Raising prices yet again!!!! enough is enough!

[ppete1975]

All of 2019 at my "home" park for 4 for the cost of one day for two at WDW.

I was just there last month. That's a pretty apples to oranges comparison, and I promise that all of their rides put together hasn't cost what Disney spends on one ride (of course they spend government contract rates on screwdrivers.. but that's another subject)

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Didn't they raise minimum wage for their employees recently to a more reasonable amount? I would think their prices and entertainment cuts being increased has something to do with paying their employees more. But what do I know.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Can we at least agree to stop calling WDW's customers by this silly marketing term.

If we're paying over $100 per day to be at WDW, we are not "GUESTS" of WDW!

It's not a marketing term, it's the proper English use of the word. There's absolutely no connotation in the word "guest" that means "free."

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guest

guest
noun

\ˈgest \
Definition of guest
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a: a person entertained in one's house
b: a person to whom hospitality is extended
c: a person who pays for the services of an establishment (such as a hotel or restaurant)

Disney could charge a bazillion dollars a day and you'd still be a guest.

You're not wrong...

Narrator: But he was wrong.

 

[LittleBuford]

On the issue of “guest” for “customer”, it’s interesting to note that this sense has been around since the 1200s according to the Oxford English Dictionary (“a temporary inmate of a hotel, inn, or boarding house”).

 

[aliceismad]

I advise taking it with a grain of salt. You might say, 'talking in hyperbole' has become something of a national pastime these days.

The thing is...there aren't all that many places in the USA/world that are as old as MK, while still retaining much of the same charm, fun and wonder. Ever rarer are places that have combined old traditions with fresh excitement as successfully as WDW has since over the past 40+ years! So folks are constantly torn between the comfort of familiarity/nostalgia and craving new excitement/adventures/discovery.

Further, we're living in an era of dramatic upheaval and change. Worse, a great many things people used to enjoy - say in the 1970's- are now not only out of fashion but absolutely detested.

In the 1970's, Santa Claus often had a pipe in his mouth and a bottle of Coke in his hand. Now smoking=death and full sugar soda is rapidly falling out of favor. People are scared.

In the 1970's, "Nature" was something nearly infinite, and women wore fur coats.

I appreciate the note about hyperbole. And I agree about the nostalgia and wonder. Disney transcends and bridges generations in a way that not many brands can. I’m passing it on to a fourth generation in my family.

Although I wonder if Dinsey will fall out of favor as modern parents move away from the princess model. It’s why I’m glad the Pixar and other IPs are making appearances in parks. (Another thing that this board seems to generally dislike, though that may be more about the execution and placement than a dislike for the actual IPs.) My daughter cares little to none about princesses (except those frozen ones) but we love Pixar in our house.

 

[Mickey5150]

People used to complain that the parks were too crowded and that Disney wasn't raising prices to try and lower the crowds. Now they raise prices and we're complaining about that. I guess we know what the forum's favorite thing to do is.

My only complaint is that people are still going. Please don't show up so I can happily pay more to stand behind fewer people.

 

[danlb_2000]

... when does it stop.

That's easy, when people stop coming and spending money.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Although I wonder if Disney will fall out of favor as modern parents move away from the princess model.

Yes, there is that aspect of WDW.

Along the same lines, while I generally appreciate the theming of the WDW hotels, you might say some of them ALSO have their own kind of fake/princess-y thing going on.

Wilderness Lodge is pretty, but more or less it is roughly a fake version of Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn (or perhaps more accurate to call it a hybrid of several NP Great Lodges). Young kids could easily go to Disney's WL, and not realize the geyser is fake.

Worse, they might come away from Yellowstone thinking that the fantasy WDW geyser was better than the natural geyser.

I'm sure adults realize they aren't actually going to Polynesia...but I wonder if the kids comprehend: Norway= real place, Arendelle=fake place, when they see the Frozen ride located in the Norway pavilion. They might also think the Eiffel Tower only exists at WDW.

The more immersive/real-looking our fake worlds become, well there's a little bit of a risk that the lines between fantasy and reality are getting a little blurry.

 

[Ted Daggett]

Okay, who wants to go first?

Step up, and spin the wheel of potential comments.

View attachment 320503

How much do you charge to spin the wheel?

 

[geekza]

Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Gave us money?
GIVE THE REST!
For only $90 more
"Completer pins" you can request!

Cupcake lines
Castle show
Crowds are huge
Sightlines blow
Try the Gray Stuff, it's delicious!
Overpriced on paper dishes

Hero capes
Star Wars hats
Future World?
What is that?
We've torn it up
We want the stockholders impressed!

There is so much to do!
Come spend a grand or two
And be our guest!
Be our guest!
Be our guest!

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Gave us money?
GIVE THE REST!
For only $90 more
"Completer pins" you can request!

Cupcake lines
Castle show
Crowds are huge
Sightlines blow
Try the Gray Stuff, it's delicious!
Overpriced on paper dishes

Hero capes
Star Wars hats
Future World?
What is that?
We've torn it up
We want the stockholders impressed!

