Do you ever think of ticket prices as prorated to your experience?

[Timekeeper]

Do any of you ever think of the ticket price that you paid to enter a WDW park in a manner that prorates the cost to your experience?

For example, as we engage in our daily routines as consumers, we might passively think to ourselves, "I'll have to work 2.5 minutes at my job today to pay for the cost of this Starbucks coffee," or "Buying this movie ticket costs me 5 minutes of work."

Similarly, do you ever have thoughts along the lines of, "I paid $80 for my ticket, and got to ride 8 attractions today, so I spent $10 for each ride"?

Okay okay, we all know that you can't really look at the ticket price and your in-park experience that way. There's obviously a lot that goes on behind the scenes and services that guests use that aren't specifically attraction experiences, including the overall atmosphere that is so pleasurable that some guests repeat visit with little desire to visit actual attractions.

Nevertheless, I'm just curious if this manner of thinking crosses anyone else' mind. Particularly, when the park is so crowded that you seem to get "less" experience for your money.

This also begs the question: If we returned to a system in which general admission was free (or nominal), and each attraction was it's own pay-per-ride, how much would you be willing to pay for each ride (each E-ticket)? 8 rides at $80 is effectively $10 per ride, yet the thought of actually paying $10 just to hop on Space Mountain seems quite steep...

 

[wizards8507]

8 rides at $80 is effectively $10 per ride, yet the thought of actually paying $10 just to hop on Space Mountain seems quite steep...

Interesting concept.

I usually "justify" the pricing to myself as follows:

I typically buy no less than a 6-day hopper, so we'll round up and say $50 per day. A movie ticket typically costs around $10 for about two hours of entertainment. A casual day at WDW might reasonably consist of 10 hours of touring (i.e. 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM). At the movie's rate of $5 per hour, $50 for 10 hours at WDW seems to match.

Building on this, I find the simple act of walking around in a WDW park at least as enjoyable as any film. Thus, any rides or attractions I enjoy throughout the day are frosting on the cake, as my entertainment dollar has already provided me with the required amount of utility.

 

[Timekeeper]

Building on this, I find the simple act of walking around in a WDW park at least as enjoyable as any film.

Exactly my point. Like going to a movie, there's nothing tangible received for the price of admission, yet it remains to be quite enjoyable and - for everyone who paid to be in the parks - worth the price of admission.

 

[bamillerpa]

I look at it like this......If Space Mountain was sitting out in a barren field and they charged even $3 to ride it I would probably do it once and think it wasn't really worth the experience. Add in some extra family members and say it costs $12 for the family to ride it once. Doesn't make sense. But, place it in a park where the entire facility is magical and offers an incredible beautifully themed experience where you can get lost in the magic of it all and suddenly that same $3 seems like a deal. You're paying for the entire experience, not just a ride. It's why I like Disney better than any other theme park. It's the only place I can forget the outside world and that's priceless to me