DrAlice
Well-Known Member
And a week in Maui is a heck of a lot more relaxing than a trip to any Disney park. You can actually turn off your phone and just be in the moment!
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News Disneyland ticket prices go up as much as 8%, with parking rising 20%
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Nearly $40 just to park one’s car?
No.
No.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
On asphalt that probably has been paid for 10 times over
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
And this is one of my personal problems with current management.
I’m being charged more for the same experiences, essentially. Genie+ isn’t activated yet, but Disney wants to charge me money to experience RSR faster. For what? It’s been the same ride for nearly a decade now, sometimes with broken effects.
I understand inflation, but I’m not willing to give the parks more money because they haven’t earned it. The price gouging is out of control.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
People insist that because they can’t afford to pay anymore…If we want to be honest.
but that’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m saying is the cost increases have started to cause travelers to question the VALUE of what the product is. That sounds the same…but it isn’t.
the difference is I don’t think this low grade yutz in charge is smart enough to guard against mass valuation…you have to maintain a distance between “expensive” and “rip-off”…they aren’t trending well there. Once you’re a “rip-off”…you’re done.
prior management…despite their flaws…knew how to temper the demands of their stock brokers with the safeguard of Maintaining a core clientele.
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Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
How do you know they didn’t take out a 360 month with a 15.99% apr on those?
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
Yes!
I'm super lucky in my life right now. I can afford a week in Maui. I can afford a trip to Europe. I can afford a Disney vacation. Now, which one do I choose to spend my money on? The one that sounds like the most fun and bang for my buck. The latest management decisions have really started to suck the fun out of a Disney vacation. Now they want to increase the cost even more, while offering less, and forcing me to have my face in my phone the whole day??? Naw, I'm good. I'll sing It's a Small World on my flight across the pond.
Stevek
Well-Known Member
How did you get a cheap hotel on Kaanapali beach. Details man, details!
We are planning a trip for next year.
SoCalDisneyLover
Well-Known Member
I've come to realize that there is likely no amount Disney could charge, that would dissuade enough of the die hards and tourists, to make them reconsider the pricing decision.
Seriously, they're charging people $30 now to park and walk to the parks. A few complaints here, a few there, but there's already plenty of people saying, "well, the walk's not so bad. It is what it is." And they'll do the same with price increases. You really think $164/ticket versus $154/ticket is going to give anybody pause? Perhaps a few, but Disney is still making much more bank on those who will follow along like lemmings.
It's going to be another 18+ months until M&M Runaway Railway opens, and absolutely Nothing new in between. By the time we get there, the top tier 1 day ticket will 100% be above $200. It's like there's a never ending supply of people willing to pay Disney's prices, regardless of how high they go.
I'm honestly surprised Disney doesn't just go full on scalper. They can start the daily price at $164, and as capacity builds, they can increase it little by little, until perhaps someone buying a ticket for a capacity date like Saturday October 30, is paying $275/ticket. I mean, if they brought back the Dream Key next month, at $1,600, they're still going to get people willing to pay that. In fact, $1,600 might be too reasonable, they could probably go higher, because people will buy, fearing that Disney was going to pull them again.
Seriously, they're charging people $30 now to park and walk to the parks. A few complaints here, a few there, but there's already plenty of people saying, "well, the walk's not so bad. It is what it is." And they'll do the same with price increases. You really think $164/ticket versus $154/ticket is going to give anybody pause? Perhaps a few, but Disney is still making much more bank on those who will follow along like lemmings.
It's going to be another 18+ months until M&M Runaway Railway opens, and absolutely Nothing new in between. By the time we get there, the top tier 1 day ticket will 100% be above $200. It's like there's a never ending supply of people willing to pay Disney's prices, regardless of how high they go.
I'm honestly surprised Disney doesn't just go full on scalper. They can start the daily price at $164, and as capacity builds, they can increase it little by little, until perhaps someone buying a ticket for a capacity date like Saturday October 30, is paying $275/ticket. I mean, if they brought back the Dream Key next month, at $1,600, they're still going to get people willing to pay that. In fact, $1,600 might be too reasonable, they could probably go higher, because people will buy, fearing that Disney was going to pull them again.
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Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
When we were all speculating prior to the announcement of the keys my guess was $2000 for a pass with no blockout date.
I think Disney underestimated their audience if they thought $1400 was going to limit demand. I’d be happier with a $2000 Signature plus pass with no reservations right now rather than my $1400 dream pass I likely won’t renew since I can’t use it when I want.
