New AP to include Photo Downloads?

I just want to know if I'm going to be able to switch to this new pass - we upgraded to Annuals during our trip about 3 weeks ago and had bought Memory Maker too. We just calculated the cost (with DVC discount), and we basically paid the price of these new passes with the memory maker cost.

If we knew this was coming, I think we would have waited to get the PhotoPass included.

Husband is calling to see if there is some way we can switch/upgrade or something :P I'll report back.
 
A 17% increase in the daily parking fees...that's the kinda "chump change" increases we've all become immune too that have driven the price of a "once in a lifetime, magical, priceless, vacation memory of dreams" through the roof.

And a convenient "perk" you get for to pay more for your park passes...look at all that money your saving.

Another sad day for the consumers...the place is starting to look like a casino where the house is advertising the fact that they've rigged all the tables.
 
I just want to know if I'm going to be able to switch to this new pass - we upgraded to Annuals during our trip about 3 weeks ago and had bought Memory Maker too. We just calculated the cost (with DVC discount), and we basically paid the price of these new passes with the memory maker cost.

If we knew this was coming, I think we would have waited to get the PhotoPass included.

Husband is calling to see if there is some way we can switch/upgrade or something :P I'll report back.

You're wasting bandwidth on the cell tower.

You just typed it yourself...you're paying the same either way.

I'm too lazy to do the math...but you just narc'ed it out for everyone: you're now required to pay for their photopasses...which seemed to struggle a bit from my trained eye...

Now
Membership is required...

Wonder why?
It wouldn't have to do with the upsell products - would it?

Like fish in a barrel.
 
A 17% increase in the daily parking fees...that's the kinda "chump change" increases we've all become immune too that have driven the price of a "once in a lifetime, magical, priceless, vacation memory of dreams" through the roof.

And a convenient "perk" you get for to pay more for your park passes...look at all that money your saving.

Another sad day for the consumers...the place is starting to look like a casino where the house is advertising the fact that they've rigged all the tables.

It is essentially the same formula they've been following for what about a decade now. Push all the prices up until you find the breaking point. I'm not expecting to see that change until there's actually an attendance plateau. I have no doubt that come January we'll see similar increases on the day tickets too.
 


It is essentially the same formula they've been following for what about a decade now. Push all the prices up until you find the breaking point. I'm not expecting to see that change until there's actually an attendance plateau. I have no doubt that come January we'll see similar increases on the day tickets too.

That "survey" that went out in May about the ticket "classes" indicates to me that they are moving on ticket increases faster than the usual January/February routine.

I wouldn't be shocked to see an increase to capitalize on suckers...err I mean "guests"...during the holiday bump.

Remember, they lost 1/4 of their stock value in a month...and the whole thing is teetering on the edge...
They took the first in a huge string of losses from their "free money" cash cow...ESPN...
And as others have pointed out...China has to start charging more...and Igers whole strategy is based on cheap China.

All I know: my last pass ( ended recently) was a DVC premium for $469...prior one was a annual for $429...prior to that was a premium for $399 (that was a 100% real estate crash price/era)...that's all I know. "Magical memories" indeed.

So the worm had definitely turned...as my boy Dave and others have pointed out...
They don't care who's coming anymore...as long as you're paying full price.

This on the heels of the latest round of "discounts"...which are basically full price. You get a subsidized dining plan where you still cover the "hungry" portion of the meal and the salary of the employee directly.

You actually have to marvel at how good at this they truly are.
 


So here's the new prices for passes:

New Gold Pass (DVC/Fla ONLY) -> $549 (Increase of $20/3.7% over prior Annual pass and you get Christmas/Easter blackouts)
New Gold Pass renewal (DVC/Fla ONLY) -> $466 (Increase of $17/3.8% over prior Annual pass and you get Christmas/Easter blackouts)
Annual pass -> Platinum pass $749 (Increase of $95/14.5%)
Annual pass (DVC/Fla) -> Platinum pass $649 (Increase of $120/22.7%)
Annual pass renewal -> Platinum pass renewal $635 (Increase of $81/14.6%)
Annual pass renewal (DVC/Fla) -> Platinum pass renewal $549 (Increase of $100/22.3%)
Premium pass -> Platinum plus $829 (Increase of $46/5.9%)
Premium pass (DVC/Fla) -> Platinum plus $729 (Increase of $80/12.3%)
Premium pass renewal -> Platinum plus renewal $705 (Increase of $46/6.9%)
Premium pass renewal (DVC/Fla) -> Platinum plus renewal $619 (Increase of $70/12.8%)

