Do You think DISNEY has gone down hlll the last few years?

[KellyNY]

Just checked, and 4 day multi ticket is $155 plus tax.



Sorry, had a cut and paste error, so some of my original post was missing.

If you don't think it has anything to do with it, then why are you discussing ticket prices above? I find it amusing that people claim that Disney is going downhill in value, yet Universal's daily rate tix are close to the same as Disney, yet they only have 2 parks. Universal has been using discounts for years to secure guests, as has Sea World. As Searcher said above, all 3 Orlando parks' daily prices are virtually identical. And in fact, Sea World and Universal have raised prices several times in a year over the past decade. Why is it ok for them and not Disney?

Much of this discussion has been centred on the fact that some don't feel that Disney is of value any longer because of their pricing structure, so I'm wondering in comparison to a similar product (price and theming), how does it compare?

Many on here claim that Disney will be in dire trouble if they get rid of discounts, and many claim that Disney is way overpriced and is going downhill due to pricing alone, so I was interested in the comparison to Universal as many are saying that Universal has been going uphill due to the new Harry Potter attraction, and therefore I'm interested in what you thought based on this, park vs park.

Good businesses always know their competition, so I thought it would be interesting to hear from those who thought Disney is going downhill and Universal is going uphill.

Tiger

I am not comparing ticket prices, I am comparing price raise and it has nothing to do with value or price itself.

If we going to compare then we can only do it on 1 or 2 day basis as universal is not full vacation destination so far. If you want to compare then, universal is more concentrated and you can do much more attractions then in disney in a day or two, since there are more hits and less fillers and lines distribute more evenly, there is much less walking and if you do hopper option it is only a short walk between parks, unlike disney. In a way, universal is set like disney land, small and to the point. btw, if you want to do hopper option, disney option costs more and even so technically you will have access to all 4 parks, would you really waste time on transportation, not me.

both you and me were at universal years ago, so we cannot really speak of up or down hill here. I prefer universal rides, except for few from disney but I need a dose of my evening fireworks, never saw universal night show however. only reason I have not been to universal for years is because I cannot afford to do both parks on a same vacation every time and my vacations usually 10 days or more, so it is not cheap, esp. that I book very last minute and usually do not use discounts at all. so for me, since universal cannot fill my 10 days, disney is better destination, but if I would just passing by Orlano for 1 or 2 days, I would go with universal.

I still do not see how this any relevant to our discussion, esp. that both of us cannot really speak of universal current conition or changes but you asked and I answered.

 

[brunette8706]

But what makes you think that people DON'T want to go more than ever?

Disney is offering discounts to make it more attractive to visit, certainly. But it's also a function of the economy as a whole. People have less money to spend on vacations, and so Disney offers discounts (like every other vacation destination is right now) so that people can use their more limited funds to go on vacation. Disney is NOT alone in this strategy. There are discounts galore at everyplace from Six Flags to Dollywood to Broadway to Vegas. Every travel destination out there is competing for the smaller and smaller segment of people who have money available to travel.

The biggest cost for a Disney vacation for most people is the cost of the flight to get them there. Disney doesn't have control over airfares, so if they want to show people that yes, they CAN take a vacation this year, they offer discounts to help offset the high cost of air travel or gas. Discounts don't ONLY mean that Disney or Universal or wherever is having trouble filling the parks or resorts. Sometimes it's a way to jumpstart the consumer's mind into thinking "vacation".

If Disney were to take away discounts now, it would definitely affect the number of people who visit. But so would higher gas prices. Or more taxes on airfare. Or more bed taxes on hotel rooms.

Disney does not exist in a vacuum. Prices AT the parks are only one piece of a Disney vacation.

*

Okay, wait a minute. The cost of airfare from Baltimore to Orlando in 1979 was approximately $180.00 RT. Today, in 2011 I can get a flight for approximately $210 or LESS.

Tickets for Disney in 1979 were approximately $11.00 a day with FREE NO EXPIRATION ticket. Disney in 2011 is approximately $85.00 a DAY with a FEE for NO EXPIRATION and PARK HOPPING.

