Disney Parks Adopt Seasonal Pricing on 1-Day Ticket

wjdoc;2479804 wrote: Try AAA if you had terrible timing like I did and needed to get tickets yesterday or today. When I went to get tickets at the local Disney store yesterday and today, their system is still not up and running. But when I went to AAA, they didn't know anything about the prices changing. Saved a ton over what the Disney parks website was quoting me under the new system. I'm sure this is very short lived until Disney can get their system updated, but it worked today.

I just bought my 7 day park hoppers from "The Official Ticket Center" sponsor and saved almost 240.00 total over purchasing directly from Disney. Disney nickle and dimes you and it starts to add up, but we still always end up going back anyways.

Been following this thread as well as the one started by DisneyFreak on the ongoing cuts..... just one guys observation:

My family grew up seeing the East Coast via camping. Our first trip to WDW in 1973, the cost per night at Fort Wilderness was $12.50 per night. My father almost cancelled the trip because the most expensive place we had ever stayed was $6 per night for a full hook up site. My mom worked her magic and away we went with Magic Key Card in hand. He always said that our week at FW was the best camping experience we had ever had - and we went back two more times. The higher price was okay - we had gotten true value for the money.

Fast forward to the present. My DW and I are blessed with good careers and were able to take our four kids and splurge when we went. Again, we always found value for the extra money we spent. We have enjoyed going to the Food & Wine Festival every other year and pretty much enjoying our week and the special events we purchased. Once again we found value for the extra cost.

That changed with our 2014 October trip to run the Tower of Terror 10 Miler. Something was noticeably different. FP+ was too much of hassle. Lines were in places that we had never seen them before. Everything seemed so crowded. Prices for food and special events seemed to have skyrocketed. MNSSHP was so oversold that it was a waste of money. I listen to the Disney earnings calls. Getting as much money out of every guest is the goal. What has been done to the IT workers is appalling.

Yea, I know "Disney is a business." But those of us who don't agree with their business model, can be disappointed and vocal about it. Sorry, but IMHO, Disney theme park management is currently not currently engaged in bet practices.....

I have posted before that I am one of those who appreciates people like DisneyFreak .... I want to know the good, the bad and the ugly.... it is my money and I want as much information as possible ... do we go to WDW and if we do go what can we expect?

Will we go back? Most likely. As often? Probably not. And from some people on the boards and those I know, that seems to be a growing trend.

It is a misconception that an un-favorable opinion of the way Disney operates means you feel entitled to a luxury vacation.

Tekneek;2480227 wrote: It is a misconception that an un-favorable opinion of the way Disney operates means you feel entitled to a luxury vacation.

I do feel entitled to value for my hard earned money....as should everyone. It has become impossible to justify the expense not because I'm entitled to the vacation, but because that value has slipped too much, in my opinion. Its difficult to see how people can argue that point, but they try....

I have kids in private school. These are kids whose parents (most of them) have money to put them in private school (some are on scholarship). The school is K-8th grade, so every year the 8th graders are the "graduates" and take an end-of-the-year trip to Orlando. A parent takes on the planning. This year I contacted the parent in charge to offer help planning if they were going to Disney (the kids are always given the choice between Disney and Universal). Last year the kids chose Universal, and I was happy, because my son was in 8th grade and we've NEVER gone there, but he's always wanted to. I have no desire, really. Anyhow, the mom told me that she'd called group ticket sales at Disney (before price increases) and they couldn't get the tickets for the same price as Universal. They usually go for 4 days and stay in rental homes, eating breakfast and dinner there, so all she's comparing is 4-day tix at both parks. It made me sad, because from now on the kids will probably always choose Universal strictly for cost reasons because parents balk at the cost of this trip. On the upside, it's one less school group y'all have to put up with. ; )

Tekneek;2479912 wrote: I wonder how many people considering WDW are also comparing it to Aspen. I don't know any of those people.

Some people defend Disney at all costs. Even if the defense is silly.

A cool siggy so I can be different from everyone on the net

......................RunDMV

Well, like others have pointed out, no one can tell you whether you're getting value for your money or not. We have never been disappointed with a WDW vacation or felt like our money wasn't well spent there. For us, it's been a guaranteed good time and we always walk away with great memories.

The people I really feel for are the first timers. They don't know if it will be worth the money until they try it. We run into the same dilemma with Universal. We would love to just try it for a day, but when I look at one day prices, I balk. I end up asking myself, am I sure we're going to have a good time? No one wants to part with that money and have a ****** day. It's a gamble. So there have got to be people looking the same way at a day in the MK.

