A Mega-Fan's Response to Disney's Price Increases

[GatorChris]

Dear Disneyland,

Today, we were informed that you would be increasing your ticket prices to enter your parks. As a long-time business owner and director, as well as a free-market adherent, I completely understand the need to increase revenue in order to cover rising expenses and meet projected profit margins. Especially during this time of rapid inflation, we all are doing what we can to balance the books. That said, as a long-time mega-DisneyParks fan, I do feel I need to address some issues.

First, it seems that most of your ticket prices went up at a higher proportion to inflation, which we all know has been your calling card for the last decade. The price hikes have always been out of proportion with the national economy. We've put up with it for quite some time, though I feel our patience is wearing thin. The fact that you took away a free service, FastPass, and replaced it with a pay-to-play daily fee called Genie+ actually felt like a ticket price increase. You either pay the extra money to have the same thing that was free two years ago, or you lose value in the park by spending so much more time in lines. In essence, my ticket price went up with Genie+ in order to keep the same "product." And with a family of five, that went up $100/day just to stay in the same place we were before.

Second, the aforementioned Genie+ has now gone up in price along with the ticket increases. Not only did you raise the price on multi-day tickets by 9%, you raised the price even more by adding yet another $5/day for Genie+. And as if you hadn't gouged consumers enough, Individual Lightening Lane prices increased, and there's information that Genie+ may go up by even more than $5/daily on certain busy days. Is it me, or do these price increases seem out of control?

Third, you have increased prices, but the experience of visiting Disneyland has lost value. With crowds soaring, the constant breakdown of rides and attractions, an awful dining reservation system that has no written rules, the crashing of the Genie+ app, and the lack of adequate (in number and training) cast members, it seems odd that you would ask your customers to pay even more for an increasingly disappointing product.

Finally, if you're raising prices, where are the extra entertainment options that should come with those increases? I'm not talking rides. Where is "Mickey and the Magical Map"? Where is a daytime parade? Where is "Paint the Night"? And for the prices we pay for tickets, Genie+, and the way over-priced dining packages, why isn't Fantasmic! played every night, especially with the large crowds you're letting in during the month of October? The fact that NONE of these things are happening is a slap in the face to all guests who have faithfully made you their annual choice in vacations year after year. Quit hiding behind "it's the Virus thing slowing us down". Everyone else has moved back to normal, but not Disneyland?

As someone who's made trips to Disneyland all my 47 years, and even taken half-a-dozen trips to Walt Disney World, I feel like I understand your product well enough to say this: you are currently doing a terrible job and a great disservice to the Disney brand and reputation. I believe I speak for the majority of your theme park customers that we know you are capable of doing so much better.

So...do it.

Sincerely,
THE DisneyGator

 

[Brandonius]

I like how Tim Ferris (Entrepreneur, Host of the Tim Ferris Show) puts this kind of issue.

When speaking about how he felt about monetizing his podcast, the Tim Ferris show, one of the top podcasts in the world, he said this:

"If I wanted to fully monetize the show at my current rates, I could make between $2-4M per year, depending on how many episodes (“eps”) and spots I offer.

So why “if I wanted to fully monetize?” Because “fully monetizing”–bleeding the stone for all it’s worth–is nearly always a mistake, in my opinion."

(Since this quote, the amount of downloads of his podcast has increased by 1150%)

Disney has lost sight of the long-term vision. They are fully monetizing - cashing out on all the brand loyalty and social media hype they have. This will work for the next 3-5 years I think. And they will make bank. Their corporate focus is on streaming and the "metaverse" - that's what wall street is all about these days. But as more families make big vacations and realize it wasn't quite all that it was cracked up to be or used to be, their over-monetization will come back to bite them.

Also, Universal's Epic Universe opens in a couple of years, and Disney is going to get slammed when it opens. Hard. The main reason we got Galaxy's Edge, Pandora, Toy Story Land, Runaway Railway - most of the expansion at WDW and much of which comes to DL is because of competition from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As a business right now, Disney is making the right move.

