I think I might be done with WDW.

kong1802

Well-Known Member
Another quick OT post about POR in particular, and the danger of that "free dining" love fest...

"However the biggest shocker of all comes when you contrast the daily rates for the traditionally lower-priced months of September and October. For example at Port Orleans Riverside, the premium categories such as Pool View, Preferred Location and River View have risen by as much as 27% in 2016! A River View room would have cost you $236 per night for October 2015, whereas in October 2016 the exact same room will cost $299 — a massive 26.7% increase. Given that this is (no doubt completely coincidentally) the same period that the Disney Dining Plan is offered for free, it does rather confirm the old truism that “There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch"

ETA: They give a 30% increase on the room they force you to upgrade to in order to get the "deal".....

2018 data: Overall, room prices have risen by an average of 5.54% from last year’s rates, which equates to +13% from two years ago, and +18.4% since 2015
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Another quick OT post about POR in particular, and the danger of that "free dining" love fest...

"However the biggest shocker of all comes when you contrast the daily rates for the traditionally lower-priced months of September and October. For example at Port Orleans Riverside, the premium categories such as Pool View, Preferred Location and River View have risen by as much as 27% in 2016! A River View room would have cost you $236 per night for October 2015, whereas in October 2016 the exact same room will cost $299 — a massive 26.7% increase. Given that this is (no doubt completely coincidentally) the same period that the Disney Dining Plan is offered for free, it does rather confirm the old truism that “There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch"

ETA: They give a 30% increase on the room they force you to upgrade to in order to get the "deal".....

You know...

I wish...I just wish...that maybe somebody would have warned everyone back in say 2011-2012 of what EXACLTY was going on while they were drunk off the coupon packages...that the dangers were the "regular" price increases to the room and dining prices - that nobody was paying at the time.

I just wish...its almost like the wdw customers were guarding the maginot line.
 

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
You know...

I wish...I just wish...that maybe somebody would have warned everyone back in say 2011-2012 of what EXACLTY was going on while they were drunk off the coupon packages...that the dangers were the "regular" price increases to the room and dining prices - that nobody was paying at the time.

I just wish...its almost like the wdw customers were guarding the maginot line.

That seems to be a routine practice at the grocery store things go on sale or have coupons and when the sale is over the price has gone up. I guess they think the consumer will forget the original price and not notice the price increase
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
That seems to be a routine practice at the grocery store things go on sale or have coupons and when the sale is over the price has gone up. I guess they think the consumer will forget the original price and not notice the price increase

If only someone had noticed the trend during those "fabulous" housing crash, temporary "free dining" nonsense...

...maybe somebody could have predicted the door being slammed shut and coming out with everything 30+% more on the other side.
 

knk504

New Member
I am not one to post but this topic really caught my attention. My family just returned from a trip and for the first time, did not discuss a return trip on our drive home. Our kids had a blast but the continued cost increases coupled with the fact that you get less in return left a sour taste in our mouths. It is apparent to us that what Walt envisioned is a thing of the past and the new business model is to push the limit of charging more for less to see what they can get away with.

Some examples of what we observed are as follows:
  • Lodging - We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House and while the safari and lobby areas are great, the actual room is the farthest thing from being "deluxe," especially at the price point. We did a split stay and started at the Hard Rock Universal. The Hard Rock room blew the AKL room away. The AKL room showed its age and the enormous/beat-up TV cabinet, which takes up half the room and houses a piece of junk TV, belongs in a Red Roof Inn more-so than a "deluxe" resort. This, coupled with abysmal housekeeping, pushed us past the limit of concluding that the cost is no longer worth the experience. We have no issue paying high dollar for a "deluxe" lodging experience but we expect to get what we paid for. The safari was great but does not justify the price given the poor quality of the room and non-existent housekeeping.
  • Dining - The costs have gotten so ridiculous that we did all that we could to avoid eating. While we had no bad meals, none were worth a fraction of the cost. For example, we ate at Tutto Italia in Epcot and I had the lasagna, which cost nearly $30....double the price of the expensive Italian restaurant here at home. The meal was good but add a couple of glasses of wine and the price exceeded the cost of the restaurants that we save for special occasions at home. That is an absurd ripoff for a plate of lasagna.
  • Epcot - I have no issue with them adding Disney IP to the park but wish they would have done so without impacting the park's original theme. Our oldest child is now of the age where he is interested in learning about the world and how things work among other things. I remember being his age and having a blast in areas such as the Wonders of Life Pavilion. I know that he would enjoy the same and it is a shame that the only think left is Spaceship Earth.
All in all we had a really fun trip. The parks were more crowded than usual in February but we had a plan and did everything that we wanted to without waiting in long lines. Having said that, the fact that we enjoyed the trip makes the above sting that much more. We would love to continue going every 2 to 3 years but the Disney company's greed has us rethinking things.
 

