Surge Pricing Holding Up (Semi) Annual Increase ...

[spectromagic04]

Yes, the way it was described to me was that a base ticket would give you a set number of rides on each attraction like two per day on a "C" and one per day on an "E."

To get more rides would require a higher level of ticket or an incremental purchase.

Will annual passes still have unlimited rides?

 

[thomas998]

The reality is the price for resistance would be really high. People feel they are entitled to a WDW vacation and people have credit cards, so, I don't think a price increase is going to slow down enough to prevent overcrowding, if anything, it seems, it has made the parks more busy somehow.

Actually I think the trick would be to eliminate the multi-day tickets. If the trip to the park cost $100/day for whatever days you wanted to be there you would see a pretty dramatic drop. I know while I might do a 5 day trip now for $300 and if I did buy that ticket I would use it every day I could because I would think I needed to to get my moneys worth... Where as if they only did day ticket I would likely just do 3 days in the parks and the rest of my time doing something else... Disney would get the same money from me they just wouldn't get the same wear and tear on the rides from as many riders. And I honestly doubt they would sell any fewer mouse ears or shirts because most people on a long trip there only buy junk 1 of the days and don't rebuy the mouse ears every day.... It might limit the restaurant business but then I'm not sure that would happen either since often times the sit down places are booked solid with people turned away.

 

[BernardandBianca]

It all sounds as if they are going back to 10 or 15 tickets in a ticket book- without the physical tickets themselves.

But with a hefty entrance fee.

 

[EOD K9]

If (and they wont) lower the entrance fee, ticketed rides wouldn't be as bad. Back in 2014 my wife and I were supposed to cruise but she was 2 weeks over the pregnancy limit to be allowed on the boat. We had our airfare and our bookend days booked. We decided to go on a babymoon at least to enjoy ourselves. We only went to the parks one day (my K9 buddy used his pass for us) and just wandered the property and resorts. We were limited in the rides she could experience. Luckily, as we didn't pay, it didn't matter. However, for those in a similar situation, it wouldn't be a bad thing to pay a lower entrance fee and just experience the themes of the parks and maybe take in a few rides here and there.
I'm also greatly against a $25 fee to ride SM. I could see $5 maybe. No way in h3ll am I going to pay 1/4 of the entrance fee just to take in one attraction.

 

[Amused to Death]

it wouldn't be a bad thing to pay a lower entrance fee and just experience the themes of the parks and maybe take in a few rides here and there.

There actually was a general admission only option back in the ticket book days. I don't remember the price. Maybe $5 or $10? I remember opting to do that once when I was on the final day of a trip. I wasn't interested in going on rides, but I had some more souvenir shopping to do.

I could see myself going that route today. I enjoy the atmosphere in the parks, but I don't need to ride Pirates of the Caribbean for the 987th time.

 

[evilzorac]

Well I still have zero intention of buying a ticket until SWL opens.

Same

 

[Lee]

Will annual passes still have unlimited rides?

Unknown.

 

[John]

I will preface my post with "IF!" and although I respect Lee's information and no doubt this has been discussed among the suits it still hasnt been implemented and may well never be. So IF it does come to implementation I am done with the parks. Maybe Disney in general and with my family history that is a big thing for me. This is just another way to fleece their guest. You know as well as I do single day tickets will not drop significantly, hotels are not going to go down, food will not drop in price as with anything else that is consumed on property. A trip will only cost more. With the other cuts being implemented you are going to pay more for less. I cant wait to see how the defenders will spin this......like its a positive thing. Ohhhhhh look its already begun! @Amused to Death what about the guest that wants to ride it 987 times? Maybe not 987 times but what if BTM is your favorite ride of all time and you want to ride it 5 or 6 times? @ $5.00 a ride thats an extra $25-$30 pp! I could see certain attractions availability will only be possible thru "pay your way". Want to enter SW land? cough up another $25....Pandora.....that will be an extra $20 bucks please......

 

[Amused to Death]

Will annual passes still have unlimited rides?

Unknown.

I foresee lifestylers flinging themselves off the top of the Contemporary should the time come they can no longer ride the PeopleMover twenty times a day.

 

[Nubs70]

I have no clue when/if this ever rolls out.
They may well go another direction, but this is a legit option that is/has been discussed.

A program like this is something right of the pubescent dreams of a Business Process Optimizer.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

In one sense, the system @Lee described is not different than the old ticket book system. Or, if you will, like the county fair system where there's a flat fee to go in and then you pay additional for "tickets" to use on the rides. So I guess it's not as outlandish as it might seem at first glance. And there could benefits if all you want to do is ride a few things and be done; it'd also work well for that awkward half day people often have at the end of their vacation. But you have to price all this fairly, which you can bet is unlikely.

That said, two things, all based on speculation of course:

1. Didn't someone mention somewhere on these boards that digital screens were going to be installed at the ticket windows? Now I see why. A system like this would have the ability to change based on crowds and demand. As some have pointed out, it could go all the way to variable FP+ pricing on certain attractions - could be like watching the stock ticker on CNBC as prices and wait times go up and down! I know that's being overly dramatic and it's all a big IF right now but...wow. The nickel and dining possibilities are almost endless.

