New survey .. proposal .. Tiered Ticket Prices

[HockeyMomNH]

As an AP holder, my first thought on this is I wonder if it will translate to black out dates for all APs? Or if they will do more levels of APs with different pricing? Don't they already do that for resident APs?

 

[ArwenMarie]

Fits right in with the "lock them in" strategy. Pick your days, then book your tickets, now you are locked in. Of course, if you need to reschedule, you can always use your gold tickets on a silver day, don't you worry

 

[Colleen27]

Perhaps they're using it as a tool to even out crowds. Higher prices should move demand.

I don't think they have much ability to do that, because much of their target market lacks that flexibility due to school/work schedules. Peak times are already crazy expensive and they're still peak times because if your kid can't miss a week of school to travel at a less crowded time now no price increase is going to change that.

Interesting but not too different from resort pricing. Cash prices for Disney resorts are lower on weekdays. We stay at our DVC resorts mostly on weekdays because they are less points then.

The difference is that you know what days you're going to be staying in that room and if you need to make changes that will be done well in advance. Tickets have always been a more fluid thing - we have 4 day tickets and a rough idea of which parks we'll be in on each day, but that's subject to change based on travel time, weather, crowds, and mood. Even with FP+, there's only one park day I couldn't change without losing a ride time I'm not likely to get again, so it is very possible that we might change the plan up a bit. Having to deal with ticket upgrades (or worry about losing value by using "weekend" tickets on a weekday) would make that sort of flexibility much more difficult and potentially much more costly than it is now.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Let me guess, these "new, improved!!" tickets will be called Magic Your Way PLUS!- Even more ways to pay for things that used to be included!

I can totally see this happening, now you will no longer just be able to buy a park hopper, you'd have to buy tickets for specific days. They will not sell tickets that aren't linked to your MDE, and you'll have to use your MDE to change dates (and either get refunded or charged more to the CC linked to your MDE).

I can totally see Disney doing this, they are loosing money to people to buy and hold onto tickets for years, they are losing money to discount ticket brokers, and they stand to save money on staffing if they know in advance EXACTLY how many people are going to show up to which park on which day.

This is a company who spent countless dollars on RFID technology to save a pittance on soda theft, they are certainly not going to leave any revenue on the table.

Remember those early guest surveys on FP+ that we all wrote off....

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As an AP holder, my first thought on this is I wonder if it will translate to black out dates for all APs? Or if they will do more levels of APs with different pricing? Don't they already do that for resident APs?

We have options of Annual, Seasonal with blackout, and then weekday and epcot after 4pm. I am not sure if the latter two have blackouts.

 

[CandleontheWater]

We have options of Annual, Seasonal with blackout, and then weekday and epcot after 4pm. I am not sure if the latter two have blackouts.

I agree they probably won't mess with APs too much, unless they decide to extend a version of seasonal pass to the general public. The seasonal pass blacks out most of the days that would be considered "gold". If they do roll out seasonal to everyone, you can expect a HUGE jump in prices for the full annual. They'll need to make the "discount" option look like a real "discount"

 

[larryz]

I agree they probably won't mess with APs too much, unless they decide to extend a version of seasonal pass to the general public. The seasonal pass blacks out the days that would be considered "gold". If they do roll out seasonal to everyone, you can expect a HUGE jump in prices for the full annual. They'll need to make the "discount" option look like a real "discount"

I agree. AP holders need to brace themselves.

I could also see more seasonal annuals* with the prices fluffed up to meet the "value" of the Gold, Silver, and Lead seasons.

*is that an oxymoron? or just moronic...

 

[palavra]

I give up! It's gonna be cheaper for me just to work there.

It's one of the great perks we get with my husband's job!

I wonder if higher ticket prices might push more people into staying offsite. If it does, Disney may begin to lose out on the money that onsite guests spend.

 

[Donald - my hero]

WOW i sure opened a can of whoop butt didn't I??? My only take is what a PP mentioned, it takes away the chance to book a package without already knowing which days you'll spend in a park unless you buy Gold tickets for the entire trip. That way you can go to any park any day that you're there. Not against the idea per say, just confused with the logistics.

 

[Cheesehead9]

I have no problem with any company charging for things that add value. Without ruthless capitalism theme parks wouldn't exist. My fear is slow-season days will now be busier. Start selling FP+ slots already! Short lines are clearly what many of us value most - I'd be happy to pay a premium for it. BTW - I know 50% of people strongly disagree with this, and that's fine.

 

[Doug M]

It's one of the great perks we get with my husband's job!

I wonder if higher ticket prices might push more people into staying offsite. If it does, Disney may begin to lose out on the money that onsite guests spend.

Next time we do a family trip we are already highly likely to stay offsite, if they do this it is almost assured, plus less total WDW days and more UF and NASA and beach days.

 

[atricks]

With this and everything else (MM+/FP+) it's quickly approaching that if you want to go to Disney you'll have to take a class in disney-ology just to go there. The bit that gets me is the fact is if your schedule crosses the seasonal boundaries (even a single) you have to pay the entire thing at the highest level. I hope this is a survey that gets a resounding negative reaction and doesn't ever materialize. *speculation/but probably has been brought up with WDW management* After that would be a re-introduction of ride tickets via magic bands of course (after the general admission, which you can avoid by buying platinum level tickets)

 

[tup1830]

Starting to sound like airline un-bundling. Food prices change by the time of the year (which they don't easily publish), hotel rooms will be fluid and now park tickets will be by time of year/weather/time of day/park.

They should build a wall around the castle and charge to go inside to take a picture of it.

 

[andyman8]

Here's a screenshot of the pricing, courtesy of WDWMAGIC

 

[andyman8]

Just my two cents, but it's incredibly confusing, and knowing how much the public loves confusing economics, this should be interesting.

Also, this has been a rumor for some time now, but to see a legit pricing structure from Disney seems to indicate that this is coming sooner rather than later.

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm gonna need a protractor, compass, and scientific calculator to plan my next WDW vacation.

Thanks for that screenshot, Andy! (Where ya been, anyway?)

 

[theyoungs07]

remember that they do provide "benefits" based on the parks "busyness" For instance, as they see days getting busier they leave the parks open longer, add more parades, open more restaurants...etc. I'm not a fan of this, but they also flex things in favor of those on busy days as well.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yes, thank you for that screenshot. Wow.

I don't think this will shift crowds that much, you can go when you can go, especially when you are working around school schedules, etc.

It's just another way for them to make even more money. I don't even think it's intended to have the effect of shifting crowd levels, the price differentials aren't big enough for that.

 

[dwheaton]

I read this as another way they're treating Disney World in a similar way to Disney Cruise Line. They want to price by season and day and are definitely trying to lock you into a vacation. I totally see why they'd want to do it, but I think it's a really bad idea. This means they'll do it for sure.

 

[mcd2745]

Interesting the sample calendar goes from May 2014 - Apr 2015. Surprising President's week is "Bronze" after the weekend.

Anyway, I know this type of pricing structure is used by sports teams, most hotels, and (to a lesser extent, since they are even more complex) airlines. However, for a theme park, the logistics may be too difficult and cumbersome to implement it effectively.