WDW Ticket Prices ???

[Shaman]

Yes and no. Is it great that my AP price is $100 less then a non-resident price? Sure. But... Busch Gardens and Sea World have all year for one day cost FL resident tickets. Or ones that come with more perks that you pay like $5 a month for. Universal does the same thing for $16/month or $180 year for both parks. There's room for further FL resident improvement I think. A montly AP payment plan would go over really well. It's why everyone else is doing it. They also took away the free park-hopper upgrade on a 1-day ticket for FL residents which makes the more casual guest less likely to want to go out for a day. It's easier to justify spending $65 for a day when you aren't stuck picking only one place to be for the entire day.

*shrugs*

So my vote is both yes and no. There are some good deals and some that could be better.
-m

You're right. But it could be much worse....Disney could throw us in with the rest of the visitors and not give us perks!

When things slow...they'll probably bring back the lost FL resident perks....

 

[garyhoov]

You too? I've been saying that for ages! *sigh*

The poor want to live like the rich...*shakes head*

:lookaroun :lol:

For the most part, I think Disney is fair...especially with us Florida residents.

While I can't speak for him, I'd guess Marx wouldn't have been a big fan of Disney World even at $20 ticket prices.:lol:

 

[bjlc57]

a bit too high....

Disney, in my mind, needs to take into account the cost to get to the place...

When gas is at $3 a gallon, and you are traveling 3000 miles or more round trip, their prices are a bit too much..

Yes, Disney does prefer the more wealthy coustomer.. So does Vegas, but Las Vegas makes it so its cheap to get there and stay there.. Disney needs to do a little more of this..

again Disney's prices are just on the border of out pricing the middle class.. They really are.. by the time you come for 4 to 6 days in Orlando, and eat, and go to the parks.. $5000 isn't a tough number to crack.. and if you are on a budget, $1500 for a family of four is the ultimate minimum.. Thats a chunk of change if you are making $30,000 or less a year.. even if you are making $50,000 a year..

and there are a ton of People who make between those two figures who would like to come to WDW per year.. more of those then people who make over $100,000 per year.. way more.. and most of those are Disney's clientel.

right now WDW is a little too high.. it really is..

 

[wannabeBelle]

Vegas is not exactly a straight comparison though. I stayed at the Venetian which was well over $300 a night to start. Any shows that were seen were paid for separately. Any rides that were done were paid separately. Food was certainly in the ballpark for the same type and quality of restaurants. Add all that up and see what you get. Also the main reason the casinos want you in Vegas is to gamble, in Disney that isnt the case so the focus is a bit different as well. Belle

 

[nibblesandbits]

Vegas is not exactly a straight comparison though. I stayed at the Venetian which was well over $300 a night to start. Any shows that were seen were paid for separately. Any rides that were done were paid separately. Food was certainly in the ballpark for the same type and quality of restaurants. Add all that up and see what you get. Also the main reason the casinos want you in Vegas is to gamble, in Disney that isnt the case so the focus is a bit different as well. Belle

That's a good point Belle. And you know those shows in Vegas aren't cheap either. Some of those shows cost about the same (or more!) as a 1 day ticket to Disney. For example, Blue Man Group, which is an amazing show that is shown in Vegas costs 93 dollars and that's for the balcony! If you want good seats, it's 121 dollars!

Now American Superstar, which is like Legends where people impersonate singers costs $41 per adult...which is cheaper than Disney, but you aren't even seeing the real thing.

Now, do I think Disney's prices are outrageous, at first I thought yes. But then the more I thought about it, the Six Flags in my area costs 37 dollars. And considering how much better Disney is compared to Six Flags, that extra 20 or so dollars isn't too terribly bad.

 

[Jayhawkie]

ticket prices

I personally think that the ticket prices are reasonable. My family and I book our trip months in advance and pay off the balance of the hotel a little each month. That way when we get down they don't say that will be X number of dollars, and it is not so much to pay for!!! I suggest that to a lot of people it makes it so much more enticing if you can pay a little at a time

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Now, do I think Disney's prices are outrageous, at first I thought yes. But then the more I thought about it, the Six Flags in my area costs 37 dollars. And considering how much better Disney is compared to Six Flags, that extra 20 or so dollars isn't too terribly bad.

Wow, I had no idea that every six flags was a different price. Is disney like that, with each theme park being a different price? (I know that all four in Fl are the same) but how does CA, Disneyland Hong Kong, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo, etc compare (after currancy exhanges and such)?

 

[nibblesandbits]

Wow, I had no idea that every six flags was a different price. Is disney like that, with each theme park being a different price? (I know that all four in Fl are the same) but how does CA, Disneyland Hong Kong, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo, etc compare (after currancy exhanges and such)?

