AP numbers..DL vs. WDW

[Susie63]

So the AP price increase is a topic being discussed in our house as well as millions of others. We had deluxe AP's in 2013, and we made 3 trips in one calendar year from Canada. We are doing a quick 2 day stay at DL before we head to the world for 2 weeks. We know nothing about WDW and wonder how the AP numbers compare. Lots of people are commenting that DL raised the prices to curb numbers.... but WDW raised their prices too! Any numbers flying around out there

 

[MadeToLove]

Although I have no numbers for how many annual passes either park has, if you just look at local populations living within an hour's drive from the parks, who can make last minute plans to visit the parks on any given day, Central Florida has a population around 2-3 million, and the greater Los Angeles/Orange County area has over 18 million people. That is why many consider Disneyland to be a "locals" park. Also, the cost of living in Los Angeles is a lot higher than Central Florida, so many in So Cal consider the cost of an annual pass a drop in the bucket, it's less than a month's rent, whereas in Florida, that amount is going to feel like a slightly higher percentage of one's annual income. Because of those reasons, I'm expect the number of DL APs to be much higher than for WDW.

 

[mom2rtk]

So the AP price increase is a topic being discussed in our house as well as millions of others. We had deluxe AP's in 2013, and we made 3 trips in one calendar year from Canada. We are doing a quick 2 day stay at DL before we head to the world for 2 weeks. We know nothing about WDW and wonder how the AP numbers compare. Lots of people are commenting that DL raised the prices to curb numbers.... but WDW raised their prices too! Any numbers flying around out there

I think that's a great point. Everyone keeps saying the increase at DL is about their very high local AP base. So why a similar rollout at WDW? I think this is purely and simply about the bottom line. My personal thought is that they are about to roll out surge pricing, and they needed the AP prices in line before rolling out the new and *cough cough* improved regular ticket pricing.

Non-expiring tickets are gone. They needed the other escape hatch to be closed before rolling out the new ticket prices.

 

[imbelle]

I just cancelled my reservation at the Grand Californian due to the passholder increase. I'm a WDW annual passholder and I was going do what I've done in the past which was
to upgrade to the Premier Passport when I arrived at Disneyland in December (heard of too many problems from people who bought their Premier Passport in WDW and then tried to use it in Disneyland). It was going to be about $500 to upgrade which was $200 more than just buying a 5 day park hopper but I figured with the passholder discount on hotel, food, and merchandise I could live with it if I didn't break even. Plus it was good motivation for planning another trip to Disneyland before my pass would expire in May. With the increase I would now have to pay almost $900 to upgrade. Um, no. Just no.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Disney didn't raise prices to lower attendance, they did it to make more money. In the same way of thinking they want the park to be equally crowded every day of the year and use various marketing ploys to achieve that end - though not entirely successful. OTOH the parks have fewer "off peak" periods every year so they are making head-way.
Disney wont ever do anything to lower over-all attendance. They will take steps to move people from crowded days to less crowded time of year with more marketing strategies.
The chief goal is to fill the parks every day.