Disney's Price Increases are obscene....

[North of Mouse]

The parks are packed and until people stop going, Disney is not going to adjust the prices.

And that just "ain't gonna" happen

 

[DisLee]

WDSearcher

Prices don't increase or decrease based on the net worth of the public.

How many businesses do you own WDSearcher?

I own just one business. I've had to LOWER my prices over the last few years because my competitors are charging less. If I decided to RAISE my prices instead of lowering them, I'd be unemployed right now.


You can choose to believe it or not. But the price you charge for services and goods is DIRECTLY linked to the state of the economy.

I'm not the only one that has decided enough is enough. There are and will be many, many more to follow. It's a sign of the times we are living in.

 

[LilyWDW]

WDSearcher



How many businesses do you own WDSearcher?

I own just one business. I've had to LOWER my prices over the last few years because my competitors are charging less. If I decided to RAISE my prices instead of lowering them, I'd be unemployed right now.


You can choose to believe it or not. But the price you charge for services and goods is DIRECTLY linked to the state of the economy.

I'm not the only one that has decided enough is enough. There are and will be many, many more to follow. It's a sign of the times we are living in.

You are in a different business then Disney is. As such, YOUR market can not handle an increase in price due to YOUR customer base and YOUR product. You can not compare whatever it is you do to the Disney parks. It just doesn't work like that. You have to compare it apples to apples which means other companies that sell the same sort of product as Disney.

If you are unhappy, then don't go. Don't spend the money. That is the only way any business will know their prices are too high. Personally, I still see value in a Disney vacation... and I lot of people still do. As a business person, I doubt Disney is going to see much loss because of any price increase.

 

[DebbieB]

WDSearcher



How many businesses do you own WDSearcher?

I own just one business. I've had to LOWER my prices over the last few years because my competitors are charging less. If I decided to RAISE my prices instead of lowering them, I'd be unemployed right now.


You can choose to believe it or not. But the price you charge for services and goods is DIRECTLY linked to the state of the economy.

I'm not the only one that has decided enough is enough. There are and will be many, many more to follow. It's a sign of the times we are living in.

I go to the grocery store, their prices are up. It seems no matter where I go prices are up. Disney's competitors are increasing prices so I don't get your point.

 

[GadgetRick]

Here we go again, all of the Disney lovers come out now to tell us how it's just fine they've raised prices during these times AND lowered services and service levels....

Yes, people are still going to the parks but who is going and why are they going? A lot more non-Americans are coming to go to DW. Why? The dollar has been weak for quite some time so they get more bang for their buck coming over. To them, prices are just fine.

I'll never say a business shouldn't raise prices occasionally but Disney has been raising prices just because they can rather than because of some specific need or reason.

For example, ingredients and food has gotten very expensive over the past few years. Food prices at restaurants have gone up accordingly. I understand it costs them much more to make a pizza so I get it when they bump the price of a pizza.

Disney has raised food prices--I'm ok with it for the most part but they made a BIG increase when they rolled out the dining plan. That increase in price wasn't needed. I understand why they did it--to drive more people to stay onsite and to buy the dining plan--but I don't think it was the best idea for them.

I have to agree the price increases in the past few years have been just too much. There is no reason for their prices to have gone up so much during this time.

Someone mentioned what the other theme parks are doing. They're doing exactly what they've ALWAYS done..whatever Disney does...

 

[GadgetRick]

I go to the grocery store, their prices are up. It seems no matter where I go prices are up. Disney's competitors are increasing prices so I don't get your point.

Disney's competitors increased prices because DISNEY did...

Food prices in the grocery store are up because it's costing THEM more for the products.

Disney increases their prices because they can...

 

[Don Disney]

Opinions are open to interpretation. Facts are not. Keep defending with all your might. But you can't fight facts.

#1 - Prices at Disney have increased 32-42% over the last 7 years.

#2 - During these same 7 years, The average American's income has decreased and their net worth has decreased 35%!.


Keep telling yourself the increases are justified. Battle it out with anyone on here who dares to disagree. But at the end of the day, you'll still have to admit that price increases of 32-42% during a time when most American's have lost 35% of their net worth, is bad business.

I always tell my children"numbers don't lie-study your math!"I was'nt aware the increases were so high!!! We got a whole 1% raise(not merit based-across the board)this year;from a fortune 500 Company no lessAlthough the Company made over a billion in profits!May have to rethink this WDW addiction of ours!

