No expiration day tickets expire in 2030

[Lewisc]

But the difference is, a magazine company still has to deliver a physical product to the pre-paid customers that costs them real money to produce. What is the cost differential to Disney to allow a person entry into the parks? It's a much more vague concept with a liability that is very, very small, as they don't have to pay another CM just because that one person entered the park.

If they want to defer the revenue, maybe that's an issue, but I'm a long way from my accounting courses in college...

Adding a liability is the way you defer income on revenue. We have no idea if the the amount of revenue received from the sale of tickets not yet used is material. An entry might not be required if the amount isn't material.

I'll speculate the reasons given by previous posters (for the rumored change) would be more significant then just accounting issues.

 

[doconeill]

I'll speculate the reasons given by previous posters (for the rumored change) would be more significant then just accounting issues.

I believe it is mainly due to the hassle of guests not understanding it. That was the rumor as to why they pulled it from the price boards last year.

 

[Lewisc]

I believe it is mainly due to the hassle of guests not understanding it. That was the rumor as to why they pulled it from the price boards last year.

Current pricing makes no-expiry tickets a bad deal for most vacationers. Assume a family is planning two trips. It's cheaper to buy 2 five day passes then a 10 day no-expiry ticket. MYW ticket pricing allows guest to add additional days for a nominal price. It seems clear Disney intends the tickets be used during your current visit.

 

[sachilles]

The non expiring ticket is in essence a gift card, with no real value associated with it. It's a pre-purchased product, but you can not, and really shouldn't front load the revenue. You want to recognize the revenue when the guest uses it. Ultimately, it is a liability, and most states property laws tend to support that. The larger the liability on the books, the more difficult the financing becomes, especially if you are looking to finance a large project.
I'd agree to the assumption that it is probably a pretty small nut in the grand scheme of things. However, on the flip side, I'm GUESSING they figure these are going to go unused. If they leave it alone the liability will just stay out there. Might as well kill it off when you think you can get away it. Every little bit counts.

 

[doconeill]

The non expiring ticket is in essence a gift card, with no real value associated with it. It's a pre-purchased product, but you can not, and really shouldn't front load the revenue. You want to recognize the revenue when the guest uses it. Ultimately, it is a liability, and most states property laws tend to support that. The larger the liability on the books, the more difficult the financing becomes, especially if you are looking to finance a large project.
I'd agree to the assumption that it is probably a pretty small nut in the grand scheme of things. However, on the flip side, I'm GUESSING they figure these are going to go unused. If they leave it alone the liability will just stay out there. Might as well kill it off when you think you can get away it. Every little bit counts.

All unused tickets are essentially the same. At least while unused, they represent a liability, but only in allowing admission to a park. No Expiration tickets are not different in that regard. The only differ in how long you have to use all the days/pluses on the tickets. How Disney accounts for unused admissions is anyone's guess...how does an individual admission on a given day look on the books? Do they only realize a fraction of the income of the ticket on that given day? And how much? Cost per day is different for different lengths. And then there is the whole thing with APs...makes it rather complicated. But accountants have their games to play...

 

[sachilles]

:shrug:
I was one of those accountants, and had to play that game daily. It's not a lot of fun.
All unused tickets are not essentially the same. I'm sure I'm failing to explain it correctly. There is some science in there, as you want to record things accurately, so it will help you forecast future visits.
Typically in the industry this is how ticket revenue is recognized.
1 day ticket, 100% revenue recorded when ticket is used. Revenue is allocated to the park of entry. The tax is due then.
7 day ticket, which doesn't need to be used in 7 consecutive days. Revenue divided by 7 and recognized on day of use, at park of use. I'm guessing wdw park hoppers then split the revenue if more than one park is used per day.
Season pass. Historical calculations based on average use. You either determine the break even point for the guest, versus how many tickets they'd have to buy. Or you divide it by the number of days the pass is valid and allocate that small amount daily. You then create a stat to recognize uses.

To answer your question, the revenue split does drop the longer the term is. You are ultimately managing your per cap pricing.

Unused admissions will still hit the revenue stream differently, but there are tax ramification depending upon how you do it. Typically when you acknowledge the revenue, the tax is acknowledged as well. You may or may not be able to recognize the breakage at a different tax rate.

Gift cards are banked value rather than product.
Prizes are no value product.

I don't have as much time to explain as much as I'd like. One of those things that is easier to explain over a beer, rather than a keyboard.

 

[melissaga]

Current pricing makes no-expiry tickets a bad deal for most vacationers. Assume a family is planning two trips. It's cheaper to buy 2 five day passes then a 10 day no-expiry ticket. MYW ticket pricing allows guest to add additional days for a nominal price. It seems clear Disney intends the tickets be used during your current visit.

Perhaps for the typical vacationer and only if they are planning those visits before the next price increase. This is not the case for those of us who go at least once a year and don't visit the parks every day. We have stocked up on tickets in the past and did so again once we learned the choice of no expiration would be gone soon. We bought another 5 10 day parkhopper passes for 3 of us. My husband probably goes to the parks once a year and not at all some years. One of the those 10 day parkhoppers will likely last him at least 10 years. At a minimum, there will likely be 3 or 4 more price increases during that time, possibly more. We definitely come out ahead. He is currently using a 10 day parkhopper that was bought 7 years ago. My daughter and I still have visits left on the passes we bought 4 years ago.

I am sure there are others out there like us. Obviously, a small minority, but for us, it pays off in the long run.

 

[Judique]

Perhaps for the typical vacationer and only if they are planning those visits before the next price increase. This is not the case for those of us who go at least once a year and don't visit the parks every day. We have stocked up on tickets in the past and did so again once we learned the choice of no expiration would be gone soon. We bought another 5 10 day parkhopper passes for 3 of us. My husband probably goes to the parks once a year and not at all some years. One of the those 10 day parkhoppers will likely last him at least 10 years. At a minimum, there will likely be 3 or 4 more price increases during that time, possibly more. We definitely come out ahead. He is currently using a 10 day parkhopper that was bought 7 years ago. My daughter and I still have visits left on the passes we bought 4 years ago.

I am sure there are others out there like us. Obviously, a small minority, but for us, it pays off in the long run.

Somewhat the same going on here...

On my latest visit I brought in a bunch of old tickets and had them converted to RFID. I had a few park hoppers with a day or two left, and a total of 20 water park days on 6 different tickets. We've alternated annual passes and 10 day non expiry for years....with 2-3 park days per visit, it ends up being cost effective for us. We'll do more park visits when we have an AP, but sometimes just to go eat for a couple of hours. So a trip is $150-$225 for tickets for 2-3 days - certainly cheaper than gate for a hopper. I paid $211 for the 4 day special 1 day/1 park ticket last visit and felt trapped by it - couldn't hop and felt compelled to go to all 4 parks. Would have enjoyed 3 days of hopping much more as I could have done a few things at all the parks and enjoyed Epcot all 3 tickets if I wanted. One day at Epcot wasn't quite enough for me.

Prior to the price increase I ordered annual passes from Disney (for when I will book 2-3 trips inside a year) and 3 additional 10 day hoppers wpfm (from UT).

This combo will last me quite some time.

I think I need to book a trip focusing on just the water parks.......maybe May would be a good time.....or July..