Prices just hit my threshold :-(

[Marionnette]

There is no chance tiered pricing results in any kind of decrease. Where we are now will simply be the baseline everything else will increase from.

I respectfully disagree. I think that Disney will initially offer those "bronze" level tickets at a lower price than current gate prices while promoting them as giving people who choose bronze tickets a break. That's how they touted MYW when it was introduced..."Hey, you don't have to choose a non-expiring ticket anymore and you will save money over what you used to pay for something you didn't want!"

Prices will inevitable rise, so that there will be no yardstick to measure your bronze savings by.

 

[FunTimeMom]

Its a by-product of the entitlement culture that has been created in this country - I want to go to Disney and have the same experience as those other people, therefore I have a right to.

I am trying to read all the way through before commenting, but I can't get past this. You are the one who sounds completely entitled. My family is comfortable, not rich, but we are upper middle class and doing well. I don't feel entitled to go to WDW, and neither does the original poster on this thread. I took a look at the numbers on the survey about tiered tickets going around. It would cost my family $600 more to go during the same "off season". That puts me over my limit for Disney. Could we afford it? Yes. Do I think the same trip is worth $600 more? No. I am sure there are people like you who will pay the increased costs for Disney so Iger can buy another yacht, and that's cool for you. But, for me, I'll go somewhere else with my money. I find that unfortunate because we had a great time in Disney and were even looking into DVC, but we are out. Everything has a value to people and Disney is reaching it's limit on value for me.

 

[bianca]

We are in the same situation as most on this thread. We lived through Disney in the 90's and remember fondly a system that was magical. As DVC owners with 50+trips under our belt and declining park draws, we would love to see an "After 4" pass available like the FL residents have. I'm sure it would be problematic for Disney and will likely not happen, but until they improve their current situation, we won't be venturing into the parks. Last November we took our niece and nephew for 10 days and did Universal and Sea World. That never would have happened 10 years ago. I sense that we are not the only ones looking for a new direction to take in spending vacation dollars.

 

[Happy_2_B]

I have to wonder if the majority (not all, but the majority) of the people responding that WDW is worth the recent price increase are younger. In my opinion, people who traveled often to WDW in 80/90/00's know a different "value" that used to be had vs current. We can see the "then vs now" changes that make us question the ever skyrocketing increases with lack of new attractions and consistent decline of unique dining.

I have been going since the very first years the MK was built- and have made many trips over the years. Is there declining 'value'? Probably. Do I mind- and will I change my vacation destination? Absolutely not. The gate increases are so all these new lands can be built and attractions can be updated- and Disney should have said so instead of masking the increase under the guise of redistributing attendance to different times of year. That might be a minor goal, but the majority of these increases will go into building these new lands and updating attractions. I do think Disney was a bit slow to react to the need for change, and if the Harry Potter stuff hadn't been built things would have unfortunately stayed the same for much longer IMHO. That said, over the next couple of years WDW will stake it's claim once and for all as the undeniable King of theme park experiences. They have one thing Universal doesn't have- LAND- lots and lots of land. Universal will continue to draw the families that are into thrill rides, and may get some 'Disney defectors' while these new lands are being finished. Harry Potter is one theme, and one theme only, and it will get old very quickly. They simply cannot compete on a theming basis with WDW- their attractions are a mish-mash of randomness pulled from a variety of areas.

WDW park attendance has steadily increased over the decades, and profits for the corporation are close to or at record highs. From the corporate perspective, things did not seem 'broke'- so there was no need to 'fix' them. Now they are in a position where they have to respond to Universal's new areas- and they are doing so. There are many more people at the parks than there were in 'the good ole' days' so I do not have an expectation that attention to detail will be as high on a day-to-day basis. They are also cooking food for way more people as well, and although I expect the food to be nourishing and tasty- I do not expect the food to be at the level of high caliber small local restaurants- it simply is an unattainable goal. If I want a world class meal at Disney, I will book the Chef's Table at V&A's again- but I have no expectation that the food in the parks- namely EPCOT restaurants- will be anywhere near that quality. One of their most successful movies of all time has resulted in even more people flocking to the parks- and those being released soon will continue that trend.

