BREAKING: Walt Disney World Introduces Date-Based Variable Pricing for Genie+ Service

[LSUfan4444]

The only thing to compare G+ to judge is effectiveness is not having G+. Comparing it to FP+ is futile....FP+ is a ghost and it's gone.

I personally hated it. I didn't like the OG paper system, HATED FP+ and would have just preferred if there was nothing at all but we learned to use it to our advantage. The same holds true for G+, I wish there was nothing at all but I much prefer using G+ to not using it at all because it does allow us to enjoy our time in the parks a little more with reduced standby wait times.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Guys, it is over.

The old Disney is gone. Due to high demand, they don't care about lower income people affording or not X, Y and Z. they will continue to push and increase prices as long as there is demand.

This whole thing has been going on even before Covid. Slowly they have been stripping privileges and services.

This price increase is just one of many that will continue to come.

I am sorry, but that is just the reality. It sucks because I will be going for the first time to a Disney resort in Feb 2023. Horrible timing lol. Now everything is more expensive, however I decided to do that for my family. I won't be able to do the same thing in the future most likely. Too expensive.

 

[set88]

View attachment 710185

I'm not disagreeing that TouringPlans is predicting lower crowd days.

They're wrong. Look at the actual data - not predictions. Here's yesterday:

https://thrill-data.com/waits/park/wdw/epcot/2022/10/11 10/10 for EPCOT, 9th most crowded day in the last 495 days.

https://thrill-data.com/waits/park/wdw/animal-kingdom/2022/10/11 10/10 for AK, 12th most crowded day in the last 495 days.

https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/park/wdw/hollywood-studios/2022/10/11 8/10 for HS, 98th most crowded day in the last 495.

The most recent non-party day for MK was also a 10/10.

Again, this is actual data based on the actual wait times, not predictions. This week is incredibly crowded at Disney - the most crowded it's been since Spring Break.

 

[LSUfan4444]

This week is incredibly crowded at Disney - the most crowded it's been since Spring Break.

I don't pay much attn to predictions but Columbus Day has traditionally brought June crowds into October (with better weather)

 

[LSUfan4444]

This price increase is just one of many that will continue to come.

I am sorry, but that is just the reality. It sucks because I will be going for the first time to a Disney resort in Feb 2023. Horrible timing lol. Now everything is more expensive, however I decided to do that for my family. I won't be able to do the same thing in the future most likely. Too expensive.

The wife and I are heading to Tampa for a Monday Night Football game in December and was looking to plan some days at WDW. In years past we probably would have spent thousands at WDW and now, we will probably end up spending less than $600 total with WDW. Instead, Universal, Royal Caribbean, National Car Rental and a short term condo rental owner will get the thousands we used to spend at WDW.

Sure, prices are going up everywhere but the rate at which they are happening at WDW is insane.

 

[set88]

I have a question for you.

Why do you keep saying the system "doesn't work"? Who doesn't it work for?

On crowded days, Genie+ becomes significantly less useful and people may only get 2 or maybe 3 useful ride selections. At EPCOT this is even worse - you can currently likely only get 1.

I've looked at the numbers and the most useful selections I could see possibly getting at HS, for example, was 4, and that was with just about everything going perfectly, starting right at 7am, and not missing a selection time by even a few minutes. The average person using Genie+ is not going to do nearly that well.

There were so many complaints about Genie+ not working during the most crowded times. I'm honestly surprised anyone would think that has to be proven.

I'll repeat this again before it gets brought up - I do not believe severely limiting capacity is the solution. That makes getting Genie+ a stressful day to day lottery that only those in the know and the most tech savvy of individuals have a chance of winning.

Raising prices to triple (or more) than what they are now is a much fairer way of limiting capacity. What they should do is charge $200 for only a very few people to access line skipping... just like every other theme park does. That makes the standby lines much more tolerable for those who don't buy. It's a win for everyone.

 

[xdan0920]

I do think this is a precursor to raising the prices much higher eventually though. Disney also knows that the current system isn't going to work if it keeps selling to 50% of people on crowded days.

I'll use this quote, simpler.