Disney's value has diminished in the last 5-7 years. When they start "TAKING" things away (decorations, food items, service, CMs, maintenance, even park hours) and inflating costs it's not considered a "VALUE" anymore. Now , if Disney didn't take away things and prices have increased I could accept that. They are building new attractions (AVATAR, FantasyLAND expansion etc.). But there are some things "Disney" that degraded a bit.

With that said, I don't think all of these "new comers" will go to Disney in droves if and when the eoncomy improves. I think Disney will soon out price themselves if they continue on this path. Remember 5-7 years ago when the enconomy was much better and people had jobs and the housing market was in full bloom people were going to Disney. People were going to Disney because Disney was a QUALITY PRODUCT there wasn't a downhill turn going on then. Their food was great, the decorations were awesome, they had great deals on the Dining offers which included tax, tip appetizers etc. That has all changed..I think they need to come up with a better business model in the future...JMHO.

Brunette

 

[brunette8706]

I would love proof of this -- like a list of prices or something. Because I don't see how Universal could have "kept price unchanged for years" and still be exactly the same price for a one day / one park ticket as Disney. Either they kept pace over the years or at some point they made a huge price increase in order to catch up. It wasn't when Harry Potter opened. Disney and Universal were the same price just prior to WWoHP. From what I remember, every time Disney raised it's prices, Universal was right behind them. It was often cheaper to visit Universal, since they had so many discounts running for everything, so that may be what you're thinking of. But from a rack rate perspective, it has always been the same price to visit one as the other, with raises from one followed by the other within a few months. Would love to see a chart that lists how much it cost for Disney vs. Universal over the years and who raised prices when.

&
Universal used to always have buy first ticket for X amount and the 2nd day is FREE. Much cheaper than Disney. They had to do this to compete with Disney I would think. Now that Universal has created Harry Potter maybe they feel they are on the cutting edge of technology and pulling in more guests then in teh past.

EDIT to include the following:

Looks like Univerisal is offering a 4 day MULTI park pass for $160.00 per adult plus tax. So the hopper is included and it looks like they are offering $150.00 in coupons for food and merchandise discounts. I would suspect once again, this is to compete with Disney.

 

[Tiger926]

I am not comparing ticket prices, I am comparing price raise and it has nothing to do with value or price itself.

If we going to compare then we can only do it on 1 or 2 day basis as universal is not full vacation destination so far. If you want to compare then, universal is more concentrated and you can do much more attractions then in disney in a day or two, since there are more hits and less fillers and lines distribute more evenly, there is much less walking and if you do hopper option it is only a short walk between parks, unlike disney. In a way, universal is set like disney land, small and to the point. btw, if you want to do hopper option, disney option costs more and even so technically you will have access to all 4 parks, would you really waste time on transportation, not me.

both you and me were at universal years ago, so we cannot really speak of up or down hill here. I prefer universal rides, except for few from disney but I need a dose of my evening fireworks, never saw universal night show however. only reason I have not been to universal for years is because I cannot afford to do both parks on a same vacation every time and my vacations usually 10 days or more, so it is not cheap, esp. that I book very last minute and usually do not use discounts at all. so for me, since universal cannot fill my 10 days, disney is better destination, but if I would just passing by Orlano for 1 or 2 days, I would go with universal.

I still do not see how this any relevant to our discussion, esp. that both of us cannot really speak of universal current conition or changes but you asked and I answered.

Thanks for your attempt to answer.

*

Okay, wait a minute. The cost of airfare from Baltimore to Orlando in 1979 was approximately $180.00 RT. Today, in 2011 I can get a flight for approximately $210 or LESS.

Tickets for Disney in 1979 was approximately $11.00 a day with FREE NO EXPIRATION fee. Disney in 2011 is approximately $85.00 a DAY with a FEE for EXPIRATION and PARK HOPPING.

Disney's value has diminished in the last 5-7 years. When they start "TAKING" things away (decorations, food items, service, CMs, maintenance, even park hours) and inflating costs it's not considered a "VALUE" anymore. Now , if Disney didn't take away things and prices have increased I could accept that. They are building new attractions (AVATAR, FantasyLAND expansion etc.). But there are some things Disney that are just degraded a bit.

