$79 Base Ticket

[CaptainJackNO]

oh em gee - $80/day to get into the parks....eeeesh I really need to go CT again


Anyone know what the price of an AP will go up to?

One Hundred-Kabillion-Katrillion Dollars......:drevil:

Why make billions when we can make.........................................................................millions...:drevil:

 

[CaptainJackNO]

I don't care what people have to say about "Disney is a business, blah, blah, blah."

This looks greedy in the current economic climate, that's all there is to say about it.

This is puzzling. Why would you raise prices when you want to get more people to attend?
EHhhh...:hurl::hurl::hurl:

 

[wolf359]

I'm not convinced that the Broadway musical analogy is really that far off base. In 2008 more people saw a Broadway show than visited EPCOT, about 12 million to 10 million.

But if that still isn't good enough, how about an NFL Football game? Average cost is $73, up 8 percent from last year. Some teams, like the New England Patriots, have average ticket prices of almost $120.

Of course, I understand that nobody goes to sporting events anymore, 'cause they're too crowded, so how about just the plain old trip to the movies?

Average ticket is around $10. Popcorn is around $7, and that giant Coke $5. So that means that every time you go to the movies and get a popcorn and a soda, you'll spend on average $23, and the average moviegoer goes eight times a year. So on average you'd probably spend about $180 each year going to the movies and getting a snack each time.

So, let's compare the cost of going to Walt Disney World for eight days as well. An eight-day base ticket is about $250, which works out to about $31 each day. Stretch that trip out to ten days, and the per-day cost drops down to about $25.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Why is it that nobody gets this. Each year it is the same.

WDW does not want you to come for one day.

They will penalize you for it.

This is not a new story.

Next year, they will again rais prices over the cost of inflation.

More people will see the value of a 5+ day pass.

WDW wins.

I feel more sorry for the people that cannot bridge the gap that a 10 day ticket is still about 1/3 the cost per entry of a 1 day ticket.

Anger about it does not change the fact that more peope are satisfied with the lower cost per entry.

The only problem is if Universal and Sea World wise up and slash their prices to cut into a chunk of Disney's business.

I have not paid for entry into Sea World in two decades. I have not paid for entry to Universal in a decade and a half.

I would if they were closer to the $30 per day I pay for my park hopper.

Yeah, no, I'm sorry.. if you really wanted to look at it that way, you can visit Universal's parks for $14 a day with their $99 7-Days, Both Parks ticket.

But most people aren't trying to visit Universal for 7 days.. and some people aren't trying to spend a week at Disney. Seeing how I like to split my time between Universal and the Sea World parks, these prices make Disney a much less affordable option and, yes, these price increases do affect plenty of visitors.

Price increases across the board (please calculate how much a 1-day park-hopper will cost me now ) and a general lack of investing in the parks are definitely more incentive to cut Disney out of my trip next time.

At this rate, we'll be paying $100 for a 1-day ticket in just 3 years.

 

[heliumalias]

Why are people focussing on the fact that you're paying $80 a day rather than the one that you're only paying $5 more per day.

Quite frankly if people were prepared to pay $75 a day to go to Disney then why should they object to paying $80.

As for the making 3yo pay comments for as long as I can remember kids tickets have been for the 3-9yo and why shouldn't they be charged nearly as much as an adult, after all many of the attractions are designed for kids. In fact a lot of the rides that might be traditionally more appealing to adults have been redesigned to increase children's enjoyment (or simply removed).

It bothers me more that Seaworld (and sort of Universal) costs more than Disney for the day. Their food prices are higher. Seaworld is certainly a poorer quality of park with a fraction of the service quality. You can argue that they have better discounts/cheaper annual passes/whatever but why would you want to visit them for much more than 3-4 times a year. To me any pass valid for longer than say 2 days in one trip is worthless because I simply wouldn't use it. Disney, however, has enough parks and attractions that I could easily spend several weeks there in a year and not get bored.

 

[KC82271]

As for the making 3yo pay comments for as long as I can remember kids tickets have been for the 3-9yo .

I agreee.....As far back as I can remember, it's been 3 and up paying to get in. I know for sure it is not new this year as my DD is just 4 and I paid for her last year both times we went.