The system works great. For Disney. They make 2 million extra dollars a day for a product that used to be free. That's all that matters.

We keep talking in circles about how to best pay Disney to make the system "work". Meanwhile, Disney is doing gangbusters. G+ works wonderfully for them.

 

[cakebaker]

Guys, it is over.

The old Disney is gone. Due to high demand, they don't care about lower income people affording or not X, Y and Z. they will continue to push and increase prices as long as there is demand.

This whole thing has been going on even before Covid. Slowly they have been stripping privileges and services.

This price increase is just one of many that will continue to come.

I am sorry, but that is just the reality. It sucks because I will be going for the first time to a Disney resort in Feb 2023. Horrible timing lol. Now everything is more expensive, however I decided to do that for my family. I won't be able to do the same thing in the future most likely. Too expensive.

Lower income people have never been able to afford Disney. People seem to only become concerned with people not being able to afford Disney when they are the ones who aren't able to afford it. There have always been and always will be people who can never afford to go to WDW.

Disney never cared about those who could not afford Disney. They have too many people wanting to come. When you're a business and you have more customers than you can handle, the smartest way to take care of that problem is to price your product higher. Supply and demand, it's really that simple.

 

[set88]

I'll use this quote, simpler.

The system works great. For Disney. They make 2 million extra dollars a day for a product that used to be free. That's all that matters.

We keep talking in circles about how to best pay Disney to make the system "work". Meanwhile, Disney is doing gangbusters. G+ works wonderfully for them.

Yeah... Nothing I say is going to convince you that Disney DOES recognize that if people are unsatisfied with Genie+, it doesn't work. Why do you think they permanently moved 4 ILLs to Genie+?

If Genie+ breaks down again under the weight of the crowds this holiday season, just like it did last holiday season, Disney WILL change it.

Your position is far too black and white to be remotely useful. As I've said before - yes, of course, everything Disney does is ultimately about maximizing profit. Everyone can agree on that. But they DO recognize that guest satisfaction - as many guests as possible - is important to maximizing profit. They DO want the majority of people that buy Genie+ to be satisfied with it.

 

[leeniewdw]

. If my kids didn’t already know about our upcoming trip and I could recoup all my costs, I would happily cancel it.

I kind of feel this way and my "kids" are adults, lol. We started talking about a long weekend at Disney before the pandemic with them (2 kids, 4 young adults total, plus us). We tried 2 prior times to schedule but job changes and COVID time off for some pushed us to this November. As we led up to the "cancel or pay up" date, I could tell a part of me wouldn't have been sad if someone had to bail out and the trip fell apart. And that made me incredibly sad. But we're going and I'm trying to focus on the fun we'll have. I've read elsewhere that food/drink prices have gone up so that's nice.

Among all the very valid points made in this thread, I do not understand the "change pricing" within the windows that impact people's budgets. With the 60 day windows for food/experiences and the 30 day window for package cancellation and the G+/ILL "prices are going up tomorrow", that's just arrogance imo. Regardless if you hold tight to your budget (and make tradeoffs) or are willing to stretch your budget, it's still reasonable to allow enough time to calculate that impact.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Lower income people have never been able to afford Disney. People seem to only become concerned with people not being able to afford Disney when they are the ones who aren't able to afford it. There have always been and always will be people who can never afford to go to WDW.

Disney never cared about those who could not afford Disney. They have too many people wanting to come. When you're a business and you have more customers than you can handle, the smartest way to take care of that problem is to price your product higher. Supply and demand, it's really that simple.

correct, you are correct. I was just saying that I think the ceiling is higher now. middle class can't afford disney anymore. that is what I meant

 

[nlenguyen]

Honestly, I plan to budget for the high end and worse case scenario, I have some extra snack/drink money. Unfortunately this seems to be the only way to budget it out without knowing the exact nature of what you'll be spending.

I like the idea that Disneyland has where if you buy beforehand it is one price, rather than not knowing the day of.

 

[xdan0920]

Yeah... Nothing I say is going to convince you that Disney DOES recognize that if people are unsatisfied with Genie+, it doesn't work. Why do you think they permanently moved 4 ILLs to Genie+?

