You're going to pay to ride.

[Nottamus]

5-10 days, 5-10 years - I really don’t think i will ever purchase

Just did two weeks in November and never purchased or needed to.

I do agree that in 5-10 years, most will pay because they don’t know any different.

 

[KikoKea]

When I heard of the new LL and Genie plan to have paid entrance to rides, my first question was about Disney manipulating crowds/lines to encourage people to buy a LL pass. We've seen how they manipulate wait times already- less staff, fewer ride vehicles, etc. They won't pass up a way to bring in more $$.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I bet everyone who had to pay use these were saying the same thing...

…ummm no…cause…

You're already paying to ride. There is a hefty admission price just to walk into any and all of the Disney parks.

…yes…

I bet they didn't pay $150 to walk through the gates.

…and yes

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Notice the ones saying “I never needed it…” or “I’ll never pay…”are the ones who provide evidence they’re there way too much??

…the OP (I believe) has the concept that in the future they may dump the charade that the admission pays for the rides (what an archaic, intelligent consumer concept) and make paying for rides mandatory and tiered.

nothing stopping them…in reality.

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

They will move to charge for everything that was once free…transportation, access to shopping, pools, anything…under the guise of their fiduciary duty to shareholders. They will do this until they reach the tipping point where they lose money…then they will say
“We’ve listened to our guests concerns”…blah blah blah…this is the Chapek regime and the world we live in now.

 

[Pepper's Ghost]

I completely agree with the OP, but does Disney really expect people to pay $100-$200 a day per person to walk around the park without rides? Wth is the point? I love the atmosphere, but not at that price. Can't they just jack up the price, get rid of the ILL, and be done with it?

So this means that riding rides multiple times is gone. Now THAT sucks. I used to love finding a short line way back when and riding it 2 or 3 times.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I completely agree with the OP, but does Disney really expect people to pay $100-$200 a day per person to walk around the park without rides? Wth is the point? I love the atmosphere, but not at that price. Can't they just jack up the price, get rid of the ILL, and be done with it?

So this means that riding rides multiple times is gone. Now THAT sucks. I used to love finding a short line way back when and riding it 2 or 3 times.

The "point" is to pull maximum revenue/profit out of the parks division for short term stock gain...

That has been the point of the entire BOB era...each step moving towards a single goal.

Only the customers will stop it...the management won't.

 

[Brad Bishop]

The "point" is to pull maximum revenue/profit out of the parks division for short term stock gain...

That has been the point of the entire BOB era...each step moving towards a single goal.

Only the customers will stop it...the management won't.

This is exactly it.

They also understand political/PR spin and will answer questions like, "do they honestly expect people to pay the entrance price plus the LL price???"

The answer will be: "We offer many, varied magical experiences and attractions and guests can certainly wait in the standby lines for them free of charge! We also offer premium services for the guests who'd prefer to use our state-of-the-art virtual queuing which allows them to experience more relaxed, magical moments with their family."

SEE! They're looking out for you and care.

The clear motivation is to get both standby times and LL receipts, up as much as possible.

Imagine how giddy Bob would be at $20/head for LL and 10 people in Standby representing a 2+hr wait. Imagine the speech he'd have to give the stockholders. Imagine his bonus.

 

[Heppenheimer]

So, it will be like Knoebels? That is, if Knoebels also charged admission to enter.

 

[drizgirl]

When I heard of the new LL and Genie plan to have paid entrance to rides, my first question was about Disney manipulating crowds/lines to encourage people to buy a LL pass. We've seen how they manipulate wait times already- less staff, fewer ride vehicles, etc. They won't pass up a way to bring in more $$.

You really think Disney would do that?

 

[HauntedPirate]

The answer will be: "We offer many, varied magical experiences and attractions and guests can certainly wait in the standby lines for them free of charge! We also offer premium services for the guests who'd prefer to use our state-of-the-art virtual queuing which allows them to experience more relaxed, magical moments with their family."

I read that and threw up a little in my mouth. Pure PR garbage. It is so what Disney would/will say these days...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So, it will be like Knoebels? That is, if Knoebels also charged admission to enter.

A ride all day for 2022 is $43.00

I know you’re not doing it…but people round here are gonna hate me (more than usual)…if we start lap for Disney and promoting that a $125 concrete fee and $18 per ride is “reasonable”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I read that and threw up a little in my mouth. Pure PR garbage. It is so what Disney would/will say these days...

