Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
You know the boys are on the back foot when they have to trot out the "its a business" manta. Laughable but what do you expect.
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Can We Agree to Stop Complaining Disney About Prices? Let's Talk Value
- Thread starter Chef Mickey
- Start date
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
The first year that Uni opened I started to "split" visit. Always did and never really gave it a thought. It's a good park and although I love WDW, it is not the only thing worth being part of. It was easier because I could never see the personal value of onsite stays. My makeup is to see as much as I can see.
When I lived in Vermont, I literally worked toward the time that I could go to Florida. If you can't guess when, think February. It was like going to an Oasis. WDW originally caught my attention and for a few years, they were pretty much the extent of my trip with occasional visits to SeaWorld and the Kennedy Space Center. Also made visits to Silver Springs, Cypress Gardens and the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. All interspersed with a couple of days at Disney separated by an external excursion, back to WDW and so on.
I don't understand why some people are apologetic about visiting other attractions. One doesn't owe their allegiance to Disney, it's just a place like all the rest. A pretty impressive place, but, just one of many.
Just because it's a business doesn't mean we should simply accept high prices & medicore investment in their offerings. I don't mind higher prices, but I'm not seeing the value in a trip that I used to. So, I go less frequently than I'd like to. However, I can still be vocal about it.
Using the power of speech to to attempt to influence a companies practices is a legit response when a business has a strategy you don't like. The answer doesn't always have to be "stay home".
GrammieBee
Well-Known Member
It has always puzzled me why people complain about the high cost of Disney when all they want to do is ride three or so "thrill" rides and then leave the park because there is nothing else to do. The Disney parks were never noted for their thrill rides and never will be. Their focus is being well themed family parks with something for everyone including a few thrill rides. Plus, at this point in time, they seem to be gearing a lot of the attractions, particularly in the Magic Kingdom, to appeal to the pre-schoolers and the early elementary children. Hence all the strollers. You won't find nearly as many strollers at Universal as their rides and attractions, on the whole, are much more intense which appeal to the teenagers and young adults.
Don't get me wrong, our family always loved thrill rides with coasters being a particular favorite. When our children were teenagers and in their early twenties we rode on just about every coaster fron the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains with a couple out in California thrown in for good measure. We've been to parks and ridden on coasters that no longer exist. If you want coasters, WDW is the wrong place to be!
As an example, for $195.00 per adult (seniors are less expensive) you can get a platinum annual pass which is good for free parking and admission to EVERY Cedar Fair park in the USA. Two in Ohio, one in PA, one in VA, one in the Carolinas, one in Kansas, two in CA and others I can't think of at the moment. Most of them have a water park as well. Cedar Point in Ohio alone has sixteen coasters and at least fourteen other types of thrill rides. You can spend the whole summer being launched, looped, helixed, twisted, dropped, inverted, hurled, swung and whatever else you can think of.
So, I repeat, why are you going to WDW, spending a bucket of money and complaining about the lack of things to do?
Don't get me wrong, our family always loved thrill rides with coasters being a particular favorite. When our children were teenagers and in their early twenties we rode on just about every coaster fron the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains with a couple out in California thrown in for good measure. We've been to parks and ridden on coasters that no longer exist. If you want coasters, WDW is the wrong place to be!
As an example, for $195.00 per adult (seniors are less expensive) you can get a platinum annual pass which is good for free parking and admission to EVERY Cedar Fair park in the USA. Two in Ohio, one in PA, one in VA, one in the Carolinas, one in Kansas, two in CA and others I can't think of at the moment. Most of them have a water park as well. Cedar Point in Ohio alone has sixteen coasters and at least fourteen other types of thrill rides. You can spend the whole summer being launched, looped, helixed, twisted, dropped, inverted, hurled, swung and whatever else you can think of.
