Disneyland considers eliminating monthly payments for annual passes - OCR/SCNG

Darkbeer1

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
>>The coronavirus pandemic could bring to an end monthly payments for Disneyland annual passes and eliminate a budget-friendly practice that has been blamed for a surge in overcrowding at the Anaheim theme park.

Disneyland is considering discontinuing monthly payments for annual passes, according to passholder surveys conducted by Disney.<<

>>The Disney annual pass survey question asks: Imagine that monthly payments were no longer available at the Disneyland Resort in California. Which of the following best describes what you would have done?

  • Would NOT have a pass
  • Would keep the pass but TRADE DOWN to a less expensive version
  • Would KEEP the pass and stay at the same level
MiceChat, a Disney fan website, asked readers for their responses to the Disneyland passholder survey question about doing away with annual pass monthly payments. About 42% of the 10,000 MiceChat respondents said they would give up their pass if there wasn’t a payment plan while another 42% would keep their annual pass at the same level. The remaining 16% would trade down to a less expensive pass, according to the MiceChat poll.

Prorated monthly payment plans have allowed the theme park industry to take annual and seasonal pass sales to a new level, according to Theme Park Insider’s Robert Niles.

“Cheap monthly payments have driven record attendance throughout the industry, as many fans who feel priced out of daily tickets end up (somewhat ironically) finding annual passes a more affordable deal,” wrote Niles, a Southern California News Group theme park columnist. “That’s especially true at Disneyland, where reportedly more than a million Southern Californians have bought Disneyland Resort annual passes.”

Blooploop’s Lance Hart said the introduction of monthly payments was the tipping point for Disneyland’s crowding issues. The budget-friendly monthly payments convinced many Southern Californians it was worth the cost to be able to visit Disneyland whenever they wanted — even for just a few hours, according to Hart.

“From here Disneyland found itself with a bit of a problem,” wrote Hart, who compiles the Screamscape theme park news website. “Crowd levels at the California theme parks had now surged to the point where there was really no longer a slow season for Disneyland or California Adventure. Tourists arriving from afar who may have tried to plan a trip to visit in what they thought was a slower season were often shocked at how crowded the park was, no matter what time of year they would visit.”

Martin Lewison, a theme park expert at Farmingdale State College in New York, said Disneyland’s annual pass program is extremely popular and profitable.

“The introduction of monthly payment options had a stimulative effect — not just at Disney but across the industry,” Lewison said via email.

Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services, compares the theme park industry’s burgeoning passholder programs to climbing and coiling vines that have grown out of control.

“The season pass program has gotten out of control at all of the parks,” Speigel said in a phone interview. “You plant it and it just goes crazy and wild. I don’t think the industry has control over their season passholders.”<<
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Thank Goodness!

I think that's one of those things we can all agree on; the monthly payment plan created a really bad scenario where people were treating Disneyland like a local community center. Like paying your HOA dues so you can use the tennis courts.

It's a concept that needs to go away in order to regain some sanity with the way Disneyland operates.
 
C

cmwade77

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Thank Goodness!

I think that's one of those things we can all agree on; the monthly payment plan created a really bad scenario where people were treating Disneyland like a local community center. Like paying your HOA dues so you can use the tennis courts.

It's a concept that needs to go away in order to regain some sanity with the way Disneyland operates.
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The problem is Disney has gotten used to all of that money coming in every month and the fact is that the monthly payments have allowed them to make the prices higher than they can without them. So, personally I would like to see them eliminate payment plans, as it will also mean lower prices, but at the same time I like the convenience they offer.
 
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fctiger

Well-Known Member
cmwade77 said:
The problem is Disney has gotten used to all of that money coming in every month and the fact is that the monthly payments have allowed them to make the prices higher than they can without them. So, personally I would like to see them eliminate payment plans, as it will also mean lower prices, but at the same time I like the convenience they offer.
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Exactly. They loved the payment plan because obviously more people will buy them and they can charge it up the ying-yang in the process. I always point this out, but the DLR APs are the most expensive APS in the world. What does it say when its more expensive to buy DLR APS than WDW's which has literally twice the number of parks you can go to?

For the record, we use to always just buy the passes outright, even after the monthly plan started. But what started to happen is that the prices just kept jumping up bigger and bigger every year. My first pass was the deluxe in 2003 and while I didn't get one every year, it was mostly consistent up to 2012 which was the first time I started using the payment plan. That was the year CL opened and the AP prices jumped by a huge margin, around $200 more. At that point, I just couldn't afford to buy the pass outright anymore. It was up to over $800 by that point. When I bought my first pass in 2003, it cost me $200 for the Deluxe pass. It shot up to four times that in just under a decade. So many people who got use to having it literally just didn't have a choice because they got more and more expensive.

So if they lower the price to a reasonable level, then I can see myself buying them outright again. But no way at their current prices. Not remotely in the cards.

And of course there is a third option: Just do both, but like how a lot of monthly payment plans are done and you can either do it monthly or buy he pass outright at a cheaper rate, like maybe 10-20% difference from the monthly pass. So you can still do the monthly pass, you just pay more for it that way. That might be a decent solution.

And btw, if they don't want to have a million people with these passes, fine, just cap off the number you sell, done! Again, none of this is rocket science. And there is no law saying you have to sell every human being a ticket on the planet. Sell a certain amount in whatever level you feel is comparable to who shows up every month and you can manage attendance that way. Again, Disney KNOWS this, they simply want the money and for the parks to be as crowded as possible. But it's not like their hands are in the air. Just limit the amount of passes you sell every year. Very, very simple.
 
TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives

TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
TP2000 said:
Thank Goodness!

