Are Disney prices too high?

[LENNON500]

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

Is the Pope catholic????? ;-)

 

[bryanb]

It's not just that so many people are willing to pay the high prices. But people are demanding even MORE ways to spend... that Disney has to constantly keep up! Search for hotels during the supposed off-season and even the $300+/night rooms are frequently sold out. And Disney keeps offering bigger ideas on how to spend money: hard ticketed events where they can charge yet another admission fee, premium dessert experiences, table service dining plans, collectible pins, D23 memberships, limited edition lithographs, signature restaurants, etc.

There are so many add-ons. And yet the public's appetite is insatiable! In a world of supply and demand, the guests are speaking with their dollars: they demand more ways to spend and there is no end in sight. And it's not just rich people or foolish credit card spenders. People are choosing to buy these premium experiences because they like them and want more of them... even if they have to save up. This board is plenty of evidence of that.

So for each person who doesn't see the value, there are others who do feel they're getting a good enough value. Ultimately, that's how the market works... and the balance between the two are why certain offerings are set where they are.

 

[Happy_2_B]

It's not just that so many people are willing to pay the high prices. But people are demanding even MORE ways to spend... that Disney has to constantly keep up! Search for hotels during the supposed off-season and even the $300+/night rooms are frequently sold out. And Disney keeps offering bigger ideas on how to spend money: hard ticketed events where they can charge yet another admission fee, premium dessert experiences, table service dining plans, collectible pins, D23 memberships, limited edition lithographs, signature restaurants, etc.

There are so many add-ons. And yet the public's appetite is insatiable! In a world of supply and demand, the guests are speaking with their dollars: they demand more ways to spend and there is no end in sight. And it's not just rich people or foolish credit card spenders. People are choosing to buy these premium experiences because they like them and want more of them... even if they have to save up. This board is plenty of evidence of that.

So for each person who doesn't see the value, there are others who do feel they're getting a good enough value. Ultimately, that's how the market works... and the balance between the two are why certain offerings are set where they are.

This is a well thought out post. It isn't just WDW- it's merchandise as well. People are speaking with their pocketbooks. Heck, there was a time back in the 90's and the early 2000's when I was an avid collector of Walt Disney Classic Collection, Walt Disney Collectors Society and Enchanted Places porcelain figurines. Had at least 10k invested in that stuff- had all the dresses, and most of the ltd. edition stuff you had to buy at events, etc, etc, etc. It's pretty easy to get wrapped up in the hunt for desirable Disneyana. At some point made the decision to stop and sell it off, thank goodness it held it's market value for the most part and was able to recover most of my investment.

 

[GaryDis]

Regardless in the realm of guest experience it was still a useless program. ...

There is nothing in that project that from a guest/consumer perspective that is even worth 10% of the cost.

I could care less what Disney is getting from their back end. It's meaningless to me. And the front end isn't much better. ... than this junk that is called "MyMagic+."

You can't have it both ways. If you're not willing to look at the benefit to Disney the corporation, you shouldn't be looking at the cost to Disney the corporation.

If you're going to look at what Disney spent, you need to look at how Disney benefits, not how you benefit.

If you're looking at how many new attractions there are, you need to look at what your costs are, not Disney's. There is a legitimate argument there, as others have suggested about the admission rising more than inflation without a similar increase in attractions at the park (though I haven't been tracking that argument closely enough to be sure it's correct).

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

You can't have it both ways. If you're not willing to look at the benefit to Disney the corporation, you shouldn't be looking at the cost to Disney the corporation.

Irrelevant unless you're of the belief that the monetary and/or cost cutting benefits that Disney receives will be passed down to the customer either in terms of price reduction or an enhanced theme park experience. I don't believe guests will receive either. Prices will continue to rise and extra Disney profits will be passed to Iger.

 

[Dis703]

I think when you compare them to other forms of entertainment, the prices really aren't any higher. Our tiny local zoo sells apple slices for the kids at $3.25 and waters and sodas are about $3 as well. They don't have any TS meals, but their burgers and fries are small, taste pretty awful, and cost close to $10. Local amusement parks are cheaper but nowhere near the quality of what you get at Disney, so I'm happy to pay the extra price for WDW.