So, I repeat, why are you going to WDW, spending a bucket of money and complaining about the lack of things to do?
crazynakedguy
Member
no it was in beta testing in october you were only one of a handful of people selected to test it.
crazynakedguy
Member
exactly there was a time not to long ago where Disney was recognized for having innovative attractions, the BEST customer service in the world, and an experience unmatched by anyway.
However WDW has been letting other companies pass them in all of those areas. Hell the plan with the magic bands is to reduce the total staff in the parks and the hotels.
It's because we love Disney so much we dont' want to see it go down this road.
While my kids love thrill rides, we're not in that camp. We enjoy the variety of rides at WDW. We make every day a full day.
Yet - I complain about the prices. Our last trip was a week long. We are a family of 5. Our costs were about:
$2100 - lodging
$1800 - food
$1700 - tickets
That's about $5,600 for a week at WDW. This doesn't include another $1,000-$2,000 for airfare.
While that is a lot of money, I probably wouldn't mind it if I saw change & investment into the parks. Instead, the parks have been largely static over the past 15 years. So, we go ever 3-4 years, do the same rides, but after we get done, more and more I feel like I'm just not rushing to go back.
Deep down, I care about the place because of all the happy times I've had there. However, I just feel let down.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
Over $600/night at the Poly is ridiculous. And that is the reason they are having to convert all those empty "Deluxe" rooms to DVC. Because they are over priced.
And yes, I know WDW is a business...yada, yada, yada...a business who has priced their hotels rooms at a level that people are refusing to pay. So how does over 5 million empty hotel room nights a year help the bottom line? Oh wait, it doesn't.
And yes, I know WDW is a business...yada, yada, yada...a business who has priced their hotels rooms at a level that people are refusing to pay. So how does over 5 million empty hotel room nights a year help the bottom line? Oh wait, it doesn't.
Dads 2 Boys
Well-Known Member
Sure it does. Boycotting (for lack of a better term) means not going and voicing your opinion while in the parks (in this instance) does zero good. By going, whether it be less frequent, doesn't do what you think your intentions are.
Power of speech is meaningless if it's not followed through by actions.
Dads 2 Boys
Well-Known Member
Agreed on the first part. However for the 2nd.....while there are several empty hotel rooms, they wouldn't build the deluxe DVC's if it was going to lose them money.......
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
Right. But they are losing money because the rack rate is ridiculously too high. They are recouping some of that lost revenue by converting "Deluxe" rooms to DVC.
They wouldn't be losing money on resort rooms had they not decided to set the rate far above the value of the room. Instead, they went for broke and in the process broke their long standing business model.
Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
finally someone gets it.
that guy was ridiculous in oversimplying it in "only rubber bands, a few wifi towers and some ipads"
crazynakedguy
Member
shareholders. My Magic + was pitched with the idea that investing the 2 billion would yeild greater profits. However it turns out that they will never see a return on the 2 billion and over the years it will cost even more to upgrade and maintain it. My Magic + will never even break even.
WDW was chosen because its the only park that has these problems. Of course all of these problems could have been fixed with more people eaters.
You think that they are going to spend 2 billion on every other park when the other parks don't have the same crowd issues that WDW has?
crazynakedguy
Member
no i wasn't oversimplifying it i was pointing out the ridiculousness of spending 2 billion on this system.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
By purchasing a product that you have no faith in or don't see value in you are accepting high prices and mediocre investments.
The answer isn't always "stay home" but it's usually the most effective.
crazynakedguy
Member
well giving your money to their competitor is the most effective but it also helps to tell them why you are doing it.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
Agree completely. Through the proper channels of course, of which this is not it.
crazynakedguy
Member
ehhhh most large companies have social media experts that compile all the things people are saying about them on forums, facebook, and twitter.
Simply staying home and not participating isn't really all the effective either. More often change comes from using the power of speech to influence the decisions of others.
That said - it's not my personal intention to go on a campaign against WDW. While I don't have the excitement about WDW the I used to, I still like the place enough to go from time to time. Yet, if someone brings up a discussion about value, I'll share my thoughts.