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

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Genie+ is $18 today.

It was $22 yesterday and the parks were extremely crowded - 10/10 for MK and 9/10 for the other 3.

I'm curious to see if they are noticeably less crowded today. Presumably, Disney expects them to be, or they would have kept the price higher.

I'm wondering if we'll eventually be able to use the Genie+ price as an indication of crowd level. Not useful for planning if you can only see the price day of, but maybe it will let you know what to expect the night before (or morning before) you get there for the day.

If I look at Touring Plans the overall level is predicted to be a 5 with MK 4, Epcot 6, DHS 6 and AK 4.

I didn't pay attention strong enough but was Touring Plans mostly accurate with yesterday's prediction? Because clearly they are expecting a moderate to somewhat low crowd today.

 

[set88]

So it's $18 today. That should put to bed the idea that Disney is using pricing on G+ to restrict uptake. They want MAX people buying it, experience be damned.

I don't understand why them lowering the price today does that.

It seems to be following crowds, at least based on the very limited number of days we've seen so far.

I've said I believe the price increase for the holidays is mostly about max profits and not cutting capacity, but I'm still confused why it being a lower cost today proves it's not about cutting capacity.

Pricing it higher on higher crowd days and lower on lower crowd days is exactly what they would be doing if they were trying to keep so many people from buying it on higher crowd days - while at the same time making sure they still sell it on lower crowd days.

 

[SLThomas318]

If I look at Touring Plans the overall level is predicted to be a 5 with MK 4, Epcot 6, DHS 6 and AK 4.

I didn't pay attention strong enough but was Touring Plans mostly accurate with yesterday's prediction? Because clearly they are expecting a moderate to somewhat low crowd today.

Touring Plans yesterday had MK at 7 ended up being 9, Epcot at 6 ended up being 9, HS at 7 ended up being 9, and AK at 4 ended up being 7.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Chapek wants max people buying it. The people that work in the parks day to day know it needs to be restricted. The thing is now guest satisfaction means nothing to them. All guests are just dollar signs.

It's like a game of Theme Park Tycoon, set on easy mode.

 

[set88]

If I look at Touring Plans the overall level is predicted to be a 5 with MK 4, Epcot 6, DHS 6 and AK 4.

I didn't pay attention strong enough but was Touring Plans mostly accurate with yesterday's prediction? Because clearly they are expecting a moderate to somewhat low crowd today.

Nobody reported TP's predictions for yesterday, but they were way under for last week. I believe they were predicting 6/10 days.

Based on that, I'd expect moderately high crowds today as opposed to the crazy high crowds there have been since the weekend before the holiday.

 

[rastuso]

That doesn't mean Disney attendance is declining.

The fact that parks and hotels and restaurants are hitting capacity - even if it's not the peak theoretical capacity ever - still indicates that Disney attendance is as strong as it can be.

If staffing issues are preventing Disney from running at full capacity, that won't be Disney's choice. I'm sure they don't want to turn anyone away.... which is what they're having to do when the hotels have been sold out for months. If they had more space to offer, it would also be full.

Park reservations are used to manage staffing but they are also used to direct crowds away from the most crowded parks and force people into the less crowded parks. That's why Disney is choosing to cap attendance on MK and HS. If they didn't cap attendance, both MK and HS would have been even more crowded in the last week (MK on non-party days).

I really don’t think Disney ever adjusts staffing levels daily like people seem to always think. All rides, restaurants, and stores are open daily. They may drop levels in very low periods, but it’s not like they go “well, we have 1000 less park reservations at AK tomorrow, so let’s cut staff by 20 there to direct folks to Epcot”. That’s sorta ridiculous thinking. After 2 pm, all parks are open to anyone. I’m sure Disney is running everything at near skeleton staff daily.

.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Touring Plans yesterday had MK at 7 ended up being 9, Epcot at 6 ended up being 9, HS at 7 ended up being 9, and AK at 4 ended up being 7.

Thank you, interested to see how it pans out today.

 

[rastuso]

Nobody reported TP's predictions for yesterday, but they were way under for last week. I believe they were predicting 6/10 days.

Based on that, I'd expect moderately high crowds today as opposed to the crazy high crowds there have been since the weekend before the holiday.

