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NO MORE AP PAYMENT PLAN?
- Thread starter SSG
- Start date
Curious Constance
Well-Known Member
Now you people want to charge hotel guests for FP?! Like it's not enough they pay a million dollars a night for a room?
Practical Pig
Well-Known Member
If the rumor turns into fact, it will be interesting to see how much effect it actually has on the crowds. Addicts find a way to get their fix if at all possible.
It will also be interesting to see how much prices (inevitably) go up both for the passes and general admission. Pricing is the most effective tool they have in both controlling the crowds and ensuring that the crowds that remain have more disposable income. If there is a notably more substantial jump than usual, I’ll believe that Disney is getting serious about dealing with the issue. I’m not wishing that lower-income people become excluded, though that would be the result. But Disney has a problem that needs to be addressed.
On our last family trip for the race weekend, we had a party of eight, including four people who ran. We bought into one 5K, four 10Ks, and two half marathons. We bought eight three-day park-hoppers, ate in the parks, and stuffed our luggage with merchandise. I strongly suspect that next year our one legacy-runner will make the trip alone. We had started to plan our first trip to WDW where I was going to splurge and stay on property, but after that trip, we cancelled those plans. The race weekend wasn’t nearly as bad as I’ve experienced, but I’m getting tired of feeling punished for sharing my money with Disney.
It will also be interesting to see how much prices (inevitably) go up both for the passes and general admission. Pricing is the most effective tool they have in both controlling the crowds and ensuring that the crowds that remain have more disposable income. If there is a notably more substantial jump than usual, I’ll believe that Disney is getting serious about dealing with the issue. I’m not wishing that lower-income people become excluded, though that would be the result. But Disney has a problem that needs to be addressed.
On our last family trip for the race weekend, we had a party of eight, including four people who ran. We bought into one 5K, four 10Ks, and two half marathons. We bought eight three-day park-hoppers, ate in the parks, and stuffed our luggage with merchandise. I strongly suspect that next year our one legacy-runner will make the trip alone. We had started to plan our first trip to WDW where I was going to splurge and stay on property, but after that trip, we cancelled those plans. The race weekend wasn’t nearly as bad as I’ve experienced, but I’m getting tired of feeling punished for sharing my money with Disney.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
The only viable solution is to shut the DLR down.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Raising prices hasn't helped so far, why would it start now? Monthly payment plan elimination will make a difference, but not in the short term if existing APers can stay grandfathered in. Until we hit an economic recession of some kind, high pricing just isn't a deterrent at DLR. The pricing has already reached insane levels compared to just 5-7 years ago and the parks are packed.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
I was thinking the exact same thing.
D
Deleted member 107043
According the earnings call yesterday SDL is kicking butt, and overall P&R did very well in Q1.
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Phroobar
Well-Known Member
That's wonderful. I hope it does well and isn't destroyed by the locals.
So does that mean the austere cost cutting measures put in place to recover cost overruns at SDL can end now?
Or maybe, just maybe, those cost cutting measures were intended to bury the massive cost overruns on MM+.......
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
Every year people let their AP lapse. Either due to personal finances or choice or sometimes just forgetfulness. In the next few years, we'll definitely see a decrease as it seems whenever I'm buying a one-day ticket, almost everyone in line in front of me is buying a pass. This will drop severely. Then existing AP's will fall off as the years go by. In a few years, Disney can announce they are discontinuing the payment plan all together and we can more drop off. They are making small changes to gauge the effects on a micro scale. They want to see a drop in attendance, but not in revenue, so this first step is just a test. If they see crowd levels decrease slightly, guest satisfaction improve, and sales stay relatively steady, they can up the ante.
D
Deleted member 107043
On the flip side there's a case to be made about what basically amounts to a subscription service model. With AP payments the revenue continues to roll in throughout the year, unaffected by the traditional ups and downs of school holidays, Christmas, summer travel, etc. I agree with you 100% though, and it does appear Disney is slowly shifting ticket media and service options in a way that will take emphasis away from APs as a revenue generator.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Another way to lower APs would be to lower the one day ticket prices while continuing to raise the price of APs. 1 day park hoppers for a family of 5 costs $750 bucks, more than the price of two So Cal select passes. I mean they are pricing one day tickets so high they re basically cornering you into buying an AP (Especially with payment plans available). Even without payment plans, if I get to the gate and have to shell out $750 for one day then I'm probably willing to spend $1500 for the year. But then again, those are the customers they want right?
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Practical Pig
Well-Known Member
Well, I did say “If there is a notably more substantial jump than usual … “
GiveMeTheMusic, I have no where near your knowledge or experience with the parks, and I'm not trying to instruct you in anything here, but here are my thoughts:
Disney does use pricing in an attempt to control the crowds and select for more affluent guests, but yes, it clearly has not worked well enough so far. But let’s look at some of that pricing. When Disney first took away the SoCal pass, it sold for $349, with 215 days of access at only $1.62 per day. Assuming a once-monthly visit rate, that was only $29.08 per visit, and at once a week, it cost barely more that the price of a churro. They brought it back at $449, on the face of it, a whopping $100 increase. But that included twelve more days of access, resulting a daily rate of only $2.02, a weekly attendance cost of only $8.83, and a monthly attendance cost of $38.25. I think those prices were/are insanely low.
The Deluxe Passport goes for $599 and provides 315 days of access, rendering a daily cost of $1.90, weekly at $11.52, and monthly at $49.92. I think there’s a lot of room in all the passes for substantial price increases that, while still giving the pass holders an excellent deal, would actually result in more of them dropping out rather than just claiming they’re going to do so online.
I know there are nuances to the pass holder model that Disney needs to navigate carefully, but one possible way to reduce the glut of APs in the park would be to structure the system so people can get a good value admission price, say $60 maybe, and select how many days they want to load on their pass, with a minimum number required. Blackout dates would still apply, and additional admissions during their year would be full price.
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GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
I see what you're saying, and I agree the model needs to shift considerably. I don't think anyone at TDA could have anticipated this popularity boom just 10 or so years ago and they need to adapt so that the resort remains a pleasant place to visit. I fully expect the AP program to be completely transformed by the time SWL opens, and rightly so.
Travel Junkie
Well-Known Member
That's kind of what Tokyo has done. 1 day ticket is about $66.00 while a 2 park AP is over $800. Much bigger price difference.
Earl Sweatpants
Well-Known Member
I think they want customers to drop $1500 at a whim, and splurge on the $15,000 Royal Street experience. Weekly.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Earl Sweatpants
Well-Known Member
Something about this still irks me.
A year from now, no one at Disney is going to say, "Oh man, scrapping AP payment plans was awesome. Things at DLR are so great right now, in fact, our attendance numbers are the lowest they've been in a decade!"
Lower attendance = lower revenue no matter what way you slice it. Sure it also means a slightly higher guest experience, but smiles on faces and cheery dispositions don't replace dollars and cents in the eyes of management.
Disney just needs to fish or cut bait with their third gate.
A year from now, no one at Disney is going to say, "Oh man, scrapping AP payment plans was awesome. Things at DLR are so great right now, in fact, our attendance numbers are the lowest they've been in a decade!"
Lower attendance = lower revenue no matter what way you slice it. Sure it also means a slightly higher guest experience, but smiles on faces and cheery dispositions don't replace dollars and cents in the eyes of management.
Disney just needs to fish or cut bait with their third gate.