Mr Anderson
Well-Known Member
Uhhhh, well, that IS what you said, isn't it? Thanks for the apology and all, but... it doesn't sound like you said it... you said it. Plain and simple.
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Disney and Prices
- Thread starter FutureCEO
- Start date
Uhhhh, well, that IS what you said, isn't it? Thanks for the apology and all, but... it doesn't sound like you said it... you said it. Plain and simple.
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
Yeah, maybe poor choice of words, but it doesn't mean I think people with money have all the class or I only want rich people there. I just want fewer people there. I think the experience would improve with fewer people at the parks and raising prices would do that.
I'm not super concerned with my internet image, but those who follow my posts know I genuinely care about the parks and want the best for Disney and guests. I get joy out of people loving Disney as much as me and sometimes can be passionate about my views. I am generally helpful and polite to my fellow members.
I work at a company bigger than Disney and the things discussed privately are sometimes not very nice. I can guarantee Disney has these same discussions and knows it needs to protect the experience.
Oh well....I tried to be amicable. I stand by my view of raising prices to control crowds and improve guest experience, but retract anything that made it sound negative toward certain groups. Remember, raising prices doesn't mean lower income people won't go. Even people with the means to go might feel like it's no longer worth it. I'm fine either way.
Grumpy4196
Well-Known Member
Don't get why people complain about Disney's prices. It costs my family just as much to vacation at Universal. Not starting a Disney vs. Uni debate just stating my opinion. We enjoy both parks.
Sans Souci
Well-Known Member
Because it's a discussion board and people like to express their opinions on all things WDW. It would be a boring place if we were all in lockstep with our opinions.
DABIGCHEEZ
Well-Known Member
Agreed, it is not really a fair comparison. If I want to take an African safari... it will be way more than disney too.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
All some of us are saying is Disney is very expensive. No need to bring up Universal.
cw1982
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure how a Universal trip costs as much as a Disney trip considering the tickets cost less at Uni. A one day ticket with park hopping has a comparable price at both places, but after that Uni quickly becomes cheaper. A 3-day park to park ticket at uni is $30 cheaper per day per person than a 3-day park hopper at WDW. Hardly the same price. And that's before Disney tacks on park hopping fees, while the price I just referenced for Uni included hopping.
I'm not saying a trip to Disney isn't worth the price. I'm already looking at ways to save up for another trip. But let's not turn this into another Disney versus Uni debate because there are plenty of those already and uni really is less expensive unless you're just talking about one day tickets.
ETA: yes, I realize there is more to a trip than just the price of tickets, but unless all hotels at Uni cost as much as the Grand Floridian, and unless there is no way to make food dollars go as far at Uni as they might at Disney, I still say ticket prices alone are a good starting point for a comparison.
Mr Anderson
Well-Known Member
I don't know what company you work for that is 'bigger than Disney',and I'm not asking, but... let me guess... you do NOT work in the public relations department... am I right???
FYI, no company in the history of ever has said/thought "GOSH, we're just TOO popular; we'd better raise prices to make it where less people come!" Disney does try to keep the parks from getting too full... it's just their definition of 'too full' is far, far different from yours. You'll notice that from time to time wdwmagic will post an article "Magic Kingdom closed due to reaching capacity" meaning they will straight up close to any further guests entering the park once they reach a certain number of guests. And what you are probably thinking is a good number of guests in the parks... well that generally happens during the time of year when Disney is scrambling to get more people INTO the parks, so they run promotions like Free Dining or 20-30% Off Resort Stays.
I'm sure Disney would enjoy the cash flow benefits of raising ticket prices if every customer was willing to pay the new prices, but not everyone would, and it would go against everything Walt wanted to make it where only the elite could afford to or feel that it's worth it to come. Sure, it would be great to see all the enhancements and improvements across the parks if they had all that extra cash, but that isn't a move they are going to ever make. So you'll just have to keep on wishin'.
And if you think the parks are too crowded when you go, well then get off your tail and do better research, buddy. Go find a crowd calendar (touringplans.com has a great one, with a guarantee) and find out when the crowds are predicted to be the absolute lowest in the year and go then. Or don't. I'm fine either way.
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
I'm a financial analyst at a company 1.5 times the market cap of Disney and can tell you it's not unheard of to raise prices to control customer behavior while maintaining or even increasing margins. It's very common in the entertainment industry.
Perhaps I'm sensitive to crowds, but it will become and arguably, has become, an issue. Maintenance, guest happiness, and operations suffer with too many people. I'm not saying Disney Parks will suffer because I believe they'll solve it with expansion or crowd control measures such as price increases (they've probably already priced at least SOME people out, so they are doing it today). However, the guest experience has slipped even in the last 5-10 years and I'm the biggest Disney apologist here. Disney hasn't experienced a hit to the bottom line, so they have not yet acted. I'm simply saying that guest experience will start to matter more with increased competition and expansion will be necessary to control crowds.