I think your assumption that AP holders and DVCer's are Disney's 'bread and butter' is most likely an incorrect assumption- but it clearly shows where this 'entitlement' mentality comes from. Disney's profit margin is much lower on AP holders and DVC people per day than a normal guest. It is still a good business decision by Disney to have people prepay for the privilege of getting discounted rates, as it gives Disney operational cash to work with- but it doesn't mean they are the 'bread and butter' clients. They are simply guests in another category- timeshare is nothing more than another business Disney has it's hands in- just as they have their hands in TV, movies, merchandising, etc, etc, etc.

Disney makes much more money per park day on a family that comes in for 5 days and pays summer rack rates at one of their hotels than they do on guests that frequently return. I do understand why the DVCer's have concerns much more than I appreciate those of the AP holders- as they have a larger stake invested than the rest, but- in reality- they ultimately own nothing but are merely 'borrowing' Disney accommodations for a period of time each year at a much lower cost than what similar accommodations can be had by the 'regular' visiting guests. That is all they are 'entitled' to. AP holders get a reduced gate price per day because they opted to prepay. That is all they are 'entitled' to. The extra perks and benefits are nice- but they change constantly, are not entitlements- and can be taken away at any time.

The 'good ole days' will never return. Park attendance will continue to increase- and with these increases there is only so much 'attention' a given guest can reasonably expect to receive. Park maintenance will be done, but cannot reasonably be done as quickly and efficiently as it was when fewer people were in the parks. Any expectation that service can be as good as it was- for example- in the mid 70's through the 80's and early 90's is unrealistic IMHO. More people bring more issues that have to be dealt with on a day-to-day basis, and there is only so much that can be done in a given day. If one thinks about how many people are in the parks these days, and how well the parks continue to be maintained, it is a small miracle. Those with an expectation that it will be the same as 'it used to be' are always going be disappointed.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I respectfully disagree. I think that Disney will initially offer those "bronze" level tickets at a lower price than current gate prices while promoting them as giving people who choose bronze tickets a break. That's how they touted MYW when it was introduced..."Hey, you don't have to choose a non-expiring ticket anymore and you will save money over what you used to pay for something you didn't want!"

Prices will inevitable rise, so that there will be no yardstick to measure your bronze savings by.

We'll see. I just don't have any faith in Disney to actually lower prices. Even the discounts they offer are getting less each year.

 

[Ambear]

Universal will continue to draw the older families that are into thrill rides, and may get some 'Disney defectors' while these new lands are being finished. Harry Potter is one theme, and one theme only, and it will get old very quickly. They simply cannot compete on a theming basis with WDW- their attractions are a mish-mash of randomness pulled from a variety of areas.

Harry potter will never get old. Ever. People will regularly flock to universal just for harry potter. Universal was smart to build it so well and also to connect the parks with it. Even if people don't spend as long a vacation at uni, people will go just for hp. I will and I'm not even a super hard core fan haha.

And if they build Nintendo land smartly like they did hp world, then that would kick ***. Uni seems to be learning how to build great themes. Which I'm thankful for as a disney and universal lover.

 

[jesse8931]

Harry potter will never get old. Ever. People will regularly flock to universal just for harry potter. Universal was smart to build it so well and also to connect the parks with it. Even if people don't spend as long a vacation at uni, people will go just for hp. I will and I'm not even a super hard core fan haha.

And if they build Nintendo land smartly like they did hp world, then that would kick ***. Uni seems to be learning how to build great themes. Which I'm thankful for as a disney and universal lover.

Just so you know Universal had no say so with harry potter in the park. J. K Rowling had complete control of the project.

And to compare Disney world with Universal it's apple's to orange's.

I like Universal and plan to spend a day there but I cant imagine spending more then one day.

 

[Ambear]

Just so you know Universal had no say so with harry potter in the park. J. K Rowling had complete control of the project.