I think the comparisons to ski resorts and golfing are valid if you really are taking those vacations. We all vacation differently and we have to weigh the costs of one trip over another. There isn't really an apples to apples comparison to Disney.

brad817;2479709 wrote: Exactly. I guess I understand some frustration and knee jerk reactions, but quite frankly Disney should raise prices more. It's supply and demand. Yes, they have raised prices at a MUCH higher rate than inflation. They also continue to have MUCH higher attendance than in the past. The prices are well in line with what the market will bear.

The problem with this is that it's a short term view point. Long term, it hurts their reputation and makes them look greedy. Yes this will help them gain profits in a short time frame, but it makes me wonder how this will effect return trips in the future. Parks and Resorts have seen down times before, usually because of a bad economy, so people don't always fork over money to head to WDW. At some point they will stop going, and what kind of damage will it do?

ChipNDale79;2480540 wrote: The problem with this is that it's a short term view point. Long term, it hurts their reputation and makes them look greedy. Yes this will help them gain profits in a short time frame, but it makes me wonder how this will effect return trips in the future. Parks and Resorts have seen down times before, usually because of a bad economy, so people don't always fork over money to head to WDW. At some point they will stop going, and what kind of damage will it do?

That is because CEOs are short term. Stay a few years, maximize profits without concern for the long term. leave with a pocket full of gold. rinse and repeat.

RunDMV;2480561 wrote: That is because CEOs are short term. Stay a few years, maximize profits without concern for the long term. leave with a pocket full of gold. rinse and repeat.

Yup, it's what Wall Street demands these days.

RunDMV;2480408 wrote: Some people defend Disney at all costs. Even if the defense is silly.

A cool siggy so I can be different from everyone on the net

......................RunDMV

And some people are continually negative and never have one good thing to say at all costs, even when it's silly. Works both ways.

TheVBs;2480481 wrote: Well, like others have pointed out, no one can tell you whether you're getting value for your money or not. We have never been disappointed with a WDW vacation or felt like our money wasn't well spent there. For us, it's been a guaranteed good time and we always walk away with great memories.

The people I really feel for are the first timers. They don't know if it will be worth the money until they try it. We run into the same dilemma with Universal. We would love to just try it for a day, but when I look at one day prices, I balk. I end up asking myself, am I sure we're going to have a good time? No one wants to part with that money and have a ****** day. It's a gamble. So there have got to be people looking the same way at a day in the MK.

I think the comparisons to ski resorts and golfing are valid if you really are taking those vacations. We all vacation differently and we have to weigh the costs of one trip over another. There isn't really an apples to apples comparison to Disney.

Yes this. And lets be honest, whether we agree or like it or not, there are always going to be people and/or times where they can't afford vacations period.
I just started staying home again one month ago because of my oldest son and everything that is going on medically. Made more sense money wise then taking lots of days off, being in danger of losing my job all the time, etc.
Can we afford for me to be home? Yes! Does that mean we can continue to the live the same lifestyle? No.
We've made sacrifies which I am fine with because my son comes first.
One of those is Disney. I let my boys AP passes expire and did not renew them. I've still got mine but not sure I'll renew at expiration time.
So the reality is that currently we can't afford Disney, or I should say. It is not a prudent choice and would be a waste of resources right now. Many are in my shoes. Many people never get to do things like that.
I've never been able to afford to go overseas and visit my mother and step father. It's not in our budget. It's just life. There will always be things that people can't afford and that's OK. I mean sure I wish it wasn't that way, but it's the way of the world, the way of business.
Eventually if they see crowds are getting really low years from now, maybe they will lower prices. But truly, it IS price and demand.

That said, when we were going often, like once or twice a month [and I mean for the last 15 years], I have always gotten my money's worth. Just a personal view of value to dollar.

I hope disney follows these threads. As a frequent visitor they are pricing me right towards another vacation. Universal is getting very competitive and they are getting better with the attractions. We all know disney is better in most areas but is it worth the price gouging very year. Busch garden offers packages with universal and they have not raised the prices on them as far as I know, instead they made it more attractive to skip disney. I have also visited there Williamsburg location and can say that they are less than half the price and my kids enjoyed it. Again no themes like disney but lately the only theme they seem to care about is how to open our wallets more and spin it off as beneficial to their patrons. Spread out the visitation, yeah right so when that happens they will raise the prices in the off season as well. They will tell it is because it is getting to crowded for our patrons again and off season will be priced out. Follow the bouncing ball of corporate head spinning. Sorry just how i feel and i am sure many others do as well.