The Disney Parks Value Story Just Got Stronger

[DisneyFans4Life]

$32. I don't get what your point is.

You're trying to make a point that you spent only $75 for the night to enjoy a Mets' game, parking, food, beer, etc and that Disney is overpriced. $32 for outfield seats isn't exactly cheap. $32 behind a dugout or home plate would be a bargain. Disney offers so much more...but like anything...it's all in what you value personally.

 

[xdan0920]

You're trying to make a point that you spent only $75 for the night to enjoy a Mets' game, parking, food, beer, etc and that Disney is overpriced. $32 for outfield seats isn't exactly cheap. $32 behind a dugout or home plate would be a bargain. Disney offers so much more...but like anything...it's all in what you value personally.

No. I didn't say it was cheap. I didn't say it was a good value. I didn't say it was a bargain. I simply relayed my very recent experience. Frankly, I think baseball games, football games, basketball, whatever are a tragedy price wise. I also firmly believe they are alienating the groups they should be courting(families with kids, you need to breed new fans, hard to do that when families can't afford more then 1 or 2 games a year) That doesn't excuse Disney's ridiculous price gouging though.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I loathe Baseball, so any $ ticket is not a good value for me.

If you love the Disney product, then you will happily pay the prices. If you are taking your kids because of some invisible societal right of passage, you will be stunned at the across the board high prices.

A lot of people think, "I know Disney is expensive, so we will stay at a "value" resort, only eat one sit down meal this trip, and just fast food it for the rest." Not being prepared for a $64 fast food pizza lunch for 4 or the equivalent everyday of the trip.

You used to be able to do that at a reasonable price. Now, there really is no such thing as a "cheap meal" anywhere on Disney property these days.

 

[21stamps]

No. I didn't say it was cheap. I didn't say it was a good value. I didn't say it was a bargain. I simply relayed my very recent experience. Frankly, I think baseball games, football games, basketball, whatever are a tragedy price wise. I also firmly believe they are alienating the groups they should be courting(families with kids, you need to breed new fans, hard to do that when families can't afford more then 1 or 2 games a year) That doesn't excuse Disney's ridiculous price gouging though.

I'm a season ticket holder to the Bengals. It is ridiculous. I pretty much despise Mike Brown, but I love my team so I go. Luckily I get Reds tickets free through my work, so that saves a bit of money..especially when they give us Diamond Seats, I would never pay for them myself.lol

I loathe Baseball, so any $ ticket is not a good value for me.

If you love the Disney product, then you will happily pay the prices. If you are taking your kids because of some invisible societal right of passage, you will be stunned at the across the board high prices.

A lot of people think, "I know Disney is expensive, so we will stay at a "value" resort, only eat one sit down meal this trip, and just fast food it for the rest." Not being prepared for a $64 fast food pizza lunch for 4 or the equivalent everyday of the trip.

I once read a thread, on another site, that someone posted they had a total of $100 in spending money for 7days, family of 4. With the quick service dining plan. She wanted to go ahead with trip and was finding ways to "stretch the 100". I was frightened for her, ever since reading that I have been curious about how the trip turned out. hopefully all went well.

 

[Glasgow]

You can spin almost any value argument however you want because its what you find personally important. Wdw is good value compared to other destination or entertainment options if you break it down to individual areas, like food, entertainment, lodging etc .. But this is the whole trick they are achieving.

Spoiler alert .. When you go for a week, they are getting ALL of your individual area dollars, so while you may derive value for one area, youll pay extra in another area (ie lodging). This is akin to a weekly sale in a store. They get you there to buy cheap potato chips and butter, but then you also buy all of your other stuff at a normal or inflated prices. Overall, the (Mouse) house always wins.

Again, value is subjective .. cost is objective. There seems to be a skewing of these terms here. You think WDW is a good value? Good for you, it keeps you happy and going back. We dont think the value is as good now as compared to past years, so we go half as much. Value is not only about cost for us but rather the cost vs content ratio, which i contend has declined drastically over the past 10 years.

