Are Disney prices too high?

[Nancyg56]

One of our favorite meals in NYC was actually in a little deli. There are so many amazing and relatively inexpensive food options there, no need to eat fast food. We aren't the type to spend a lot on fancy sit down meals but we also don't like chain, luckily NYC is full of amazing food options. Have a wonderful trip.

Thank you! The last time we went to John's and it was both reasonable and delicious. I found that lunch at the museum of natural history was very expensive, and I though that was a shame. I had budgeted enough for meals, but we sat near a large family and I cringed thinking what his bill was.

Disney is a big-ticket luxury item. I don't think they have any moral or ethical obligation to only keep pace with the rate of inflation.

You think so? We often plan trips that average out to about $1000 to $1200 per person, not counting Kady whose amount we all share, and which includes the majority of our food, our lodging and park tickets. I think that is pretty reasonable for a vacation that exceeds 8 days. I think that it is possible, but you really need to check for discounts and figure out which ones give you the best cost. We like the Deluxe resorts but many times we choose the moderates to keep our costs down.

 

[jodifla]

WDW is expensive, no doubt about it. But most entertainment is today, as other posters have said. Our Cape Cod vacations run as much as our Disney trips.

Disney seems to use prices as crowd control. Since the parks are busy almost year-round, we can assume what they are doing is working for them. At least they are actually starting to build new things now!

For us, we still annual passes, going two or three times in a year, then taking a year off for a cruise, Universal, or other vacation. We own DVC, so we eat at our villa a lot. Usually two dinners, all breakfasts and some lunches. We don't buy souvenirs. We scan the menus and have our favorite stops, so we don't feel (too) price-gouged on meals. We bring in water.

I think we spent about $145 a day for the three of us on food, including all the groceries we got, for a weeklong stay. We pretty much ate whatever we wanted, and we ate more healthfully since we had the kitchen. We splurged on meals at the Yatchtsman Steakhouse and the The Boathouse. We also ate at Olivia's twice, Flame Tree Barbecue, Sci-Fi dinner, and the Prime Time Cafe.

For us the bottom line was we had a fabulous trip that was a lot of fun, so that makes the cost still worth it.

 

[criddopher]

The food pricing is in line with any other place I've been.. Water in downtown D.C. is 3 bucks... Food at Hershey park runs nearly the same. Tickets to get in are about 40 bucks but its no where near 40% as cool as disney... The dining plan makes eating in disney well worth it if you have a plan.(and don't mind putting on 20lbs ) When I went with my brother, we did the dining plan. 50 bucks a day (55?). He had booked dinners at good table service spots a few months ahead of time. So we nearly used that 50$ cost at dinner alone. We brought our own water bottles. I feel fine paying the ticket cost considering the insane level of immersion and attention to detail they put in, and I certainly don't make enough money to where the cost of the trip doesn't put a dent in my wallet...

 

[North of Mouse]

Examples:

Bottled water $3.26
Turkey leg $9.25
Dessert Party $50.00
Hotdogs $8.50
BOMA dinner $45.00 plus
1 day ticket $100 plus
Dining Plan $70.00 plus
Lunch and dinner menus the same price
Refillable mugs $18.00 only 4 refills in 90 minutes lol
Alcoholic beverages $10 $15 plus
Resort pricing exorbitant
souvenirs exorbitant

I think Disney needs to reevaluate their pricing strategy.

It also seems like the quality has gone down too. Anyway these are just a few things. What are your thoughts?

Brunette

Relative to other venues, no - in general, yes, except for ticket prices. Yes, they're expensive, but I do feel you get a lot for your $$'s. Most of the other things we don't buy (some meals, yes) but other things/expenses are controllable, and not necessary to us.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Thanks for letting me know the orchestra seats are worth it! I'll be using my Disney Visa dovthstvis a help. I sure do miss the days when Kady could play hookey for a day! We saved a bundle of money then! Now it is always weekend prices for everything but worth it because she cares about her school work.

Those seats are definitely worth it once you get over the sticker shock! We stalked the resellers every weekend to try to find a lower price, they will drop the price a few hours before the show but you have to be ready to dash in there that minute LOL.

 

[JimmyV]

There's a very, very old economic principle that says "charge what the market will bear."

