Has Disney Pricing Increases/Atmosphere Cuts Altered YOUR FAMILIES WDW Attendance?

[xdan0920]

I didn't vote in the poll because we sort of did change itineraries to include recently-offered premium experiences, which have actually enhanced the "atmosphere" for us and increased our attendance and spending.

Faux premium you mean. A once free viewing area where they serve you mini desserts is not a premium experience.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I would certainly say you're the exception. But really in your case the price isn't affecting or influencing your visits at all. You didn't say, "hey, prices are going up, lets go more often and spend more money." Yours is a result of planning done years ago (and well done)

I think that's what you and @Queen of the WDW Screne are missing in that. The price increases didn't cause you to go more or spend more money, and they didn't give you incentive to go more and spend more money. They just have not affected your decisions to do so. Which would put you in the first category.

Hey I only answered the question you asked "Really with a price increase you're going to increase your spending and attendance?" The answer is yes.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I won’t rant ...because I do that enough...but I’ll just summarize my situation

I am in my 40’s with preteens who heavily patronize Disney products and have been a lifelong Star Wars fanatic.

Have vacation club, wedding in wdw, former employee...traveled consistently there 3 ish times a year on average since leaving central Florida.

I am an upper middle class/lower upper class earner by “traditional” standards (which is why i don’t work for Disney ) with travel being a priority and disposable income.

From 2014 to present...I have quickly went from AP/standard yearly traveler...to reduced annual visits...to off years...to currently no plans to go to wdw.

The vacations continue...the money is spent at Will...the locations are changing.

I have to be honest that the annual pass increases have blown a big “psychological hole” into my perceived “value structure” for Disney parks. Especially this most recent hike.

I’ve never been cheap...I don’t mind paying...but I’m standing on one side of a mental bridge I cannot cross.

I don’t know anything else...it’s all opinion. I do BELIEVE That Disney is remiss to Alienate my type.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We hadn't been since 2012 for the reasons listed above. It wasn't necessarily the increases but the cost/value ratio. No I realize that is subjective so I say that it's my opinion. That being said my wife still had a few things on her bucket list. One was checking out Disney Christmas decorations. She got that checked off last December. She also got to hit the Flower and Garden Festival last May with the one day left on our Dec. park hopper. I guess this is as good a place as any to throw out my response to those who always say "Bye Felicia, more room in the parks for me". I say that it's not the locals like me and my 2.3 square feet of space you need to have joy with. It's the planeloads, one after the other from the UK, Europe, Central and South America you need to be thinking of. Those are the guests that Disney will keep pulling in. I have friends from just outside of London that tell me they get great packages to come here as they usually stay for at least three weeks. Anyway, I digress. The only time I would return is for something special my wife wants to do, and those things are getting farther and fewer between. I wouldn't put down anyone's desire to go because it wasn't that many years ago we were the same way.
Almost forgot, I belong to this forum because we have been so many times and I might have something to offer. I give opinions freely and as accurately as I can. I try not to tinge the responses with my personal feelings.

The vast majority of wdw travelers are American and Canadian...still. “Domestics”.

The idea it’s 50% plane loads of “foreigners” has and will always continue to be incorrect.

 

[stratman50th]

The vast majority of wdw travelers are American and Canadian...still. “Domestics”.

The idea it’s 50% plane loads of “foreigners” has and will always continue to be incorrect.

My comment was based on those that think because my wife and I don't go they will gain a vast advantage in shorter queue length... by two. Don't know where the 50% number came from?

 

[PixarPerfect]

My observation has been that most things in my life has increased beyond logic in the last decade. My (not so funny) joke is that any home projects will start at $10,000 and the opening price for everything else is $1,000. Granted I live in an expensive part of the country, but rates at the top have resulted in increases across the board. Simple projects that reasonably should cost a few hundred are billed out in the thousands. I'm amazed / frustrated by some new price just about every week.

Disney has always been expensive, but I've always justified it by comparing all of its extras with some place like Six Flags. The Disney imagineering details and ever-evolving experience are expensive, and when things like labor or materials costs go up (steel?), prices have to go up or cuts have to be made. As one of my family members likes to say, it's the cost of the experience.

We're planning an 8 day WDW trip in a few months. For 2 people with park hopper, deluxe dining, photo pass, and a nice room at the Contemporary it comes out to $9,000. We did add on a couple of tours. Factor in airfare and extras, and it's a $10,000 vacation without our time at Universal. I recently compared the above with a trip we took 3 years ago for 4 days with the same park hopped and dining but that time stayed at Wilderness. It came out to ~$5,000. We didn't purchase too many souvenirs or any tours on that trip.

 

[Chi84]

I would certainly say you're the exception. But really in your case the price isn't affecting or influencing your visits at all. You didn't say, "hey, prices are going up, lets go more often and spend more money." Yours is a result of planning done years ago (and well done)

I think that's what you and @Queen of the WDW Screne are missing in that. The price increases didn't cause you to go more or spend more money, and they didn't give you incentive to go more and spend more money. They just have not affected your decisions to do so. Which would put you in the first category.

