Can We Agree to Stop Complaining Disney About Prices? Let's Talk Value

[Pumbas Nakasak]

So what? If you don't want Disney to have your money, then why go there? Live in the bubble, escape from the real world and enjoy yourself.

Original.

 

[CP_alum08]

Comparing WDW to sporting events, plays, etc. is not the same type of entertainment. Those types of events are shorter time periods but all of that time is spent enjoying what you are doing (even if your team is loosing!) Besides some hardcore fans, who enjoys standing in line for hours to ride a 2 minute ride? The same with eating. When you eat at a football game you can still be watching the game. When you eat a Disney you are essentially wasting ride time. I understand that WDW isn't all about the rides, but to a lot of people it is, and those are the ones complaining about prices.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

$100 for a full day at the theme park really isn't all THAT bad when I think of the fact I spent $163 on a ticket to watch the Boston Bruins play a playoff game yesterday....... It's all about how the person buying the ticket feels about it's value. Was the ticket price I paid overly expensive? Absolutely. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I love hockey and being there yesterday 7 rows from the ice was amazing. Someone else might not agree with me though because they don't see the same value in it as I do. Do I think disney is expensive? Yes, but so are Broadway shows, sporting event tickets, etc.. No complaning will change that.

 

[slappy magoo]

Comparing WDW to sporting events, plays, etc. is not the same type of entertainment. Those types of events are shorter time periods but all of that time is spent enjoying what you are doing (even if your team is loosing!) Besides some hardcore fans, who enjoys standing in line for hours to ride a 2 minute ride? The same with eating. When you eat at a football game you can still be watching the game. When you eat a Disney you are essentially wasting ride time. I understand that WDW isn't all about the rides, but to a lot of people it is, and those are the ones complaining about prices.

Not if it's a bad game. And I'm not talking about "your team losing" I'm talking about "one team winning so lopsidedly there's no thrill in guessing the outcome." At which point, any fun to be derived is fun that's invented. You can't say "well this game stinks, may as well ride Space Mountain." Nor can you demand a refund for not enjoying the game (which is not to say WDW will refund your money, but a sports event is mostly about the one thing, the event if that's bad there's not much else). Plus, you could still be waiting on line for food, drinks, bathroom, merchandise.

Sorry, just not the best attack of the analogy.

I'd also argue that it's not just the ride junkies complaining about WDW ticket prices. THEY'RE the ones arguing about fastpass+

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

meh, i live on long island. i don't think the food is that overpriced, but some locations (le cellier, from what i've heard) are not really worth the money.

i just booked a hotel for my dh who is going on a business trip. it's a standard room at a hilton inn in nanuet - $151/night with a AAA discount. and it's just a hotel - no theming, no disney magic, nothing. i think disney is an excellent value UNLESS you're going for a one or two day visit. i keep trying to plan trips other places, and we keep going back to disney because of the value we feel we receive. we've done a couple of cruises which may work out to be a bit less per day, but we have more fun at disney. heck, i was trying to plan a long weekend at one of the casinos (foxwoods, mohegan sun, etc) and a three-day weekend was coming up around $900 for lodging and food - no shopping, no gambling, no shows, no extras. for someone else, that might be an *excellent* value - for dh and me, it's not.

 

[Dafid Duck]

There is no direct comparison. Maybe Universal and Disney World is the closest we can get. Both are $100 a day, but that they are two very different kinds of experiences. I can' t afford to do both, so I have to make a choice. I've never been to Universal and I don't follow those movies. In Disney I relive memories and look forward to making new ones.

 

[Ralphlaw]

Here's the thing: Disney can charge it, and get it.

How often do we complain about over-crowding, or lines being too long? I hear this all the time, from me and lots of others. To alleviate this, Disney can add more things to do OR they can charge more. They are doing both at the Magic Kingdom with the Fantasyland expansion, and people are paying it.