 

[20009551sc]

Walt Disney is rolling in his grave. He never intended for Disney World to be so out of reach for the average family. His original goal was to have a place where families could go, be together and have fun together and not spend the family fortune to do it.
Yes I know that it is a big business now and that cost are always high. I think that Disney needs to look at their prices. They should have kids prices and junior prices. I also believe that in these trying times they should cut prices a bit. They might bring back people who turned away after past price hikes. You have to get them in the door so they can buy the the food and other stuff.
My family have been long time Florida pass holders. That's $1100 a year. Yes the more you go the better the value. There are still the cost of food and lodging which also go up. We have not renewed our passes because of the economy and for that I am sad. We have been committed to WDW for years and I think WDW should show the same to the rest of us.

 

[tigger29]

I'm not convinced that the Broadway musical analogy is really that far off base. In 2008 more people saw a Broadway show than visited EPCOT, about 12 million to 10 million.

But if that still isn't good enough, how about an NFL Football game? Average cost is $73, up 8 percent from last year. Some teams, like the New England Patriots, have average ticket prices of almost $120.

Of course, I understand that nobody goes to sporting events anymore, 'cause they're too crowded, so how about just the plain old trip to the movies?

Average ticket is around $10. Popcorn is around $7, and that giant Coke $5. So that means that every time you go to the movies and get a popcorn and a soda, you'll spend on average $23, and the average moviegoer goes eight times a year. So on average you'd probably spend about $180 each year going to the movies and getting a snack each time.

So, let's compare the cost of going to Walt Disney World for eight days as well. An eight-day base ticket is about $250, which works out to about $31 each day. Stretch that trip out to ten days, and the per-day cost drops down to about $25.

With that logic, you're not eating or drinking the $8-10 counter service burger or the table service meal of $19-25 per entree...which, if you live in a good city, the quality is barely even worth half of that. (And while, yes, it's a theme park, if they want to exude 'top notch quality' they need to improve their menus) In other words, you're comparing apple pie with just apples. And for what it's worth, $12 for any movie is usually not worth the money either.

The fact remains that Disney, as magical as we all want to think it is, is a mega corporation. While I think that Disney is price gouging with the price hike and is not worth the price of admission, we all have to remember that the bottom line is that they want to make money. That's it. It's about the stock holders and not about any of us on this forum. They don't really care about you, the park visitor. They know that we will come no matter what because we are park lovers. We will pay these obscene prices. We will continue to pay $8 for a lousy burger (not to mention, no sides). We will pay $25 for an entree at Chefs de France and after one bite of food regret it. We will stay at their overpriced glorified motels (yes, even the moderates). They don't care about Main Street USA, but rather Wall Street. If Disney does not make money, then they end up in the financial crisis that they were in during the early 1980s. They want to prevent that. You want to complain about ticket prices? They are falling on deaf mouse ears, friends. Disney is all about the bottom line and if one year they release such films as 'Treasure Planet' and potentially lose money, they know that they can go to the bank on the hiked ticket prices and high priced motels, food and Made in China souvenirs.

Finally, for those of you who think that you pay the admission for the 'privilege' of being at the Disney property, please. Again, it's a business. They want you there. They need you there. As long as the public pays, they will charge it. There is no privilege there. The park is there for you to visit. It's not a privilege but rather a cost-making entity. That is it. Nothing more than that. It's there for you, the public. No 'privilege' there.

I too am against the ticket hike, but cannot really blame Disney for trying. See you all there soon! That's one less churro for me when I go there!

 

[Susan Savia]

As long time AP holders the increase seems fair. I imagine next the resorts will increase their rates. We feel we get l00% value from our passes each and every time we go. Staying offsite saves us immensely which makes any increases justifiable to us. Children's prices are fair as they are taking up a seat. We will continue to save throughout the year - as before for our trips.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The reason I did not clarify my comment about the perception of heavily discounted offerings is because of all of the different interpretations that popped into people's minds.

 

[Orange Bird]

That same comment has been made about every price increase... no matter what the situation.

Not by me. I thought Disney park tickets were underpriced until 1994. Well priced from 1994 - 1998. And over priced starting in 1998.

Traveling to WDW was always a premium experience. Lets not forget in your postulation... Disney didn't even have any moderate or value resorts most of those years. 'Value' meant Fort Wilderness.

Always is a strong word.

The Contemporary and Poly were priced lower then the average Marriott. They were moderately priced. The Golf Resort/Disney Inn was a value resort. Disney had 5 hotels from 1975 to 1988. Two of them were value resorts...so 2/5 of the disney hotels at the time were value Resorts.

