News Annual Pass price increases June 2019

[RustySpork]

Tier 1 any park + Hollywood studios minus GE

They could just make GE a permanent upcharge event and they'd never go broke.

 

[wendysue]

WELL.....we were going to get AP's on our next trip in July. Instead, we canceled the trip entirely. The whole parking, AP, money grab for everything mentality is laughable now. Enough for us. Not mad or sad....just don't think that any of this is worth it anymore.

 

[hokielutz]

Fair enough. For those wondering:

"And what we're trying to the basically is 2 things, is to price according to demand, and in managing demand, try to basically spread out attendance so that we can preserve or improve the guest experience; it's that simple."

So I was too broad when I said "decrease attendance." They want to decrease attendance at peak times and increase attendance during slower times.

In other words... make it so the attendance across the year is as evenly distributed as possible... thereby eliminating walk-ons for big attractions.

 

[note2001]

Ugh, I have passes stored for use, but wasn't planning on digging into them just yet.
Now I have to decide if that 7day non-exp park hopper is more valuable than my AP.
... Which one to save?

 

[jt04]

If crowds keep crowds away, why do the parks keep getting more crowded?

Expanding middle class globally and skyrocketing growth in Florida.

 

[jt04]

A solution would be for Disney to announce a month in advance that ticket prices will increase on a specific date but also announce final prices won't be determined until then.

Win Win.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Historically I've looked at the AP as needing two trips of 4 days or more in a calendar year. For the most part that holds true at 5 days or more in a calendar year, but now it's getting closer to even (when factoring parking, discounts, photopass)

 

[RSoxNo1]

I would very much like to see a blackout date pass for non-Florida residents

 

[Epcot82Guy]

This one likely broke me as well. I was going to purchase an AP, since I had 3 trips coming up this summer/fall. Instead, I've simply cancelled two, reduced the one left to two days and switched the third to Universal. I know that's their goal, but I went from doing 6 trips a year on property (with typically a decent food and beverage spend on property) to doing none.

With that, this all does make me wonder what Disney is looking at market wise. I admit this is a bit tin foil hatted of me vs. true economic theory. But, if the demand is this high to justify price adjustments at this level, and there is more lodging capacity being built, that suggests there is more than enough demand for more attractions. The exception would be if the added flow is potentially unstable or you are uncertain what to build. I realize it could just be a matter of trying to charge more for a "premium" experience. But, with something like Disney Parks, there are far too many ways to have the offering cascade up and down market with price points at each. I mean, the hotels themselves are designed this way. This just seems like a temporary approach with an eye toward "squalls ahead" vs. a longer-term strategy.

 

[yensid67]

When will enough be enough!? Ticket prices are an annual thing...sometimes 2 times a year! When will it be too much to even "think" about going to a Disney park!? I was gung-ho on helping others plan their trips, but I am starting to get away from that! ALOT of the average guests cannot afford much more above the current prices. It makes me angry that I most likely will not be able to go because of one factor being high priced admissions! Make me sad, to think Disney and other Parks are limiting their 'audiences' to those who are well off in the financial department! Makes me not want to promote a Disney vacation with anyone! I just hope they too that into account when raising prices!

 

[MuteSuperstar]

And to think I used to get mad at friends who would roll their eyes and say "you're going there AGAIN?".

Of course, back then it was still actually a pleasure to go there.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I get the locals in California problem, but I don’t understand hiking up the prices so high on out of state passes. These are people, like me, that have to visit from out of state so we will be staying overnight, eating meals on property, and usually buying SOMETHING to take back. I get that I’m not the biggest spender per trip, but I’ve visited multiple times a year for the past 10+ years..... that’s got to be a customer worth keeping.... you would think?

 

[Disstevefan1]

This was just an increase for annual passholders right? Disney WANTS LESS locals to crowd the parks. What better way then to raise the AP price! I would love to see the numbers on many hit the breaking point with this one.

While it's true DVCers and non locals do buy APs, I think most are local ( driving distance) and thats who they are trying to cut off here.

Will it make WDW feel less crowded. I think not. It's already way too crowded to begin with.

 

[Kingoglow]

I would very much like to see a blackout date pass for non-Florida residents

I would like to see the removal of all passes below Platinum.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

I mean, you said catastrophic. Disney can lower prices instantly.

We also had the worst recession since the 30s in 2008, 2009 and Disney Parks did just fine...nothing close to “catastrophic.”

Where was the word "catastrophic" used in this sentence?

When this bubble pops it's not going to be pretty.

 

[Kingtut]

What’s a long term ?

Amazing news.

To answer your question - Next quarters results.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Price is the real determination when it comes to supply and demand, not "Increased Value". So, what Disney is doing, as a business is raising "price" to see when the equilibrium or supply/demand ratio changes. So, in other words, Disney will raise prices as much as they can, without adding anything new to the parks, until they see a drop in attendance. Thats how business works. With that being said, they ARE adding things to the parks (I.E. SWGE) so that helps their cause even more.

Wait...you had Econ 002 too!!??!

What big brains we have, Adam Smith, don’t we?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What’s a long term ?

Amazing news.

Well played...aren’t you a “witty little devil”??

 

[matt9112]

Technically the combination of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land is a net gain on attraction count compared to what was there before. We lost a backlot tour and a car stunt show and have gained a coaster, a whip ride, a simulator and a trackless ride. The backlot tour was definitely in need of replacement as well.
Also Pandora at DAK is a gain of attractions, the Lion King show moved within the park, as did the meet and greats so the only loss was the Pocahontas show and we then gained two new attractions.

So we have had recent expansions, but yes there is a lot more that could be done.

more or less however guardians is likely to have less hourly throughput than what it replaced. stunt show also likewise had massive capacity. even the micky ride is believed to be less capacity than TGMR we have more rides

I tend to agree with this theory but they didn't drastically increase the Weekday ,Bronze and Silver. It was the higher tier AP's that went up significantly. Keeping Gold for the Photopass is no longer an option for me I can tell you that.

if i were to guess with no insider knowledge at all silver is likely the most popular in state option and as you noted it did not see a big jump. clearly they do not want to scare off locals. they just want you rich folks to pay more to look at us.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Everybody renew their APs today, then? Excellent. Now who wants a $200 lightsaber?