Interesting Disney Parks Survey Question I got Today - Tiered Ticket Pricing by Season

[BrianV]

It would make more sense to have a separate category of tickets for off site guests, which could be priced according to demand, in order to control attendance coming from offsite.

Attendance from onsite can already be controlled through the adjustment of hotel room rates, it seems ridiculous to bring in these complicated tickets for guests staying onsite when you can essentially control that population by flexible pricing already.

Well, that would be complicated too. I could see buyng tickets and then cancelling the room. Or what if you bought the tickets intending to stay off site and then stayed onsite.

They could raise the ticket price for everyone but then actually make it cheaper if you buy a hotel package. I wouldn't like that because I never buy a package deal, but largely it is because it never is a good deal. (And has more strict cancellation policies.)

 

[anchorman314]

Disney is raising their prices at the same time that other local parks are offering deals. Sea World is offering 2 days for $80 and brought back the Buy-One-Day-Get-The-Year-Free deal and Busch Gardens has a 2-day plus 2 meal deal for around $120. On top of that I just got an annual pass for the I-Drive 365 complex (Orlando Eye, Madame Tusaudes Wax Museum & Aquarium) that also includes Legoland and Legoland waterpark AP for only $150.

Disney hasn't actually announced a price increase. Will there be one? Absolutely. But to say they're raising prices while others are offering deals isn't entirely accurate. Those other parks need to offer incentives for both locals to purchase APs, as well as vacationers to buy one- or two-day tickets. If those parks were being visited with the numbers of people going to WDW, there wouldn't be deals like this.

Just because they're all theme parks in the Orlando area does not mean they should all cost the same or offer the same deals. That would be like saying a ticket to a Yankees game should cost the same as a ticket to a Mets game.

 

[jt04]

Can you explain to me what you think is so great about double digit price increases and more complicated ticketing system?

I prefer visiting on less crowded days and if I can save on what an AP costs at the same time I would consider that a better option.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I'm not a big fan of this, but does anyone have a problem with the fact that they already do this for room rates?

If I counted correctly, WDW's hotels have 15 different pricing 'seasons'.

The fundamental difference between hotels and theme park tickets is that there is a finite number of hotel rooms. A Guest's experience at a hotel is not appreciably diminished whether the hotel is 50% or 100% full. A Guest does not have to share their hotel room with strangers when the hotel is crowded. Common areas such as pools and dining halls might become more crowded at popular times of the day but, even then, it's usually possible to find seating, even if it takes a bit more effort.

Conversely, with the exception of Christmas week, rarely is a WDW theme park ever full. Disney has built hotels to handle increased demand or converted them to timeshares when demand slackened, yet as crowds have increased at the theme parks, Disney has not added sufficient ride capacity to keep up with increased attendance. WDW's theme parks are more crowded than ever. In every guide book, "the best time to go" is when the theme parks are least crowded. I think we'd be hard pressed to find someone who prefers to go when the theme parks are more crowded.

Thus, tiered theme park ticket pricing suggests Guests would pay more for a diminished product. The proposed pricing scheme doesn't lower prices for slow days; it raises them for busy days. Numerically, the proposed tiered pricing scheme would be the largest increase in almost 30 years.

It's difficult to comprehend how this quick money grab is good for long-term business. Every business has a breaking point, including businesses that have been successful for decades. Crowds and prices probably are WDW's biggest complaints. Tiered pricing only exacerbates this growing problem. At what point does Disney overreach?

 

[ford91exploder]

Bet that is true in Orlando, never looked at the prices there for a condo.

Why would I want to buy something that I will only use for 2-6 weeks out of the year and incur legal liability for anything that happens on MY property while I'm not there. Timeshares shift that burden to a corporate entity and you pay for the service they provide.

 

[MaxsDad]

If I counted correctly, WDW's hotels have 15 different pricing 'seasons'.

The fundamental difference between hotels and theme park tickets is that there is a finite number of hotel rooms. A Guest's experience at a hotel is not appreciably diminished whether the hotel is 50% or 100% full. A Guest does not have to share their hotel room with strangers when the hotel is crowded. Common areas such as pools and dining halls might become more crowded at popular times of the day but, even then, it's usually possible to find seating, even if it takes a bit more effort.

