was called.
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I don’t think they’d be crazy enough to do this with food and merch…yet.
It’s for hotel and ticket pricing. Think surge pricing capability like Uber.
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
it sounds terrible...they could also have a message in the app that would pop up during peak times to direct guests to less busy restaurants without actually charging them more money... First time a guest pays $29.95 for a burger that they paid $19.00 for the day before, I think it is going to be bad press, make the guests feel even more fleeced than all of the other cost increases we are bearing and overall just a really bad idea... They are already doing this with the entry cost to the parks too....So the people who visit on a more popular day will be paying $30.00 more for their admission ticket, and then up-charges for everything else as well?? Boo!
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
The water will remain free, its the cups that will be dynamically priced
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
The intent is the mess…
This is 100% about cutting costs down to the penny for efficiency and collecting money as far in advance as possible. Collateral damage is not a concern.
There is no way to spin this as “customer friendly”
I’m all ears…hypotheticals welcome
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
The DMV has gotten better over the years, trying to serve their customers better...... TWDC not so much..
el_super
Well-Known Member
Some of us have been saying this was coming.... for years.
They have a need to increase revenue, that can't be debated, but it's interesting to think that they are still hitting capacity limits in a way that would allow increasing price to curb demand. Clearly the parks aren't that empty at all.
They have a need to increase revenue, that can't be debated, but it's interesting to think that they are still hitting capacity limits in a way that would allow increasing price to curb demand. Clearly the parks aren't that empty at all.
You can still buy date-based tickets in advance. Those day-tickets will have different prices depending on assumed demand, just like it is right now.
Once you buy those tickets, you're locked in. They won't ask for more money at the tapstile.
BUT... if demand is particularly low, Disney may start selling those same dates you bought at a lower price. Which is not unlike offering a discount for those days to fill rooms and parks.
OR... demand is unusually high and the cost of those tickets go up, but it won't affect you. Your tickets are locked in. In fact, it's to your advantage that the cost goes up as demand goes up... it will discourage people from making the park over-crowded.
HOWEVER... if you wait until the last minute to buy day-tickets, you may be pleasantly surprised to see that the normal price has dropped because of soft demand. OR... you'll be steaming mad when you see the cost of those tickets sky-rocket.
This is pretty much what Broadway and airlines do. (Ironically, it was Disney that innovated dynamic prices on Broadway beginning with their own Broadway shows.)
And as mentioned above, this is for rooms and park tickets, not for meals or water.
You may be tempted, then, to get a room outside the Disney bubble. But those hotels are also using dynamic pricing. <sad trombone>
Also, resorts and day-tickets are already dynamically priced, only over a time period of a year. This new dynamic pricing will make it dynamically priced over a time period of a day or two.
Once you buy those tickets, you're locked in. They won't ask for more money at the tapstile.
BUT... if demand is particularly low, Disney may start selling those same dates you bought at a lower price. Which is not unlike offering a discount for those days to fill rooms and parks.
OR... demand is unusually high and the cost of those tickets go up, but it won't affect you. Your tickets are locked in. In fact, it's to your advantage that the cost goes up as demand goes up... it will discourage people from making the park over-crowded.
HOWEVER... if you wait until the last minute to buy day-tickets, you may be pleasantly surprised to see that the normal price has dropped because of soft demand. OR... you'll be steaming mad when you see the cost of those tickets sky-rocket.
This is pretty much what Broadway and airlines do. (Ironically, it was Disney that innovated dynamic prices on Broadway beginning with their own Broadway shows.)
And as mentioned above, this is for rooms and park tickets, not for meals or water.
You may be tempted, then, to get a room outside the Disney bubble. But those hotels are also using dynamic pricing. <sad trombone>
Also, resorts and day-tickets are already dynamically priced, only over a time period of a year. This new dynamic pricing will make it dynamically priced over a time period of a day or two.
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Let the gouging begin!
Lightning Lane Premier Pass starting out at an astronomical price pre-rope drop and either decreasing or increasing over the park day based on crowd levels and time of day.
Genie +
ILL base price + a dollar for every 10 minutes of standby line.
Lightning Lane Premier Pass starting out at an astronomical price pre-rope drop and either decreasing or increasing over the park day based on crowd levels and time of day.
Genie +
ILL base price + a dollar for every 10 minutes of standby line.
el_super
Well-Known Member
I think this is the most likely scenario. Since they've moved to price tier based tickets, lower tier days are being packed and creating some of the same crowding issues they were seeing through 2019. If the cheapest days are the most crowded and unpleasant now their options would be:
-reduce reservation availability (some people get shut out).
-blanket increase in prices (some people get shut out).
-create more and more price tiers (confusing).
-dynamically increase prices as demand for a specific day goes up (and yeah.. some people get shut out).
People will adjust though. They will, just like airline tickets, find the sweet spot of when prices are generally lower for a booking (what is it ... three weeks for flights now?).
Dranth
Well-Known Member
Oh, I don't buy that it is customer friendly, only that it can be implemented in a way that most paying attention won't notice or have minimal disruption while hitting their internal goals (this assumes those goals are reasonable).
From the PR side of it, I'm sure they will roll out a few lines about "spreading out crowds" and such that while technically true, isn't really going to help perception if someone's Cheeseburger Eggroll increases by $15 each while in line because they walked past the cart at the wrong time of day.
Whoever said that (not going to check) cannot read and you just parroted bad information.
From the main article:
Oh please spill some tea on this.I have context around this.
WorldExplorer
Well-Known Member
Maybe they can pump the price up on days where Tiana, the carnotaurous, the yeti, and Ariel are all functioning. Something to make you feel like you're getting something for the premium price, you know?
I'm kidding, of course; they would never be able to charge more with that criteria.
I'm kidding, of course; they would never be able to charge more with that criteria.
This seems like the logical application. But the announcement suggestged doing it "in the park", which, to me, suggests not just hotel and ticket prices, but also food, merchandise, etc. I hope not. I hope it's just lightning lane, party add-ons, etc as the "in the park" applications.
Speaking at the Wells Fargo Technology, Media, and Telecom Summit, Johnston outlined how the company is approaching pricing strategy across tickets, food and beverage, merchandise, and paid add-ons.
That part is separate from the dynamic pricing part of the article.
Looking at "pricing strategy" doesn't mean "the day-to-day dynamic pricing" for all those price points.
As the article says, this has rolled out in Paris for tickets and rooms. No mention of dynamic pricing for food there.
AFAIK
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
Ha, the pricing strategy across food and beverage, merchandise, and paid add-ons is simple.
All will simply go up once or twice a year as always.
All will simply go up once or twice a year as always.