Beat Disney At Their Own Game.

[MACDADDY]

Guys Wake up!!! Disney is a major corporation in business not to make magic but to make money. There will be a price increase every year until attendance falls off significantly. There is one way to beat this. Passes are always good. If you buy a five day pass today and don't use 2 days you can use those 2 days of passes any time in the future (5 years, 10 years...) We came into a very small inheritance a couple of years ago and instead of wasting that money we bought as many 5 day passes (I believe the best deal) as we could and have them stored in our safety deposit box. So whenever we go to WDW they are available. If you are major WDW freaks (as we are) and know you will be going for years to come, this is the best way around price increases.

[travelitis]

While buying ahead is certainly an excellent money saver, I'm going to play devil's advocate and say that I don't think it's much of an investment. The last thing I would do with my inheritance I recently got is spend it on future vacations. I'd rather stash it toward retirement. What I'm saying is that all situations are different, but if there's an illness or death, you can't buy food with Disney passes. With 3 children to raise I'll feel much better knowing I have actual cash instead of something I'd have to sell if push came to shove. The price increases are so little that our regular budget can absorb them without a big impact. Trying to save the money to replace the inheritance spent would be a much more difficult task.

[ceecee]

I have to agree...not a good investment. Even with the stockmarket the way it is now. CD are low interest too, but if there's an emergency, you can get your $.

[MUcrick]

MACDADDY,

I usually don't reply to many postings but I thought you raised an intersting point -- Disney is in the business of making money. What publically held company ISN'T in the business of making money? The #1 objective of Michael Eisner (and any CEO of a publicly held company, for that matter) is to make money for its shareholders. If that means Disney has to cut 10,000 to 20,000 employees to reduce costs, at the expense of losing a less proportionate amount of revenue, Michael Eisner has to do it. No matter how much we want to believe that the customer is #1 in teh minds of a business, they always follow behind the shareholders. I'm sure you're employer is in the same position -- as are you. Don't you work to make money for your family so that you can take them on trips to WDW?

As much as we would like to believe that Disney is in the business of "making magic", we need to step back and realize that Disney is in business to make money -- it just happens to "make magic" to generate that money.

One last item. Because Disney is in the business of making money, how did you beat them at their own game? From what I can tell, you just gave Disney several hundred dollars up-front for services that you won't even use for 2, 3, 5 or even 10 years down the road. Disney can use those dollars however it wants -- earn interest, pay down debt, etc. Didn't Disney just beat you at its own game, "making money"?

mucrick

[eeyore0062]

Hey, that is old news... we still have days left on a 1998 hopper!

[baileybrad]

MacDaddy,
I am glad that you had the foresight to do something with an inheritance that brings your family much joy. I don't recall you asking for investing advice but, hey, you got some for free. Hope your passes bring your family many days of happiness in a place that you love.

[simonmunro]

WOW!!! I LOVE the idea. A little stack of park hoppers, ready to hop in your suitcase on a whim... Just so you know some of us "got it" and it's brilliant. Almost like a Christmas club account only with pixie dust instead of Elf sparkles. How you use YOUR inheritance money is a highly personal choice.

[DocRafiki]

hooray to mucrick. it seems the public schools don't teach economics very well.

wow... it took you ten years to save $10 per ticket. what an accomplishment! OR I could work one extra day and make enough money to buy an annual pass in ten hours. :rolleyes:

[jgates]

that seems rather cold? If I work a day of overtime, after taxes, at the most I am clearing an extra $80. I am also exhausted, my feet hurt and I have missed spending another day with my dd.

I worked close to 70 hours per week while my ds was little (dh was laid off for a long time due to bad economy - had a back injury leaving him unable to work for awhile and then was seasonal for several years). Consequently, my ds is now in college and when I look back I missed a great deal of his childhood.

Sooooo, even though it may not be the most 'economically sound' idea - it might be the best idea for their family!!! And not much different than some of the others who have their change in change jars where it doesn't earn interest, or me putting rewards program redemptions on my webcertificate which is a non-interest bearing account also. Our money is just sitting - waiting for us to go buy a pass with it.

[MACDADDY]

...financial opinions you need to read these post throughly. I said "very small inheritance". I may be WDW crazy but not that crazy!!!:p

[Man-o-Man]

macdaddy,

I think your idea was great, even though there are people saying otherwise. When I read different post, here on these boards, people tend to care greatly about those few extra dollars
on Disney tickets.

