Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
My experience at the end of June was exactly the opposite. But I’m sure it varies.
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Josh D'Amaro comments on rising prices and "additional" or removed services: "An inevitable result of progress"
- Thread starter tanc
- Start date
Indy_UK
Well-Known Member
This is what I believed and hoped Disney were doing. I’m fine with higher prices to reduce the crowds but it isn’t what they are aiming to do at all. They are just going with higher prices with the same crowds.
Park reservations is a trick to believe that they are capping capacity but in reality it’s just so they can manage cast members and reduce them where they can.
hopemax
Well-Known Member
My experience in May was things were slightly better in standby for older Genie+ attractions. But absolutely horrible for new attractions. In Ratatouille, the merge CM wouldn't take anyone from standby if she could see someone in the LL coming. And the operational problems for ROTR... we didn't move for over a half an hour, and then when we did start moving again, it was one standby party per Rey pre-show. The actual wait was over 50% more than what was posted. And when the posted wait was already 90 minutes... And yet, when I checked the app, it never said the ride was closed, nor did they increase the posted standby wait.
People were angry. But you know, those LL people put $15 each in the correct bucket at the right moment, over the rest of us. I was holding a bag with a couple hundred dollars worth of pins, but that was the wrong bucket, so 2+ hour waits for me. This is why I'm watching these merchandise discounts of late. 50% for CMs and 30% for APs. It's one thing, if they are temporarily, due to some supply chain logjams breaking and they are trying to sell down inventory before Oct 1. But if people are giving up merchandise to buy ILLs and Genie+, is it a good trade off for Disney?
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Attendance is down. But we don't really notice due to how the parks are being run. So to us it feels like a wash with probably an inferior product than before.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Welcome to the “insiders club”
This is exactly what they’re doing with the new tricks…and it was always what they would have done. Higher prices, maximizing revenue, reducing costs
Indy_UK
Well-Known Member
I think it’s how you look at it. I’m a DVC owner (resale) and I don’t see it as exploit. Everyone who’s bought DVC obviously plans to go a lot and all I see DVC as is betting against the insane prices of hotel rooms OOP
But I guess everyone sees it differently
el_super
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I still think the parks are significantly under-priced, but obviously if the price increases so far have generated any ill will, what would appropriate pricing do?
I still think this is a transition in part of a long-term strategy.
LSLS
Well-Known Member
Is there any way to make it better other than limiting it further? At which point you make it a worse value and satisfaction for the people buying it. Or do you increase it, making that satisfaction better while making satisfaction of others worse? And again, this is all dependent on the idea that pricing is in fact limiting crowds, and that they are selling more lightning lane rides per hour than they used fast pass (not sure I believe that either) If making things less crowded was the goal, you add overall ride capacity. And they haven't really done that in how many decades?
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
The whole reduce the crowd's thing is just noise. The objective is to keep the crowds coming while charging more.
Indy_UK
Well-Known Member
But I haven’t seen any evidence that crowds are lower?
Who’s not coming? Annual pass holders because they aren’t currently selling them?
the_rich
Well-Known Member
Last week I never had to wait on any genie+ lines.
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
I'll be honest, I would never recommend buying direct now. It's a joke. I'm glad my parents bought when they did (right as the WL DVC wing was breaking ground). The prices, and by extension, perks and hotel selections are bad all the way around now.
Third party? Go for it. Better selection but you miss out on the "blue card" perks direct owners get. But it is quite a bit cheaper without the hardcore commitment.
Indy_UK
Well-Known Member
Blimey, I wouldn’t go that far lol
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I would happily pay $250+ for a ticket for much lower crowd levels -- assuming the overall quality was high.
The problem is that it's not right now. Even putting aside that I think the parks generally had much stronger content in the 1990s (Animal Kingdom excluded) than they do now, the maintenance issues alone make that price ridiculous. It's not worth paying that to go see attractions with missing/broken effects, that skip important preshows because they're not functioning properly, or jerk you around and/or stop unexpectedly because of issues with the track/ride system.
If they want to charge a significantly higher price, they're going to need to significantly increase their spending on upkeep (among other things) -- the parks should be pristine and every attraction should be functioning perfectly. They'd also need to up the food quality. The chances of that happening are slim at best.
The problem is that it's not right now. Even putting aside that I think the parks generally had much stronger content in the 1990s (Animal Kingdom excluded) than they do now, the maintenance issues alone make that price ridiculous. It's not worth paying that to go see attractions with missing/broken effects, that skip important preshows because they're not functioning properly, or jerk you around and/or stop unexpectedly because of issues with the track/ride system.
If they want to charge a significantly higher price, they're going to need to significantly increase their spending on upkeep (among other things) -- the parks should be pristine and every attraction should be functioning perfectly. They'd also need to up the food quality. The chances of that happening are slim at best.
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Mark48
Well-Known Member
Back when Josh D'amaro first replaced Chapek as #2 I was hopeful. Many people in the know
commented on this mans level of caring concerning cast members and guests. I believe him
now to be no better than the man heading up this company. Henceforth he will be known
to me as " Cash " D'amaro. Elimination of perks and services being cloaked under the veil of " Progress "?
All while raising prices? "Cash " has shown himself to be a worthy successor to Chapek.
commented on this mans level of caring concerning cast members and guests. I believe him
now to be no better than the man heading up this company. Henceforth he will be known
to me as " Cash " D'amaro. Elimination of perks and services being cloaked under the veil of " Progress "?
All while raising prices? "Cash " has shown himself to be a worthy successor to Chapek.
el_super
Well-Known Member
Adding capacity isn't really an option. If the demand for Pirates is exceeding the capacity, your only real option there is to build another copy of Pirates of the Caribbean somewhere... something that wouldn't really be marketable, and would just be all costs with no reward.
You have a collection of guests on a spectrum between "I want to pay as little as possible" and "I don't care what I pay as long as I get a good experience" and Disney is aiming for the compromise between those two groups now. You pay for Genie+ and you get a better experience, but yeah, the people who don't pay will have to wait longer.
The benefit though, for those that don't pay, is that they still have access. I would rather they just raise the park admissions dramatically enough to not need to have Genie+ at all, but they would anger a lot more people that way.
It's about compromise.
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
I believe Disney announced it during their last quarterly update (compared to 2019 at least)...someone can correct me if I am wrong.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I happened to work with execs from the early days of DVC and this was assuredly not the design/goal. It was to make a lot of money in a “partnership” with the loyals that always freely gave it to you. And it worked well after early hiccups.
I don’t feel exploited…but that’s because it’s been about 20 years. I know many where it’s 25+…
Would do it all over again.
But the ones that bought 2015? Or 17? Or 19? Feel very lied too and some are dumping. I didn’t have those thoughts 5 years in.
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
Sooooooo you believe everything Disney management says?
Indy_UK
Well-Known Member
I probably would feel like that too if I recently bought at Saratoga Springs at $200 a point.
I only bought 18 months ago resale but I feel happier at $127 a point at Animal Kingdom Lodge