Well, okay, it's your poll. But if we had not changed our itineraries to include the enhanced experiences with their attendant increased costs, the price increases for the basic Disney experience may have led us to go less often. I'm not sure you're going to get reliable results (yes, I know the poll is just for fun) if you decide that some people are "the exception." If you want to know whether people are going more frequently because of price increases, I can pretty confidently respond that they are not.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

My comment was based on those that think because my wife and I don't go they will gain a vast advantage in shorter queue length... by two. Don't know where the 50% number came from?

I actually with all your comments. I just don’t want this to be misconstrued into the standard, ‘Merican “blame the foreigners” rhetoric.

The reason the prices are going out of control is primarily because Americans are drunk in an economic travel/money boom and we can’t control ourselves. We must own it to ever get the stones to fight back.

 

[stratman50th]

I won’t rant ...because I do that enough...but I’ll just summarize my situation

I am in my 40’s with preteens who heavily patronize Disney products and have been a lifelong Star Wars fanatic.

Have vacation club, wedding in wdw, former employee...traveled consistently there 3 ish times a year on average since leaving central Florida.

I am an upper middle class/lower upper class earner by “traditional” standards (which is why i don’t work for Disney ) with travel being a priority and disposable income.

From 2014 to present...I have quickly went from AP/standard yearly traveler...to reduced annual visits...to off years...to currently no plans to go to wdw.

The vacations continue...the money is spent at Will...the locations are changing.

I have to be honest that the annual pass increases have blown a big “psychological hole” into my perceived “value structure” for Disney parks. Especially this most recent hike.

I’ve never been cheap...I don’t mind paying...but I’m standing on one side of a mental bridge I cannot cross.

I don’t know anything else...it’s all opinion. I do BELIEVE That Disney is remiss to Alienate my type.

This. Except I'm in my late 50's, never had an AP, and have never been an employee. I have been going yearly, sometimes several times a year for the last 30 years... Ok, 2012 so that's 23 years. The money grabbing was the turnoff. I'm not stupid enough to think that Disney Co. does things out of the goodness of their heart, but really.... It was so obvious. I also admit to being bored as we had really done everything and didn't get a thrill. Returning in Dec. 2018 was really an eye opener. We went for the nostalgia and it just wasn't there. Plus it was just too crowded.
EDIT: We had another reason for going when we did but when I say nostalgia, I was looking for the things that gave you that feeling of excitement that we got for years. With so much change it no longer stirred that feeling. It's so expensive now, without the benefit of providing the spark, it's just not fun any longer.... For us anyway. My wife still gets a little jazzed up but quickly loses it once we're there.

 

[OneofThree]

I have to be honest that the annual pass increases have blown a big “psychological hole” into my perceived “value structure” for Disney parks. Especially this most recent hike.

I’ve never been cheap...I don’t mind paying...but I’m standing on one side of a mental bridge I cannot cross.

I don’t know anything else...it’s all opinion. I do BELIEVE That Disney is remiss to Alienate my type.

TBH, I'm not sure exactly who they're marketing to these days. Even on trips with just my wife and myself (5 or 6 per year), we'd customarily drop 1000-1200 per day total, easy. But they've chased us away with the overcrowding, the silliness of parsing their services for upcharges, and continually reduced food quality. At the same time, they're squeezing younger families or families on a tighter budget. Someone is the target segment, just not entirely sure who.

 

[UofMGuy423]

Used to go every year and stay at a DVC resort (renting points) until 2013 when we got burned out with the price of the vacation, decided to take a break and let a lot of the construction that was going on complete. Ended up visiting Disneyland in 2015 and 2016 and really enjoying those parks. Next week is the first time in 6 years that I'll be taking my kids back to World and we are staying at a Disney Springs hotel, skipping the Studios, and eating mostly counter service food. My boys are 14 and 12 now, so the last time they went they were 8 and 6, so they're excited to kind of see the park again for the first time since it's been so long.

 

[stratman50th]

I actually with all your comments. I just don’t want this to be misconstrued into the standard, ‘Merican “blame the foreigners” rhetoric.

The reason the prices are going out of control is primarily because Americans are drunk in an economic travel/money boom and we can’t control ourselves. We must own it to ever get the stones to fight back.

Understood. I actually don't blame the foreigners. I am laughing at those who believe that if I don't go, it will take the pressure off! LOL!! For every one of the likes of me who doesn't return there's ten more ready to take my place.

 

[matt9112]

For me Brexit and its effect on the dollar/pound exchange that affects my trips too and particularly spending on non-essentials such as shopping and souvineers. Back in 2006 we got $1.8 for £1, making goods in the USA very cheap but now its $1.2 everything feels even more expensive.

This is true but before you could argue you were getting a great deal and now its more normal exchange.

