Big changes coming to Annual Passes

[Baltar]

We are going the end of January and staying off sight, first time off sight in over 10 years.

The Disney price increases just killed our "weekend trips". Before they jacked up the resort prices, My wife and I would go 6-8 weekends a year and stay on site. Then kids come around and Disney's massive weekend resort rates just got us to take other weekend trips.

 

[JohnD]

Disney seems more and more to be catering towards the 1% 'ers and leaving the middle class far behind. This is just another move by Disney to further themselves and their greed towards the "once-in-a-lifetime" goers and continue to alienate themselves from the "diehards."

Non-FL residents are really getting the royal screw treatment with this new tier system, which is really unfortunate. My 2 copper for what its worth, let Disney know how you feel and do whats best for you and your family. But just sad to see the continual alienation of the middle class and the "Diehards." I know our family felt a little sad this weekend because of it

Agree. I'm a FR but sympathize.

 

[NearTheEars]

We didn't get that e-mail. We have bought an AP for the last 5 or 6 years.

We rarely get the emails too. Not sure why.

 

[jazzzz]

So, I just got my voucher, for upcoming trip, in the mail a couple weeks ago. What level will I be at, platinum?

 

[CSUFSteve]

I saw at least one other who's a solo traveller like myself (usually), and here's my take:

1) For those who feel Disney is catering only to the 1%, isn't it just the opposite? Admission media that will be purchased by the vast majority of guests on both coasts didn't go up at all.
2) For Disneyland, as unpleasant as it is, we all have known this was coming for some time. The AP count is too large and there is genuine concern about the Park's long-term ability to absorb expected increases in crowds. Who do you want inside? Locals, or those with large(r) vacation budgets?
3) For WDW, frankly, I'm glad at least that they've finally leveled the playing field. There's no way that 4 Parks should be cheaper than 2 Parks and, in my mind, DL's pricing structure devalued the Florida property.
4) For the first time, this does create a conundrum for me. I currently have a Premiere, based on the West Coast. So a DL AP of some sort is a given for me. The 2 weeks of Christmas are typically when the family goes, but all but Mom have a Deluxe, which will no longer be valid during that period at all. It's questionable whether Mom would spend $1049 pass, in which case, what would be the point for me in getting the $1049 pass? So that means, I'd theoretically downgrade to the $849 equivalent. And no DVC discount for our passes. That leaves about $625 for WDW.
5) Since I don't *need* a water park, that implies a Premiere is only worth it for me if I go to WDW for more than 1 week/year. This often happens, but not always, hence the conundrum...

A tipping point would be whether the higher priced passes give broader restaurant discounts at WDW. For a largely solo traveler (heck, even with 2), I'm definitely NOT paying $150 for a TIW pass. I have DVC, D23, Disney Visa, so some discounts come from those, making the nominal current restaurant discounts from a WDW AP not a real consideration.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Angry? I'm livid.

This is a sad day.

It's corporate greed, not something to get upset over. Don't like it? Don't give them your money.

 

[T.R. Holiday]

I'm actually okay with this new tier system. I paid about $500.00 something for my old pass because it included parking. I can now get a pass with blackout dates for only $380.00 AND free parking. The blackout dates I don't care about because I don't want to be there when it is that busy anyway.

 

[PhotoDave219]

In 2026, I'll just come to visit friends. I won't be that interested in going to the parks.

I've talked with family & friends and outside of this one last trip, it's time to take a lengthy break.

The greed has tarnished the magic. It is what it is.

 

[JourneysEnd]

In 2026, I'll just come to visit friends. I won't be that interested in going to the parks.

I've talked with family & friends and outside of this one last trip, it's time to take a lengthy break.

The greed has tarnished the magic. It is what it is.

So you're coming for the opening of Star Wars Land.

 

[FerretAfros]

In addition to the AP reformatting and price increases, it seems that Disney is starting to seriously consider tiered pricing for individual tickets, based on the anticipated crowds:

In the new pricing model, there would be a financial or other incentive for visitors to go to the park off-season, reports the Wall Street Journal. Much like airline prices, tickets to Disney parks would cost more during weekends and around major holidays, and less during the weekdays and low tourist season.

http://fortune.com/2015/10/04/disney-pricing-change/?xid=yahoo_fortune

Hong Kong Disneyland has had a 3-tiered pricing system in place since about 2006, so this wouldn't be entirely new. However, I suspect it would be much more difficult to implement in the US, where multi-day tickets are far more common, and more likely to include multiple tiers within a single visit.

Although Disney has done some surveys about this before, I find it very curious that Fortune, Business Insider, and the Wall Street Journal all posted articles today (of all days) about the tiered concept. It sounds like we've only heard about some of the ticket changes that are coming...

 

[Next Big Thing]

I think they're pricing out exactly who they want to price out...

Yup, the people who don't want to spend money. I don't mean that snarkily either.

If you aren't going to fork over the entry money to begin with, then they don't want you wasting space as you likely won't spend money while in the parks.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Already got an educated guess on what a post-SWL AP is gonna cost

 

[AEfx]

Despite the objection, I think most will still renew their passes. Given the choice of accepting the price hike, or not stepping foot in the parks again, I think most are going to accept the price increase.

But it's not necessarily one or the other (buying this new massively hiked AP vs. never going again). People can certainly choose to go less, because one of the sells of an AP is multiple trips, and many of us who lived far away but had one took more trips just because we had one.