But look 5-10 years out Bobby... your cash cow, the Disney Parks, is being neglected. Your hyper-focus on streaming is dumb because Covid and everyone being stuck at home created a way overhyped interest in streaming and the metaverse. In 5 years, when these trendy ideas die down and you need the cashflow to prop up your next investor initiative, you'll be coming back to the parks that you've ignored, wondering why on earth they aren't raking it in like they used to... Meanwhile, your competition has done nothing but build massive expansions and install high-quality rides.

ALSO your "new and innovative Intellectual Properties" that are supposed to be "the center of the Disney brand" that drive "consumer growth and interest around the company" are trash. They are either sequels on old properties (Star Wars and Marvel are being milked dry right now), or flops because any legitimate creative talent has moved elsewhere! Think of Joe Rhode or John Lasseter or Tony Baxter, just to name a few - moved elsewhere largely due to the corporatization and stifling of creative freedom that's going on at Disney.

The reason your company survived the last 2 decades is the acquisition of incredible intellectual properties - you bought star wars, marvel, pixar, and even the Simpsons. And those properties have fed your company. Where are the incredible new IPs coming from inside Disney? The theme park rides and movie stories that are new and capture our imagination!!

Where is the content to back up your streaming strategy? With people you've kicked out because you care too much about the bottom line.

Where is the money coming from to invest in this new "metaverse strategy"? The parks, which you're neglecting because they are doing just fine right now.

I enjoy going to the parks as they are right now. Sure they aren't like they used to be, but I'm willing to go one or two times per year and have a good few days. At an off-property hotel. But the current strategic direction of the company needs some serious help, it's just going to take a few years for all the problems to show themselves.

Disney, if you need more high-level business consulting from an unqualified dude on the internet, hit me up, I'll rant as much as you want.

 

[sophy1996]

Not going to disagree. Kids who don’t grow up with Disney won’t feel the pull to bring their own families in the next decades.

But let’s not group Rohde and Baxter with Lasseter. Lasseter didn’t leave because his creative freedom was being stifled—unless you consider the ability to sexually harass subordinates to be creative freedom. He treated women terribly, and it should have been stopped much earlier.

 

[Brandonius]

Not going to disagree. Kids who don’t grow up with Disney won’t feel the pull to bring their own families in the next decades.

But let’s not group Rohde and Baxter with Lasseter. Lasseter didn’t leave because his creative freedom was being stifled—unless you consider the ability to sexually harass subordinates to be creative freedom. He treated women terribly, and it should have been stopped much earlier.

Somehow I totally missed that whole thing. Yeah, don't lump him in there...

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I like how Tim Ferris (Entrepreneur, Host of the Tim Ferris Show) puts this kind of issue.

When speaking about how he felt about monetizing his podcast, the Tim Ferris show, one of the top podcasts in the world, he said this:

"If I wanted to fully monetize the show at my current rates, I could make between $2-4M per year, depending on how many episodes (“eps”) and spots I offer.

So why “if I wanted to fully monetize?” Because “fully monetizing”–bleeding the stone for all it’s worth–is nearly always a mistake, in my opinion."

(Since this quote, the amount of downloads of his podcast has increased by 1150%)

Disney has lost sight of the long-term vision. They are fully monetizing - cashing out on all the brand loyalty and social media hype they have. This will work for the next 3-5 years I think. And they will make bank. Their corporate focus is on streaming and the "metaverse" - that's what wall street is all about these days. But as more families make big vacations and realize it wasn't quite all that it was cracked up to be or used to be, their over-monetization will come back to bite them.

Also, Universal's Epic Universe opens in a couple of years, and Disney is going to get slammed when it opens. Hard. The main reason we got Galaxy's Edge, Pandora, Toy Story Land, Runaway Railway - most of the expansion at WDW and much of which comes to DL is because of competition from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As a business right now, Disney is making the right move.

