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

Stacy's a freak said:

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!

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Oh no I get that!
But you mentioned:

Stacy's a freak said:

But it would be interesting to hear more real-life numbers from the perspective of a Florida resident not subsidized for business reasons.

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And I would say that Jackie falls into this category

Princess Jess, nice catch

FWIW, Disney's been getting more bad press than usual with this AP price increase. Lots of media outlets are reporting that a new pricing structure is "imminent." And I'm not just talking about Disney blogs. I study journalism, so I keep tabs on all the major players, and many of them (from NBC News to TIME) have been covering the AP price increases as an indication of a new ticket pricing structure. The coverage has also not necessarily been in a favorable light generally speaking.

Princess Jes said:

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

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I was strictly referring to parking. You're absolutely right about the other stuff, though. On-demand pricing is becoming increasingly common in all forms of entertainment - movie and theater tickets, parking fees, hotel rates, theme park stuff, etc. I think we're going to see it more and more.

Princess Jes said:

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

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You never know. I might just surprise you. We'll have APs so that'll be covered. We stay in cheap offsite places so that's not a factor. If I can get the time off, it isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Another FWIW, we looked at the numbers and chose NOT to do Disney this past summer. We did Universal instead. Now that wasn't cheap - about $3500 for 5 people for 4 nights, 3 days and we drove our butts from NY over 2 days (this includes a family suite, food, 3 days of park-to-park tickets for 5 people - one was at the child's rate). I estimated the same time, park days, etc. and WDW would have been about $1000 more for us. So we did Universal.

andyman8 said:

FWIW, Disney's been getting more bad press than usual with this AP price increase. Lots of media outlets are reporting that a new pricing structure is "imminent." And I'm not just talking about Disney blogs. I study journalism, so I keep tabs on all the major players, and many of them (from NBC News to TIME) have been covering the AP price increases as an indication of a new ticket pricing structure. The coverage has also not necessarily been in a favorable light generally speaking.

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Of course NBC news would put as bad a spin as possible on it, it makes universal studios look good in comparison.
Tar and feather the competition and all that

andyman8 said:

Disney's been getting more bad press than usual with this AP price increase.

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I heard on the news this morning that there was something in the Wall Street Journal, too. I haven't gone looking for the story yet.

I fully expect tomorrows show to be EPIC

Princess Jes said:

Of course NBC news would put as bad a spin as possible on it, it makes universal studios look good in comparison.
Tar and feather the competition and all that

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Just to debunk your premise, NBC's article was perhaps one of the more generous to Disney, as anything Disney does, Universal will likely follow. Plus, many sites and papers are also covering it in far more negative lights. I should also add that is unlikely that a low-level reporter writing for NBCNews.com who is just looking to have the story posted ASAP probably isn't going to give much thought to turning his/her article into a business opportunity.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again......all these increases just make me very, very sad. Not sad enough to stop going (yet, although it's getting daggone close!), but I certainly have spread out my visits much further apart, have not had an AP in YEARS, spend much less when I am there, and eat at the more expensive places less and less. And it's become much less of a pleasure to even think about going again, and I haven't been in 3 years now - which - for me - is a long time. Like I said, very sad here.

WebmasterJackie said:

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.

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I've heard conflicting things about what DVC pass I need to get. Some say I can pay the renewal price for the platinum while others say I need to use the new pass price. Either way, it'll be $549-649 just to avoid blackout dates that never existed for us before.

PainInIL said:

They already have existing members money already booked to previous financials. The annual maintenance fees are supposed to go back to keeping up the DVC properties. So, while it is true that DVC members paid the most, as far as future revenue is concerned they are no different than any other park visitor. Perks have been eroding for DVC members for years. I expect more of the same.

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If they felt future revenue from DVC members is a moot point, then why do they constantly try to sell me additional contracts? Bad move in giving DVCers blackout dates; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Why should I add an additional contract on now? Likewise, friends who were considering DVC are no longer because of this very issue.

andyman8 said:

Just to debunk your premise, NBC's article was perhaps one of the more generous to Disney, as anything Disney does, Universal will likely follow. Plus, many sites and papers are also covering it in far more negative lights. I should also add that is unlikely that a low-level reporter writing for NBCNews.com who is just looking to have the story posted ASAP probably isn't going to give much thought to turning his/her article into a business opportunity.

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Well that's not really debunking my theory. They still wrote a somewhat negative article no?
and that low level reporter has a manager who may very well be aware of the fact that NBC has a relationship with Universal, so whether it was intentional or not, it wont go unnoticed by those of us who are in the know.

Princess Jes said:

Well that's not really debunking my theory. They still wrote a somewhat negative article no?
and that low level reporter has a manager who may very well be aware of the fact that NBC has a relationship with Universal, so whether it was intentional or not, it wont go unnoticed by those of us who are in the know.