Looking at this really makes me mad unless I am totally reading this wrong, if you have a current full AP the price is going up and Blackout dates are now included,paying a lot more for less, plus if you look at the percentage of increases DVC and Fla residents have the highest% increase, if they are so determined to raise prices how about a huge tax on foreign visitors, i would be willing to let them chant again, this is really hit me at a bad time and am totally flustered by this, and something else to digest, maybe, maybe, we should be more like the residents of CA, their loud liberal complaining and sense of ownership of Disneyland has caused some projects to be changed or cancelled due to their locals outrage,(from what I have read). hey that is a liberal state that could fall into the ocean as far as I am concerned, this conservative state will keep their heads down and keep quiet about it and Fl residents and DVC owners will continue to be gouged and keep asking for more, sorry if anyone is offended by ths but no one is apologizing for me being offended
 
funny I thought the same thing as Alice for about 7 seconds-- It's time for you to buy a second home in FL and make it your primary residence to get the FL resident pricing.............

Yeah...but what do you do the next year at when that's cancelled altogether?
 
Yeah...but what do you do the next year at when that's cancelled altogether?
shhhhh... don't give them any ideas....

We moved to FL about 10 years ago with 4 kids-- as the kids became independent, our number of passes needed decreased-- from 6 then down to 3 now-- however, the total outlay per year has managed to stay right around 1200. -- so I guess in another few years when we are down to 2, I'm good up to 600 each? I don't think that makes good sense but it's all I have...
 
Now that Photo Pass Photos are being included with the Annual Passes, does anybody know if that also includes attraction photos/videos or will annual passholders still need to purchase Memory Maker for that?
TIA!
 
Maybe they are culling the herd.

Not sure if they're thinking that far ahead. Once a bit of panic is added to an already pervasive atmosphere of group-think and toadyism, it probably becomes very easy to write a memo emphasizing the new revenues by multiplying by the pre-price increase attendance numbers, which is a very easy to calculate (if nonsensical) figure ... while ignoring the intangible but very real effect of higher prices causing reduced demand.

Unless they're actually aiming for boutique parks and resort hotels which only cater to the 10 percent or less who are enjoying large annual salary increases, I'm pretty sure that their panicky, group-think state of mind does not permit them to think this one through.

Logically, it's easy to see the take-home salaries of 90% plus of North Americans, Europeans and Latin Americans not just stagnating but deteriorating. It's easy to see that central banks' money-printing schemes are not only total failures, but they've failed so spectacularly that they're literally chained to the policies and simply can't admit defeat and back off the tightrope to nowhere, but have to continue with "QE infinity". It's easy to see that a stock bubble can't go on forever, nor can real estate price increases and low interest rates guarantee anyone's wealth and means of retirement.

In other words it's easy to see that continual price increases in the face of falling take-home salaries are a losing strategy, that what's needed is retrenchment, value for money, deflation and reduced expectations of short term profits, a time of right-sizing and reconnection with the fundamental values of money, work and savings.

But to acknowledge that publicly and act on it would take far more guts than anyone running any major corporation has. A couple of decades ago the Berkshire Hathaway dude would talk about value investing, I don't use derivatives because they're too dangerous, etc., now I understand he's got derivative exposure up the wazoo and as for the rest, he might as well be called 'financial shenanigans 'R' us'. If a plain old midwestern businessman has got that up the wazoo, you can imagine how far a bunch of NY and LA media lawyers, accountants and other assorted weasels will try to increase prices and do other desperate things to their customers before they're finally swept away by the tsumani of Supply and Demand ...

Thanks for listening.
 
Now that Photo Pass Photos are being included with the Annual Passes, does anybody know if that also includes attraction photos/videos or will annual passholders still need to purchase Memory Maker for that?
TIA!

I can only assume that prints are "the hook" and that all other services are to get you to keep flashing the mag strip…

the angle to this is just to cover more normal operation costs and to set up new sales….it isn't about providing anything new or enhanced. I'll defend the wall on this point.
 
Disney Parks Consider Off-Peak Prices: http://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-parks-consider-higher-prices-during-busy-times-1443960001

Here's a portion of the article:

Article in today's Wall Street Journal. You need a subscription to read the entire article. Fairly clear evidence that another round of ticket price increases are coming soon!

