Disney slowly losing our dollars.

[Disneyhead'71]

Here is one analysis (not the one I was looking for), comparing 1982 to the present (but to be fair it doesn't mention that there are 2 additional parks)

"Here's some more numbers going further back. In 1982 you could get a three-day ticket to MK and Epcot Center (as we quaintly called it then) for $35. This is about as far as you can go back on the multi-day tickets, because a three-day ticket when there's only one park isn't quite the same thing, but those two parks could definitely fill up three days even then. Anyway, based on general consumer inflation alone, that would be $83.23 in 2012. Yes, that's right, less than a single-day. The early passes were all "park hoppers" as we call it now. But to buy that ticket now would be not $83.23, but a whopping $300. Actually, the old tickets didn't expire unused days, so the full equivalent ticket would be $339. In other words, instead of the 138% general inflation rate, the prices have increased 868%. "

The one that I am still trying to find is 1999 to the present.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

For the price of 4 express passes for 2 days, you can get a room at the Royal Pacific. We are locals (literally 4 miles from Universal), but we have, during the busy summer season actually just gotten a room at the Royal Pacific with our AP discount. One night gives you 2 days of Express Passes (check in day AND check out day). That also makes it feel like a "Get-away", because we go back to the room and hit the pool in the afternoon before heading back to the parks at night. And the Express Passes you get through the hotel are unlimited where as the ones you buy only give you one per attraction.

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

If you go to Universal and not stay on site, you are a fool. Those "front of line" passes for staying on site makes it. If you pay separately for them, it is stupid. The cost of the passes usually come out to the price of a room.

If you read my post properly it tells you the whole story. Why pay to stay at Universal when I'm already staying at WDW? I don't buy the fast passes as I don't agree with their system. I used to be happy waiting in the regular queue until I realised the extent of the parent swap facility abuse where not having a child with you doesn't raise an eyebrow and you can still walk straight to the front of some rides, ie Spider-Man.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

WDW's price increases have outpaced inflation by 300%. Just sayin'.

Has park attendance suffered during these increases? Has attendance went down?

Where does this info come from?

Haven't seen that anywhere either.

 

[BryceM]

I used to spend some days at Universal and IOA but will no longer waste my money there. Sure, there are some good rides but waiting overly long to access them puts me off. Fast pass for all guests certainly makes longer lines for those of us staying at a Disney resort and I refuse to pay through the nose for the same priviledge.

Add to that the abuse of the child exchange system which just compounds the wait in the regular queue.

You should visit during an off-season day! Or utilize the single rider line. Or heck, just stay at a Universal hotel if you're going to stay at a Disney one. The cost is worth it, especially since the room keys double as an Express Pass.

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

Visit during off-season? Not so easy to do from the other side of the Atlantic. I want sunshine and heat dammit.

Utilize single rider? I wouldn't want my 6 year old riding alone, would you?

Just stay at a Universal hotel to get free express passes? Why would I do that when I've already paid a small fortune to stay at Disney? Pay for a room for free passes or just pay for the passes, is that not just the same money which I refuse to waste anyway?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Where does this info come from?

Consider the following example:

In 2005, a 10-day Magic Your Way ticket with park hopping, water parks, and "No Expiration" cost $377.00.
In 2012, the same ticket cost $672.00.
That's a compound price increase of 8.6% annually.
That's a price difference of $295.00

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, $377.00 in 2005 is equivalent to $444.41 in 2012.
That's a compound price increase of 2.4% annually.
That's a price difference of $67.41.

The price of WDW has far outpaced inflation over the last several years which, I believe, is Disneyhead'71's point.

In case you are interested, I like to visit WDW in shorter 2-to-4 day trips spread out over time. The 10-day ticket with "No Expiration" option works best for people who vacation like I do.

As an experienced WDW "guest", I see no reason to vacation at WDW for longer periods until they give me a reason. My family was done with the "New" Fantasyland in about 2 hours. Even though it was only about a 5-minute wait, no one in my family had any desire to ride Little Mermaid a second time. Instead, we are having a great time with our $199 Universal APs, where they are actually creating new experiences.

 

[BryceM]

Visit during off-season? Not so easy to do from the other side of the Atlantic. I want sunshine and heat dammit.

Utilize single rider? I wouldn't want my 6 year old riding alone, would you?

Just stay at a Universal hotel to get free express passes? Why would I do that when I've already paid a small fortune to stay at Disney? Pay for a room for free passes or just pay for the passes, is that not just the same money which I refuse to waste anyway?