But look 5-10 years out Bobby... your cash cow, the Disney Parks, is being neglected. Your hyper-focus on streaming is dumb because Covid and everyone being stuck at home created a way overhyped interest in streaming and the metaverse. In 5 years, when these trendy ideas die down and you need the cashflow to prop up your next investor initiative, you'll be coming back to the parks that you've ignored, wondering why on earth they aren't raking it in like they used to... Meanwhile, your competition has done nothing but build massive expansions and install high-quality rides.

ALSO your "new and innovative Intellectual Properties" that are supposed to be "the center of the Disney brand" that drive "consumer growth and interest around the company" are trash. They are either sequels on old properties (Star Wars and Marvel are being milked dry right now), or flops because any legitimate creative talent has moved elsewhere! Think of Joe Rhode or John Lasseter or Tony Baxter, just to name a few - moved elsewhere largely due to the corporatization and stifling of creative freedom that's going on at Disney.

The reason your company survived the last 2 decades is the acquisition of incredible intellectual properties - you bought star wars, marvel, pixar, and even the Simpsons. And those properties have fed your company. Where are the incredible new IPs coming from inside Disney? The theme park rides and movie stories that are new and capture our imagination!!

Where is the content to back up your streaming strategy? With people you've kicked out because you care too much about the bottom line.

Where is the money coming from to invest in this new "metaverse strategy"? The parks, which you're neglecting because they are doing just fine right now.

I enjoy going to the parks as they are right now. Sure they aren't like they used to be, but I'm willing to go one or two times per year and have a good few days. At an off-property hotel. But the current strategic direction of the company needs some serious help, it's just going to take a few years for all the problems to show themselves.

Disney, if you need more high-level business consulting from an unqualified dude on the internet, hit me up, I'll rant as much as you want.

Just wanted to say thank you informing me about Tim Ferris! Always looking for new podcasts!


And also I agree with your sentiment. I still enjoy going but something’s gotta be done about long term.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Disney has been pretty upfront with :
Our solution to crowd control is higher prices. We will raise the cost of tickets till crowds get in line.
We also want to change to the experience at the parks.

 

[BrianL]

Disney has been pretty upfront with :
Our solution to crowd control is higher prices. We will raise the cost of tickets till crowds get in line.
We also want to change to the experience at the parks.

They are in some ways a victim of their own success - crowds have become insane becuase so many people want to go. While that is going to cause price increases, the bad part is the loss of services and entertainment options for those guests. The Hyperion Theater can seat nearly 2,000 guests and it used to run a show three or four times a day! Now it sits empty while people wander around DCA seeing ever longer lines. Now, there are some signs of improvement recently, at least on the WDW side - and they are bringing back Magic Happens at DL which is a good start - but it's just a start. If they deliever the product that they always have, I'll have very little qualms with price, but when they don't - it's definitely had an impact on how often I consider visiting.

 

[snowwhite84]

Dear Disneyland,

Today, we were informed that you would be increasing your ticket prices to enter your parks. As a long-time business owner and director, as well as a free-market adherent, I completely understand the need to increase revenue in order to cover rising expenses and meet projected profit margins. Especially during this time of rapid inflation, we all are doing what we can to balance the books. That said, as a long-time mega-DisneyParks fan, I do feel I need to address some issues.

First, it seems that most of your ticket prices went up at a higher proportion to inflation, which we all know has been your calling card for the last decade. The price hikes have always been out of proportion with the national economy. We've put up with it for quite some time, though I feel our patience is wearing thin. The fact that you took away a free service, FastPass, and replaced it with a pay-to-play daily fee called Genie+ actually felt like a ticket price increase. You either pay the extra money to have the same thing that was free two years ago, or you lose value in the park by spending so much more time in lines. In essence, my ticket price went up with Genie+ in order to keep the same "product." And with a family of five, that went up $100/day just to stay in the same place we were before.