…I had little doubt

 

[Brad Bishop]

Also interesting in how they do these things:

It's the whole, "you can't boil a frog, but you can put a frog in water and slowly turn up the temperature."
(it's actually a myth but a well known saying which gets the point across)

If you were to come in from the outside, today, and see the cost of going to a Disney park you'd likely say, "Huh. I think I'll go somewhere else cheaper, or which gives me a greater value, even if I'm spending the same."

Disney, wisely, slowly introduces these bits, one by one, and, yes, while people complain, they eventually get pushed to the back of their head and semi-forgotten. If they implemented all of these ideas all at once people might very well say, "Nope. Done." Doing it little by little gets them accustomed to the increases in price and reductions in service.

Worse, because of the nostalgia factor (really, love for both Disney and the parks - a lot of fond memories there for all of us) you end up with an investment / kind of captured by it to where you don't want to give it up. Sort of like having a bad girlfriend, whom you love, who keeps abusing you, costing you money, etc. and you keep making excuses for her like, "You just don't know her. Sure, she did this but she'd never do THAT!" (until she does THAT and then you just make a new excuse for her).

At some point you come to realize, "I'm just being a chump." That point is different for all of us. Again, looking from the outside of that relationship you'd easily say, "Heck if I'd put up with that!" Once inside, however, it's amazing what you actually will put up with, because you're invested. At the end of the day, however, it's your own fault for going back to that girl.

I think that's a pretty good analogy but, at the same time, I think people will keep doing what they've been doing:
1) Grumble
2) Try to work around it
3) Just accept it
4) Defend it (which is the amazing part)
5) Repeat

 

[castlecake2.0]

When I heard of the new LL and Genie plan to have paid entrance to rides, my first question was about Disney manipulating crowds/lines to encourage people to buy a LL pass. We've seen how they manipulate wait times already- less staff, fewer ride vehicles, etc. They won't pass up a way to bring in more $$.

Most attractions don’t have a way of operating with fewer ride vehicles even if they wanted to, as such also can’t really fluctuate too much in the minimum of cast required to operate the attraction. Usually the wait times are only adjusted to try to guide people to a different attraction to spread crowds, they aren’t physically trying to make the attraction less efficient.

 

[networkpro]

Notice the ones saying “I never needed it…” or “I’ll never pay…”are the ones who provide evidence they’re there way too much??

So what is your threshold for going to WDW too much ? Some might say more than 3 or 4 times over a lifetime.

 

[ShookieJones]

This is a fun place to speculate what may occur in the future, and although the OPs view of the future is not impossible, it's also not very probable. We're living in unprecedented times (at least for our generation), and the way companies have had to shift and adapt to make ends meet is a wild card that needs to be part of the discussion.

I am not defending what's happening by any stretch of the imagination, but honestly regardless of how many "rubes" and "pixy dusters" we claim are out there, there is a breaking point. Honestly I think we're close.

For as much amazing price gouging that Chappie and crew are coming up with, I am not convinced it's sustainable. It think some of it was initially necessary to get WDW 'back on it's feet' after taking the pandemic hit, but again with the world and the World starting to slowly come back to some extent the ability to take advantage of that situation is coming to a close.

Based on the conversations we're having here I think we're seeing more and more people who are either not going, or are going and staying offsite, or are NOT paying for Genie Plus or NOT making ILL purchases.

The over-priced Star Cruiser although not officially launched is looking to be exactly that, over-priced and is looking like it may be a huge disappointment.

I think Universal's upcoming 3rd (4th?) gate is going to be another factor in combating Chapmaster's plans for world domination as well.

Again I enjoy debating everyone's 'crystal ball' vision of the future, so we should continue to have it, for me? I really think the wheels are going to be coming off the bus on this particular Chappie money grabbing road-trip.

Then again I am often accused of being a bit too optimistic.

 

[LaughingGravy]

So, it will be like Knoebels? That is, if Knoebels also charged admission to enter.

LOVE Knoebels!!!!!!!!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So what is your threshold for going to WDW too much ? Some might say more than 3 or 4 times over a lifetime.

Two weeks at a clip…4 or more times a year…every second they can divert from BVL to get there…

don’t get me wrong…I’m in the same glass house…but I know my perceptions are skewed and I won’t say “I never need it”…because everything had been ridden 500 times and I’m
There in off peak times often enough.

you can’t really say “it’s not needed” when your experience allows you “take it or leave it”. That’s where a lot of us are at.

there is too much…boards are filled with them.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think that's a pretty good analogy but, at the same time, I think people will keep doing what they've been doing:
1) Grumble
2) Try to work around it
3) Just accept it
4) Defend it (which is the amazing part)
5) Repeat