how much are you willing to pay before you say enough

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by crisi
Some people seem to think Disney has an obligation to make their vacations affordable to all. It is a very odd argument - I've never heard anyone say Mercedes has an obligation to sell an affordable car under the Mercedes brand. I have seen arguments that pharmacueticals and health care be made affordable - profits be legislated in insurance and utilities, but Disney is the only company I've seen that sells a luxury item where people seem to think the company shouldn't be able to make as much money as possible (which is what most for profit companies exist to do). They do that by picking the optimum price point for their market and selling a quality product - which Disney does.

Good point--and I do want to add--you aren't obligated to buy single day tickets when you go--they did a brilliant thing by selling their product in bulk so that the cost per unit is less--ala mulit-day and annual passes.

In my response, I did state the daily rate was high--and I will no longer buy daily tickets--but that in and of itself doesn't keep me from the parks.

I think Disney prefers visitors to come for more than one day--hence the enticements to purchase tickets for 4 days or longer (and 2 or 3 days for the lucky ones who find these tix off property) which lowers the daily cost of visiting. However, it is fortunate that they do sell tix for just one day--b/c that is all that some want to or are able to go for.

Yes it is good value for the money--but just like I try to buy my food with the best unit price (hate it when the larger quantity items are actually more per ounce or serving than the smaller sizes), I have done this when purchasing my Disney tickets. It is actually cheaper for me to purchase a seasonal pass than a park hopper.

You have to weigh the cost of vacationing at Disney with the cost of vacationing elsewhere. We did a 2 week trip to the UK and France--for roughly about $5000 for a family of 4 (baby was unticketed so we saved a little bit on airfare). We could have had a very nice vacation at Disney for that much money--but then again, we got to do something we've always wanted to do in going to Europe. And when you figure in entry fees to museums and attractions compared to Disney World--they really are not all that shameful in their pricing.

You have to look at the big picture. Are the ticket prices high--yes. Are the parking prices high--yes (aren't these just pure profit opportunities for Disney?). Is the amount of fun and what you get for your money high--Yes. If they don't raise their prices--we don't get good clean parks, we don't get good cast members (not that they pay them that great anyway), and we don't get rides to be maintained as well or get new rides. If they don't profit, we don't get Disney.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Disney is the only company I've seen that sells a luxury item where people seem to think the company shouldn't be able to make as much money as possible

A very good point.

When people say Disney should be more affordable for everyone, I always say "Why?" Should there be more affordable housing, food and healthcare...most definitely, these are basic human needs, a form of entertainment doesn't fall into this category to me.

There is a restaurant here that is all the rage, hottest place in town to go for dinner. I hear the atomosphere is wonderful, I hear the food is fabulous...lowest entree price on the menu? $28.95. Nothing cheaper AND the menu is ala carte so if you want a salad with that, add another $7.50.......Do I go there?....Nope! Do I feel cheated and deprived because it's so expensive? Nope! Is their business hurting because I don't go there? Nope! It's packed every night! Would I ever say "They should lower their prices so everyone can eat there?"...Nope! First it would sound stupid and besides they have restaurants like that already...their called Mc Donald's. I would never want Disney World to be the amusement park version of Mc Donald's and besides, to me, it's all about choices, I suppose I could go out to eat at the hot spot....but I prefer to spend my money at Disney!


Lisa

 

[crisi]

I just saw an article that the MOMA in New York (Museum of Modern Art) is raising their admission prices to $20. I happen to like Jackson Pollack and I think $20 for a day of Modern Art makes $55 for Disney look like a bargain.

 

[dana0069]

I couldn't agree more. Disney at any price is a bargain..
at $55.00 per park to $755.00 per park, don't matter how you slice and dice it..any price they charge in a bargain..!!!!!
Fact is the higher the better.....better crowd control.
you all summed this up so beautifully, i'm teary-eyed trying to type this...thank you..thank you all,you inspired me.

 

[lc1965]

I thought the conversation was intelligent & reasoned, Dana, but you've brought it way down with your snarkey reaction. That's a shame. This board is filled with terrific & intelligent people. It seems to me there are people from every level of education and income & common sense. I think it's terrific that there can be a place where all these people can chat about a common interest & still disagree... without getting sarcastic.

 

[dana0069]

Actually IC, if you have read all the posts, i think you'll find that what i said was actually said by other posters. All i did was put it in one post.
so when you say "This board is filled with terrific & intelligent people. "

Just consider the source.

Now, can I please get a group hug?
C'mon people group hug meeeee..

 

[mickeymousefan]

Good morning,
My Disney days are long over, but I saw a news story the other day that tickets were $125.00 per person now. I remembered I had started a thread about ticket prices going up a loong time ago when I loved these boards. Here it is 11.5 years later and ticket prices have more than doubled!!!

