Three Possible Side Effects of Ticket Price Change

You also need to factor in that less people paying more also means less people to tend to. So there's a savings on less parking attendants, less maintenance required, less housekeeping needed, less kitchen staff, less water usage, etc. With the volumes that Disney deals with, little things add up quickly.

I used to do time and motion studies at my job. Saving 5 seconds per widget seems like nothing, but when you're making 200 widgets a day, and you have 200 people making them. 5 seconds make a pretty large impact.

I just am having a hard time seeing how this is crowd control of any sort. I read on Intercot somewhere, that the capacity for MNNSHP has been increased and the prices have gone up every year. I can tell you that October 9th of last year was sold out and it was quite crowded all night. So crowded, that my family will probably never do it again - simply not worth the hard ticket price.

It appears that Disney is being as brazen as the market will allow, with prices going up as quickly as possible for as long as possible. Will there be a point where it stops and their creative energy will not be so focused on new, creative and expensive ways to have us part with our money? In the short run, doesn't seem like Disney will have to.

IMHO no longer is it, "If you build it, they will come", but rather, "If you market it, package it and raise prices, while cutting back, they will come."

I get the tiered pricing, I understand why they do it. Before we had kids we used to go in the "off times", and I would love to pay less than peak. The problem is, you aren't going to be paying less, its just a flat out massive increase in prices for the majority of people.

I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old, we are about to hit our prime disney years with them, but if this happens, sorry kids, we won't be visiting WDW.

In fact, my wife went so far this morning as to say "no more disney movies or toys in our house" if this happens.

Our boys watch mainly Disney Jr and the majority of their toys are Disney toys. I'm just flat out tired of the Iger money grap, Bob Iger has treated his customers at WDW like complete **** and continues to dive deeper and deeper into their pockets.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Disney is taking the lazy way out with WDW. Increase prices and shuttering attractions. The lack of imagination for WDW is embarrassing.

Enough is enough.

mrte62;2459084 wrote: I just am having a hard time seeing how this is crowd control of any sort. I read on Intercot somewhere, that the capacity for MNNSHP has been increased and the prices have gone up every year. I can tell you that October 9th of last year was sold out and it was quite crowded all night. So crowded, that my family will probably never do it again - simply not worth the hard ticket price.

It appears that Disney is being as brazen as the market will allow, with prices going up as quickly as possible for as long as possible. Will there be a point where it stops and their creative energy will not be so focused on new, creative and expensive ways to have us part with our money? In the short run, doesn't seem like Disney will have to.

IMHO no longer is it, "If you build it, they will come", but rather, "If you market it, package it and raise prices, while cutting back, they will come."

This confirms to me that Iger only looks at WDW in the short term, he's not looking at how this will all play out in the long term.

He's all about grabbing money, be with how much it off his customer base.

Ok. Wow. I've peeked at and backed away from this subject a couple of times, because I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I kind of get what they would be trying to do with pricing here. And I kind of get that it may help lower crowds during prime times. But, if it doesn't, then people are paying premium prices for the least premium experience, i.e. horribly crowded times. If they charge more for a certain time of year, I agree that they need to bite the bullet and close the parks at a lower attendance level. It's similar to the whole MNSSHP experience we had. It was fun, but the value was diminished because the party was oversold and some things were too crowded to take part in. Just a thought.

mrte62;2459084 wrote: I just am having a hard time seeing how this is crowd control of any sort. I read on Intercot somewhere, that the capacity for MNNSHP has been increased and the prices have gone up every year. I can tell you that October 9th of last year was sold out and it was quite crowded all night. So crowded, that my family will probably never do it again - simply not worth the hard ticket price.

This used to be my thinking for hard ticket events: because they let you in early, you can get up to eight hrs in the park for a reasonable amount of money. All rides are running and you get the special features from the event itself. Eight hours is longer than I sometimes spend in the park on a normal day. Granted, I'm a pass holder so I don't feel the need to spend from opening to closing there, but I know many would call eight hrs a good day. With the continual increase in hard ticket prices, this perceived value is diminishing. But people are still snatching up those tickets and joining the show (so to speak). So, yeah I think I agree, the crowd control theory may not be spot on.

