News Bobby Mouse needs his cut.. (Price Increase)

[Californian Elitist]

Disney has gotten so expensive that I assume your trip to Italy will cost a similar amount or possibly less than a trip to Disneyland. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if that is true, that is just crazy and Disney should be ashamed.

We knew the increases were coming, but it still is painful to see them.

My round trip tickets for Rome cost $100 more than the new price for my AP, but that’s because I’m going in July when it’s high season. I will be there for a month. However, my trips to London and Santo Domingo this year, as well as my trip to Dublin last year, were all half the price of the AP or less.

This is why I will be focusing on national and international travels for now.

 

[mickEblu]

I think going once or twice a year will help you and your family enjoy it more. There is definitely a pull towards the allure of being able to go anytime, but at a certain point, it would start getting old and less exciting for anyone. I bet you'll start to look forward to and anticipate visits much more now. And your son will too.

It’s funny because as an AP one of the biggest “perks” marketed is that you can drop in anytime. However, I always found that the best Disneyland days are when you get there early and do a whole day. The short trips were never worth the hassle. Not for my situation at least. It was never Much fun getting there in the mid afternoon with crowds at there peak and FPs gone and we never did many night trips. I guess APs who live really close to the park may feel different.

 

[jrhwdw]

Will WDW be this bad with price increases when SW GE/Skyliner opens?!?!?!?!?

Why did DL do this now? IMO, they could have waited until F!/WOC/PTN comes back!(yes, we still have F! until Jan 22nd I think?)Now we just have Mickey's Mix Magic which who knows how that will turn out.. With those prices, it better be the B Mode Believe Mon-Thurs! Soundsational is back but not til the end of Jan.

 

[Stevek]

This latest increase primarily hits the most expensive APs...exactly who Disney does not want clogging the park during the peak season of the next 2 years of SW:GE opening. The lower APs are already blocked during peak season. Those top tier APs that don't renew will now have to either pay for one day passes or renew at a lower tier and buy a day ticket to experience SWGE. My bigger concern is will parks become even more crowded, especially prior to the summer blockout period, due to many more people getting the lower tier passes. More AP crowds during non peak, less AP crowds during peak (with more day ticket guests).

 

[Stevek]

It’s funny because as an AP one of the biggest “perks” marketed is that you can drop in anytime. However, I always found that the best Disneyland days are when you get there early and do a whole day. The short trips were never worth the hassle. Not for my situation at least. It was never Much fun getting there in the mid afternoon with crowds at there peak and FPs gone and we never did many night trips. I guess APs who live really close to the park may feel different.

Many years ago, the drop in mentality worked really well. Crowds were manageable, you could sit on main street less than an hour before a parade or fireworks and enjoy it easily and you could get on a few rides with no problem. It's changed dramatically now and having a full day to take your time and enjoy the park really is the way to go...and to do it only once or twice a year. The latter really makes you appreciate it more then when you visit multiple times a month (at least it did for my family).

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

Maybe they should keep the prices the same and have a separate fee and entrance for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

 

[mickEblu]

This latest increase primarily hits the most expensive APs...exactly who Disney does not want clogging the park during the peak season of the next 2 years of SW:GE opening. The lower APs are already blocked during peak season. Those top tier APs that don't renew will now have to either pay for one day passes or renew at a lower tier and buy a day ticket to experience SWGE. My bigger concern is will parks become even more crowded, especially prior to the summer blockout period, due to many more people getting the lower tier passes. More AP crowds during non peak, less AP crowds during peak (with more day ticket guests).

This is a pretty good guess. For me personally, I would rather just buy a ticket when I want to go than downgrade from my Signature to the lower tier APs. Not having Saturday’s or parking included is not worth it. Not to mention not having the flexibility to go on less crowded days.

So.... I’ll be buying my tickets on strategically planned triple blackout days (excluding Christmas Break).

 

[NateD1226]

Maybe they should keep the prices the same and have a separate fee and entrance for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

I think there was a strong rumor going around about this. I don’t know what happened to it...

 

[mickEblu]

Many years ago, the drop in mentality worked really well. Crowds were manageable, you could sit on main street less than an hour before a parade or fireworks and enjoy it easily and you could get on a few rides with no problem. It's changed dramatically now and having a full day to take your time and enjoy the park really is the way to go...and to do it only once or twice a year. The latter really makes you appreciate it more then when you visit multiple times a month (at least it did for my family).

That makes sense. Between the crowds being lower and maybe even less traffic on the freeways to get there. I live in Lake Balboa (SF Valley) and on average it took me about an hour and a half to get to the park.

 

[Stevek]

Maybe they should keep the prices the same and have a separate fee and entrance for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

That would be a nightmare to manage.

 

[Stevek]

I think there was a strong rumor going around about this. I don’t know what happened to it...