And I hope they work with miyamoto too.

 

[Jennasis]

I always thought that admission should be a loss leader (comparatively speaking). Get them in the door and then soak 'em. Guess that's why im not in charge of WDW lol?

 

[JOE DELL]

You probably need to go back and re-read the thread if that's what you think people are saying. This raise did NOT happen in a vacuum.

BTW, my DVC points are now listed for sale if you're interested. I'm selling not just because of this price increase, I'm selling because the value is not there any longer. I have seen a steady degradation in the return on my vacation dollars that were being spent at Disney. And before you say "good, Disney wants to get rid of you anyways because you didn't spend as much as a new customer", well on our last 8 day trip in August I spent just over $5K at Disney (does not include airline flights). I want to see a new guest staying at Pop Century keep up with that burn rate.

Naw you should go back and read also read when this thread was made, there was none of this crying before Monday as well as a huge portion of this thread is Disney bashing because some people can afford it, I can't afford a Lamborghini but I'm not on there boards complaining there prices are too high, and as such an avid DVC holder you should be well aware that the price on rooms and villas go up every year between 3-15%, so yea your points don't go as far.

Yea your paying more for the same product ummm that how economics work, inflation, welcome to the real world Like I said prices on everything go up I don't see people with pitchforks at the local dary because the price of milk went up.

 

[disneyseniors]

Wow, just Wow, what a thread! I can't believe I've read it all, so far

I just have to say that we have been Disney fanatics for a long time. Our friends never understood it, but accepted it! We were asked for our info on all things Disney for years, and we gave it happily. The why and how we love it and all the wonderful times at Disney. Some got it, some didn't.

Now when people ask us, I find it difficult to try to explain all the changes a Disney vacation involves. When I say you have to make adr's 180 days in advance at certain parks you have to pick for that day, and you get penalized if you don't make it? They don't understand! What? you have to decide when and where you are going to eat that far in advance? on a vacation? (I know I know, you don't have to make adrs, but come on, get real, if you want to eat at your favorite sit down restaurant, you do have to) Then I try to explain the fp+ concept in addition to adr's. What, you have to set up 3 attractions for each park while you are there? (again, you don't Have to, but we all know you have to if you really want A&E, 7dmt, tSM, etc) I get the responses of," How do we know which park we will want to be in at 60 or 30 days out? What if the kids are sick, we just don't want to go to HS that day, change our plans and do a water park? There's no way to know that? Get real! By the time I get through fp plus, with restrictions such as tiering, they are shaking their heads at the amount of planning involved. Almost to a person, they say that Disney is too much planning for them. I tell them we still go, but yes, it is a lot of preplanning.
When someone who does not know about all this preplanning learns what hoops you have to jump just to go there, they are rightfully amazed!

Telling people all this now is a big change from what we used to tell them about Disney. It is just sad. The only ones who thought nothing of it were my daughterinlaw and family. She just said, yea but we are going. They paid a huge amount for the family, and when asking the grandkids what they did, I found out they did not really ride anything, esp the headliners. They did the 3rd rate, no=need for fp type of rides, and not many of them due to the lines. They were disappointed, but not to the point of us Disney veterans are. They just didn't know better. And they are one and done with Disney. Just not interested enough in a repeat because of the cost and experience.

This is what I think will ultimately hurt Disney in the future. The word of mouth is very important to a business. When the veterans such as us have difficulty trying to explain it all, what then? So, I think it is right that the people who are "recent years" visitors might be one and done too, or they might hang in there because they don't know the how it used to be with customer service, great meals, ambience, the importance of show, and just too much more that we have seen decline and have been mentioned over and over here.

I am saddened more than anything, but we are going this fall and hope that the decline doesn't continue as we have seen in recent years.

 

[lugnut33]

Naw you should go back and read also read when this thread was made, there was none of this crying before Monday as well as a huge portion of this thread is Disney bashing because some people can afford it, I can't afford a Lamborghini but I'm not on there boards complaining there prices are too high, and as such an avid DVC holder you should be well aware that the price on rooms and villas go up every year between 3-15%, so yea your points don't go as far.

