WDW considering implementing a tiered ticket price system

[ArwenMarie]

I think, based on everything that has been going on recently within the past couple of years, first-time customers must represent a disproportionate amount of the profit generated. So maybe they can afford to lose some customers in this new scheme.

In the same thought process about nickel and dining people, now I'm wondering what they are going to do APs. I'm betting free parking gets taken away at some point.

 

[Nancyg56]

If they can afford to lose the offsite visitors and locals, then they should go for it. Offsiters and locals are the least likely to be high on pixie dust and they're the most careful and discriminating about value for money.

On-site guests buying "WDW only" packaged vacations won't even be told about variable theme park admission pricing by their travel agent or Disney rep ... once they give their dates they'll get a choice of class of resort and meal plan option and a bottom line price ... and that's about it.

But is there really that so people who book WDW vacations with the "here's my $8000 gimme something special" attitude, that you can afford to P.O. all the other people who have open eyes and a tight hold on expenses?

I cannot say that I agree with your reasoning. I think people stay offsite for a multitude of reasons, and while money may be a consideration, I doubt that it is the only consideration. People who choose to stay onsite also stay for a variety of reasons, and spending money like a drunken sailor may not b all that factors into the decision.

We stay onsite. I hate to drive. My husband is a professional driver who is on the road, in heavy traffic, hauling heavy equipment for the better part of the year. Vacation without renting a car, without driving is a priority when we go to Disney, and for us, it factors higher than accommodations costs. Others want or need more space, other families like their privacy. We value our money and work pretty darn hard for it, so when we plan a vacation, we start with what we are looking for in the vacation, and what our budget is. Makes no difference to me how Disney hides the components of a package in the final cost, I know what the package is, what I get for it, what OOP costs I will incur,and finally, if it is worth it to me.

I do not for one minute believe that what we see on that calendar is what the tiers will look like. I think it is a work in progress and when we see the final result, the offsiters will notice the cost increases the most, especially if they travel during th peak and holiday seasons. But the resorts already have the tiers in place, so this is just an extension. Annual pass holders will probably have more choices and price levels in place, and will either feel they can pick and choose what works, like a cafeteria style health plan, or find they hate it because they cannot justify the cost of the plan they like.

I have always thought that Disney was trying to find a way to offer an all inclusive vacation, but has fallen short because it is simply way to big to do so. I think this is one more step that Disney is taking to try to encourage guests to stay onsite, spend all their vacation dollar on the premises, and avoid taking those pesky day trips to the area attractions.

 

[robinb]

If this happens, I'll be screwed. We can only go when school is out of session aka ... the gold time. That would be more GOLD for The Mouse.

 

[anthony2k7]

Wow, that seems very stacked against international visitors who generally want to stay more than 5 days. Going on the rule that if the trip covers two price bands then the higher must be paid for the full trip then the only date range that would fall into Bronze is early september! All other dates would fall into at least silver.

Where as American visitors who usually stay 5 or less days have a much wider choice for their trip to fall into Bronze.

So Disney is planning on punishing people who want to stay longer? Genius! Meanwhile Universal becomes more and more appealing...

 

[Nancyg56]

Wow, that seems very stacked against international visitors who generally want to stay more than 5 days. Going on the rule that if the trip covers two price bands then the higher must be paid for the full trip then the only date range that would fall into Bronze is early september! All other dates would fall into at least silver.

Where as American visitors who usually stay 5 or less days have a much wider choice for their trip to fall into Bronze.

So Disney is planning on punishing people who want to stay longer? Genius! Meanwhile Universal becomes more and more appealing...

I don't think that will happen. I think the packages offered will be structured to accommodate international guests. I do think the tiers will favor onsite guests.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I cannot say that I agree with your reasoning. I think people stay offsite for a multitude of reasons, and while money may be a consideration, I doubt that it is the only consideration. People who choose to stay onsite also stay for a variety of reasons, and spending money like a drunken sailor may not b all that factors into the decision.

