How tone deaf was it for Disney to announce price increases right now?

[jbehr12]

i usually get on board against some of the cost cuts and price hikes but this one is on the customers. if people stopped paying these types of prices trust me, disney would react.

they know everyone's going to go absolutely nuts in the parks once they re-open. even if they have to offer a room discount, once they get the audience back in the park itself nobody is going to be second-guessing the prices of food/drink.

I’d pay $50 for a Casey’s hot dog right now. It’s that bad.

 

[KingLlama]

I mean for Disney blogs its literally their job to do that.

Right, which is why I said that in my post. I'm just saying that it's one thing for bloggers to notice it when they're in the parks every day and see menus right in front of them. It's another level of detail for them to scour menus when we can't even see the parks (or restaurants) opening for a while.

 

[KingLlama]

I would do ungodly things for a churro right now.

 

[Lindsey17]

I'm not at all surprised they did and is there ever really a good time to raise prices? If they would have waited until right at opening people would have been pissed about that as well. I think they did it now because the vast majority of people that will be going don't follow as closely and other than bloggers is anyone really checking out menu's right now? Might as well slip it in and hope people don't notice (which never happens, since the uber Disney fans always notice).

 

[hertamaniac]

Perhaps this is just one tool in their toolkit to attempt crowd control.

 

[SeanWM48]

I’d pay $50 for a Casey’s hot dog right now. It’s that bad.

lol well see? that's what i mean. they know this. they know their hardcore fans better than the fans know themselves.

overall i would think they put up the front of, oh welcome back here's a discount on the room. and that's nice. but they WILL get their cut of the meat elsewhere during your visit. that's how it goes. not even hating on them for it, just being objective

 

[Paul1955]

My family goes to Disneyland quite a lot, but we simply buy less food in the park. We pack water bottles and snack bars, and we usually share entrees at counter services (have not done a sit down in years). And, we STILL have a great time. At least to us, Disney is not about the food.

 

[DisLiss]

More important things have increased in price these days, so I don't really care about the increase at all, myself.

However, beyond that, I think the timing is good. No one is there right now, so no one is getting caught mid-trip with an increase, or finding out right before they head out on their trip. We all have time to increase our budget in that area if we so wish. I'd rather know in advance of a change that will affect my trip than at the last minute, so I'm glad to find out about it now.

 

[rteetz]

they know everyone's going to go absolutely nuts in the parks once they re-open.

Well I really think that depends if there is a bad recession/depression or not. If there is they will need to work to get people to the parks. Much like they did post 9/11 and in the 2008-2010 time frame.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Didn't Pete say on the show that Disney would need to balance the books by charging more for almost everything when the parks re-open?

Was just gonna say that, @SkaGoat !! I wonder if @WebmasterPete is surprised at all at the timing though, as @disneysteve was posing?

I don't mean to sound like a cynical and jaded broken record, but they haven't surprised me, nor failed to disappoint me, with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING they've done concerning money grabs for the last 7 years. Color me not surprised, just sadder.

 

[SeanWM48]

Well I really think that depends if there is a bad recession/depression or not. If there is they will need to work to get people to the parks. Much like they did post 9/11 and in the 2008-2010 time frame.

sure absolutely. but they have plenty of other ways to do that. 30% off the room or some free dining here and there will bring people back.

but once you're there, i still think the prices within the park will be used to make back some of that money they "gave" with the discounts.

 

[Heather07438]

Prices at the Parks only go up. When necessary discounts and packages can be offered.
Higher pricing helps make discounts look more enticing.

They will need serious discounts to keep park attendance stable through 2021 I think. A large segment of repeat guests will take an expensive trip hiatus due to financial concerns and older/vulnerable people won't be visiting as they would normally.

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I thought about it some more and it leaves a really unsavory impression in my mind. So many local companies are trying to be generous with donations and also work with customers affected. Our utility company has already sent out notices they won’t suspend services to anyone for nonpayment during this time. It seems like every account I log into, banner messages indicate assistance is available for those that need it.

And no Disney doesn’t owe anyone anything... but geez don’t be gross either.

 

[Heather07438]

I thought about it some more and it leaves a really unsavory impression in my mind. So many local companies are trying to be generous with donations and also work with customers affected. Our utility company has already sent out notices they won’t suspend services to anyone for nonpayment during this time. It seems like every account I log into, banner messages indicate assistance is available for those that need it.

And no Disney doesn’t owe anyone anything... but geez don’t be gross either.

Yeah, it is bad timing. I wonder if the price increases were already set to the system? Food prices seem to always get a bump up right before Christmas and Easter.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Yeah, it is bad timing. I wonder if the price increases were already set to the system? Food prices seem to always get a bump up right before Christmas and Easter.

@Heather07438 - Don't doubt what you're saying for a minute, but a HUMAN could have made a HUMAN decision, and at least curtailed the increases programmed into the COMPUTER until a less emotionally fragile time? (hope that came out right, struggled to find the words behind my emotions)

 

[DLgal]

My family goes to Disneyland quite a lot, but we simply buy less food in the park. We pack water bottles and snack bars, and we usually share entrees at counter services (have not done a sit down in years). And, we STILL have a great time. At least to us, Disney is not about the food.

See, and we are the opposite. We used to go to Disneyland almost every weekend (before all this). We enjoy being there so much that I might as well just drive by and fling money out my open car window. Take it all, Disneyland! We don't even care anymore. We have so much fun that we will pay whatever they want for food/drinks/snacks. Life is short and have to find enjoyment where you can.

 

[jbehr12]

See, and we are the opposite. We used to go to Disneyland almost every weekend (before all this). We enjoy being there so much that I might as well just drive by and fling money out my open car window. Take it all, Disneyland! We don't even care anymore. We have so much fun that we will pay whatever they want for food/drinks/snacks. Life is short and have to find enjoyment where you can.

If only a larger percentage of the world could do the same this would be a great planet.

 

[disneysteve]

i usually get on board against some of the cost cuts and price hikes but this one is on the customers. if people stopped paying these types of prices trust me, disney would react.

It's relatively easy to avoid some spending. You don't have to buy souvenirs. You don't have to go to the hard ticket events. But if you're spending the day in the park, you do need to eat. You're a captive audience.

If you're in MK, you're not going to leave the park, take the monorail to the TTC, take the tram to your car, drive off property for a reasonably priced lunch, and then turn around and go back to the parking lot, tram, and monorail to continue your day in the park. You're just going to suck it up and pay Disney's prices.

Trust me. I'd love to not pay those prices but that's not so easy to do.

 

[PamNC]

I agree the timing sucks. No matter who announced it or didn't announce it.

 

[PamNC]

I read somewhere that a hot dog is now $12. I'm sorry, but that's not happening in my world. no more Disney hot dogs. However, that's not one of my favorite things to eat at Disney. now Dole Whips. I'll pay $12 for that.