Three Possible Side Effects of Ticket Price Change

Main Street Jim;2458703 wrote: Uhhh...*no*.

1955 Opening-day adult ticket prices at Disneyland were $1.00 for park admission, plus anywhere from $.10 to $.35 for individual ride/attraction tickets. For a family of four, to enter the park, would be $4.00, plus, let's say 40 ride tickets at $.35 ("E" ticket rides?) each (10 for each family member), comes to $18.00 in 1955 U.S. dollars. Accounting for inflation, in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's inflation calculator, that same $18.00 would be $158.91 in 2015 - for four adult-priced tickets. At Walt Disney World, in 1971, the cost of admission for one adult was $3.50, and $4.50 for a 7-adventure ticket book - $8.00 total for one adult plus ride tickets, so, $32.00 for a family of four (not including meals/parking). In 2015, that number would be $186.94 - less than $200.00 for a family of four in the "same" U.S. dollars accounting for inflation. The $18.00 it cost for a family of four to enter Disneyland and buy ride tickets would have cost $27.20 in 1971, so there's not nearly as much disparity there (only about a $5.00 difference). The $109.00 it cost to enter the Magic Kingdom today at Walt Disney World would have cost $18.66 in 1971 (opening day) instead of $8.00 - it would *still* be cheaper in 1971 dollars by more than ten dollars per person, even having to buy your ride tickets.

Thanks Jim. 😉

I wonder if it would dampen the crowds a bit? (if they were to implement it).

Could be, but I think it is just another way to make more money without offering anything new.

I get the "it is a business" logic, but when Iger is part of a group promoting more guest workers visas under the premises of the need for more skilled workers only to turn around and fire the WDW IT staff, please understand the sole purpose of the Disney Corp is to extract as much money from guests for the least amount of cost.

I know many have read some of the comments made by Disney execs on conference calls and industry meetings know this is true.

No I am not saying don't go to the Disney Parks; what I am saying is use every resource available to be prepared, to plan as much or as little as you want and enjoy your trip. Just be prepared.

mrte62;2458775 wrote:

Could be, but I think it is just another way to make more money without offering anything new.

THIS!

$20.00 more per day for what? Parks that close early for parties where you have to buy another ticket to stay..Construction scrims everywhere..Rides down that you had to plan months in advance to ride?
I remember awhile back Disney Freak warned us to expect it to get a lot worse before it gets better. I can see he had it right. Even now the news for something new is a stage show. While I am sure it will be great. It pales in comparison to anything that Universal has announced. :(

DonaldDuck1117;2458560 wrote: Actually the "horrible backlash" regarding MM+ and FP+ was a small, but very loud, group. The vast majority of visitors have given it positive reviews.

I do not believe this statement is true. Everyone I know personally, that goes to Disney every year dislikes the new FP+ system. Even viewing our INTERCOT members comments, a large portion of people dislike the FP+ system.

And I would like to know where the information that only 2% of people dislike the FP+ came from....where can I look up those statistics.

NJGIRL;2458973 wrote: I do not believe this statement is true. Everyone I know personally, that goes to Disney every year dislikes the new FP+ system. Even viewing our INTERCOT members comments, a large portion of people dislike the FP+ system.

And I would like to know where the information that only 2% of people dislike the FP+ came from....where can I look up those statistics.

Well, you have to remember that the average Joe vacationer doesn't know what else there was. To them, not standing in the standby line is a great idea. It's an even better idea when it is free.

Cinderelley;2458979 wrote: Well, you have to remember that the average Joe vacationer doesn't know what else there was. To them, not standing in the standby line is a great idea. It's an even better idea when it is free.

Well I would like to know where I can find all of these positive reviews, because for the most part I have not read many (on INTERCOT or any other site) or talked to any one that has liked the new FP+.

Today is my first day back after spending 10 days at Disney, and for the first time I was at Disney during a holiday weekend (Memorial Day).

After being able to compare MK over Memorial Day to MK during the week, I spent a lot of time thinking to myself that Disney has got to do something to taper down these excessive crowds during peak times. One night while exiting MK over the holiday weekend I was genuinely scared that a stampede could break out so easily and that CMs would have no way to stop it, it was just that tense.

While I don't like what I have read so far about this ticket pricing, Disney has got to do something, and not much works better to control public behavior than cash.

NJGIRL;2458981 wrote: Well I would like to know where I can find all of these positive reviews, because for the most part I have not read many (on INTERCOT or any other site) or talked to any one that has liked the new FP+.

This is purely anecdotal but I have several friends with small children who are not pass holders that really like the FP+ system. These are people who tend to buy a 3 or 4 day pass once every year or so. They like having a basic plan in place.

They are not people who go every year. They are not people who knew who to maximize the old system. They are not people who tend to visit a site like INTERCOT or really any other site to discuss Disney or look for Disney tips. I have no idea if they are the majority or the minority.

However it is a general rule that people who are unhappy with something are more likely to complain than people who are neutral or happy. I work for a major corporation and we have a formal system to survey and get responses from those who are happy with us. If you went by the complaints we get or some of the comments on our Facebook wall, you might think there is more negative than positive.

Again I want to be clear that I am not saying "most" people are happy with FP+. I'm just saying getting a true data is not very easy.

