Price hike coming 10/9

[Raineman]

At this point, Disney has become the illicit substances dealer and the pixie dusters are their addict customers. "I don't care how expensive it is-I need that Magic! I need it bad. Just one more trip, just one more fix, and then I'll kick the habit. Just one more trip to get me through."

 

[Chi84]

At this point, Disney has become the illicit substances dealer and the pixie dusters are their addict customers. "I don't care how expensive it is-I need that Magic! I need it bad. Just one more trip, just one more fix, and then I'll kick the habit. Just one more trip to get me through."

Or maybe they just still enjoy WDW and it works for their own vacation. No need to be so dramatic lol.

 

[JD80]

Or maybe they just still enjoy WDW and it works for their own vacation. No need to be so dramatic lol.

Seriously this rhetoric is way to "I spend too much time online". Yall need to chill.

 

[Raineman]

Or maybe they just still enjoy WDW and it works for their own vacation. No need to be so dramatic lol.

You have to admit, though, that there are a good number of people that will continue to pay whatever the cost of their WDW vacation is, even to the point of running up debt; people that aren't wealthy and probably can't afford to do that. If you have thousands of dollars of credit card/line of credit debt because you just HAVE to go to WDW three times a year, then that can be a big issue financially, especially for families.

 

[esskay]

it's not that wdw has priced us out of a visit, it's that the value isn't there and hasn't been there since pre-covid.

This is the gist of it I think - its expensive, we all know that, and we all accept that. But its no longer an "its expensive but its worth it".

It's more a feeling of "I'm being blatently ripped off now, and what I'm getting in return sucks".

The most idiotic thing about this whone thing is it doesnt need to be done this way. You can raise prices without cutting percieved quality. They seem to have skipped that bit and just done down the route of selling a motel experience at a Ritz-Carlton price point.

I cant speak for anyone else but it changed our long standing routine of going to WDW for at least a 2 week trip every year and made it into an every 2-3 year thing, with the other trips being elsewhere, or as was the case this year, over at Universal instead. Our total spend at Disney was 1 meal at Sebastians Bistro. The rest was spent off site or at Uni.

 

[Chi84]

You have to admit, though, that there are a good number of people that will continue to pay whatever the cost of their WDW vacation is, even to the point of running up debt; people that aren't wealthy and probably can't afford to do that. If you have thousands of dollars of credit card/line of credit debt because you just HAVE to go to WDW three times a year, then that can be a big issue financially, especially for families.

I wouldn't admit that at all.

 

[jennab55]

You have to admit, though, that there are a good number of people that will continue to pay whatever the cost of their WDW vacation is, even to the point of running up debt; people that aren't wealthy and probably can't afford to do that. If you have thousands of dollars of credit card/line of credit debt because you just HAVE to go to WDW three times a year, then that can be a big issue financially, especially for families.

Then I guess let them…. People overspend their money on many things, houses, cars, vacations, clothes, etc.

 

[DCBaker]

Disney's Keys to the Kingdom Tour has also had a price increase. The tour is now priced at $149-$169 per person (previously priced at $129-$149).

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Instead of buying a pixie pass, you could always go to the Boardwalk and buy 18 slices of cake.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Instead of buying a pixie pass, you could always go to the Boardwalk and buy 18 slices of cake.

At this rate, the parks will be just a piece of cake!

 

[SplashJacket]

You have to admit, though, that there are a good number of people that will continue to pay whatever the cost of their WDW vacation is, even to the point of running up debt; people that aren't wealthy and probably can't afford to do that. If you have thousands of dollars of credit card/line of credit debt because you just HAVE to go to WDW three times a year, then that can be a big issue financially, especially for families.

If Disney charged $1000 a day, would I go?

No.

Would I spend $200 to go to Magic Kingdom for a single day? Also no. I’m a Passholder, and I think there’s immense value in that.

Last time I priced out a trip as a non-passholder living in Atlanta, we flew to California and went to Disneyland for far far more reasonable pricing (for a 5-day trip).

Currently, 5-days at Disneyland is ~$500, WDW is $650.

There’s still value in both of those.

Tickets to watch a mediocre Florida team play Georgia start at $100 for nose bleeds. Bottom bowl are going for $600. I’m a big sports guy, but that’s crazy.

Same for concerts.

Most people aren’t going to Disney but every few years.

People can go on a week cruise and spend $600 on liquor, go to Vegas and blow through $500 in a night.

I think this fandom has lost sight of what Disney is outside of our community.

Most people (unlike a lot of us) aren’t just going to Disney on a random Tuesday, or a random weekend.

I’ll watch a movie or go to Six flags on a random weekend, that’s not what Disney is.