[hercamore]

Good for you MacDaddy!.

Enjoy your park passes. One less thing to buy when you're ready to go!


Herc.

[antkim]

Again I have to say sometimes people give unwanted advice on these boards.I'm not trying to start an argument AT ALL but he didn't ask "Do you agree with my decision?" or "Did I make the right choice"? he simlpy told us what he did to get around the ticket price increase.We all know that like EVERTHING else in this country prices increase.I'm sure that if people didn't complain on these boards about ticket prices he would never have shared his philosophy-hope I spelled that right!
Anyways,we my not all agree but do we have to bash one another?
Just MY opinion,for what it's worth!
Kim

[Tigger Woods]

I think this is the quote that got him in trouble:
"Guys Wake up!!! Disney is a major corporation in business not to make magic but to make money." It's kind of melodramatic, and not the best thing to say on a Disney board. I agree some of the responses were a little harsh, but that seems to be the trend nowadays.

[antkim]

I agree with both of your points!

[BoyLovesBuzz]

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I swear the physcology of internet message boards is a case study or masters thesis waiting to happen.

This is a budget board. If there is room for change jar challenges there is certainly room for this. Perhaps everyone doesn't know that passes never expire. I am sure a family of six that will pay $200 more for tickets next month then they would have paid last month would have appreciated this tip.

Gosh, I am paying off my room for our December trip $200 a month. I thought I was being smart and avoiding a big hit when the rest of the Christmas bills roll in. What a jerk I am. I should have saved my money and gone short on some junk stock yesterday and made a killing by noon to day.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[MUcrick]

It appears that I stirred up a bit of controversy with my reply to MACDADDY. In no way did I intend to suggest that MACDADDY was wrong for buying the passes. Everyone has their own opinions for what is best for their financial situation. If it means using an inheritance to buy WDW passes for future family trips, great. If it means paying off your house with a 15 year mortgage rather than a 30 year mortgage because you will feel more secure, great! Everyone has to make their own choices. I for one did something similar to MACDADDY by purchasing DVC points. My wife and I know that vacations are tremendous opportunities to strengthen family relationships -- to break away and enjoy one another's company in this fast paced world that we live in today. Since the opportunity came our way to pay today for vacations my family and I can share over the next 40 + years, we took it and haven’t looked back!

TIGGER WOODS captured the intent of my reply best. What caught my eye was the comment that "Disney is not in the business of making magic ..." I was only trying to point out that Disney, like every other big business, is out to do one thing -- make money. We shouldn't try to kid ourselves that Disney set out to create all of the wonderful parks, cruise line, movies, toys etc. just for our enjoyment. They've done so because they know that there are people like me (and, I imagine, others reading this reply) who will pay for the "magic" that they create so well. I for one know that Disney made money off of me when I purchased DVC points -- and I’m fine with that.

MACDADDY, sorry if my comments offended you (or others on this thread).

I think I spelled everything correct that time.

mucrick

[BethR]

Why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends? :teeth:

I am sure that no one set out to intentionally make anyone mad. Let's try to read things in the spirit of that "Disney Magic" (for profit or not ;) ).

[laf0165]

I have two 5-day park hopper passes from 1985 that are still valid. I will have them replaced with two new plastic passes when we are there in January 2003. They are only good for Magic Kingdom & Epcot, but that's ok. We can also upgrade them to be used at all Disney parks if we choose, at an additional cost.

No advice given here except, "to each his own"! ;)

[MACDADDY]

... no offense taken. I'm just an old fiesty Irishman that likes to mix it up once in awhile. I don't mind spending money but don't like to waste it. See you're from Independance MO. I was born and raised in K.C. Have been to the Truman Library a couple of times.
We too are DVC members, and although not cheap, enjoy it a great deal. So everyone kiss and make up, go buy multiple Disney tickets for future trips and keep those budget tips coming. I'lll be watching. (Good airline rates going now.) :cool:

[BethR]

:teeth: I LOVE Happy Endings.

[travelitis]

Can't opinions be differing without it being construed as bashing or arguing? Can't we agree to disagree? I posted I wouldn't do that and why, NOT that I thought it was wrong for him to do that. I'm glad that all has ended well.

