News Disneyland Magic Key Program

[Stevek]

I can't imagine selling park hoppers for less than $100 a day. That would put the starting price at $1200.

or like $5200 for 52 visits. I'm guessing that just like pricing at WDW, the more days you buy, the less the average daily price is so maybe its $90/day at 52 which is still $4700. And if they are that high, can you imagine the begging and pleading vloggers will be doing, as if it was life and death.

 

[Disney Irish]

So how do they make up the loss in revenue? Charge $30 for churros? Their is no way they get nearly the same amount of bodies in the parks with those tiny discounts/ pricing you proposed

All you have to do is go back to the summer of 2019 when ALL APs were blocked out. Revenue was UP because guests in the parks were spending more due to less crowding. That is the source of all of this, less crowds = more spending by guests.

 

[mickEblu]

All you have to do is go back to the summer of 2019 when ALL APs were blocked out. Revenue was UP because guests in the parks were spending more due to less crowding. That is the source of all of this, less crowds = more spending by guests.

But the parks are still packed with staff cuts and operation cuts everywhere. That’s not a recipe for more guest spending.

 

[Disney Irish]

But the parks are still packed with staff cuts and operation cuts everywhere. That’s not a recipe for more guest spending.

We're still in a period right after a shutdown with pent up demand plus ramping up the staffing/operations.

As we get further along that will all even out. Just wait and see how packed it is when schools get back in-session.

 

[cmwade77]

They don't want the same amount of bodies in the parks, that's the whole point. They're deliberately trying to throttle back attendance because the crowds were starting to affect the guest experience.

The better option is increase capacity and get more entertainment going again.

Makes people think twice about popping in just for a churro if they have to burn one of their clicks to do so.

But the person who pops in just for Churros or say dinner costs Disney virtually nothing and is almost.pure profit.

 

[mickEblu]

We're still in a period right after a shutdown with pent up demand plus ramping up the staffing/operations.

As we get further along that will all even out. Just wait and see how packed it is when schools get back in-session.

Ok, we’ll see

 

[cmwade77]

We're still in a period right after a shutdown with pent up demand plus ramping up the staffing/operations.

As we get further along that will all even out. Just wait and see how packed it is when schools get back in-session.

Which for a lot are next week and almost.all by the week after.

 

[Disney Irish]

Ok, we’ll see

And depending on how current world events progress we may see a down tick in attendance just based on that.

But anyways, the point is that its been said time and again before all this that overall guests spending would go up if it were no APs crowding the place. This appears to be Disney putting that theory to the test.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But the person who pops in just for Churros or say dinner costs Disney virtually nothing and is almost.pure profit.

*If* they order dinner, sure. But if their dinner is a tuna salad sandwich they bring in a lunch box, or a bag of Jack-in-the-Box they pick up on the drive over, Disney makes nothing. Each individual guest doing this isn't a problem, but collectively they add to wait times and general crowding, and dilute the guest experience for the "paying" customers.

 

[SplashGhost]

All you have to do is go back to the summer of 2019 when ALL APs were blocked out. Revenue was UP because guests in the parks were spending more due to less crowding. That is the source of all of this, less crowds = more spending by guests.

Not all APs were blocked during the summer of 2019, Signature and Signature+ APs were unblocked the entire summer. I was a Signature AP and visited a ton that summer. If that proves anything, it is merely that a lot of crowds were caused by low level APs, not all APs.

 

[Disney Irish]

Not all APs were blocked during the summer of 2019, Signature and Signature+ APs were unblocked the entire summer. I was a Signature AP and visited a ton that summer. If that proves anything, it is merely that a lot of crowds were caused by low level APs, not all APs.

You're correct, I should have made that clearer as I too was a Signature AP and went that summer as well. The argument has always been that its the lower tiered (cheaper) passes that were causing the crowding.

 

[mickEblu]

And depending on how current world events progress we may see a down tick in attendance just based on that.

But anyways, the point is that its been said time and again before all this that overall guests spending would go up if it were no APs crowding the place. This appears to be Disney putting that theory to the test.

The pent up demand from this past year + of course is going to go down sooner or later. I just question the fact that they want fewer people in the parks as a long term approach. Certainly not enough fewer people to make a meaningful difference in guest experience.

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

I was pretty much able to visit once a week with my Flex Pass for $600. That was a great deal, and was the reason I bought it.

