News Disney CFO Hugh Johnston Says Dynamic Pricing Is Coming to the Parks

[John park hopper]

I'm posting this on 2 forums because it's relevant in 2 forums in two different ways.

From Bob Thomas' biography on Walt Disney

"Walt insisted on fine furnishings for the restaurants, even though they would be serving reasonably priced meals. He believed that if a family sat under a $50,000 [$608,239 in 2025 dollars] chandelier and ate good food at a fair price, the experience would add to their enjoyment of the park."

Bob's response --family's can sit under a bare light bulb eat over priced crappy food and like it. There are always more rubes to take their place

 

[Miss Bella]

While people may complain about DCL's pricing.. at least it's not 4x as high as it's peers.. which is exactly what Bay Lake properties are...

Just 2x as high.

 

[CoastalElite64]

Just saw this insightful video on dynamic pricing. It seems to be spreading more.

 

[HauntedPirate]

You can't be serious. There's bars everywhere on all Disney ships. Just walk 100 feet in any direction you'll find one.
Even the coffee bars and popcorn stands serve up alcohol.

“Everywhere on all Disney ships” is inaccurate. All of the ships have kids clubs and coffee bars and sports courts. The Wish class introduced more bars than the older four ships, not to mention at least one overly-loud dinner show (at least the Ant-Man show is rather ridiculous).

 

[Chi84]

“Everywhere on all Disney ships” is inaccurate. All of the ships have kids clubs and coffee bars and sports courts. The Wish class introduced more bars than the older four ships, not to mention at least one overly-loud dinner show (at least the Ant-Man show is rather ridiculous).

My grandkids are going to love that show!

 

[Miss Bella]

“Everywhere on all Disney ships” is inaccurate. All of the ships have kids clubs and coffee bars and sports courts. The Wish class introduced more bars than the older four ships, not to mention at least one overly-loud dinner show (at least the Ant-Man show is rather ridiculous).

How many more bars do the new ships have than then the older ones? According to Disney's own website. Im counting 6 on the Magic 9 on the Dream and 8 on the Wish. That is not counting all the coffee bars, movie theatre, drink carts and all other places on board to grab an alcoholic drink. I would love for you to provide evidence of more bars on the new ships.

There are places "everywhere" to grab an adult beverage on a Disney ship. Im not sure what having kids clubs, coffee bars and sports courts has to do with bars. You can easily get a drink at all of those venues other than the kids clubs.

 

[Miss Bella]

Just saw this insightful video on dynamic pricing. It seems to be spreading more.

Are we supposed to track ticket prices like we do airfare. This is really the final nail in the coffin.

 

[HauntedPirate]

How many more bars do the new ships have than then the older ones? According to Disney's own website. Im counting 6 on the Magic 9 on the Dream and 8 on the Wish. That is not counting all the coffee bars, movie theatre, drink carts and all other places on board to grab an alcoholic drink. I would love for you to provide evidence of more bars on the new ships.

There are places "everywhere" to grab an adult beverage on a Disney ship. Im not sure what having kids clubs, coffee bars and sports courts has to do with bars. You can easily get a drink at all of those venues other than the kids clubs.

According to guest feedback, there weren’t enough on the older 4 ships. Not sure what else to tell you, that came right from DCL crew.

And I count at least 12 bars on the Wish, according to the deck plans on the DCL site, which includes the “hidden bar” inside Hook’s Barbery but excludes Preludes, coffee bars, etc. There are 7 bars just on decks 3-5.

 

[Miss Bella]

According to guest feedback, there weren’t enough on the older 4 ships. Not sure what else to tell you, that came right from DCL crew.

And I count at least 12 bars on the Wish, according to the deck plans on the DCL site, which includes the “hidden bar” inside Hook’s Barbery but excludes Preludes, coffee bars, etc. There are 7 bars just on decks 3-5.

Just out of interest why are you so obsessed with the number of bars on the new ships? A DCL crew member heard someone say they weren't enough bars on the older ships? That's like the WDW bus drive claiming to have inside information.
What ships have you sailed on?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Just out of interest why are you so obsessed with the number of bars on the new ships? A DCL crew member heard someone say they weren't enough bars on the older ships? That's like the WDW bus drive claiming to have inside information.
What ships have you sailed on?

