Does anyone else expect a "rant" in this coming weeks show?

[disneysteve]

I don't think that Disney understands basic economics and consumer behavior. If the prices in one area go up, then people will cut back in other areas in order to make up the difference.

I believe that the main motivation behind the AP price increase is crowd control. I think this is misguided because locals only make up a small percentage of the crowds.

You are absolutely right. People will cut back elsewhere to make up the difference, but why would you assume that the cut back will affect Disney? People may cut back in other areas of their lives instead. They may buy more generic groceries, eat out less at home, skip that concert they were thinking of attending, send their kids to day camp instead of overnight camp next summer. All so they can still afford their Disney vacations.

As for the crowd issue, lots of AP holders aren't locals. I know a ton of AP holders in NJ, PA, DE, NY, MD, etc. It's the folks who go 2, 3, 4, or more times a year that contribute to the crowds a lot more than the families taking that "once in a lifetime" trip. Folks who fly down for the weekend regularly. My wife and I have 3 trips planned in the next 9 months.

 

[WebmasterJackie]

Don't forget they also need to pay for the DHS overhaul.

Personally, as a DVC member, I think what they've done to us as a group is absurd. Black out dates or pay almost $200 more? Not right. DVC is the constituent that pays the most. We shouldn't be penalized here.

I totally agree with ya, Nikki! I'm so disappointed that APs for the four of us will be almost $600 more when we are supposed to renew at the end of this month. I haven't quite wrapped my head around it yet, but I'm not a happy camper.

 

[Tonyz]

I hate to say this but I've come to believe that the single biggest problem at Disney World today is overcrowding. It is the source of many of the problems that we all complain about. Other than closing the gates, there is a limited amount that Disney can do to address this. Maybe hiking prices and adding blackout dates is part of an attempt to address the crowd issue. That allows them to keep income steady with fewer guests.

I'd be curious to hear what others think about that possibly being the motive here.

You should need to pass a litmus test to get into the parks now. Only the big fans allowed in.

 

[Jennygt]

Holy cow. $600 more Jackie?! That's insane

 

[Tonyz]

600 dollars more from last year???

 

[1Grumpy9]

It doesn't particularly bother me when prices go up. What does bother me is the rate at which they go up. Raising parking from $17 to $20 is a 17.6% hike. I can't believe the cost of operating a parking lot has increased that much. I'm sure the CMs working in the lot haven't gotten a 17.6% raise (I know I sure haven't).

Disney isn't the only place that parking goes up regularly. Living close to Hersheypark, I see the parking price increase depending on what month it is. During the start of the season is $12, but I have seen it go up to $15 during the peak season. Then if you want preferred parking, it is $20. I went to a concert a couple of weeks ago at the Giant Center (park was closed) and they still charged me $12 to park. Of course if you go on the website, it says the parking is $9. I love going through the parking booths and watching the price go up depending on the time of year.

 

[Jennygt]

I would like to know how much the increase is for each podcaster and podcaster families.
I would also like to hear from them what they would purchase if an Ap was not a work requirement. Meaning if they were not employed where they had to get an ap, as locals . What would they purchase and why?

 

[WebmasterJackie]

Holy cow. $600 more Jackie?! That's insane

600 dollars more from last year???

I know. Hard to wrap your head around, right?

There are 4 of us (Disney adults) and we have regular APs, not the seasonal ones, so they would be the new 'Platinum.' Ours expire on 10/28/15 so I logged in and followed the motions as if I was going to renew right then. The amount we pay monthly goes up $49 and change, so basically $50/month making it $600 more for the year for the four of us. You don't pay a nickel more to do the monthly payments, so it would be the same if we were to just pay in full immediately.

 

[disneysteve]

Disney isn't the only place that parking goes up regularly. Living close to Hersheypark, I see the parking price increase depending on what month it is. During the start of the season is $12, but I have seen it go up to $15 during the peak season. Then if you want preferred parking, it is $20. I went to a concert a couple of weeks ago at the Giant Center (park was closed) and they still charged me $12 to park. Of course if you go on the website, it says the parking is $9. I love going through the parking booths and watching the price go up depending on the time of year.

At least Disney hasn't gone this route. They set a flat price and that's it, every day for every guest. It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning or the hottest day of the summer, the price is the same. I like that. I hate the places that set the price based on perceived demand for season and special events.

 

[Epcot_Fan_76]

You are absolutely right. People will cut back elsewhere to make up the difference, but why would you assume that the cut back will affect Disney? People may cut back in other areas of their lives instead. They may buy more generic groceries, eat out less at home, skip that concert they were thinking of attending, send their kids to day camp instead of overnight camp next summer. All so they can still afford their Disney vacations.

That is a good point. I was just thinking and hoping that people would not put Disney above other priorities in their lives. Many families will have hard decisions to make about how to absorb these higher prices.