Second, the aforementioned Genie+ has now gone up in price along with the ticket increases. Not only did you raise the price on multi-day tickets by 9%, you raised the price even more by adding yet another $5/day for Genie+. And as if you hadn't gouged consumers enough, Individual Lightening Lane prices increased, and there's information that Genie+ may go up by even more than $5/daily on certain busy days. Is it me, or do these price increases seem out of control?

Third, you have increased prices, but the experience of visiting Disneyland has lost value. With crowds soaring, the constant breakdown of rides and attractions, an awful dining reservation system that has no written rules, the crashing of the Genie+ app, and the lack of adequate (in number and training) cast members, it seems odd that you would ask your customers to pay even more for an increasingly disappointing product.

Finally, if you're raising prices, where are the extra entertainment options that should come with those increases? I'm not talking rides. Where is "Mickey and the Magical Map"? Where is a daytime parade? Where is "Paint the Night"? And for the prices we pay for tickets, Genie+, and the way over-priced dining packages, why isn't Fantasmic! played every night, especially with the large crowds you're letting in during the month of October? The fact that NONE of these things are happening is a slap in the face to all guests who have faithfully made you their annual choice in vacations year after year. Quit hiding behind "it's the Virus thing slowing us down". Everyone else has moved back to normal, but not Disneyland?

As someone who's made trips to Disneyland all my 47 years, and even taken half-a-dozen trips to Walt Disney World, I feel like I understand your product well enough to say this: you are currently doing a terrible job and a great disservice to the Disney brand and reputation. I believe I speak for the majority of your theme park customers that we know you are capable of doing so much better.

So...do it.

Sincerely,
THE DisneyGator

I read online the ticket increases averaged at an 8% increase, and inflation is currently at 8.3% I believe. It was interesting to me because I couldn’t remember a time in recent years when the ticket increase was below inflation.

 

[disneydreamer74]

Very well said OP!! We all are feeling the squeeze and I have penned many emails to Disney regarding this very issue. I have received the typical "thank you for your feedback, someone will be in touch soon", which results in absolutely NO response at all. Each time I book a trip I go because of the nostalgia and the magic of what the Park USED to be. I keep hoping things will change and the focus will be on guest experience. I see Disney charging exuberant prices, while offering much less. (fireworks and Fantasmic on weekends only???What???) Each time I book a trip I wonder if it will be my last before I just throw in the towel and get fed up. I don't think Mr. Paychex listens to our gripes, he listens to the applause of his shareholders. But the profit margin WILL shift over time and they will be forced to review things.

 

[KKB]

I feel like I understand your product well enough to say this: you are currently doing a terrible job and a great disservice to the Disney brand and reputation. I believe I speak for the majority of your theme park customers that we know you are capable of doing so much better.

So...do it.

OMG--I was EXACTLY thinking this yesterday!!

We did WDW 4x from 2007-2018.
It took a lot of learning to to it right.

Now been trying to plan ONE day in DL...my head is spinning.
And I retired in May so I HAVE the time to do the research!!
Here I am 6 days out & I still don't feel I've wrapped my head around the best way to do things.
I think I understand G+, trying to decide if I need to buck up another $43 to get those 2 ILL tickets...when I already have spent $214 for park hopper w/ G+ for 1 day. (so almost $260??!!)

Hoping with all my learning & planning that once we get there it will be a blast & not a lesson in futility.

 

[Malcon10t]

I see Disney charging exuberant prices, while offering much less. (fireworks and Fantasmic on weekends only???What???)

Everytime I read someone post this I get confused. Except for the 50th anniversary in 2004/2005, Disneyland has always held fireworks and Fantasmic! to weekends, and non-school periods. An agreement they hold with the City of Anaheim. In the 60s and early 70s, the 5 min firework show was only on Fri and Sat (not even Sundays.)

We don't like the crowds, we don't want the prices going up, and no one likes the reservation calendar. Both are done to try and control the crowds. I don't think we will ever be happy.

