Prices up…profits down…

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney's Theme Park Division Reports Lowest Profit In Two Years

Earlier this month Disney announced sparkling results. However, buried at the bottom of the key points on its earnings report was the news a dark cloud hangs over its theme parks.

www.forbes.com

Can someone please explain to me how this can be? (Use small words)

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I can tell you this. Bought Multi Genie for 3 days out of our 4(did a party night so didn't want to get one for MK). I think I wasted my money to a degree getting the pass for Epcot. Remy and Frozen weren't even available and everything else did not have terrible waits. Was useful at AK. At HS, was useful, but what was annoying was getting there right at opening only to have Rise be down, and it didn't get back up till nearly 4PM. I can't say that is a great ride because great rides run better and aren't always broken down.

 

[Chi84]

Disney costs too much for many people.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney costs too much for many people.

I was told they were trying to reduce attendance on purpose to make more money and it would be more magical for the aristocrats still attending…

 

[Indy_UK]

People are probably spending less on Food and Merch in order to even out the price rises and needing to get Genie+ in order to have a decent day in the parks.

I imagine a large amount of families have probably hit their price ceiling too.

 

[graphite1326]

People are probably spending less on Food and Merch in order to even out the price rises and needing to get Genie+ in order to have a decent day in the parks.

I imagine a large amount of families have probably hit their price ceiling too.

I never get Genie+ and ride everything I want.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Disney has finally burned through all its good will (earned over 70 years) and now they are not even "just another company," but instead actively disliked by a large portion of their formerly most loyal patrons. Couple that with pricing the middle class completely out of the resorts and declining by degrees every year since 1994ish and you have a parks division that is in a death spiral.

Specifically, their biggest errors include:

1. Moving from a "we're trying to turn every family (even lower middle class families) into repeat customers for life" model to a "we're going to pressure young moms into taking their kids to WDW once and spending their life savings on the trip" model - wringing every last dollar out of a guest,

2. Stratifying the guest experience (closing parks for separate-ticket events, paying to skip lines, etc) and then chasing whales (who are fickle) at the expense of less-wealthy devoted Disney fans,

3. Building half-day and quarter-day parks with the "we'll add more over time" attitude - only they hardly ever add more, they simply remove and replace occassionally, and

4. Attacking their most loyal customers in the culture war.

I wrote this in 2021 and it's even worse now ...

WDW used to be much, much more affordable. From the day the Magic Kingdom opened until EPCOT Center opened, a park ticket (adjusted for today's inflation) was about $25 a day. When EPCOT opened, the price jumped to about $40 a day (in today's prices). It steadily rose through the 80s and was about $65 all through the 1990s. The big greedy increase occurred from 2000 to 2010 when the price (in today's dollars) went from $70 to $100. Ten years later, we're now at $130. If park tickets today were the same value as they were in 1982 (start of EPCOT), they'd be $40, not $130.

And that's just the park tickets. Factor increases in costs for food, hotels, parking, merchandise, after-hours extra ticket celebrations, reduced hours of operation, etc. They are intentionally pricing the middle-class out of the parks.

EDIT: Another example: In 1982, the annual pass was $100. In today's dollars, that would be $280, not $1,300.

 

[Indy_UK]

I never get Genie+ and ride everything I want.

I don't think think a lot of families with kids will though. Kids won't have tolerance for a lot of the wait times.

I was told they were trying to reduce attendance on purpose to make more money and it would be more magical for the aristocrats still attending…

Yeah I was one of the fools that believed that.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Disney's Theme Park Division Reports Lowest Profit In Two Years

Earlier this month Disney announced sparkling results. However, buried at the bottom of the key points on its earnings report was the news a dark cloud hangs over its theme parks.

www.forbes.com

Can someone please explain to me how this can be? (Use small words)

The constant price increases could not compensate for the constant attendance decreases?

 

[Chi84]

I was told they were trying to reduce attendance on purpose to make more money and it would be more magical for the aristocrats still attending…

It doesn’t cost too much for everyone.

 

[graphite1326]

I don't think think a lot of families with kids will though. Kids won't have tolerance for a lot of the wait times.

I guess I have been there so much or just know when to go that never had any real problem with wait times. The last time we went we waited 50 minutes for RotR. That was the longest we waited for any ride. However, I wouldn't do it again for that ride cause it's just not that good.

 

[Disneylover69]

I wonder how much of this decline is because people who needed DAS just canceled their trips or were too stressed to go

 

[Chi84]

I don't think think a lot of families with kids will though. Kids won't have tolerance for a lot of the wait times.

Yeah I was one of the fools that believed that.

You can still have a great time at WDW if you’re willing to spend the money. Fewer people leads to a less stressful experience.

 

[The Colonel]

Just guessing that between price hikes, quality decreases, service cuts, take-aways, nickel and dimeing, they finally managed to get rid of some excess customers. Mission accomplished.

 

[Disneylover69]

You can still have a great time at WDW if you’re willing to spend the money. Fewer people leads to a less stressful experience.

even if you are not willing to spend the money you can have a great time at Disney

 

[Chi84]

I wonder how much of this decline is because people who needed DAS just canceled their trips or were too stressed to go

Many of the DAS users on this forum said they were able to manage with LLMP/LLSP, although the paid system didn’t work as well.

 

[Disneylover69]

Many of the DAS users on this forum said they were able to manage with LLMP/LLSP, although the paid system didn’t work as well.

The ones on this forum are likely much more Disney fans than the ones not on this forum. Many I am sure just stopped coming and didn’t say anything about it. I’ve read of quite a few not going and those numbers add up even if not lot. But we are talking just a few percentage points here so if DAS was used by as many people as it’s claimed and a quarter of those stopped coming that can be 1% percent drop

 

[Chi84]

The ones on this forum are likely much more Disney fans than the ones not on this forum. Many I am sure just stopped coming and didn’t say anything about it. I’ve read of quite a few not going and those numbers add up even if not lot. But we are talking just a few percentage points here so if DAS was used by as many people as it’s claimed and a quarter of those stopped coming that can be 1% percent drop

I don’t believe Disney’s attendance drop is due to changes in the DAS program. It’s much more likely caused by the factors mentioned in the article cited above.

 

[Disneylover69]

I don’t believe Disney’s attendance drop is due to changes in the DAS program. It’s much more likely caused by the factors mentioned in the article cited above.

Could be a combination. We aren’t talking about a double digit percentage

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I eat off property more. It's rare now when I eat on property. Disney let the food quality suffer and the value vs price isn't there anymore. They did that to themselves.

The hotel rates are ridicoulously overpriced and the perks are all but gone. Can stay at the Hilton Orlando or Grand Hyatt and get a better quality room and still save enough to more than absorb the parking fees at the parks. They did that to themselves too.

The merch is cheap now. Not cheap as in price. Cheap as in quality. I'd rather go shop somewhere else off property if I wanted to buy something.

There's an argument for impulse buys at $15-$20. At $50-$75 it is no longer an impulse buy.

I know Disney is nickle and diming everyone. It's a money grab and it's obvious. It also makes me want to purposely spend my money elsewhere and I try to give Disney as little as humanly possible. People are getting fed up with TWDC operating model.

My nostalgia for the parks and the memories of what the Disney bubble once was, I guess I will always be somewhat of a fanboi. But I have an utter disdain for TWDC. And I know a lot of people that feel the same way.