TheVBs;2459149 wrote: Ok. Wow. I've peeked at and backed away from this subject a couple of times, because I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I kind of get what they would be trying to do with pricing here. And I kind of get that it may help lower crowds during prime times. But, if it doesn't, then people are paying premium prices for the least premium experience, i.e. horribly crowded times. If they charge more for a certain time of year, I agree that they need to bite the bullet and close the parks at a lower attendance level. It's similar to the whole MNSSHP experience we had. It was fun, but the value was diminished because the party was oversold and some things were too crowded to take part in. Just a thought.

They need to cap the number of people that come into the parks on busy days, period. I know there have been some times that I've been caught in a mass of people and literally couldn't move. At the time I couldn't help but think how dangerous it was and what could happen if an actually emergency broke out and people panicked. Disney needs to look at that because their liability would be HUGE in that case.

NewDVCowner;2459160 wrote: They need to cap the number of people that come into the parks on busy days, period. I know there have been some times that I've been caught in a mass of people and literally couldn't move. At the time I couldn't help but think how dangerous it was and what could happen if an actually emergency broke out and people panicked. Disney needs to look at that because their liability would be HUGE in that case.

Well, they do exactly that. On the busiest days, MK (the most popular park) has a park closure system that works in phases. Only they don't publicly release the numbers on how many guests trigger those phases. Guests think it's too many people in the parks, but everybody who doesn't get in complains just as loudly about being kept out as the folks who get in do about it being too crowded.

From a customer standpoint, its easy to say well, "they should limit the number of guests to only enough that the customers who get into the parks think is comfortable and convenient". But Disney (or any seller of goods or services) then also would have to endure the complaints of all those customers who are denied access. And why on earth would they (or any business) want to sell less tickets than they could? Sell-outs are the goal of any entertainment business. Fill it up, whether concert hall, sports arena or theme park. That's the owner/promoter's purpose. The easy thing for them to do when demand far outstrips supply, is simply to increase prices. That lowers the number of buyers, by the buyers' choice (not a closed gate), helps to match demand more closely to the supply) and increases revenue at the same time.

They'd much rather hear complaints about "the price is too high, I can't afford it" (while still selling every ticket they have) than hear the complaints like "My family saved for this vacation for a 5 years and we drove for five days cross country through the broiling heat of summer just to spend the 4th of July in the Magic Kingdom, but you wouldn't let us in because the park was too full, and it was the only vacation we'll every be able to take" and on and on.

It's a no-brainer for business owners, but really irritating to the customers wanting access at the lower price they used to pay.

NewDVCowner;2459160 wrote: They need to cap the number of people that come into the parks on busy days, period. I know there have been some times that I've been caught in a mass of people and literally couldn't move. At the time I couldn't help but think how dangerous it was and what could happen if an actually emergency broke out and people panicked. Disney needs to look at that because their liability would be HUGE in that case.

The theme parks close in attendance phases that are set by the Fire Marshal of Reedy Creek Improvement District, the "governing body" of Walt Disney World.

If more guests are moving into "indoor attractions and shows", that means "more room for guests on the streets", so more guests actually make it *into* the parks. If guests are NOT "moving indoors" (shopping and dining included), then the park may close due to attendance earlier than you would think.

As far as the Halloween and Christmas parties, "sold out" usually meant about 35,000 people in the park - which is a *good* summer crowd. I've talked to my CM friends when I first started hearing complaints of the "crowds" during the parties, and have been told that that number was upped to about 38-40,000. You also have to remember that during those parties, not all attractions/shows/dining is open during those times, so that's that much "less room" where guests can go to alleviate the percieved "crowdedness".

As for this new proposal on ticket pricing, the *cheapest* tickets would be what today's *current* pricing is - and go UP from there during weekends and peak times. Joonyer made a perfect analogy.

Honestly, since I have never bought a one day ticket, this won't bother me. Ticket prices go up every year anyway, so that's nothing new either. It's just part of going there. It's expensive and always has been. My parents went in 1973 and back then, it was considered expensive too.