The, "Wake up guys!" line was what invited my differing opinion, though. What we're doing to save money is buying AP's and taking 2 trips. That may not beating them at their own game, but it is saving us money. I do get the concept of buying ahead, have considered it, but I don't care to do that for the reason I stated. If others do, go for it, because I'm sure I make financial decisions not everyone else would agree with.

[blewits]

ya know what?

if you can't think of anything nice to say then don't say anything at all! i'm tired of of people getting ugly on these boards. that's not what they are for. go somewhere else!


wendy

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by blewits
ya know what?

if you can't think of anything nice to say then don't say anything at all! i'm tired of of people getting ugly on these boards. that's not what they are for. go somewhere else!


wendy

I have just read through this thread and unless something has been deleted I did not read anything that I would consider harsh. There was a difference of opinion. The OP stated that we should wake up to the OPs idea of how to save money by buying passes in advance. That invites others to comment. If buying passes in advance worked for the OP that is great but not all people are going to agree on that theory. Just because people do not agree on a topic it does not mean that one is bashing the other people can disagree and be civil.

Look, I disagree with your opinion that this thread is "ugly" but I am not bashing you I just disagree with your statement.

[Tigger Woods]

Tiffany,
You must have missed these comments:
"wow... it took you ten years to save $10 per ticket. what an accomplishment! OR I could work one extra day and make enough money to buy an annual pass in ten hours."
and: "it seems the public schools don't teach economics very well." By any definition, that's a little harsh.

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Tigger Woods
Tiffany,
You must have missed these comments:
"wow... it took you ten years to save $10 per ticket. what an accomplishment! OR I could work one extra day and make enough money to buy an annual pass in ten hours."
and: "it seems the public schools don't teach economics very well." By any definition, that's a little harsh.

Hi Tigger Woods,

I went back and reread everything. What you quoted above was from one post by DocRafiki out of the 25 on this thread. While I agree that this post is sarcastic. I would not agree that this one post made the thread ugly.

When someone posts financial advise as the OP did with the last line of the original post "If you are a major WDW freaks (as we are) and know you will be going for years to come, this is the best way around price increases." People are going to disagree with that advice.

Some people will be sarcastic and other will post in a factual manner. Maybe I just have a thicker skin. I don't know.

I believe that being on a board were everyone agrees all of the time is just as bad as one were everyone fights all of the time. My point is that it is okay for people to disagree and just as in life some people will disagree with you in a factual manner and other will be sarcastic and you just need to roll with that when you post on any type of message board on the internet.

[Tigger Woods]

Tiffany,
I agree with everything you said. Now, lets go get a drink at Buffet's and ride Spiderman. Beats the hell out of bickering!

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Tigger Woods
Tiffany,
I agree with everything you said. Now, lets go get a drink at Buffet's and ride Spiderman. Beats the hell out of bickering!

Sounds good :D I did not think we were bickering though. Just having a discussion. A drink always sounds good though. Rolling Rock anyone?:D

[BethR]

Originally posted by Tiffany
Sounds good :D ... A drink always sounds good though. Rolling Rock anyone?:D

How 'bout I buy a round for the whole gang!

[]? []? []? []? []? []? []? []? []? []? []? []?

:teeth:

[WDW2002]

Originally posted by laf0165
I have two 5-day park hopper passes from 1985 that are still valid. I will have them replaced with two new plastic passes when we are there in January 2003. They are only good for Magic Kingdom & Epcot, but that's ok. We can also upgrade them to be used at all Disney parks if we choose, at an additional cost.

If you exchange them for new passes you will have to pay the additional cost (I think) you are always better off to just use them as is then to exchange. You will only get credit for the price you paid in 1985 not the value of what they are at today's (new) price.

guess I was wrong, it happens, occasionally ;)

[laf0165]

You only have to pay an additional cost if you upgrade the 1985 tickets to use at more than just Epcot & Magic Kingdom. I am only planning on using them at Magic Kingdom which was included in the 1985 price. I do have to exchange my paper tickets for the new plastic cards which will be no additional cost. I have already spoken to someone at Disney and this is what I was told.

[eeyore0062]

If you exchange them for new passes you will have to pay the additional cost (I think) you are always better off to just use them as is then to exchange. You will only get credit for the price you paid in 1985 not the value of what they are at today's (new) price.