2. Wouldn't a system like this (where you have a limit on the attractions you can do) be the opposite of what Disney wants? If you only paid for 8 attractions during your day at MK, and you finish them by 5pm, what's the incentive to stick around? Do they think people are going to hang around for an extra 3-4 hours to only souvenir shop? Do they think the urge will be so strong to do more stuff that someone will shell out another $20/person for 3 extra rides?

Bonus point(s)!

3. How does park hopper fit into something like this? An extra charge to let you split how you use your attraction allotment between parks? And how do things like the nightly fireworks and parade (if there even is one at the park you visit) fit into this? Would each park have different rates based on the number of attractions they have? What about FP+? Would people who pay for more attractions get more FP+ reservations?

My head kinda hurts thinking about all this...

 

[tirian]

Unknown.

What a terrible idea.

People are too accustomed to all-you-can-eat Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Pandora, and theme parks. The mentality is part of our society. This would be the straw the breaks the camel's back.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The ironic thing is the 'whales' were in abundance when WDW was an all inclusive resort, Heck the Beatles broke up at the Poly!

Technically, John Lennon officially broke up the Beatles while he was at the Poly. That is when the legal paperwork was finished and he signed his name. Nothing to do with whether or not he was at the Poly I realize, but, you kind of made it sound like they were all staying there and had a "marital spat" and went their separate ways.

 

[JohnWD]

Good god people. The price increases will not level out visitors. People will pay for Disney on credit, if they don't have cash to do so. The only way to thin out crowds is to swallow them up in more, bigger and better attractions.

At what price would it "level out visitors"? Of course it's very complicated at WDW since hotels and food must be a big part of the equation.

 

[JohnWD]

Orlando as a whole is becoming more and more popular while WDW has less and less to do to spread the crowds around evenly between the four parks, resulting in more people concentrated in less areas, add in Fastpass+ which keeps them on the streets and out of lines and it's a recipe for huge crowds, but it's due to social engineering not because the parks would score higher than ever on a hypothetical guest satisfaction report.

Wow! That sounds like an answer to a psychology class exam, not an economic class! But it is in 25 words or less, so I'm impressed.

 

[JohnWD]

Well I still have zero intention of buying a ticket until SWL opens.

Let's face it, you haven't been Disney's target audience for a while!!! But admit it - RoL and Disney Springs would be fun to see this year, and Avatar next year. Maybe you won't have time to visit WDW when SWL (or is it now SWE) opens - something much better might have caught you, and then you will have missed the great things opening soon.

 

[danv3]

This would be the straw the breaks the camel's back.

I think it really might be...

 

[Mike S]

In one sense, the system @Lee described is not different than the old ticket book system. Or, if you will, like the county fair system where there's a flat fee to go in and then you pay additional for "tickets" to use on the rides. So I guess it's not as outlandish as it might seem at first glance. And there could benefits if all you want to do is ride a few things and be done; it'd also work well for that awkward half day people often have at the end of their vacation. But you have to price all this fairly, which you can bet is unlikely.

That said, two things, all based on speculation of course:

1. Didn't someone mention somewhere on these boards that digital screens were going to be installed at the ticket windows? Now I see why. A system like this would have the ability to change based on crowds and demand. As some have pointed out, it could go all the way to variable FP+ pricing on certain attractions - could be like watching the stock ticker on CNBC as prices and wait times go up and down! I know that's being overly dramatic and it's all a big IF right now but...wow. The nickel and dining possibilities are almost endless.

2. Wouldn't a system like this (where you have a limit on the attractions you can do) be the opposite of what Disney wants? If you only paid for 8 attractions during your day at MK, and you finish them by 5pm, what's the incentive to stick around? Do they think people are going to hang around for an extra 3-4 hours to only souvenir shop? Do they think the urge will be so strong to do more stuff that someone will shell out another $20/person for 3 extra rides?

Bonus point(s)!

3. How does park hopper fit into something like this? An extra charge to let you split how you use your attraction allotment between parks? And how do things like the nightly fireworks and parade (if there even is one at the park you visit) fit into this? Would each park have different rates based on the number of attractions they have? What about FP+? Would people who pay for more attractions get more FP+ reservations?

My head kinda hurts thinking about all this...

Even the average guest would be disgusted with this.

 

[bcoachable]

For those that have not been...
There is this beautiful town in southwest Colorado named Durango...
They have this really cool narrow gauge train that runs up to Silverton and back.
Really nice day hikes to do. The rafting on the Animas can not be beat! Very much a good value when it comes to family vacation in a true American town.

I mention this for any of you looking for a new place to spend some family time this summer due to your frustrations over these decisions being made in Orlando.
Maybe we could start a new forum for "Trips not to WDW that are really cool".
Truly hope the mouse puppets will come to there senses and not make this move....

 

[bhg469]

At what price would it "level out visitors"? Of course it's very complicated at WDW since hotels and food must be a big part of the equation.

There is probably no price. People have an addiction to this place and they will make it happen even if they go into debt to do so.

Obviously there is a limit to what people will pay but I don't think Disney is near it yet. As long record crowds keep coming, and cuts in service keep happening, Disney is going to keep raising prices slowly.