I believe the mid October weekend always has the highest HHN prices, as that is the busiest time.

 

[xdan0920]

I don't understand why them lowering the price today does that.

Assuming you don't think Disney is lowering the price based on kindness, then it only follows they are lowering the price to increase the % of guests buying it.

 

[set88]

Assuming you don't think Disney is lowering the price based on kindness, then it only follows they are lowering the price to increase the % of guests buying it.

If lowering the price increases the % of guests buying it... then it logically follows that raising the price decreases the % of guests buying it. Which keeps the capacity better on high crowd days.

Which is exactly why I said adjusting the price is what they would do if they were trying to keep so many people from buying on high crowd days while still selling as much as possible on low crowds.

 

[Jrb1979]

Assuming you don't think Disney is lowering the price based on kindness, then it only follows they are lowering the price to increase the % of guests buying it.

If they really wanted to max the number of guests buying it each day they wouldn't have changed to a fluctuating system. They are just following every other park. All parks change the price of their skip the line pass daily depending on how busy the park is.

 

[xdan0920]

OK guys.

 

[DaviVascaino]

disney will increase ticket prices on popular/high crowd days and will lower the ticket prices on "off season" months and weeks. that is the same logic behind genie plus fluctuating prices. Isn't that obvious?

 

[Grasshopper2016]

You are confusing wait times with park attendance, which assumes park capacity, including rides, M&Gs, stores and food lines, are the same. I believe all capacities are lower now. Are waits long everywhere? Yup. Are there more people there? I’m not so sure, and the very existence of park reservations tells me the answer is NO.

I'm not sure how accurate the AECOM data are. But, comparing their 2019 and 2021 reports (available here), Disney attendance was much lower last year than before the pandemic. (MK in 2019: almost 21 million; MK in 2021: less than 13 million. Similar declines at Epcot and AK. DHS only down about 3 million.) And -- of relevance to much of the discussion in this thread -- Disney's attendance relative to Universal is down. According to this report, attendance at each of Universal's two main parks now surpasses attendance at each of the Disney World parks with the exception of Magic Kingdom. Whereas, before the pandemic, all four Disney parks ranked ahead of both Universal Parks.

I'm sure that Disney's 2022 attendance is much higher than 2021. It will be interesting to see where it falls relative to 2019.

 

[cakebaker]

So it's $18 today. That should put to bed the idea that Disney is using pricing on G+ to restrict uptake. They want MAX people buying it, experience be damned.

Lowering the price doesn't prove they want an unlimited number of people to buy. It means that today they believe the numbers they'd like to see buy calls for the price they set. Today they believe demand is lower than they'd like to see vs days they think it's higher than they want to see.

If you believe lowering the price is to encourage people to buy, then you have to believe raising the price is to discourage people from buying. It can't be a one way street.

 

[xdan0920]

Lowering the price doesn't prove they want an unlimited number of people to buy. It means that today they believe the numbers they'd like to see buy calls for the price they set. Today they believe demand is lower than they'd like to see vs days they think it's higher than they want to see.

If you believe lowering the price is to encourage people to buy, then you have to believe raising the price is to discourage people from buying. It can't be a one way street.

Of course it’s a one way street. They will push the price as high as they can to achieve maximum uptake. They know on a busy day, people are going to pay. So they can max out the price. Less busy day, they have to provide some incentive to purchase.

 

[Jrb1979]

Of course it’s a one way street. They will push the price as high as they can to achieve maximum uptake. They know on a busy day, people are going to pay. So they can max out the price. Less busy day, they have to provide some incentive to purchase.

Thats the way it works at every park. It's not just a Disney thing.

 

[xdan0920]

Thats the way it works at every park. It's not just a Disney thing.

Is there anything you love more then bringing up other parks?

 

[Disneydawg74]

Up to a point I'm sure you're right. But they've always been sold as limited crowd events. Over the years they've become less limited for sure.

The last MVMCP I attended (2019) was listed as sold out. Yet they sold walk up tickets the day of the event (with nonrefundable tickets, I can’t see a legit way for space to be created). I’m not planning to go again as WDW’s version of limited capacity for this event doesn’t work for me.

 

[Jrb1979]

Is there anything you love more then bringing up other parks?

Nope.

In all seriousness, I bring them up cause it's what I know.