News 2018 ticket price increases

[bstiles]

I think this is why we continue to see so many DVC resorts/rooms being built. It's pretty much guaranteed attendance either by the owner or whoever they rent out to - owners won't waste their expensive points

You’re assuming that everyone that owns dvc goes to the parks.

 

[flynnibus]

I disagree. Those owning and staying dvc don't always go to the parks, I know many that don't, so many that it surprises me. They vacation differently.

But still far more likely to be at the parks than someone sitting at home in NJ... who has to cross the threshold of both travel and parks cost..

 

[Po'Rich]

"Increasing capacity" isn't a solution because it causes increased attendance.

This has not been proven. Let's just take Pandora for example. Has the increased capacity from that area (not just rides, but also restaurants and shops) been surpassed by the increase in attendance at WDW? If not, the Pandora has helped (no exacerbated) the crowding issue at WDW as a whole. Now, Pandora may be really crowded, as any new attraction will be crowded, but that crowd in that area means less crowds someplace else.

I am sure there is someone on here that can show data: what is the ride capacity? If there is data on increase capacity from an area, what is it for Pandora? What affect has Pandora had on WDW attendance?

 

[MisterPenguin]

This has not been proven. Let's just take Pandora for example. Has the increased capacity from that area (not just rides, but also restaurants and shops) been surpassed by the increase in attendance at WDW? If not, the Pandora has helped (no exacerbated) the crowding issue at WDW as a whole. Now, Pandora may be really crowded, as any new attraction will be crowded, but that crowd in that area means less crowds someplace else.

I am sure there is someone on here that can show data: what is the ride capacity? If there is data on increase capacity from an area, what is it for Pandora? What affect has Pandora had on WDW attendance?

Attendance has been up overall. The last quarterly report confirmed that. AK's number went way up but not totally because of increased overall attendance but by cannibalizing a bit from DHS for obvious reasons. Given the existence of FoP, and by the 50th: GotG, Ratatouille, UK ride, new Illuminations, TSL, SWL's two E-Tickets, MMRR, TRON Cycle, TRON Racers, MK night parade... oh, things will be packed everywhere all the time.

 

[TeddyinMO]

Attendance has been up overall. The last quarterly report confirmed that. AK's number went way up but not totally because of increased overall attendance but by cannibalizing a bit from DHS for obvious reasons. Given the existence of FoP, and by the 50th: GotG, Ratatouille, UK ride, new Illuminations, TSL, SWL's two E-Tickets, MMRR, TRON Cycle, TRON Racers, MK night parade... oh, things will be packed everywhere all the time.

But wait... I thought Disney never spent any money?!?!

 

[HauntedPirate]

I like b- but with the focus on "moderately". I feel like someone hit "full speed ahead" on the lever and it hasn't slowed down since 2011/2012. I haven't been able to do any digging, but is it only because of the Anniversary in 2021 that all this is going on? Will we get some sort of reprieve after that?

The Fantasyland expansion opened in 2012. Outside of Pandora, what new additions have opened since then?

 

[mikejs78]

They HAVE increased capacity. In DVC.

You assume TWDC wants you to visit Orlando for the parks. That’s quite untrue.

WDW is a hotel destination with theme parks as a necessary byproduct.

If that were true, they would focus on building a lot more hotels and make it insanely expensive for anyone visiting the parks and not staying at a Disney resort.

 

[mikejs78]

...Presuming they don't sell so many tickets that attraction wait times aren't three hours. Or they don't sell the parks twice each day, which could lead to other problems.

I agree that it could work, but I think it could also work against them by allowing guests to do things in the parks more quickly and thus not want to stay in a park all day.

Disney isn't served by 3 hour lines either. A guest waiting in line is a guest not buying food/merch/etc.

 

[HauntedPirate]

If that were true, they would focus on building a lot more hotels and make it insanely expensive for anyone visiting the parks and not staying at a Disney resort.

Shhh!!!! Don't give them any ideas, they have people reading these forums, you know!

Disney isn't served by 3 hour lines either. A guest waiting in line is a guest not buying food/merch/etc.

So, so true. And that was one of the original intents of FastPass, to get guests out of lines and into shops and restaurants, buy merchandise, buying food, etc. But then they started the interactive queue thing, and now staffing adjustments so that rides have long lines whenever possible. It's an odd situation...

 

[MisterPenguin]

While Riviera took away some regular rooms to make more DVC. Don't forget the Coronado tower. That's all extra regular rooms.

And by extending resort perks to the Disney Springs hotels, there are now even more 'virtual' regular resort rooms.

 

[DisneyJoe]

And by extending resort perks to the Disney Springs hotels, there are now even more 'virtual' regular resort rooms.

Take into consideration:

EMH was extended to ALL Disney Springs hotel guests, no matter how they booked their room, even if booked directly with the resort itself. They are given a coupon for entrance during EMH hours.