Yea your paying more for the same product ummm that how economics work, inflation, welcome to the real world Like I said prices on everything go up I don't see people with pitchforks at the local dary because the price of milk went up.

Apparently your Disney of today is the same Disney of 2005. I don't see it that way.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I respectfully disagree. I think that Disney will initially offer those "bronze" level tickets at a lower price than current gate prices while promoting them as giving people who choose bronze tickets a break. That's how they touted MYW when it was introduced..."Hey, you don't have to choose a non-expiring ticket anymore and you will save money over what you used to pay for something you didn't want!"

Prices will inevitable rise, so that there will be no yardstick to measure your bronze savings by.

I thought when they released the survey about tiered pricing earlier this year that Bronze level was the current ticket prices and everything else went up from there.

I am certainly not writing that off as a possibility. There's no reason for them to offer tickets at any price less than what they're currently charging.

 

[Jennasis]

Naw you should go back and read also read when this thread was made, there was none of this crying before Monday as well as a huge portion of this thread is Disney bashing because some people can afford it, I can't afford a Lamborghini but I'm not on there boards complaining there prices are too high, and as such an avid DVC holder you should be well aware that the price on rooms and villas go up every year between 3-15%, so yea your points don't go as far.

Yea your paying more for the same product ummm that how economics work, inflation, welcome to the real world Like I said prices on everything go up I don't see people with pitchforks at the local dary because the price of milk went up.

But this is a Disney fan board. What else would you expect to find after such an announcement? Maybe there are grocery boards where they are lamenting the cost of milk and eggs. But here, in this shop, we talk Disney. And on this thread, is the lament of disappointed fans.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Yea your paying more for the same product ummm that how economics work, inflation, welcome to the real world Like I said prices on everything go up I don't see people with pitchforks at the local dary because the price of milk went up.

Not an apples to apples comparison. Disney prices are increasing at a much higher rate than the rate of inflation.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Naw you should go back and read also read when this thread was made, there was none of this crying before Monday as well as a huge portion of this thread is Disney bashing because some people can afford it, I can't afford a Lamborghini but I'm not on there boards complaining there prices are too high, and as such an avid DVC holder you should be well aware that the price on rooms and villas go up every year between 3-15%, so yea your points don't go as far.

Yea your paying more for the same product ummm that how economics work, inflation, welcome to the real world Like I said prices on everything go up I don't see people with pitchforks at the local dary because the price of milk went up.

I don't think the complaints would be the same if you were paying more for the same. There would still be some but the real issue is that you are paying more for less whether that's quality, service or attractions.

 

[kbelle8995]

Harry potter will never get old. Ever. People will regularly flock to universal just for harry potter. Universal was smart to build it so well and also to connect the parks with it. Even if people don't spend as long a vacation at uni, people will go just for hp. I will and I'm not even a super hard core fan haha.

And if they build Nintendo land smartly like they did hp world, then that would kick ***. Uni seems to be learning how to build great themes. Which I'm thankful for as a disney and universal lover.

I agree. I'm a librarian. Harry Potter not going to get old any time soon.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Just so you know Universal had no say so with harry potter in the park. J. K Rowling had complete control of the project.

JK Rowling has complete control over the HP areas of the park because Universal was smart enough to cede that control to her. Disney refused, so she took her ball and went and played somewhere else where the suits were willing to let her vision reign supreme.