I know that we're one of the cheaper six flags. I went to Great America in Chicago last year and their prices for a single day ticket were how much our season passes cost. I was quite excited that I'd already had my season pass and got to go in up there for "free"

 

[SewIn2Disney]

I know that we're one of the cheaper six flags. I went to Great America in Chicago last year and their prices for a single day ticket were how much our season passes cost. I was quite excited that I'd already had my season pass and got to go in up there for "free"

Interesting.....I wonder if all season passes are the same price too.....A season pass for us equates to about two visits, or just over $100. It seems like more of a deal for us to get a season pass, where it might not if your tickets are only about $30.

 

[wannab@dis]

Disney, in my mind, needs to take into account the cost to get to the place...

When gas is at $3 a gallon, and you are traveling 3000 miles or more round trip, their prices are a bit too much..

Yes, Disney does prefer the more wealthy coustomer.. So does Vegas, but Las Vegas makes it so its cheap to get there and stay there.. Disney needs to do a little more of this..

again Disney's prices are just on the border of out pricing the middle class.. They really are.. by the time you come for 4 to 6 days in Orlando, and eat, and go to the parks.. $5000 isn't a tough number to crack.. and if you are on a budget, $1500 for a family of four is the ultimate minimum.. Thats a chunk of change if you are making $30,000 or less a year.. even if you are making $50,000 a year..

and there are a ton of People who make between those two figures who would like to come to WDW per year.. more of those then people who make over $100,000 per year.. way more.. and most of those are Disney's clientel.

right now WDW is a little too high.. it really is..

First off... Disney is paying $3 for their fuel also. They have a LOT of busses to keep moving and their costs have risen without a major increase of ticket prices. In fact, if you really look at the MYW passes, it can be argued that their extended stay tickets are cheaper now.

Also, if someone is only making $30,000/yr and they have other bills to pay, then I'm not sure if any week long vacation is really in their reach. Sure, Disney is more expensive than some vacations, but a week at the beach is almost as much if you do anything more than sit on the beach. If you take in a show or go out for a dinner cruise, you'll rack up some decent costs quickly. Therefore, it basically comes down to what you want to spend on the activities on your trip. The value resort prices are cheaper than most beachfront hotels and the food prices are mostly comparable.

As far as pricing themselves out of reach of their guests, I don't think that's true either. The parks continue to stay busy, the resorts continue to be filled. So, there appears to be a LOT of guests that are paying the current prices. They really can't drop their prices based solely on supply & demand.

 

[jozzmenia]

I couldn't agree more!

I think the park ticket prices are fair--the resort hotel rates are a bit high, but the demand seems to be enough to warrant those prices. Disney charges $60 for one day and most Six Flags parks charge at least $40, so I think if any of the other parks in the country are fair, Disney is as well. Visiting theme parks is just not cheap. I have a 7-day Magic Your Way pass for my upcoming trip, and that ends up costing something like $35/day, which is VERY reasonable, I think.

I was just complaining the other day that when I have kids, I'm going to be cringing at the costs associated with a Disney vacation, but that I'll do what I have to do to take them. I think the park prices are very fair, but it seems unreasonable because in order to realy enjoy it you have to get 3 to 5 days minimum, which means about $150-$200 a person. The resorts prices are ridiculous IMO, but the value resorts are more for lower incomes, and if you can't afford that, there are reasonable alternatives that are non-disney - as long as you keep in mind u get what u pay for. But hey, a movie for 2 nowadays, sans discounts, is about $18, add in about $15 for concessions and you're over $30 bucks. If you go every week, that's $120 in a month, so you could take that money and put it aside for Disney. I'm a Midwest girl, don't even get me started on Cedar Point - about $40 for a one day pass, $65 if you want to add in the mediochre water park, and there resorts, which aren't even near the same calibur as Disney, are between $200 and $500 a night for a plain basic room in the summer on a weekend(why anyone pays that, I have no idea). So Disney is definitely fair.

Like someone else said, if you really want to go, you scrimp and save and you can do it. I don't think it's totally out of reach for anyone above the poverty line.

 

[jozzmenia]

Disney, in my mind, needs to take into account the cost to get to the place...

When gas is at $3 a gallon, and you are traveling 3000 miles or more round trip, their prices are a bit too much..

Yes, Disney does prefer the more wealthy coustomer.. So does Vegas, but Las Vegas makes it so its cheap to get there and stay there.. Disney needs to do a little more of this..

again Disney's prices are just on the border of out pricing the middle class.. They really are.. by the time you come for 4 to 6 days in Orlando, and eat, and go to the parks.. $5000 isn't a tough number to crack.. and if you are on a budget, $1500 for a family of four is the ultimate minimum.. Thats a chunk of change if you are making $30,000 or less a year.. even if you are making $50,000 a year..

and there are a ton of People who make between those two figures who would like to come to WDW per year.. more of those then people who make over $100,000 per year.. way more.. and most of those are Disney's clientel.

right now WDW is a little too high.. it really is..

