Another hefty price increase

[halfpintpeggy]

I really used to feel like Disney was of course more expensive than cooking at home, only a little more expensive than eating out at home, and noticeably less than most "captive audience" venues. These increases really put them right up there with the highest price theme parks and sports venues. It continues to squeeze out my options for maximizing value out of my trip, making it more appealing to stay offsite for the savings that I'll need to cover an identical amount of food from my last trip. . . Now I'll have a car. . . Maybe I'll eat offsite more often than not now. . .maybe I'll notice there's a whole lot more in central FL that I never looked at before. . . Hey maybe I'll buy tickets to some of THOSE places!

Am I the only family family like this where the sudden and dramatic increases on tickets, food, drinks, up sells (not just $.70 for one milk!) might cause us to look at totally different options compared to when we automatically gave 100% of our time and money to WDW on a trip? If it really shakes up people's decision making, you've got to sell a lot of $3 waters to make up for a couple thousand we may now spend somewhere else. . .

Oh you are certainly not the only family thinking along these lines. Even if we only visit WDW on our next trip, we'll be staying offsite, not buying breakfast or lunch in WDW, not doing character meals....honestly we might just eat offsite the entire trip!

 

[disneykelly]

You are correct. It won't break my bank. But... based on a Google search:

20 oz cup of soda with ice requires 8.75 oz of product or $0.12
20 oz foam cup cost $0.07
Lid for cup costs $0.01
Straw costs $0.015
Total Cost = $0.215 or rounded up $0.22 per soda

This is not Disney specific, but it gives a sense on typical fast-food soda markups, so I'd say Disney (whose cost is even lower I suspect due to volumes) was doing just fine on their soda profits before this new markup.



Inflation? Really? Higher cost of operation? Not sure I'm buying that. This is Disney greed, plain and simple. They have no shame lately. Wonder what this latest leadership goes home and tells their wives and kids at the end of the day. Sheesh.

On the flip side, I guess we should be applauding the fact that these new soda prices make the refillable mug and DAH prices look better!

Not sure if is still the case, but i remember back in the day, Disney got their coke for free. They just paid for the cups/lids/straws.
Unless you have your head buried firmly in the sand, yes, inflation. Costs are up all over for just about everything.
Yes, cost of operation. You think Disney is still paying people at the wage from ten years ago? Granted, many of their people aren't paid well at all, those that do get a salary are indeed up from years past.
You see all the 15 dollar an hour protesters out there? It isn't just pressure at the low end. Wages are up.
Any fool who thinks that prices stay the same as wages rise is just that, a fool.

Obviously you don't understand capitalism. Replace the word greed with the word profit and you get it right. Companies such as Disney are in it to make a profit. They aren't a charity, even though they do a great deal of charitable work.
Refillable mug? sure is nice to have a sip of a tasty beverage on your way to the park. After that you are just lugging an empty cup around for the rest of the day. Well, unless you fill it with water fountain water. So yeah.

 

[Dan Murphy]

20 oz cup of soda with ice requires 8.75 oz of product

Is that the syrup, or does that include the carbonated water?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Unless you have your head buried firmly in the sand, yes, inflation.

Inflation has not been 12%-35% since the previous increase. Rate vs. hard $'s is the topic.

 

[disneykelly]

I have read the entire thread and I see that you have apologized for your rude remark. It is kind of snippy to declare that people who are becoming shell shocked by the recent rash of across the board increases have their priorities wrong. It is even more rude to tell them to stay home. SOmetimes it is best to think before you react to people's honest conversations.



I am one of those who is beginning to see a bottom line here. I have not reached the end, but honestly, if after DEcembe when we return I do nto feel that my money was well spent, and that includes water, etc that the kids may want, I will need to rethink how I travel to Disney.




Everyone has a line in the sand, and while many of us look at the total cost of the package and decide if we can live with the cost, it is the constant increases in the "little" things that hits the hardest.



I am not okay with the cost. I am not a cheap traveler, and we spend plenty when we vacation, btu I do think I am entitled to agree with those who are a little disgusted with the rapid rash of price increases. Across the board. At every restaurant and snack shop.