I think Disney seriously messed up, not only are they angering their biggest fans but they are leaving money on the table while they do it.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
There goal is never to “limit” attendance…
It’s to get the maximum number to pay the highest price possible.
they may have underpriced this to achieve that goal - don’t worry, that will be fixed next year - but there goal was always to sell them out.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
The problem is they’ve created a $1400 program that isn’t worth $1400 instead of a $2000 program people would happily pay $2000 for.
Without major changes I doubt they’ll sell out next year, even without a price increase. Most my friends with Keys got them in the first few weeks and are now unhappy with the program.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
My guess…and I hate it because I constantly point out how awful wdw customers are at protecting themselves…is that they sell a $1700 “key” next year and still manage backfill the slots and sell them out.
and I realize that it’s a different clientele there and the sting of not being able to pop in and do the evening is off putting to many
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DavidDL
Well-Known Member
All I did was book through Priceline’s bundling option and searched the hotel my parents used to frequent when I was a kid. I’m sure the farther you book out, the better. I booked back in March for the August trip so.. at least 5 months in advance?
I’d keep an eye on it. Maui seemed to be in the process of changing their mind back and forth between encouraging tourists to visit and not allowing them (with prices fluctuating accordingly). We managed to hit the sweet spot (just after we left, tourists were actively discouraged from visiting). Not much else I can say. Just keep an eye on things and hopefully you’ll snag a good deal. Our hotel was also only a 3 star resort so keep that in mind, too. It wasn’t anything super fancy but it also wasn’t a Days Inn or Motel 6, haha.
Also, make sure you allow for lots of extra time at the airport when you return home. Their travel advisory was recommending arriving at the Maui airport 3 hours early for your flight since it’s so small and so many people were trying to push through it. Can confirm and verify that it’s a good idea since we were cutting it close to that and only got to our airplane 20 min before it took off.
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
It all makes you wonder if vacationing is a thing of the past.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
…a bit of a tangent…but I’ve wondered this whole time if there will be tangible, permanent changes to travel because of this?
el_super
Well-Known Member
It's not as if the place was a great value on Sunday, and suddenly a rip off on Monday. On Sunday there were lines to get into the place going out the door. Crowds lining Harbor Blvd in the morning. Thrill Data is saying that Oct was the busiest month at Disneyland since it reopened. And this spike in attendance is occurring with reduced hours, reduced service and less entertainment offerings. APs are booking out reservations and the place is becoming harder and harder to get into. Every Disneyland price hike has come within the context of rising attendance, and this one is no different. Whether some people think it's a rip-off or not, doesn't really matter: it's more that too many people still think it's an amazing value.
And we will all be back next year (or maybe March?) to complain about the next ticket price increase with absolutely no repercussions at all.
I think they purposefully aligned the pricing on the new Keys to the old APs in order to convince people it was the same system. Sort of a way of apologizing for nixing the old passes and convincing people it was safe to come back. Everyone was so convinced that there was going to be a massive price increase, that when it didn't materialize, people applauded the new keys.
I don't doubt they will raise the prices. If they have stopped selling Dream Keys now, they are basically leaving money on the table.
Overcrowding (in the form of AP sales/reservations) will end up in a cycle where, once people stop buying the passes and try to walk away, reservations will open up, people will start having a better time of it, and FOMO will ensure some people come back to buy passes.
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
It's also possible that you're both correct.
No one around here has said that ALL Disney park fans that complain will walk away forever. In fact, most of us have said repeatedly that Disney could ask you to sign away your first-born child and plenty of fans would say "well, that's a bit much, but ok..." and keep handing Disney their money.
What @Sirwalterraleigh and I (and others) are saying is that for MANY fans, this was the small straw on top of the several fields full of straw that has done us in. It wasn't a switch as you have described. The annual price increase is expected. What's different now is that the price increase has come at the same time that many are frustrated with the changes to the pass program. It's come at the same time that Disney has cut services and entertainment in the parks. It's come at the same time that Disney is about to roll out "pay to play" rides that nickle and dime guests. It has come when Disney promised the reservation system was in place to "control crowds", and yet the parks are packed with people just as pre-COVID days. This was NOT a normal price increase.
Will Disney still have a ton of guests lined up to fork over their money? Of course. How long will that last if the execs keep going down this road? Time will tell. Certainly every time they make decisions that result in charging more for less, a few more of us lose faith in their ability to give us the "Disney difference". At some point, that WILL catch up with them.
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