Knott’s targets Disneyland passholders with $101 season pass as theme park wars heat up - OCR/SCNG

[DanielBB8]

Yeah, being crowded is only one part of the equation. They have to be able to make money. The APs at Disneyland are gone because they realized they could make more money without them. So why doesn't that model work for Knott's? Maybe they do have some extra capacity to give away, but really setting an AP price that is less than a Disneyland one day ticket isn't really all that great for the brand image.

That's premature. Disney just cannot serve existing APs with the lowered capacity of the parks as imposed by Covid restrictions. Both Disney and Knott's understand how much demand there is for their theme parks. I expect Disney to sell out all reservations until all park capacity restrictions are lifted. Then they will decide on APs and what form it will take (Flex Passes?).

 

[el_super]

That's premature. Disney just cannot serve existing APs with the lowered capacity of the parks as imposed by Covid restrictions. Both Disney and Knott's understand how much demand there is for their theme parks. I expect Disney to sell out all reservations until all park capacity restrictions are lifted. Then they will decide on APs and what form it will take (Flex Passes?).

They may understand the demand, but they are managing it different. Disney is doing the right thing here by eliminating the discounted APs and basically charging a premium price to enter the park while capacity is restricted. My guess is that Knott's is basically giving away a year because they are trying to raise funding NOW to get the park open. It smacks of desperation. If their brand was as strong as Disney's, or had as much money as Disney, they would and should be charging a premium price for entry.

 

[CaptinEO]

I won't assume that they were there JUST for Billy Hill, but the type of APs that were not paying for food and drinks, and taking up space that should have been given to paying customers at the Horseshoe is exactly why Billy Hill isn't at Disneyland any longer. That seems like exactly the kind of problem Knott's wants to sign up for now.

Never looked at it that way but I guess youre right. When there is a show going on people will stay and linger. Maybe they buy one item but stay for an hour.

Isn't there another show at the Golden Horeshoe though? I remember a pretty obnoxious one last time that was supposed to be a comedy one.

 

[CaptinEO]

Guys. It's Disneyland.

There ABSOLUTELY was someone out there whose primary reason for going to the park/buying tickets was to be an obsessive Hillbillies viewer.

Probably not that many people, of course, but seeing as how people obsess about LITERALLY EVERTHING at Disneyland, would it really be a shock?

That's true. People would line up all day for one parade. One guy only went on the Cars Ride each time. I'm sure there was someone that went only to see Benny Hill.

 

[CaptinEO]

Some were and many of them have stopped going to Disney and not just Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies fans, but fabs of Mad T Party as well.

Disney definitely doesn't offer much live entertainment anymore. Unless you want to see two storm troopers walk around Tommorowland, I mean Galaxys Edge.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Guys. It's Disneyland.

There ABSOLUTELY was someone out there whose primary reason for going to the park/buying tickets was to be an obsessive Hillbillies viewer.

Probably not that many people, of course, but seeing as how people obsess about LITERALLY EVERTHING at Disneyland, would it really be a shock?

I thought the same exact thing. It’s absolutely conceivable to believe there were people paying to only see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Let’s be honest.

I met someone at the park who mainly used his pass for exercise. He would walk around both parks for one or two hours, not getting on rides, maybe get something to eat and return home. I remember him telling me he had been doing that for a few months and lost over 50 pounds.

 

[DanielBB8]

They may understand the demand, but they are managing it different. Disney is doing the right thing here by eliminating the discounted APs and basically charging a premium price to enter the park while capacity is restricted. My guess is that Knott's is basically giving away a year because they are trying to raise funding NOW to get the park open. It smacks of desperation. If their brand was as strong as Disney's, or had as much money as Disney, they would and should be charging a premium price for entry.

Whatever you characterize Knott's (desperation, brand image, as much money), it's irrelevant. Knott's has always been cheaper than Disney. Yet at the same time, you say Knott's is losing it's charm. All businesses including Disney are desperate. These are desperate times.

