News Gotta Pay2Play: Paid FP on the way!

[21stamps]

They have masses of baby boomers
And Gen Xers...no doubt there.

Looking forward, one Group will be dead soon and the other will get old.

Any idea how much student loan debt there is in this country? Don't assume that the first times are lining up forever like that for that sandwich at Jimmy John's...

Don’t discount the millennials. They’re a huge group with huge buying power. They purchased their homes in a buyers market.. they’ve never dealt with a stock market or housing market crash. They have money to spend.. and they are trending as putting “experiences” above “material things”.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Don’t discount the millennials. They’re a huge group with huge buying power. They purchased their homes in a buyers market.. they’ve never dealt with a stock market or housing market crash. They have money to spend.. and they are trending as putting “experiences” above “material things”.

Umm...they will have to deal with a stock
Market crash and a housing market bubble pop...they just haven't had to yet.

And that crash is gonna be violent. Don't give them too much credit....yet. Millennials tend to be a little more lemming than the older generations.

And that trivia answer is over $2 trillion...with a T...eventually those markers are gonna get cashed.

They can't all be zuckerberg

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't disagree with this..... but there is still a strong upper middle class that will carry the parks for a good long while.

Question: what's your DOB?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't disagree with this..... but there is still a strong upper middle class that will carry the parks for a good long while.

For awhile...but disney looks at its parks from a different lense than they did just a few years ago...

They're looking for late 20th century financial stability and means at 21st century inflationary pricing...much more volatility in the economy now.

Wait to see why Orlando looks like in the next recession...they've knocked down their firewalls against it.

 

[mikejs78]

The caveat there is wdw needs MASSES to survive and profit...if they outkick their coverage on prices/upsells - something the older/better management was super aware of - if will collapse.

People often web spew "my time is valuable...I'll pay more...I'd love it if there were only 1,000 people in the park!"

...problem there is it would never open if that were the cases. It's not "Luxury"...it needs masses...like it or not.

They need masses but not the level of masses they have now. If they could cut crowds by 10-15%, and increase revenue as a result, they'd do that in a heartbeat and it wouldn't be detrimental to them like you're suggesting. Cut it by 30+%, and you're right, they have a huge problem.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They need masses but not the level of masses they have now. If they could cut crowds by 10-15%, and increase revenue as a result, they'd do that in a heartbeat and it wouldn't be detrimental to them like you're suggesting. Cut it by 30+%, and you're right, they have a huge problem.

Incorrect...because TWDC is losing its primary profit center...it's tv division (the four letter network)...

Parks are second...which means they need LARGER crowds to sustain.

I see this all the time: they are not ok with smaller crowds...no matter the price. That Is a misdirection

...Sam, I am

 

[larandtra]

Having what is termed 2 Millenial kids, one with a Millenial Husband and having numerous employees who fall into the "millenial" category, I would respectfully disagree that they wont go to Disney. Most I deal with see Disney as a great trip because as someone said, they put a lot of weight on experience over belongings. They plan their money and plan their trips. The idea that planning out so far is bad for them is crazy. If anything it is more in their wheelhouse. They like the age of go online , put it together, be done and then go when its time. Will they eventually see a Stock crash or a housing bubble burst? Of course. Things are cyclical. It will be interesting to see how they prepared and how they react. For now, based on my observations of ones I deal with regularly and looking around the parks when I go. Disney isnt having any issues attracting them and the prices being charged are not scaring them away. Do they need to clean the parks up, make better decisions on attractions, resorts, restaurants? Absolutely, but, I do think they are working on that and Disney will be just fine. And this addition of FP purchasing actually fits them even more because they can plan more efficiently. I, like many, think this goes over well, and will be expanded in the future. Probably sooner rather than later.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Having what is termed 2 Millenial kids, one with a Millenial Husband and having numerous employees who fall into the "millenial" category, I would respectfully disagree that they wont go to Disney. Most I deal with see Disney as a great trip because as someone said, they put a lot of weight on experience over belongings. They plan their money and plan their trips. The idea that planning out so far is bad for them is crazy. If anything it is more in their wheelhouse. They like the age of go online , put it together, be done and then go when its time. Will they eventually see a Stock crash or a housing bubble burst? Of course. Things are cyclical. It will be interesting to see how they prepared and how they react. For now, based on my observations of ones I deal with regularly and looking around the parks when I go. Disney isnt having any issues attracting them and the prices being charged are not scaring them away. Do they need to clean the parks up, make better decisions on attractions, resorts, restaurants? Absolutely, but, I do think they are working on that and Disney will be just fine. And this addition of FP purchasing actually fits them even more because they can plan more efficiently. I, like many, think this goes over well, and will be expanded in the future. Probably sooner rather than later.

Really interesting perspective...good stuff.

 

[DisneyCane]

They have masses of baby boomers
And Gen Xers...no doubt there.

Looking forward, one Group will be dead soon and the other will get old.

Any idea how much student loan debt there is in this country? Don't assume that the first times are lining up forever like that for that sandwich at Jimmy John's...

