Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

D

dreday3

Well-Known Member
PREMiERdrum said:
That's the big lever.
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We don't really like the dining plan anymore (just doesn't work with the way we like to eat). We already booked AKL for next Dec (2024) at rack rate. Resort view. Was thinking maybe discounts will come out and if good enough, we could bump up to Savannah.

But if they do free dining instead of room discounts, I mean, we would take it. If we had to pay rack rate anyway for a resort view...

If both types of discounts come out, we'd have to weigh which offer would save us the most money.

We'll see! (I'm not planning on anything, that's why we booked resort view so we know we can afford it if we go)
 
Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
PREMiERdrum said:
An interesting tidbit...

"Waiting it out" in the short term with potential extensions or expansions of existing promotions, coupled with reduced room inventory.

Rack rates for next Spring and Summer are more inflated than normal (and growing), leaving room for the "big lever" marketing pushes.

This will be fun to watch.
Click to expand...
That’s placing a tremendous amount of faith that the wonky IT systems will show the “discounted” rates vs the rack rates. I was explaining the prices to a friend who is looking ahead in a few years to a WDW trip and he couldn’t get his mind around how one night at a hotel like the Polynesian could easily be over $800/night.
 
Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
PREMiERdrum said:
That's the big lever.
Click to expand...
I’m of the mind they have so many interwoven revenue streams (DVC, dining, parks, merchandise) that they are almost oppositional at this point in terms of pricing. To the point they’re played against one another (can’t move too much on rack rates, because need to incentivize dining plan, which in turn messes with the price points and dining quality of non-DP guests).
 
Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
jpeden said:
Except it’s a ripoff and you almost always come out ahead doing the room discount when you actually sit down and do the math on “free” dining. The fact that people still fall for it baffles me.
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For many it's not so much the price but having free dining makes it a more all inclusive feel
 
J

jpeden

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Jrb1979 said:
For many it's not so much the price but having free dining makes it a more all inclusive feel
Click to expand...

Taking that savings and buying a tranche of Disney gift cards does the same thing and saves them anywhere from $500 to $1,000 bucks versus paying rack rate and getting “free” dining.

On top of that, they’ve devalued the DDP as it currently stands with a reduction in snacks and allocation so “free” dining is even worse of a value than it used to be.
 
Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
jpeden said:
Taking that savings and buying a tranche of Disney gift cards does the same thing and saves them anywhere from $500 to $1,000 bucks versus paying rack rate and getting “free” dining.

On top of that, they’ve devalued the DDP as it currently stands with a reduction in snacks and allocation so “free” dining is even worse of a value than it used to be.
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Your average Disney guest don't view it that way.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
PREMiERdrum said:
An interesting tidbit...

"Waiting it out" in the short term with potential extensions or expansions of existing promotions, coupled with reduced room inventory.

Rack rates for next Spring and Summer are more inflated than normal (and growing), leaving room for the "big lever" marketing pushes.

This will be fun to watch.
Click to expand...
Bob will never believe what the data is telling him - my hunch…

Is that a significant portion of the US Disney parks audience no longer will pay the price. Some by choice…most by necessity.

There was never a limitless pool and no price ceiling. And you can’t expect that to “work itself out”
It’s been over 10 years of this plan of stupidity that will only end in failure. The die is cast.

jpeden said:
So bookings are down drastically and their answer is to raise rates so they can offer “bigger” discounts and basically sell them at rack rates circa 2023?

Bob is about to to drown in his blue ocean.
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That was all but Inevitable
 
Nubs70

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Bob will never believe what the data is telling him - my hunch…

Is that a significant portion of the US Disney parks audience no longer will pay the price. Some by choice…most by necessity.

There was never a limitless pool and no price ceiling. And you can’t expect that to “work itself out”
It’s been over 10 years of this plan of stupidity that will only end in failure. The die is cast.


That was all but Inevitable
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Bob thought his product was demand inelastic
 
MickeyLuv'r

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
jpeden said:
Except it’s a ripoff and you almost always come out ahead doing the room discount when you actually sit down and do the math on “free” dining. The fact that people still fall for it baffles me.
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If it was the only discount offered, it was better than nothing.

I actually had a pretty sweet deal booked when the pandemic struck. It was a bounceback offer with free dining. The aspect of bouncebacks that made them a good deal was that in addition to the free dining, the hotel+ ticket prices/policies were also locked in. This paid off the year WDW changed to date based tickets and added the parking fee.

Usually, the bounceback deals were better than ANY later offers. I went over all the math carefully.
 
MickeyLuv'r

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
jpeden said:
Taking that savings and buying a tranche of Disney gift cards does the same thing and saves them anywhere from $500 to $1,000 bucks versus paying rack rate and getting “free” dining.
Click to expand...
It is possible to pay a WDW package w/giftcards.

I have used the gift cards for years, and they also have some drawbacks. Giftcards do not have the same level of protection as credit card transactions, for example. They are worthwhile, but they are also a bit of a hassle sometimes.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
jannerUK said:
Amount of people and wait times for rides - Though am aware the latter might be a go slow from Disney side to push Genie+
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Oh…they ruined wait times years ago…

Two things:
1. They’ve added net zero - more or less - actual ride capacity since around 2005…and regular travel has increased 20-30%
2. Because of 1…they’ve implemented various crowd control schemes that don’t work…now monetizing them. What could go wrong?

Wait times are not really reflective of much other that their commitment to squeeze the crowd under the reign of Emperor Bob Augustus
 
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TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
jannerUK said:
Well these parks are busy...and it's scorching. Puts to bed that the heat is keeping people away...
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Been tracking for a bit now and seeing a trend that the reported wait times definitely drop (relative to other years) in the afternoon/hotest part of the day ... So more people there but seems like more.midday breaks, etc

Screenshot_20230813-102236.png
 
Nubs70

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
krissybear2003 said:
I live in Maine gas was 3.82 and you’re right with the rise of gas other things will be going up as well. Soon we will have to start thinking about heating oil too so things will be tight for people.
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Should think of putting oil boilers in like they were doing in Millinocket back in 2008
 

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