For many, cost is the only component in the value calculation, which is perhaps why attendance is going up but loyal fanship is going down?

 

[ParentsOf4]

My local Cedar Fair park is $65 admission + $83 Fast Pass + $20 Parking = $168.00

Please keep in mind that Cedar Point's Fast Lane provides front line access to all rides and is far superior to WDW 's limited FP+.

Remember, with Disney's FP+, everyone gets it. As a result, FP+ simply redistributes wait times. (If I wait less in line at Soarin because of FP+, then I wait longer in line at Test Track because of FP+.)

At Cedar Point, you are actually paying to "cut" in front of those standing in line. You are paying for a benefit that you cannot get at WDW unless you pay for their $350/hour VIP service. (Last time I checked, there was a 6-hour minimum. You do the math. )

Universal's Express Pass (which Universal charges over $100 for most days) is much more equivalent to Cedar Point's Fast Lane.

All objective metrics show that WDW is the most expensive theme park in the World.

 

[21stamps]

Please keep in mind that Cedar Point's Fast Lane provides front line access to all rides and is far superior to WDW 's limited FP+.

Remember, with Disney's FP+, everyone gets it. As a result, FP+ simply redistributes wait times. (If I wait less in line at Soarin because of FP+, then I wait longer in line line at Test Track because of FP+.)

At Cedar Point, you are actually paying to "cut" in front of those standing in line. You are paying for a benefit that you cannot get at WDW unless you pay for their $350/hour VIP service. (Last time I checked, there was a 6-hour minimum. You do the math. )

Universal's Express Pass (which Universal charges over $100 for most days) is much more equivalent to Cedar Point's Fast Lane.

All objective metrics show that WDW is the most expensive theme park in the World.

It's a 7 hour minimum. Which makes the math worse.lol. I had one booked for our upcoming trip. Reason got the better of me, so I cancelled.

My comparison is as close to accurate as you can get by comparing theme park to theme park. With a FP at Disney you will not wait 45-90 minutes in line like you would without one at Cedar Fair. You can also add another, so after soarin you do have the chance to obtain one for test track- making both lines reasonable.

I do agree that it's not exactly the same, but it wouldn't be fair to exclude the FP in the comparison.

The point was, Disney is not the only expensive place, and it's prices are not out of line for what it is..especially compared to other major theme parks. At WDW you are getting "more" than you are at a Cedar Fair park. The pricing makes sense.
Unless you're just a roller coaster junkie, then go to IoA..but that's part of the "different expectations for different type of trips." that I was talking about earlier.

Even if you do Annual Pass comparisons.
So mine is $130 + $40 photo pass (very limited locations and rides) = $170. For 4 months out of the year, 2 of which are only open on weekends. No included fast pass. No discounts for Great Wolf Lodge.

A WDW AP is a little less than $800. For 4 parks and 2 water parks- for 12 months, 365 days. Ability to fast pass attractions, as well as hefty discounts on the resorts, and "free" Memory Maker- which has photos on almost every ride and all over the parks.

Yes, the price is more, but when you look at what is included in the price it makes sense, justifies the difference, and is about equal value wise.

 

[Sans Souci]

Kids $11?
That's just museum entry.
And now........The rest of the story.

U-505 tour +$9
coal mine tour +$9
IMAX movie +$9
LEGO brick by brick +$9

Oh, it's +$12 per item (for adults) on top of that $18 museum entry.
And $22 parking.( I don't take the CTA to the South Side, homey )

Or you could be a parent and say "no" to the add ons. My single mother frequently took us to MSI on free days and made it clear there was going to be no U boat, no Henry Crown Space Center/IMAX and no coal mine. There was definitely no souvenirs involved. The general admission was more than enough for me. The museum itself has so much to explore without all of the add ons. I used to get so lost in it all.

