Are Disney prices too high?

[ZephyrHawk]

Disney prices are high, but "too expensive" is really a personal judgement. Too expensive when compared to other theme park vacations? Not really. Too expensive when compared with other vacation options in general? That depends if you're a local beach vacation person or an international jet-setter. Too expensive for "middle class" Americans? That gets us into a discussion of what is the middle class and where it's headed.

Yes, Disney is expensive. Feel free to vent. But is it too expensive? Well, not for my family. Not yet.

 

[DebbieB]

I don't understand why they would want to reevaluate their pricing policy at this time. People are paying it, parks & resorts are full! Disney is not a non-profit. When they will reevaluate it is when attendance at the parks and resorts go down. You will see discounted room specials come out and possibly ticket specials. But right now they are riding high, why would they reduce their profits? Their shareholders would not be happy.

I went to an NHL game last year. 2 cheeseburgers, 1 order of fries, 2 soft drinks = $32. Place was soldout.

 

[kathy884]

As a Disney stockholder -- no -- both attendance and prices are up.

As a consumer (previous many time visitor) -- Prices are high, crowds are high, and my interest in the parks has waned. Some extended family for example are going down for Thanksgiving, but DH and I decided to stay home. We are sending down DS for a few days, though, to join them and are willing to pay for his tickets and expenses (His interest hasn't waned and I believe the parks offer a unique experience for those who aren't bored with them, and am willing to spend some money for him to join my wonderful family and have some fun down there.) // I think I've just been down too many times more than anything.

My extended family are quite savvy and conservative in their spending, though. They are staying in offsite condos, they eat in and offsite, they bring food to the parks. The one thing they can't get around though are high theme park ticket prices, but they will just do two days at Disney and two at SeaWorld. The second day at SeaWorld is a bargain at only $15 and some in the group have season passes for that park also. They will spend two days enjoying the resort (low cost). // So bottom line is that prices are high, theme parks are still worth it in moderation, there are ways to get around the other high prices like food, and we skip the expense extras that we don't think of as a great value.

 

[Don Disney]

I thinkg the overall value is still there....IF,in our case,we stay off-site,and enjoy a MUCH larger room with kitchenette,bring food into the parks,have some meals at"home" and off site,making the tickets the only money we spend at the parks....That's what will keep the overall value worth it for us......

 

[lugnut33]

No, the more they raise the prices the more people flock to Disney. It is more crowded than ever before. If people continue to pay, they will continue to raise prices.

So much this. If the parks were not crowded I would say prices are too high, but they are more crowded than ever. Record attendance dictates the prices are not high enough. The thing that really bothers me are cutbacks in the little areas like maintenance and food quality.

 

[Roxyfire]

Man, what a low effort post. Everything is expensive everywhere. What a newsflash!

 

[10-4 Good Buddy]

Are Disney prices too high? I'm not sure what "too high" is. It's not cheap, that's for sure. And it's not getting any cheaper. But then the only thing I've seen go down in price lately has been gasoline.

 

[cigar95]

"Price gounging" would be something like raising the price of a poncho when it starts to rain or charging for a glass of ice water when it's hot. Disney isn't doing anything like that - they're just charging prices that are reasonable in a theme park environment.

"Price gouging" implies something that people MUST purchase - such as all sorts of supplies in the wake of a natural disaster. The term is inapplicable to a vacation, where the solution to (perceived overly) high prices is to choose not to pay them. (Or your example with the ponchos also works well, with the captive audience and no alternatives, other than pre-planning.)
there are lots of "add-ons" at WDW that look like they might be enjoyable, but I never do them because they're more than I'm willing to pay. I buy my park tickets, I stay at my WDW resort with the best discount I can find, and I enjoy my sit-down restaurants. But the big bucks for a dessert party or a dinner cruise are over the line. I still enjoy my trip without those things.

 

[DisneyQuest]

Whether or not people are foolish with their money is irrelevant to the topic . The bottom line is Disney is still gouging its customers . I don't need a lecture on how to budget my money . It makes me wonder how many people find the recent 10 percent correction in the stock market a bad thing . Investing heavily now , is helping me find good value for my dollar. I am the kind of person that wants to see a good value for every dollar I spend . Spending 3.50 for a free commodity is a foolish waste of money . We have annual passes and do eat at counter services and maybe a table service.

I feel Disney is gouging it's customers, and I felt compelled to point that out.
Brunette

Actually, Disney is not "gouging" their customers. By definition, price gouging is the act of raising prices on certain goods to an unfair or unreasonable level during an emergency. Disney is not an essential service; they are entitled to set their price at what the market will bear.

Just because you don't see the same value to a product or service does not mean that a company is charging an unreasonable price.

 

[LoKiHB]

Yeah they're on the high side but it's still cheaper and better quality then going baseball game in my area.

This is so true. I've never even considered the $500+ it can cost to go to a Yankee game with a family of four.

 

[Canuck16]

Sure there are items at Disney that seem to be highly priced but if people are willing to pay it for the experience they want then why would Disney change their pricing.

If I do not like the price of a product then I won't pay it......plane and simple.

Our family will share meals, drinks, treats etc as we are not big eaters at the parks and that way we can keep the costs down but still get to try things that we enjoy at Disney.