In a vacuum, Disney is expensive, but y’all live in a fantasy world and expect Disney to operate as a charity and in contrast to every other corporation.

It’s laughable to me, whenever Disney does anything it’s met with insane negativity and the “I’ll just go to Universal now” which hilariously ignores the Universal price hikes, the several hundred dollar Universal express pass that has existed for years, and many other things.

Of course, you shouldn’t dwindle down to the lowest common denominator, there’s value in customer sentiment, but in a day where negativity reigns supreme no company can win.

It’s not a disney thing. No company can do anything without getting absolutely flamed, so there’s really very little benefit in doing anything that should garner positive sentiment because the internet turned y’all (and everybody else) into cynical destructors.

 

[JD80]

I think we need to convert all costs at WDW from USD to BSC // $23 USD = 1 BSC

 

[Jrb1979]

If Disney charged $1000 a day, would I go?

No.

Would I spend $200 to go to Magic Kingdom for a single day? Also no. I’m a Passholder, and I think there’s immense value in that.

Last time I priced out a trip as a non-passholder living in Atlanta, we flew to California and went to Disneyland for far far more reasonable pricing (for a 5-day trip).

Currently, 5-days at Disneyland is ~$500, WDW is $650.

There’s still value in both of those.

Tickets to watch a mediocre Florida team play Georgia start at $100 for nose bleeds. Bottom bowl are going for $600. I’m a big sports guy, but that’s crazy.

Same for concerts.

Most people aren’t going to Disney but every few years.

People can go on a week cruise and spend $600 on liquor, go to Vegas and blow through $500 in a night.

I think this fandom has lost sight of what Disney is outside of our community.

Most people (unlike a lot of us) aren’t just going to Disney on a random Tuesday, or a random weekend.

I’ll watch a movie or go to Six flags on a random weekend, that’s not what Disney is.

In a vacuum, Disney is expensive, but y’all like in a fantasy vacuum and expect Disney to operate as a charity and in contrast to every other corporation.

It’s laughable to me, whenever Disney does anything it’s meant with insane negativity and the “I’ll just go to Universal now” which hilariously ignores the Universal price hikes, the several hundred dollar Universal express pass that has existed for years, and many other things.

Of course, you shouldn’t dwindle down to the lowest common denominator, there’s value in customer sentiment, but in a day where negativity reigns supreme no company can win.

It’s not a disney thing. No company can do anything without getting absolutely flamed, so there’s really very little benefit in doing anything that should garner positive sentiment because the internet turned y’all (and everybody else) into cynical destructors.

For us the price increases aren't the issue as across the board it's happening for everything.

The complaints we have is all the extra costs Disney keeps adding with taking away the value in the perks you once got.

A good example is my Cedar Fair season pass for all parks. Yeah it's gone up now from $300 to closer to $400 but what I get perk wise hasn't changed for that price. I still get all the pictures, parking and dining.

 

[SplashJacket]

For us the price increases aren't the issue as across the board it's happening for everything.

The complaints we have is all the extra costs Disney keeps adding with taking away the value in the perks you once got.

A good example is my Cedar Fair season pass for all parks. Yeah it's gone up now from $300 to closer to $400 but what I get perk wise hasn't changed for that price. I still get all the pictures, parking and dining.

Fastpass is a popular perk that people complain got axed, but it was a wealth distribution system from the knowledgeable to the knowledgeable.

Passholders can (who know how to use Fastpass) use their knowledge to get an unfair advantage that makes the average guest’s experience far worse.

To make matters worse, a passholder can fair better without Fastpass in general by wielding their knowledge and going at less peak times, not needing to ride everything, etc.

Fastpass was far more broken than Lightning Lane is now, and that’s a hill I’m willing to die on.

Obviously, removing a “perk” that passholders abused is making their experience relatively worse, so that’s a fair complaint, but passholder pricing is currently very reasonable IMHO (at least the Pirate Pass).

But I say this, because the Lightning Lane changes form FastPass have resulted in an improved average guest experience, beyond just creating a revenue stream where one didn’t exist previously.

 

[Cliff]

This is actually an amazing psychological experiment. It's a business game of "chicken".

Crowds are declining, forcing average revenue per user (ARPU) prices to rise....witch, in turn, drives attendance down even lower, causing a classic "vicious circle".

The two opposing business/market forces are accelerating AGAINST each other!

There are two cars racing straight into each other at break-neck speed. Somebody has to flinch and surrender and veer away!

1.) Will customers say: "I give up!,..I will just be happy to pay extreme prices to get the Disney I need so badly. I love this brand WAY too much to stay away topo long. I'll just pay whatever Disney asks for."

2.) Will Disney say: "OK, we can see now that your love for us is dying and you are not as happy with us as you used to be...we are lowering our prices to persuade you to love us again and return"

The funny thing is that I don't see EITHER ONE of these two forces surrendering to the other!