I went to grad school in Hyde Park and took the CTA (#6 and #192--great views of the Lake on Lake Shore Drive in the morning!) regularly and uneventfully. Jackson Park is not bad as suburbanites/hayseed transplants who look down their noses at suburbanites/Trixie and Chad make it to be. It starts getting really dodgy just past the UChicago hospitals, though.

MSI still has free days for Illinois residents.

 

[Nala06]

As far as Hamilton goes- even if you are willing to mortgage your house you still may not be able to find a ticket

Ugh tell me about it! Bought tickets for its chicago run and WOW

 

[ParentsOf4]

Or you could be a parent and say "no" to the add ons.

Or someone could do a fair comparison and look at WDW's add-on costs.

Disney has gotten increasingly more effective at making you feel like an inadequate parent if you don't cough up the dough for all those 'extra' experiences.

How can you possibly be a good parent if you don't spend an extra $199.95 to take your precious to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique?

Like you, I've spent entire days at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry without spending a dime. What a great place!

 

[21stamps]

Ugh tell me about it! Bought tickets for its chicago run and WOW

I Am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENVIOUS!!!!!!!!

Or you could be a parent and say "no" to the add ons. My single mother frequently took us to MSI on free days and made it clear there was going to be no U boat, no Henry Crown Space Center/IMAX and no coal mine. There was definitely no souvenirs involved. The general admission was more than enough for me. The museum itself has so much to explore without all of the add ons. I used to get so lost in it all.

I went to grad school in Hyde Park and took the CTA (#6 and #192--great views of the Lake on Lake Shore Drive in the morning!) regularly and uneventfully. Jackson Park is not bad as suburbanites/hayseed transplants who look down their noses at suburbanites/Trixie and Chad make it to be. It starts getting really dodgy just past the UChicago hospitals, though.

MSI still has free days for Illinois residents.

I stay so far away from any place that has "free" days or "dollar" days. Especially museums, zoos, aquariums, sporting events! I made the mistake of unknowingly going to our museum during free admission. We lasted 10 minutes, max. It was miserable. Was at a hockey game that had $1 pizza slices..we went to go get one, the line was about 50 people deep. Ended up buying a cheeseburger in another line.lol There comes a time when value is not worth a discount, or even when "free" is a bad value.

About the "add ons" though, for myself I pay for them..not because I'm not being a parent, but because I do think they are great experiences. They drive me nuts though...I wish there was 2 prices, 1 with and 1 without the add ons, or some kind of bundle for an add on package...not so much of this a la carte stuff! My son and I have had a serious talk about souvenirs and games when out. I did it for a few years, then realized how much money is just wasted on stupid things. We have rules about when and where now.

 

[thomas998]

My wife and I are again headed to Disney in September for 9 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We got an awesome deal and the deluxe hotel as part of their promotions during early September. Airfare was cheap and yes, the $449 8 Day Park Hopper seems like a real value after our most recent outing.

We decided to go to our local MLB park and watch the home team play. We had a great time.

Game Tickets: $150
Parking: $25
Hot Dog: $13 (crumbled stale chips included)
Chicken Nuggets: $14 (NOTHING else, not even fries)
Water: $4.25 per bottle (we got 2)
Coke: $6.75 per drink (we got 2)
Ice Cream: $7
Peanuts: $7
Gas: $3
Frustration with parking/traffic: ?
Total: ~$242

Again, I had a great time, but both my wife and I brought up Disney on the way home.

The food at the game was not good. Lukewarm and very low quality. The chicken was far worse than the standard breast nuggets at Disney. However, we both said the same thing. Wow, for 3 hours, we spent $242 and didn't enjoy the food.

We both brought up Liberty Tavern. For literally the same money as our "entree" of hotdog/chicken and Coke, you get a Thanksgiving meal. Sure, it's not the greatest food ever and the stuffing is probably Stovetop, but it's pretty good food for $19.

People complain about $3 water? Well, it's $4.25 here and you want it just as badly. Oh btw, no coolers or brought in food here.

Totally different experiences, but doing anything under the provided entertainment category is pretty expensive these days. Sure, you can make your own fun, but going to the mall, movies, or any sporting event can be quite an expense.