She would have to exchange them for the new ticket media so she could get through the turnstiles...but as long as she doesn't plan on going to MGM or AK, she won't have to pay anything extra.

[laf0165]

you are correct, eeyore0062!!!! That is what I was trying to tell everyone. :smooth:

[dcfromva]

I had a 4 day hopper paper ticket that I purchased prior to the AK opening (It had never been used). I decided to use it last year. I tried to use it at the turnstile, and was directed to go to guest services to get it exchanged for a ticket that had the magnetic media on it....

At guest services, there was no additional charge to make it a 4 day hopper that could be used at any of the 4 parks. Just for grins, I asked what it would cost to upgrade it to a 5 day hopper. With my DC discount, it was about $15.00. Naturally, I went ahead with the upgrade. The CM cautioned me that it does not always work out so favorably. I don't know if it was because the ticket had never been used or if it was because it was so old and they had different rules when it was purchased (or maybe they couldn't figure out how much I paid for the ticket because it didn't have magnetic media on it?) ... But, the lesson I learned from that is it doesn't hurt to ask what it would cost to upgrade--and then make your decision!

I have also taken one day tickets (with magnetic strips) and combined them into a hopper ticket. In that case, the CM figured out exactly what I paid for the tickets and applied that amount to my new ticket-- so in that case, I might have been better off just keeping my 1 day tickets (except I couldn't park hop with them--but there was a day or two when I was taking a tour and wasn't planning to hop so it would have been okay--sigh--sometimes it is tough to figure out which way is best!). What I learned from that is bring a calculator with you when you go to Guest Services (:) ).

-DC :)

[travelitis]

MAC DADDY, you should like this one. My in-laws are joining us on this trip, and after seeing the prices on the tickets, they said they're going to buy 6 day hoppers, use 3 or 4 days then give them to us to finish using another year. I can't complain about free days at Disney! (Yes, folks, I know they're non-transferable, so if anyone is remotely tempted to open that debate, restrain thyself, please.)

[MACDADDY]

... would your in-laws be interested in adopting me? :teeth:

[cdrn1]

Sigh....wish I could work an extra day and have enough $$ for an AP (or even a PH). I'm salaried...when I work an extra day I don't get anything extra for it.
I like Mac's idea. I have random urges to stop in at TDS and buy passes so I will have an excuse to go! It sure would make it easier to go on a whim if that big expense was out of the way.

[Buzzz]

I just wanted to put in my 2 cents . My job has me working a lot of OT in short spirts. when they come around i Go and buy WDW passes and put them away. Here is what that does for me. When i'm have a bad week or just not having thing go the way they should ( everybody has thoses days ) Me and my wife just say the heck with it all jump in the car and run down for a couple days ( yes its a 12-14 hr drive ) we have always been able to find a dicount of some kind for a room. I even keep WDW 800 number in my cell phone to try for last minute discounts. Not a great investment of my money but one of the best investments for peice of mind and surprise get aways. So if you look at it from that point of veiw then it just may just be one of the best investments for your money.

[travelitis]

I think vacations are great investments in my marriage and family.

[BethR]

Originally posted by travelitis
I think vacations are great investments in my marriage and family.

Here! Here! I second that! Especially trips to WDW! We always seem to get along better than we usually do when we are at WDW! :)

[pattyT]

;) Here is an idea for thought -

I have just spoken with my financial advisor because we are selling a property and will have a little money to invest after we pay taxes and the mortgage off - we wanted to invest it for higher than savingsor cd interest but have access to it.

Bonds - here is our plan we are going to buy bonds at a set interest rate(7%ish). Instead of having them mail us quarterly interes payments they will put the interest earned into a money market account so our initial investment will stay intact and the interest will pay for our future Disney trips!
Anyone done this?

[travelitis]

I haven't done that, but I want to know what kind of bonds and where to get them. If you don't want to post that info, could you please send me a private message? That interest rate is so much better than CD's!

I was planning on using some of the interest to send my kids to Space Camp, though.

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by travelitis
I haven't done that, but I want to know what kind of bonds and where to get them. If you don't want to post that info, could you please send me a private message? That interest rate is so much better than CD's!

I was planning on using some of the interest to send my kids to Space Camp, though.

I am not the poster you directed your question to but as far as bonds go we like GNMAs.
Vangard GNMA fund is returning over 7% for the year. The best investment we have made. Very low fees also.