We stay onsite. I hate to drive. My husband is a professional driver who is on the road, in heavy traffic, hauling heavy equipment for the better part of the year. Vacation without renting a car, without driving is a priority when we go to Disney, and for us, it factors higher than accommodations costs. Others want or need more space, other families like their privacy. We value our money and work pretty darn hard for it, so when we plan a vacation, we start with what we are looking for in the vacation, and what our budget is. Makes no difference to me how Disney hides the components of a package in the final cost, I know what the package is, what I get for it, what OOP costs I will incur,and finally, if it is worth it to me.

I do not for one minute believe that what we see on that calendar is what the tiers will look like. I think it is a work in progress and when we see the final result, the offsiters will notice the cost increases the most, especially if they travel during th peak and holiday seasons. But the resorts already have the tiers in place, so this is just an extension. Annual pass holders will probably have more choices and price levels in place, and will either feel they can pick and choose what works, like a cafeteria style health plan, or find they hate it because they cannot justify the cost of the plan they like.

I have always thought that Disney was trying to find a way to offer an all inclusive vacation, but has fallen short because it is simply way to big to do so. I think this is one more step that Disney is taking to try to encourage guests to stay onsite, spend all their vacation dollar on the premises, and avoid taking those pesky day trips to the area attractions.

I think what my disgruntled friend is saying... Sorta...is that you wound expect residents and off-sites to have a higher percentage of their numbers affected by the ticket prices.

I think that is reasonable...as those that stay onsite are far more overcharged for their accomodations and "swallow" it....making it unlikely the surcharges for "gold days" would be Impactful.

I've heard the arguments a million times why paying more is "worth it"...the blessed choo choo and all...
But the reality is from a hospitality perspective you are being thoroughly overcharged for what you get...location doesn't offset everything. You're paying for the perception and the D more than anything...even in the football section at Sports.

It was that way 15 years ago (my time)... What's happened since is just off the charts.

It is a reasonable theory... Just needs some polish.

 

[senadler]

I don't think this would be surprising at all. Room rates follow as a similar structure, and so do DVC points needed for a reservation. I think if Silver is close to current pricing, Gold at a premium, and Bronze at a discount this makes a lot of sense. Why not offer someone that can travel during a less popular time a ticket incentive. They already do this with room discounts or free dining.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

... and Bronze at a discount this makes a lot of sense...

Unless bronze is a one day admission to waterloo...

Disney is not gonna do it.

They will do promotions...but never adjust down a base price as this wound entail.

I think more realistic is no increase, 5-10% increase, significant increase...

And that's not unusual... As they had been doing those types of increases end over end for a decade.

 

[Kristi T]

They do this type of thing with everything else - which is exactly why we go in the off-season.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Bronze will be the current ticket prices.
Silver and gold will go up from there.

Any way you look at it, it's a way to put in a huge ticket price increase while still saying the old prices are still available.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Bronze will be the current ticket prices.
Silver and gold will go up from there.

Any way you look at it, it's a way to put in a huge ticket price while still saying the old prices are still available.

Yep...correct... Thanks for the "daily dose of Disney depression"

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yep...correct... Thanks for the "daily dose of Disney depression"

LOL

You're welcome

 

[crazy4wdw]

Yep...correct... Thanks for the "daily dose of Disney depression"

Heading to the pharmacy for Prozac now!

 

[Trjack]

I hope this doesn't happen. The only time we can go is peak season :/

 

[Castle2Castle]

I hope this doesn't happen. The only time we can go is peak season :/

Remember that this is so far only a question on a survey. But so far as it could become a reality, remember too the flip side of extending price increases during peak times is the incentive it provides to those who can go at other times to do so. A higher price could be balanced with a less crowded and more enjoyable experience than you may have otherwise had under the flatter pricing plan.

 

[Josh Hendy]

Remember that this is so far only a question on a survey. But so far as it could become a reality, remember too the flip side of extending price increases during peak times is the incentive it provides to those who can go at other times to do so. A higher price could be balanced with a less crowded and more enjoyable experience than you may have otherwise had under the flatter pricing plan.

I think one of the problems is that it's not so easy for WDW to define high seasons and low seasons any more. With a resort area like Ocean City MD you have clearly defined seasons based on weather, plus summer weekends plus statutory holidays. Therefore the calendars of hotel prices are easy to read at a glance.

