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

[MammaMoe48]

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.

It's not going "third world". The exchange rate of US dollars to Euros right now is such that it costs less for Euopeans to travel here. So they come. In the 90s and early 2000s the Euro was worth less so Americans went there and they couldn't afford to come here. The French never shut up about the "rude Americans". It goes in cycles.

 

[lustergirl]

If your tax refund is so large that you can take a trip to WDW you need to adjust your withholding because you are loaning the government your money for free. If that isnt the case, your "refund" is EITC and therefore a welfare payment and not a tax refund.

WOW My tax return used to be quite large when I was single raising my older son. I received the EIC that I was entitled to. I worked every day during that year and didn't consider it a welfare payment of any sorts.

 

[nco91590]

I don't think they're targeting "wealthier people" but maybe people who stay off site and decide to come to MK for a day trip. I think they're betting that people will decide to skip it in favor of the other million family attractions in Orlando. It would behoove WDW to alienate their hardcore loyal park goers. I mean, look at all the people on here who complain about crowd levels. How else are they going to do that? Notice that they're not doing away with stay and play packages because they want you to stay on site. I don't think they care as much about the day trippers. But that's just my theory.

 

[lustergirl]

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.

Are you an accountant?

 

[Tiffany38]

Are you an accountant?

The EITC can get the tax filer more than they paid in federal taxes because it was designed to offset Social Security taxes, not federal. It was implemented by Congress to keep people motivated to work, even if the only jobs they can find are low wage.

 

[MammaMoe48]

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.

Before WD opened DL most amusement parks were dirty and seedy and tended to be transient operations with unregulated rides. W.D.s intention for Disneyland was to give families a safe, clean, family friendly amusement park experience, but not necessarily an affordable one.

 

[epcotty]

The bad thing is that the price increases/new costs are such obvious cash grabs on top of already exorbitant prices. They are obviously trying to see at what point people will stop coming, but I fear by the time that happens and they realize it then they will have lost too many people who won't come back, and the company's profits from the parks will be way down while Universal's will have gone up. Disney's extreme overconfidence and acting like they have no competition definitely could backfire. Even on stuff like tiering 1 day tickets, I think a lot who only do/can go 1 day during peak periods will pick Universal instead

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I know there are some who expect Universal will overtake WDW in sheer numbers as a vacation destination because they perceive more value for the money at Universal. It's a popular view among those who would like to see Disney get its comeuppance. Right now I don't think that will happen or that a mass exodus from one side of Orlando to the other is upcoming. maybe one-day visitors will pick Universal, but since less than 15% of Disney guests used one-day tickets, Disney is probably looking to "replace" them with higher-spending multi-day guests. and there is no shortage of those.

A Universal one-day one-park ticket is $105. if you want a 2 park ticket (so you can ride that Hogwarts Express) it is $155.

 

[W.E.D.]

There are so many amazing places to see in the world that actually cost less than Disney!

We spent a week in the heart of London for less than we'd typically spend on our WDW visit.

 

[MammaMoe48]

DH and I usually get $12,000+ back. One year we did what you said because others had preached. Did we take $500 a pay period and put it aside? Nope. It got spent. Some of us would rather let someone else benefit from holding our money and just have it handed over as a lump sum. You do what works.

This is one of the reasons why we do higher withholdings. If we were to get more money in our checks each week, we'd never save for anything, we'd just spend it on something else. This is kind of a forced savings plan for us.

 

[pumpkinhead10a]

Tier pricing is a money grab..that it...they know there's a lot of people who can only go on weekends and holidays. Tier pricing is not going to affect people choices when to visit the parks because they don't have choice but to pay the extra charge, attendance in the parks will not change and Disney knows that. It's just a way to put more money to the bottom line and all the things they say is just smoke screen (bs). All I'm trying to do is to start a conversation about Disney turning into a nickel and dime operation, Walt's dream was for Disney to be a place where the average American Joe can take is family and enjoy the day, as corny as it might sound that was his dream! I'm glad to have started this conversation because in 12 hours there's 4 pages off dialogue already so lets keep talking. In case you didn't know I'm a proud Canadian!!!

 

[EricInPA]

Walt's dream was for Disney to be a place where the average American Joe can take is family and enjoy the day

If that's true, then they should revert back to low entry fee and pay per ride as it was when Disneyland opened. I'm guessing a lot here would not like that change though.

 

[W.E.D.]

I was thinking about the proposed "resort fee" and have come to the conclusion that this might actually end up being cheaper than if they simply raised the room rate by $15 a night. Here's why:

Last year, at CBR, it was a good 3-4 days before we had working wi-fi in our room. It took multiple calls to tech support to get it resolved. If there were a $15/night fee last year for "perks", which included wi-fi, we would have complained, and most likely would have that waived for those days. Not so simple putting a dollar amount on it if it's not part of a semi-itemized fee.

