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

[TQQQ]

Unfortuna

Trust me i get it. I work on Wall St. But all
Im saying along with what you are is they have a chance to print money in a way a theme park was never really able to do imo. If they can find ways to simply build them w/o pi$$ing away 100’s of millions to build something it as i said could work ….

Crazy. You work on wall st? So do I!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We can agree to disagree here lol… again i totally get what you are saying but you have guests conditioned to pay up for things may as well keep pushing the limits. We also know they will eventually need to build new attractions but i do understand the short sighted mentality these morons have saying why spend anything we have all these suckas paying anyway. I just think if they had any clue i would be prepared to make a splash in 2026 with a ton of new offerings once the EU hype is coming to an end or to put a hault to it if it truly causing damage to your bottom line…

They’ve been trying to shed overhead…by hook or crook…for 30+ years.

What you think makes sense if all things are “equal”…but that’s just not how it shakes out in the unique swamp.

One of the reasons I always tell people they’re unique.
…but people don’t listen.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Same as making the park tickets and hotels different prices - they are pushing to spread crowds by motivating people who have the flexibility to go on less in demand days .... And those that can't will have to pay through the nose

Does kinda suck they didn't give much notice though of this starting for people currently midtrip

The prices aren’t really changing anyones plans anymore.

The prices passed zero barrier for that kinda thing long ago. Nobody that tightly budgeted is going…maybe a few hangers on…but gone soon.

The mobs (I meant Bobs…but both works) have pushed it to where the stock owner wants…varying degrees of maximum profit

 

[TQQQ]

Nothing I said indicated I have low expectations. I just disagree that Disney has fallen as far as some of you seem to think. In fact, I'm still waiting for someone to tell me where I should go with my family of 4 for a week or two instead. None of you seem to have taken a stab at that question I had.

So the answer, to me, is that Disney is still the best place but I am supposed to be angry and negative about it because Disney is doing things every corporation does (try to maximize profit). That sounds more pathetic to me than just enjoying myself.

And this is the problem. Low standards like yours. Disney is so much worse for so much more money even from just 2-3 years ago it’s not even funny. That’s why we haven’t been back and won’t be back

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Well, we also have the worst vacation policy. Many people I know can't get two weeks off at a time and they don't want to travel to Europe (or elsewhere) for 6 days.
Many people in my neighborhood most likely can't afford many overseas trips. And they certainly aren't going to Disney every year.
Heck we can't afford much overseas travel - we take a few years to save for those. And save the vacation time. We are going to Vancouver. We also get to Mexico. So our passports get good use.

I'm sure there's a lot more factors that play into travel than just the dumb American trope.

Plus just a different culture/attitude towards vacation .... My European colleagues take 3-4 weeks at a time, I rarely take more than a week. I get 5 weeks a year total and don't think I have ever taken all of it - and even when I do I am doing work while on vacation. I know that is partly a "me issue" but I am definitely not alone

Why hard to even do the other side of the country or Hawaii or something, travel just takes too much out of the total time I will take off (not to mention the cost of flights for 5 people). I am planning a trip to Europe for 2024 but that is a multi-year planning effort (money wise and arranging with work to be gone that long)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The prices aren’t really changing anyones plans anymore.

The prices passed zero barrier for that kinda thing long ago. Nobody that tightly budget is going…maybe a few hangers on…but gone soon.

The mobs have pushed to to where the stocks owner wants…varying degrees of maximum profit

Definitely true - maybe changes "how" they do their trips but for nearly all not "if" they do their trips

 

[Patcheslee]

It's changed a lot. They do have more family oriented rides now. It's not just the park that's good. Put in Bay is a great escape for a few days.

Having a now 14yo, Sandusky isn't horrible, but she was given the choice between Disney and CP for 2023. Disney won because we already did CP and the area. They are completely different vacation goals, one is thrill oriented, the other has more rounded offerings. I wouldn't expect to find a week of TS dining around Sandusky, and would be stuck driving on vacation again.

 

[crazy4disney]

They’ve been trying to shed overhead…by hook or crook…for 30+ years.