Disney calendar of admission prices is going to be muddled and confusing because the weather is pretty OK all year, but it's somewhat worse in the summer which is otherwise a high season. And they not only have artificial "high seasons" because of events like F&W, high weeks because of spring breaks (that people from outside of the spring-break area don't know about), but they also have frequent high "days" due to special events, parties or whatever that Disney schedules according to any old criteria that they want.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but graded admission prices according to Disney-defined seasons, weeks and days is exactly the kind of unnecessarily complicated scheme that spreadsheet-wielding MBA dorks would come up with who've been given a mandate to find more profits, even at the risk of confusing and annoying the customers. And that kind of mandate is exactly the kind of thing that executives are going to decree who never visit the parks the way that ordinary people visit them.

As I said before, they can easily adapt to varying crowds according to their own historical and advance booking data by changing hours, opening or closing ride tracks, opening seasonal attractions, putting on extra shows and parades, and so on. Thus they can even out their profits, and even maximize their profits by pleasing their customers ... by always giving people the same value for the same amount of money. In low season you pay $105 and you get fewer parades and shorter hours, but you have shorter lines so you get to go on lots of rides. In high season you pay $105 and you get more crowds, but because of the longer hours and more frequent shows, you get to see and do as much.

Is that so difficult? Apparently ... yes.

 

[Castle2Castle]

...graded admission prices according to Disney-defined seasons, weeks and days is exactly the kind of unnecessarily complicated scheme that spreadsheet-wielding MBA dorks would come up with who've been given a mandate to find more profits, even at the risk of confusing and annoying the customers.

I don't see any reason to think that tiered pricing would necessarily be any more confusing or annoying than the tiered pricing that's already been in place for years at their resorts.

As I said before, they can easily adapt to varying crowds according to their own historical and advance booking data by changing hours, opening or closing ride tracks, opening seasonal attractions, putting on extra shows and parades, and so on... In low season you pay $105 and you get fewer parades and shorter hours, but you have shorter lines so you get to go on lots of rides. In high season you pay $105 and you get more crowds, but because of the longer hours and more frequent shows, you get to see and do as much.

Those are solutions which appear better at balancing lower revenues with reduced costs during low periods. There's more flexibility in reducing hours and taking things down than there is in increasing ride capacity (excluding capex) or extending hours. Crowds aren't just bad for guests shuffling shoulder-to-shoulder with one another; that's also when people are stuck in attraction lines rather than walking past shops and food and beverage vendors. Just as FastPass was intended to get people out of lines and exposed to more buying "opportunities", a tiered pricing system with the goal of smoothing out crowds would serve the same purpose.

 

[Reddog1134]

I don't see any reason to think that tiered pricing would necessarily be any more confusing or annoying than the tiered pricing that's already been in place for years at their resorts.

I don't think it's too confusing but it would be annoying.

When you book a room at a resort, you are booking specific days. So you pay the cost of those specific days and you stay in the room on those days.

With tiered pricing tickets, you would be buying a specific number of days for a specific time period buy you could actually use them at any time. So maybe you buy them for the bronze period but now you want to use them for a a gold period. Now you have to pay an upcharge.

 

[Castle2Castle]

With tiered pricing tickets, you would be buying a specific number of days for a specific time period buy you could actually use them at any time. So maybe you buy them for the bronze period but now you want to use them for a a gold period. Now you have to pay an upcharge.

So long as the periods are clearly defined, a person choosing to delay their use until a higher cost time isn't that different from a person who elected to pay the higher cost up front, so I'm not sure it would really be that annoying. A comparable situation today might be buying single park admission tickets but upgrading in the middle to include park hoppers. In so much as there could be an added hassle of going through the steps to make that addition, they could possibly streamline that through the MDE or offer some form of "flex" option add-on to lower tier tickets not unlike park hopper today.

 

[Planogirl]

Sigh... All I can say is that all of this depends on how much everything ends up costing. I do know that I won't pay more when we stay offsite. I don't see the sense in that.

Many people have estimated that roughly half of those who visit are offsite visitors. Do they really want to make that group upset? Plus how will this affect locals?

And here I thought that they would likely end up rationing or selling FP+. Maybe they still will.