Look at me - I'm not typical, I'm someone who comes to this site and has for a dozen years now. But I believe my last AP was like $550, when they went over that, I was done buying an AP. I used to go 3-6 times a year, now I go maybe once every two years. Disney is getting far less money from me than they used to, and some years, none at all.

$800 for the most basic non-resident offering is going to have a real impact - and I presume that's why it's being done. They are actively trying to discourage AP holders, no question. The bean counters have decided that AP holders are not worth it to keep as customers. What their little spreadsheets can't quantify are things like how folks like me who were loyal AP holders for years were walking talking billboards for them, and how much money we really spent on the real drivers of profit at WDW, of which admission really isn't the most major.

 

[dreamfinder912]

Upgrading question: if someone has what is now a "silver" pass and when it comes time to renew they want a "gold" do they still get the renewal price? Or because it is a "better" ticket they have to pay the full price?

 

[AEfx]

Not to turn this into an economics thread (*I'm not the right person for the discussion), but have you seen the purchase prices of new cars lately? They haven't increased as fast as the WDW ticket prices of course, but 8 years ago I paid 22K for the same car they're charging $35K for now (yes, I can get that knocked down a bit, but not to anywhere close to that $22K). My point being prices are going up all over the board for anything considered a luxury.

The problem is more than just Disney - middle class america is going extinct.

While yes the overall issue exists, when you compare WDW to other entertainment products, the increase is astronomical. @ParentsOf4 would know more exact numbers, but from what I can tell the cost to visit WDW has roughly doubled in the past 10 years between admission, resort rooms, and food.

Looking at something like concerts, which also had their own dramatic rise but now have had to pull back because folks stopped going, should be a warning for them (concert tickets hit a peak in 2012, but have dropped dramatically, almost to the average a decade ago). Particularly today when Universal is such a viable and increasingly more economical option.

There is a point, somewhere, crazy as it may sound, that WDW will suffer if they continue to increase prices. Not in AP's, but in general. The audience they are going for now are those that are the faux-well off - the ones that have two parents and three $40K+ cars in the drive way, a million dollar home they owe 900K on, basically those that live beyond their means and miss a couple of paychecks and are on their way to bankruptcy.

Because those folks don't generally last - and the WDW vacation will be the first to go - Disney can only go so high up the chain because culturally, truly wealthy people view a theme park vacation as a low-class proposition that they aren't going to pay true luxury vacation prices for, because they know what actual luxury is (and make no mistake, nothing at WDW, not even Grand Flo, etc., is anywhere near actual luxury).

 

[alphac2005]

Despite the objection, I think most will still renew their passes. Given the choice of accepting the price hike, or not stepping foot in the parks again, I think most are going to accept the price increase.

Steve, it'll be interesting to see. I think we're finally at what could be the so-called tipping point. The ramp-up in costs over the past five years are adding up to significant dollars today.

 

[PhotoDave219]

So you're coming for the opening of Star Wars Land.

Exactly.

 

[PhotoDave219]

In addition to the AP reformatting and price increases, it seems that Disney is starting to seriously consider tiered pricing for individual tickets, based on the anticipated crowds:

http://fortune.com/2015/10/04/disney-pricing-change/?xid=yahoo_fortune

Hong Kong Disneyland has had a 3-tiered pricing system in place since about 2006, so this wouldn't be entirely new. However, I suspect it would be much more difficult to implement in the US, where multi-day tickets are far more common, and more likely to include multiple tiers within a single visit.

Although Disney has done some surveys about this before, I find it very curious that Fortune, Business Insider, and the Wall Street Journal all posted articles today (of all days) about the tiered concept. It sounds like we've only heard about some of the ticket changes that are coming...

I think its darn near certain at this point.

 

[AEfx]

1) For those who feel Disney is catering only to the 1%, isn't it just the opposite? Admission media that will be purchased by the vast majority of guests on both coasts didn't go up at all.

Admission itself has gone up astronomically, just not the very minute this week when AP's also went up. The increasing prices have been well-documented across the board. I expect based on some of the things others have posted here we will be seeing those go up, yet again, soon.

2) For Disneyland, as unpleasant as it is, we all have known this was coming for some time. The AP count is too large and there is genuine concern about the Park's long-term ability to absorb expected increases in crowds. Who do you want inside? Locals, or those with large(r) vacation budgets?

This has nothing to do with the unique problems as Disneyland.

3) For WDW, frankly, I'm glad at least that they've finally leveled the playing field. There's no way that 4 Parks should be cheaper than 2 Parks and, in my mind, DL's pricing structure devalued the Florida property.

Well, that's a bit...spiteful.

That said, count the number of attractions at the 4 parks at WDW and then count the number of attractions at the 2 parks in California. You'll find that while WDW is much more spread out, it really doesn't have twice as many attractions as California, far from it. You just have to spend a lot more time walking between them or being bused between gates.

 

[alphac2005]

Disney seems more and more to be catering towards the 1% 'ers and leaving the middle class far behind. This is just another move by Disney to further themselves and their greed towards the "once-in-a-lifetime" goers and continue to alienate themselves from the "diehards."

Non-FL residents are really getting the royal screw treatment with this new tier system, which is really unfortunate. My 2 copper for what its worth, let Disney know how you feel and do whats best for you and your family. But just sad to see the continual alienation of the middle class and the "Diehards." I know our family felt a little sad this weekend because of it

The problem is that there aren't enough 1% 'ers to have this type of business plan be economically viable long-term. The end game here is nuts. I agree with all that what you've said.