Is Disney becoming too greedy?

[tinkerpea]

It costs us more than that to get to Disney and we are in the US. If you want to look at numbers, you will find that it actually isn't much more expensive for Brits to go to Disney than many Americans. (And you guys actually tend to get offered better deals than we do.) Regardless of what our government may say, many Americans are still struggling due to the economy.
There are also many threads with Americans saying they have been priced out of Disney as well. I agree it is getting ridiculous, but as long as people will still pay then the prices will keep going up.

I hope you realise that is "each person" so just to get to Disney we have to do that times 6!! That's a full 2 wk vacation if we was to choose to go anywhere but Disney lol,
I understand that it's pricing many Americans out as well that's why DH put the thread on the US board not the UK ones,

People will always continue to go plus there is always many 1st timers, its just sad when you end up for many being prices out of something you have been doing for years

 

[tinkerpea]

Yes I think Disney is getting greedy. We have free dining for 11 nights, this coming November. We want to upgrade from regular to deluxe. Just two years ago, the cost to upgrade would have been around £700 for the five of us. This year, the same upgrade is over £1200. That is almost a double in price to upgrade! Ridiculous.

If the UK Disney site no longer offers free dining then we won't be going to Disney anymore. Free dining and the SSR discount are what make it more affordable for us. We wouldn't go without eating out a lot and we certainly wouldn't stay offsite. So we likely just won't go anymore should no more offers come out. The UK is still really struggling money wise and our family has really had to tighten our belts.

Tell me about it! We were considering going to DLP last August and when we saw the price tag slowly veered away. We were quoted around £4000 for a three night trip for the five of us, excluding transport and food. What sucker would pay that?! Lol!

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Exactly!
For us eating out is part of the Disney experience, I can't and would not eat fast food everyday for 2 wks and so we have to be able to afford TS meals when we go! Doing McDonald's and Burger King just is not an option for us.

I mean do Disney really have to double the DDP prices? I'm sure they could still make a very decent profit ( since they have hiked all the meal prices up without hiking up the DDP price too)

Disney Paris well that's a whole different kettle of fish! In NO way would I ever pay what they want.

 

[tinkerpea]

Very true!

You can also look at is as people are being greedy by expecting discounts all of the time.

People don't expect discounts all the time!
We have only had free dining once! Every time before that we have paid for it and been happy, this yr the plan has been raised again, so has the room prices.
It get it go with the times everything has gone up I just wonder when the cut off point will be?

 

[tinkerpea]

Part of it is the places you are staying on site. For example, a two bdrm villa at SSR ranges from $618-$995 per night ( us dollars and does not include tax) depending on when in the year you go. A value or moderate would be a fraction of the cost. The high price is due to the amenities that the Vacation Club villas offer versus the other hotels. These DvC resorts are meant to be used by members using points more so than cash customers. Not that cash isn't wanted of course it's just that they weren't set up to be economical for cash customers like the other choices.

I forgot to add we have NEVER paid the prices you was quoting for SSR we also do values and mods its just that we need to rooms everytime.

 

[tinkerpea]

We paid £4000 in total for our Feb holiday- 10 nights offsite with one onsite.

You would pay just as much or more for the same length of holiday elsewhere in the world. I think it's better value for money then other holidays.

Disneyland Paris want a ridiculous amount for a very short stay, and it's certainly not Florida.

I'm not talking about off site, I can stay off site for next to nothing, but then if I stay off site I can't get DDP anyways so then non of what we have been on about even counts.
It's only wen it comes to onsite that I'm talking about greed, getting less for your money and the DDP rising to an inane price.

If I go offsite then I eat off site too, the holiday becomes very cheap and is then of course much better value then other trips around the world

 

[luvmy2babies]

It costs us more than that to get to Disney and we are in the US. If you want to look at numbers, you will find that it actually isn't much more expensive for Brits to go to Disney than many Americans. (And you guys actually tend to get offered better deals than we do.) Regardless of what our government may say, many Americans are still struggling due to the economy.
There are also many threads with Americans saying they have been priced out of Disney as well. I agree it is getting ridiculous, but as long as people will still pay then the prices will keep going up.

It was going to cost me close to $800 for 3 people to fly down just from NC. I can't do free dining because I can't take my daughter out of school, so whenever I can go it is during the 2nd most expensive season. I haven't been priced out of going, but I have been priced out of staying onsite despite the 30% off of a Value military gets. This year, we are driving down and staying at a hotel about 2 miles away. Next year, my children and I are going with 12 other family members and renting a 6 bedroom home in Windsor Hills, the cost of which I will be splitting with 6 other adults. It is what it is. I figure once we hit the park, we're just as much there as anyone else and that is what matters to me, when I have a 9 year-old saying, Disney pleeeeeaaaassseeee." Then a 3 year-old chanting: "I want to go see Mickey...I want to go see Mickey!" Especially when mom also wants to go see Mickey.