With that said, I don't thing all of these "new comers" will go to Disney in droves if and when the eoncomy improves. I think Disney will soon out price themselves if they continue on this path. Remember 5-7 years ago when the enconomy was much better and people had jobs and the housing market was in full bloom people were going to Disney. People were going to Disney because Disney was a QUALITY PRODUCT there wasn't a downhill turn going on then. Their food was great, the decorations were awesome, they had great deals on the Dining offers which included tax, tip appetizers etc. That has all changed..I think they need to come up with a better business model in the future...JMHO.

Brunette

Hey, Brunette!

It is according to you though that Disney's value has diminished. I know many people who have gone to Disney who think it's totally incredible. This discussion would be totally foreign to them, as they don't have basis for comparison.

These things are only relevent to those of us who have been to Disney multiple times, and can compare to past trips. Disney is still a quality product to millions of people, many of whom are filling restaurants, buying merchandise and staying on-site.

For most first/only timers, Disney is an amazing vacation, so Disney's business model will more than likely continue in this way until such time that they see serious fluctuations in occupancy, gate attendance or dining patterns.

The fact remains that when Disney is concerned, they will take steps to correct, either by inventing a new promo, changing pricing structures, creating new ticket groupings, etc. This has been their practice for the past several years, and I suspect it will be this way for the future as well.

Tiger

 

[brunette8706]

Thanks for your attempt to answer.



Hey, Brunette!

It is according to you though that Disney's value has diminished. I know many people who have gone to Disney who think it's totally incredible. This discussion would be totally foreign to them, as they don't have basis for comparison.

These things are only relevent to those of us who have been to Disney multiple times, and can compare to past trips. Disney is still a quality product to millions of people, many of whom are filling restaurants, buying merchandise and staying on-site.

For most first/only timers, Disney is an amazing vacation, so Disney's business model will more than likely continue in this way until such time that they see serious fluctuations in occupancy, gate attendance or dining patterns.

The fact remains that when Disney is concerned, they will take steps to correct, either by inventing a new promo, changing pricing structures, creating new ticket groupings, etc. This has been their practice for the past several years, and I suspect it will be this way for the future as well.

Tiger

*
Hi Tiger

Yes, but it's not just me that have seen some of the degradation of Disney. Five years ago, you hardly read any complaints on the DIS board, now we are seeing more and more complaints than ever before. Now granted it you do see a lot of POSITIVES too! But there are some things that have actually gone downhill. Disney used to be all about QUALITY, remember the Disney Difference thread you created? One time there was a real Disney Difference. Heck the Disney Difference was the epitomy of QUALITY. There are a lot of things that still carry the Disney Difference, but there are things that does need to be greatly improved.. Of course not everyone is going to see it, not the first timers or the second timers, but there are more and more people seeing it every day. Disney is bulding 2 billion dollar cruise liners but they can't put a slab of paint on the green pavillion near the castle, they can't fix the holes on the screen at Soarin, the Yeti is still not fixed, on and on. People were complaining about the monorail not being able to take them back to the monorail resorts because they were down. The list goes on and people are starting to notice. I also don't think they are filling all the rooms. There used to be a time when most rooms were not vacant, especially around the holidays, this isn't true today even with the free dining. Bottom line, though, that there are some things that really need to be fix or corrected.

 

[Tiger926]