 

[Astylla]

Very well said OP!! We all are feeling the squeeze and I have penned many emails to Disney regarding this very issue. I have received the typical "thank you for your feedback, someone will be in touch soon", which results in absolutely NO response at all. Each time I book a trip I go because of the nostalgia and the magic of what the Park USED to be. I keep hoping things will change and the focus will be on guest experience. I see Disney charging exuberant prices, while offering much less. (fireworks and Fantasmic on weekends only???What???) Each time I book a trip I wonder if it will be my last before I just throw in the towel and get fed up. I don't think Mr. Paychex listens to our gripes, he listens to the applause of his shareholders. But the profit margin WILL shift over time and they will be forced to review things.

To be fair Fantasmic and Fireworks on weekends only for some years now seasonally. I believe it has to do with the noise ordinances in place with the city of Anaheim but I could be mistaken on the reason.

 

[KKB]

We don't like the crowds, we don't want the prices going up, and no one likes the reservation calendar. Both are done to try and control the crowds. I don't think we will ever be happy.

The thing is they are NOT controlling crowds...
And Fantasmic/Fireworks aside, there are many shows NOT showing to help spread crowds out, so crowds are amplified.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

To be fair Fantasmic and Fireworks on weekends only for some years now seasonally. I believe it has to do with the noise ordinances in place with the city of Anaheim but I could be mistaken on the reason.

Yes, when kids are in school. Fireworks nightly when kids are off school.

Not sure why they couldn’t offer Fantasmic nightly though? I guess it’s a little loud, trough not like the fireworks.

 

[Kuilima]

Dear Disneyland,

Today, we were informed that you would be increasing your ticket prices to enter your parks. As a long-time business owner and director, as well as a free-market adherent, I completely understand the need to increase revenue in order to cover rising expenses and meet projected profit margins. Especially during this time of rapid inflation, we all are doing what we can to balance the books. That said, as a long-time mega-DisneyParks fan, I do feel I need to address some issues.

First, it seems that most of your ticket prices went up at a higher proportion to inflation, which we all know has been your calling card for the last decade. The price hikes have always been out of proportion with the national economy. We've put up with it for quite some time, though I feel our patience is wearing thin. The fact that you took away a free service, FastPass, and replaced it with a pay-to-play daily fee called Genie+ actually felt like a ticket price increase. You either pay the extra money to have the same thing that was free two years ago, or you lose value in the park by spending so much more time in lines. In essence, my ticket price went up with Genie+ in order to keep the same "product." And with a family of five, that went up $100/day just to stay in the same place we were before.

Second, the aforementioned Genie+ has now gone up in price along with the ticket increases. Not only did you raise the price on multi-day tickets by 9%, you raised the price even more by adding yet another $5/day for Genie+. And as if you hadn't gouged consumers enough, Individual Lightening Lane prices increased, and there's information that Genie+ may go up by even more than $5/daily on certain busy days. Is it me, or do these price increases seem out of control?

Third, you have increased prices, but the experience of visiting Disneyland has lost value. With crowds soaring, the constant breakdown of rides and attractions, an awful dining reservation system that has no written rules, the crashing of the Genie+ app, and the lack of adequate (in number and training) cast members, it seems odd that you would ask your customers to pay even more for an increasingly disappointing product.

Finally, if you're raising prices, where are the extra entertainment options that should come with those increases? I'm not talking rides. Where is "Mickey and the Magical Map"? Where is a daytime parade? Where is "Paint the Night"? And for the prices we pay for tickets, Genie+, and the way over-priced dining packages, why isn't Fantasmic! played every night, especially with the large crowds you're letting in during the month of October? The fact that NONE of these things are happening is a slap in the face to all guests who have faithfully made you their annual choice in vacations year after year. Quit hiding behind "it's the Virus thing slowing us down". Everyone else has moved back to normal, but not Disneyland?

