No doubt food prices in baseball stadiums went up but also the variety and quality of food. Too bad WDW couldn’t match
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News Disney CEO Bob Chapek suggests price hikes are coming to the parks thanks to guest demand
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
glad you do
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
B.C. and Co. (I mean Disney Co.) is not worried about baseball or any kind of stadiums I am watching where things are going with sports betting. There seems to be an interest in that direction. It's no longer about family entertainment, it's about $ $ $ $ so it is interesting to see how this goes.
FWIW - while we may tack on 2 extra days to stay at/visit Universal, it would never take the place of Disney.
If we are going to Florida for our vacation that year, we are staying the majority of the time at Disney.
For us, nothing Universal can build will compare to Animal Kingdom. A park built out of sheer imagination. It's perfect.
Epcot World Showcase, no matter how corny or cheesey, we still love it. And Living With the Land is still so good.
And I'm a Disney fan not because of Marvel or Star Wars, but rather Cinderella, Pinocchio, Lady & The Tramp. Even with all the problems which I acknowledge, Magic Kingdom is still Magic.
But add a couple days to see Universal? Absolutely. I wont stay less days at Disney, I'll just make our vacation longer!
If we are going to Florida for our vacation that year, we are staying the majority of the time at Disney.
For us, nothing Universal can build will compare to Animal Kingdom. A park built out of sheer imagination. It's perfect.
Epcot World Showcase, no matter how corny or cheesey, we still love it. And Living With the Land is still so good.
And I'm a Disney fan not because of Marvel or Star Wars, but rather Cinderella, Pinocchio, Lady & The Tramp. Even with all the problems which I acknowledge, Magic Kingdom is still Magic.
But add a couple days to see Universal? Absolutely. I wont stay less days at Disney, I'll just make our vacation longer!
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Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Must admit that every time "other reasons" or "creative direction" pop up in these comments it does raise an eyebrow regarding how much of these negative feelings are being sparked by other controversies whipped up in certain sections of the media and politics.
That's not to say there aren't plenty of valid concerns, a lot of which I share and I have said many times I have no intention to return to WDW anytime soon. Perhaps in the context of this thread, though, it's worth remembering that Chapek didn't say they had plans to raise prices. He expressly said they didn't have any plans, but if demand keeps growing they will "act accordingly" and if it softens they will also "act accordingly."
Again, I get and share a lot of the disenchantment regarding the recent direction of the parks. I'm a little mystified why these comments have caused such outrage, though.
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Javier Antonio Nisa Avila
Active Member
I agree with you on the grounds of that it is a matter of budget. However, in my view, it is unbelievable that people pay it taking into account that many facilities have been reduced. We don't have fastpass , dining plan, magical express, some rides are not opened ....
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
Not sure about alot of what your talking about. We don’t have fast pass? So what we have Genie now. We don’t have a dining plan? Who cares, the restaurants are still there (and this is from someone who always used to get the meal plan when knowing you could likely do better cheaper a la cart. Magic Express? I have never gotten this argument. Beside the fact that many people never used this service I don’t know know many destinations that provided free transportation to them. I mean you fly into Orlando is their a universal shuttle or sea world shuttle, waiting for you? There isn’t any free transport from Newark to Six Flags, or from Harrisburg to Hershey Park.
And that leaves aside the fact I don’t know anyone that said i am going to WDW over some other place bc Of magic express. Or because of fast pass. They were nice feature to be sure, but we weren’t going to Disney because of them. And today if I am still looking at do I want to go to WDW more than another location, I don’t care about what used to be at WDW, I compare do I want to go there, vs another place, vs sitting at home. Disney still wins for use hands down
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I don't want to speak for the original poster, but I think the point is that a lot of features that used to be included in the cost of a WDW vacation have been either discontinued or become paid extras at the same time the cost of a WDW vacation has also risen and no new included perks have been added. I guess if your response is "so what?", then companies must be queuing up to have you as a customer!
If it's still good value to someone, that's of course fine and they should do what they want with their cash. This aspect of recent WDW is pretty glaring, though, particularly when it seems they want to position the resort as being priced at a more premium level but provide a lower level of service than they did when it cost less to stay there.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I won’t say “So what?”, because I agree with most of what you’ve written here, but for me, the value in absolute terms (not relative to other parks or Disney in past years) remains excellent. What I mean by this is that the enjoyment I get out of my trips far, far, far exceeds my perception of the cost, even if that cost has risen exponentially. When I consider all the other discretionary ways I spend my money, I can’t think of another that yields as much happiness per dollar. Granted, I haven’t been back since February 2020, so perhaps I’ll feel differently when I return, but I came away from my last visit so far from the “It’s no longer really worth it” camp that things would have to have shifted seismically for me to consider my Disney dollars not well spent.