I think that's one of those things we can all agree on; the monthly payment plan created a really bad scenario where people were treating Disneyland like a local community center. Like paying your HOA dues so you can use the tennis courts.

It's a concept that needs to go away in order to regain some sanity with the way Disneyland operates.
Click to expand...

I was always surprised they had it at DLR simply because it seemed like the market would support people paying full price up front as opposed to monthly payments (which in Orlando, you definitely need if you want to a flow of Abs coming in).

I wonder how DLR will feel about less attendance (I'm sure at first that's going to be perfectly okay) after a while.
 
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fctiger

Well-Known Member
TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives said:
I was always surprised they had it at DLR simply because it seemed like the market would support people paying full price up front as opposed to monthly payments (which in Orlando, you definitely need if you want to a flow of Abs coming in).

I wonder how DLR will feel about less attendance (I'm sure at first that's going to be perfectly okay) after a while.
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Well they did for 30 years. They only did the payment plan after the economic meltdown in 2007.
 
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fctiger

Well-Known Member
TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives said:
By that logic, Disney would bring back monthly payments because they definitely are going to need $$$$ when they reopen DLR. ;)
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My guess is since they know they need to cap the park for awhile (at least a year) then maybe this is the best solution. But trust me, the second things get back to normal, then I monthly payment plan will be back. It still may be here. They are just testing the waters to see how many would pay for a cheaper pass outright. But if most still want to pay monthly, then yeah.
 
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST

1HAPPYGHOSTHOST

Well-Known Member
fctiger said:
My guess is since they know they need to cap the park for awhile (at least a year) then maybe this is the best solution. But trust me, the second things get back to normal, then I monthly payment plan will be back. It still may be here. They are just testing the waters to see how many would pay for a cheaper pass outright. But if most still want to pay monthly, then yeah.
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It won't be and will not come back.
 
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the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
cmwade77 said:
The problem is Disney has gotten used to all of that money coming in every month and the fact is that the monthly payments have allowed them to make the prices higher than they can without them. So, personally I would like to see them eliminate payment plans, as it will also mean lower prices, but at the same time I like the convenience they offer.
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Is this true though? It is my understanding that the monthly payments are a loan divided over twelve months, not akin to a monthly subscription.
 
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fctiger

Well-Known Member
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST said:
I have no attitude. The news of payment plans going away brings me great joy. Knowing it will limit the number of vloggers in the park. I am celebrating over here.
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It's only a survey! No one has said anything other than we know there is a membership program coming. And I don't think it matters either way. As I said in the post you didn't read, its not paying for it so much as the number of people who used them. Disney can put a cap on any passes they want if they feel they are selling too many or too many are showin gup. The issue is until this pandemic, that was never the issue. Not for Disney anyway.

Now yes, I imagine now less is more since they have to lower capacity. Its literally the reason they are wiping out APs.
 
el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
1HAPPYGHOSTHOST said:
I have no attitude. The news of payment plans going away brings me great joy. Knowing it will limit the number of vloggers in the park. I am celebrating over here.
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The vloggers will always be around. Disney will just give them the passes for free if they have too, but I'd guess most could still afford a pass (maybe write it off as a business expense?)

the.dreamfinder said:
Is this true though? It is my understanding that the monthly payments are a loan divided over twelve months, not akin to a monthly subscription.
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Yeah, Disney would much rather have all that money upfront and start collecting interest on it immediately. They lost money on the monthly payments that they thought they would make up in volume.
 
MarvelCharacterNerd

MarvelCharacterNerd

Well-Known Member
Umm, they wrote an article based on ONE question on a multi-question survey?

So they could have also written: "Disneyland Considers NOT Eliminating Monthly Plans".

Or like writing an article: "Disney Considers $399 Pass!" (Well, yeah, but they also asked about $599, $799, $1199, $1399...)

Then again, if they write an article based on every question on the survey, they'll have material for months! :D
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives said:
I was always surprised they had it at DLR simply because it seemed like the market would support people paying full price up front as opposed to monthly payments (which in Orlando, you definitely need if you want to a flow of Abs coming in).

I wonder how DLR will feel about less attendance (I'm sure at first that's going to be perfectly okay) after a while.
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That's the Million Dollar Question.

I only hope that TDA has the fortitude to see this through. As a longtime TDA watcher, I fully expect them to completely freak out after two months of manageable attendance and bring back a SoCal EZ Payment Magic Plan for those in Zip Codes 90000 to 93599 plus Baja California Zip Codes 21000 to 22999 so they can make the park uncomfortably overcrowded again.

TDA seems to only be able to look into the future about 120 days at a time. Like they aren't entirely sure this whole Disneyland thing is really going to work out long-term. I mean, after all, it's only been wildly successful since 1955. :rolleyes:

Maybe they will surprise us and this 15+ month long closure for Covid will change them? But I doubt it. They'll likely revert to their old ways very quickly, and start trying to pack the park 7 days per week beyond capacity with AP's or whatever system they can dream up. Monthly Payments. Get In Free On Your Birthday. SoCal Locals Are Awesome Discounts. They'll panic after 60 days and revert to their old ways.

I'd love it if they'd surprise us and try a different business model. But I'm not confident in their ability to look more than 120 days into the future. By their very nature, TDA is not good at planning ahead.
 
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VJ

VJ

Well-Known Member
Mousertainment said:
Umm, they wrote an article based on ONE question on a multi-question survey?

So they could have also written: "Disneyland Considers NOT Eliminating Monthly Plans".

Or like writing an article: "Disney Considers $399 Pass!" (Well, yeah, but they also asked about $599, $799, $1199, $1399...)

Then again, if they write an article based on every question on the survey, they'll have material for months! :D
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gotta love clickbait
 

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