As someone who's made trips to Disneyland all my 47 years, and even taken half-a-dozen trips to Walt Disney World, I feel like I understand your product well enough to say this: you are currently doing a terrible job and a great disservice to the Disney brand and reputation. I believe I speak for the majority of your theme park customers that we know you are capable of doing so much better.

So...do it.

Sincerely,
THE DisneyGator

Amen!

 

[Pluto468]

The thing is they are NOT controlling crowds...

I've been wondering about this for a while. I thought the point of the reservation system is to help keep crowds down, but it clearly isn't working. Does anyone know if the parks are at 100% again? I remember after they reopened it was like 70% or less, right?

I've never really bought the "We charge more money to control crowds" line. They just want more money and know we will pay to get in, so why not increase prices?

Each time I book a trip I go because of the nostalgia and the magic of what the Park USED to be. I keep hoping things will change and the focus will be on guest experience.

I totally relate to this. I will go even though it's expensive because it's still my "Happiest Place On Earth," but I can't afford to go as often. I've already been budgeting for a May trip & now have to save more for the tickets, ILL & Genie+. I''m assuming that at some point Disneyland will get their act together as far as CM training and ride maintenance. Those things alone will make a huge difference for the overall guest experience.

In June even with the crowds and ride closures we had a great time and were so happy to be back, but as I heard someone say on these boards a couple of months ago, "Having fun shouldn't have to be this hard."



OP- Great letter! I might write one, too. Maybe if they hear from enough people they will listen.

 

[ktlm]

100 % how we feel as well OP. You put EXACTLY how we feel in words.

Except for 2020, we have been to WDW or DL, or most years both, every year since 2008. After our trip to DLR last year, this is the first year we decided not to go to WDW or DLR. At both WDW and DLR the prices have gone up too far for an experience that has gone way down. The park reservation system is awful ( at DLR we saw crying kids every morning because their parents did not realize advance reservations were necessary and they could not get in). The restrictions on park hopping are not workable (stuck in miserable crowds at DL, we looked at the app and saw extremely short lines at CA, but it was too early to hop). We just can't justify the outlandish prices right now, for the restrictions, limitations, and problems with the parks. I wish they would just bring back FP/Max pass, get rid of park reservations, and eliminate the hopping restrictions. Personally, we are no longer getting the value we should for the price they are charging. It just felt like they could care less about the customers.

They aren't just losing our travel dollars either. Our house is filled with Disney stuff. I've always liked having some Disney stuff around, and wearing Disney clothes as loungewear around the house and DD was Disney obsessed form the time she was 2. She could beat pretty much any CM in Disney trivia and history. She has done school projects on ride mechanics and Disney history. Her focus for years was on getting employed as an imagineer when she grew up. Disney collectibles/clothes/pins/etc were always on her gift lists (and who am I kidding-often mine), and we have pin boards up in the house etc. The reason we have that stuff is as reminders/triggers of that magical feeling that you get in the parks and resorts. We are so disillusioned with the value loss and the park experience from our last trip, that not only are we not going to WDW or DLR this year, we really haven't bought much Disney stuff in the last year, and don't really desire to do so right now. So they aren't just losing our travel dollars- they are losing our merchandise dollars from home as well.

 

[DLgal]

Great sentiment, OP.

But aren't you going to be at Disneyland next week? Didn't I see that in another post?

That's why Disney keeps doing this stuff. People come anyway. So why not?

I agree it's short sighted. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think next year it will. What they are doing feels unsustainable. With all the talk of a looming recession, it can't last forever. And maybe this is part of their strategy? Bulk up the financials ahead of a projected lean time. I don't know. I don't work in their finance division, but it could be.

The way I see this, my Inspire Key just became a much better value.

 

[Brian Noble]

"You are not the first to pass this way, nor shall you be the last."

 

[Malcon10t]

I've been wondering about this for a while. I thought the point of the reservation system is to help keep crowds down, but it clearly isn't working. Does anyone know if the parks are at 100% again? I remember after they reopened it was like 70% or less, right?

It went to 100% Memorial Day weekend.