Within Disney, there are things that are too expensive for us. I haven't been able to justify the cost of some of the cruises, and I bring our own water and our own breakfasts. Buying 3 meals a day would put us over budget for sure. We pay attention to where we are eating to keep costs down as well. At the end of the day though, the total for our entire vacation is pretty much in line with what we'd pay for the same length of time spent elsewhere. We aren't blowing our budget to go to Disney.

If prices keep going up we may have to change how we do our Disney vacations, but it would take quite a bit of a hike before we wouldn't go at all.

 

[Happy_2_B]

Irrelevant unless you're of the belief that the monetary and/or cost cutting benefits that Disney receives will be passed down to the customer either in terms of price reduction or an enhanced theme park experience. I don't believe guests will receive either. Prices will continue to rise and extra Disney profits will be passed to Iger.

I think the system is broken- and like you- I don't think there will be price reductions or an enhanced experience. Planning a trip to WDW has gone from being an enjoyable experience to an incredibly complex logistical nightmare. Prices will continue to rise because people keep spending their money on all things Disney, but the profits Disney realizes had better go to the shareholders- as Iger has much more than his fair share.

 

[10-4 Good Buddy]

Big data is very exciting if used correctly.

Can I ride it?

 

[Davey Jones II]

Double post.

 

[Hunterr]

Of course Disney is too high (same for Universal, etc).
But it's always been that way, so I've just come to accept it. I just know its always going to be $10 for a walk up food area and $3+ for a bottled drink.

 

[bryanb]

I used to work for Disney as a cast member. They offered a stock purchase program and I started putting my money in as soon as I learned about it. Every time I heard someone complain that the company was making too much money, I had some comfort knowing that I was an owner... not just an employee.

Of course, as a poor college student I only held a small number of shares. But I kept investing after graduation (while also diversifying of course). Over the past years, the value of those DIS shares have grown significantly... enough to pay for a couple of trips to Disney World. So I guess I should thank all of the guests who do spend money on Disney products for giving me the gift of my vacations there!

 

[Davey Jones II]

I don't look at the project as a guest or from the guests side, I look at it as a project manager and business analyst and from the project and data side. It is a really exciting project that is gathering a lot of data to improve customer monetization and the kind of project I would love to work on.

E-ticket rides aren't going to build the data warehouse or decision engine that MyMagic+ was built to provide. It is a project built for internal clients, not for guests. Guest facing facets of it like MDs, FP+, and MDE are just there to provide the data for the core of the system.

Anyway, I made that post to point out two misconceptions that seems very common here and elsewhere:

One, that MYMagic+ and MDE/MBs/FP+ are the same thing when they aren't. The later is a small subset of the former.

Two, that the main goal of MyMagic+ is to implement FP+ when it wasn't. I would place a wager on the fact that FP+ wasn't even a part of the first round of project meetings or in the original BRDs but that is really only a speculation I have. I think it was added to the project after the initial round of requirements gathering.

Oooh, I'm going to be MONETIZED!! How exciting! Now that's the kind of theme park experience I'm dying to have!

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Oooh, I'm going to be MONETIZED!! How exciting! Now that's the kind of theme park experience I'm dying to have!

But Davey you shouldn't look at it from your perspective, you should look at it from Disney's.

 

[Davey Jones II]

But Davey you shouldn't look at it from your perspective, you should look at it from Disney's.

Thank you, Hulkster, that makes me feel much better.

 

[minnie-apple-mouse]

Interesting? Seems these attractions were all completed in 1972. Carrousel of progress, country bears, diamond horseshoe revue, dumbo, shooting gallery, hall of presidents, haunted mansion, small world, jungle cruise, mad tea party, keel boats, Mr. Toads wild ride, skyway buckets, snow whites adventures, swiss family tree house, tropical serenade(tiki room?), raceway, peter pan, flight to the moon, America the beautiful, 20,000 leagues, if you had wings. In 73 pirates of the carribbean, tom sawyer island opened and in 75 space mountain. Seems like a very large portion of the park that is there today, with some attractions replaced that many wish still existed! Any way I'll give them 10 bucks!