[travelitis]

I found information about Vanguard and others at Forbes.com thanks to Google. I guess we're going to have to learn about mutual funds. CD rates are pathetic. Thanks!

[pmurphy713]

Macdaddy,
I totally agree with you. How nice to have a little stash in your safety deposit box. We love Disney and often dream of going more than once a year. It's so nice to dream and have fun and you are already half way there. You keep up your optimism and have fun knowing that you already have those passes paid for. Wish I could do the same!



___________________________
1976 - Offsite
2000 - Contemporary
2002 - Polynesian
2003 - ASMo




:bounce:

[chloesmommi]

Just to put my 2 cents in, I've heard (don't know if it's true) that you cannot use days on old passes to gain admission to a new park. So if you hold passes that are older than Animal Kingdom or any new park that might be built in the future, you would have to purchase a new ticket. Can anyone else confirm this?
Of course, that didn't stop me from purchasing tickets more than a year in advance to avoid a probable price increase.

[baileybrad]

I believe that this policy is what is currently in place. We have some passes with 2 days left on them that we used prior to AK's opening and when we are down in WDW in early December, we plan to use these passes on days that we are not planning to park hop to AK.

[BethR]

Hi chloesmommi!

I have often heard that that is Disney's policy with Unused Hopper Days.
But I have also heard this as well:


From dcfromva earlier in this thread:



had a 4 day hopper paper ticket that I purchased prior to the AK
opening (It had never been used). I decided to use it last year. I tried
to use it at the turnstile, and was directed to go to guest services to
get it exchanged for a ticket that had the magnetic media on it....

At guest services, there was no additional charge to make it a 4 day
hopper that could be used at any of the 4 parks.

:)

[dcfromva]

BethR,
I'm not sure why I was able to get such a good deal on my ticket.... My theory is since my ticket was good as long as Disney was in business and Disney was the one that required the ticket media change (to ones with a magentic strip on them) that the burden was on Disney to exchange my ticket for one exactly like I had excluding AK park. The reason for the free upgrade? 4 years (?) after AK opened-- maybe Disney doesn't have 4 day hopper tickets that excludes AK and it is probably more cost effective to give folks a complimentary upgrade than maintain ticket stock that excludes that park(?)...

I remember when AK first opened ---Disney was making folks buy new tickets that included the AK on them.
-DC :)

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.................................... The bottom line is Disney needs to make money. If someone wants to buy passes and hold them, thats much better than the stock market the last three years! Could do much worse the next three years. Either way Disney gets the bucks. Bottom line is, if we are talking about 1% here 2% there, cash flow, etc...if someone is happy buying passes, then it's "Don't worry, be happy!" time for them.

[uksaint]

I wonder how much money Disney make from people losing/forgetting/destroying the tickets with unused days on them. Furthermore, seeing as they never expire does Disney have some massive provision in their financials for deferred income related to such unused days? After what time period would they be allowed to recognise this income? We have already heard from DISers who have tickets going back to the 80's.

Actually, don't really care - just thinking aloud!!:D Of course, if I was a stockholder.......who are the auditors?:teeth:

[colleen costello]

It certainly is nice to be able to buy tix ahead of time. I am not a financial advisor, but I think the smile from knowing those tix are tucked away is priceless! You could say that DVC is a similar deal -- you pay "up front" to ensure vacations for the future.

We wanted to buy annual passes this year as we plan to visit twice -- March and June 2003. I chickened out, though -- if we are ill, or change plans, we are out of luck (and money!) Instead, we got hoppers, which have days that never expire. And luckily we bought before the increase!

Really, what vacation EVER is a sound financial decision? I know my family's budget is tight and we should probably be using the vacation fund to have the house painted or save toward the fridge, air conditioner or whatever blows up next. But Disney memories have real value, too -- especially when I know my children will only be little for a little while longer!

[nezy]

Macdaddy
Why do you feel that a five day is more value than a 7 day?

Byt the way, I like your idea. I think it is a psychological thing w/ traveling of felling as if that something is already paid for and that the money can go for something else or that your trip is not costing you that much.

[MACDADDY]

... You are correct. The 5 day is no longer a better deal that the 7 day. But when we bought our tickets they were. Good catch. I can't get anything by you guys.