Oh my. Sorry for trying to give advice that will help you tackle the parks better and reduce wait times.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Great Job ParentsOf4: Using your real numbers, WDW's price increase has outpaced inflation by 358.88888%

 

[real mad hatter]

Here is one analysis (not the one I was looking for), comparing 1982 to the present (but to be fair it doesn't mention that there are 2 additional parks)

"Here's some more numbers going further back. In 1982 you could get a three-day ticket to MK and Epcot Center (as we quaintly called it then) for $35. This is about as far as you can go back on the multi-day tickets, because a three-day ticket when there's only one park isn't quite the same thing, but those two parks could definitely fill up three days even then. Anyway, based on general consumer inflation alone, that would be $83.23 in 2012. Yes, that's right, less than a single-day. The early passes were all "park hoppers" as we call it now. But to buy that ticket now would be not $83.23, but a whopping $300. Actually, the old tickets didn't expire unused days, so the full equivalent ticket would be $339. In other words, instead of the 138% general inflation rate, the prices have increased 868%. "

The one that I am still trying to find is 1999 to the present.

. Well in 1982 the average price of a house was $69.000 today it's $158.000, your average car was $8000,today it's $19.000,and the average wage was $14.000 today it's $33.000.Info from US cost of living site.

 

[epcotisbest]

. Now everyone on this site knows about my love of Disney.But I agree with what you say.Too much of the same things lead to boredom.Do you eat at the same restaurant every time you go out? Do you have the same meal? Do you watch the same movie,over and over? It's the groundhog theory.I visit WDW every two years and Ive yet to find it boring,of course it gets dearer.Tell me something that doesn't go up in price. So until I get to the point of saying to myself " Here we go again " It still is my number one vacation in the world,and long may this magic remain in my heart and my families also.

Oh, hatter I know you are neck deep in the magic, me too. How else would you explain 22 trips? We have just seen so many changes since our first trip in 1983 not long after Epcot opened. I know and appreciate how much more there is now as opposed to then and love DAK and DHS, but nothing compares to what Epcot used to be with Horizons and World of Motion and Dreamfinder and such. We just are finding a new appreciation for SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Uni and IoA, not to mention a deeper appreciation of spending much less money. Our SeaWorld annual passes were bought on special for $99. Now I know it is only one park vs. four, but still find it a great value.
We are spending less time and money at WDW, but have never once, ever, not even for a moment been bored at WDW, so the love is still there. I am often amazed when someone says DAK is a half day park. Uh...no. You can't even experience the landscaping and ambience of the place in half a day even if you did no rides or shows. There is so much more to love than Everest and we started our slow down to appreciate it all approach many years ago at all the parks.
Now another thing is we don't have kids and always go in the off season, with little to no waiting in lines, and go to the least crowded park each day, etc...so we have a lot more time to appreciate the magic. We actually come home rested and relaxed, not having the need to recover from the trip. Been doing this for years. Still love it, but we have to weigh the cost of that love. Some times I would prefer steak and lobster but get a burger instead and leave just as full. Weird analogy I know, but we leave SeaWorld still having had a magical day, just a different kind of magic..and I still know the pixie dust is just down the road anytime we need a refill.

 

[real mad hatter]

Yes,agree that it's always good to do other things and see other places.We've done I.O.A. and Uni and Harry Potter,and Seaworld,and NASA,Bush Gardens.etc. But I've found what I've been looking for.So for all those people who have had enough of Disney. May I take this opportunity to bade you all a fond farewell and happy trails.When you look up at the skies on a starry night and spot a shooting star,that's just me heading back to my magical place.

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

Dear god. Sorry for trying to give advice that will help you tackle the parks better and reduce wait times.

Dear God, when will you understand that I know how to tackle the parks and if I abused the parent swap I would also reduce my wait times, I just choose not to because I don't agree with it. No biggie.

You seem to think that staying at a Universal resort is the best thing for me to claim free passes but when you consider I am flying into Orlando from Scotland on a package holiday, the money spent on staying at the Portofino would be in addition to the money I have already laid out on staying at Disney. If I don't stay at a Universal hotel (why would I when I already have a room at Disney) and just buy the passes, wouldn't that just be the same money you would have me spending at the Portofino? You like going round in circles don't you?

I suppose I could say this until I am blue in the face but I don't agree with Universal selling fast passes so I don't buy them and I won't stay at the Portofino when I already have a room at the Beach Club. I am of the opinion that my park tickets should enable my participation in the fast pass system such as Disney employs.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Epcotisbest. I have noticed that the DAK is a greatly variable experience according to the time of year you go. For me, if I go in August, when it's 106 degrees with the heat index. Stopping to smell the roses or watching sleeping animals isn't really all that entertaining. If I am there in Dec. and the temp is 75. Well yeah, lingering is delightful.