 

[Texas Crude]

So, in summary, Disney has become too greedy since they no longer offer you a 40% discount AND free dining on the same trip? I honestly hope the decrease in incentives will inspire people to vacation somewhere else... The parks have become too crowded, which means its time to raise prices.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

It was going to cost me close to $800 for 3 people to fly down just from NC. I can't do free dining because I can't take my daughter out of school, so whenever I can go it is during the 2nd most expensive season. I haven't been priced out of going, but I have been priced out of staying onsite despite the 30% off of a Value military gets. This year, we are driving down and staying at a hotel about 2 miles away. Next year, my children and I are going with 12 other family members and renting a 6 bedroom home in Windsor Hills, the cost of which I will be splitting with 6 other adults. It is what it is. I figure once we hit the park, we're just as much there as anyone else and that is what matters to me, when I have a 9 year-old saying, Disney pleeeeeaaaassseeee." Then a 3 year-old chanting: "I want to go see Mickey...I want to go see Mickey!" Especially when mom also wants to go see Mickey.

I'm pretty sure when the Brits are saying it costs them $800 to fly they mean PER ticket, not total.

They do have a better exchange rate once they are here, but I'm assuming the bulk of the trip is paid in pounds, not dollars.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I'm pretty sure when the Brits are saying it costs them $800 to fly they mean PER ticket, not total.

They do have a better exchange rate once they are here, but I'm assuming the bulk of the trip is paid in pounds, not dollars.

I thought about that after, but wasn't sure.

 

[Bonnie151]

I'm pretty sure when the Brits are saying it costs them $800 to fly they mean PER ticket, not total.

Definitely PER ticket! We're flying over in October and the cheapest I can find (indirect) is £700pp so just over $1000 per ticket.


ETA: I do think the prices at WDW are increasing at quite a rate! We're still going as frequently, but we're definitely spending more money offsite now - e.g. this Oct will be the first trip where we don't get the DDP. We're planning on using our DVC kitchen and eating outside WDW quite a bit.

 

[tinkerpea]

So, in summary, Disney has become too greedy since they no longer offer you a 40% discount AND free dining on the same trip? I honestly hope the decrease in incentives will inspire people to vacation somewhere else... The parks have become too crowded, which means its time to raise prices.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned at least 3 times in this thread that we have always paid for DDP???!
So not its not that, it's the fact that resort prices have risen dining plan prices have risen ticket prices no longer have child prices, I could go on but seeing as you have your own opinion and I have mine there seems little point

 

[Allison]

People don't expect discounts all the time!
We have only had free dining once! Every time before that we have paid for it and been happy, this yr the plan has been raised again, so has the room prices.
It get it go with the times everything has gone up I just wonder when the cut off point will be?

The cutoff point will be when Disney makes less money than they did previously.

 

[married2mm]

I'm pretty sure when the Brits are saying it costs them $800 to fly they mean PER ticket, not total.

They do have a better exchange rate once they are here, but I'm assuming the bulk of the trip is paid in pounds, not dollars.

We are also in the UK.
Our flights are $1180 per person,they were the cheaper option-we were also quoted $1600 pp.

This extortionate cost is our choice to pay though,nothing to do with Disney.
Not looking for giveaways,but some form of incentive to stay onsite is most welcome.
We've stayed in 2 bed villas at okw and ssr and did not even realize at the time they were discounted.
Sadly we cannot afford the full price,but again not the fault of Disney our finances do not stretch to that.

My favourite perk of being onsite is am emh,followed by free parking.
We've had free dining which was pleasant,but not the whole reason.
We've stayed onsite without dining plan,and obviously still have favourite perks.

The prices for 2014 are increased from this year,but,as with any business this would be expected.

 

[Sparkly]

Have you considered renting DVC points? Beautiful deluxe resorts (We stayed overnight at AKL Kidani and it was wonderful. We even had a savannah view) for value pricing. You can still add the DDP on top if you like to eat at Disney restaurants every night and still get the Magical Express and all the other great things about being onsite.

I think I may have spoilt myself a little for resorts!

Our flights were £550 with miles plus money for Virgin. Flights add a TON on the holiday price! £1650 for the three of us..the condo and hotel didn't cost near as much that!

 

[Tinkerpeas hubby]

I'm actually quite shocked at the volume of people pleased, at the lack of incentives as it reduces the numbers in the park!

It's attitudes like this that gives Disney the green light to be greedy!