I love the Disney value of around $50/day for all your entertainment in the parks on an 8 day ticket. Sure, you have to get there, eat there, and stay in the hotel, but you have to do that anywhere. The entertainment value is great!!

I've seen these types of comparisons before... and what you are missing is this... A sports stadium is only open a limited number of days per year, it has to charge a lot more for everything during those limited days that it is open because it still has to maintain the facility all year long. That is the reason your prices are so high... Disney on the other hand is pretty much open all the time, they churn a lot more people over a year than a stadium ever will and because of that the spreading of their fixed costs goes over a much larger audience.

In other words... our comparing apples to oranges and then saying the apple is better... So what.

I can go to a chichi restaurant an spend twice as much money on an appetizer as I would on a meal at Disney... Might be an appetizer I enjoy or might be one I gag on... Again... so what.

In the end people rightfully complain about some things at Disney that are insanely expensive and for which they see no real added value in....water is a prime example. It is the same bottle I can buy outside the park for a dollar... It is by any account overpriced as much as the epipens are overpriced, not because they magically are better than they were when they were priced a fraction of their current price but simply because someone wanted to charge more.

You think the price is fine and dandy... Okay... You keep believing that.... I'll continue to realize that they are overpriced, but don't try to come up with some justification that starts by showing how something is more expensive somewhere else because when you do I'll just point you to the water in the 7/11 and tell you tastes just as good as the water at Disney and costs a fraction of the price... in fact the last time I bought a bottle it tasted really good and I enjoyed it much more than the Disney water.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

Or you could be a parent and say "no" to the add ons. My single mother frequently took us to MSI on free days and made it clear there was going to be no U boat, no Henry Crown Space Center/IMAX and no coal mine. There was definitely no souvenirs involved. The general admission was more than enough for me. The museum itself has so much to explore without all of the add ons. I used to get so lost in it all.

I went to grad school in Hyde Park and took the CTA (#6 and #192--great views of the Lake on Lake Shore Drive in the morning!) regularly and uneventfully. Jackson Park is not bad as suburbanites/hayseed transplants who look down their noses at suburbanites/Trixie and Chad make it to be. It starts getting really dodgy just past the UChicago hospitals, though.

MSI still has free days for Illinois residents.

The point of my reply was to say that the cost at MSI is not so "cut and dry"
Just like most attractions, there are premiums.

Mom used "no" alot on me, too.
Ask my daughter what my "favorite" word is.......

I've lived my whole life in Chicago.(I hate when people say they're from Chicago, but live in Naperville, Mundelein, Park Ridge etc)
Use public transportation often.
I just prefer to avoid the neighborhoods that I would have to bus through to get to the museum.

And forget the "free" days.
That's when Trixie and Chad bring their kids.
And don't forget the busloads of kids from CPS or daycare or summer camp.

Other than that, MSI is awesome!

 

[Nala06]

I Am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENVIOUS!!!!!!!!.

I am stoked! It was a miracle we got tickets at all. The day they were released they sold out so fast, well except for the $500 orchestra seats. For that price hamilton better...well nevermind.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I've seen these types of comparisons before... and what you are missing is this... A sports stadium is only open a limited number of days per year, it has to charge a lot more for everything during those limited days that it is open because it still has to maintain the facility all year long. That is the reason your prices are so high... Disney on the other hand is pretty much open all the time, they churn a lot more people over a year than a stadium ever will and because of that the spreading of their fixed costs goes over a much larger audience.

In other words... our comparing apples to oranges and then saying the apple is better... So what.

I can go to a chichi restaurant an spend twice as much money on an appetizer as I would on a meal at Disney... Might be an appetizer I enjoy or might be one I gag on... Again... so what.

In the end people rightfully complain about some things at Disney that are insanely expensive and for which they see no real added value in....water is a prime example. It is the same bottle I can buy outside the park for a dollar... It is by any account overpriced as much as the epipens are overpriced, not because they magically are better than they were when they were priced a fraction of their current price but simply because someone wanted to charge more.