If we're now talking about $2,000+ for essentially the same opportunity, then my days of visiting Disneyland regularly, are over. That doesn't even account for the fact that with a Flex pass, I could easily have visited more than once a week, had I wanted to.

Unfortunately, going forward, things are going to be out of control at Knott's, because everybody who doesn't want to participate in Disney's shareholder profits program, is going to want a Knott's pass. I'm sure Cedar Fair is doing cartwheels over this upcoming announcement.

I almost kind of wish they would raise the price of the Knott's pass, because it's going to look like even more of a steal than it does already, when compared to Disney's visit limitation program.

 

[MurphyJoe]

Something that straight forward doesn't account for the complex blockout calendar that would be required for it. People spending the least to buy 12 visits aren't going to be able to use them on the highest value days (summer/holidays).

The reason I think the discount program makes sense, is that it allows them to adjust the price of admission based on demand (like an airline). Higher demand/more reservations = higher price. No need to worry about blockout dates if someone would still have a price barrier to entry.

Managing admissions like an airline would make the most sense.

Disney could keep a decent cap on theme park reservations during busy days for lower Key holders instead of using a blackout calendar. If attendance is shaping up to be below forecast then Disney can add reservations to the pool and send out an email blast to draw Key holders in.

 

[wowsmom]

*If* they order dinner, sure. But if their dinner is a tuna salad sandwich they bring in a lunch box, or a bag of Jack-in-the-Box they pick up on the drive over, Disney makes nothing. Each individual guest doing this isn't a problem, but collectively they add to wait times and general crowding, and dilute the guest experience for the "paying" customers.

We used to go weekly for date night. Drinks/dinner at Hearthstone/Storytellers/Napa Rose, etc. followed by a walk around one of the parks. We rarely rode anything - maybe 1 ride a month. We'd always go in the stores and almost always find something to buy (hello Pandora) and then we would always hit one of the candy stores on the way out. I know there were APs who spent nothing but some of us spent quite a bit.

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

All you have to do is go back to the summer of 2019 when ALL APs were blocked out. Revenue was UP because guests in the parks were spending more due to less crowding. That is the source of all of this, less crowds = more spending by guests.

I still believe that those results were skewed, due to the opening of Galaxy's Edge, and all the expensive merch being sold there, that people HAD to get their hands on. From the Lightsaber experience to the Build A Droid workshop, and all the other Star Wars stuff, they were bringing in a lot of extra revenue. My guess is if you took all the Galaxy's Edge money out of the mix, the results might be different.

 

[mickEblu]

I still believe that those results were skewed, due to the opening of Galaxy's Edge, and all the expensive merch being sold there, that people HAD to get their hands on. From the Lightsaber experience to the Build A Droid workshop, and all the other Star Wars stuff, they were bringing in a lot of extra revenue. My guess is if you took all the Galaxy's Edge money out of the mix, the results might be different.

Definitely skewed but the fact that there was still higher revenue when the parks looked like a ghost town can’t be ignored. Who Knows though. It could very well be simply because a new land based on the biggest IP of all time opened with super expensive merch. The fact that the same land that created more revenue did not create very much excitement or buzz is an interesting phenomenon. If I had to guess it’s that Disney was selling a bunch of cheap plastic for ridiculous prices to a sector of super fans waiting 40+ years for something like GE. If so, not the greatest example to base the “lower crowds higher guest spending” theory on.

 

[Disney Irish]

I still believe that those results were skewed, due to the opening of Galaxy's Edge, and all the expensive merch being sold there, that people HAD to get their hands on. From the Lightsaber experience to the Build A Droid workshop, and all the other Star Wars stuff, they were bringing in a lot of extra revenue. My guess is if you took all the Galaxy's Edge money out of the mix, the results might be different.

Maybe, maybe not. You can't remove a segment of merch just to prove a point. Overall park revenue was UP during that period when attendance was DOWN due to more day tickets and merch being sold.

 

[CaptinEO]

The rumor floating around on social media is 12 visits, 24 visits, 36 visits, 48 visits and 52 visits.

48 visit and 52 visit are the only Keys that include parking.

Minor discounts to add visits a la carte with the 52 visit key having the most meaningful discount.

If this is the case then it'll work great for some people, myself included. Twice a month is plenty Disneyland for me.

LOL no. Data showed most APs only entered 10 times a year.

 

[CaptinEO]

Did anyone else not get this email?