If Genie+ breaks down again under the weight of the crowds this holiday season, just like it did last holiday season, Disney WILL change it.

Your position is far too black and white to be remotely useful. As I've said before - yes, of course, everything Disney does is ultimately about maximizing profit. Everyone can agree on that. But they DO recognize that guest satisfaction - as many guests as possible - is important to maximizing profit. They DO want the majority of people that buy Genie+ to be satisfied with it.

This simply isn’t born out by Disney’s actions. If you want to believe it, that’s fine. But it’s not based on any evidence at all. They wanted to monetize FP. So they did. If they wanted a front of the line pass they would have made a front of the line pass. Instead they put in a low barrier of entry price point for what is essentially the same thing they gave away for free. Now they will slowly boil the frog as it were. $5 here, $3 there. Just pumping up those per guest spending numbers.

 

[DeeBee3]

I'm just waiting to see what they charge during Thanksgiving and Christmas! Gonna be a doozy.

 

[xdan0920]

I'm just waiting to see what they charge during Thanksgiving and Christmas! Gonna be a doozy.

This year it will be $22. Next year it will go up a touch. Then again the next and so on and so forth.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

The wife and I are heading to Tampa for a Monday Night Football game in December and was looking to plan some days at WDW. In years past we probably would have spent thousands at WDW and now, we will probably end up spending less than $600 total with WDW. Instead, Universal, Royal Caribbean, National Car Rental and a short term condo rental owner will get the thousands we used to spend at WDW.

Sure, prices are going up everywhere but the rate at which they are happening at WDW is insane.

These graphs start at a time when the parks still had the A-E ticket system in place (meaning a park ticket was very cheap). It also is likely using single day ticket prices which pretty much no one pays at WDW.

Inflation is high on Disney tickets for sure, I just hate bad data.

 

[set88]

This simply isn’t born out by Disney’s actions. If you want to believe it, that’s fine. But it’s not based on any evidence at all. They wanted to monetize FP. So they did. If they wanted a front of the line pass they would have made a front of the line pass. Instead they put in a low barrier of entry price point for what is essentially the same thing they gave away for free. Now they will slowly boil the frog as it were. $5 here, $3 there. Just pumping up those per guest spending numbers.

I did offer some evidence, actually - the move of 4 ILL attractions to Genie+.

I've also offered evidence that the old free FP system was fundamentally unfair and broken. I'm not going to repeat that comment in its entirety here, it's a page or two back. Disney changing that system was inevitable.

I don't disagree that these particular price increases seem more about greed than anything else, as I don't believe they will significantly decrease the number of people that purchase Genie+ this holiday season... and I can't believe Disney thinks they will, either.

However, if Genie+ still sells in such high numbers that people can only get 2 good selections each day they use it, people WILL be unsatisfied and Disney WILL look to change Genie+ somehow to combat this. I think a combination of price increases AND capacity limitations will be in order. It doesn't seem that mere price increases alone are doing anything to combat demand. But we'll see what happens this holiday season, and how high the Genie+ prices ultimately go.

 

[Dis Dragon]

The graph portion that used the ticket book doesn't really matter as it kept up with standard inflation. That first bump there is 1982 when the ticket books died. From that point it shows just how much it was inflated.

You can't really graph something on a persons individual experience (I may be going for 5 days, you for 3) so a baseline has to be adopted.

I wouldn't call that bad data.

 

[lowlight]

Lower income people have never been able to afford Disney. People seem to only become concerned with people not being able to afford Disney when they are the ones who aren't able to afford it. There have always been and always will be people who can never afford to go to WDW.

I wasn’t food stamp poor, but just a level above that. We still went to Disney in my childhood. It consisted of driving all night and only going to MK for a day and staying in a cheap motel in Kissimmee, but we did it. I’m certain we weren’t the only working class family who sacrificed to do it. It’s unobtainable by the lower class now, and soon to be for lower middle and middle class.

 

[Dis Dragon]

This date based pricing totally obfuscates the issue, we have no idea what % is still $15... probably not much. More than likely it's mostly $20 days for G+ now. I wish they would be straightforward with it, this is just a way to have future increases that aren't easily discernible.