If the prices went up and the parks were mostly empty, the decision would be stupid. But it's not happening that way. Guests are filling up the place, restaurants and attractions have lines, and merch is flying off the shelves. Yeah, it's sad that strapped people perhaps can't come, but so be it. I imagine those same strapped people can't attend a pro sporting event, eat in a 4 star restaurant, take a cruise, or see a show on Broadway either. Oh well.

And indeed the price does drop with multiple days, and with seasonal deals, and if you stay on property. To go back to Econ 101, it's supply and demand. Drop the prices to $5 a day, and the park will be at capacity by 9:30 a.m. Drop it to, let's say, $50 a day, and it would still be way too crowded. Plus, Disney would be giving away opportunities for briningg in cash. If I have 100 bikes to sell, and I know I can get $50 per bike and earn $5,000, why would I instead sell them for $30 a bike, and drop my income to $3,000?

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

If you stay for a non-peak, discounted week...
$109.00 Value Resort, Preferred Room x 7
$33.69 to the Big Four Parks, Base Ticket x 2
$40.75 Quick Service Dining Plan x 2
------------------------------------
$257.88 per day, not including souvenirs.
/ 2 =
$128.94 per day, per person
x 7 nights
=
$902.58 per person, per week
+ airfare or gas money

for two adults + infants.

Obviously, this increases with kids aged 3-9 and 10 year olds are considered adults.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

If you stay for a non-peak, discounted week...
$109.00 Value Resort, Preferred Room x 7
$33.69 to the Big Four Parks, Base Ticket x 2
$40.75 Quick Service Dining Plan x 2
------------------------------------
$257.88 per day, not including souvenirs.
/ 2 =
$128.94 per day, per person
x 7 nights
=
$902.58 per person, per week
+ airfare or gas money

for two adults + infants.

Obviously, this increases with kids aged 3-9 and 10 year olds are considered adults.

Where are you getting 33.69 from?

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I hate to say this... but I don't believe that any "perk" Disney provides is without a business advantage for them. EMH & DDP = that is how they get you to want to pay their over priced hotel rates. (technically, you could argue that the 60 day FP+ window is also another way to get you to stay onsite.)
Magical Express = gets you on property without a car, helping to keep you on property.

IMO Disney even uses lines to their advantage. Character meals... they are advertised as a way to meet characters without waiting in line... THINK... remove the characters from the restaurants... no one would pay or go out of there way for any of those meals. $28 - $38 dollars for mediocre food? no one would pay. But because you get the "perk" of not waiting in line, they do.


I love Disney. I don't think the tickets or food are as overpriced as people say... a medium meal at Wendy's will run you $10 where I live and Six Flags Great Adventure one day tickets are $67 dollars plus for $23 standard parking or $33 for preferred parking. But really, nothing is really "free" anywhere.

 

[BigTxEars]

Value is pretty simple to me, if I feel I am getting enough I continue to pay for the service or item. If not then I stop. I would guess most folks are the same. The day that I feel I do not get it at WDW I will stop going. Until that day I am going and paying what the posted price is. If I then turn around and then moan and groan about it's then it all on me not WDW.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You really can't start making these types of comparisons by throwing in comparisons to how much you would spend on a Broadway play or a day out in Tokyo. WDW is located in Orlando which is hardly anywhere near the price of of New York or Tokyo.

To talk value you need to look at it in comparison to other entertainment venues in similar cities (cost wise). You also need to look at more than just the cost of admission. You need to look at the add-on fees like parking. The cost of food and drink once you are captive. And then top it all off with the amount of actual entertainment you get per day.... If I go spend a day at the beech I get a day at the beech, I don't have to stand in line for 90 minutes before I get to spend 90 seconds splashing in the water to then get out and spend another 90 minutes waiting... In that sense I think WDW has become one of the worst value deals for the money when you look at the actual entertainment. EVEN if you compared it to a Broadway show, at the broadway show you get 120 minutes of entertainment. You would have to include your time on the monorail parking lot tram and all that combined with a full day in the park riding rides wouldn't get you 120 minutes of actual ride time... Maybe its just me but standing in a queue isn't my idea of quality entertainment.