We are locked in a "Disney vs Customer" death spiral.

I'm just going to sit on my sofa, eat some popcorn and watch how this thing accelerates and devolves in the next two or three years.! Hahaha!
______________________

vi·cious cir·cle

noun
A sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements intensify and aggravate each other, leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation.

 

[James Alucobond]

1.) Will customers say: "I give up!,..I will just be happy to pay extreme prices to get the Disney I need so badly. I love this brand WAY too much to stay away topo long. I'll just pay whatever Disney asks for."

Or you just, like, cut back on certain elements of your trip so that you continue to spend within your means like a normal person.

 

[eliza61nyc]

At this point, Disney has become the illicit substances dealer and the pixie dusters are their addict customers. "I don't care how expensive it is-I need that Magic! I need it bad. Just one more trip, just one more fix, and then I'll kick the habit. Just one more trip to get me through."

Lol, I totally admit being an addict

 

[networkpro]

This is actually an amazing psychological experiment. It's a business game of "chicken".

Crowds are declining, forcing average revenue per user (ARPU) prices to rise....witch, in turn, drives attendance down even lower, causing a classic "vicious circle".

The two opposing business/market forces are accelerating AGAINST each other!

There are two cars racing straight into each other at break-neck speed. Somebody has to flinch and surrender and veer away!

1.) Will customers say: "I give up!,..I will just be happy to pay extreme prices to get the Disney I need so badly. I love this brand WAY too much to stay away topo long. I'll just pay whatever Disney asks for."

2.) Will Disney say: "OK, we can see now that your love for us is dying and you are not as happy with us as you used to be...we are lowering our prices to persuade you to love us again and return"

The funny thing is that I don't see EITHER ONE of these two forces surrendering to the other!

We are locked in a "Disney vs Customer" death spiral.

I'm just going to sit on my sofa, eat some popcorn and watch how this thing accelerates and devolves in the next two or three years.! Hahaha!
______________________

vi·cious cir·cle

noun
A sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements intensify and aggravate each other, leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation.

Not necessarily so. If ARPU increases as attendance drops, it's not a death spiral, it addresses the crowding and availability complaints raising guest satisfaction. Remember that you only cross the line from potential to actual customer after the purchase. If the budgetary revenue numbers are met, then there's no need to wave surrender flags to those peering through the chain link fences.

 

[Cliff]

Not necessarily so. If ARPU increases as attendance drops, it's not a death spiral, it addresses the crowding and availability complaints raising guest satisfaction. Remember that you only cross the line from potential to actual customer after the purchase. If the budgetary revenue numbers are met, then there's no need to wave surrender flags to those peering through the chain link fences.

I hope Disney is surveying the HECK out of everybody that goes home. "If" people respond in high numbers that it was all way too expensive or way too much hassle with all the App reservations and up charges? "If" people say the REGRET their trip after they get home? (yes,..big "if") "If" high numbers of people think they were "ripped-off", then they will NOT return to Disney in a year or two or three when Disney expects them to.

Getting people into a Disney vacation is not hard. You lure them in easy enough. You can also get them to spend big bucks when they are drunk on Pixie Dust at "that" moment. It's when they go home and they start to pay the bill for it, they "might" say: "Dang,.,..what did we do?...that was NOT worth it at all"

Anybody that feels ripped-off "after" they bought something....what are the odds they buy that thing again? Most people won't do that.

Yes,...Disney CAN get people into their trap and get them to pay huge money "today". They will not feel any negative effects for bad customer satisfaction "today". Those problems (if they exist) will not manifest themselves for another 1-3 years from now.

If Disney sees high numbers of people super happy with the price they paid and the quality and value they got, Disney will be FINE! If Disney sees high numbers of angry guests that feel "ripped-off", then Disney is in HUGE trouble down the road. They will LOSE repeats customers and those customers will tell all their friends and family how "ripped-off" they were.

I don't know the survey results and feedback. Maybe customers are delighted or maybe they are angry. All I'm saying is that Disney better watch that data like a HAWK and take it very,..VERY seriously.

It took Disney 100 years to grow and develop a positive reputation and customer goodwill. They could burn all that to the ground in a few years if they are not careful.

I have been a RABID, ultra-loyal Disney Annual Passholder for 26 years straight without fail. This is the year (Feb) I let it expire and I have no plans to go at all for 2025. I'm taking my entire 2024 WDW budget to Tokyo Disney next week. That is it for me and Disney this year and next. (2025 is all Epic Universe for me)

 

[MrPromey]

View attachment 822068

Thank you!

I was going to respond with verbiage that would have gotten me banned.

You saved me!