The plan in 1985 was to raise the price of the Contemporary and Poly, label them "premium," and then build less impressive resorts (the Caribbean Beach Resort) to capture the people they lost with the price rasing (but give them a lower quality resort). Then they did it again in 1994. They raised the price of the Caribbean and other hotels of its level and called them "moderate" and then built hotels of lower quality and called them "value." (All Star Resorts) Disney kept raising the price and giving thier guests lower quality in order to keep them on property.

And I can definitely say 'upper-middle' and 'upper class' are not the types you typically see flooding the parks. It's still the families saving up to goto Disney.

In fact, most would agree that Disney's attraction to the 'upper class' is long diminished. It's resort features are now weak to the competition, it's level of service is well under what you are paying for, there is little to no premium services available in the parks that offer exclusivity or 'space', etc. Disney has always had a premium price - that does not mean it's catering to a more exclusive audience.

An upper class family can goto Vegas and spend Disney-level money and be treated like kings.

The only reason average families are able to go is because of the deep disconts, and Disney's profits have been declining since the discounts were put in place.

They can't build anything lower quality than the All Star, so instead they are discounting. They seem to think they need to keep their official price up high to keep their premium status, but the public sees through that before too long and just waits for the discounts. Disney might as well start putting coupons in the Sunday paper and $15 OFF on the back on cans of Coke, because that is the next step.

 

[Maerj]

I agreee.....As far back as I can remember, it's been 3 and up paying to get in. I know for sure it is not new this year as my DD is just 4 and I paid for her last year both times we went.

Well, at a AAA Disney presentation last year they said that kids under 4 years old were free.

 

[Maerj]

They did not make 35 billion, they made 4.5 billion. The important thing to remember is that this is a 7% return on their investments which is by no means a ridiculous gain. They are doing a good job and deserve the profits they are getting.

http://www.chacha.com/question/how-much-money-does-disney-make-a-year

You can scroll to the bottom to read:

Disney made 35.51 Billion dollars last year. ChaCha!!!

http://www.disney-dreams.net/disneycompany.php


Now thats revenue, but still, that's a heck of a lot!

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Yeah, no, I'm sorry.. if you really wanted to look at it that way, you can visit Universal's parks for $14 a day with their $99 7-Days, Both Parks ticket.

But most people aren't trying to visit Universal for 7 days.. and some people aren't trying to spend a week at Disney. Seeing how I like to split my time between Universal and the Sea World parks, these prices make Disney a much less affordable option and, yes, these price increases do affect plenty of visitors.

Price increases across the board (please calculate how much a 1-day park-hopper will cost me now ) and a general lack of investing in the parks are definitely more incentive to cut Disney out of my trip next time.

At this rate, we'll be paying $100 for a 1-day ticket in just 3 years.

That's right. However, should the economy rebound, you will peak that 100 dollar mark in less than 3 years. Eventually, Disney will outprice itself to the largest market and they will be in a fix. It is certain.

 

[flynnibus]

The Contemporary and Poly were priced lower then the average Marriott. They were moderately priced. The Golf Resort/Disney Inn was a value resort. Disney had 5 hotels from 1975 to 1988. Two of them were value resorts...so 2/5 of the disney hotels at the time were value Resorts.

I don't have the numbers in front of me... but I know when we stayed at both the Contemp and Poly (our preferred) back in the 70s and 80s.. it was still quite expensive then.

I know I just spent nearly 4k for a family of 5 for 5 days in the WDW. I know back in the early 80s.. 3k would have gotten us a trip.. and that 3k back then would be near 7k in today's dollars. Of course we stayed at the Poly in the trip in '82.. but that just goes to show it wasn't cheap back then either.

The only reason average families are able to go is because of the deep disconts, and Disney's profits have been declining since the discounts were put in place.

No, they go because they save up for it.. and Disney isn't a 2-3 times a year.. or even a once every 2-3 year trip for most people.

People can afford to go because they want to go - and save (or add debt) to do it.

The discounts aren't changing Disney's audience - the discounts are motivating people to go and not put off trips.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

With that logic, you're not eating or drinking the $8-10 counter service burger or the table service meal of $19-25 per entree...which, if you live in a good city, the quality is barely even worth half of that. (And while, yes, it's a theme park, if they want to exude 'top notch quality' they need to improve their menus) In other words, you're comparing apple pie with just apples. And for what it's worth, $12 for any movie is usually not worth the money either.

