New 2013 WDW Ticket Prices

[GoofGoof]

I have a weird theory about these consistent ticket price increases. The Red Sox ownership began a spending spree years back that included more seating at Fenway. The fan-base went a little crazy for a few years and started to do all things Red Sox. You couldn't buy tickets to games outside of the secondary market. The owners began to think more and more about filling seats and selling merchandise. What they didn't do so well was to put their efforts into maintaining good, cohesive teams. Now, the tickets aren't selling as well, and the owners are offering little deals at the games that they previously did not offer due to the blindly loyal attendees.

I think that perhaps the years are going to catch up to Disney, and the rabid fan-base is eventually going to have to be lured back in. Just a theory.

So we are basically hoping that Magic Johnson buys a theme park and then grossly overpays Disney for the rights to NextGen and its bloated $2B budget allowing Disney to rebuild WDW with solid new attractions that will return them to the top of the theme park world.

 

[Goofyernmost]

They have the most visited theme park in the world, basically.

Well, that actually is the reason. They are in no danger of losing that status in the near future. The handwriting, however, is on the wall and it better be read by Disney or they are going to be missing a lot of bonus money down the road.

 

[BryceM]

Yeah, Magic Kingdom is pretty much untouchable. They could probably raise the price to $150.00 and it would still probably be the world's most visited theme park.

 

[PhotoDave219]

So using an ex post perspective, the average annual increase over the last 10 years is about 7%. Next year the price should be $102.

I feel like Im a muppet with these increases....

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I think next year the price will increase to $99 for an MK one day and in 2015 they will switch to a "pay as you play" model with the tech from Next Gen to avoid listing it above $100 (as much as that's what you pay today after tax).

 

[Buried20KLeague]

My local news (fox affiliate) just did a story on the higher prices. And I'm in the Midwest.

 

[SeaBase86]

Now my question is: will these prices ever decrease before $100? I believe that $100 is the point of no return and it's pretty unfortunate.

 

[George]

Now my question is: will these prices ever decrease before $100? I believe that $100 is the point of no return and it's pretty unfortunate.

Depends on if there is a big enough attendance decrease that surveys show are a result of price increases. Otherwise, they'll keep gouging along.

 

[Patrick_Ears]

Yes, I'll be at the Universal parks enjoying my $160 AP renewal.

That is cheap.. I have not been back their since 1990 and that's when i was a CM at MK. I need to go!! lol

But think about it, i know what you mean and yes they do give Disney a run for there money. But people will still go to Disney no matter what.

 

[Patrick_Ears]

Feline reacts to Annual WDW Ticket price gouge ....

It looks like it's going to attack someone and it almost looks like a bobcat. LOL

 

[MattM]

Well, that actually is the reason. They are in no danger of losing that status in the near future. The handwriting, however, is on the wall and it better be read by Disney or they are going to be missing a lot of bonus money down the road.

As a whole, you may be right. As far as the Magic Kingdom, I don't see a future where it is not King.

 

[TRONorail10]

That's why you work to get promoted. Shouldn't expect to do the same job and have your pay accelerate for doing the same stuff

Pay should be based on performance. There can be people who are very good at their job, but make the same as somebody who does average work. Not everybody is management material. Some people are just harder workers than others, and unfortunately Disney doesn't compensate them for it.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Pay should be based on performance. There can be people who are very good at their job, but make the same as somebody who does average work. Not everybody is management material. Some people are just harder workers than others, and unfortunately Disney doesn't compensate them for it.

What should be and what reality is are two different animals. Unions got involved many years ago and they had good reason. There was a good old boy system like you wouldn't believe. Unions said we are not going to allow you to arbitrarily decide who is worth more then others. To make sure that happened they came up with standard pay scales and avenues for appeal, if management does something you don't like. Accepting that as a group, workers voluntarily, possibly because they didn't' think of it that way, ended the ability for pay to be based on performance.

The only way management has to reward someone for doing more then expected is by promoting them to different areas of labor where the pay scale is higher or into management. There are just so many management positions open so a good employee can stay in one place for a long time, unable to advance until someone else decides to vacate a position or management decides to create a new position for that person, but, that sometimes causes a lot of problems for both management and labor. There are not easy answers and with or without unions, some of the same problems exist, just by a different name.

 

[WendyTinkerbell]

Ok, I have a couple questions below that I hope somone can help me figure out:

1. I currently have an annual pass to WDW that is set to expire in like 3 days. Can I renew and upgrade the pass to a premier pass (the kind that is good for WDW and DLR)?

2. I have a one day ticket to DLR. Can I use that towards the Premier Pass?

Thanks for your help!

 

[flynnibus]

Pay should be based on performance. There can be people who are very good at their job, but make the same as somebody who does average work. Not everybody is management material. Some people are just harder workers than others, and unfortunately Disney doesn't compensate them for it.