This is a good point in favor of the fee.

 

[Misha72683]

We spent a week in the heart of London for less than we'd typically spend on our WDW visit.

I use London as my examole of why I'm okay with my next few vacations being at Disney. While cost is similar, right now with the age of my family, I would not enjoy London as much as I enjoy Disney. We'll go to Europe when my kids are bigger. But Disney is definitely as much of a "big trip" to me as Europe. It required budgeting and can't happen all the time. It's a luxury.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

The bad thing is that the price increases/new costs are such obvious cash grabs on top of already exorbitant prices. They are obviously trying to see at what point people will stop coming, but I fear by the time that happens and they realize it then they will have lost too many people who won't come back, and the company's profits from the parks will be way down while Universal's will have gone up. Disney's extreme overconfidence and acting like they have no competition definitely could backfire. Even on stuff like tiering 1 day tickets, I think a lot who only do/can go 1 day during peak periods will pick Universal instead

THIS. I know it's just one family, and totally anecdotal, but my sister and 3 friends are going to be in the Tampa area for spring break. They were going to do a day at Disney, but they didn't buy tickets yet, and after seeing the new 1 day ticket prices with the tiering, they are doing a day at Universal instead. Again, it's just one family, so it's not going to make a huge difference, but until Universal counters with a similiar pricing structure, Disney could lose some of their one day trippers.

 

[crazymomof4]

Have not read this entire thread but here's my 2cents....

We will keep going to WDW but we will make adjustments to the vacations so they are still within our budget. If prices go up, I will find ways to wittle that much or more off of our wdw trip plan. For example, when the next trip comes (our Sept '16 is already paid for) I will price out several options. If wdw prices have gone up considerably, I will work up several options that will allow us to take the vacation, but not spend significantly more than we have in previous years. For example, we may stay off-site to save on hotel costs. You can't get blood from a stone and our vacation budget is fixed.....not ever-expanding. WDW is not going to cause me to lose my mind and just fork over whatever they ask. But to say I won't go to WDW as a "protest" is cutting off my nose to spite my face.

 

[prestoncaldwell]

This is a good point in favor of the fee.

"It's good to have a fee because if WiFi breaks down then I won't have to pay for it." Ohhhhkay.

Seriously, I get what they are saying......loss of fee would be incentive to get it fixed faster. But the truth is that they are depending on outside tech support, and if it's still Xerox, it's awful, and that's not going to change with the threat of losing fees.

 

[W.E.D.]

I use London as my examole of why I'm okay with my next few vacations being at Disney. While cost is similar, right now with the age of my family, I would not enjoy London as much as I enjoy Disney. We'll go to Europe when my kids are bigger. But Disney is definitely as much of a "big trip" to me as Europe. It required budgeting and can't happen all the time. It's a luxury.

I agree with your comment. But for me, Europe used to be out of the question when compared to WDW. Now the two are sort of equalizing, price-wise. IMHO.

I think one of the issues in this thread is that those of us who are feeling disillusioned by all the increases, cuts, etc., have just as much right to share our dissatisfaction as those of you who continue to go have to voice your approval. Everyone here has a good portion of their life and memories invested in WDW. Some of us are quite sad that the times, they are a'changin'.

 

[W.E.D.]

What do you want? Dilapidated parks that never change? Street people walking down Main Street, so Disney can say they welcome everyone? Do you want WDW to be run like the government? Pretty soon, the only people going would be street people. Quit blaming Disney. They are a business and have to be run like a business. They have to compete with an ever increasing stiff competition. Disney's cost to keep up with the Jones's goes up every year. Yes, fewer and fewer people can afford to go. If you want to put the blame somewhere, put it where it belongs. Having a completely flat economy over the last 7 years. Blame the drop in average salaries in this country over the last 7 years. Blame for the first time in history, over 50% of Americans are considered below middle class. Blame the economy where kids are having to live at home longer, because they can't find jobs. Blame the fact that people are working fewer hours than ever before, because full time jobs are becoming harder and harder to find and the vast majority of new jobs created, are low wage and part time. The blame should rest on the American people 7-1/2 years ago.

I say we could actually look back 15-1/2 years ago, but that would be verging on a political post......

 

[DrewJB]

Walt's dream was for Disney to be a place where the average American Joe can take is family and enjoy the day, as corny as it might sound that was his dream!

Walt's dream was for Disney to be a place where families can go and enjoy the day. I'm not sure he ever said anything about the "average" family. If I'm wrong I'd be happy to see the quote.