 

[Jon81uk]

This is true but before you could argue you were getting a great deal and now its more normal exchange.

Yep but the fact it isn't a great deal anymore means shopping in the USA isn't the great deal it once was so I am spending less when in Florida. Although I did buy an iPad in Portland last year as there was no sales tax, so that was a good saving compared to 20% VAT in the UK.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

TBH, I'm not sure exactly who they're marketing to these days. Even on trips with just my wife and myself (5 or 6 per year), we'd customarily drop 1000-1200 per day total, easy. But they've chased us away with the overcrowding, the silliness of parsing their services for upcharges, and continually reduced food quality. At the same time, they're squeezing younger families or families on a tighter budget. Someone is the target segment, just not entirely sure who.

The target “segment” is anybody and anything that will pay more for everything across the board to elevate the stock price for the investors and ceo. It’s “economic scorched earth”. You can do that when you care not for what happens after you clean out your desk.

I say this all the time and nobody believes me. So people can hate me because I’m a quack and I’m proven wrong...or hate me because I’m dead on and it will suck for everyone.

I’ll be on this hill if you need me

 

[PixarPerfect]

The target “segment” is anybody and anything that will pay more for everything across the board to elevate the stock price for the investors and ceo. It’s “economic scorched earth”. You can do that when you care not for what happens after you clean out your desk.

I say this all the time and nobody believes me. So people can hate me because I’m a quack and I’m proven wrong...or hate me because I’m dead on and it will suck for everyone.

I’ll be on this hill if you need me

That's basic business. No company is going to (or should) target buyers who won't make them money, i.e. profit. Disney isn't a non-profit or charitable entity. It's a corporation.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yep but the fact it isn't a great deal anymore means shopping in the USA isn't the great deal it once was so I am spending less when in Florida. Although I did buy an iPad in Portland last year as there was no sales tax, so that was a good saving compared to 20% VAT in the UK.

I find the “underpaying before” argument...which is often used on forums...to be completely irrelevant.

“Remember when you got a good deal in 2006?...now you’re just paying off the balance”

Ludicrous...what human brain works that way? And what business gets a pass for large price increases affecting them because currency exchange rate or pricing was more measured before?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That's basic business. No company is going to (or should) target buyers who won't make them money, i.e. profit. Disney isn't a non-profit or charitable entity. It's a corporation.

is this freshman year? Nobody is disputing that. But that is theory. The question I was considering was who DISNEY is targeting as THEIR cleintele moving forward. Product is not consumed uniformly by the populace. That’s why business develops a clientele and markets to it.

What is there clientele? That was established for 50-80 years and they have chose to throw it in disarray for a bunch of reasons. Some of them are market they can’t control...some by choice.

I gotta ask: do you honestly think Disney didn’t have to purposefully target and develop its loyal clientele? Those vacation club units sold by accident? Annual passes really should have broken down to $50 a day of use but it’s was $15 for decades because they “did the math wrong”?

If business ran that brainless...everyone would be a billionaire and we’d all be drinking at food and wine right now

 

[Chi84]

Faux premium you mean. A once free viewing area where they serve you mini desserts is not a premium experience.

No, it’s premium. When the viewing area was “once free” we didn’t even bother with the fireworks because the crowds were shoulder to shoulder. I don’t care about the desserts, but the dessert party garden area has never been anywhere near crowded and we get a great view of the castle projections. Worth it for me.

 

[PixarPerfect]

is this freshman year? Nobody is disputing that. But that is theory. The question I was considering was who DISNEY is targeting as THEIR cleintele moving forward. Product is not consumed uniformly by the populace. That’s why business develops a clientele and markets to it.

What is there clientele? That was established for 50-80 years and they have chose to throw it in disarray for a bunch of reasons. Some of them are market they can’t control...some by choice.

I gotta ask: do you honestly think Disney didn’t have to purposefully target and develop its loyal clientele? Those vacation club units sold by accident? Annual passes really should have broken down to $50 a day of use but it’s was $15 for decades because they “did the math wrong”?

If business ran that brainless...everyone would be a billionaire and we’d all be drinking at food and wine right now

Yes, thank you. I actually do the above for a living.

The argument many have made is that the parks have become too crowded and the experience too expensive. It's hard to see a connection between "too crowded," "over-priced," and a company marketing to the wrong people. While individuals may feel this way, that argument's bold items suggest that the masses feel otherwise. Crowded parks and difficult to obtain ADRs suggest that the company is marketing to exactly the right people.

It's not uncommon for companies to change buyer profiles over time--most companies don't maintain identical profiles 5-8 decades later. Buyer loyalty is a priority for every company and much cultivate through a variety of paths, but when those buyers change in ways like demanding better technology and quicker options, then the company has to change (see Toys R Us if you need an example of one that didn't). Changes cost money. Paper tickets for rides were less expensive than magic bands and Fast passes. Plain magic bands are less expensive than have design teams create new and fun versions every year. It's all money out that needs to come back in the end.