I agree pay should be performance based... but if you are in a union negotiated contract, that pretty much is impossible. Union systems are almost always designed around seniority - not performance. In this case, you can point your finger at the collective bargaining agreements.

And as for 'harder workers' - there is only so much wiggle room there. If you are still a janitor.. I can't pay you skill labor wages. You may be a good janitor.. and get paid better than a bad janitor... but you are still going to be paid as a janitor. And considering it doesn't take 10 years to become a good janitor.. don't expect your pay to keep accellerating after a few years. It's called Topping out.. if you want better pay, seek a better paying role.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

Sometimes I forget why I skipped WDW for TDL. I appreciate threads like these to remind me why...

 

[Cletus]

Yes, I'll be at the Universal parks enjoying my $160 AP renewal.

As will my wife and I. We bought Uni AP's several years ago and find it money well spent, and we only live 900 miles away!

 

[ParentsOf4]

As a whole, you may be right. As far as the Magic Kingdom, I don't see a future where it is not King.

MK has the perfect mix of nostalgia, attractions, and location that no one can match. The "Disneyland" blueprint is successful world-wide. Key to MK's top position over DL and TDL is its location, a relatively straightforward trip from four continents.

 

[AngryEyes]

Several people in this thread are forgetting that Disney is a business, first of all. They keep raising prices and profits keep going up. It would be irresponsible of them NOT to keep raising them. Yeah, it sucks for me and you and lots of other people, but it's working from their perspective, so they keep doing it. Again, they have to.

I doubt very seriously that there's going to be a magical tipping point where, all of a sudden, attendance drops by 25% or anything crazy like that. There will be a point where it completely levels off or even decreases slightly and who's to say that's not what they're looking for? If they lose attendance, who are they going to lose? I know we all think we're valuable, but if you're scraping together money to get to go, you're not as important to Disney as the people who don't even look at what they're getting, don't compare, because they have money to burn. Give me the DDP Platinum Diamond Edition with optional rally funpack and the 10 day, no expiration, waterparks deluxe, with cheese, I just want the best.

As others have mentioned, it's all about profit per guest. Those are the people they want. Not me. Vote with your wallets and your backpacks full of sandwiches and bottles of water. They don't particularly want you there, in the first place.

They want those people who will buy high-dollar tickets and then only actually come to the park a few hours a day and skip some days, eat at expensive restaurants, do lots of shopping, go the the spas, play golf, etc. What's the result of that on the parks? Less people = less staffing = less food = you get the picture. They could easily show a decrease in guests who make up the bottom few percentage points of spend (which likely means lowest percentage of income), only to make more revenue with less expenses.

Now, you've also created a better guest experience for the spenders, because you've thinned out the crowds, somewhat, and specifically removed the people they'd prefer not to be surrounded by, in the first place. Perhaps their spend now even rises, because they're having more fun, getting to do more. Isn't that exactly what they're about to do with FastPass+?

Disney may very well be intentionally trying to price out the lower tier.

 

[asianway]

Several people in this thread are forgetting that Disney is a business, first of all. They keep raising prices and profits keep going up. It would be irresponsible of them NOT to keep raising them. Yeah, it sucks for me and you and lots of other people, but it's working from their perspective, so they keep doing it. Again, they have to.

I doubt very seriously that there's going to be a magical tipping point where, all of a sudden, attendance drops by 25% or anything crazy like that. There will be a point where it completely levels off or even decreases slightly and who's to say that's not what they're looking for? If they lose attendance, who are they going to lose? I know we all think we're valuable, but if you're scraping together money to get to go, you're not as important to Disney as the people who don't even look at what they're getting, don't compare, because they have money to burn. Give me the DDP Platinum Diamond Edition with optional rally funpack and the 10 day, no expiration, waterparks deluxe, with cheese, I just want the best.

As others have mentioned, it's all about profit per guest. Those are the people they want. Not me. Vote with your wallets and your backpacks full of sandwiches and bottles of water. They don't particularly want you there, in the first place.

They want those people who will buy high-dollar tickets and then only actually come to the park a few hours a day and skip some days, eat at expensive restaurants, do lots of shopping, go the the spas, play golf, etc. What's the result of that on the parks? Less people = less staffing = less food = you get the picture. They could easily show a decrease in guests who make up the bottom few percentage points of spend (which likely means lowest percentage of income), only to make more revenue with less expenses.

Now, you've also created a better guest experience for the spenders, because you've thinned out the crowds, somewhat, and specifically removed the people they'd prefer not to be surrounded by, in the first place. Perhaps their spend now even rises, because they're having more fun, getting to do more. Isn't that exactly what they're about to do with FastPass+?

Disney may very well be intentionally trying to price out the lower tier.

I hope so. Raise a MK ticket to $130, maybe that will be enough to get them to stop catering to the lowest common denominator of guest.