Reminds me of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, when they discuss the price of tickets and the possibility of coupons so that not only the super rich get to enjoy.

Both my parents worked two jobs each to give my siblings and I the best they could, Disney was always out of their reach and I think it's heart breaking to see kids not ever go. I was 25 before I went for the first time.

 

[tinkerpea]

Have you considered renting DVC points? Beautiful deluxe resorts (We stayed overnight at AKL Kidani and it was wonderful. We even had a savannah view) for value pricing. You can still add the DDP on top if you like to eat at Disney restaurants every night and still get the Magical Express and all the other great things about being onsite.

I think I may have spoilt myself a little for resorts!

Our flights were £550 with miles plus money for Virgin. Flights add a TON on the holiday price! £1650 for the three of us..the condo and hotel didn't cost near as much that!

Yes we have looked into that option I'm one if those people who know too much about Disney and their options lol, we would rent points BUT if anything goes wrong while your at Disney you have the pain of having to go through the person you rented from to sort it out!

When I'm there for 3wks the last thing I want if I have something wrong with the room is having Disney tell me its not their problem and that the renter has to call,
Like I said previously we are happy to stay at POP we have stayed there 3 times and done AOA last trip, even getting 2 rooms is cheap its adding on the DDP that has rocketed in the last few yrs in price that makes the holiday jump in price!

My DH didn't start the thread because Disney was pricing us out! It was started after reading lot if people say that Disney is getting too much for them after they had been going for years, some of these people only take 5 day breaks so that's sad to see plus EMH are being lowered discounts are being less and less even in low season, monorail hours have been cut!
We can still afford out trips right now, we would if we had to just stay at a cheaper onsite hotel,

But thank you for the suggestion

 

[Sparkly]

I've found that people on here don't usually take long breaks like UK people do- I guess they don't feel the need to stay longer to justify a flight cost because often they're just flying (or driving) across the country, not flying across the Atlantic.

No big deal that some don't get to do Disney as a child really. That's life. It's not a necessity for every family to do WDW, despite what most DISers might think.

 

[Texas Crude]

I've found that people on here don't usually take long breaks like UK people do- I guess they don't feel the need to stay longer to justify a flight cost because often they're just flying (or driving) across the country, not flying across the Atlantic.

No big deal that some don't get to do Disney as a child really. That's life. It's not a necessity for every family to do WDW, despite what most DISers might think.

I think it's less a dollars thing and more of a time thing. I can't even fathom taking three weeks of vacation consecutively, regardless of where we went. Can you imagine returning to work after three weeks?!?!

On top of that, most people in the US only get maybe three weeks off. Take a week for Christmas, few days for Thanksgiving, and you're lucky to get a full week in the summer.

 

[disneychell]

I think it's less a dollars thing and more of a time thing. I can't even fathom taking three weeks of vacation consecutively, regardless of where we went. Can you imagine returning to work after three weeks?!?!

On top of that, most people in the US only get maybe three weeks off. Take a week for Christmas, few days for Thanksgiving, and you're lucky to get a full week in the summer.

Three weeks off is brilliant! Gives you chance to relax and take disney at a slower pace. I guess we are lucky because most people in the UK will get 4 weeks holiday a year- and these can have more added the longer you have been with a company. Using holidays wisely, ie during bank holidays/long weekends helps. Personally I always feel like ive not been off when I return to work whether ive had 1 week or 3 off! The 2-3 weeks holiday over there is definately to justify the cost of the flights, they cost very little less for a week than three.

 

[maxiesmom]

Both my parents worked two jobs each to give my siblings and I the best they could, Disney was always out of their reach and I think it's heart breaking to see kids not ever go. I was 25 before I went for the first time.

I was 29 before I went to WDW for the first time. 3 weeks away from being 30, to be exact. And as heartbreaking as you may find it, when I was growing up, I never missed it! I think that we all love WDW so much that we forget people have happy childhoods without trips to WDW.

We had great cheap vacations as a family. Most of my vacations growing up consisted of driving 4 hours away from home to Mackinaw City. Note City and not Island, because we couldn't afford to stay on the island. We couldn't even afford to stay at a motel on the beach! I never went to Florida until I was 19, and then we went to Miami.

I don't think any child will be scarred for life if they don't make a trip to WDW. Just as I don't think I'm scarred because I have never seen the Pyramids up close an in person. Or been to Tahiti.

We all vacation where we can afford to. Yet no one resort owes us a trip that fits into our budget. And if not everyone goes to WDW it doesn't mean their life was somehow less than those who do go. We all get so wrapped up in our love of Disney and WDW that sometimes it seems we think it does. A little perspective is in order.