What you think makes sense if all things are “equal”…but that’s just not how it shakes out in the unique swamp.

One of the reasons I always tell people they’re unique.
…but people don’t listen.

Yes and as a business i dont mind that at all when it warrants it. Heck i remember ions ago at character meals there would be 2 handlers at times w each character totally not needed but then you cut corners with say janitorial staff in parks and i feel like im at Yankee Stadium its a disgrace…

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Definitely true - maybe changes "how" they do their trips but for nearly all not "if" they do their trips

But to the prior point…”variable pricing” isn’t to increase bookings. The only advantage is to reinforce a system where they can increase prices as much as possible on the fly.

It’s just “consumer training”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yes and as a business i dont mind that at all when it warrants it. Heck i remember ions ago at character meals there would be 2 handlers at times w each character totally not needed but then you cut corners with say janitorial staff in parks and i feel like im at Yankee Stadium its a disgrace…

You only feel that way because the Yankees SUCK

 

[zulemara]

Genie + is absolutely ridiculous. I’m local and was going to go to Epcot yesterday with my family of four. That would have been an initial cost of $60 for all of us just to use the fastpass system. My next thought was “Well we can just wait in line for some of the rides and not buy it. Let me check the wait times!”. When I pulled up the app, Living with the Land and Seas with Nemo had 35 minute waits and were some of the shortest in the park. Guardians had no ILL available, Ratatouille was 90 minutes so we just said screw it and didn’t go. My kids are still little enough that an hour wait isn’t feasible for them and I’ve been around long enough riding LwtL and Seas with Nemo with NO WAIT at all that I’m definitely not waiting 35 minutes for either of those. And those wait times for rides that previously had no waits is consistent, yesterday wasn’t an anomaly. So instead we took the kids to a local playground and got Chikfila, when previously our food money would have went to Disney.

The only way I can see genie + pricing not being awful is if you have 4 individual adults who are all paying for their own. But as a parent with kids and it’s all coming out of the same bank account, with record inflation going on, not gonna happen.

This is exactly why I did not renew my AP…and Disney loves that I didn’t.
Sea world: we want you, your money, and your friends
Universal: we want you and your money
Disney: we don’t want you, we want your money, but only if someone with more money isn’t available to take your spot.

 

[crazy4disney]

But to the prior point…”variable pricing” isn’t to increase bookings. The only advantage is to reinforce a system where they can increase prices as much as possible on the fly.

It’s just “consumer training”

Agreed … but this is nothing new. They been doing it w dining I would know lol. Character meals would be different prices during my same trip bc we would go during Thanksgiving week. At times starting trip that weekend or ending it… this tho just adds to more frustration. Announce the prices ahead if time and call it a day

 

[crazy4disney]

You only feel that way because the Yankees SUCK

Im actually a Mets fan so Yes i just admitted that lol

 

[TheMaxRebo]

But to the prior point…”variable pricing” isn’t to increase bookings. The only advantage is to reinforce a system where they can increase prices as much as possible on the fly.

It’s just “consumer training”

But also to spread crowds. There is a $70 different on a Disneyland ticket for Sunday vs Monday - they want more people, that can shift, to shift to Monday ... And then increase as much as they can for Sunday for those that can't

 

[bryanfze55]

Nothing I said indicated I have low expectations. I just disagree that Disney has fallen as far as some of you seem to think. In fact, I'm still waiting for someone to tell me where I should go with my family of 4 for a week or two instead. None of you seem to have taken a stab at that question I had.

So the answer, to me, is that Disney is still the best place but I am supposed to be angry and negative about it because Disney is doing things every corporation does (try to maximize profit). That sounds more pathetic to me than just enjoying myself.

What age are your kids? I’ve done the following non-Disney trips with my kids and enjoyed all:

Boston and then taking the Maine Coast up to Acadia is a great trip with a lot of history.

The Smoky Mountains area is a little kitschy, but I think the national park balances it out. You can easily get away from the crowds. Cabins are quite cheap in the area, too, due to high supply.

We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Scottsdale, followed by Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Tucson, which has a world class natural history museum / zoo hybrid.