Only thing I heard was there might be some upcharge events prior to opening which is what they did for Guardians and Pixar Pier. My gut tells me they will do it for SWGE but it will be significantly more expensive...and folks will cry about it as they begrudgingly hand over their cash...cuz pixiedust

 

[mickEblu]

When I first upgraded to an AP from my park hoppers about 5 years ago it was because it seemed like a steal compared to the price of the park hoppers. Now not not so much. This is what they had to do though. I’ve been saying they needed to make day tickets more desirable and APs less so. Whether through lowering the price of day tickets or increasing the gap in price between day tickets and annual passes. It may be too late for APs that are already hooked but new potential APs will now think twice about making an upgrade. Of course, there is a sweet spot when it comes to passholders/ crowds Disney wants the park at. So we’ll never see the parks empty or in “offseason” mode ever again because the second attendance dips too low they ll tweak something to get the number up again. Not to mention the demand for DLR and population in So Cal. But at the very least the parks can be manageable.

 

[chadwpalm]

What gets me, is that we are paying a solid amount of money for all the execs to pat their back thinking "Pixar Pier" and "Mission Breakout" are the best things ever created for Disney. I can't help but feel a little responsible for enabling these re-skins and changes, even though I've been a vocal opponent.

I love how you conveniently ignore the billion-dollar land being built right now in the back of the park in order to bolster your argument.

I also love how the article starts right off stating the 25% increase, even though it only reaches that much on the highest of AP tiers. The standard daily tickets only increase about 7% which is only 4% above the standard cost-of-living inflation.

Disney has always been a bit above the standard inflation and I'm okay with that because there is nowhere else I can go to enjoy the level of entertainment the park brings. Also, if the price increase keeps the parks from shutting down every day due to capacity, I'm okay with that too. I'm also really okay with the biggest hit being on the APs for the same reason.

The only logical way to keep the crowds down is to increase the prices. They do it every year and the sky falls every year. We then get over it. Enjoy Knotts. You won't find Pirates, HM, Space Mountain, or Galaxy's Edge there, but if you're okay with that, so am I. Disney did their job and there will be fewer people there to get in my way (yeah right!).

 

[Californian Elitist]

I love how you conveniently ignore the billion-dollar land being built right now in the back of the park in order to bolster your argument.

With or without that mentioning, the argument still stands.

 

[DanielBB8]

Disney fans argue on both sides. They complain about crowds and suggest prices increases to keep them down. Then, they complain the price increases don’t get filtered down to the quality of the attractions, which should mean the crowds don’t come. But the crowds still come anyways.

 

[NateD1226]

Disney fans argue on both sides. They complain about crowds and suggest prices increases to keep them down. Then, they complain the price increases don’t get filtered down to the quality of the attractions, which should mean the crowds don’t come. But the crowds still come anyways.

That is why I love these forums better than other platforms. FB groups or Instagram bloggers want something from Disney, and when they get it, they start to complain and say it was a terrible decision. This forum, especially DL forum, agree on most things and don’t complain for things they wanted. Like almost everyone here, including me, hates Pixar Pier. While all bloggers and influencers praise Pixar Pier and say that is the best land ever made. Plus, we all get along and joke around we each other

Edit: Sorry, I got a bit off topic

 

[chadwpalm]

With or without that mentioning, the argument still stands.

Not in the slightest. If Disneyland Resort didn't change a single thing in the past 10 years, then I'd have reason to balk at price increases (above standard inflation of course). A $1.1-billion dollar redesign/expansion of DCA, $1-billion expansion of Galaxy's Edge, upcoming Marvel Land, and possible Fantasyland expansion......something's gotta pay for all of that and it isn't going to be sticking to standard cost-of-living price increases. If you want to see the parks grow, you gotta spend the money, and in turn, recoupe it.

I've seen your posts. For you it's not about the money, it's about the disagreement on how they are spending it and the choices of IPs. That's fine. I respect your opinions on that, but money is being spent either way and price increases are needed to pay for it. Plucking out a couple of cheaper intermediary projects doesn't hold its own for justifying not increasing prices.

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

Let this sink in. For $994 you get 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, access to the wide world of sports, and a gold course at WDW. Sigh......

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not in the slightest. If Disneyland Resort didn't change a single thing in the past 10 years, then I'd have reason to balk at price increases (above standard inflation of course). A $1.1-billion dollar redesign/expansion of DCA, $1-billion expansion of Galaxy's Edge, upcoming Marvel Land, and possible Fantasyland expansion......something's gotta pay for all of that and it isn't going to be sticking to standard cost-of-living price increases. If you want to see the parks grow, you gotta spend the money, and in turn, recoupe it.

I've seen your posts. For you it's not about the money, it's about the disagreement on how they are spending it and the choices of IPs. That's fine. I respect your opinions on that, but money is being spent either way and price increases are needed to pay for it. Plucking out a couple of cheaper intermediary projects doesn't hold its own for justifying not increasing prices.

The point wasn’t about money. The point was Disney legitimately thinks GotG and Pixar Pier are great products, worthy enough to stay in the parks. SW and money have nothing to do with that.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Let this sink in. For $994 you get 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, access to the wide world of sports, and a gold course at WDW. Sigh......

Still doesn’t appeal to me greatly. For less than that price, I can book a roundtrip flight to another country.

I personally don’t care about water parks and all the other extra stuff offered in Florida.