They won't because they can, and always will, use the economy and inflation as reasons for the increase. It won't be until you see people refusing to purchase tickets or limiting their time in the parks, then management will consider at least slowing down these increases. Considering they have near record attendance numbers each year, I doubt this stops anytime soon.
Interestingly, the last quarter was the first since "The Great Recession" to show pricing softness domestically.
Guest spending was up only 4% at the theme parks despite much higher prices, suggesting guests might have altered their spending patterns to compensate for price increases.
It also appears hotel room rates were flat year-over-year.
If interested, please read my detailed analysis here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...vations-thoughts.882599/page-152#post-6082592
One quarter does not make a trend. It will be interesting to see what happens to Per Room Guest Spending (PRGS) and Per Capita Guest Spending (PCGS) this quarter. With the move of Easter wholly into the third quarter, WDW and DLR better show big bumps in their numbers.
This summer, Diagon Alley will be open, which will wreak havoc with any sort of budding trend.
Meanwhile, with MyMagic+ fully rolled out, corporate Disney needs to say something more concrete soon regarding MyMagic+'s financial performance. Iger and Rasulo cannot keep tapdancing around these questions forever.
No company can survive on a strategy of "raise prices". With Median Household Income flatlining, theme park prices are approaching a tipping point. As Henry Ford learned 100 years ago with his “$5 per day” strategy that helped grow the American Middle Class, companies like Disney need to pay their workers wages that allow for more discretionary spending; that keep pace with prices.
With Universal investing wisely in its theme parks, Disney needs to come up with something more competitive than MyMagic+, Pandora, and higher prices. Some of us old enough to well remember the 1980s and 1990s thought WDW was the most amazing place in the world. It’s time for Disney leadership to look at its past to see what made it great.
Let’s get WDW’s Renaissance started with Star Wars Land.
Some fascinating times are ahead.