For the first time in the 60 years since Disneyland opened, Walt Disney Co. is considering switching to demand-based pricing at its domestic parks, where tickets would cost less or provide added benefits on slower days and cost extra or come with more restrictions on dates when there tend to be too many people.

“We have to look at ways to spread out our attendance throughout the year so we can accommodate demand and avoid bursting at the seams,” said Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek.

Continuing to raise overall prices, as Disney has done well above the inflation rate for several years, wouldn’t fully solve the problem, said Mr. Chapek, as he is also seeking to raise attendance during slower times of the year. In addition, for Disney’s brand, keeping park vacations within the reach of middle-class families is important.

Maintaining the magic at its theme parks is becoming increasingly challenging for Disney amid crowds drawn by new attractions, an improving economy and the popularity of franchises like “Frozen” and “Star Wars.” Both Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., have posted record attendance for each of the last three fiscal years, as well as for the spring quarter that ended in June.

Gruelingly long lines and gate closures, which Disney parks sometimes have to implement on the busiest days, lead to unhappy visitors, exactly what the operators of the “Happiest Place on Earth” want to avoid.

Nikole Zivalich uses her annual pass to go to Disneyland more than 15 times a year, but has long stayed away on Saturdays, which are almost always jam-packed with visitors. Now, however, she also doesn’t go within a week of any major holiday and is wary of Sundays, Fridays and Mondays. On one recent visit Main Street was so clogged that she was funneled by security behind the scenes, where she walked by dumpsters and the plywood backs of facades.

“I remember being bummed I had to see a nonmagical part of Disneyland,” said the 28-year-old television producer.

If the company can instead keep Disneyland and Walt Disney World full but not mobbed for more of the year, that would likely benefit the bottom line, with spending on food and hotels more than making up for any ticket price reductions. In the first nine months of the fiscal year ended in September, Disney’s parks and resorts revenue grew 6% to $11.8 billion and operating income was up 16% to $2.3 billion.
 
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Is the photo pass thing solid? Does it expand to non-AP members of specific trips? When does it begin?

I'm AP now and had been considering getting Memory Maker for the next extended family trip in 40 days.
 
“We have to look at ways to spread out our attendance throughout the year so we can accommodate demand and avoid bursting at the seams,” said Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek.

See they're only thinking of us! :D
 
Maintaining the magic at its theme parks is becoming increasingly challenging for Disney amid crowds drawn by new attractions, an improving economy and the popularity of franchises like “Frozen” and “Star Wars.” Both Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., have posted record attendance for each of the last three fiscal years, as well as for the spring quarter that ended in June.

Hilarious. Practically every single indicator such as ... well, check it out for yourself.

20150916_obo_0[1].jpg

You see what I mean about group-think and toadyism? Only it's not just within Disney, it's between Disney, the Wall Street Journal and practically every other large company.

But to the point: the people sitting around the conference table at Disney would have to be pretty blind to reality and common sense to think that launching into an unprecedentedly large and far-reaching round of price increases - such as tiered pricing and sudden, drastic hikes for many fees - can be successfully implemented against that kind of economic headwind.

I don't doubt that attendance is up, but do I have any reason to explain it? No. Other than maybe people throwing away their last bit of cash (or maxing out credit cards) on a desperate fling. Or perhaps that the 10 percenters have renounced foreign travel and are now staying in the USA and visiting WDW in larger numbers.

Do I think that attendance will continue to rise at the levels they claim that it's been rising for the last couple of year? No. Can they get away with multiplying their new (and future) price increases by the number of guests that can be inferred from a straight-line extrapolation of the last several years' attendance increases? Based on the improving economy [sic], Frozen, Star Wars and a handful of new attractions? No way.

Please note, I'm not mad at or jealous of anyone who has the dough, and is happy to spend it on gold-day theme park admission using their AP with photopass included, and then upgrade everything to the dessert party within a dessert party. I hope you have a great time and I hope to join you someday. I'm just aghast at the big picture ...
 
Disney Parks Consider Off-Peak Prices: http://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-parks-consider-higher-prices-during-busy-times-1443960001

Article in today's Wall Street Journal. You need a subscription to read the entire article. Fairly clear evidence that another round of ticket price increases are coming soon!

honestly…i would never give that paper a dime…

but do i really need to read the article to understand what its going to say and what the important point is?
 

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