I hate to say it , and I hope I'm wrong , but ...

[RedSox68]

I have to say that all evidence is pointing in the direction of NO MORE FREE DINING ! And for that matter no more free anything . Disney is in full , all out cash grab mode , make no mistake about it . Yes , I know they'e a business that has stockholders to answer to BUT , enough is enough ....what's next ? Can you imagine them expanding the Wishes Dessert Party and/or the Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party to the areas currently used for guests with FP+ ? I can . And once the new Star Wars fireworks show starts you can be sure they'll have a dessert party area for that as well . Rivers of Light has already begun accepting reservations for "a $pecial viewing area " for those who purchase the $pecial dinner package . Do you see where this is going ? Premium parking spots coming soon to EP , followed soon after most likely by AK & HS . Oh , I forgot to mention the rumored $15 per night resort fee that is expected to be implemented soon . All the while more and more cuts , reductions , and less amenities are taking place every day it seems . Most of us can and do accept price increases every year but it's gotten ridiculous these last few weeks and I don't see anything but more money grab moves coming . I love going to WDW with my family , and it's never been cheap , but moving forward we will look to cut our spending there wherever and however possible . I hope I'm wrong but this is , for the forseeable future what I feel Disney execs have decided to do to keep the gravy train rolling at record speed . Hope the train doesn't jump the tracks . Hey ' I've got an idea for their next advertising campaign...."Disney Parks , where less costs more !"

Is that $15 per night per room, or $15 per guest per night! OUCH

 

[RedSox68]

I despise tipping as a system and have this quaint notion that companies who hire people should be paying them a reasonable wage in the first place, not relying on customers to subsidize just so they can pretend costs are lower than they really are. That said, recognizing how low the hourly wages can be for servers, tipping is pretty much essential.

I will note though that other countries, particularly European ones don't do tipping on a regular basis so visitors may be genuinely unaware of the expectation.

Again the answer as far as I'm concerned, is pay people properly in the first place.

We were in England last year and every time we left a tip we got the most surprised reactions!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

We were in England last year and every time we left a tip we got the most surprised reactions!

Because they don't do it and don't understand the logic behind it...

If you tip in Paris they hit you over the head with a chair

 

[Lothlórien]

I feel like Disney is trying to cover the losses of ESPN through the parks. Ideas like that have never worked out well for business.

They are actually making us pay for the new Asian park.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

They are actually making us pay for the new Asian park.

It's both actually...but the developing soft spot in tv is gonna be a bigger deal than one useless Chinese park

 

[Lothlórien]

It's both actually...but the developing soft spot in tv is gonna be a bigger deal than one useless Chinese park

I wonder how big of a deal it will be for Disney when people start hitting their breaking point and stop going to see the mouse? It will take that before they review it I believe. At this point, the parks are still filling up and people are still staying onsite, so there is no reason for them to change.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

They're "strategic" plan...for lack of a better term...is very flawed.

They're are going to lean on parks like a crutch to fill the void from lost cable subscribers and the ad revenue drying up accordingly.

So they're gonna jack it up - "people are coming, right? Must be worth more..."

I think there's a difference between identifying that many people have no problem blowing $15-20,000 a week and those that can that are WILLING to do so at wdw. Higher means have higher standards. It's not a "luxury" destination...especially since service had been gutted for 20 years +.

I think they will hit a wall with pricing...as opposed to slow declines in attendance. The rubber band snaps at some point. Sooner than they expect...I would venture.

 

[kandb]

Is that $15 per night per room, or $15 per guest per night! OUCH

Resort fee, is usually per room, per night. Does not pertain to how many people are in the room.

 

[kandb]

It's both actually...but the developing soft spot in tv is gonna be a bigger deal than one useless Chinese park

You will have to change your "$20 scrambled eggs at BOG", I pretty sure they increased the price to $23 now.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

You will have to change your "$20 scrambled eggs at BOG", I pretty sure they increased the price to $23 now.

right…blame those darn employees

 

[ougrad86]

I don't the prices in the parks would be jacked up to cover lost revenue from cable. Different divisions are usually run separately. The parks division, the studios division. I think part of it is used to help with overruns in Shanghai (partially owned by the Chinese as well, who knows what they might be pulling) and increased construction costs here. Plus the fact that the record profits apparently weren't enough...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I don't the prices in the parks would be jacked up to cover lost revenue from cable.

If you look at where Disney makes its money...because that is public info...then you'll see that is EXACTLY what is going to happen.

Parks is the only division big enough to even attempt to account for the loss of "free money" that will be suffered from the losses at ESPN

 

[Nancyg56]

Free dining is not worth it at deluxe, much better off with 20% discount

Free Dining at a Deluxe, even if you have a 30% discount, which I have in place now, can be a better deal. I think that unless you (in general you) know the dynamic of the room, you have absolutely no way to determine what is "worth it" or not. After that, you also need to know how those people in the room will dine to then further determine if a DDP is the way for them to go, discount or not.

We all tend to make our own evaluations and then announce them here, but there really is no way to know if everyone has the same travel group and eating habits as our own. Best to ask first and then help people determine what is the best discount. For my family, if FD comes available, I may ditch my discount and jump on the FD. Or, when my DS books his room, keep my discount, move most of my travel group to his room and give him mine, keep my 30% off and on his, bump the group to DxDDP. I am just waiting to see what the December pin is, and finalize who is joining us.

