WDW ticket price increases coming June 3rd

[flynnibus]

I think this is stupid. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't see us flying all the way out to California for just 5 days at Disneyland. I know there's TONS of other stuff to do out there, but between flights, hotel and Disney tickets, I didn't want to spend any more money.

So does this mean the maximum package they sell to the DLR is just 5 nights?

In a single ticket - yes. But this isn't so radical as their model has been this way for many many years. And BTW there is no such thing as 'non-expiring' tickets there either. DL is more of a short trip for most... or people that make recurring trips buy the AP.

 

[flynnibus]

The price change will have absolutely no impact on the way or frequency I visit WDW. :shrug:

In the grand scheme of things it's negligible at best.

The big impact this time around is on the Florida people used to getting super discounts.... now, not so much.

But people don't look at it that way.. they see what they used to be able to afford no longer offered and overlook the serious discount they had been getting compared to everyone else.

With the changes to TiW, etc... locals should not have been suprised. WDW has been turning away from the locals for several years now.

 

[CJR]

The sad truth is it's going to get to the point where the average family just won't go. Florida residents will still get great deals like the 3 tickets for $99. You can add a park hopper ticket on there, pick a slow day and hit all four parks.

The truth is that the parks (Universal included) will keep raising their prices until a tremendous drop occurs in attendance. Even then, it's unlikely that prices will ever lower. I'm not saying it's not ridiculous, but that's also why we're doing a Carnival cruise this year. Until people start paying someone else for vacations, Disney isn't going to stop. I don't think they really care if it end up being a place for rich people or not, as long as they have money coming in.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Prices will never go down until demand drops (attendance figures are less than before), massive layoffs of employees occur, and weeds begin growing in the cracks of park walkways.

What? These signs of the apocalypse are already present and prices are still rising. Neverland? Nevermind!

 

[misterID]

They aren't doing this to weed out anyone at WDW. And APers are not costing WDW money. They see the attendance numbers, the parks are what have been propping up all Iger's other failures recently. He said himself, he's raising prices because he can. Because of current attendance and his belief people will still pay it.

 

[misterID]

I know the mortgage comment was a joke, but anyone who is struggling to make ends meet and can't pay their bills should probably not go to Disney world. I really don't see how the annual price increase which is slightly higher than last year suddenly makes a trip to Disney too expensive. If you have the cash to pay for airfare or gas, hotel rooms, meals, and park tickets at 2011 prices you probably have the extra cash to pay the increase.

I can see why people are upset on principle that the increase is high and there is a perception that Disney is not reinvesting in the parks. I agree with that, but I am not buying the argument that this increase will push people over the limit where they can longer afford it. That is my opinion anyway

No offense, I've seen this line of thinking before, and this opinion is pretty ridiculous.

No one is choosing Disney over paying your bills, dude. No one. It's the fact that Disney has raised prices that much that it's getting to the point they can't go. If you decided not to read it, people have been mentioning that ticket prices are not the only prices they have to take into consideration when they save for their Disney vacation. You know, gas just goes up a little in the scheme of things, but it still hurts working families living on a budget.

I have the money to go. WDW is not worth the money they're asking for.

 

[Clever Name]

They aren't doing this to weed out anyone at WDW. And APers are not costing WDW money. They see the attendance numbers, the parks are what have been propping up all Iger's other failures recently. He said himself, he's raising prices because he can. Because of current attendance and his belief people will still pay it.

You're right. Attendance has been on a steady decline and there is nothing that is going to change that right now. The current price increase is designed to get the money while they can before the bottom drops out.

Disney is just playing the odds. If they don't raise prices then revenue will drop. If they do raise prices, then they might continue to see increased profits or at least match last years figures.

If current ecomonic predictions hold true and the EU gets in more serious trouble, WDW income will go downhill in a hurry. If inflationary pressure hits then WDW will become a ghost town. :wave:

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

You're right. Attendance has been on a steady decline and there is nothing that is going to change that right now. The current price increase is designed to get the money while they can before the bottom drops out.

Disney is just playing the odds. If they don't raise prices then revenue will drop. If they do raise prices, then they might continue to see increased profits or at least match last years figures.

If current ecomonic predictions hold true and the EU gets in more serious trouble, WDW income will go downhill in a hurry. If inflationary pressure hits then WDW will become a ghost town. :wave:

If they don't raise prices the next couple of years, (which may happen if they don't sell as many passes/tickets), then eventually inflation will catch up to this price increase. However, that may take a very long time, given that wages aren't really rising all that much.

I am surprised they raised prices now as FLE still won't be complete until late 2014, and Avatarland won't be seen before that . . . why go to WDW now?

DLR raised their prices, but Carsland is less than a month away from opening.

I think WDW raised prices during the same time frame with DLR to lessen the media exposure of this price increase, but also because they are greedy and want the money even though the parks aren't greatly improved yet, and have even decreased in quality.

I kinda hope attendance declines at Magic Kingdom, making Disneyland number one, even though prices are pretty steep there.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Disney has every right to maximize profits. Every right.


Just because a handfull of people, ( The doom and gloomers ), posting on this forum have issues with it does not speak for the millions who really are going, and keep going.

I have to trust the Disney bean counters, I don't think they would spring this without significant fact to support it.




Jimmy Thick-Making money is a bad thing I guess?

 

[GoofGoof]

No offense, I've seen this line of thinking before, and this opinion is pretty ridiculous.

No one is choosing Disney over paying your bills, dude. No one. It's the fact that Disney has raised prices that much that it's getting to the point they can't go. If you decided not to read it, people have been mentioning that ticket prices are not the only prices they have to take into consideration when they save for their Disney vacation. You know, gas just goes up a little in the scheme of things, but it still hurts working families living on a budget.

I have the money to go. WDW is not worth the money they're asking for.