The fact remains that Disney, as magical as we all want to think it is, is a mega corporation. While I think that Disney is price gouging with the price hike and is not worth the price of admission, we all have to remember that the bottom line is that they want to make money. That's it. It's about the stock holders and not about any of us on this forum. They don't really care about you, the park visitor. They know that we will come no matter what because we are park lovers. We will pay these obscene prices. We will continue to pay $8 for a lousy burger (not to mention, no sides). We will pay $25 for an entree at Chefs de France and after one bite of food regret it. We will stay at their overpriced glorified motels (yes, even the moderates). They don't care about Main Street USA, but rather Wall Street. If Disney does not make money, then they end up in the financial crisis that they were in during the early 1980s. They want to prevent that. You want to complain about ticket prices? They are falling on deaf mouse ears, friends. Disney is all about the bottom line and if one year they release such films as 'Treasure Planet' and potentially lose money, they know that they can go to the bank on the hiked ticket prices and high priced motels, food and Made in China souvenirs.

Finally, for those of you who think that you pay the admission for the 'privilege' of being at the Disney property, please. Again, it's a business. They want you there. They need you there. As long as the public pays, they will charge it. There is no privilege there. The park is there for you to visit. It's not a privilege but rather a cost-making entity. That is it. Nothing more than that. It's there for you, the public. No 'privilege' there.

I too am against the ticket hike, but cannot really blame Disney for trying. See you all there soon! That's one less churro for me when I go there!

Well said!!:sohappy::sohappy:

 

[WDWFigment]

WDW has been perpetually discounting since the late 1990s.

And people are becoming conditioned to them. Mousesavers.com wouldn't exist if not for Disney's new constant discounting model.

I've read a couple article advising Disney against discounting so much for this very reason (that people will become conditioned to expect it). If that already hasn't happened, I don't think it's going to happen at this point.

Stated differently, there are people who are conditioned, and are savvy/frugal visitors, and there are those who are lazy, aren't critical, or are just downright dumb. They see discounts, and think "wow, what a deal." If the percentage is greater, they will think, "wow, what a BETTER deal."

I think to make absolute statements that guests will become conditioned to expect discounts or guests will perceive a better discount are a bit misguided, albeit with some truth. Some guests will become conditioned to expect discounts, just as some guests will perceive a greater discount. How those numbers breakdown is what matters. I'm not contending the increase/discounts will have an overall positive or negative impact, just that it could go both ways. I think without more data or expertise, none of us really know. It sure is fun to speculate, though!

If this wasn't an effective strategy, stores such as Kohls would not exist.

 

[Orange Bird]

I don't have the numbers in front of me... but I know when we stayed at both the Contemp and Poly (our preferred) back in the 70s and 80s.. it was still quite expensive then.

I know I just spent nearly 4k for a family of 5 for 5 days in the WDW. I know back in the early 80s.. 3k would have gotten us a trip.. and that 3k back then would be near 7k in today's dollars. Of course we stayed at the Poly in the trip in '82.. but that just goes to show it wasn't cheap back then either.

The aveage family does not spend 7k on a vacation today. I never said it was cheap then, in fact I said the opposite. But I said the average family could still go.

No, they go because they save up for it.. and Disney isn't a 2-3 times a year.. or even a once every 2-3 year trip for most people.

People can afford to go because they want to go - and save (or add debt) to do it.

The discounts aren't changing Disney's audience - the discounts are motivating people to go and not put off trips.

Only time will tell the results of deep discounting.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Stated differently, there are people who are conditioned, and are savvy/frugal visitors, and there are those who are lazy, aren't critical, or are just downright dumb. They see discounts, and think "wow, what a deal." If the percentage is greater, they will think, "wow, what a BETTER deal."

Maybe Disney should just raise the price of a one-day ticket to $790, then offer a special every day discounted price of just $79. Then people could think "WOW, 90% off admission. I am SO there!"

Also, they should sell rooms for $1 a night, then tack on a small $299 surcharge for small things like...a bed, electricity, running water, and not having the room padlocked from the outside every night.

See, I should totally work for Disney.

 

[Glasgow]

Supply? Hi, this is Demand. Have we met?