Price Hikes Galore! (Genie+ variable pricing, ILL, refillable mugs, SWGE lightsaber and droids)

[DisneyDebRob]

Just a question, why is purchasing Disney merchandise in stores a new thing?? My son is 30 and I definitely brought him mickey mouse shirts and undies from sears??

I just think maybe it’s more prominent now? Target has big areas with Disney. The internet has anything Disney you want for a quarter of the price. Disney themselves has more licenses than ever before. You can go into a dollar store now and find Disney stuff. We all know when we are at WDW and see that t shirt for 35-40 bucks and know it’s overpriced.. but still buy it because we are in the bubble and it means we need it. That’s what Disney counts on. They are making tons in and out of the parks.

 

[Rutt]

We have already decided not to go back to WDW in 2023.

Sadly we've moved our 2023 trip down the road to Uni.
2024 is our 20th anniversary. The plan was WDW but we've been priced out. Guess we're not their target market.
We're taking the kids to Europe instead.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Afraid not. There are many who can no longer go.

Time will tell.
I hope you are right.
I would happily be wrong on this one.
Right now, the parks are MOBBED.

 

[thomas998]

Just a question, why is purchasing Disney merchandise in stores a new thing?? My son is 30 and I definitely brought him mickey mouse shirts and undies from sears??

Lol I vote total incompetence but as long as I've been going right outside Disney's gates by downtown Disney they had Disney merchandise for 1/2 price. Just wondering at the correlation to stock price

They have always had some stuff outside the park in Orlando, but they know a lot of people that fly in for Disney will stay exclusive to the Disney properties. What hasn't been the case until recently is the over abundance of Disney merchandise in places like WalMart that are way outside the Orlando area. Disney has started pushing the stuff at a much higher rate in areas that were previously not shoveling their stuff. Yes you might find a random Micky shirt or Winnie the Pooh... but I'm seeing lots of other character stuff that looks a lot more like what I would normally see in the parks. So when ma and pa from the midwest go to Disney, even if they don't venture off property they are very likely going to say no to a Disney shirt when they realize they can just buy it from the local walmart when they get back home. It is foolish of Disney to oversell this type of stuff because it will hurt their park sales which generate much more revenue per item. Pushing a Haunted Mansion shirt through Walmart might generate 5 dollar to Disney... but selling it in the park probably generates 30.

 

[crazy4disney]

Sadly we've moved our 2023 trip down the road to Uni.

2024 is our 20th anniversary. The plan was WDW but we've been priced out. Guess we're not their target market.
We're taking the kids to Europe instead.

If you dont mind me asking. What were the price comparisons for Disney vs Uni that made you make this change? Where were you planning on staying? How long? Etc… thanks in advance.

 

[Jrb1979]

Sadly we've moved our 2023 trip down the road to Uni.
2024 is our 20th anniversary. The plan was WDW but we've been priced out. Guess we're not their target market.
We're taking the kids to Europe instead.

They do have some amazing parks over there. Europa Park is worth the visit

 

[Disstevefan1]

Sadly we've moved our 2023 trip down the road to Uni.
2024 is our 20th anniversary. The plan was WDW but we've been priced out. Guess we're not their target market.
We're taking the kids to Europe instead.

Hey, a European Vacation with the kids…. Where have I heard that?… Anyway, excellent choice!

WDW contractors will probably be still playing in the Moana dirt pile in 2024 anyway.

 

[JD80]

I think it's good that G+ is increasing in pricing, should go up more. I'd rather G+ be something that is "great to have" rather than "something I need". It should definitely not be something that everyone just tacks on to their ticket.

I won't bore people with another post of "how it should work".

 

[Lilofan]

30% AP discount and the only thing I could stomach buying while I was there was a pair of EPCOT 40 pins for my mom. $60 Spaceship Earth cookie jar and it has 4 supports on it instead of 3. Yes, I absolutely am that insane to scoff at it over that.

Walt and Roy, Card and WDI, Eisner and Wells, these are the people who spent 60 years building equity on the public trust. Are we going to watch the successive regimes burn through all of that in half the time? I won't line up 4 hours to get a $12 popcorn bucket to find out, but I will pop some at home.

Sounds affordable , staycation at home , microwave your popcorn and maybe even watching YouTube videos of parks shows , fireworks and attractions filmed by guests in the comfort of your home.

 

[JAN J]

Disney has such a big impact on people. My two older kiddos love Disney because they grew up on it. They were able to experience the magic everytime we would go. Now that we have baby number 3 we would also like for him to have those special moments too. So families like mine will keep paying for it. We might decrease the frequency at which we visit or cut our stay short, but we will still visit.

Could this actually be what Disney wants? I have 2 small kids and definitely want to take them eventually (Disney already priced me out/I will not pay for park hoppers, in-property stays and special ticketed events, hope that's where it stops). But the price increase for longer day tickets is marginal and the per day cost drops more significantly after five days.