*
Hi Tiger

Yes, but it's not just me that have seen some of the degradation of Disney. Five years ago, you hardly read any complaints on the DIS board, now we are seeing more and more complaints than ever before. Now granted it you do see a lot of POSITIVES too! But there are some things that have actually gone downhill. Disney used to be all about QUALITY, remember the Disney Difference thread you created? One time there was a real Disney Difference. Heck the Disney Difference was the epitomy of QUALITY. There are a lot of things that still carry the Disney Difference, but there are things that does need to be greatly improved.. Of course not everyone is going to see it, not the first timers or the second timers, but there are more and more people seeing it every day. Disney is bulding 2 billion dollar cruise liners but they can't put a slab of paint on the green pavillion near the castle, they can't fix the holes on the screen at Soarin, the Yeti is still not fixed, on and on. People were complaining about the monorail not being able to take them back to the monorail resorts because they were down. The list goes on and people are starting to notice. I also don't think they are filling all the rooms. There used to be a time when most rooms were not vacant, especially around the holidays, this isn't true today even with the free dining. Bottom line, though, that there are some things that really need to be fix or corrected.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you were the only one who felt this way at all. It's just that on a thread like this, or on the DISboards in general, us detail-oriented Disney lovers are in larger groups. When I talk to regular Disney goers (non-DVC) in the parks or on vacation, they never mention any of this stuff. For the most part, they just don't see it, which is exactly why Disney isn't in a hurry to patch or paint, as you mentioned.

There are tons of cruise ships for competition, so Disney must keep the ships in pristine condition as they charge a premium for them, but there is only one Disney World, and Disney knows this. I firmly believe they let things slip because most guests do not notice, and until such time as they do, things will remain that way. This affords them a greater profit margin...

Most guests do not notice chipped paint, and even if they did, they would not equate it with Disney going downhill or them losing out on Disney quality. Even I as a Disney veteran am not bothered by slightly chipped paint, as I just don't see it as a necessary maintenance issue. And I certainly am not going to generalize and say that because Disney doesn't fix the chips, then they are slipping into a serious downhill mode. It will take a lot for me to say that...but that is me. Your mileage may vary, and that is the unique part of sharing in a special place like Disney!

This thread continues to interest me so much, as it fun to read all of the different perspectives and perceptions of the place we all love!

Tiger

 

[brunette8706]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you were the only one who felt this way at all. It's just that on a thread like this, or on the DISboards in general, us detail-oriented Disney lovers are in larger groups. When I talk to regular Disney goers (non-DVC) in the parks or on vacation, they never mention any of this stuff. For the most part, they just don't see it, which is exactly why Disney isn't in a hurry to patch or paint, as you mentioned.

There are tons of cruise ships for competition, so Disney must keep the ships in pristine condition as they charge a premium for them, but there is only one Disney World, and Disney knows this. I firmly believe they let things slip because most guests do not notice, and until such time as they do, things will remain that way. This affords them a greater profit margin...

Most guests do not notice chipped paint, and even if they did, they would not equate it with Disney going downhill or them losing out on Disney quality. Even I as a Disney veteran am not bothered by slightly chipped paint, as I just don't see it as a necessary maintenance issue. And I certainly am not going to generalize and say that because Disney doesn't fix the chips, then they are slipping into a serious downhill mode. It will take a lot for me to say that...but that is me. Your mileage may vary, and that is the unique part of sharing in a special place like Disney!

This thread continues to interest me so much, as it fun to read all of the different perspectives and perceptions of the place we all love!

Tiger

*

Tiger, I am not talking about "chipped paint" I am talking about general appearance of the pavillion which, in fact is rusting, it a reddish brown now. It's supposed to be GREEN, not rusted red. Not sure where the "chipped paint" came from. Further, it's not about a new coat of paint, it's about the degradation of the "whole picture" as I stated above and throughout this whole thread. It's about PRICES going up and things TAKEN AWAY. I think you and I both know and have discussed ad nauseum on the last 3000 pluis pages why Disney is going on a downhill spiral.


I would think the AVATAR attraction would be a good thing for Disney. I'm thinking this would be a 3d or even 4d ride that would probably compete with Universal's Harry Potter's attraction. I'm also thinking the Fantasyland expansion would be a huge improvement with the added restaurants and attractions. I personally can't wait till that opens..

Brunette

 

[KellyNY]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you were the only one who felt this way at all. It's just that on a thread like this, or on the DISboards in general, us detail-oriented Disney lovers are in larger groups. When I talk to regular Disney goers (non-DVC) in the parks or on vacation, they never mention any of this stuff. For the most part, they just don't see it, which is exactly why Disney isn't in a hurry to patch or paint, as you mentioned.

There are tons of cruise ships for competition, so Disney must keep the ships in pristine condition as they charge a premium for them, but there is only one Disney World, and Disney knows this. I firmly believe they let things slip because most guests do not notice, and until such time as they do, things will remain that way. This affords them a greater profit margin...