But that oversimplifies things because you have not defined what the market is. If Disney used to sell Turkey Legs to 5,000 people at $6 a pop, and now sells them to 3,158 people at $9.50 a pop, it receives the same revenue. But can it be said that this is "what the market will bear"? It priced 1,842 people out of the market. Looking at this in the extreme, suppose it decided to sell only one Turkey Leg per day, and this created a mad fervor to be the one person to buy that leg, and Disney raised the price to $30,000 for that one leg, and each day, it sold that one leg. It would be generating the same revenue as when it sold 5,000 at $6 each. But is this "what the market can bear" if virtually every prior customer stopped buying the product? Sometimes "what the market can bear" means generating a similar or greater revenue stream than before. But sometimes "what the market can bear" means the price at which all of the current customers remain current customers. Frankly, I don't think $9.50 is what the market can bear for Turkey Legs. I am sure that they are selling far fewer of them than ever before. I know that my family is off that bandwagon, or cart, as the case may be.

 

[WIcruizer]

$9.50 is the right price for a turkey leg. How do I know? It's the price on the menu board. People can decide whether it's too much or not, but I'm pretty sure Disney knows exactly what to charge for every item they sell to gain maximum profit.

Also, for what it's worth, keep in mind the cost to Disney for some of these specialty items (like turkey legs) has gone up moreso than say a bottle of water or cookie. Not many suppliers out there to negotiate cost for a turkey leg.

 

[epcotty]

Disney is a big-ticket luxury item. I don't think they have any moral or ethical obligation to only keep pace with the rate of inflation.

It never was supposed to be a big-ticket luxury item until more recently. I was pointing out that it's obviously less value than it was in the first 33 years, as it has more recently much farther outpaced inflation than in all of its history before

 

[10-4 Good Buddy]

I just checked six flags, and if you buy their meal deals ahead of time you can get a meal for one, such as a hot dog or chicken strips, for the low low price of $15.25. If you want their equivilent of a refillable mug it will cost you $16 FOR THE DAY.

I just checked and saw where you can get an annual dining pass that includes lunch, dinner, a snack and unlimited beverages all year for just $89.99. That seems like one heck of a deal:

https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia/store/season-dining-pass-sale

If Disney had something like that this country boy would jump on it in a heartbeat!!

 

[WIcruizer]

That's great, but you couldn't drag me to a Six Flags. That's what's great about America, there's something for everyone. If people want cheap, they can go to Six Flags. I'll gladly pay more and have the WDW experience.

 

[GreatLakes]

But that oversimplifies things because you have not defined what the market is. If Disney used to sell Turkey Legs to 5,000 people at $6 a pop, and now sells them to 3,158 people at $9.50 a pop, it receives the same revenue. But can it be said that this is "what the market will bear"? It priced 1,842 people out of the market. Looking at this in the extreme, suppose it decided to sell only one Turkey Leg per day, and this created a mad fervor to be the one person to buy that leg, and Disney raised the price to $30,000 for that one leg, and each day, it sold that one leg. It would be generating the same revenue as when it sold 5,000 at $6 each. But is this "what the market can bear" if virtually every prior customer stopped buying the product? Sometimes "what the market can bear" means generating a similar or greater revenue stream than before. But sometimes "what the market can bear" means the price at which all of the current customers remain current customers. Frankly, I don't think $9.50 is what the market can bear for Turkey Legs. I am sure that they are selling far fewer of them than ever before. I know that my family is off that bandwagon, or cart, as the case may be.

That ignores the cost side of the equation. While it isn't 100% guaranteed selling less of the same product for more money to fewer customers will often result in greater profit because of the correlating reduction in production cost. When your product is a service this is especially true because of the high cost of the additional man hours needed to serve the higher number of people.

I'm sure Disney looks very closely not only at the price at which they get the most people through the gates but the price at which they can maximize the profit per body in the park. If price A gets more people into the park then price B but at the end of the day the profit is sufficiently higher using price B that is the correct price from an economic POV.

"Charge what the market will bear" is a bit of an oversimplification but that is because, in reality, it isn't about the price but the revenue compared to cost. The target market does evolve over time, that I do agree with.

 

[10-4 Good Buddy]

That's great, but you couldn't drag me to a Six Flags. That's what's great about America, there's something for everyone. If people want cheap, they can go to Six Flags. I'll gladly pay more and have the WDW experience.