You think the price is fine and dandy... Okay... You keep believing that.... I'll continue to realize that they are overpriced, but don't try to come up with some justification that starts by showing how something is more expensive somewhere else because when you do I'll just point you to the water in the 7/11 and tell you tastes just as good as the water at Disney and costs a fraction of the price... in fact the last time I bought a bottle it tasted really good and I enjoyed it much more than the Disney water.

If you fail to see the similarities in entertainment value, perhaps you can see similarities in other vacation destinations? How about other theme parks?

Price out a week at Universal for the most Apples to Apples comparison possible and tell me they are overpriced.

Disney makes reasonable margins. It's public information. They don't like 40 and 50 percent margins. You can believe it should cost a nickel for ice cream, but the fact is, it doesn't and it can't. You know how much overhead Disney has? Nothing in this life is free and every other destination is trying to extract margin from you, vacation or otherwise. Entertainment is expensive across the board. That's the point here.

Movie theaters do it. Broadway does it. Sports stadiums do it. Restaurants do it. Concerts do it.

You think because sports stadiums are only doing a couple events/week, that it's "ok" to charge $4.25 for water? If you think Disney is overpriced, you have to think that's overpriced too, right? Or are you just illogical? You don't think the local baseball park wishes it could keep you around as long as Disney? Guess what? They wish they could, but they can't! But they get you while you're there, just like every entertainment destination anywhere.

Exactly how much do you think it should cost to get into the Magic Kingdom?

At least when I make my comparison, I make peace with both places charging what the can because people will pay.

 

[Sans Souci]

I Am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENVIOUS!!!!!!!!

I stay so far away from any place that has "free" days or "dollar" days. Especially museums, zoos, aquariums, sporting events! I made the mistake of unknowingly going to our museum during free admission. We lasted 10 minutes, max. It was miserable. Was at a hockey game that had $1 pizza slices..we went to go get one, the line was about 50 people deep. Ended up buying a cheeseburger in another line.lol There comes a time when value is not worth a discount, or even when "free" is a bad value.

About the "add ons" though, for myself I pay for them..not because I'm not being a parent, but because I do think they are great experiences. They drive me nuts though...I wish there was 2 prices, 1 with and 1 without the add ons, or some kind of bundle for an add on package...not so much of this a la carte stuff! My son and I have had a serious talk about souvenirs and games when out. I did it for a few years, then realized how much money is just wasted on stupid things. We have rules about when and where now.

I think they do that deliberately to get you to consider a membership! LOL We had a MSI membership before we moved away and when I looked at the numbers, it paid for itself in two trips.

There is a free zoo in Chicago and I like it. My mom took us there a lot, too. We had to do free days at museums, otherwise it would have been a stretch for her budget. It's the only way we could have gone to them. I know they can get busy, etc, but it's good for children to have an exposure to cultural and educational experiences, regardless of income.

 

[21stamps]

I think they do that deliberately to get you to consider a membership! LOL We had a MSI membership before we moved away and when I looked at the numbers, it paid for itself in two trips.

There is a free zoo in Chicago and I like it. My mom took us there a lot, too. We had to do free days at museums, otherwise it would have been a stretch for her budget. It's the only way we could have gone to them. I know they can get busy, etc, but it's good for children to have an exposure to cultural and educational experiences, regardless of income.

It's why I have season passes or annual memberships to the majority of the places we go! It saves money in the long run, and also allows me to visit a place for 2 hours or less and not feel like I "wasted" money. The only exception to that is our aquarium. We go to see scuba Santa every year, and every time I buy an annual pass- because amazingly 1 visit is $25, but a year's worth is $50!?!? It's crazy. Unfortunately we've never gone more than twice in a year though.. So I'm not actually getting value out of my pass. But with our County Parks pass, theme park pass, museum membership, and zoo membership, we definitely come out ahead!! Our zoo and museum both have great reciprocity benefits too! We visit COSI a few times per year because of it. Most of the other stuff we do I purchase when a Groupon or Living Social special is going on.