NJGIRL;2458981 wrote: Well I would like to know where I can find all of these positive reviews, because for the most part I have not read many (on INTERCOT or any other site) or talked to any one that has liked the new FP+.

I have had 3 different people I know take their families to Walt Disney World in the last year and all came back loving FP+. It allowed them to ride "all the big rides" (direct quote from one woman) while they were there even though it was crowded. All 3 of these families go about every 3 or 5 years. They aren't a part of Disney fan sites, though they all like Disney. 2 of them stayed offsite (Waldorf Astoria and Vistana), so they only could book FP+ at 30 days.

Goofy4TheWorld;2458987 wrote: Today is my first day back after spending 10 days at Disney, and for the first time I was at Disney during a holiday weekend (Memorial Day).

After being able to compare MK over Memorial Day to MK during the week, I spent a lot of time thinking to myself that Disney has got to do something to taper down these excessive crowds during peak times. One night while exiting MK over the holiday weekend I was genuinely scared that a stampede could break out so easily and that CMs would have no way to stop it, it was just that tense.

While I don't like what I have read so far about this ticket pricing, Disney has got to do something, and not much works better to control public behavior than cash.

I think that last part is spot on. I really think they are looking to institute this as a way of controlling crowds, much like what Natalie said has been done at Disneyland. Of course, if it increases profits, they won't complain about that ;) .

Laugh at me. I'm wondering why they could not control the crowds by simply letting fewer people into the parks? Assuming they actually care about their ability to manage the crowds in the parks.

Tekneek;2459008 wrote: Laugh at me. I'm wondering why they could not control the crowds by simply letting fewer people into the parks? Assuming they actually care about their ability to manage the crowds in the parks.

Exactly, this is all about squeezing more money out of people. I am sure that the cheapest ticket will not be any less than the cost of a ticket now....and with each tier the price will go up. And if they were really worried about crowds they would stop building hotels and build more attractions.

I am not disputing that some people like FP+. What I am disputing is that 98% of the people like FP+........I would like to know where that percentage came from....I am guessing the "air".

NJGIRL;2459015 wrote: I am not disputing that some people like FP+. What I am disputing is that 98% of the people like FP+........I would like to know where that percentage came from....I am guessing the "air".

You got the first letter right.

For anyone taking any of the surveys, you will notice how skewed they are towards positive replies. For me, any survey I take, my answer is always strongly agree or strongly disagree, or 1 or 10. It's never somewhere in the middle as the statistics used behind the scenes often weight any bit of positivity as a positive result.

Tekneek;2459008 wrote: Laugh at me. I'm wondering why they could not control the crowds by simply letting fewer people into the parks? Assuming they actually care about their ability to manage the crowds in the parks.

Because they went nuts building hotel rooms. in essence, they artificially created a demand (More guests) while not having the ability to create a supply (more attractions or another gate).

I also think it is funny that those who were saying most people love FP+ are now changing their tune. well, not the people who are disney regulars, just the people who are occasional guests (and don't know better)

Tekneek;2459008 wrote: Laugh at me. I'm wondering why they could not control the crowds by simply letting fewer people into the parks? Assuming they actually care about their ability to manage the crowds in the parks.

Because it simply makes Disney look bad if they lower their maximum attendance and then have to turn people away when it is full. It looks better if people simply CHOOSE to avoid the higher cost days, because it was THEIR choice, they were not turned away by Disney.

To borrow from the podcast, "Sorry folks, park's closed. The moose out front shoulda told ya!" Disney doesn't want to be "that guy."

It's basic economics. Let's imagine you are a chef/restaurant owner and you can prepare and serve 100 high-quality meals per day at $10 per meal ($1,000 revenue). In one week, that's a maximum of $7,000 if you sell every meal, every day. Your food and service are great and your diner is very popular, especially on weekends. But your food is cooked in big batches (like BBQ), and what you don't sell each day, you have to give away or it's ruined (can't save it to sell another day).

On weekend days, you have enough customers that you can sell out the 100 meals and still have to turn away many customers on Saturdays and Sundays. Let's assume you choose not to increase the supply of meals because you can only cook so much food per day and you want to personally insure your quality standards (fixed supply).

But on weekdays you only have an average of 75 customers ($750 per day). That means your weekly revenue is only $5,750 because you can't sell 100 meals per day on weekdays due to the lower demand on those days.

What to do? First, you increase the price on weekends to $15.00 per meal resulting in $1,500 on those days. Yeah, you'll chase some customers away because of the higher price, but because of the high demand on weekends, you can still sell out on those days. Result: $3,000 revenue on weekends.

Then, on weekdays, you reduce the price to $8.50 per meal. This entices some of the weekend customers who refused to pay the higher price to dine on a weekday instead, and draws in some completely new customers who were already averse to paying $10.00 per meal. Result: now you can sell 100 meals on each weekday also, resulting in $850 revenue per day. Total weekly revenue under new pricing plan: $7,250. An increase of $1,500 per week with no added work. Now you sell out each day, and you don't have to turn away as many customers (increased goodwill). You also haven't had to invest any capital in another location or equipment to increase sales.

Sure, this example is an oversimplification, but demand is always sensitive to price. Savvy businesses can spread out demand and increase overall revenue at the same time with pricing adjustments. Multiply by many millions and you can see what Disney has to gain by doing the same thing.