 

[GreatLakes]

I think if you looked at the data AP holders, especially locals, don't spend nearly as much as vacationing guests while on property and at the same time often go during the busiest times. Raising the price of the APs will thin the herd while recuperating some of the revenue they lose from them throughout the year up front.

Disney spent $2 billion on MyMagic+ so they could gather more data on every aspect of the parks. FP+, MDE, and everything else we see as guests is just a front end to gather that data. I believe we are starting to see them use that data to make managerial and operational changes to increase profit per guest. I was looking at the price changes and also some of the other changes Disney has made and I think we are going to see the following:

• A much wider and very noticeable gap in services between those staying onsite and those staying offsite. Disney wants the offsite guests to feel as though they are missing out on the complete experience so they can be upsold.
• Changes in operations and policy meant to bring any group of guests that spend under a target threshold up to that target or out of the parks to make room for a more profitable group.
• An evening out of the attendance curve so the average crowd during the busiest weeks of the year and average crowd during the slowest weeks of the year is very close. On a scale of 1 - 10 a 2 and 9 should be so similar the difference can't be perceived by a person.
• An increase in real time routing and customized promotions based on guest history and behavior. This could be using MB data to better route buses to offering pop up experiences to guests based on their data profile.

The things you can do from an operational standpoint when you have a huge data pool are exciting. I'm very interested in the things we will see MyMagic+ leverage in the coming years.

 

[disneysteve]

That is a good point. I was just thinking and hoping that people would not put Disney above other priorities in their lives. Many families will have hard decisions to make about how to absorb these higher prices.

We all have various places in our lives where we can choose to spend more or less based on available funds and personal priorities. If families highly value their Disney trips (don't we all), they'll be willing to trim spending elsewhere. If we had to choose between eating out more at home or going to Disney, we're picking Disney for sure.

Of course, these changes will impact in other ways, too. People may shorten their stays, come for 5 days instead of 7, or stretch out the time between stays. People may choose not to do APs anymore because it just isn't in their budget and cut back to an annual visit. People who might previously have stayed onsite may go offsite instead, or at least rent a car and go offsite for several meals to cut costs.

 

[hapandpam]

I will be renewing my AP early November at a $90 increase because I have 2 daughters who live in central Florida and we are Disney fans. However, I am upset by the huge increase. I imagine it is a combination of factors- increasing revenue and decreasing attendance during peak season. I have noticed a lot of CPs in the parks. Free admission is a necessary perk to get the kids to work long hours, for low pay, a good chunk of which goes back to Disney for housing. Disney has increased its rooms through new resorts and DVC but hasn't increased its capacity with a new park. Not magical. Not magical at all.

 

[WebmasterJackie]

Check out this great chart that DVC Mike made over on the DVC board that shows the steady increase in APs over the last few years with exact dollar amounts.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/wi...nd-your-vacation-plans.3453164/#post-54533974

We renewed in October of 2014 so the prices have now increased twice since then.

 

[1Grumpy9]

At least Disney hasn't gone this route. They set a flat price and that's it, every day for every guest. It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning or the hottest day of the summer, the price is the same. I like that. I hate the places that set the price based on perceived demand for season and special events.

Exactly...Luckily when I go to the Giant Center for hockey games, my parking is already paid for, but I get to watch the price increase and decrease. I don't mind paying for parking as long as it doesn't change depending on season.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I would like to know how much the increase is for each podcaster and podcaster families.
I would also like to hear from them what they would purchase if an Ap was not a work requirement. Meaning if they were not employed where they had to get an ap, as locals . What would they purchase and why?

I would guess that the podteam's APs are paid by the DIS as a business expense of the company which can be written of by the company (again, a guess). But it would be interesting to hear more real-life numbers from the perspective of a Florida resident not subsidized for business reasons.

 

[Princess Jes]

TIW is probably largely locals but parking and APs affect everyone. Most people I know with APs are not Florida residents (who pay different prices anyway). And most guests stay offsite so parking fees definitely affect them.

It doesn't particularly bother me when prices go up. What does bother me is the rate at which they go up. Raising parking from $17 to $20 is a 17.6% hike. I can't believe the cost of operating a parking lot has increased that much. I'm sure the CMs working in the lot haven't gotten a 17.6% raise (I know I sure haven't).

As for the APs, it bothers me when they increase the price of something and try to justify it by adding some feature that most people probably don't want or need. Quite honestly, I'm not even entirely sure what PhotoPass is. I mean, I know it has something to do with the photos that are taken of you in the park but it's not something I've ever used in any way. The fact that I'm now going to pay more for an AP to get that included is just a waste to me. I'd rather see the ticket prices lower and keep the a la carte services separate. People who want them can buy them. People who don't want them aren't stuck paying for them.