I think you are discounting the large number of people that are willing to run up huge credit card debt and then file bankruptcy. Those people can never be priced out of something that they desire as long as their credit limit is high enough.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think you are discounting the large number of people that are willing to run up huge credit card debt and then file bankruptcy. Those people can never be priced out of something that they desire as long as their credit limit is high enough.

No....I was fully considering them too...but eventually the hounds chase down the fox

 

[DryerLintFan]

Am I the only one who can't come to this thread without No Diggity getting stuck in their head?!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

An I the only one who can't come to this thread without No Diggity getting stuck in their head?!

I didnt before...but now I do...thanks

 

[ford91exploder]

Yup... Disney world was the pinnacle of a long relationship between people and Disney. It was a culmination of what your parents knew of Disney... your exposure to the characters and movies... the cable channel was a constant feed of re-enforcement... and going to wdw was a superior vacation experience immersed in this fantasy world you had only visualized in your head. "What would you say to Mickey when you met him?" "Oh that's funny Pluto!"... and Disney world had things you would not find elsewhere attraction wise.

It was the Disney difference.

Since then, others have copied Disney... knocking down the gap... media has splintered 10,000x different ways... expectations of what live or immersive entertainment has changed rapidly... Disney has lessened the experience. All these things draw Disney further and further back into the crowd.

Some of it is purely environmental - but a lot is self inflicted

I would go as far as to say most is self inflicted. Poor decisions related to extracting short term value at the expense of long term returns

 

[ford91exploder]

And crowds will get even worse when SWL opens next year. Hopefully they'll continue to develop new rides to pick up the slack beyond those already announced at D23 2015/17 to cope with it in the medium to long term.

Dream on

 

[jimbaker84]

Dream on

Yeah, we'll have to wait and see what happens but I'm sceptical enough myself.

 

[CalebS]

I think this is right. They can't afford to get rid of free FP, but the way it works may change. I could see a scenario where FP remains free, but you pay to make reservations further out (like this experiment) or for additional FPs. Or maybe some kind of VIP situation for real $$$$ where you get anytime FPs.

They did neglect the parks for too long after the 'Disney Decade ' and now it's showing. All the stuff they are adding now is playing catch up (not to Uni necessarily, but to their own growth). Epcot is about to become a more compelling park to turn average guest with the addition of at least two new E-Tickets, and possibly more if rumors are to be believed (without getting into the discussion of thematic appropriateness - just thinking about how more major attractions will help crowd flow). MK is getting a new e-ticket, a new people-eater theater, and hopefully a new attraction in the SGE space that will be more popular. Yes it's late, but hopefully it will start to address the crowding problem a bit. I personally think it's likely to, at least in MK and Epcot. DHS is a disaster waiting to happen though, with the demand for Star Wars and the fact that the park still won't have enough other things to do. However, if Disney does replace some of the current shows, makes better use of the sound and TV theaters, even that park may be OK in the long run.

Don't know how it will play out, but I think the next 3-5 years are going to be very interesting. And I'd be fine if they add these few up charges and even raise ticket prices a little more *if* the end result is a better experience all around.

I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $200 a vacation if it meant I would get new content more often, I think many others would share that same sentiment

 

[Skibum1970]

Since FP+ was introduced, I figured that it was a matter of time before Disney found a way to upcharge. Actually, most of the parks that offer this type of thing usually do charge for it. So, Disney got us used to it and is now working money into it. Plus, they have to pay for all of the money spent developing the FP+ and other stuff that went into it.

 

[jimbaker84]

I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $200 a vacation if it meant I would get new content more often, I think many others would share that same sentiment

We were paying extra for years without getting any improvements at all though, I'd settle for Disney catching up to where they should be regarding attractions before they start asking for more money from guests.

 

[asianway]

I think you are discounting the large number of people that are willing to run up huge credit card debt and then file bankruptcy. Those people can never be priced out of something that they desire as long as their credit limit is high enough.

Are we still not allowed to have debtors prisons?

 

[AEfx]

Reading a lot of these posts, and the $50 figure that keeps getting thrown around, I don't think some have fully comprehended the scope of the price.

It is $50, per PERSON, per DAY.

So our "typical family of 4" is going to pay $200+tax for 3 additional FP's for their group. For one day.

And these FP apparently are under the same rules as the other ones, with the 90-day booking, have to be selected ahead of time, etc.

I know we have become quickly accustomed to what is really rather ridiculous to begin with - booking FP for specific times three months out (not knowing what the weather will be like, crowd levels, etc.) - but then paying those kind of prices on top of that - I can't help but just think we have crossed the line into insanity here. In order to actually effectively use all 6 in a day (3 already + 3 paying), you'd have to be planning on multiple parks on the same day (especially since you are still only able to get one per attraction), and going to be doing a lot of minute-by-minute planning. I foresee a lot of refund requests on this when people who don't know any better are booking FP for things that don't need it.

I still find the price really shocking for a "test" - you would think they would start lower and then go up. The whole thing really does just make me shake my head.