Hidden ticket price increases

[bbeagle]

Not really. I was just trying to differentiate between how, when someone says "tickets are $150/day. They used to be $75/day", that that simple analysis does not include these items which are semi-hidden.

If you were paying $75/day when there was just 1 park, and now there are 4, is $150/day an increase or a decrease in money per park?

What about opening hours? DisneyWorld is always open longer than Univeral, but ticket prices are similar. Universal will close at 6, Disney will stay open until 10.

 

[Brian Noble]

If you were paying $75/day when there was just 1 park, and now there are 4, is $150/day an increase or a decrease in money per park?

Well, I can't be in more than one of them at a time...but I get your point.

 

[irlandaise]

If you were paying $75/day when there was just 1 park, and now there are 4, is $150/day an increase or a decrease in money per park?

You may have access to more variety, but you still only have x number of hours you can be at the parks each day. So previously you spent $75 for a day and evening at one park, and now you spend $150 for a day and evening at multiple parks. You're still getting the same amount of theme park time but for a higher cost. (Actually even less park time, since you lose time travelling between them.)

 

[Maistre Gracey]

No, I don't! As far as I remember, they always started when the prior ones expired, but I also did not have APs many years. When was that?

Guessing they changed that policy 15-20 years ago??
You still had to purchase the renewal within X amount of days, but the 365 clock did not start ticking until first use.

 

[starry_solo]

Guessing they changed that policy 15-20 years ago??
You still had to purchase the renewal within X amount of days, but the 365 clock did not start ticking until first use.

Nope, if you purchase a renewal, the clock starts ticking as of date the old one expires so there is no break in time

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Nope, if you purchase a renewal, the clock starts ticking as of date the old one expires so there is no break in time

It was not always that way.

 

[starry_solo]

It was not always that way.

Yes but it's been the past few years now

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Yes but it's been the past few years now

Actually I’m guessing closer to 20

 

[BostonEd]

If you were paying $75/day when there was just 1 park, and now there are 4, is $150/day an increase or a decrease in money per park?

What about opening hours? DisneyWorld is always open longer than Univeral, but ticket prices are similar. Universal will close at 6, Disney will stay open until 10.

I just threw those numbers out there. All the changes I listed have been implemented since all four parks were open.

I don't know what Universal has to do with this.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Nope, if you purchase a renewal, the clock starts ticking as of date the old one expires so there is no break in time

Speaking for DL - it has been that way as long as I can remember. That's why we DID NOT renew, we let it expire then bought a new one the day we went back. Or rather, we'd wait for a day that would be blacked out on the pass we were going to buy, then go on that day and apply that day's ticket to the purchase of the AP - boom! We got to use our AP on a blacked-out day.

 

[Sandisw]

Guessing they changed that policy 15-20 years ago??
You still had to purchase the renewal within X amount of days, but the 365 clock did not start ticking until first use.

We have had APs since 2009 and it had to be before than since it was the reason I didn’t renew each year because the clock started.

We did have APs in the late 90s too but those we never renewed because we bought every other year..so don’t know if it was then?

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We have had APs since 2009 and it had to be before than since it was the reason I didn’t renew each year because the clock started.

We did have APs in the late 90s too but those we never renewed because we bought every other year..so don’t know if it was then?

Honestly I don’t remember. I do know it was many years ago.
We have been AP holders for eons… since the APs were like a drivers license with your picture on it.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

No, I don't! As far as I remember, they always started when the prior ones expired, but I also did not have APs many years. When was that?

@Sandisw

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...-before-the-ap-renewal-policy-changed.331909/

Old thread… I believe the policy changed in Oct 2000.

23 years… where does the time go?

 

[Sandisw]

@Sandisw

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...-before-the-ap-renewal-policy-changed.331909/

Old thread… I believe the policy changed in Oct 2000.

23 years… where does the time go?

Wow!

 

[CarolynFH]

Speaking for DL - it has been that way as long as I can remember. That's why we DID NOT renew, we let it expire then bought a new one the day we went back. Or rather, we'd wait for a day that would be blacked out on the pass we were going to buy, then go on that day and apply that day's ticket to the purchase of the AP - boom! We got to use our AP on a blacked-out day.

