News Disney CEO Bob Iger says raising park prices and increasing capacity is not smart and criticizes previous policies

CastAStone

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Premium Member
zulemara said:
Gone, the Disney values are. Consumed by the dark side(Wall Street) they are #yoda
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This is the point though, so aptly demonstrated the last few months.

Every Disney CEO is between a rock and a hard place on pricing. Wall Street demands more more more. If the CEO doesn’t make them feel like he’s giving it to them, the vultures will find a way to take over the company.

There’s no Roy Disney or Sid Bass or Steve Jobs who owns enough of the company to make an outside takeover unrealistic anymore. It’s public. They have to grow operating income at or above the market rate for all eternity now or we’ll all see how bad things could REALLY get.
 
SpectreJordan

SpectreJordan

Well-Known Member
sedati said:
I'm telling you, green was a good idea (though I haven't been on it) but they should at least try a more extreme Mission Red for the thrill junkies and see how it goes over.
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Honestly, a lot of the thrill junkies I know don't even like the current version. It's the wrong type of thrill for theme parks.

As someone who likes the ride, I wouldn't mind it being replaced with something that more people want to go on. The ride can be fun but it's not some irreplaceable masterpiece.
 
sedati

sedati

Well-Known Member
SpectreJordan said:
Honestly, a lot of the thrill junkies I know don't even like the current version. It's the wrong type of thrill for theme parks.

As someone who likes the ride, I wouldn't mind it being replaced with something that more people want to go on. The ride can be fun but it's not some irreplaceable masterpiece.
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Its uniqueness is what makes it irreplaceable to me. I don’t get why it’s not more popular but can’t deny the fact that it isn’t and fear its loss.
 
cranbiz

cranbiz

Well-Known Member
I actually like it. I'm not a huge thrill guy and yes, my first time on it I was queasy when I got off of it. My solution was to really play with all the switches, knobs and dials, like they actually meant something to the mission. This kept my mind busy while enjoying the video and ride. This made it a much more enjoyable experience.
 
NotCalledBob

NotCalledBob

Well-Known Member
He didn't talk about the parks for very long. Nothing much new.

However, he did say that there is more scope to expand Disneyland than people imagine.

I thought that was an interesting take away.
 
el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
None of the math here has changed.

If he lowers prices the parks will be too crowded and people will complain about the crowds.

If he raises prices to control the crowds, people will complain about the prices.

If he tries to artificially cap attendance with low prices (via park reservations) people will complain about the reservation system.

He can keep trying to adjust the sliders, but the end result will always be some group put out.

So far though, it doesn't seem that they have made any significant moves away from their revaluing strategy from 2019. The one Iger started and Chapek continued.
 
mightynine

mightynine

Well-Known Member
Going forward, Iger said the company will continue to look at ways to reduce crowding - but he acknowledges pricing as the primary strategy was not something he agreed with.
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Iger, clearly inspired by one of the many facets of Disney IP, apparently now trying to rewrite history. Bob Tales - Whoo-oo!
 
Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
el_super said:
None of the math here has changed.

If he lowers prices the parks will be too crowded and people will complain about the crowds.

If he raises prices to control the crowds, people will complain about the prices.

If he tries to artificially cap attendance with low prices (via park reservations) people will complain about the reservation system.

He can keep trying to adjust the sliders, but the end result will always be some group put out.

So far though, it doesn't seem that they have made any significant moves away from their revaluing strategy from 2019. The one Iger started and Chapek continued.
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One lever they could move would be to increase capacity, meaning park expansion or utilizing existing space presently unused (Stitch, etc). But of all those levers, that one requires an up front outlay of money that doesn’t guarantee a certain ROI (like a DVC tower or eating/dining experience). It just allows more people more options in a given park.
 
Z

zulemara

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
el_super said:
None of the math here has changed.

If he lowers prices the parks will be too crowded and people will complain about the crowds.

If he raises prices to control the crowds, people will complain about the prices.

If he tries to artificially cap attendance with low prices (via park reservations) people will complain about the reservation system.

He can keep trying to adjust the sliders, but the end result will always be some group put out.

So far though, it doesn't seem that they have made any significant moves away from their revaluing strategy from 2019. The one Iger started and Chapek continued.
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Yes -and - it’s all about messaging. The problem is they raised prices, cut benefits, AND capped attendance all at the same time. The message it sent was “we don’t want you, we want your money, but only if someone else with more money isn’t available to take your spot”
And
They did not actually improve the guest experience and so the premium they charge is not being viewed as worth it anymore. That’s why the are in this mess.

Someone will always complain. But since COVID it has felt more like Mickey is slapping his - across our faces. I do think and feel Bob I understands this in a way Bob C certainly didn’t
 
Riviera Rita

Riviera Rita

Well-Known Member
sarahliz0677 said:
My husband and I were just talking about how we could never afford to take our son to Disney. I feel like every kid should get to experience it once. But we would have to take out a second mortgage to go. It's ridiculous. So the way things are my son won't ever see it unless he makes enough to take his own kids one day.
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Why do you say that? It can be done more reasonably if you are willing to only pay Disney for park tickets and, if you have a car, the parking. Everything else can be done on a budget. Stay offsite, an AirBnB or off site hotel, bring your own food and beverages in, think about how much you'd eat on a normal day and pack that amount plus a few extra snacks, a refillable water bottle or bottles of water from Publix or WalMart, I never buy water at Disney, find out where all the refillable water stations are. I know of one at the DHS bus stop by the bathrooms and the one at GE, I don't know if there are more, maybe others know their location.
I don't know how old your little one is, but, for his birthday and even Christmas ask for money as part as his present that can be put away for his spending money and Walmart and Target have a great range of Disney souvenirs.
I didn't go to Disney until I was probably a lot older than you are, it's never too late, just look to ways of saving money, even if it takes a few years it's better than never.
 
S

scrozier73

New Member
Lands of Wonder said:
If they really want to control crowds instead of increasing prices maybe they should sell dated tickets like a concert and only general entry if they don’t fill for the day. At least for peak weeks , don’t raise the prices to control crowds.
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They control crowds by the park reservations system. U could easily lower ticket prices yet still control attendance. Best of both worlds. We visit disney 2 times a year. The prices have gotten way out of hand. Chepak was trying to recoup lost revenue from pandemic when all of the parks across the world shut due to covid. What these CEOs executives and other muppets in high authority miss is if you keep prices relatively low people will spend more in the parks!! If a hot dog is 12.95 sure people will buy them but if its 6.95 tons more would buy!! Lower prices means more $ to spend in park. Its pretty simple to grasp. We have cut back on park spending cause now you have to budget in the extra expense of genie plus to enjoy most of the rides in a timely manner. You pay the whopping admission price to only have to shell out an extra 60 to 120 bucks for 4 people depending on price that day. That's $$ that could of gone to food or gifts. Hopefully Igor figures this out before he leaves.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Ironic that food blog posted about the price surveys being run just today

Buyer beware: if you take it…reject everything. Defend the past, present and future…like an Xman

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el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
One lever they could move would be to increase capacity, meaning park expansion or utilizing existing space presently unused (Stitch, etc). But of all those levers, that one requires an up front outlay of money that doesn’t guarantee a certain ROI
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Yeah.. any addition of capacity would all be based on ROI and Iger admitting that there is a ceiling to how much they can (or should) charge, would inevitably drag down the amount they can spend on additional capacity.

You can't keep building more Pandoras and Galaxy Edges if you're only going to appeal to the discount AP crowd.
 

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