I'd prefer to think of it as "affordable" but yeah, I get your point.

 

[JimmyV]

When your product is a service this is especially true because of the high cost of the additional man hours needed to serve the higher number of people.

All true. But when the discussion moves to hard goods like bottles of water and Turkey Legs, the vagaries of the "service being provided" become secondary. I look at the OP's rant as being more closely tied to concrete goods, the prices of which have risen pretty quickly. And the argument that "they are about what you find in other amusement parks" fails most people here, because most people here never want to see "Disney" and "other amusement parks" written in the same sentence unless there is a "is better than" written right after the word "Disney".

 

[flicx]

It never was supposed to be a big-ticket luxury item until more recently. I was pointing out that it's obviously less value than it was in the first 33 years, as it has more recently much farther outpaced inflation than in all of its history before

Your posts have been right on point! Disney is fast transitioning from a ford focus to a Porsche right before our eyes. The facts you presented about how it is outpacing inflation is terribly sobering. How long til tickets reach 200 hundred a day? Unlike other items that go up and down in price like airfare and gas and groceries Disney has a straight up attitude!

 

[safroim]

Your posts have been right on point! Disney is fast transitioning from a ford focus to a Porsche right before our eyes. The facts you presented about how it is outpacing inflation is terribly sobering. How long til tickets reach 200 hundred a day? Unlike other items that go up and down in price like airfare and gas and groceries Disney has a straight up attitude!

Doesn't really matter since attendance is at an all-time high. If prices were too high attendance would be falling. The exact opposite is occurring; the more prices go up, the more people come.

 

[10-4 Good Buddy]

Doesn't really matter since attendance is at an all-time high. If prices were too high attendance would be falling. The exact opposite is occurring; the more prices go up, the more people come.

I think it would be more accurate to say "The more people come, the more prices go up".

 

[flicx]

Doesn't really matter since attendance is at an all-time high. If prices were too high attendance would be falling. The exact opposite is occurring; the more prices go up, the more people come.

If you look at historic attendance charts they are similar to the early 90's in individual park attendance.

 

[safroim]

I think it would be more accurate to say "The more people come, the more prices go up".

Maybe so, but it's irrelevant. People are more willing than ever to pay the prices that Disney charges, so they're obviously not too high.

 

[WIcruizer]

Your posts have been right on point! Disney is fast transitioning from a ford focus to a Porsche right before our eyes.

I wish that were true. That would eliminate 99% of the guests. But, of course, it's not true. WDW was never a Ford Focus, and it's not anything close to becoming a Porsche today.

Also, WDW has changed significantly over the years in adding value. I no longer have to rent a car or pay for taxis due to Magical Express. I can get through all parks in fewer days (if I wanted to) due to Park Hopper and Fast Pass. In the early years of WDW there was none of this. One park with less than half the rides/attractions that MK has today. And people still came from all over the world to spend a week. So the price is relative. What you get for a park ticket today is a far greater VALUE compared to what you got in the early years.

Entertainment costs in general have risen over the years faster than inflation. WDW is not unique there. Sporting events for example, as others have said. I'm sure Six Flags admission has not gone up as much as a percentage, why is that? Because WDW doesn't attempt to compete with Six Flags. Just as Disney Cruise Line costs more (often much more) than Carnival or RCCL. There are plenty of people willing to pay for the Disney brand, so what are they supposed to do? Charge less "just because?"

 

[flicx]

I wish that were true. That would eliminate 99% of the guests. But, of course, it's not true. WDW was never a Ford Focus, and it's not anything close to becoming a Porsche today.

Also, WDW has changed significantly over the years in adding value. I no longer have to rent a car or pay for taxis due to Magical Express. I can get through all parks in fewer days (if I wanted to) due to Park Hopper and Fast Pass. In the early years of WDW there was none of this. One park with less than half the rides/attractions that MK has today. And people still came from all over the world to spend a week. So the price is relative. What you get for a park ticket today is a far greater VALUE compared to what you got in the early years.

In the 80's and early 90's park hoppers and no expiration were free. You could go through the parks as easy or easier than recent years. Its funny the core attractions at the parks have almost all been built before 2000, yet prices reflect the opposite. We'll just have to agree to disagree Disney was a far greater value years ago by my opinion yours differs!