 

[DisLee]

If you are unhappy, then don't go. Don't spend the money. That is the only way any business will know their prices are too high. Personally, I still see value in a Disney vacation... and I lot of people still do. As a business person, I doubt Disney is going to see much loss because of any price increase.

I quit smoking when cigs were 2 bucks a pack. I have friends that are still smoking and cigs are now over 5 bucks a pack. Glad I got out when I did.

We plan on vacation in your home state this year instead. We love it there. Cheers.

 

[Planogirl]

I would love to see a breakdown of how many WDW visitors come from other countries nowadays vs how many used to. I can see more coming from overseas since the dollar is weak but we really don't know.

I'm puzzled as to why more Americans would be going to the parks. I thought that stats showed that American leisure travel was down, at least for a while.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I would love to see a breakdown of how many WDW visitors come from other countries nowadays vs how many used to. I can see more coming from overseas since the dollar is weak but we really don't know.

I'm puzzled as to why more Americans would be going to the parks. I thought that stats showed that American leisure travel was down, at least for a while.

The Disney parks are amazingly immune to downturns in the economy, whether it be international or domestic. We have watched this over many years of going multiple times per year. It just doesn't seem to matter.

 

[gkrykewy]

A lot more non-Americans are coming to go to DW. Why? The dollar has been weak for quite some time so they get more bang for their buck coming over. To them, prices are just fine.

Once again, this is not true. The US dollar is relatively strong at the moment, and is at or near 5-10 year highs against the Euro and Pound.

 

[BeerMe]

Once again, this is not true. The US dollar is relatively strong at the moment, and is at or near 5-10 year highs against the Euro and Pound.

True that, but the economy in Brazil is hot, hot, hot and lots of them are coming to Florida and hitting Disney.

 

[Bunch24]

As a parent of an 8 and 5 year old, I found the increase to be quite jarring. I was already bracing for having to pay adult prices for our oldest in a year and a half, but having to pay adult prices for all four of us is going to be tough.

Luckily, we have 10 months to think about that.

But to the OP, if you're in the 1% that everybody wants to be, would you be FOR any price increases? I mean, if you have the disposable income, wouldn't you want Disney to continue to charge a premium so it drives the park crowds down? That would be my line of thinking if I had that kind of money.

 

[andyman8]

Trying to stay, mostly, out of this but something interesting just came to mind.

The top two things people complain about Disney are high ticket prices and long lines, but in many ways, one directly affects another. By lowering ticket prices, you increase the amount of people coming to the park (because more can afford it) causing long lines. If you attempt to shorten lines (through FP+ and such), it will, most likely, result in Disney raising ticket prices.

Although I'm relatively against the high ticket prices, this is a good point to consider. I wouldn't mind Disney moving into the all-inclusive realm (either through onsite resort stays or day-tickets, too). I understand it'll be more expensive, but you never know the benefits that could come from it.

Go ahead an "mutilate" this post, now!

 

[DebbieB]

Disney's competitors increased prices because DISNEY did...

Food prices in the grocery store are up because it's costing THEM more for the products.

Disney increases their prices because they can...

Universal increased first in Florida. I don't think it matters who is first, they both plan to increase prices, almost in collusion.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...ices-single-park-offering-unlimited-admission

I'm not trying to defend Disney, I just don't agree with the person who said "But the price you charge for services and goods is DIRECTLY linked to the state of the economy". That's pretty rare, most businesses get away with increasing prices, how often do you see decreases in prices. Not anything I have bought recently.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Once again, this is not true. The US dollar is relatively strong at the moment, and is at or near 5-10 year highs against the Euro and Pound.

The US dollar isn't strong, just not as weak. Almost par with 2004, 2005, and 2006. Of course, this doesn't include conversion fees or commission.

Historical Euro to USD Rate

2000-1.09
2001-1.12
2002-1.06
2003-0.89
2004-0.80
2005-0.80
2006-0.80
2007-0.73
2008-0.68
2009-0.72
2010-0.75
2011-0.72
2012-0.79 (current)
Average annual currency exchange rate for the Euro (Euro per U.S. Dollar)

 

[flicx]

Disney has not been packing them in like they did before either. According to T.E.A disney world lost alot of customers in 2010 and stayed about at the same level as 2010 in 2011. I personally think disney has switched their focus, I believe they now feel they can jack up the prices and serve less people but make the same profit. In essence converting the business for a more wealthy clientel. They are headed on a bad path for those of us who don't have deep pockets.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

WDSearcher



How many businesses do you own WDSearcher?

