I'm sorry, but a 20% discount on Disney's overpriced merchandise, overpriced hotels, overpriced mediocre food, and overpriced cocktails does not strike me as great deal. In fact, the stuff remains overpriced.I cancelled the dining plan on the first 6 nights of my trip bc of it! Couldn't get out of the last 3
.
Anyway, I wish I would have actually added the discounts up, for example we ordered take out from GF Cafe 3 or 4 times, every time was a decent savings..Same with qs food at the pool bar and Captain Cooks.. almost everywhere that we ate, except for BOG, lounges, and room service, was 20% off. It was great!
Wanted to add- you also get 20% off on the shopparks app. I purchased quite a few Christmas presents by taking advantage of that!
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Attendance drop in the parks... I wonder why
- Thread starter THEMEPARKPIONEER
- Start date
21stamps
Well-Known Member
Here's pricing for the 2-
Tauck. Prices are PER PERSON. No Airfare.
ABD "Starting from..." PER PERSON rates. No Airfare.
You and @Bandini can honestly look at that and ask for proof that the "avg WDW family" is not taking these trips bc WDW has raised their prices?
You seriously require proof to tell you that?
Patcheslee
Well-Known Member
Holly cow THAT'S a sticker shock to me. Now I'm just feeling that a week @CB, 2adults, 1 child, dining plan, tickets, memory maker is worth the 4600.
You make up stuff and then post it like it's fact.
To be clear, you still haven't proven that Disney is not losing visitors to other vacation destinations including tours by Tauck or ABD. Posting the prices of vacations proves nothing. You have made your own assumptions and posted those assumptions as fact.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I know right. Lol. I'm just saying that WDW is not in competition with these other tours. They don't have the same "avg income" demographic. Some people will cross to fit both categories, most will not.
People are most likely not cross shopping and comparing WDW vs these tours.. especially not saying things like "WDW raised their prices..let's do a luxury tour instead for just a little bit more". Lol.
But-- I don't have proof of that. So it's always a possibility.
What's the average income of a Disney visitor? Please provide the source
21stamps
Well-Known Member
You're right. I'm totally assuming that most people aren't taking Twenty Thousand Dollar or more vacations. How foolish of me.
What you have to realize is Tauck is a luxury tour provider. You could get the same thing for substantially less if you are willing to settle for 3-4 star accommodations instead of 5 star accommodations. On a Tauck trip everyone is receiving concierge service.
Most of them were stuck in the queue at immigration
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I believe we were discussing possible reasons for a drop in attendance. Among others, the fact that taking other types of trips are actually more affordable when done is specific ways and perhaps that could be part of what is happening. At least to how many Americans might be attending the parks. Man does not live by Disney alone. Or, in other words, no one really knows how much of a drop in attendance that Disney had, they don't really talk about that in detail very much or they have attached it the Presidents Income tax returns and we will never know.
Grimley1968
Well-Known Member
Now if I can just sidestep the trainwreck ...
The increased amount of pre-planning has been touched on here, but hasn't really been cited as a cause of lower attendance. I don't think it would be a large number of people, but I do think it is a contributing factor to why some may not want to come any longer, at least those who can remember more carefree trips before FP+, 180-day ADR's, etc. To me, the value of a WDW vacation decreases when I have to book some restaurants 6 months out if I want to eat at those restaurants and certain rides 2 months out to be able to ride them without a 80 minute to 2 hour wait. When you combine that with the increased pricing for resorts, parks and food, I think it's a factor that maybe Disney did not foresee.
The increased amount of pre-planning has been touched on here, but hasn't really been cited as a cause of lower attendance. I don't think it would be a large number of people, but I do think it is a contributing factor to why some may not want to come any longer, at least those who can remember more carefree trips before FP+, 180-day ADR's, etc. To me, the value of a WDW vacation decreases when I have to book some restaurants 6 months out if I want to eat at those restaurants and certain rides 2 months out to be able to ride them without a 80 minute to 2 hour wait. When you combine that with the increased pricing for resorts, parks and food, I think it's a factor that maybe Disney did not foresee.
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Personally, I think Disney is finally experiencing the results of MDE and FP+ in decreased attendance. People have experienced it and now they are telling their friend, neighbors and relatives about their experience. I wonder how many of those reports contain the words "WDW was great, but not worth the hassle"?
I also think the the recent Money Grab initiative is an attempt to recover from the expenses of MDE and FP+. I read somewhere ( maybe Forbes) that the estimated cost of MDE has now climbed to $3.2 billion.
MrHappy
Well-Known Member
Whoops, almost stepped in the trainwreck....
I tend to agree with this. I have a colleague who is scared - yep, shakin in her boots - to even take on the WDW planning process. It's keeping her from taking the WDW plunge. I try to coach her through it, but it just scared her even more. I, for one, really enjoy the planning process. It's like a glorious, frustrating, yet heavenly ride queue before the actual vacation.
disneyflush
Well-Known Member
We used to go every year but haven't been since 2013 due to price. Its challenging to pay for the base tickets, hotel, food, gas to drive down, etc., and now you generally have to include the tickets for an upsell offering as well or risk having your kids feel like they are missing out. The prices on the food obviously continue to rise. Wife and I haven't had a raise in years so can't keep up with the price hikes on different things in the vacation. Daughter is turning 10 in a few months and I guess that makes her a 4'5" 60lb adult now for pricing so the odds of us finding enough value in discounts or packages has basically disappeared. I still root for the place to find its way again and like reading about the news on what is happening down there on this forum. The memories are great. I know a lot of people find plenty of value in visiting frequently so I have no qualms about it still being the perfect vacation for a lot of people.
Otterhead
Well-Known Member
Depending on how many people you're coordinating, it can be intimidating. On my last trip, we had four different families staying in two different resorts, 3/4 of us on DVC and the others not, and had to coordinate dining, FP+, magic bands, reservations... it was utter chaos. Happily one of my companions is a travel agent and actually enjoys this stuff!
But if it's just one family under one roof... planning is honestly extremely easy. Choose where you want to stay, decide if you want any dining reservations, and at some point before you walk thru the gate, choose some FP+ reservations.
JenniferS
When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
I have to admit, I love planning my ADRs, FPPs, and every park day from sun up to sun down. (No sarcasm font, I'm being serious.)
MDE has changed the way we tour the parks - unfortunately not in the way Disney intended. With all of our must-do FPPs wrapped months ahead of time, we are now much more likely to relax at our resort (where we are not spending money) for an extra few hours every day.
Laketravis
Well-Known Member
Whoa! Really? I know it was close to $2B and still climbing when I was paying attention to it but I haven't checked in quite a while.