I agree that it's great for all kids to be able to experience it. I'm the sole parent to my child, so I get it. But when you already have passes, and didn't know you chose a "free" day to visit..it's quite a shock. Same thing when you show up to the Zoo and didn't realize some schools were on spring break already..that's definitely a 'less than an hour' day.lol

 

[thomas998]

If you fail to see the similarities in entertainment value, perhaps you can see similarities in other vacation destinations? How about other theme parks?

Price out a week at Universal for the most Apples to Apples comparison possible and tell me they are overpriced.

Disney makes reasonable margins. It's public information. They don't like 40 and 50 percent margins. You can believe it should cost a nickel for ice cream, but the fact is, it doesn't and it can't. You know how much overhead Disney has? Nothing in this life is free and every other destination is trying to extract margin from you, vacation or otherwise. Entertainment is expensive across the board. That's the point here.

Movie theaters do it. Broadway does it. Sports stadiums do it. Restaurants do it. Concerts do it.

You think because sports stadiums are only doing a couple events/week, that it's "ok" to charge $4.25 for water? If you think Disney is overpriced, you have to think that's overpriced too, right? Or are you just illogical? You don't think the local baseball park wishes it could keep you around as long as Disney? Guess what? They wish they could, but they can't! But they get you while you're there, just like every entertainment destination anywhere.

Exactly how much do you think it should cost to get into the Magic Kingdom?

At least when I make my comparison, I make peace with both places charging what the can because people will pay.

Oh you just don't get it... I never said I thought water in a stadium wasn't overpriced. But honestly try to use your brain and follow this... Water bottles have to be stored.... they have to be refrigerated.... The space to store them cost money, would be reasonable to assume that the cost of storage space is equal at both Disney and a stadium... The refrigeration units to cool the water bottles is also likely comparable in prices... Those 2 costs are fixed... doesn't matter if you push through 100,000 bottles of water in a year or 10,000,000... The fixed cost isn't going to change. That cost is allocated to each bottle of water, so when a stadium charges more they have more costs associated with the bottle of water, you divide the cost per year of the water's fixed cost by the total number of bottles you expect to sell and that's how much they need to cover the fixed cost per bottle of water. A place like Disney that is open 365 days a year is going to sell a lot more water bottles and therefore have a much lower cost for the fixed part than a stadium... Do you understand that part?

Now do I think they are still over priced? Yes. They are over priced at both places but I would suspect that the margins on a water bottle at Disney when you account for the full costs are much lower than at the stadium by an order of magnitude at least... yet the price charged at Disney is not an order of magnitude lower its only slightly lower... So to me Disney is over charging more than the stadium.... But that doesn't mean I don't still think the are charging too much... only that one is more egregious than the other.

And honestly, I own stock in Disney so I want them to charge as much as they can... It helps my stocks to go up in value... Though I do wish they would dump some of the pointless ventures they have like ESPN, and reel in the money thrown away at the network division to pay for sports broadcasting rights... to me those things are pulling down the profitability of the theme parks and other Disney ventures...as for what they should charge to get in?

And gate fees... I would like to see them double the gate fees.... maybe even triple them. I guarantee I wouldn't spend as long going there on a vacation but it would be much less crowded when I did go and likely generate the same revenue.

 

[21stamps]

Oh you just don't get it... I never said I thought water in a stadium wasn't overpriced. But honestly try to use your brain and follow this... Water bottles have to be stored.... they have to be refrigerated.... The space to store them cost money, would be reasonable to assume that the cost of storage space is equal at both Disney and a stadium... The refrigeration units to cool the water bottles is also likely comparable in prices... Those 2 costs are fixed... doesn't matter if you push through 100,000 bottles of water in a year or 10,000,000... The fixed cost isn't going to change. That cost is allocated to each bottle of water, so when a stadium charges more they have more costs associated with the bottle of water, you divide the cost per year of the water's fixed cost by the total number of bottles you expect to sell and that's how much they need to cover the fixed cost per bottle of water. A place like Disney that is open 365 days a year is going to sell a lot more water bottles and therefore have a much lower cost for the fixed part than a stadium... Do you understand that part?

