Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
I do have numbers do back up my claim. They are 100, 2356, and 10,547. I'll take your apology now Phruby.
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Annual Pass prices raised (again)
- Thread starter George Lucas on a Bench
- Start date
D
Deleted member 107043
Now that you mention it I didn't see any on my trip this summer. I don't go to DLR more than once a year, and I had a FP for the show, so I wasn't really looking, but I would remember seeing them.
D
Deleted member 107043
I wouldn't be surprised if that or something like it is the long term goal as long as the economy and guest demand continue to be strong. Certainly once SW Land opens any lost revenue from lower tier APs will easily be offset by increased pricing at the top tier.
Nextinline
Well-Known Member
I know it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but I got a season pass to a local amusement park near Pittsburgh that I typically visit on average once or twice per year paying full price etc & I spent FAR more at the park the year I got the pass even though it was cheaper per visit. I would eat more food than I would ride rides! Because of this I'm not convinced that APs don't spend more than tourists. Particularly on weekdays and off season. Not to mention it isn't a straight $$ game. It's a ROI game too.
D
Deleted member 107043
Isn't Disney's goal at their resorts to drive business to their onsite hotels? Outside of the cost of the AP itself there is no way that APers are spending the kind of money at Disney that families are when visiting and spending 2 or more nights at a Disney hotel. The last time I was there the least expensive room on property was ~$400 per night. Multiply that times the number of rooms nights a year and we're talking about some serious spending just on accommodations before factoring in admissions, souvenirs and meals.
Nextinline
Well-Known Member
I agree that no AP can spend as much as a tourist in 2 days (or however long the tourist stays), but that's not exactly my point. Let me try saying it this way... I visited Disneyland once this year with my girlfriend & stayed at this Disneyland Hotel spending approx $800 on the room, $400 on tickets, and $100 on food: so say $1300 (in 2 days). The same year a local craft brew joint opened in my neighborhood and we go a few times a month and have spent $1300 there to date (and we didn't have to pay for an annual pass to get in!). I'm not sure if the brew house made more money off of me this year or Disneyland. I'm not sure that Disneyland wouldn't rather make less money from more people (APs) or more money from less people (tourists). Its ultimately probably a balancing act between both.
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
Definitely more money from less people because the more people at the parks, the more employees Disney needs to pay to handle them all.
Nextinline
Well-Known Member
I'm still not 100% convinced. When I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel there was A LOT of staff. Plus the facility maintenance.
But more importantly, if Disneyland is at 40% capacity they have X # of employees working. If Disneyland is at 80% capacity do they have 2X # of employees working? Does Space Mountain cost twice as much to maintain when twice as many people are at the park?
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Deleted member 107043
Maybe I should clarify. My assertion is that collectively annual guest spend per person is higher for guests staying onsite versus local single day AP visitors.
I agree that it's a balancing act, but Disney has stated that it's recent AP pricing restructuring is a step towards managing traffic patterns. What they haven't admitted, but we can assume, is that their strategy is also an attempt to shift focus to higher paying customers in order to offset any decline in revenue from lower tier customers exiting the AP program due to the increases.
Nextinline
Well-Known Member
Now that kind of talk I can buy in to. The Disneyland Resort (which wasn't even a thing 15 years ago!) needs a high flow of tourists spending more per-day to finance the billions already spent and being spent to build and maintain the attractions needed to make Disneyland a serious, multi-day, year-round destination.
PrincessJenn5795
Active Member
A So-cal ticket is now $329, and a Deluxe ticket is $599. Using your examples (3 days/month in the parks, $30/day on food, and $500/year in merchandise), that would be either $1909 or $2179, depending on what pass is purchased, for an entire year. For my family's 3-night trip in two weeks the room at DLH alone cost $1840 ($460/night for a standard room). Since we used the example of just one annual pass, a 3-day park hopper is $275. Right there is $2115 for a room and a ticket for one person. Add in two character meals, a meal at Carthay Circle, other meals and snacks, souvenirs, and tickets to the Halloween party and our per person cost for 3 days is quite a bit higher than the annual passholder in your example spends in a year, unless they have the most expensive pass. Even then, when you consider discounts on dining and merchandise that goes with the annual passes, the tourist trip is just as or possibly still more expensive. If that tourist spends 4 or 5 days at the resort, as many do, including my family sometimes, the cost of their trip is even more expensive. You multiply that by all of the tourists that stay at the resorts vs. all of the local AP holders who go to the parks just for a day and that is a huge cost difference for Disney. It is a good illustration of why I think they should discontinue all but the highest level APs and discontinue monthly payments. Disney nearly doubling the cost of some of the passes in the last couple of years shows that there are at least some cost and/or crowd issues related to APs that are not worth it for them any longer.
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
Plus in your example, you're family is only at the resort for about 5 days max. The AP who spends less in this example is on property for about 36 days a year. Making crowding an issue, and guest experience for those shelling out the big bucks for hotels/expensive restaurants worse. You're spending more in 5 days than they spend in about 36. That's a no brainer, they'd rather have your family who spends more in a shorter time.
I'm not sure I even see the price hike making a difference. People will pay the prices.
Stevek
Well-Known Member
And therein lies the problem. Everyone wants to complain, but nobody wants to get off the crack. We gave up, we won't get passes again anytime soon.
D
Deleted member 107043
Some will and some won't. Disney is clearly testing the waters to see what the tipping point is. The past two admission increases have been pretty substantial and appear to be designed to drive customers to the highest price points. If that doesn't work at DLR I would expect them to discontinue AP payment plans and/or add flexible pricing. Once that happens you'll definitely see a difference in attendance flows.
An APer I know who lives in LA told me recently that on his days off he frequently drives down to Anaheim to DL with his laptop in hand and does work while sitting on the terrace at the Cafe Orleans. Good for him, but is that really the usage Disney intended for APs?
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GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Ugh. Please tell that person to stop. How annoying
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
Then that means they haven't found the magic price yet and we can expect more increases until they do. I think part of the problem is people seem to think having an annual pass at Disneyland is some sort of birth right. I can't afford them for my family even if I wanted to, and that's okay. I mean sure I COULD buy them if I lost perspective and reason. I think maybe a lot of people local have.
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
I don't know if I really find that annoying, sounds like a nice way to spend an evening doing some work, but it's definitely not what Disney has in mind.
Longhairbear
Well-Known Member
We are California residents in Palm Springs, and had one mailer that invited us to renew. We didn't as our next trip is 2 months after our renewal. We are also DVC members, and curiously, we have not got, nor on the DVC website is there any info of an annual pass discount.
