DISNEY if you don't want the average Joe to stay at the parks just say so...

[DisDadDVC]

I get that they have to adjust pricing to stay in competition, I get that. But the amount of price increases in such a short time is discouraging to those of us who scrimp and save to go. I remember when my kids were little(early 2000s) we went for free dining and stayed at BC and I think our entire package was $2700. Those days are pretty much over. We're lucky if we can stay in value now, unless my dh has a sales meeting and they stay on property.

When I was walking around Epcot(my favorite park) last visit, it made me sad that Innoventions had been pretty much decimated and that area seems empty to me. We went to DHS and for us there was nothing to do after about 4 hrs. I hope it feels differently to me after many of the implementations are up and running, and we won't stop visiting.....But for our September visit, it may be off site and a two day pass for us. FP+ and a magic band is not enough for me to pay a resort fee, at least until Star Wars and toy story land are open.

I don't mean this as an insult, but I think that is what Disney is trying to to do.

 

[MammaMoe48]

For most people Disney is not a day trip or quick weekend getaway so they expect to pay $$$$. But I would argue that you'd have to pay $$$$ for any big trip. For example, if a family of four wanted to come to NYC for a week, they'd be looking at spending at least $1500 for a hotel room and if they wanted to stay in a nice hotel it would cost closer to $2000 for the week. If they are flying in, airfare would run around $1,200-$1,500 plus about $150 for the taxi from the airport and back. So right there, without even counting food, sightseeing, shopping, souvenirs, plus getting around the city, that family is spending a minimum of $2,800 just to get here. Maybe they get a free breakfast at the hotel but lunch will run about $50 per day and dinner about $200. Then there's tickets to a Broadway show, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Bldg, Rock Center and all the other tourist places - plus souvenirs. When all is said and done, they've easily spent $5,000. They want to come at Christmastime, it's even more expensive. And they are on their own here, no happy CMs to show them around. And they have to navigate the city alone, no special busses that go straight to their destination each day. The only princesses they will see are the fake ones at Times Square pushing them to take a picture. There's no "magic" and no fireworks, but it's a hell of a lot dirtier and smellier. And it was also much cheaper 15-20 years ago too.

So while it might be sad that "Joe" can't afford Disney every year, he probably can't afford to go on big vacations every year no matter where it is. Disney isn't to blame and they really aren't any more expensive than any other major tourist destination.

 

[Misha72683]

Yep.

Heck, my own parents never ever went to Disney. They simply couldn't afford it.

But I've been many times.

My mother will be going next year for the first time at 60. It'll be a once in a lifetime vacation for her. And her second vacation in 20 years (she went to visit her partner's mother for a week a few years ago).

 

[prestoncaldwell]

I must have missed the part in the Bill of Rights about our right to an affordable Walt Disney World vacation.

I'm a (single) public school teacher in one of the worst-paid states in the nation. My parents are retirees who aren't exactly wealthy either. We're going to WDW for the first time in 17 years. True, we are a small group and it took years to save up the money for this splurge of a vacation. Because THAT'S what a WDW vacation is. A big splurge. If you've got other financial priorities and/or cannot swing WDW, you DON'T GO. You take smaller, less expensive trips and save WDW for the special occasions. This idea that it's a place that everyone should be able to afford to go every year is just not realistic. It's a one-of-a-kind vacation destination. You have to pay to play.

I must have missed the part of the American consumer psyche that says the policies of a private company should be defended as law, but I have seen a lot of it here.

No one has ever said everyone should be able to afford it except some dude from the past with the initials W.D.

 

[momimouse27]

I don't mean this as an insult, but I think that is what Disney is trying to to do.

I didn't take it as an insult. However, I do disagree. Disney, like any for profit corporation, needs to make money. They don't care who's money it is, whether you're barely getting by or you're a millionaire. My point was that if I'm paying extra just to go to my favorite place, I want the "magic" in place that I'm paying for.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I wouldn't care too much if WDW prices increased yearly by the rate of inflation or maybe a bit more, PROVIDED... Disney continued offering wonderful entertainment options. For us, 1999 and the next few years was WDW's heyday with Pleasure Island including the Adventurer's Club, the most unique entertainment I've ever experienced. We'd fly from Pa to Orlando just to spend 5 nights there. A full schedule of musical offerings in WS to say nothing of the World Showcase Players, the list of great options is nearly endless. To squeeze the nickel until the buffalo bleeds while cutting corners is the very definition of greed. Charge what you want but provide value. A lot of value has been eliminated.

Bill From PA

Innoventions and Future World have also been decimated. The only thing at Epcot that has been improved over the years in the Food and Wine and Flower and Garden, if you added more opportunity to buy things as improvement.

 

[DisDadDVC]

I didn't take it as an insult. However, I do disagree. Disney, like any for profit corporation, needs to make money. They don't care who's money it is, whether you're barely getting by or you're a millionaire. My point was that if I'm paying extra just to go to my favorite place, I want the "magic" in place that I'm paying for.

I could be wrong, but my theory is this:

Disney is often "at capacity". They would rather fill the open spot with someone that will spend 10k on the vacation rather than someone that would spend 5k. So if they can squeeze you out, it may make room for someone with deeper pockets to take your place.

And I don't blame you one bit for feeling that way. You deserve to get what you are paying for.

 

[EricInPA]

The first time I ever heard that a Disney vacation was for "the average family" was here on these boards. I didn't know anyone personally that went for more than a day or 2 to WDW when I was growing up. And most of those were for school related trips.

As far as boycotting Disney and all that, if that's how you feel, I won't begrudge anyone that wants to do that. However, I'm not going to pretend I haven't had a great time and still feel I'm getting my Disney money's worth.