Now I know for sure I wouldn't go for free even.

But for us it's way more than the early MK, the 4 parks and the resorts areas, and the relaxing process are what brings us back.

 

[JimmyV]

One of my jobs is consumer pricing analysis (not for Disney), but I feel confident that Disney hires smart people who spend their entire day with spreadsheets and historical info and meetings, passionately determining the most profitable pricing models.

I am sure that analysts are always looking at the optimum price points (vs. cost of goods and demand), testing new price points, and that ultimately their numbers are continuously challenged and adjusted by teams of smart people who think about this much more than we do.

Pricing doesn't happen by accident. Someone is preparing daily reports of what has sold and the cost of goods, including labor. If the price of turkey legs caused turkey leg profits to fall, someone is looking at that report at their desk and calling a meeting to discuss it.

I'm not really sure what your point is. My post was in response to the adage that "this is what the market will bear". And the point was, it is never clear if that applies to revenue maximization or customer maximization. I can't tell from your post where you are coming out on that. Spreadsheets. Studies. What does it all mean from the customer's standpoint? If a company can squeeze more revenue out of 100 willing customers than it could out of 300 customers, is that what "the market can bear"? And if so, where does that leave the 200 people who are out of the game? Looked at another way, how does one view a scenario where 5000 people are willing to pay $5 for an item. And then all 5000 are willing to pay $6 for that item. And then the price goes up to $7 and a third of the people are no longer willing to pay that price. At what point does one establish "what the market can bear"? The price at which you still have a single customer still in the game? The point where you have half of your customers still in the game? None of this is addressed in your post. If you are the company running your spreadsheets and studies, maybe all you care about is net profit for the quarter or year. But that is very dangerous. If you price 75% of your customers out of the game but make more money from the remaining 25%, then good on you. But when those 25% die, or age out of your constituency, or move on to other things, you are stuck. Sometimes "what the market can bear" means keeping most of your original 5000 customers and not milking 25% of those customers for all they're worth.

 

[JimmyV]

We will have to agree to disagree as to the diversity WDW offered back then. Sure, it was a fun place to visit back then, but it wasn't the destination it is now.

You are correct. We will have to disagree. Back then, Disney had an entire resort called "The Golf Resort". It is gone now. If you want to argue that golfing is more of a focus today than it was back then...good luck. Back then, there was a vibrant tennis center and you had to make reservations for court time because court time was in such high demand. Now?...Not so much. Back then, you could rent watercraft at every resort. Now? They have closed half of the marinas. The focus has shifted dramatically toward theme parks. But that does not smack of "vacation diversity". The range of vacation options beyond theme parks was much more vibrant in the past. The very existence of the Golf Resort and the Buena Vista Club and vacation villas surrounding the Village is concrete evidence of that. People came to WDW for more reasons than going to amusement parks. Sure, the diversity in amusement park entertainment is far greater now. But that diversity resides in the margins. True diversity lies in a greater range of leisure options, and back when there was a Village and a Golf Resort and a tennis center and marinas all over the place, there was greater diversity. Again, when did you play more games of tennis, more rounds of golf, and rent more boats? 1978 or today?

 

[MrInfinity]

If you price 75% of your customers out of the game but make more money from the remaining 25%, then good on you. But when those 25% die, or age out of your constituency, or move on to other things, you are stuck. Sometimes "what the market can bear" means keeping most of your original 5000 customers and not milking 25% of those customers for all they're worth.

I don't think Disney has priced 75% of their customers out of the game. Disney is a very attractive middle-income vacation. If they had, you would have a point here but they haven't. We have 10 people in our party going for around $8000 for 8 nights at the Poly over a holiday weekend (about the most expensive time). That's around $800 per person, or $100 per person per night for everything but food. Could we do a night at the Grand Cyn for that? Sure! You can do rural activities like hiking or a beach for much cheaper. But could we do any other in-your-face top attraction type place for that much? No. And if we were to do a trip to Europe? Double that! Disney is still a very good value for families with young kids.