Now do I think they are still over priced? Yes. They are over priced at both places but I would suspect that the margins on a water bottle at Disney when you account for the full costs are much lower than at the stadium by an order of magnitude at least... yet the price charged at Disney is not an order of magnitude lower its only slightly lower... So to me Disney is over charging more than the stadium.... But that doesn't mean I don't still think the are charging too much... only that one is more egregious than the other.

And honestly, I own stock in Disney so I want them to charge as much as they can... It helps my stocks to go up in value... Though I do wish they would dump some of the pointless ventures they have like ESPN, and reel in the money thrown away at the network division to pay for sports broadcasting rights... to me those things are pulling down the profitability of the theme parks and other Disney ventures...as for what they should charge to get in?

And gate fees... I would like to see them double the gate fees.... maybe even triple them. I guarantee I wouldn't spend as long going there on a vacation but it would be much less crowded when I did go and likely generate the same revenue.

Are you willing to sell me that stock below fair market value?

 

[Chef Mickey]

Oh you just don't get it... I never said I thought water in a stadium wasn't overpriced. But honestly try to use your brain and follow this... Water bottles have to be stored.... they have to be refrigerated.... The space to store them cost money, would be reasonable to assume that the cost of storage space is equal at both Disney and a stadium... The refrigeration units to cool the water bottles is also likely comparable in prices... Those 2 costs are fixed... doesn't matter if you push through 100,000 bottles of water in a year or 10,000,000... The fixed cost isn't going to change. That cost is allocated to each bottle of water, so when a stadium charges more they have more costs associated with the bottle of water, you divide the cost per year of the water's fixed cost by the total number of bottles you expect to sell and that's how much they need to cover the fixed cost per bottle of water. A place like Disney that is open 365 days a year is going to sell a lot more water bottles and therefore have a much lower cost for the fixed part than a stadium... Do you understand that part?

Now do I think they are still over priced? Yes. They are over priced at both places but I would suspect that the margins on a water bottle at Disney when you account for the full costs are much lower than at the stadium by an order of magnitude at least... yet the price charged at Disney is not an order of magnitude lower its only slightly lower... So to me Disney is over charging more than the stadium.... But that doesn't mean I don't still think the are charging too much... only that one is more egregious than the other.

And honestly, I own stock in Disney so I want them to charge as much as they can... It helps my stocks to go up in value... Though I do wish they would dump some of the pointless ventures they have like ESPN, and reel in the money thrown away at the network division to pay for sports broadcasting rights... to me those things are pulling down the profitability of the theme parks and other Disney ventures...as for what they should charge to get in?

And gate fees... I would like to see them double the gate fees.... maybe even triple them. I guarantee I wouldn't spend as long going there on a vacation but it would be much less crowded when I did go and likely generate the same revenue.

Listen to this guy try to educate a Wharton grad on fixed costs.

1) Water doesn't have to be refrigerated and Disney typically uses ice at point of sale. Strike 1.

Anyway, just because we disagree doesn't mean I don't understand you. D you think you have such advanced points they are hard to follow?

What are you even trying to convey in the long water bottle essay? Are you trying to say MLB charges more for water because their costs are higher? LOL. I would bet anything Disney's margin on a bottle of water is STILL higher than a single ballpark because they get it for cheaper, buy a ton more, and typically cool them with ice, not refrigeration.

Anyway, don't answer that...I really don't care to argue about these fine points. My points of entertainment being expensive across the board remains and nothing you said changes it.

How many shares do you own, just curious? If you knew anything about their profitability, you wouldn't want them killing ESPN. It's their most profitable business and the entire reason the stock has been down lately because people are concerned that cable, the golden goose, is in danger of being cut by many current subscribers. Parks and studios are doing very well.