It was in a presentation on the making of the Wish - “The biggest complaint from guests was not being able to find a bar” was the rough quote. Not exactly bus driver level info. You brought up bars and the Wish “being aimed more at kids than adults”. Which is incorrect.

I’ve sailed on all of the original 4 plus the Wish. I’m not uneducated on any of those 5 ships.

 

[Miss Bella]

At the risk of sounding like a real dinosaur millennial, I agree. "The web" means something different to us and older generations. It means a desktop computer, forums, reddit, etc. I vastly prefer using my desktop whenever possible. Obviously yes I use my phone and apps, but wouldn't give up my desktop.

Gen Z/Alpha probably don't care about using an actual computer or "surfing the web" or using forums. They just use social media and AI. Reddit is sort of the closest thing and even that seems to be mostly used by the same crowd using forums because forums and Reddit are basically successors to newsgroups from the 90s.

I have two Gen Z'ers and they both have gaming desktops. They also do their school work and surf the web on them. Desktops are not going away.

 

[Miss Bella]

It was in a presentation on the making of the Wish - “The biggest complaint from guests was not being able to find a bar” was the rough quote. Not exactly bus driver level info. You brought up bars and the Wish “being aimed more at kids than adults”. Which is incorrect.

I’ve sailed on all of the original 4 plus the Wish. I’m not uneducated on any of those 5 ships.

Have you ever had trouble finding a bar? You think I'm incorrect, but that doesn't make me incorrect.

 

[Miss Bella]

How in the world can you not find a bar on a Disney ship. It's kind of like not being able to find a bathroom. Just ask.

 

[Miss Bella]

I've spent hours reading cruise ship reviews from all cruise lines and I don't think I ever once read "We hated the ship we couldn't find a bar".

 

[lentesta]

It was in a presentation on the making of the Wish - “The biggest complaint from guests was not being able to find a bar” was the rough quote. Not exactly bus driver level info. You brought up bars and the Wish “being aimed more at kids than adults”. Which is incorrect.

I’ve sailed on all of the original 4 plus the Wish. I’m not uneducated on any of those 5 ships.

I think the bars on the Dream and Fantasy are better than the Magic and Wonder, and some of the best at sea. The theming, in particular, is "Disney park"-level good. Pink, for example, is a nice, small, Champagne lounge. And it plays Frank Sinatra and Edith Piaf, as God intended.

I dislike the bar setup on the Wish (I haven't yet done the Treasure or Destiny). For one thing, the bars aren't in a dedicated adults-only space, making them noisier. Also, and this is a personal preference, I don't want to see children in a bar after 6 pm even on a Disney ship.

 

[Trueblood]

For one thing, the bars aren't in a dedicated adults-only space, making them noisier. Also, and this is a personal preference, I don't want to see children in a bar after 6 pm even on a Disney ship.

The bars on the Wish aren't adults-only? That's very disappointing.

One of the things we appreciate about our Disney cruises in the past is that there were adult-only areas, and they were enforced. If that's being eroded, that makes me sad.

 

[HauntedPirate]

How in the world can you not find a bar on a Disney ship. It's kind of like not being able to find a bathroom. Just ask.

That was our reaction as well! My wife and I looked at each other and said, “What?”. It isn’t like bars are hidden on the original 4 ships.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

The bars on the Wish aren't adults-only? That's very disappointing.

One of the things we appreciate about our Disney cruises in the past is that there were adult-only areas, and they were enforced. If that's being eroded, that makes me sad.

If I remember correctly, any bar behind a door is adults-only, but there are some bars in open spaces (like The Bayou) that don't have doors or walls on the sides that allow minors to sit and have non-alcoholic drinks. I could be wrong, but i recall seeing a family with minors trying to enter one of the bars with doors and being turned away.

 

[lentesta]

If I remember correctly, any bar behind a door is adults-only, but there are some bars in open spaces (like The Bayou) that don't have doors or walls on the sides that allow minors to sit and have non-alcoholic drinks. I could be wrong, but i recall seeing a family with minors trying to enter one of the bars with doors and being turned away.

I could be mis-remembering.

 

[KDM31091]

I have two Gen Z'ers and they both have gaming desktops. They also do their school work and surf the web on them. Desktops are not going away.

I don't think they're going away, but certainly less common than before