Most guests do not notice chipped paint, and even if they did, they would not equate it with Disney going downhill or them losing out on Disney quality. Even I as a Disney veteran am not bothered by slightly chipped paint, as I just don't see it as a necessary maintenance issue. And I certainly am not going to generalize and say that because Disney doesn't fix the chips, then they are slipping into a serious downhill mode. It will take a lot for me to say that...but that is me. Your mileage may vary, and that is the unique part of sharing in a special place like Disney!

This thread continues to interest me so much, as it fun to read all of the different perspectives and perceptions of the place we all love!

Tiger

Tiger, now you generalizing and speak for others. did you talk to all of them. We can only speak of what we see on board and lately complains increase dramatically and lets not forget that while many here are regular, hard core visitors, there are many who are not. We have members who came, returned and never showed on board again, go figure what they think of disney. We had many instances when people were saying how overprised place is and that it is not for them. There are plenty of examples right here on board when even first comers were unhappy. Sure they did not see difference, but they were not impressed with what disney is today.
My point is we all talk to people on vacation but can we draw conclusions from 5 min talks with strangers who most likely will not even go into details. We all have such stories, but can we trust them. I only trust numbers and what I see disney does right now and my opinion based only on that.

 

[finz2left]

I just returned from th Oct. 30 MNSSHP and was disappointed in the decorations. There were far fewer than in 2009. I dont think that is downhill, but a bit surprising.

 

[glammadiva]

Disney is not perfect. It has maintenance issues, food issues, and quality of merchandise issues, but I still love it. Disney is an experience, an escape from the world and for a short time this 56 year old grandmother is 5 years old again. I do not get that at Seaworld or Universal, only Disney, and I will keep going back until I am very old and no longer remember Mickey.

 

[brunette8706]

I just returned from th Oct. 30 MNSSHP and was disappointed in the decorations. There were far fewer than in 2009. I dont think that is downhill, but a bit surprising.

*
HI there. Thanks for posting your experience. This will always puzzle me about the decorations. It really doesn't cost Disney and "more" money to add more decorations, not sure why they do this on various holidiays. How was the candy? I heard that the candy has been downgraded too.

thanks. Brunette

 

[brunette8706]

Disney is not perfect. It has maintenance issues, food issues, and quality of merchandise issues, but I still love it. Disney is an experience, an escape from the world and for a short time this 56 year old grandmother is 5 years old again. I do not get that at Seaworld or Universal, only Disney, and I will keep going back until I am very old and no longer remember Mickey.

*

Hi-
I can vouch that most here still LOVE Disney...It's very magical, clean and just plain fun....We love it!

 

[finz2left]

*
HI there. Thanks for posting your experience. This will always puzzle me about the decorations. It really doesn't cost Disney and "more" money to add more decorations, not sure why they do this on various holidiays. How was the candy? I heard that the candy has been downgraded too.

thanks. Brunette

I was a bit puzzled, too. We did get tons of GREAT candy though.

 

[brunette8706]

I was a bit puzzled, too. We did get tons of GREAT candy though.

*
Cool! Good to know. If you have any pictures feel free to post them !

Brunette

 

[disneynutz]

I just returned from th Oct. 30 MNSSHP and was disappointed in the decorations. There were far fewer than in 2009. I dont think that is downhill, but a bit surprising.

My understanding from the decorating department is that the decorations are owned by a different Disney department and that the places that use them have to pay for the use, installation and removal.

Two years ago when budgets were getting tighter, many of the resorts and restaurants reduced the number of decorations. Epcot wanted the tunnel of lights but due to a LED requirement, the cost to rebuild the tunnel was not in their budget.

Bill

 

[brunette8706]

My understanding from the decorating department is that the decorations are owned by a different Disney department and that the places that use them have to pay for the use, installation and removal.

Two years ago when budgets were getting tighter, many of the resorts and restaurants reduced the number of decorations. Epcot wanted the tunnel of lights but due to a LED requirement, the cost to rebuild the tunnel was not in their budget.