 

[el_super]

Whatever you characterize Knott's (desperation, brand image, as much money), it's irrelevant. Knott's has always been cheaper than Disney. Yet at the same time, you say Knott's is losing it's charm. All businesses including Disney are desperate. These are desperate times.

I thought the point was that Knott's is making it even cheaper to get an AP. This isn't about Knott's being cheaper than Disneyland, this is about Knott's being cheaper than Knott's, and what that will do to the existing guest experience.

 

[cmwade77]

I thought the point was that Knott's is making it even cheaper to get an AP. This isn't about Knott's being cheaper than Disneyland, this is about Knott's being cheaper than Knott's, and what that will do to the existing guest experience.

Actually, the price is right about the same as we paid for them.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I know people who got Knotts passes when they started hiring the bands/performers that Disney let go. They followed the entertainment specifically.

 

[DanielBB8]

I thought the point was that Knott's is making it even cheaper to get an AP. This isn't about Knott's being cheaper than Disneyland, this is about Knott's being cheaper than Knott's, and what that will do to the existing guest experience.

You only said this now. The original post said Knott’s AP is cheaper than an one day pass to Disneyland. There’s the actual comparison, not a comparison of Knott’s AP prices.

“The $101 Knott’s season pass is less expensive than the lowest-priced $104 single-day ticket to Disneyland.”

 

[RollerCoaster]

Because Disneyland was getting too crowded and that diminishes the experience. Disney is beloved enough to get away with it. It will still fill up, it will just be a turnover of different people and not just the same local people anymore.

You're delusional if you don't think Disney won't offer annual passes or some variant of it in the future. They absolutely will, but the products they offer will be different. Price points will be higher, reservation requirements likely, park-hopping likely more restricted, more blackout dates, and probably some additional limitations.

The pass program was canceled less so for the past crowds and more so because Disney had no equitable way to manage the pass holder demand when the park reopens with capacity restrictions. There are far more passholders in California versus Florida, hence why the pass products in California were "suspended" for the time being and in Florida they still remain.

 

[RollerCoaster]

Anyone who values the current Knott's experience. I mean honestly, they've built a niche for themselves over the last 60+ years on being NOT like Disneyland. Laid back and not as crowded. Now it seems, after Disney has said "we let things spiral out of control," Knott's wants to jump in and say "we wish we had a crowd problem" and start giving the place away?

This is not a new product offering at Knott's. The OC Register writer always spins stories out of nothing.

Knott's has been selling season passes at this price point for years. In fact, the price of the season pass has been increasing.

 

[Tamandua]

This is not a new product offering at Knott's. The OC Register writer always spins stories out of nothing.

Knott's has been selling season passes at this price point for years. In fact, the price of the season pass has been increasing.

The OC Register seems to have a daily quota of theme park articles to write. Some of them are ridiculous.

 

[chadwpalm]

You're delusional if you don't think Disney won't offer annual passes or some variant of it in the future. They absolutely will, but the products they offer will be different. Price points will be higher, reservation requirements likely, park-hopping likely more restricted, more blackout dates, and probably some additional limitations.

The pass program was canceled less so for the past crowds and more so because Disney had no equitable way to manage the pass holder demand when the park reopens with capacity restrictions. There are far more passholders in California versus Florida, hence why the pass products in California were "suspended" for the time being and in Florida they still remain.

No, I've been saying in other threads that I feel they will probably offer some sort of tiered flex pass so they can better manage capacity on certain days along with the tiered 1-day tickets. It gives them far better control.

If canceling the program was only done to manage demand during re-opening, they very well could have just suspended the program for a period of time. This was all about having the opportunity to press the restart button and refresh the program from the ground up. The pandemic allowed them to do that. Now they can use the years of data they've collected to gear a program that helps manage crowds, bring in more profit, and hopefully keep people satisfied.

And I'm not delusional. My mom had me tested.