Starlight67

Well-Known Member
Now where I will draw a line in the sand is if they ever decide to change three free fast passes. I can unfortunately see Disney saying, 2 Fast passes for value, 3 for moderate, and 4 for deluxe.

Yup. I can see this system coming down the pike too. With some upgrade option for additional passes for an additional charge.

I can also see a 'Super Duper Deluxe Extra Special Fast Pass Package' (8 passes per day you can park hop with?) offered to all guests, for $$$$ of course. (Similar to the club level fast pass add-on available now.)

IDK, I think the days of the old stand-by lines could EVENTUALLY go the way of the dodo bird. Could be wrong, but if people keep paying for the 'convenience' of fast passes (right now I know it's only an option for Club Level) --it may become not only INCONVENIENT but almost impossible time-wise to use a stand-by line. :rolleyes:
 

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
Another quick OT post about POR in particular, and the danger of that "free dining" love fest...

"However the biggest shocker of all comes when you contrast the daily rates for the traditionally lower-priced months of September and October. For example at Port Orleans Riverside, the premium categories such as Pool View, Preferred Location and River View have risen by as much as 27% in 2016! A River View room would have cost you $236 per night for October 2015, whereas in October 2016 the exact same room will cost $299 — a massive 26.7% increase. Given that this is (no doubt completely coincidentally) the same period that the Disney Dining Plan is offered for free, it does rather confirm the old truism that “There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch"

ETA: They give a 30% increase on the room they force you to upgrade to in order to get the "deal".....

2018 data: Overall, room prices have risen by an average of 5.54% from last year’s rates, which equates to +13% from two years ago, and +18.4% since 2015

I don’t know how anyone over 21-ish could be surprised by that.
 

MAGICFLOP

Well-Known Member
I guess I am just naive! I love what they are doing with all of Disney. It changes with the generations. I LOVE the old parks too, but for me, the magic never changes!
In my eyes the Disney philosophy is changing and not what is was when the Disney family controlled the parks.. I half expect Main street USA to start having shuttered stores with brown paper in the windows to be sensitive to those who grew up in towns with vacant stores.. Maybe they will make changes that will be sensitive to broken families instead of Walt's dream of a strong family unit
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Outrageous...BUT, Riverside is by far my favorite of all the resorts and to me 300 a night to stay there is worth it far more than 500+ for the monorail resorts as they are now. Riverside is just a beautiful property.

I like it...I actually like all except the neon nightmare...

But exterior entry...spaced out...intentionally limited services to let you know "how little you paid"...it wasn't built to be price of a high end Hilton or JW Marriott...

Just wasn't...the boat is nice though.
 

MuteSuperstar

Well-Known Member
Aren't you like 60ish? I think realizing a 25% increase over a year is a bit above board though, eh?

Eh, why not just make it 500 a night? Anyone who thinks that's too high for a moderate just needs to work harder.


I like it...I actually like all except the neon nightmare...

But exterior entry...spaced out...intentionally limited services to let you know "how little you paid"...it wasn't built to be price of a high end Hilton or JW Marriott...

Just wasn't...the boat is nice though.

True. The grounds are so nice I overlook it though. But that was a lot easier to do at $150-200 a night.
 

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