Bill

I
**

Hey there Bill!

Never knew that. Thanks for posting about this. The EPCOT lighting was called Winter of Lights (I think). Loved that area that was lit up. Loved walking through the tunnel of lights into World Showcase! It's ashame it's not there anymore....It was beautiful!

 

[Tiger926]

*

Tiger, I am not talking about "chipped paint" I am talking about general appearance of the pavillion which, in fact is rusting, it a reddish brown now. It's supposed to be GREEN, not rusted red. Not sure where the "chipped paint" came from. Further, it's not about a new coat of paint, it's about the degradation of the "whole picture" as I stated above and throughout this whole thread. It's about PRICES going up and things TAKEN AWAY. I think you and I both know and have discussed ad nauseum on the last 3000 pluis pages why Disney is going on a downhill spiral.


I would think the AVATAR attraction would be a good thing for Disney. I'm thinking this would be a 3d or even 4d ride that would probably compete with Universal's Harry Potter's attraction. I'm also thinking the Fantasyland expansion would be a huge improvement with the added restaurants and attractions. I personally can't wait till that opens..

Brunette

Sorry, thought you mentioned chipped paint somewhere?

I am excited to see the Fantasyland expansion too, and am still waiting to see what exactly the Avatar area is going to look like.

Tiger, now you generalizing and speak for others. did you talk to all of them. We can only speak of what we see on board and lately complains increase dramatically and lets not forget that while many here are regular, hard core visitors, there are many who are not. We have members who came, returned and never showed on board again, go figure what they think of disney. We had many instances when people were saying how overprised place is and that it is not for them. There are plenty of examples right here on board when even first comers were unhappy. Sure they did not see difference, but they were not impressed with what disney is today.
My point is we all talk to people on vacation but can we draw conclusions from 5 min talks with strangers who most likely will not even go into details. We all have such stories, but can we trust them. I only trust numbers and what I see disney does right now and my opinion based only on that.

Nope, that is why I said some or many...I didn't say all. I would never say all. Over the years though, I have met many guests, and I have not had this scope of conversation with any of them. And I'm not really talking about a quick 5 mins chat either, as you can't discuss much. I'm talking about sharing 1 hour at the pool, sitting next to people at the parade, or sharing a table at Teppan Edo, for instance. I have had some good and lengthy conversations over the years as a DVC member about many areas of Disney. I recall a few noticed a few things that they had issues with, but 99.9% were absolutely thrilled with Disney (I am not referring to DVC members either). So, that is a pretty good represenation of couples, singles, families, conventioners and foreign travellers - so a pretty good representative sample of Disney guests.

Does it mean that is representative of all guests? Absolutely not,, but if you are adamant that your representations on these boards are how many guests feel, then why can't we assume the same about the guests who I have spoken with?

I absolutely will not extrapolate anything that I read on this board of diehard Disney fans, as you are going to see more negative than positive (that's the way the DIS works), and we are a very, very small representation of Disney guests. Based on those two alone, I know that it is a skewed environment over here.

If you only trust numbers, tell me where you are getting these numbers from, as we have all determined that Disney does not release true numbers, and the TEA estimates are off as well, so not sure what numbers? You don't have actual attendance numbers, number of guests who stay on-site vs off-site, etc. I think you are trusting your opinions and feelings, and that is a different thing entirely.

Not everything can be deduced by numbers, as we've been discussing. When a large portion of your customer base is happy with the way things are (and please don't think I'm saying that I don't see areas that have gone downhill, because that is not what I am saying), then that company is going to operate business as usual.

Until and unless such time that Disney, who has the real numbers, sees a drop in attendance or occupancy rates, they aren't going to make many changes at all as most of the people partaking in that product are happy. You don't have to believe me, or anyone else on this thread, but based on the way Disney is operating, that is your answer. Disney is very good at gauging guests - they have a large research department devoted to this, as well as a massive accounting department who analyzes the numbers. At this time, Disney is fine with reduced services or subpar food, because most guests are to. Do I know this for a fact? Nope, but based on their business model, that would appear to be the case.