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We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Seems a bit too conspiracy-isn for me. Regardless, the recent price increases and the expected shift to a dynamic pricing structure has been met with a bit of bad press across various platforms. The WSJ (no affiliation whatsoever with NBCUniversal) just ran a lengthy piece about it this morning. So did TIME, MarketWatch, and a slew of others.

Anyways, I love how Disney is trying to market this as a way to steer demand and distribute crowds. They know as well as we do that dynamic pricing won't have a significant effect on crowds; it's about making more money.

andyman8 said:

The WSJ (no affiliation whatsoever with NBCUniversal) just ran a lengthy piece about it this morning. So did TIME, MarketWatch, and a slew of others.

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I'm not saying that NBC are the only ones reporting on it... I was just saying that im not surprised that NBC would report on it in a negative light.

Princess Jes said:

I was just saying that im not surprised that NBC would report on it in a negative light.

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To be fair, NBC isn't alone. Everybody is reporting on it in a negative light. Why? Because the news sucks. Disney's response to record attendance and record profits is to hike prices and piss off their best customers. It's tough to put a positive spin on that.

Has anyone notice that Disney parks blog is being very quiet about this? Not that they discuss ticket prices a whole heck of a lot. But It's just silence on their end

kbelle8995 said:

Has anyone notice that Disney parks blog is being very quiet about this? Not that they discuss ticket prices a whole heck of a lot. But It's just silence on their end

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I believe that's a company site..........not surprising they're not talking...........they're the head of the snake.

Doug

dkrauss said:

I believe that's a company site..........not surprising they're not talking...........they're the head of the snake.

Doug

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It is the company blog. And I noticed they aren't even chatting it up and saying how great it is. And had the same exact thought that you did.

Like Pete says, I won't complain about a price increase because I'm still going to go. WDW has become my happy place and for now, the value I get from a vacation is worth the price that I am paying.

I do have an issue with the blackout dates on certain AP's. We are in the middle of becoming DVC members. In the past we have not vacationed during the black out dates they are listing but in the future we were planning to. I was really looking forward to a discounted AP rate as a perk of being a DVC member.

Just to be up-front about this - as an AP holder I'm not at all happy about the price increase. Fortunately as a FL resident I can seriously consider a "lesser" AP when I renew as I'm not sure I want to be in the parks on the block out dates that the lower categories carry. Decision to be made on December 8 when our current AP expires.

Further, as a Disney stockholder I support their efforts to maintain and grow earnings. Theme Park earnings are only about 1/3rd of the total Disney company (varies from year to year based on hit movies, attendance, TV rights, phase of the moon, etc) so no, not all of this is simply to make more money for Disney. Its to maintain the relative profitability of that segment of the company. Stock prices will reflect the results of the combined company and the stockholder's perception of which way future earnings will go.

*NikkiBell* said:

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.

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Respectfully disagree Nikki. When I bought DVC I did so knowing that the only benefits I was entitled to are those stated in the sales documents. Basically, I was buying a room at WDW for the next 45 years. DVC does not have to offer us anything beyond that. They aren't penalizing us, they are just offering something extra that isn't quite as generous as before. Perhaps this is a glass half-full/half-empty kind of thing. Or maybe the glass is just the wrong size.

disneysteve said:

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.

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Since you asked, no I don't think overcrowding is the motivation at all. "Overcrowding" is in the eye of the beholder. One of the things the whole MB/FP+ thing was sold on is the ability to spread loads out through the day. Before FP+, hitting a major attraction at park opening will feel crowded. Hitting a lesser attraction at park opening will feel empty. Now add FP+ to the mix and the crowds flow more evenly.

Jennygt said:

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

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Just to be clear, that's $150/person. Yes, for 4 people it adds to $600. But $600 makes a better headline, doesn't it. Imagine if she had a family of 10. No, I'm not saying anything negative about Jackie, or your post. Just trying to bring some perspective here.

Jennygt said:

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?

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Its easy enough to calculate for yourself. I don't think the DIS owes us any accounting of how much they pay, or do not pay, each of the podcasters for expenses in the course of their jobs. Perhaps if they weren't employed and had to get an AP themselves they wouldn't even go to WDW. Or maybe they would. I know several of them very well. Some would still be in the parks nearly every day. Others find the whole getting to the parks thing a bit of a hassle and go only for special occasions. So obviously, the answer would vary for each of them. The question is, does that affect your decision?

Stacy's a freak said:

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.

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OK, I'm a FL resident and currently live 2 miles from the Castle. I own DVC and also have the AP. I'm retired and can go to the parks any time I want to, but I do still have to juggle the realities of life and other obligations. This new program would cost me something like an extra $100/year. I really need to look at the numbers closer and evaluate the block out dates. I'm currently thinking that I can go for a "lesser" AP since we don't really care to be in the parks in the hottest part of the summer. Still haven't made the decision yet as our AP's expire in early December.