I actually don't experience high crowds, because I always go in the offseason (September, October, early May). I have been when it's crowded and the experience suffers. Just read the messages here and you'll know maintenance slips during peak times.
BigTxEars
Well-Known Member
I hate crowds.
I love WDW.
Sucks to be me with that mix
We have pretty much decided that we are done going to Orlando in June, July or Aug. It's just too crowded for us to enjoy. We are planning to go in Jan or Feb or Sept or Oct from now on. Jan of next year is our next trip to Orlando.
I really don't think Disney is overpriced at all for what your get. I don't even think the resorts rooms are, again for what you get. Value on things like WDW and Uni is based on personal perspective so everyone has a different view on it.
I love WDW.
Sucks to be me with that mix
We have pretty much decided that we are done going to Orlando in June, July or Aug. It's just too crowded for us to enjoy. We are planning to go in Jan or Feb or Sept or Oct from now on. Jan of next year is our next trip to Orlando.
I really don't think Disney is overpriced at all for what your get. I don't even think the resorts rooms are, again for what you get. Value on things like WDW and Uni is based on personal perspective so everyone has a different view on it.
Disney ticket prices are not that high if you go enough. I'm a DVC member and spend 3 weeks at WDW. It costs about $20.00 a day for tickets, season pass. I will go to universal for 3 days in 2015 and it will cost over $100.00 a day because they make you but park to park tickets if you want to ride HE. Now I can afford it but for my wife and I to get that with the transportation is over $600 for just 3 days. That's more than half the cost of our 27 days at WDW. We stay Saturday to the following Sunday, 8 night 9 days each time. So which park is expensive? At least I can stay at Wyndham Bennett Creek and not have to pay for the hotel. Timeshare also let you each in the resort because they give you a full kitchen. We eat breakfast before leaving for the parks and while at Disney even have a few lunches and dinners at home. Can't do that while at uni though since they don't have the transportation or ability to walk to the Boardwalk DVC or the monorail to the GF. My favorite resort is Boardwalk because you can walk to DHS and Epcot.
Love your post. I do eat a lot at Epcot especially at food and wine and flower and garden but I was posting about walking back to the room for lunch and dinner once in a while. When we go to Blizzard Beach we always come back tor a late lunch before heading out again. The best thing about all the trips is we don't have to rush to see everything. The DVC saves us money and even though I don't want to know how much we spend especially the wife at least I can say I get some of it back in divideds.If I spent 3 weeks each year at BW and walked to Epcot for lunch and dinner I would would be 75 lbs heavier
BigTxEars
Well-Known Member
No doubt
We stayed at BW last month for a week, paid OOP as part of a package. Loved the ability to be at Epcot 5 mins after leaving our room
We now have 210 points in DVC, Jan 2015 will be our first DVC trip. Looking forward to many more after that. DVC will change the way we go to Disney, but we would go rather we had it or not.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
UNI is too cheap. I'd gladly pay double what I do now to half the crowds at UNI and class up the experience.
Mr Anderson
Well-Known Member
Well, I can't really speak on how it was at the parks back 5-10 years ago, as I've only been going since 2011. I might be seeing things through rose-colored glasses, as I do always go during off season, but my experiences have always been grand. I hope they do start expanding soon, and they'd be ignorant not to, as they must be feeling the heat from Uni with all the new HP experiences there. However, I don't forsee them doubling prices anytime soon.
As far as crowd control goes, perhaps FP+ is a new attempt at it. I'm on mobile right now, but later on I'll try to find an article I saw that shows how FP+ has helped even out wait times at some of the busier attractions. As far as making the parks less crowded... That's a puzzle that I don't think can be settled my simply raising ticket prices, as crowds really aren't that bad at all for about 4-6 months out of the year.
By the way, I've rather enjoyed this thread. Good show.
flynnibus
Premium Member
There is a difference between surrendering and accepting. People paying the prices not really by choice but because of lack of acceptable alternatives.
Disney prices don't look so bad anymore because the idea of charging absurd prices is becoming more commonplace. You see far more places charging higher prices... And people say "but it's not as bad as [the highest guy]..."
And companies know it. Just don't be the highest... And you can jack prices without getting a black eye.
Be it food prices or tolls... Safety in numbers is the new pricing strategy
flynnibus
Premium Member
Try comparing to something not so extreme...
draybook
Well-Known Member
flynnibus
Premium Member
Hawaii is the most wxpensive location in the country to fly to. San Fran and NYC are the most expensive cities in the country. These are not the only places to vacation at