Conversely, with the exception of Christmas week, rarely is a WDW theme park ever full. Disney has built hotels to handle increased demand or converted them to timeshares when demand slackened, yet as crowds have increased at the theme parks, Disney has not added sufficient ride capacity to keep up with increased attendance. WDW's theme parks are more crowded than ever. In every guide book, "the best time to go" is when the theme parks are least crowded. I think we'd be hard pressed to find someone who prefers to go when the theme parks are more crowded.

Thus, tiered theme park ticket pricing suggests Guests would pay more for a diminished product. The proposed pricing scheme doesn't lower prices for slow days; it raises them for busy days. Numerically, the proposed tiered pricing scheme would be the largest increase in almost 30 years.

It's difficult to comprehend how this quick money grab is good for long-term business. Every business has a breaking point, including businesses that have been successful for decades. Crowds and prices probably are WDW's biggest complaints. Tiered pricing only exacerbates this growing problem. At what point does Disney overreach?

I have been thinking about them picking me for that survey in regards to what you have said here and previously. They have to know "who I am" statistically: DVC, regular AP holder, two weeks/year, exponentially growing family, etc.

The visit in question in the survey was the first week of September, mid week. I had already done one resort survey for that trip last year right after we got back. One of the slowest days of the year. And they know I have gone then for 5 years running and am booked to go again this year. They know I know this is the time to go. The question about paying a premium to guarantee lower crowds seems off to me. I am going when it costs the least. Why would anyone want to pay more to do this? In fact, their chart suggest the folks they are asking to pay more are not going when it is "slow", but when it is flipping packed to the gills. If the survey questions are any indicator, to paraphrase a movie, this plan does not seem all that well thought out.

Perhaps because I was staying at the Grand Floridian (Studio, Value Season) at the time, they think I am some kind of Cash Fountain Elitest, who will willingly or blindly keep handing them money hand over fist for eternity.

 

[Mike S]

I prefer visiting on less crowded days and if I can save on what an AP costs at the same time I would consider that a better option.

Have you even been to the parks yet or is the answer still no? And what makes you think we'll be saving more on an AP? Knowing Disney if this tiered crap goes through I see a big increase for AP's coming as well. "Why not try to get more money from them as well?"

I know it's sad but that's exactly the kind of crap I expect Disney to pull.

 

[MaxsDad]

All this Gold, Silver, Bronze, level stuff has got me to thinking:

If I go in the off-season, will I have to pay a $50 co-pay for my grand kids to see Doc McStuffins now?

If my resort room bill reaches $2500, will my dining then be split 80/20 for the rest of my stay?

Thanks a lot Barry!

 

[BrianV]

Disney hasn't actually announced a price increase. Will there be one? Absolutely. But to say they're raising prices while others are offering deals isn't entirely accurate. Those other parks need to offer incentives for both locals to purchase APs, as well as vacationers to buy one- or two-day tickets. If those parks were being visited with the numbers of people going to WDW, there wouldn't be deals like this.

Just because they're all theme parks in the Orlando area does not mean they should all cost the same or offer the same deals. That would be like saying a ticket to a Yankees game should cost the same as a ticket to a Mets game.

While I agree with what you say to a point, we as consumers get to choose whether the value is is worth the price. To date, disney has proved they could raise prices as much as they want and people will still come. So more power to them.

But let's also be fair and realize that other parks have stepped up their game, universal notably. (For us every other Florida trip is now exclusively universal or wdw...never would have said that in the past.). Clearly hasn't hurt wdw yet, I think they'd be amazed how fast attendance can drop if they make the wrong steps.

As for your example, who would pay to see a Yankees game?!?!?

 

[MrPromey]

Disney is getting sleazy. As a lifelong fan, I don't say that lightly but what this survey is showing is an attempt to test the effects of a manipulative marketing tactic intended to get people to pay more without necessarily fully realizing it - all while quality is dropping around property on everything that doesn't require an up-charge or doesn't have a cash register bolted to it.