Park City in summer. You have great resorts that are much cheaper in summer plus some traditional urban attractions nearby in Salt Lake City. Great outdoor recreation all around. PC is upscale without being snooty IMO.

Washington DC + Williamsburg is a good trip too, but I’d probably wait until kids are 8+.

San Diego is probably the most kid friendly city I’ve been to. I’ve always done it in conjunction with Disneyland, but you could easily do a week in San Diego and no Disney. Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are great, kid friendly Orange County beach towns - though Laguna is a bit colorful.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Genie + is absolutely ridiculous. I’m local and was going to go to Epcot yesterday with my family of four. That would have been an initial cost of $60 for all of us just to use the fastpass system. My next thought was “Well we can just wait in line for some of the rides and not buy it. Let me check the wait times!”. When I pulled up the app, Living with the Land and Seas with Nemo had 35 minute waits and were some of the shortest in the park. Guardians had no ILL available, Ratatouille was 90 minutes so we just said screw it and didn’t go. My kids are still little enough that an hour wait isn’t feasible for them and I’ve been around long enough riding LwtL and Seas with Nemo with NO WAIT at all that I’m definitely not waiting 35 minutes for either of those. And those wait times for rides that previously had no waits is consistent, yesterday wasn’t an anomaly. So instead we took the kids to a local playground and got Chikfila, when previously our food money would have went to Disney.

The only way I can see genie + pricing not being awful is if you have 4 individual adults who are all paying for their own. But as a parent with kids and it’s all coming out of the same bank account, with record inflation going on, not gonna happen.

This is exactly why I did not renew my AP…and Disney loves that I didn’t.
Sea world: we want you, your money, and your friends
Universal: we want you and your money
Disney: we don’t want you, we want your money, but only if someone with more money isn’t available to take your spot.

I hear you both…

But they don’t care about you. They like you if you buy after hours or Halloween party or go to springs to spend. Beyond that it’s on you to like it/buy it.

Passes only exist still - my theory - as a backstop for recession fears. They’ll use them then. If they had assurances that wouldn’t happen for say 5 years? They’d have killed them.

My opinion…But I can make a pretty good argument on it.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But also to spread crowds. There is a $70 different on a Disneyland ticket for Sunday vs Monday - they want more people, that can shift, to shift to Monday ... And then increase as much as they can for Sunday for those that can't

Oh Disneyland? Absolutely. No doubt.

I’m talking swamp. There is no diffusion of crowds anymore. It’s hell right now and everyone is in school.

Iger “fixed” that problem.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Im actually a Mets fan so Yes i just admitted that lol

And I’m neither a met nor (obviously) a Yankee fan.

I think you can probably guess the next option? (It was a brutally long summer)

 

[Patcheslee]

Plus just a different culture/attitude towards vacation .... My European colleagues take 3-4 weeks at a time, I rarely take more than a week. I get 5 weeks a year total and don't think I have ever taken all of it - and even when I do I am doing work while on vacation. I know that is partly a "me issue" but I am definitely not alone

Why hard to even do the other side of the country or Hawaii or something, travel just takes too much out of the total time I will take off (not to mention the cost of flights for 5 people). I am planning a trip to Europe for 2024 but that is a multi-year planning effort (money wise and arranging with work to be gone that long)

I had 2 weeks until I reached 5 years with my job, then it went to 3 weeks. After that 15 years service for 4th week, then 20 years for 5th week. 2021 contract changed it to 10 for 4th week, and 20 for 5th week, thats top out. I had my 15 years in last year so it didn't change anything for me. Companies reason is too many complaints about how long it took to achieve a 4th week and hoped to retain more employees.
We'll do international once DD14 graduates and we aren't stuck with school breaks. That savings bucket has been going for 6 years now.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Agreed … but this is nothing new. They been doing it w dining I would know lol. Character meals would be different prices during my same trip bc we would go during Thanksgiving week. At times starting trip that weekend or ending it… this tho just adds to more frustration. Announce the prices ahead if time and call it a day

True.

But less impactful to their own PR. Not everyone partakes in the 300% breakfast costs like you or I do. It’s a fraction of the daily total visitors.

Genie is much more in your face