Do you know why Disney increases their prices exorbitantly? Because they can. Think $60 is going to keep customers away from Chef Mickey's? Think again. Disney will continue to push the envelope, targeting wealthier families from around the globe. Budget conscious travelers may complain, but stockholders won't. And the wealthy businessmen travelling with their families from Sao Paulo or Shanghai won't even notice, or care.
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WDW to Raise All Buffet Prices By Almost 50%?
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
MuteSuperstar
Well-Known Member
They will hit the wall eventually with this absurd, anti-customer price gouging. And the time can't come soon enough.
asianway
Well-Known Member
That was a great example of boiling a frog. First they lost the shirts, then the overalls, then the neckerchiefs
Biff215
Well-Known Member
But others have pointed out that even those who can easily afford these prices are starting to notice. The wealthy are often your most frugal spenders. I believe it's actually the middle class families Disney has to be careful to lose. It's typically the ultra planners who fill up character meals, dessert parties, and other upcharge events. Once they hit their breaking point (if there is one), you may start to see the bottom fall out.
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
This is sort-of true. There is something about a premium product being offered to a premium audience and I have no problem with that.
I think there's a fantasy idea of what "wealthy" is. Most people think, "oh, they're wealthy and don't care what they spend."
From the folks I've known who really are wealthy, that's not true. Of the wealthy folks I've known (lots in the bank kind of wealthy), they're pretty frugal. They're the ones with several successful businesses but are driving around the 10yo car because it still works. If you saw them in the grocery store you wouldn't be able to pick them out because they're buying the same stuff you're buying. If you told them, "Disney is selling $50 waffles with a character breakfast!," they'd tell you, "No way am I paying $50 for waffles!"
The people I've known who best fit the mold of what most folks think of as "wealthy" have been those who are more geared towards impressing you with buying $50 waffles with a character breakfast and driving the latest model, coolest car. The problem is, it's all fiction. Of those I've known to "don't care" about how much they spend it's because it's all debt to them. It's not their money. It doesn't even feel like real money to them. They just keep borrowing and putting more and more on the card... and they're the ones who buy the stupid stuff. The problem is that eventually their debt will be called and they'll have to repay.
I just don't think you can sell $50 waffles long term (I know $50 waffles is being a bit facetious), because, at the end of the day, it's just a stupid waffle. It's like saying Bill Gates doesn't care what he spends so he'll buy a $1000 gallon of milk from you. He won't, or otherwise we'd all be selling $1000 gallons of milk to him.
KikoKea
Well-Known Member
@Biff215 and @Brad Bishop - well said and very true. I know people who really should be saving their $$, yet they'll spend without any thought as to how they are going to pay off their credit card since being in debt is just their way of life.
prberk
Well-Known Member
But the real question is, did you get run over by Greg or Alice as they ran through the park with that tube to get the plans to Mike in time?
(OK, I had to. I know only those of us of a certain age will understand... but we know who we are. And we also remember that in that episode we get to see a character with their head off while "onstage," and thus know it is clearly not Disney.
)Seriously, though, we have its sister park, Kings Dominion, here; and while I noticed last summer that is very clean and friendly, they have become clearly less interested in theme than they ever were, before or during Paramount's ownership. Not only are the newer rollercoasters crazy high and well over the tree line (or sightlines from other areas), but they have also started putting a whole lot more off-the-shelf carnival rides in. Not as interested in those.
But on the topic of prices, I found that they were still theme park prices, but not really as expensive as WDW or even Busch Gardens, primarily, though, because they did not have many real sit-down restaurants. And they do offer a nice meal plan option online. Also they seem to offer a lot of group discounts. Food still starts at amusement park prices, but not crazy like the buffets as WDW.
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
Exactly so and confirmed by a few actuaries I spoke with on the subject. Marie
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
I think that except for Disney and Universal, the other major chains have given up on theme. Six Flags at one time had a theme with multiple themed areas. I don't think anyone notices it any longer nor do they really push it. Some Six Flags still have left-over themed areas but they're really an afterthought at this point.
Except for Disney and Universal, the other parks are mainly about tall roller coaster and thrill rides, now. One unfortunate thing Six Flags does is to introduce the same ride at multiple parks over a season or two. That's good in the sense that you're local Six Flags will have the cool new ride, but it doesn't give you any inclination to go visit other Six Flags parks.
Except for Disney and Universal, the other parks are mainly about tall roller coaster and thrill rides, now. One unfortunate thing Six Flags does is to introduce the same ride at multiple parks over a season or two. That's good in the sense that you're local Six Flags will have the cool new ride, but it doesn't give you any inclination to go visit other Six Flags parks.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
But the real question is, did you get run over by Greg or Alice as they ran through the park with that tube to get the plans to Mike in time?
(OK, I had to. I know only those of us of a certain age will understand... but we know who we are. And we also remember that in that episode we get to see a character with their head off while "onstage," and thus know it is clearly not Disney.