We are locals and have had WDW, SW and Universal APs. We found that we pretty much only go to Universal enough to justify buying APs. I can get 4 WDW day passes through work and have several CM friends that can comp us in occasionally. So for the amount that we actually go, that is sufficient for our needs. So spending the $1385.42 plus tax on APs for the 3 of us doesn't make financial sense. SW often has a "Buy One Day Get the Rest of the Year for Free" deal. We take advantage of that. But we straight up buy Universal APs because we just really enjoy going, and being 4 miles away we go a LOT! Even at $229/per person ($687 plus tax for the 3 of us) that is an entertainment deal that is just to hard to pass up.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Yes,agree that it's always good to do other things and see other places.We've done I.O.A. and Uni and Harry Potter,and Seaworld,and NASA,Bush Gardens.etc. But I've found what I've been looking for.So for all those people who have had enough of Disney. May I take this opportunity to bade you all a fond farewell and happy trails.When you look up at the skies on a starry night and spot a shooting star,that's just me heading back to my magical place.

Yes, and because (to paraphrase) "you've found what you're looking for", TDO feels it's completely acceptable to raise prices, let rides literally fall apart, and stagnate on new attraction development. By you and others like you rubber stamping TDO's direction, it only gives them more of a reason to keep doing what they are doing, which only hurts all potential WDW vacationers.

I am letting WDW know my displeasure with my vacation dollars, spending them elsewhere, after being a WDW AP holder for years. WDW's attendance has declined in 2 of the last 3 years while simultaneously exploding at Universal so it appears a lot of people seem to think the same thing. There's a reason Burbank is making several senior management changes, and it's not because they are happy with the state of WDW's business.

 

[marni1971]

When you look up at the skies on a starry night and spot a shooting star,that's just me heading back to my magical place.

No, that's a piece of buring debris entering the planets atmosphere.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Yes,agree that it's always good to do other things and see other places.We've done I.O.A. and Uni and Harry Potter,and Seaworld,and NASA,Bush Gardens.etc. But I've found what I've been looking for.So for all those people who have had enough of Disney. May I take this opportunity to bade you all a fond farewell and happy trails.When you look up at the skies on a starry night and spot a shooting star,that's just me heading back to my magical place.

I have never busted on anyone for enjoying WDW. It is still a world class theme park destination resort that has a lot to offer. But I understand that for people who have been there many times, the lack of major additions and the skyrocketing price has them questioning the value of returning.

 

[real mad hatter]

Hold the phone!!! This has become very déjà vu..All this talk of ££££££ & $$$$$$$. Reminds me sadly of a friend who was going to take his wife and little adopted son to Disney.He always told me how much he and his wife made. Between the two of them it was about $120.000 a year.But he would sit down and work out how much the resort would cost them,how much food would be,how much spending money would they need to take.This isn't a Disney story because it doesn't have a happy ending.He never made it to Disney World and is now lying six foot under gods soil. I for one,don't believe in the afterlife so I'am gonna enjoy spending my $$$$$ till my hearts content.

 

[real mad hatter]

No, that's a piece of buring debris entering the planets atmosphere.

Afraid not.Thats a meteor and when it makes touchdown it becomes a meteorite.

 

[BryceM]

Dear God, when will you understand that I know how to tackle the parks and if I abused the parent swap I would also reduce my wait times, I just choose not to because I don't agree with it. No biggie.

You seem to think that staying at a Universal resort is the best thing for me to claim free passes but when you consider I am flying into Orlando from Scotland on a package holiday, the money spent on staying at the Portofino would be in addition to the money I have already laid out on staying at Disney. If I don't stay at a Universal hotel (why would I when I already have a room at Disney) and just buy the passes, wouldn't that just be the same money you would have me spending at the Portofino? You like going round in circles don't you?

I suppose I could say this until I am blue in the face but I don't agree with Universal selling fast passes so I don't buy them and I won't stay at the Portofino when I already have a room at the Beach Club. I am of the opinion that my park tickets should enable my participation in the fast pass system such as Disney employs.

I was honestly not trying to force anything on you. If you choose to vacation at Walt Disney World, then that's okay! I was just trying to give some tips that have helped me in the past with dealing with large crowds. How was I supposed to know you had young children and couldn't use single rider? How was I supposed to know that you were from Scotland? I'm sorry. Your first post was not as detailed as the ones that followed, and didn't allow me to garner all this information.

Let's move on.