That probably means I’m part of the problem as some people see it, but I have to be honest about how I feel!
Javier Antonio Nisa Avila
Active Member
Well, I think if I have to pay for Genie, my vacation has increased. I travel from Europe and one member of my family cannot wait for a long time. As a result, I have to buy it and this is 15 bucks more per day and person.
On the other hand, Dining Plan was useful because you could relax and enjoy. Additionally, it was cheaper than paying for every meal. Moreover, if I had to pay for Cinderella's Royal Table, I wouldn't do it because the portion and the quality of the restaurant has been reduced. Therefore, having to pay for meals and snacks by myself contribute to increase the price of my vacation.
In contrast, magical express was wonderful if you traveled by plane . You didn't have to be worried about taking taxis, Uber or whatever. Moreover, I travel from Europe and sometimes it is difficult to take an Uber because the internet connection can cause problems. Anyway, if I have to pay for a taxi or whatever, I will be increasing my budget to go to Disney.
To sum up, without the new prices increasing, prices have risen a lot. So, if now we have to more, I think Disney is cheating. Congratulations to people who can afford it or want to pay for that. Personally, there are many places around the world to discover. And, by the way, I have traveled to Disney more than 15 years and I have visited Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland
mysto
Well-Known Member
I think DME and FP+ are part of the gestalt or feel of the entire place. There has been a shift away from the safe bubble to an environment requiring a little more street savvy. These are just a few elements of that shift.
DisneyNeighbor
Well-Known Member
Perfect idea, raise prices at the beginning of a recession!
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I completely understand this and it's why I'm not a fan of shaming people who still enjoy and get enough value out of a WDW vacation. When I do WDW or DLP, I'm also 'irrational' in that I pay the premium to stay in a Disney resort that doesn't give me the same services another hotel would for less because it honestly does make my vacation more enjoyable to step into that whole bubble. So, in that way, I would also be part of the problem!
I haven't been to WDW for even longer (August 2017) and, while I enjoyed the last trip staying at the Grand Floridian, I did come away feeling that it is expensive for the kind of vacation I want. I went with friends and we tend to be a bit laid back about indulging in a cocktail or two and having nice meals in the evening as well as taking a more relaxed approach to the parks. At least at that point, you could do WDW that way, but the costs really pile up very quickly. Not even necessarily the resort and the park tickets, but everything else is expensive if you let your guard down. The past few summers I have been to Sicily and Greece, and I must say I have probably got at least as much pleasure eating great food, enjoying good weather, and seeing beautiful things while paying a fraction of what a WDW vacation would have cost. So, it is hard for me at the moment to justify a WDW trip.
That is all personal preference, though, and the numbers seem to show plenty of people still find WDW worth the price. That's why I kind of shrug at Chapek's comments. We all have to make our own decisions.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I should clarify that there are other (much cheaper) destinations that do make me just as happy, so I agree with you here. It’s just that sometimes, I’m in the mood for the particular kind of happiness (“Magic”) that only Disney can give me.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Of course, and probably should be more careful not to come across as trying to appear more cultured in suggesting I prefer to go to Europe or elsewhere than Disney World! In terms of Europe, I just happen to live there and I've also done several trips to Disneyland Paris without setting foot in Paris itself.
In general, I don't think there's any great hierarchy of vacation types, whether what you enjoy is hiking up volcanoes in remote locations or staying at the Boardwalk for two weeks every year.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
120 minutes for MFSR is awful. I waited 45 minutes to ride it and that felt like far too long for what it offered -- there's no way I'd wait even 45 minutes to ride it again.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you have our luck, last weekend at DCA we got stuck for about 30 minutes on Radiator Springs Racers and then just a couple hours later we got stuck on Webslingers for an hour and nearly missed our VQ return time for World Of Color. Fortunately we made it because I was pretty annoyed and told my GF if we miss it I’m done with Disney.
We saw more breakdowns on the app last weekend then we’ve ever seen on a previous DL trip.
it’s a bad look when rides are constantly breaking down at the same time the company is bragging of their insane profits.
We fall into this category also but have gone from the far, far, far exceeds the cost category to simply we still feel the fun exceeds the cost.
And also as the last of the Covid financial programs are coming to an end, I think people forget that millions of people are still getting help with rent, help with utilities, help with student loans, increased snap, etc. There’s a ton of “discretionary” income that is in the process of disappearing.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Ehhh…their theming is much better than any six flags comparisons…but not quite to the level of Disney parks (minus studios)…yet
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Odd for 8/13…shouldn’t be that crowded.
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
This whole week has been AWFUL. I'm at the end of my 7 day°°° vacation. Was hoping school would keep kids out.
...but... There were no kids. Just adults and teens. And it has been atrociously crowded.
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