Pete has said numerous times not to complain if you aren't prepared to stop paying the price. So far, we're not at that point yet so I'm not going to fuss too much. I've said before, the one thing that might make me stop going is FP+, not the ticket prices. Our next trip is in November. I'll see what I think after that.

We prefer to be our own photographers - why would we want theirs??!! We take better pictures and prefer our own settings - not 'cookie cutter' ones that everyone else has.

Why would small children 'need' a photopass??? Duh, so they can get an extra $100 (whatever) from every AP!

Does anyone else see that this is exactly what they did with the DDP - 'making' everyone pay for the refillable mug???? Oh, no, they don't say it like that - it's included free, right????? Not!

Rants won't bother them - people are lining up to pay!

Personally, I'm a family with no children, so the photo pass photographers are awesome for us. We can get a photo of both of us together that isn't a selfie, without having to trust a stranger to help
Ok they may not be the most artistic photos, but I couldn't take an artistic photo if I tried.
If I want artistic, I'll look on google images for one.
Different families have different needs.
If I were an AP holder, I'd love to have photo pass included, being able to use it for the whole year when it's $160 at best to use it for a limited amount of time, seems like the increase would pay for itself if this is something you'd use

'Most' ride photos - no, but those have never been much of an interest to us. We were always able to get photos of our children on rides. We have been to Disney too many years to count (since year after MK opened in '71) so take just a few important (to us) ones now.

I'm not sure if there is a difference between what photos are included with the new AP, but when I bought it, it included all ride photos and videos

While I agree with your thought, I'm curious, if this is true, why Disney would mess with its most ardent supporters? Is it about them knowing those who visit the most can just "take it"? Seems like a strange strategy to me..........but its the same deal the cable companies use...........the long standing customer never gets in on the new deals, they're only to draw new folks. The problem the cable companies have now is there is competition now...........so that strategy can be beat (I've done it twice to FIOS). Is the competition of US enough to impact Disney?

Doug

Because they know that the local AP holders aren't the ones spending buckets on their afternoon at the parks.
For the most part, they're not spending as much on Merch and food as the family that Coke once every year or two and stay for a full 7-14 days. That's presumably 3 meals a day for a week or two, merchandise that you buy because let's be honest, when you're on a trip, you're looser with your spending (well I am anyway)
You'll buy the snacks because why not?! You're on vacation!
They see the value of this at WDW vs the local AP holder
DLR, not so much, they're, as Pete says, a locals park.

I don't think that Disney understands basic economics and consumer behavior. If the prices in one area go up, then people will cut back in other areas in order to make up the difference. Disney might increase profits in one area, and lose profits in another. As a local, I will not be renewing my TIW. With the $150 savings I can afford to pay for the now much higher priced AP. Without TIW I will probably go out to eat at other Orlando area restaurants over the next year. The whole point of TIW was to encourage locals to eat on Disney property. I believe that the main motivation behind the AP price increase is crowd control. I think this is misguided because locals only make up a small percentage of the crowds. This might make a small dent in the crowd levels during the blackout periods, but at the expense of insulting your most loyal guests. Things may turn out to be business as usual, and it may take a few years for the effects of this to trickle down, but I believe that Disney is hurting themselves in the long run with such dramatic increases.

As Steve said, just because you need to cut back, doesn't mean it will be on your trip.
We save, we might not buy those cute jeans, or go out drinking for an afternoon for no reason, just to have the opportunity to do so on our trip.
Just because it's a trip to Disney, doesn't mean you're putting "Disney first", you're putting your vacation first. It just happens that the vacay is to Disney.

At least Disney hasn't gone this route. They set a flat price and that's it, every day for every guest. It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning or the hottest day of the summer, the price is the same. I like that. I hate the places that set the price based on perceived demand for season and special events.

You mean how Disney has different prices for different days of MNSSHP and MVMCP?
Or universal's express pass?

 

[Princess Jes]

I would guess that the podteam's APs are paid by the DIS as a business expense of the company which can be written of by the company (again, a guess). But it would be interesting to hear more real-life numbers from the perspective of a Florida resident not subsidized for business reasons.

Looks like Jackie has covered that above.
She's a part of the DIS, but looks like she pays for her own, and is a Florida resident I believe?

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Looks like Jackie has covered that above.
She's a part of the DIS, but looks like she pays for her own, and is a Florida resident I believe?

I think the question was about the Podcast team like Dustin (formerly), Craig, etc. - the ones who truly have to go into each park often to do their daily jobs. I wouldn't think that the DIS would pay for APs for its entire workforce. But thank you, Jackie, for the info!

 

[Princess Jes]

My wife and I have 3 trips planned in the next 9 months.

And you can't add one more in sept/oct?! Outrageous!!! ;-)