So it could be that shorter stays plays right into their strategy (if they believe demand will always be there at peak levels) as the average revenue per guest per day would increase.

 

[JAN J]

People want to compare Disney costs compared to other companies. That's fair.

And they also complain about the Genie+ cost increase. Really?

To compare: Uni's Maxpass starts at $80 per person per day. And since Maxpasses aren't scheduled, you can get a surge of guests going to the more popular rides at the same time making it a half hour wait.

I went to Uni 3 days last week and I was constantly muttering "Thank you, Disney for spending a billion dollars on NextGen" for a variety of reasons.*

*Not saying it's perfect or doesn't have issues.

But in Uni you can simply purchase Maxpass AND still have a pleasant experience with most ride times being very manageable / short (I did go to IoA and USF last year, got several rides done!).

I haven't been to the parks since before COVID but I read many times that if you don't buy Genie or Lightning Lane, you're in for a treat...

Speaking of which, does anyone know how much of a ride's capacity is distributed under Genie and LL?

 

[John park hopper]

Inflation to Bob means we inflate prices even higher. I guess on Bob's salary the highest inflation in 40 years is not in his vocabulary.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Make What Up? please elaborate

“Disney certainly hasn't increased the salaries of the photographers”

You can’t know that for a fact. Therefore, you’re making stuff up.

“I also see a lot of "NEW" menu items being added to both QS and TS. this is a simple way to raise prices so that folks cant post or look at what it was priced before. Look for a lot of the items that didn't get increases to disappear”

That’s just a completely made up conspiracy theory.

Tony is rejecting your inference that the increase in photo pass is complete BS and a blatant cash grab.

Some people just believe that seeing themselves in cgi character pictures is “priceless”
…especially when your tan is “on point”

When I need you to interpret me, I’ll ask.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Hey, a European Vacation with the kids…. Where have I heard that?… Anyway, excellent choice!

WDW contractors will probably be still playing in the Moana dirt pile in 2024 anyway.

I just always wondered how it's any cheaper? We did Greece this year 8 night Athens, Santorini and mykonos. Now I have young adults but price tag was 15k before meals.
Me and some friends are going to try and catch the coronation in England next year, wooza London hotels are no joke (I don't do air bnbs so I never compare them).

 

[Disstevefan1]

I just always wondered how it's any cheaper? We did Greece this year 8 night Athens, Santorini and mykonos. Now I have young adults but price tag was 15k before meals.
Me and some friends are going to try and catch the coronation in England next year, wooza London hotels are no joke (I don't do air bnbs so I never compare them).

Well one thing is for sure, prices for everything in a Disney vacation will continue to go up over time.

 

[eliza61nyc]

But in Uni you can simply purchase Maxpass AND still have a pleasant experience with most ride times being very manageable / short (I did go to IoA and USF last year, got several rides done!).

I haven't been to the parks since before COVID but I read many times that if you don't buy Genie or Lightning Lane, you're in for a treat...

Speaking of which, does anyone know how much of a ride's capacity is distributed under Genie and LL?

That's not true. My kids got back two weeks ago, didn't buy genie plus , did use ll for the galaxy ride. Now they said they did get their at park opening but they had a great time.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Well one thing is for sure, prices for everything in a Disney vacation will continue to go up over time.

Sadly so true Steve.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

When I need you to interpret me, I’ll ask.

That’s an excellent point…
Kinda like when Disney doesn’t ask you to justify their price increases?

 

[JAN J]

Honest question - where is a better place to go with better service and more to offer my family of 4 with two young girls (6 and 4) for a week or two? While I agree wholeheartedly that most changes Disney has made over the last several years are money grabs and the service level has declined some - I still can't find a better beginning to end experience for vacation that fits my family. Im not some shmuck whos being abused, I love Disney still! And I can afford their price hikes. So until I find something better, I'm not sure why I would stop going. To hope that my one family's vacations somewhere else changes Disney's behavior while I have a lesser experience? That sounds more ridiculous than just continuing to pay Disney.

I'd say cruises are a nice alternative (Disney or other), lots of entertainment, nice food, multiple tour options...
I also like all inclusive beach resorts. Went to Cancun this year and had an absolutely great time!

I am right there with you, I do believe Disney is probably the greatest place to vacation, but being with my wife and kids, I can have an amazing time anywhere, and if I can have an easier time saving money for it, even better!

But I will never state that TWDC is not being a d$@# to customers by increasing prices, cutting / charging for previously free perks and decreasing service level just because "I can afford the increases". Because I might be able to, but I know it may break the bank for a lot of people.

 

[mightynine]

When I need you to interpret me, I’ll ask.

Spoiler

I just wanted to use that GIF