View attachment 148393
View attachment 148394
Seriously, though, we have its sister park, Kings Dominion, here; and while I noticed last summer that is very clean and friendly, they have become clearly less interested in theme than they ever were, before or during Paramount's ownership. Not only are the newer rollercoasters crazy high and well over the tree line (or sightlines from other areas), but they have also started putting a whole lot more off-the-shelf carnival rides in. Not as interested in those.
But on the topic of prices, I found that they were still theme park prices, but not really as expensive as WDW or even Busch Gardens, primarily, though, because they did not have many real sit-down restaurants. And they do offer a nice meal plan option online. Also they seem to offer a lot of group discounts. Food still starts at amusement park prices, but not crazy like the buffets as WDW.
LOL. Some of the Bradys recently visited KI for an anniversary of that episode.
We just took a very large group of kids to the park this weekend for a birthday party. It cost us $82 to feed a group of nine. We got two large pizzas and drinks for everybody plus we had a discount as gold pass holders. Here was the rub. We had dinner at 6:00. At 7:00 I got a message from the KI app telling me that after 7:00, you could get 1 large pizza, 4 drinks and a salad for $29.99. With the Gold Pass discount, I'd have saved about $25 plus had salad to boot. Oh well.
Here's my main point when comparing Disney prices with KI. For the cost of a single day at the Magic Kingdom, I can renew my season pass. It's good for 6 months, covers parking, admission to the main park and the water park, gives dicsounts on just about all in park purchases and comes with perks like early admission, ride nights and preview nights. No, it's not a Disney park and as you say Cedar Fair goes for clean amusement park over theme park, but for the price it's such an amazing steal that I don't mind paying outrageous food prices every now and again. I'm happy to support the park.
prberk
Well-Known Member
Add Busch Gardens Williamsburg to that list of themed parks. They still do a good job of keeping the old Europe theme, even though they don't call it "The Old Country" anymore. It is beautiful park and still well-themed. Never been to the BG in Tampa, though.
prberk
Well-Known Member
Did you know that Barry Williams ("Greg Brady") said that they were all petrified on that rollercoaster ride pictured above, not just for the ride, but because in the first test-run of the coaster with the huge TV camera mounted on it (but no riders), the car had come back to the station without the camera. They "fixed" the problem and mounted it again. But when they Bradys finally rode, they were all waiting for the camera to fly off and hit them in the head!
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Yeah, the season passes for Kings Dominion (Richmond) and Busch Gardens Williamsburg are both in the neighborhood of one day at MK and offer free parking and multiple discounts. Sigh.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
I saw that on a Pop-Up video
I know all this talk of regional parks like Cedar Fair may seem off topic to some. But it speaks to the argument that just because I can afford Disney prices doesn't mean I feel good about paying them. If I paid what Disney is asking for food these days, I would feel like I had been cheated. Whereas I don't mind dropping some cash at a park like Kings Island because overall it is still a comparative bargain.
wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
Six Flags Great Adventure is within an hour or so from my house. Season passes including parking are $119.99 for a single adult Season pass as per the website today. Factor in that I wouldn't have to pay for airfare, hotels, or much in the way of dining out if I choose to go there. Disney used to be something very different from your average theme park experience which is why I consistently went there. Some things are changing so much that people are starting to re-think the options and that isn't a good thing. Affordability is a question for some but even for others it is the VALUE of what they are paying for that is in question. People have to believe that what they are getting for their money is a value, not necessarily a bargain. If enough people, regardless of if they can afford it or not, start to believe that Disney's offerings are no longer the value they once were, that is going to be an issue and will reflect across the board. Marie
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
I just renewed my Six Flags pass today. You used to only get a deal if you were buying 4 or more (usually $65-70 ea). If you were buying just one it was always $150-160.. So I'd try to get others in on the deal and it seems as though they finally figured out that there are single people who don't want to have to deal with trying to get 3 others to join them. So I renewed (≈$55 w/tax). It's not the best park in the world but it's not a bad deal, either, and they've done a lot to fix the issues of 15 years ago (it's basically fixed).
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
Yep - I forgot about BGW. It's a great park! Kind of woodsy. Another that comes up for themed-ish (like rustic themed) is Dollywood.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
What breakfast item is worth $50?
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
It's not $50 waffles. It came from someone saying that they ate at one of the character breakfasts restaurants and had limp bacon, runny eggs, and some waffles and paid $50-60 for it. So I took that and ran with it as "expensive breakfast" = "$50 waffles" in a later post.
You're not buying $50 waffles but you're paying a pretty high price for something like Golden Corral (much higher cost and lower quality than a GC breakfast).
You're not buying $50 waffles but you're paying a pretty high price for something like Golden Corral (much higher cost and lower quality than a GC breakfast).
Wdw62114
Well-Known Member
Thats why I asked my question. Posters on this thread making it appear that $50 only gets you waffles and nothing else