Until such time that I am given hard evidence to the contrary, I will have to adjust my vacation habits accordingly (and have done so), as there are areas where Disney and I disagree, and that is bound to happen!

Am I saying that we can't discuss the areas we would like to see improved? Nope. I just think it's not reasonable to assume that because a few diehard DISboard members feel that areas of the parks are going downhill, that those feelings are representative of millions of other WDW guests. Based on many factors, I know that not to be true. This has been my thrust on this thread. I know many disagree with me, and that is ok.

The bottom line, and thanks to Brunette for starting this thread, is that many of us who love Disney, feel like certain areas need some TLC, and are nervous should Disney not attend to these areas in a reasonable timeframe. I am right there with you! But, I also know that many of the millions of Disney guests who visit don't feel this way either. It would seem that Disney is on that side of the fence right now, with certain areas, and so I can only adjust my vacation habits at Disney until such time that I feel I'm at my breaking point. I am nowhere near there, whereas several of you seem to be.

My wish is that Disney is able to find a balance between reasonable guest expectations, properly caring for the place we all love, and their profit margins.

Thanks, Tiger

 

[WDSearcher]

Cannot provide chart, all I remember that I paid 99 or 89 for 2 days at universal and could use ticket for7 days, that was the offer 8 or so years ago and it was the same right before WWOHP. In fact right before WWOHP there was a huge sale, I think it was 59 or 69 for 2 days.

Right ... but clearly that was a special promotion, very much like when Disney runs "Kids Play Free" or "Buy 4 get 3" promotions. You can't compare a special promotion Universal rate to Disney rack rate and use that to say that Universal's prices haven't kept up with Disney's. If you compare apples to apples (that is, rack rate for a one-day / one-park ticket at each park), the two parks have matched each other price increase for price increase for at least a decade, and they currently cost exactly the same.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally Posted by brunette8706
*
HI there. Thanks for posting your experience. This will always puzzle me about the decorations. It really doesn't cost Disney and "more" money to add more decorations, not sure why they do this on various holidiays. How was the candy? I heard that the candy has been downgraded too.

thanks. Brunette.

It does actually cost Disney more money to add more decorations. Think of your own home. If you put up, say, 100 feet of garland, that costs you more than if you put up 50 ft. It costs more in the actual price you pay for the garland and it takes you more time. If, at Halloween, you hang up 20 clusters of leaves and pumpkins on your front porch, it costs you more than if you hang up 5 -- again, both in price and in time.

Same thing with Disney. They have a certain budget they need to maintain, and they have to purchase, maintain, prep, store, build, hang and take down all of those decorations within that budget. If they add 20% more decorations, it costs them more money, both in the price of purchasing those decorations and in the labor cost of prepping, hanging and striking those decorations. Plus, you need storage for them during the rest of the year and a staff to clean, fix, maintain and pack them. Multiply that by land or by park or by decor location and that can really start to add up. I don't know how you can say it doesn't cost Disney more to put up more decorations.

As for the candy ... I thought the candy mix was outstanding -- full sized candy bars in some locations, lots of chocolate, lots of variety, and plenty handed out. Although I never really get why people go through the party collecting as much candy as they can possibly hold, only to either leave it behind for Mousekeeping (where much of it gets tossed in the trash) or throw it away before they head home. I understand the fun and tradition of trick or treating -- I don't quite get how important the candy mix is to people. I go to MNSSHP for the parade, characters, shows, and ability to wear a costume at MK. If all I want is candy, I can get that a whole lot cheaper by going to Wal-Mart! YMMV

 

[finz2left]

Interesting that they pay an outside company for decorations, but not a decent excuse. They have created expectations for decor and mood -- when those things are removed or lessened, it does hurt the whole experience. My kids were very sad when they got off at Ticket and Transportation and didn't see one sign for the Halloween party. Mainstreet seemed only partially decorated and it was the only place with decorations, at all. My house is more disneyfied, LOL .

Would I go again? Maybe. It is lacking the ambiance we came to love, but it is still Disney and Villains party and parade are great. BUT, we won't go as often. Will Disney care? Nope. They are still making money hand over fist by charging more and giving less. I wonder what Walt would say????