I wish i had saved my folios from my trips in the 90's and the one from 2003. The costs of things back then were WONDERFUL compared to how they are now.
The point is, people get upset every time Disney raises the price on anything. Yes, you are right, it is understandable to get frustrated because costs go up. But being realistic, prices change, and they almost never go down! Such is a fact of life.
I want to go back to the point when i paid 79 dollars a night for the Asmu, and when the cost of a 7 day hopper with water was nearly half of what it is today. But i can't.

So there is two paths to take. Draw the line in the wallet sand and spend your money elsewhere or be determined to go and save enough so that you can ENJOY a trip in the near future.

If people really wanted to take a stand, they can also speak with their wallet and refuse to pay for things that they feel is over the top.
Me? I just want to go to Disney and try not to worry about the cost. If i focus on that, i tend to not enjoy my trip.

 

[Slapshot1188]

It is called the going rate combined with inflation and a higher cost of operation.

Actually... NO it's not. Disney Parks (Parks only) made $3,000,000,000 profit last year! That was a 14% INCREASE year over year!!! Operating expenses for Parks only went up 7% while revenue went up 10% domestically (and actually down 8% Internationally)
Disney Annual Reports are public and free to download from their website...

Oh and by the way the latest inflation rate for the United States is 0.9% through the 12 months ended March 2016 as published by the US government on April 14, 2016. Again, freely available information...

 

[disneykelly]

Inflation has not been 12%-35% since the previous increase. Rate vs. hard $'s is the topic.

What is 12-35 percent? The raise in price of a bottle of water is 9 percent.
Not every increase is static. Markets determine a big chunk of how much an item is, demand the rest.

 

[DisneyDad2015]

A 24 pack of water costs 6 dollars. I'll never understand how they get away with the prices they charge for water bottles. Esp when they get it on wholesale

What do you mean by saying "How do they get away with it?" It's a free market. Disney or anyone else can choose to charge whatever they want for a certain product. If you truly want to know how anyone "gets away with" selling anything for a certain price, look at the consumers. Disney charges so much because the consumer is willing to pay that much.

 

[Dan Murphy]

What is 12-35 percent? The raise in price of a bottle of water is 9 percent.

I only looked at 4 of the items, apple juice, large drink, and milks. They ranged from 12%-35%. Actually OJ is a lowly 7 1/2%. And yes, we all know demand trumps reality.

 

[Mom2darlingboys]

Not sure if is still the case, but i remember back in the day, Disney got their coke for free. They just paid for the cups/lids/straws.
Unless you have your head buried firmly in the sand, yes, inflation. Costs are up all over for just about everything.
Yes, cost of operation. You think Disney is still paying people at the wage from ten years ago? Granted, many of their people aren't paid well at all, those that do get a salary are indeed up from years past.
You see all the 15 dollar an hour protesters out there? It isn't just pressure at the low end. Wages are up.
Any fool who thinks that prices stay the same as wages rise is just that, a fool.

Obviously you don't understand capitalism. Replace the word greed with the word profit and you get it right. Companies such as Disney are in it to make a profit. They aren't a charity, even though they do a great deal of charitable work.
Refillable mug? sure is nice to have a sip of a tasty beverage on your way to the park. After that you are just lugging an empty cup around for the rest of the day. Well, unless you fill it with water fountain water. So yeah.

I don't know where you live but last time I checked, inflation was not up by 35%, the soda increase a PP noted. And in terms of cost of operation, I suspect the record profits they have been reporting more than adequately cover them.

As far as wages go, Disney has taken care of that too by cutting CM hours and entertainment wages. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the only pay increases Disney saw this year were executive bonuses. And when almost the full cost of a drink at WDW is already profit and you increase the cost further, that definitely qualifies as greed in my book.

 

[Nancyg56]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^All of this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Except for the part about December.
We'll be making our decision after our May visit.

I know that I will not resent the trip or the money because we are taking the little girls I care for. It was way too hot for Nola last August and so they missed a lot. I want them to see the things we did nto and to have another trip in thier memories, but I worry that once we get home, I will question how many things were more than I anticipated. I know costs go up, and truthfully, I don't mind that. I have never seen so many price hikes in such a shot span of time though, and that is what makes me nervous. A lot more increases can happen in 7 months.

 

[mom2rtk]

Bottom line is that it doesn't matter if a price increase is justified or not. If the bulk of your customers see it as excessive and greedy, you have a problem.