My point exactly. I was commenting on other posts stating that this ticket price increase has priced them out of going. The other guy made the comment about paying his bills over going to Disney not me. My point was I didn't believe that this ticket price alone would push many over the edge. There could be some families that were just barely able to afford it who are priced out, but not many Airfare, hotels and meals were all expensive before and they still are after the ticket price goes up. Your choice to not go because you don't feel the value is there is your choice and seems to be pretty popular on this board. My only point was that I wasn't buying the line that people can't afford it. If you choose not to go out of protest or because you think your money is better spent at Harrypotter Land or on a cruise that is your right.

 

[yeti]

Disney has every right to maximize profits. Every right.


Just because a handfull of people, ( The doom and gloomers ), posting on this forum have issues with it does not speak for the millions who really are going, and keep going.

I have to trust the Disney bean counters, I don't think they would spring this without significant fact to support it.

Jimmy Thick-Making money is a bad thing I guess?

Handful, Jimmy. Handful.

 

[MDenham]

Disney is just playing the odds. If they don't raise prices then revenue will drop. If they do raise prices, then they might continue to see increased profits or at least match last years figures.

And if revenue drops anyway, Iger's likely to be slotted into a new position before the shareholders come after him with torches and pitchforks.

 

[menamechris]

The Orlando Sentinel has a pretty good history of not questoning Disney and their business decisions. Today, they seem to feel the need to address it...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-daily-disney/os-beth-kassab-disney-ticket-prices-060312-20120603,0,7241802.column

 

[flynnibus]

I am surprised they raised prices now as FLE still won't be complete until late 2014, and Avatarland won't be seen before that . . . why go to WDW now?

DLR raised their prices, but Carsland is less than a month away from opening.

I think WDW raised prices during the same time frame with DLR to lessen the media exposure of this price increase, but also because they are greedy and want the money even though the parks aren't greatly improved yet, and have even decreased in quality.

Why would you be surprised? Newsflash... they raise prices every year... and they do it virtually lock in step with DLR. This is basically the same period they raised prices last year too. Years before, they generally did it in August.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Our APs expire 9/16 and we have a trip scheduled 9/1-9/5 where we're required to purchase 2 day base tickets. We will use these towards our next pass whenever that happens to be purchased. However, I really think they're getting to the point where long time fan boys are getting turned off. The pricing and potential drop in relative in park benefits for AP holders runs the risk of really damaging the fan base. It sounds like Fastpass+ is designed to favor those people staying on property that are booking the once every 3.75 year vacation.

At this point, I'm aware of two Disneyland vacations I have planned in the next 15 months, and only one Disney World vacation.

I love Disney World, but the potential combination of getting less out of each day at the parks and the increased cost of that day may result in some painful decisions for me.

 

[Bob Saget]

As the owner of a travel agency, I see many people spending money on Disney as well as non-Disney vacations - if Disney is "out of whack", then so are many other vacation destinations.

^As someone who used to work in hospitality mgmt (for 10+ yrs), I totally agree with this.

People spend, and will keep on spending whatever price is asked to visit places like Disney & Universal because they have the hunger to be entertained. This desire for entertainment surpasses the costs involved. That is why the numbers of people visiting WDW each year keep climbing despite the high price tag. Guests flock to Orlando from all corners of the globe; from all walks of life with their wallets opened and their dollars ready to be forked over in high anticipation of being entertained.

A vacation to WDW is not a necessary expense. It is a luxury expense for those fortunate enough to afford this form of entertainment.

Mark my words. When a one day ticket reaches $95, $99, $109, $115+...people will still flock the Magic Kingdom gates hungry for Disney entertainment. It's the same reason why we will all be off the complain train in a few weeks and back to posting threads along the lines of "I need My WDW Fix"... or "What noise did you hear today that reminded you of Disney?", and so on. When it comes to what we take home with us from a vacation to Disney...high price tags are no barrier.

Don't believe me? Wait a month and come back to any WDW/Uni related discussion forum. See what sorts of discussions we're talking about from upcoming trips, just past trips, and anywhere in between. And I guarantee you, price will not be a factor, but rather what memories the land of magic & princess has given us.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I think this is stupid. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't see us flying all the way out to California for just 5 days at Disneyland. I know there's TONS of other stuff to do out there, but between flights, hotel and Disney tickets, I didn't want to spend any more money.

So does this mean the maximum package they sell to the DLR is just 5 nights?

What's wrong with 5 nights at the DLR? That's a great number, actually and that's usually around the average number of days tourists spend here.

 

[misterID]

Bob, I have to disagree there, because we're already seeing a change. I've seen more people cutting into their WDW vacations for days at UNI and more people taking exclusive trips to UNI in the past few years. I've been seeing more and more WDW fans making trips to DLR, instead of WDW. I've been seeing more people change their yearly vacations so that WDW is totally cut out.

It's not going to put WDW under, by any means, but you can't say nothing is going to change. It is changing by degrees.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

A vacation to WDW is not a necessary expense. It is a luxury expense for those fortunate enough to afford this form of entertainment.

You're not wrong, except with TDO cutting so many corners, how much longer will it continue being considered a luxury expense? I'm hard pressed to blame Universal for the price raise, or Disneyland. WDW just isn't justifying it with half-cooked parks and no intention of worthy additions in the foreseeable future. Avatar withstanding, Disney has NOTHING of substance cooked up to justify the price hikes. DHS is still lacking in rides, AK still closes at 6pm. There's no way around these facts.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Its not just about price, its about perceived value for money. For the first time in 15 years we will take our hard earned money somewhere else. Sure I will be back but I wont be having my two weeks a year annually now. Lack of investment was the catalyst, and having branched out Ive discovered a whole world to visit and the fact that we all have a time line to do it in.