I don’t know about DL, but they closed that loophole at WDW several years ago unfortunately. You can’t apply a ticket to an AP purchase if the ticket was used on a blackout day for that AP.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I don’t know about DL, but they closed that loophole at WDW several years ago unfortunately. You can’t apply a ticket to an AP purchase if the ticket was used on a blackout day for that AP.

Oh, well BOO to them then. We stopped getting an AP when it turned into a forced march. The break-even was always about 8 days, and it got to the point where any time we had a spare day we "had to go". Yeah, I know, most DL AP holders only go for a couple of hours each time - to me that's not getting full value either. We found you are much better off planning a full day, full price, on a day when a lot of the APs are blacked out. It's counter-intuitive but at DL the crowds are actually not as bad on those days.
I still say you are better off letting the AP lapse and re-purchasing on the first day you want to go.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I discussed this topic with my dad at dinner today and he agrees that all Disney Parks should lower their ticket prices and also lower the prices for food you buy in the parks. Because from what I see of all this I think Disney is more concerned about giving customers quality service at quality prices than lowering ticket prices. Because when you look at the general picture back in the 80's and 90's Disney Parks had lower ticket prices and was a great price deal if you had one child it was pretty simple. But if you have a family with four kids and you want to go to Walt Disney World or Disneyland today when it comes to planning the trip it can be like playing Let's Make A Deal when you get to the Big Deal and you think "Should we choose this package deal or wait for a cheaper deal"? and no matter if you choose the correct door the big deal is almost always good. But what I think could work for Disney Parks to do is sell guests ticket wristbands like Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk does and when guests wear the wristbands it will give them the option to get special discounts on meals and merchandise discounts and special seating at certain shows and parades and you can get exclusive special access deals such as being the very first people to meet characters at character meet and greets without having to deal with the long lines associated with character meet and greets and also becoming the very first people to board certain rides without having to wait so long and any unused tickets on the wristbands can be redeemed for a ShopDisney gift Card at any Guest Services desk when you decide to leave any Disney Park once your visit is finished. And this would be a great idea for Disney Parks to do and it would work very well

 

[drenalin'junkie]

The time required for planning and reservations, hovering over your phone in the parks and the loss of many of the benefits AP holders and Floridians significantly reduce the value received.
Many of us value our time far more than money.
Our visits used to be 2 to 4 weeks per year and side visits to UO and SW/BG, we've reversed that now as it's become simpler at the other parks.

 

[leebee]

I'm old. I remember when Disney tickets got cheaper after 4 days, and significantly cheaper after 7 days. The "trick" was to buy a 10 day ticket and use it for two trips over the years. You could do this because Disney tickets were good FOREVER. If you bought 10 days of admission, you'd get 10 days in the parks. No expiration date, no park-specific dates, no date-specific pricing. Those were the days when, even though Disney was expensive, there was VALUE in what you were spending.

 

[msmayor]

I'm old. I remember when Disney tickets got cheaper after 4 days, and significantly cheaper after 7 days. The "trick" was to buy a 10 day ticket and use it for two trips over the years. You could do this because Disney tickets were good FOREVER. If you bought 10 days of admission, you'd get 10 days in the parks. No expiration date, no park-specific dates, no date-specific pricing. Those were the days when, even though Disney was expensive, there was VALUE in what you were spending.

I suspect that the need to establish a liability for outstanding and unused park tickets drove the decision to eliminate that non-expiration piece.

There were people who would buy tickets right before a price increase, not knowing exactly when they would be going but instead to have them 'in the bank' at a cheaper price for a future trip. Well, much like a gift card, Disney may have been required to post that liability on their balance sheet and the effort required to track quantity/age/value of unused tickets is just not worth it. Far better to just eliminate that non-expiring and force purchase of tickets for the time you are planning to go right now.

I was a huge fan of the 'length of stay' pass that existed a good 20 years ago. Add it on to your resort reservation and you had parks access from the moment you checked in (even if your room wasn't ready yet) until midnight the day you checked out. It included hopping, and meant that you could zig and zag day by day without the need to plan commando style. The year we had that was one of our most favorite trips.