FP+ at 60 days is only a benefit to them IF they booked a package through the Walt Disney Travel Company - otherwise they are 30 days.

I've had extremely few book Disney Springs hotels via WDTC.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I've had extremely few book Disney Springs hotels via WDTC.

Problem is that ticket package. APers don't need it.

Also, some of those hotels have some really good room bargains. Do you know if the Disney package takes advantage of that bargain, or, you can get a cheaper price by renting the room and buying tickets separately?

 

[DisneyJoe]

Problem is that ticket package. APers don't need it.

Also, some of those hotels have some really good room bargains. Do you know if the Disney package takes advantage of that bargain, or, you can get a cheaper price by renting the room and buying tickets separately?

From the price testing that I have done so far, it is always best to book direct with the resort.

 

[MisterPenguin]

From the price testing that I have done so far, it is always best to book direct with the resort.

So, basically you have to ask yourself is the extra cost worth the 60 day FP+.

I rode FoP 5 times the first week of February, all on FPs. So... it'd be worth it to me if I needed to buy tickets.

 

[beachlover4444]

What if every time you increase capacity, more people show up and make it as over-crowded as before?

The new SWL will increase capacity. But it will also make it more over-crowded than ever before.

Continually increasing capacity is not the solution. At least, not the only one.

There is another way, a nuclear option: Limit ticket sales based on the day. No more any-time tickets. No more unlimited Annual Passes. Just like you get a ticket for a specific day for a Halloween Party Night at the MK, you get a day-ticket which is only good for that day and the number of tickets is limited to prevent overcrowding. It will work. Many will hate it. But, Disney will sell out. Guests are guaranteed that lines won't hit three hours for the big attractions.

honestly i think they complain about the overcrowding because the guests hate it but they love it, they are making money period.

 

[larryz]

The Fantasyland expansion opened in 2012. Outside of Pandora, what new additions have opened since then?

Didn't they put a food/drink wagon in the Epcot parking lot a year or so ago?

 

[CJR]

The Fantasyland expansion opened in 2012. Outside of Pandora, what new additions have opened since then?

Not "new new" but they did make a new film for Mission: Space.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Not "new new" but they did make a new film for Mission: Space.

And for Soarin'.

And for Star Tours.

And a new Jedi Academy.

And Frozen Sing-along.

And they tore down Captain Jack Sparrow. That's addition by subtraction.

 

[Hitchens]

The parks are less pleasant when they're super-crowded, and I'd bet that Bob Iger is not creating the park experience he'd most enjoy as a guest. Maybe Iger prefers the parks be as crowded as possible every day (while also maximizing ticket/AP revenue), because more people spend more on food.

BUT maybe in the long run the parks would earn even more money if all but the most expensive APs had ltd. #s of visits,
with options for more visits, block out days, parking, discounts, etc.

If almost all passes only allowed 4 or 6 visits a year, people might appreciate the less crowded parks far more
and maybe far more people would buy APs & be more likely to get them every year.
Of course, people who want to

My daughter & I were once in DCA for the rope drop when the park was opening and a grouchy guy started complaining to me, really upset about some things that seemed petty ot me, and I'm a Disney park perfectionist. He mentioned that he goes EVERY weekend. Passes with limited #s of visits would make it less likely that guests like this would contribute to park clogging by visiting 50 times a year. And this guy might then enjoy life more with visits to beaches, museums, the mountains, Wally World, etc.

I do like that the parks are priced differently on days depending on projected crowd size. . .
(Off topic alert!!!) . . . although as a former teacher I don't like parents pulling kids out of school for Disney parks, especially when kids are in high school and grades determine college options. I remember some parents pulling a girl out to take her to Hawaii, and this brought her A- down to a B+. Not a big difference, but it could've kept her out of her dream college.

After an Orange County Register (a CA newspaper), article there were some ignorant comments that all Walt cared about was money. I've read a lot about Walt, and I think of him as a highly motivated artist. Steve Jobs admired Walt a lot, and I think they shared a love of creating mind-blowing, excellent, innovative products. THAT was their primary focus, and they were then rewarded with profits that let them create more dream projects.

That's not to say that Jobs & Walt are the only kind of people who've used capitalism to better their worlds.
Bill Gates & Andrew Carnegie seemed more focused on market share, but then used their enormous fortunes to become inspired philanthropists.

 

[mikejs78]

And for Soarin'.

And for Star Tours.

And a new Jedi Academy.

And Frozen Sing-along.

And they tore down Captain Jack Sparrow. That's addition by subtraction.

Don't forget new Test Track, FEA, Disney Springs... And soon TSL, Star Wars, Tron, Guardians, Space Restaurant, Gondolas... And that's just the announced stuff.