Look, I maintain that it's totally feasible and reasonable if u make up your mind that you want to go, and want to make it affordable. It doesn't have to be $1500 either. Here's some examples:

We're going from MI for 4 days, 2 people. We're working on the income of a new lawyer and a teacher (my boyfriend and I), and even though we can afford to splurge some on vacation, we're budget shoppers, and I love finding vacation deals (I figure I'd rather take several discount vacations than just one at full price ). The hotel is $35 a night, so that's about $110; the airfare was about $160/pp RT after taxes, for a total of $320; we're getting Universal Annual Passes b/c we know we'll be back and can make payments of $15 a month each (which ends up being $180 each, but who wants to pay in one lump sum? ) and that works out better for us in the long run. We have the Universal All Day Meal Deal (eat free all day at Universal) for one day, at $38 for 2 people; out hotel has free full continental breakfast which includes make your own waffles; so we have very few meals to buy in addition to that and plan on eating out twice at nice dinners; add in one day at Disney during the trip at $ 65/pp and we're looking at just over $600 for the total trip (and a $15/month payment) which I think is pretty reasonable coming from Michigan.

Second example, I went with a relative, who's working with about $9000/year income, yes, nine thousand, not ninety, plus public assistance (AKA welfare). We went down with her, 3 kids (ages 14, 9, and 9), her boyfriend, me, and another adult relative and his daughter (age 10). (4 adults and 4 kids). All of the adults paid $100 each for a 3 bedroom condo for a week ($400 total); we drove down and divided the cost of renting an SUV and a car. (I ended up putting in $60 for rental costs and $60 for gas). We went grocery shopping and everyone (adults) put in $50 for groceries, which covered groceries for the week. We went to Universal one day and Disney one day. (We had discount Universal passes it ended up being about $40 per person) and $60 per person at Disney. And we had free Wet N Wil Passes from I think time share or something, I didn't go to the time sare but we got 6 passes and paid the difference. So I paid about $400 that week and the condo was great and had a kitchen, blender, washer and dyer, etc. (It was Westgate Lakes). The relative paid about $600 -$700 for HER AND 3 KIDS for the whole week and they got to do quite a bit. I will add to that that kids can have a lot of fun on pizza and home cooked meals and breakfasts and enjoy spending a lot of time in the pool. I had a great time. We even drove to Daytona Beach one day. You don't HAVE to get a 7 day pass when u go. You CAN do it on a budget if u WANT to.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I think it's perfectly feasible to go to Disney for a week for under $1000 total (disney resort, 7 day magic your way w/ park hopping, airfare, food, souvenirs), which I think is reasonable. I'm also single and don't have kids, so finding $1000 somewhere in my year's budget isn't that out of reach. I realize it costs more with a family, but I also don't plan on making the same $27K I'm making in grad school now once I have a wife and kids...oh the life of a grad student.

 

[KaliSplash]

I like the hourly rate comparison. You're paying less than 6 bucks an hour to be entertained in an extraordinary fashion.
Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? yes.
Yes, I realize there are people who can't afford to go. We can't afford to go as often as we'd like. We can't afford to stay in a lakefront room at the Grand Floridian, either.
But we sure have a good time when we go each year. Yes, we are fortunate to be able to do that. But the costs are not bad, as someone else pointed out, compared to movie/sporting event prices, etc.

 

[MinnieMommy]

I've posted on this before, but will again say it can be done! We are a one income family - I homeschool our 2 little ones and we find ways to make it happen. We save a little at a time and realize we can't go every year! But you can also find discounts. With a AAA Membership, we got a 20% discount on our rooms at a value resort in value season! That was a significant savings and more than paid for the AAA membership! It can be done! The dreams that you wish WILL come true! :wave:

 

[MissM]

I like the hourly rate comparison. You're paying less than 6 bucks an hour to be entertained in an extraordinary fashion.

Which is true...though... it does put into light how poor salaries are in Florida. Especially the very CM's who you're interacting with on your WDW vacation. Florida's min wage is $6.40/hour. And a lot of entry-level office jobs don't pay more then around $8/hour.

I mean think about it. If it weren't for CM's being able to get into the park as a perk of working there, they basically couldn't afford to go. And isn't that kinda...wrong?
-m

 

[ToTBellHop]

Which is true...though... it does put into light how poor salaries are in Florida. Especially the very CM's who you're interacting with on your WDW vacation. Florida's min wage is $6.40/hour. And a lot of entry-level office jobs don't pay more then around $8/hour.

