bill maher and disneyland

[smw]

just watching bill maher from friday night and he was chatting with the economist joseph stiglitz... everyone's aware of inflation and general price increases, but maher threw out a really surprising figure.

he broke out disneyland as an example and said in 1982, admission was $12. if it had increased only with the rate of inflation, it would currently be $28. however, it is now in the $80s.

of course i'll still go, but it was interesting to hear those numbers in relation to inflation vs general mark-up.

 

[scpergj]

Sounds about right - I visited EPCOT Center with friends back in the spring of 1986 for one day, and I believe my ticket was $14.95. First time I visited with my wife was in 1995, and a one day ticket was either $19.95 oe $24.95, something like that. Those were all Florida Resident discount tickets, but still, the biggest increase has been in the last 10 or 12 years.

 

[rufio]

Wow! That's a big jump.

Side note: I LOVE Bill Maher!

 

[flynnibus]

just watching bill maher from friday night and he was chatting with the economist joseph stiglitz... everyone's aware of inflation and general price increases, but maher threw out a really surprising figure.

he broke out disneyland as an example and said in 1982, admission was $12. if it had increased only with the rate of inflation, it would currently be $28. however, it is now in the $80s.

of course i'll still go, but it was interesting to hear those numbers in relation to inflation vs general mark-up.

Highlighted the big 'if' for you. There is this huge misconception that inflation somehow defines what price increases should be. Inflation is just a measure of movement of several key prices - it really has nothing to do with actual price increases or guiding them. Inflation is not a measure of the increase in cost of business for companies as a whole nor any pricing pressure due to competition or demand.

Notice.. no one uses inflation as the justification on why their laptop now only costs $500 instead of the $10,000 it would have cost in 1982.

The CPI (and inflation) is simply tracking the price increases observed in predefined, sampled industries. Generally.. stable ones like durable goods or essentials.

 

[ddbowdoin]

yes, theoretically speaking one can only make that correlation if operating costs of DL were relatively flat and constant. There is obviously mark up, as they are a corporation and have a fiscal responsibility to their shareholders, but the increases in cost also cover many unknowns... many funded projects that never made it to the public, projects where new RnD and technologies were developed. Disney is the type of place that does, if something doesn't fit they work around and develop their own methods... which has a huge cost associated with it. It's too simple to look at the standard rate of inflation and attach it to a company as complicated at DL and Disney in general.

 

[John]

I think there are many many reasons why the price increases are what they are. It is my belief that the actual numbers given for inflation do not represent the actual increase in what things cost. The biggest problem this country faces is the devaluation of the dollar. Which I dont believe is factored into inflation. This is why Gas/oil cost so much. The historical thinking that it is supply/demand dosnt hold as much water as it used to. Demand for gas/oil has actually diminshed in the past ten years with smaller cars and people just not having the money to travel as they once did. That said, as a previous poster mentioned that the price increases have dramatically rose in the past ten years or so. Which tells me that it coincides with my theroy of the rapid decrease in the value of the dollar.


I know this sounds complicated but the simplelist way to explain it...is that the dollar no longer is worth a dollar. You actually need three dollars to be worth a 100 cents. Therefore you need to triple the rate of increase to sustain a actual profit margin in real worth. I am sure there is someone here that might beable to explian it much better then me...

I also think that greed plays apart in it too, corporations are there to make as much money as possible. Most stock holders could care less if we are being priced out. As long as thier dividends keep comming/increaseing is really what matters. The jobs of the powers that be depend on profits. They will continue to make decisions on how they can maximize profits and keep the numbers up. As long as we (the Disney geeks) continue to line up and shell out the big bucks to visit this trend will continue. The devaluation of the dollar means that foriegn currency is worth much more therfore allowing more and more foriegn guest. The writting is on the wall for Disney. I think you will see Disney tayloring/themeing more and more to the taste of foriegn guest.

This is my theory as to why DHS has been stagnant. How many foriegn guest really are that knowledgeable about our golden era of movies? Sure there maybe some, but they certianally dont have the nostalgic connections we do. How many foriegners do you see riding the GMR? I think Disney is in a real tough spot when it comes to this park. I honestly think they have no idea whewre to go with it.

I know this is a long winded convoluted explination, but as I said the reasons for the price increases are very complex. Right now the numbers say that Disney hasnt reached a point where the price has met the point where the numbers reflect a decline in attendence. SO keep saving it is only going to continue to go up.

 

[smw]

Highlighted the big 'if' for you.

yeah, that's why i used "if" myself.

certainly wasn't suggesting anything more than that it was an interesting comment.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Was 1982 the last year they used the old ticket system where you paid once to get in and then for everything else afterwords? If so, what was the first "one-day passport" price?

 

[wiigirl]

Wow! That's a big jump.

Side note: I LOVE Bill Maher!

Who doesn't like Bill Maher?

 

[Larry Mondello]

Who doesn't like Bill Maher?

FOX News doesn't like Bill Maher

 

[Hakunamatata]

Who doesn't like Bill Maher?

Me. He is a hateful man.

 

[Clamman73]

I see where this is going. In before the lock.

 

[smw]

Me. He is a hateful man.

some would say he calls it like it is. some people deserve it.



but, uh... disney world and stuff!

 

[Uncle Lupe]

That was going to be my question? When did the all inclusive pricing start? No matter what they are going to price to what the market will accept. Plus it makes the longer stays look like better bargains.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Plus it makes the longer stays look like better bargains.

I still believe that's the main reason for making one-day tickets so highly priced. With a ten-day base ticket at WDW at about $34/day with tax, it's like shopping in "bulk" for ticket days.

 

[Hakunamatata]

some would say he calls it like it is. some people deserve it.



but, uh... disney world and stuff!

Some would say the same thing about other tv/radio personalities, but because they don't meet approval with main stream media, they are labelled what Maher actually is.

 

[smw]

uh oh. is it tri-corner hat time?

lol.

 

[Hakunamatata]

uh oh. is it tri-corner hat time?

lol.

???

 

[Tim Lohr]

Was 1982 the last year they used the old ticket system where you paid once to get in and then for everything else afterwords? If so, what was the first "one-day passport" price?

Yeah that's what is being over looked here, you used to pay like $6 admission the WDW MK in the 70's but also had to buy a coupon book with the A,B,C,D, E tickets for attractions. I'm not sure the date it switched to a single ticket, but 1982 makes sense since that's when Epcot opened

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Some would say the same thing about other tv/radio personalities, but because they don't meet approval with main stream media...

It's a comment like this that keeps his career going.