We make adjustments and we still have fun and I think everyone can enjoy Disney on whatever budget they have.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that the prices are too high but I also think that it's true that they should charge what the market will bear. If you think that the prices are out of hand then you are right. It's subjective.

I would like to know where these mobs are finding all of this money though. Is the middle class really so rich right now?

 

[Savanna]

It is very affordable for our family of 5 and it's actually cheaper than most other vacation spots for us. Granted, we do get the military discount park hopper tickets. For our visit in June, we stayed at a Moderate resort with the regular dining plan and it was only $100 more than just our room at Myrtle Beach in July. After the expense of food, activities and souvenirs at the beach, we ended up spending more than our entire Disney trip.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Yes and no. Because of the way Disney front loads tickets, I can't justify the cost of a short trip. The increase in resort prices for October is fairly big. Value hotels are starting to get pretty expensive for what they are. And if I'm going to pay $30-$40 for a shirt, I'd like it to a little higher quality. And I think a lot of the add ons are overpriced.

And one could argue that a lot of the TS restaurants are too. (I'm looking at you Chef Mickey's!) But I think most of the QS places are reasonable, the portions can be huge, and the quality is higher than other theme parks. The water is expensive, but Disney allows people to bring in water and will gladly give you free water at any QS.

I do worry about how much our vacations will cost in 5 years if Disney keeps increasing pricing at the same rate, though.

 

[gdrj]

I'm sure everyone would like to save money. I can deal with drink and food prices, because I have the option to limit my purchases.

The issue I have is the cost for Park Admission and the continued dilution of value.
1- The magic your way tickets, which have been around for a longtime now, really impacted us. We would buy 7 day 8 or 10 etc. and use for multiple stays. Then they charged extra for the no expiration option, and now they don't sell the non-expiration. Once they made the change to charging more it made little financial sense for us.
2-As Annual Pass prices continue to rise it is close to pricing me out in this as well. The AP ownership has encouraged us to visit more often. If the price continues to go as it probably will, it will lead for us to explore different vacations, and probably move us to every other year.
3-The pricing of tours and dessert parties etc... continue to skyrocket. While they continue to sell it still is pricing families out. One reason they continue to sell, IMO, is with the Fireworks party being fairly limited seating you only need a very small percentage of daily guest to participate. 0.5% of 30,000 visitors is still a 150 people signing up for a dessert party. The newly announced $100 Ferryboat dessert party is an example of corporate greed and lack of value. I am sure the ferryboat party will make money and there will be plenty of takers but really(?) spend as much as a single day ticket to leave a park, get on a ferry for some cupcakes.

Personally I think Park management have lost their way. I still enjoy lots of things and see value. I see the value in spending more for the cost of a room to be on property, to be able to enjoy the grounds of the hotels, to be able to never touch my car for a week and other benefits. While I understand everyone's threshold is different and perception of value can be much different, there should be some limit by Disney.

Fortunately I have no one in the target "Frozen" age group. With the constant hitting of guests for more money, it would not surprise me if only guests who pay an additional fee, or have a "peak" pass would be able to visit a meet and greet. I can see them charging more for FP+ options and having Free FP's for Ellen's Adventure but a fee for Soaring.

Yes Disney has stockholders, and is there to make money (aren't we all wanting to make money), but it is a bit sad to me.

 

[gwb]

check out other theme parks and you'll find that disney is avg and many times cheaper. Ex at 6 Flags reg. plain burger and fries is $12 and 12oz drink is $2.79.
Bacon cheese burger and fries at Liberty Inn is $10 and 16 oz drink is $2.99. Cedar Point is higher, a friend went there this summer and couldn't believe the prices, $15 for a plain burger and fries and $4 to $5 for drinks.
If you are comparing Dis prices to Mc junk then it's high. But when you compare to other theme parks it's not.

 

[Julylady]

As long as people are willing to pay the prices, it is neither greedy or price gouging, it's smart business practice. Disney is not a charity. It's goal is to make as much money as possible for its shareholders.

That being said, food and water prices are the same as those at our local arena. And I just paid $150 per ticket for a Broadway show. Disney seems like a bargain.

 

[caroline1851]

I think it's pricey, but every vacation is! We went to the Outer Banks in NC and it was 5k for the week with condo rental, eating out for dinner, groceries, renting a car, and doing a few things outside of the beach. We went to California for 8 days and with flight, rental car, places to stay, food and things to do (no amusement parks), it cost 7K. ALL vacations are expensive. I do think with Disney you get a great experience if you're into what they offer. The only thing that is overpriced compared to the quality is the food. Not great and super expensive.

 

[crostorfer]

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

I don't know. I just spent over $800 on two, (not great seats btw), tickets to an NFL game at Cowboys Stadium, that we'll be at for less than 4 hours, and where I'll pay $9.25 for 3/4 of a can of beer poured into a plastic cup. When you put it in that context, Disney pricing doesn't sound so astronomical.

Ever been to Disney on Ice? I can go to the MK for a day for what I can go to Disney on Ice for, between seats, snacks, and souvenir light up crap.

 

[cruisingtwins]

I would not mind the prices if the quality was good but the food quality is pretty low. I felt scammed at most of the places we have tried not because of the price but because of the quality.