BrerGnat;2459224 wrote: Honestly, since I have never bought a one day ticket, this won't bother me. Ticket prices go up every year anyway, so that's nothing new either. It's just part of going there. It's expensive and always has been. My parents went in 1973 and back then, it was considered expensive too.

Tourings Plans Len Testa wrote a blog the other day, i believe this is the one:

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/06/03/3-things-like-hate-disneys-tiered-ticket-price-proposal/

The increase on the multiple day tickets are interesting.

Note that there is a difference of $93 (an 88% price increase) from a 6 day to an 8 day ticket. Currently there is a $21 difference. I have a group of 10 going at the end of next month, we are planning on 6 days in the park, everyone but my family purchased the 6 day pass, my group purchased the 8 day pass for both the arrival and departure days.

We currently have a lunch planned at BOG for arrival day, and a character breakfast at hollywood and vine on departure date. We are spending money at both of those restaurants and not to mention anything else we purchase on those 2 days.

If Disney does move to this system, then I'll stick with the 6 day pass instead of the 8 day, therefore at least 2 meals in the parks and whatever else we spend in the parks on those days are out the window for them.

The thing I'm interested in finding out is the cost of the APs, if they stay somewhat the same, then this tells me that they are trying to push people towards the AP. We've done the math, and for us if we travel to Disney 2 years in a row, it saves money to purchase an AP instead of 2 weeks of 8 day park hoppers.

ChipNDale79;2459272 wrote:
We currently have a lunch planned at BOG for arrival day, and a character breakfast at hollywood and vine on departure date. We are spending money at both of those restaurants and not to mention anything else we purchase on those 2 days.

If Disney does move to this system, then I'll stick with the 6 day pass instead of the 8 day, therefore at least 2 meals in the parks and whatever else we spend in the parks on those days are out the window for them.

While they will lose out on what you would have spent in the parks, they won't lose out on the money spent on meals, provided you cancel your ADRs. Someone else will snatch up both of those ADRs within a few minutes of cancellation, especially BOG.

ChipNDale79;2459272 wrote:

Note that there is a difference of $93 (an 88% price increase) from a 6 day to an 8 day ticket. Currently there is a $21 difference. I have a group of 10 going at the end of next month, we are planning on 6 days in the park, everyone but my family purchased the 6 day pass, my group purchased the 8 day pass for both the arrival and departure days.

We currently have a lunch planned at BOG for arrival day, and a character breakfast at hollywood and vine on departure date. We are spending money at both of those restaurants and not to mention anything else we purchase on those 2 days.

If Disney does move to this system, then I'll stick with the 6 day pass instead of the 8 day, therefore at least 2 meals in the parks and whatever else we spend in the parks on those days are out the window for them.

But you already bought your tickets. This change won't happen overnight (if it even happens, which is not even a certainty yet...not even close to a certainty in fact). This won't affect your next trip at all.

ChipNDale79;2459272 wrote: Tourings Plans Len Testa wrote a blog the other day, i believe this is the one:

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/06/03/3-things-like-hate-disneys-tiered-ticket-price-proposal/

The comment about DHS made me laugh.

Hammer;2459273 wrote: While they will lose out on what you would have spent in the parks, they won't lose out on the money spent on meals, provided you cancel your ADRs. Someone else will snatch up both of those ADRs within a few minutes of cancellation, especially BOG.

Yeah, your right, but the chances are, whomever snags my reservation for BOG already has reservations somewhere else on property, which they would then cancel. There's still a lose of a meal(2) somewhere on property, not to mention the lose of any souvenirs or snacks from those 2 days.

If every restaurant was booked solid, then what you're saying is 100% true, that someone waiting in the wings to take our place. But not every restaurant is booked 100%, therefore people who cannot get BOG reservations are getting them somewhere else. They simply will just move their reservation from a place where someone isnt waiting in the wings, to BOG. A meal is still lost.

Then again, they'll make up that money from people that are willing to spend the extra money to get in the park. But for my family, it just makes it easier to say "no thanks" to extra days at WDW. Those arrival and departure date trips to the park are just simply a nice add on for us for now, the price makes it easy for us to swallow and spend more time (and money) in the parks.