 

[hsmamato2]

Considering the cost of tickets ($55.00 for a one park single day) and the rate at which the prices increase, how much are you willing to pay before you say enough.
I cant imagine I would ever spend more than $70.00 a day.

O.M.G. Would you look at this...... it's now 125.00 If only our icome rose as fast as the prices..... makes the 'frogs in hot water' analogy all too real lol

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

That is quite the jump in price I know Disney has the right to charge what they want (and will continue to do so as long as people continue to pay the prices) but if my boyfriend wasn't military, Disney would have out priced me already.

 

[leebee]

Yeah... I just noticed the dates on the first page or two of this thread. I'd been thinking "Where in the world are they getting these numbers from?" LOL! The point I was going to make is still valid. It's not just the daily cost (although at $125 a day, or $500 for a family of 4 to go to MK, I'd say THAT's prohibitive)... it's just that a Disney vacation is more than the cost of a park ticket- WAAAAYYYYY more. MOST families have to add in travel costs, hotel costs, etc. Even if you could swallow the costs of park tickets, the rest push it way, WAY over into the "Do I REALLY want to pay that?" category.

 

[gracie1]

Yeah... I just noticed the dates on the first page or two of this thread. I'd been thinking "Where in the world are they getting these numbers from?" LOL! The point I was going to make is still valid. It's not just the daily cost (although at $125 a day, or $500 for a family of 4 to go to MK, I'd say THAT's prohibitive)... it's just that a Disney vacation is more than the cost of a park ticket- WAAAAYYYYY more. MOST families have to add in travel costs, hotel costs, etc. Even if you could swallow the costs of park tickets, the rest push it way, WAY over into the "Do I REALLY want to pay that?" category.

Lol! I thought the same thing when I saw $55! Thought I missed out on a big sale!!

 

[mickeymousefan]

Sorry about the confusion. I logged back into this site and searched for this post, just to see what I was complaining about 11.5 years ago. I was shocked at how MUCH the price has gone up!! I am glad my kids outgrew Disney. Our new obsession is cruising (non Disney) and that is a BARGAIN compared to a trip to Disney..

 

[StuckInKS]

Yikes if it gets that high... I think I would have to get annual passports if it keeps going so high....

I bet when she said this, she never imagined they would be over $700pp.

 

[Pastalady]

Considering the cost of tickets ($55.00 for a one park single day) and the rate at which the prices increase, how much are you willing to pay before you say enough.
I cant imagine I would ever spend more than $70.00 a day.

Hmm...I actually think for our family, it is still a value. We are Canadian, and when pricing out vacations, Disney is always on par with anything else we are interested in. So far, our 5-6 night trips have varied between 3500-6000 for 2 adults and one child. We are not interested in an all inclusive or a cruise. Prices for those are pretty similar. We are go go go people, sitting on a beach isn't fun to us. We live frugally so we can get our Disney fix!

 

[Disneyliscious]

We said "enough" about 12 years ago. Back then we would go to all 4 parks, now we only go to 2. We haven't been to DHS in 12 years and only to Epcot once in the past 3 trips. Now we spend a few days at the beach or relaxing at the private pool house and still have a blast.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Dh and I were just talking about this yesterday. We used to go so often as a family of 4, I remember several 7 night trips with free dining, back when tips and appetizers were included, costing under $2,000 for the WEEK! It's not just the tickets, unfortunately.

 

[5kidsmommy]

All of our vacations have gone up. I still feel that Disney is the best bang for our buck. I am just grateful we are at a point in our life where vacations are a reality, there were many years when they weren't.

 

[FINFAN]

well OP, to answer your original question waaaaaaaaay back...we put a cap of $1000 per person (that's for everything) for a 10 day trip no matter what the destination. We are a family of 4 adults so it can be a challenge to pull that off sometimes. So once tickets take up too much that we can't afford a hotel or food, then we are done. We are hoping that when Star Wars and Avatar are finished we can still eek out 8 park days on a 10 day trip but not too terribly confident in that. Hoppers will be highly doubtful and we love having them.

 

[S. C.]

We haven't been to Disney in 10 yrs after going for 5 yrs straight in a row. And was there several other times before that. I would like to go back but find it hard to do after the way they did the employees.

 

[crisi]

Good morning,
My Disney days are long over, but I saw a news story the other day that tickets were $125.00 per person now. I remembered I had started a thread about ticket prices going up a loong time ago when I loved these boards. Here it is 11.5 years later and ticket prices have more than doubled!!!

If you get a 7% return on your money, in 10 years it will double. Prices work the same way. Compound interest is your friend when you get it. Compounded inflation is problematic.

Now, if only salaries for the past ten years had gone up 7% a year.

But Disney is no bigger than it was ten years ago, and there are more people who want to go, so the supply demand curve works in their favor. They can increase prices to outpace inflation, but they still have the demand.