There is so much to do!
Come spend a grand or two
And be our guest!
Be our guest!
Be our guest!

You're amazing dude.

 

[geekza]

Glad I could bring a smile!

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Glad I could bring a smile!

Smiles: $10 extra.

 

[larryz]

Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Gave us money?
GIVE THE REST!
For only $90 more
"Completer pins" you can request!

Cupcake lines
Castle show
Crowds are huge
Sightlines blow
Try the Gray Stuff, it's delicious!
Overpriced on paper dishes

Hero capes
Star Wars hats
Future World?
What is that?
We've torn it up
We want the stockholders impressed!

There is so much to do!
Come spend a grand or two
And be our guest!
Be our guest!
Be our guest!

 

[HauntedPirate]

Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Gave us money?
GIVE THE REST!
For only $90 more
"Completer pins" you can request!

Cupcake lines
Castle show
Crowds are huge
Sightlines blow
Try the Gray Stuff, it's delicious!
Overpriced on paper dishes

Hero capes
Star Wars hats
Future World?
What is that?
We've torn it up
We want the stockholders impressed!

There is so much to do!
Come spend a grand or two
And be our guest!
Be our guest!
Be our guest!

One of the funniest and more original things I've read lately. Bravo!

WDW prices are kind of like that old saying about morale - "The beatings will continue until morale improves". "The price increases will continue until the spending stops".

But... what if things are too far gone for many once the tipping point is reached? It's easier to keep customers than win new ones.

 

[Disstevefan1]

For we who vacation regularly at WDW, we can see the prices go up year after year and also notice when offerings go down at the same time. We must either pay the price and accept when offerings go down, or decide to vacation at WDW less often to make up for the price increases.

For the first timer at WDW, they don't know any better.

 

[thomas998]

every time you look Disney is raising prices on something. just read that Disney raising prices on soft drinks and snacks etc in the theme parks last week. This week they are raising the cost for the privilege to park your car. So now after you pay the increased theme park entrance costs to get in the park you now have to pay an additional 25.00 to park your car! a few weeks ago Disney announced that they were going to charge you 79.0 pp to get into the parks an hour or so early, that is on top of the 100+ cost for the ticket you already bought., Dear God I know its Disney but the greed is overwhelming. My biggest complaint over the years was how Disney ruined Main Street USA and turned it from a charming land that you could wander through for an hour or two with charming stores , candy shops. arcades etc to one big souvenir shop to buy merchandise you can buy anywhere else in the park, basically making main street just a place to walk through on the way to another part of the park but now with the constant greed of management to bleed you for every last dime... when does it stop.

I'm sure it stops for some people everytime they raise the prices, unfortunately it doesn't stop for enough people because the parks are still overcrowded for my taste. Double the prices and if the crowds are thin enough I'll still go... Of course I also own stock in Disney so I have another reason to want them to raise the prices.... Because, "... greed – for lack of a better word – is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind."

 

[thomas998]

Except when it destroys mankind and then you have a correction like the French Revolution or the ascendency of Napolean.

It wasn't greed that caused the French Revolution it was the fact that all the power was held by one man that did nothing to deserve the power beyond being born into it. So long as people see that even the rich fall they wont revolt it is when the rich never fall no matter how bad or stupid they are that causes serious issues with the peons.

 

[Maeryk]

every time you look Disney is raising prices on something. just read that Disney raising prices on soft drinks and snacks etc in the theme parks last week. This week they are raising the cost for the privilege to park your car. So now after you pay the increased theme park entrance costs to get in the park you now have to pay an additional 25.00 to park your car! a few weeks ago Disney announced that they were going to charge you 79.0 pp to get into the parks an hour or so early, that is on top of the 100+ cost for the ticket you already bought., Dear God I know its Disney but the greed is overwhelming. My biggest complaint over the years was how Disney ruined Main Street USA and turned it from a charming land that you could wander through for an hour or two with charming stores , candy shops. arcades etc to one big souvenir shop to buy merchandise you can buy anywhere else in the park, basically making main street just a place to walk through on the way to another part of the park but now with the constant greed of management to bleed you for every last dime... when does it stop.

The Emporium is one big shop.. second biggest on property behind WoD, I think? But the other side still has crystal arts, the watch shop, the Dooney and Burke boutique, the art shop, etc etc.

Arcades have been dead since the late 90s, lol.

 

[donaldtoo]

The Emporium is one big shop.. second biggest on property behind WoD, I think? But the other side still has crystal arts, the watch shop, the Dooney and Burke boutique, the art shop, etc etc.

Arcades have been dead since the late 90s, lol.

Yep, we remember when The Emporium/Casey’s side of Main Street was more than just that...now we can avoid the rain through it all, beginning at Casey’s from the hub, all the way through to Town Square. The first time we noticed it, it was “WTH?!?!?! “.