I'm fully aware that we all might be outliers here and this entire rash of increases (some repeated) might just be a blip on the radar that has no effect on attendance or sales. But the jury is still out. Nobody is going to cancel a long planned and paid for trip because food in the MK just went up for the 3rd time in 3 months. But they might just wait to schedule their next one until they see how this shakes out.

 

[mom2rtk]

I know that I will not resent the trip or the money because we are taking the little girls I care for. It was way too hot for Nola last August and so they missed a lot. I want them to see the things we did nto and to have another trip in thier memories, but I worry that once we get home, I will question how many things were more than I anticipated. I know costs go up, and truthfully, I don't mind that. I have never seen so many price hikes in such a shot span of time though, and that is what makes me nervous. A lot more increases can happen in 7 months.

Sadly, I think the odds are pretty high that we will all have many more increases to dissect before this ship changes course.

 

[pa. dad]

It is called the going rate combined with inflation and a higher cost of operation.
Every theme park out there is just about on par in terms of price.
At least Disney let's you bring your own in.
It is not price gouging.
If you want to say that the cost of admission is price gouging, you might be on to something.

No if they raise the price of a burger because the cost of beef is now higher, that is passing along higher costs.
BY DEFINITION, it is price gouging when their costs are not higher and they raise the price anyway.

 

[kittyab]

We drink ice water with our meals. I don't want to fill up on pop. (no to mention it really isn't good for anyway).

 

[Angel Ariel]

A 24 pack of water costs 6 dollars. I'll never understand how they get away with the prices they charge for water bottles. Esp when they get it on wholesale

Heck, I got a pack of 40 water bottles for appx $5 over the weekend (Sam's Club). The water prices are why we bring in our own water bottles and refill throughout the day.

 

[Keyser]

OK, let's be clear - this is not an issue of increases due to inflation. The cost to produce these items has not gone up anywhere near the rate of these raises. Soft drinks in particular are known (across the entire industry) as a super-high profit margin item (that 22 cent estimate is probably accurate), and it's nearly certain that the cost to produce them didn't go up by 25 cents in one year.

This is, instead, Disney trying to set the rate at whatever will maximize their profits. As a business, that is what they should do - supply/demand and all that. What they need to keep in mind (and I'm sure they have been, at least to some degree) are the less immediate effects of some of these changes. There are lots of things Disney (or any business) could do that would improve very short term profits at the expense of long-term profits (i.e. damage to the brand). They've evidently determined that these increases will improve profits without harming the long-term prospects of the company too much.

At the same time, there's nothing wrong with us, as consumers, deciding that the price increases are getting ridiculous and choosing not to participate, travel, whatever. If I weren't already "locked in" to our trip this summer, I doubt I'd be scheduling one, and I'm pretty sure I won't go back for many years after this. All the price increases and the numerous extra-cost add-ons are leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Instead of it feeling like I'm going on "fun family vacation we can all enjoy" I feel like I'm walking into "see how much money we can shake out of you" land. We'll end up paying many of these prices, in part because I now see this as probably our last Disney trip, but talk about putting a "downer" on preparing for this trip. My kids are still excited, at least.

Here's one irony. Our summer trip is a combination parks/cruise trip. One of the "good points" that people have often claimed about Disney Cruises vs. others is that though there are higher prices, you aren't nickle-and-dimed over and over like on some other cruise lines (free cokes if you walk to the top deck, for instance). Well, with all these add-ons, it feels like Disney has decided to not just nickel-and-dime, but also penny-and-quarter-and-dollar us to death...

 

[kandb]

The increases are not hefty. If you want to see price gouging, buy any of the listed items at an airport or a sporting event.

You can't compare that BECAUSE most people stay at Disney for multiple day. When you go to a sporting event or airport, it's a one time event. If my family goes to Disney, stays on property and needs to buy drinks for 7 days in the resorts/parks, it's beyond expensive. Can't compare the two.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Reading this thread there's a lot of people who have no clue about economics and/or business.

 

[kandb]

I am planning on eating most breakfasts in the house we are renting this year, and carrying sandwiches for lunch most days, so that we are only eating one meal a day in the parks. For drinks, I'll bring bottled water for lunch, and take advantage of the free tap water at QS locations the rest of the day.

Just wondering. What kind of sandwiches can you bring into Disney in the heat without a cooler? I cannot eat warm cold cut sandwiches. How do they stay with the impressive Florida heat?