 

[DrewJB]

Disney is raising prices BECAUSE their parks are full, not in spite of them being full. There is only so much space at the parks and more people want to go all of the time. If they are going to keep the experience of being there at all enjoyable they have to raise prices as a means of keeping the crowds reasonable. If Disney was less expensive you'd always be shoulder to shoulder with other guests in the park and lines for all of the rides would regularly be several hours.

 

[momof2n2]

Disney is raising prices BECAUSE their parks are full, not in spite of them being full. There is only so much space at the parks and more people want to go all of the time. If they are going to keep the experience of being there at all enjoyable they have to raise prices as a means of keeping the crowds reasonable. If Disney was less expensive you'd always be shoulder to shoulder with other guests in the park and lines for all of the rides would regularly be several hours.

If they use the extra revenue to expand parks, or open new ones....

 

[MakiraMarlena]

total boycott ain't going to happen.

We could stop going to the parks...but according to the OP that is what Disney wants.

What to do. Is buying some Disney stock an option and THEN stop going to the parks? If you feel like you are wasting money, don't waste your money by going. Give them some time. It probably won't work too well as a social movement to force Disney to change their ways, though. Not everyone is going to agree that they are wasting money by going to WDW. When I was a kid WDW was once every few years because it was just too expensive to go there and stay there, and we weren't talking about staying onsite (there were only a few resorts then) but in the Holiday Inn down the road. Things changed, and they are changing again.

I have DVC, maybe I should rent it out to someone else. at least they aren't stuffing the DVC resorts with youth groups.

 

[Jennasis]

Maybe this is exactly what Disney wants to help thin crowds a bit to lead to BETTER guest satisfaction. Instead of families going every year, if they start going every 3-5 years, they parks may be less crowded.

Disney is raising prices BECAUSE their parks are full, not in spite of them being full. There is only so much space at the parks and more people want to go all of the time. If they are going to keep the experience of being there at all enjoyable they have to raise prices as a means of keeping the crowds reasonable. If Disney was less expensive you'd always be shoulder to shoulder with other guests in the park and lines for all of the rides would regularly be several hours.

Everyone needs to stop thinking that Disney wants to thin out the crowds or lower attendance any way shape or form. They would be happy to be operating at Peak capacity 365 days per year.

None of this has anything to do with crowd reduction or guest satisfaction, no matter what PR spin the company tries to put on it.

This is just about monetization. End of story.

 

[DrewJB]

Disney wants to make money. If they raise the prices and continue to operate near capacity why would they not do that? If they cut prices down to what everyone actually wants to pay to go there the crowds would be overwhelming - they would be sold out for every park day a year in advance - and the lines for every ride would be hours long. Is this the Disney experience you want? Everyone wants to pay less money to go and ignore the reality that if ticket prices go down - crowds and sold out days go up. Imagine every day being like Christmas where if you aren't there at open you are just out of luck. And don't think about leaving the park to take a break - because you won't be able to get back in.

 

[DrewJB]

The fact is - if Disney was charging too much then their attendance would drop and they would lower prices. If they are raising prices and attendance continues to increase (which has been the case for years) - that means they are probably charging too little - not too much.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Disney wants to make money. If they raise the prices and continue to operate near capacity why would they not do that? If they cut prices down to what everyone actually wants to pay to go there the crowds would be overwhelming - they would be sold out for every park day a year in advance - and the lines for every ride would be hours long. Is this the Disney experience you want? Everyone wants to pay less money to go and ignore the reality that if ticket prices go down - crowds and sold out days go up. Imagine every day being like Christmas where if you aren't there at open you are just out of luck. And don't think about leaving the park to take a break - because you won't be able to get back in.

If I knew crowds would be 25% lower, I would rather pay $200 a day for tickets than $100 and have the crowds. If my park tickets were $500 more in total, that's only about 10% of my budget. I'd gladly make that trade-off.

 

[Gary M]

We started going to WDW in 1992. We would go during the winter months and have gone at least once a year and sometimes 3-4 times each year. The crowds were small at first, but have gotten larger each year, until there are no slow times anymore. I have noticed a large number of guest are now from foreign countries. Since WDW is a vacation spot for the the world, the prices will continue to rise because of the demand for their product.

The USA economy is going more 3rd. world, so fewer US citizens can afford what was once thought as a right. JMHO.

 

[Doug M]

There's nothing wrong with spending your tax return on a vacation or a small home project or whatever. If you're getting a few thousand back and it's a little "bonus" in your mind, so be it. As far as the EITC, it's a refund for working people and therefore not welfare. Its purpose is to encourage people to keep working, therefore off welfare, and it is a huge factor in keeping working people above the poverty line. It goes straight back into the economy and the government knows that. Anyway not to go to far OT

No it isnt a refund, those that get EITC get 100% of their withholding back, tax rate is $0, then get thousands paid to them additionally.

 

[MammaMoe48]

If I knew crowds would be 25% lower, I would rather pay $200 a day for tickets than $100 and have the crowds. If my park tickets were $500 more in total, that's only about 10% of my budget. I'd gladly make that trade-off.

I agree. If it meant not standing shoulder to shoulder and not having to wait two hours for a ride, I'd pay double what they are charging now.

 

[DisDadDVC]

I agree. If it meant not standing shoulder to shoulder and not having to wait two hours for a ride, I'd pay double what they are charging now.

The biggest problem with the tiered pricing is they didn't tier it enough. It's not a big enough increase to affect crowd levels, AND you will pay higher prices. The worst of both worlds IMO.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

No one has ever said everyone should be able to afford it except some dude from the past with the initials W.D.

And he never actually said that. In order for EVERYONE to afford it, he would have had to give it away for free or close to it. That wasn't even HIS intention. and if it was, R.D. would never have let him do it.