Demand pricing. WSJ article any thoughts

[mshanson3121]

I read an article the other day about how American companies have been delaying investment in capital improvements for the last couple decades and that one day it's going to come back and bite them in the tushie. Disney has a crowd control problem because they have failed to invest in new capacity.

Take the Frozen ride that is coming to Epcot. It will be the most popular thing, since...the last Frozen thing, and Disney has chosen to put it in a building with a ride system of 900 people per hour. By comparison, Universe of Energy can carry 2400 people per hour for a 40 min attraction and Horizons could carry 2700 for 15 minutes, and World of Motion was king at 3240 people per hour on another 15 minutes. So while you are waiting too long for a 3-5 minute ride wondering why there are so many people, remember when Disney used to design like that. Sure those rides might have gotten stagnant, but that's not an excuse for changing from ride systems that would carry 2000+ people to ones that are significantly less, and are so much shorter.

Disney can control crowds by having people on rides, watching shows, etc. But they let attractions stagnate, shutter things, reduce capacity, reduce ride times, empty queues via fastpass and then whine they have no other choice but raise prices.

And for real Disney Geeks, I can't remember which one, but there is a series of books with raw interviews with Disney old timers, called Walt's People. One of the later one has an interview with Dick Nunis, who talked about the major capacity initiatives the Magic Kingdom had to take in the 70s when they realized that more people were coming than they anticipated, and they had to start building more attractions...yesterday. Different philosophies.

^^^This. They would be far better off to look at ways of increasing capacity.

All of that said - we were there in the summer, on days rated at an 8 & 9 for crowds (the days right before July 4). And honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone on this board had scared me into thinking it would be. The only places that were bad were the bottleneck areas, specifically in MK by Peter Pan's flight. The rest of it was really not bad at all. I will say Animal Kingdom by far felt the most crowded of them, though there were only a couple really bad bottleneck areas. One was up by the Finding Nemo show area.

 

[tup1830]

It seems Disney is getting a lot of backlash on this surge pricing idea...even heard it being talked about on my morning NYC radio station.

I can't remember the last time i ever heard anything negative about disney in the past...especially about rising costs. Even when ticket $$ went up, they compared it to local places and it didn't seem like a negative tone...just that its happening. But this time its pretty negative.

 

[Marie17]

Wow - so much stuff to take in and absorb from Disney.

I believe lots more changes will be coming unfortunately. Right now it just seems that Disney is trying to figure out a way to literally get every cent possible out of every guest possible each time they visit a park. Usually, they seem to put out changes/increases with a bit more wait time between but in the last year it seems to be piling on pretty quickly and adding up!

 

[SparklePixie]

If everyone's time was worth the same amount, everyone would be making the same yearly income.

 

[mshanson3121]

If everyone's time was worth the same amount, everyone would be making the same yearly income.

How much money one makes has NOTHING to do with how much their time is worth. Salaries are based on skill demand, training, job market, local economy, cultural demand and values, responsibility, many different things, and often very unfairly at that. But no, it is not based on how much your time is worth.

 

[lugnut33]

Still waiting for the price increase that reduces crowd levels. I don't think that has ever happened. For those wanting reduced crowds you should be hoping that he US enters a huge economic recession.

 

[MillauFr]

The state government here is managing highway demand using variable pricing. Not sure why it is shocking when a private company does it.

 

[Happy_2_B]

You don't have to agree with this poster- but the opinion is valid. I happen to 100% agree with this philosophy. Leisure time has value- a lot of value. People spend boatloads of money on time saving devices every day- why not on WDW tickets? You don't have to like it- or agree with it- but it is what it is. If my time at a park is spent more optimally because there are less people in the parks- and all I have to do is spend a few extra bucks a day for this to happen- then I am all in. Will this system work? I doubt it. IMHO it is a thinly disguised way for Disney to generate income over the long haul, but it will have some effect- at least in the short term- on park attendance. Even if it only saves me a couple of hours standing in lines over the course of a week-and-a-half vacation then it is worth it to me. Will it be worth it to everyone? Probably not, but that is for them to decide. For those that don't agree with the tiered structuring- there is always the option of vacationing elsewhere, or going during lower priced times of the year. I pulled my kids out of school several times for trips to WDW when they were younger to enjoy quieter parks and better resort discounts, and they have turned out just fine in their professional lives. A few days of school here or there is insignificant in the big picture, so there are always options. Not suggesting that this is the best way to go, but we 'speak' to corporate America through our pocketbooks- so one can choose to actually do something meaningful and change the way they vacation. Every time there is a price increase these threads start popping up on the various Disney enthusiast boards, then they die down in a few weeks. And guess what? Many of the people that have 'had it' with Disney, and/or are 'never' going back to WDW again- are still on the boards planning their next trip with the rest of us. What any of us think about these changes is irrelevant to the corporation- they are going to happen- and, once implemented, are probably here to stay. Again, you don't have to like it- or agree with it- but a given poster's opinion on the matter is just as valid as anyone else's- including yours. Get over yourself.

 

[maroney495]

So if this goes into effect, it looks like you will no longer be able to just purchase tickets in advance and "hold" until you decide when you are going. You will have to have the exact dates you plan to go to purchase tickets or they start doing packages only with exact dates????

 

[Praying Colonel]

^I think you'll be able to purchase tickets in advance but you'll be purchasing a certain tier where the tickets will only be applicable to certain dates. If you want to go on a date not covered by your ticket you'll have to upgrade at Guest Relations.

 

[mom4fun]

The bottom line is it won't save time. It never has. The prices are already higher for resorts and restaurants during holiday times. If they raise the price of tickets during those times, people will just pay it and still go, with no added benefit. You may think people won't go during those times if the tickets are higher priced but ticket prices are really just a tiny part of the equation. Why would higher ticket prices change anything? It won't. To me this is the same issue as the parking price increase. No one is going to stop going because it will cost them $3 more a day for parking. Do they like it, no, but they will still go. So no one be deceived, crowds WILL NOT go down. I'm not here to argue who this is good or bad for. It's just the facts.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Supply and demand. That's how the free market works.

Don't like it? Vote with your wallet. Then demand will go down.