The technique being employed is a particularly nasty form of price anchoring where they make the "discount" price look good by surrounding it by higher prices while it is really just the price people would otherwise be paying every day in the park. By setting up the rules so that the most expensive day rate in the stay counts for all, they're also attempting to create just enough confusion that the anchoring effect will work even while people are paying the premium prices. They know they're paying more but by the complexity of the plan, they still think they are getting some sort of a deal when they really aren't. This is how the cell phone industry operates - not how a company who we trust with our children's impressionable minds should be openly conducting themselves.

Its the same crap they are pulling with the resort mugs so this is clearly a business strategy they are fully adopting now.

Going forward, we'll not only need a suspension of disbelief to go into the parks and have fun like children, well also need cognitive bias to justify to ourselves paying more money for an experience that continues for a variety of reasons (increased crowd issues, higher prices, stale offerings, new attractions not living up to company hype, etc.) to feel less and less like fun for many of us.

 

[jt04]

Have you even been to the parks yet or is the answer still no? And what makes you think we'll be saving more on an AP? Knowing Disney if this tiered crap goes through I see a big increase for AP's coming as well. "Why not try to get more money from them as well?"

I know it's sad but that's exactly the kind of crap I expect Disney to pull.

APs have become quite expensive. So if you only visit 12 to 14 days a year a tiered plan is a much better option. Especially the bronze plan. Visiting a slightly less number of days and potentially using those savings to visit other central fla. resorts seems like a win to me.

 

[Mike S]

APs have become quite expensive. So if you only visit 12 to 14 days a year this is a much better option. Especially the bronze plan. Visiting a slightly less number of days and potentially using those savings to visit other resorts seems like a win to me.

 

[danlb_2000]

I prefer visiting on less crowded days and if I can save on what an AP costs at the same time I would consider that a better option.

But this the scheme as it's currently presented, the bronze tier is the same price as the tickets are now, so how does this change anything?

 

[ford91exploder]

But this the scheme as it's currently presented, the bronze tier is the same price as the tickets are now, so how does this change anything?

Also the 'bronze' plan only works if you are staying less than 7 days in late april - early may, Otherwise it's silver and gold hence a price increase.

 

[Mike S]

But this the scheme as it's currently presented, the bronze tier is the same price as the tickets are now, so how does this change anything?

Also the 'bronze' plan only works if you are staying less than 7 days in late april - early may, Otherwise it's silver and gold hence a price increase.

Facts, such pesky little things aren't they?

 

[MrPromey]

But this the scheme as it's currently presented, the bronze tier is the same price as the tickets are now, so how does this change anything?

My guess is that this is why they're doing the survey. They want to see how many people will fall for this and how many people will call... well, this before rolling it out and dealing with consumer backlash.

 

[BrianV]

Looking back at the calendar, it got me thinking whether there were too many categories (3) and so few bronze days. I bet they could make something like this work enough if it were only two tiers. Imagine bronze and silver as one category and gold as the other. Then there would be vast time periods in the low tier and other periods in the high.

Essentially there would be two ticket tiers, one which had black out dates and one that didn't. My universal power pass is adequately discounted such that I'm willing to accept black out dates. Don't see why such a system would not work.

Not arguing that they should do this, but the complexity of the proposed system seems a reach.

 

[betty rose]

I hope this "plan" does not become a reality. I fear that Disney is wanting to raise prices again. They think that most won't notice that this is in reality a price increase. For those who have no choice, to take advantage of the "off" season, family's with kids, teachers...etc.

 

[betty rose]

Has anyone heard what they are going to do with the Annual Pass? Is this trial balloon, for a smokescreen? Get people worked up about the "new Plan". Then go back to just a price increase...and tells they are saving us the planning work? Just my random thoughts.

 

[BernardandBianca]

Has anyone heard what they are going to do with the Annual Pass? Is this trial balloon, for a smokescreen? Get people worked up about the "new Plan". Then go back to just a price increase...and tells they are saving us the planning work? Just my random thoughts.

The annual passes are already on tiered pricing. You have the Premier (or Premium or whatever it's called), that includes all four parks plus water parks plus parking 365 days a year for price A; the full-blown annual pass for the four parks plus parking for 365 days a year, for price A-B; then you have the seasonal with certain blackout dates for four parks but no parking for price A-B-C; then EPCOT after 4 for one park with parking after 4 pm. for price A-B-C-D; then Florida resident and/or DVC variations on these. So the APs already are living with this.