I own just one business. I've had to LOWER my prices over the last few years because my competitors are charging less. If I decided to RAISE my prices instead of lowering them, I'd be unemployed right now.


You can choose to believe it or not. But the price you charge for services and goods is DIRECTLY linked to the state of the economy.

I'm not the only one that has decided enough is enough. There are and will be many, many more to follow. It's a sign of the times we are living in.

I own multiple businesses as investments, and work in investment banking as my career, so I feel qualified to chime in and point out that your statement is fallacious. The price that I, and you, and any business can charge is directly linked to supply and demand and not to the state of the economy. While a weak economy can drive down demand if your customers do not have resources to acquire your product, a product that is still in demand can continue to charge a premium. A product with no demand cannot command a premium price even in a great economy.

You say that you cut your prices, but I assume you did so not to be a good person but because you are seeing less demand for your products. Disney is not seeing less demand for its products, so it would be completely illogical for them to cut their prices.

As a real-world example, one of my wife's and my investments is a chain of fast-casual restaurants, and they are seeing relatively flat demand for the past couple of years, so our prices are remaining relatively stable, resulting in somewhat lower profits because our costs have increased. Another investment is a consulting company that places process improvement experts into companies looking to streamline their operations. Every company wants that right now, so our prices are through the roof (we've increased rates for most of our consultants by 25%-40% this year and are turning down work every day). Same economy, different results. The same thing goes for you and WDW. As long as people pay their prices, they have no incentive to lower prices.

 

[flicx]

I own multiple businesses as investments, and work in investment banking as my career, so I feel qualified to chime in and point out that your statement is fallacious. The price that I, and you, and any business can charge is directly linked to supply and demand and not to the state of the economy. While a weak economy can drive down demand if your customers do not have resources to acquire your product, a product that is still in demand can continue to charge a premium. A product with no demand cannot command a premium price even in a great economy.

You say that you cut your prices, but I assume you did so not to be a good person but because you are seeing less demand for your products. Disney is not seeing less demand for its products, so it would be completely illogical for them to cut their prices.

As a real-world example, one of my wife's and my investments is a chain of fast-casual restaurants, and they are seeing relatively flat demand for the past couple of years, so our prices are remaining relatively stable, resulting in somewhat lower profits because our costs have increased. Another investment is a consulting company that places process improvement experts into companies looking to streamline their operations. Every company wants that right now, so our prices are through the roof (we've increased rates for most of our consultants by 25%-40% this year and are turning down work every day). Same economy, different results. The same thing goes for you and WDW. As long as people pay their prices, they have no incentive to lower prices.

These statements don't fit the disney model either. The fact is that disneyworld's business has flattened out in recent years also. Unfortunately their prices haven't. Furthermore if you look at disneyworld pricing history it has been a straight up trend for 20+ years with the most aggressive increases in the past 10! This trend has certainly not been matched by attendance numbers.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

These statements don't fit the disney model either. The fact is that disneyworld's business has flattened out in recent years also. Unfortunately their prices haven't. Furthermore if you look at disneyworld pricing history it has been a straight up trend for 20+ years with the most aggressive increases in the past 10! This trend has certainly not been matched by attendance numbers.

Your point is not actually a valid economic model, however, and while I'm too tired to go into the full economic model here, if their demand was skyrocketing, then they wouldn't have raised prices enough (in other words, if they saw 10% growth in attendance, something made unlikely by my next point but stipulated here for purposes of the argument, then they should have raised prices more as they are leaving money on the table by not doing so). Add to that the fact that the parks and resorts are operating nearly at capacity (see all the complaints about how busy they are year round, now) and there is not much room for pure growth and flat numbers coupled with increasing prices indicates that supply and demand are in balance. That is what WDW is doing, and it's the same basic thing they are doing in California with the increases in AP prices at DLR. They need to drive down the number of day-trippers slightly to make room for the more valuable tourists, and they are doing it through yield management. They are making room for the family from Iowa who is going to spend $5,000 in a week rather than the five locals who will spend $30 each.