 

[disneyfan2kids]

I have been going since the very first years the MK was built- and have made many trips over the years. Is there declining 'value'? Probably. Do I mind- and will I change my vacation destination? Absolutely not. The gate increases are so all these new lands can be built and attractions can be updated- and Disney should have said so instead of masking the increase under the guise of redistributing attendance to different times of year. That might be a minor goal, but the majority of these increases will go into building these new lands and updating attractions. I do think Disney was a bit slow to react to the need for change, and if the Harry Potter stuff hadn't been built things would have unfortunately stayed the same for much longer IMHO. That said, over the next couple of years WDW will stake it's claim once and for all as the undeniable King of theme park experiences. They have one thing Universal doesn't have- LAND- lots and lots of land. Universal will continue to draw the families that are into thrill rides, and may get some 'Disney defectors' while these new lands are being finished. Harry Potter is one theme, and one theme only, and it will get old very quickly. They simply cannot compete on a theming basis with WDW- their attractions are a mish-mash of randomness pulled from a variety of areas.

WDW park attendance has steadily increased over the decades, and profits for the corporation are close to or at record highs. From the corporate perspective, things did not seem 'broke'- so there was no need to 'fix' them. Now they are in a position where they have to respond to Universal's new areas- and they are doing so. There are many more people at the parks than there were in 'the good ole' days' so I do not have an expectation that attention to detail will be as high on a day-to-day basis. They are also cooking food for way more people as well, and although I expect the food to be nourishing and tasty- I do not expect the food to be at the level of high caliber small local restaurants- it simply is an unattainable goal. If I want a world class meal at Disney, I will book the Chef's Table at V&A's again- but I have no expectation that the food in the parks- namely EPCOT restaurants- will be anywhere near that quality. One of their most successful movies of all time has resulted in even more people flocking to the parks- and those being released soon will continue that trend.

I think your assumption that AP holders and DVCer's are Disney's 'bread and butter' is most likely an incorrect assumption- but it clearly shows where this 'entitlement' mentality comes from. Disney's profit margin is much lower on AP holders and DVC people per day than a normal guest. It is still a good business decision by Disney to have people prepay for the privilege of getting discounted rates, as it gives Disney operational cash to work with- but it doesn't mean they are the 'bread and butter' clients. They are simply guests in another category- timeshare is nothing more than another business Disney has it's hands in- just as they have their hands in TV, movies, merchandising, etc, etc, etc.

Disney makes much more money per park day on a family that comes in for 5 days and pays summer rack rates at one of their hotels than they do on guests that frequently return. I do understand why the DVCer's have concerns much more than I appreciate those of the AP holders- as they have a larger stake invested than the rest, but- in reality- they ultimately own nothing but are merely 'borrowing' Disney accommodations for a period of time each year at a much lower cost than what similar accommodations can be had by the 'regular' visiting guests. That is all they are 'entitled' to. AP holders get a reduced gate price per day because they opted to prepay. That is all they are 'entitled' to. The extra perks and benefits are nice- but they change constantly, are not entitlements- and can be taken away at any time.

The 'good ole days' will never return. Park attendance will continue to increase- and with these increases there is only so much 'attention' a given guest can reasonably expect to receive. Park maintenance will be done, but cannot reasonably be done as quickly and efficiently as it was when fewer people were in the parks. Any expectation that service can be as good as it was- for example- in the mid 70's through the 80's and early 90's is unrealistic IMHO. More people bring more issues that have to be dealt with on a day-to-day basis, and there is only so much that can be done in a given day. If one thinks about how many people are in the parks these days, and how well the parks continue to be maintained, it is a small miracle. Those with an expectation that it will be the same as 'it used to be' are always going be disappointed.

I disagree with about 99% of this entire post...oh wait...NO... It's a full 100% I disagree with. If your attitude is simply "Disney will continue to get worse and worse and charge me more and more and I'm still happy about it." Then I have a cup of Kool-Aide for you.

Edited to add: and OF COURSE bpadair "likes" it! LOL!

 

[JimmyV]

The gate increases are so all these new lands can be built and attractions can be updated- and Disney should have said so instead of masking the increase under the guise of redistributing attendance to different times of year. That might be a minor goal, but the majority of these increases will go into building these new lands and updating attractions.

This simply isn't true. First, the financial statements do not back it up. Second, if this were true, then once the new capital improvements were paid for, prices would revert back to the pre-building levels. And we know that that won't happen.