It's not just that so many people are willing to pay the high prices. But people are demanding even MORE ways to spend... that Disney has to constantly keep up! Search for hotels during the supposed off-season and even the $300+/night rooms are frequently sold out. And Disney keeps offering bigger ideas on how to spend money: hard ticketed events where they can charge yet another admission fee, premium dessert experiences, table service dining plans, collectible pins, D23 memberships, limited edition lithographs, signature restaurants, etc.

There are so many add-ons. And yet the public's appetite is insatiable! In a world of supply and demand, the guests are speaking with their dollars: they demand more ways to spend and there is no end in sight. And it's not just rich people or foolish credit card spenders. People are choosing to buy these premium experiences because they like them and want more of them... even if they have to save up. This board is plenty of evidence of that.

So for each person who doesn't see the value, there are others who do feel they're getting a good enough value. Ultimately, that's how the market works... and the balance between the two are why certain offerings are set where they are.

This post is right on. Disney makes these expensive packages because people buy them. Even we bought into the Feel the Force package last trip. We're Star Wars fanatics, caught up in the excitement of the new movies coming out, and thrilled to having been during SWW, so we went all out. I think a lot of ppl are that way. Was it money well spent? Yes, given it was a once in a lifetime spend. I would not make a habit of it. On our upcoming trip, we have no such packages planned. We're going during the holidays, but I just can't come to spend $800 to take 10 ppl to a holiday party. So Star Wars? Draws us. Holiday party? Not so much. Disney is great at making something for everyone.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Again, when did you play more games of tennis, more rounds of golf, and rent more boats? 1978 or today?

Jimmy, have you seen the majority of guests roaming through Disney World these days? Do they look like golf or tennis players to you? I would guess most Disney visitors couldn't swing a golf club or tennis racket to save their lives.

 

[minnie-apple-mouse]

It's not just that so many people are willing to pay the high prices. But people are demanding even MORE ways to spend... that Disney has to constantly keep up! Search for hotels during the supposed off-season and even the $300+/night rooms are frequently sold out. And Disney keeps offering bigger ideas on how to spend money: hard ticketed events where they can charge yet another admission fee, premium dessert experiences, table service dining plans, collectible pins, D23 memberships, limited edition lithographs, signature restaurants, etc.

There are so many add-ons. And yet the public's appetite is insatiable! In a world of supply and demand, the guests are speaking with their dollars: they demand more ways to spend and there is no end in sight. And it's not just rich people or foolish credit card spenders. People are choosing to buy these premium experiences because they like them and want more of them... even if they have to save up. This board is plenty of evidence of that.

So for each person who doesn't see the value, there are others who do feel they're getting a good enough value. Ultimately, that's how the market works... and the balance between the two are why certain offerings are set where they are.

I agree.

A lot of the OP falls into exactly that.

Some guests just need to say no to some things.

Why would somebody on a tight budget price themselves out with some of those items.

WDW is just feeding the folks a list to choose from.

Examples:

Bottled water $3.26 Freeze a bottle in your room and bring it with, or get free water at the stands.
Turkey leg $9.25 Is this really that popular? If so, it shouldn't make or break the trip.
Dessert Party $50.00 Why would you choose to do that? But why care if others do?
Hotdogs $8.50 Where is this $8.50 hot dog? They are $5.50 from what I see, less on the BW.
BOMA dinner $45.00 plus Why go there?
1 day ticket $100 plus Same as US, but get a multi day IMO.
Dining Plan $70.00 plus Why would you choose to do that?
Lunch and dinner menus the same price OK?
Refillable mugs $18.00 only 4 refills in 90 minutes lol Why choose this?
Alcoholic beverages $10 $15 plus Have alcohol delivered or avoid it while at WDW
Resort pricing exorbitant Values as low as $85, or stay offsite.
souvenirs exorbitant Don't buy them?

I think Disney needs to reevaluate their pricing strategy. I think guests need to choose more wisely to match their budget.

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

Brunette

KRNR Station
Sunset Boulevard - Disney's Hollywood Studios
Snacks Menu

Menu Date: May 2015
Disney Dining Plan:
-- Snack (2015)

Hot Dog $5.49