Everyone sees value differently. You don't find entertainment in trams and monorails, but many, including myself do. 14 (avg.) hours of rides shows, scenery, etc. are a pretty good deal compared to other venues. It depends on your desires. As for Orlando hardly anywhere near the price of NY or Tokyo, well apparently it is because that is what you are paying, right? There are areas of NY and Tokyo that aren't that expensive, but, by realizing that the things we want to do in those locations require a big dollar output, then it is indeed the same. It isn't what we think it should be, it's what it is! If we want to see the things located there, then we have to pay the prices charged. The option... don't go! Don't find value in standing in line? Then you are choosing the wrong venue because theme parks are lines, always have been and, as far as I can tell, always will be. It's part of the package. One cannot throw out the things we don't like, just because we want them gone. We accept it and pay the price because if those prices weren't worth it to us, we wouldn't pay it.

Personally you couldn't force me at gunpoint to stay in a Disney Resort, because to me, they are nowhere near what I would call a reasonable rate. When you figure that I can stay offsite, be at the parks, many times, faster then riding a bus to them, rent a car and pay the parking fees and still save thousands of dollars on an extended stay. That is how I respond to what I consider intolerable rates. I don't pay them, I find an alternative and, guess what, I still get to enjoy everything that Disney has to offer in the form of entertainment and always have a happy wallet to go with me to the parks and especially to go home with.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Prices have gone up...return on investment of my vacation dollar has gone down due to homogenized dining options, maintenance issues, closed down/abandoned buildings and attractions shut down water features, etc. Unrealistic rack rates and dining costs unless you buy into the DDP or take advantage of room sales. DDP now costs more since tips are not included. 180 day ADR's, constant hocking of DVC and Disney Visa. Removing EMH's. Oh man...I know the grammar is bad on this post but I am just typing things as they come to mind.

So...yes, in my mind value has dropped.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Clearly, you can't compare a Disney vacation directly to another, non-theme park vacation and I'm not trying to. I'm simply stating the value for your dollar per unit of fun is not bad when compared to other options. Certainly, Orlando isn't an exotic vacation destination or an expensive city relative to others, but you can have more fun there than other more expensive options. There is a time for both vacation types, but Disney never leaves me feeling ripped off or disappointed.

Again, Disney doesn't make ridiculous margins at their theme parks. I know it seems expensive, but their cost of operations is huge. 15% profit margin is fair for the premium theme park experience in the world. I can pay a,lot to go to Six Flags and I'll feel ripped off every time.

 

[BigTxEars]

Clearly, you can't compare a Disney vacation directly to another, non-theme park vacation and I'm not trying to. I'm simply stating the value for your dollar per unit of fun is not bad when compared to other options. Certainly, Orlando isn't an exotic vacation destination or an expensive city relative to others, but you can have more fun there than other more expensive options. There is a time for both vacation types, but Disney never leaves me feeling ripped off or disappointed.

Again, Disney doesn't make ridiculous margins at their theme parks. I know it seems expensive, but their cost of operations is huge. 15% profit margin is fair for the premium theme park experience in the world. I can pay a,lot to go to Six Flags and I'll feel ripped off every time.

We agree on Disney, but not on Six Flags. The one in San Antonio is a heck of a value IMO. Great park and great water park attached.

 

[Mawg]

Yes, but why are jeans so expensive?

 

[Mawg]

Oh, and a cup of coffee at Starbucks?

 

[BigTxEars]

Oh, and a cup of coffee at Starbucks?

Magic beans I think.

 

[Mawg]

Magic beans I think.

And a magic case of heartburn.

 

[BigTxEars]

And a magic case of heartburn.

They just (as in this week) opened a Starbucks near us, well 25 mins away but the next closest one is 45 mins other than that. I am not a regular Starbucks guy as you can guess.