I mean think about it. If it weren't for CM's being able to get into the park as a perk of working there, they basically couldn't afford to go. And isn't that kinda...wrong?
-m

I'm making $6.75 this summer working at an amusement park...they have never really paid well. The free admission to the park is the reason I'm okay making so little

 

[stopgo]

I mean think about it. If it weren't for CM's being able to get into the park as a perk of working there, they basically couldn't afford to go. And isn't that kinda...wrong?
-m

IMHO, it's not even a little bit wrong. CM positions consist largely of unskilled labor (that's not a slight against CMs) which, by definition, means low wages.

[Rant] (Not directed at you MissM )

Frankly, the idea that somehow Disney has an obligation to make its theme parks accessible to low/lower income families is frightening. It's Marketing 101: Disney will charge whatever the market will bear, which is exactly what they *should* be doing. Disney has every right to turn a profit on their operations and, in fact, they have an obligation to their employees and shareholders to do so.

If someone is bothered because they can't afford a Disney vacation on their $8/hr job, the best solution is to DO SOMETHING about it.
I know a lot of people truly believe that it's unfair and that they're being prevented from bettering themselves financially because some evil syndicate of rich folks is hoarding all the world's money. Those people are wrong. I don't care if you're 18 or 80, there are plenty of opportunities available to people who just have the guts and motivation to take advantage of them. But I'm just a guy from an impoverished background without a college degree who busted his ______ for the first 10 years of his professional life in order to build a business.

[/Rant]

 

[ToTBellHop]

IMHO, it's not even a little bit wrong. CM positions consist largely of unskilled labor (that's not a slight against CMs) which, by definition, means low wages.

[Rant] (Not directed at you MissM )

Frankly, the idea that somehow Disney has an obligation to make its theme parks accessible to low/lower income families is frightening. It's Marketing 101: Disney will charge whatever the market will bear, which is exactly what they *should* be doing. Disney has every right to turn a profit on their operations and, in fact, they have an obligation to their employees and shareholders to do so.

If someone is bothered because they can't afford a Disney vacation on their $8/hr job, the best solution is to DO SOMETHING about it.
I know a lot of people truly believe that it's unfair and that they're being prevented from bettering themselves financially because some evil syndicate of rich folks is hoarding all the world's money. Those people are wrong. I don't care if you're 18 or 80, there are plenty of opportunities available to people who just have the guts and motivation to take advantage of them. But I'm just a guy from an impoverished background without a college degree who busted his ______ for the first 10 years of his professional life in order to build a business.

[/Rant]

But, if we didn't have people willing to make minimum wage, we'd have no Disney World. Granted, finding enough CMs isn't as much of a problem for WDW as it is for DL (LA is much more expensive than Orlando...). WDW can get by with its current wages; DL needs to up its wages to end the current major CM shortage. Minimum wage in New York State was $5.15 at the end of 2004...and it will be $7.15 by January 1, 2007...which is much more reasonable, I think. The fact that some people still make $5.15/hour is pretty disgraceful, and, as I said, if no one were willing to do that, we'd lose a lot of services.

 

[jozzmenia]

IMHO, it's not even a little bit wrong. CM positions consist largely of unskilled labor (that's not a slight against CMs) which, by definition, means low wages.

[Rant] (Not directed at you MissM )

Frankly, the idea that somehow Disney has an obligation to make its theme parks accessible to low/lower income families is frightening. It's Marketing 101: Disney will charge whatever the market will bear, which is exactly what they *should* be doing. Disney has every right to turn a profit on their operations and, in fact, they have an obligation to their employees and shareholders to do so.

If someone is bothered because they can't afford a Disney vacation on their $8/hr job, the best solution is to DO SOMETHING about it.
I know a lot of people truly believe that it's unfair and that they're being prevented from bettering themselves financially because some evil syndicate of rich folks is hoarding all the world's money. Those people are wrong. I don't care if you're 18 or 80, there are plenty of opportunities available to people who just have the guts and motivation to take advantage of them. But I'm just a guy from an impoverished background without a college degree who busted his ______ for the first 10 years of his professional life in order to build a business.

[/Rant]

Although I wouldn't have put it so bluntly, your post is 100% true.

2 excellent points I need to comment on:

(1) minimum wage - if everyone is going to complain that minimum wage should be higher, and I agree, it should be a "liveable wage", but then others who actually take the time to better themselve should complain. If someone is troubled that they're not making more than $6/hr to sweep up trash and count change with no degree, then there's I should have really taken issue when I was a law student making $10/hr. with a bachelor's degree, and so should people who have a bachelor's degree AND law degree but only make $15/hr. and people with Master's Degree's that I know who make $12/hr. boo hoo to the people who make minimum wage for minimum skills and minimum education.

Sorry about the little rant...hit a bit of a nerve.

(2) park prices set for the market - I was reading your post and thinking, the truly frightening thing is the image I have of what the parks and resorts would be like if Disney charged $20 admission and the $50/night hotels. Oh what a terrible thought!