 

[RedSox68]

Because they don't do it and don't understand the logic behind it...

If you tip in Paris they hit you over the head with a chair

 

[RedSox68]

I wonder how big of a deal it will be for Disney when people start hitting their breaking point and stop going to see the mouse? It will take that before they review it I believe. At this point, the parks are still filling up and people are still staying onsite, so there is no reason for them to change.

I think they will hit a wall with pricing...as opposed to slow declines in attendance. The rubber band snaps at some point. Sooner than they expect...I would venture.

Both very good points. In comparison, as I stated on another thread, our travel agent told us that they are seeing more and more families jump ship (so to speak) from DCL because of pricing. They are seeing more request for family cruises on RCCL, Carnival, etc. Whether attendance at Disney parks because of pricing becomes immediately obvious, I do think what may happen is families taking fewer trips to Disney per year. Families that were going twice a year may only go once now, and eventually over time that will reflect in their annual numbers.

 

[mcd2745]

Both very good points. In comparison, as I stated on another thread, our travel agent told us that they are seeing more and more families jump ship (so to speak) from DCL because of pricing. They are seeing more request for family cruises on RCCL, Carnival, etc. Whether attendance at Disney parks because of pricing becomes immediately obvious, I do think what may happen is families taking fewer trips to Disney per year. Families that were going twice a year may only go once now, and eventually over time that will reflect in their annual numbers.

The price increases for DCL have (to borrow from the great move "Spaceballs") gone right past ridiculous and straight to ludicrous speed!

I've said it over on the DCL board that it's not going to happen right away, but in a few years they are going to start to feel a backlash as other lines increase their family-oriented offerings and market more and more aggressively to families. People will pay a premium over the other lines for DCL...just not 100-150% premiums.

 

[usd2bmd]

We were last at WDW in August of 2015. That trip was the first in 6 years and although I didn't know it at the time it was the last. I noticed a lot of changes that no longer gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling when walking through the gate. The feeling of being nickel and dimed the entire trip began to wear on us as well as the amount of people when there normally were low crowds.

It's a matter of perspective for a lot of people. They are willing to pay the (IMO) now a bit excessive prices to stay on Disney property because there were certain perks that went with it. Now those perks are rumored to be another reason for an upcharge.

Disney used to be my vacation destination of choice. Now we've decided to take our money and go elsewhere. There's more value for your money in other places, and once you go somewhere else, you realized Disney isn't leader they once were.

 

[mm1971]

The price increases for DCL have (to borrow from the great move "Spaceballs") gone right past ridiculous and straight to ludicrous speed!

I've said it over on the DCL board that it's not going to happen right away, but in a few years they are going to start to feel a backlash as other lines increase their family-oriented offerings and market more and more aggressively to families. People will pay a premium over the other lines for DCL...just not 100-150% premiums.

We were last at WDW in August of 2015. That trip was the first in 6 years and although I didn't know it at the time it was the last. I noticed a lot of changes that no longer gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling when walking through the gate. The feeling of being nickel and dimed the entire trip began to wear on us as well as the amount of people when there normally were low crowds.

It's a matter of perspective for a lot of people. They are willing to pay the (IMO) now a bit excessive prices to stay on Disney property because there were certain perks that went with it. Now those perks are rumored to be another reason for an upcharge.

Disney used to be my vacation destination of choice. Now we've decided to take our money and go elsewhere. There's more value for your money in other places, and once you go somewhere else, you realized Disney isn't leader they once were.

Both good posts and points! We were there last August as well. It was our 3rd August trip and what was a slower time in the past, is no longer. Wait times were crazy and all the parks were busy for the while week, even with the locals in school. As far as the pricing, I think at this point the competition is going to start eating into the US family base. Universal is adding rooms and attractions, Seaworld is moving from an animal park into an amusement park. There has to be a breaking point somewhere, but we haven't gotten to it yet. With all the talk about the economy, no wage growth and the disappearing middle class.....It's hard to see if you look at Disney's attendance and revenues. Now 2 new cruise ships have been commissioned, Shanghai opening in June will have an effect on revenues. Locally, the Frozen attraction and Rivers of Light this year, Avatar next year and Star Wars/Toy Story in 2018 (estimated). I think the prices and crowds won't really stop increasing over the next few years, unfortunately.

We decided that 2016 is a question mark. It's the first time in 8 years we do not have a trip booked. Too much construction, high crowds and such. I get it, they need to keep building/changing to keep the people coming. We may end up going at some point, but the crowds really turned us off last year.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I'm a Florida resident and every spring they would have a special on tickets for us, but Not this year....we get a great discount already, but the spring one was fantastic although some weeks like Easter were blacked out. BUT....now they are advertising that Easter work/spring break week for locals is NO LONGER BLACKED OUT. So that means that their greed is kicking them in the butt.....as the locals aren,t going this year.......and I'm glad.


We also get a discount on Disney cruises and the last 2 years they were few and far between, but this year....I can go on the fantasy for 7 days for under $3000 for 2 people. The discounts have returned!! They are not filling their ships. There is like 6 cruises discounted right now.

So I think they may have to rethink this.

I own DVC so I would purchase an annual pass and go a few time in one year on it because I live so close, but they totally lost me this year. Was going to spend over $1200 on annual passes, but right before my trip they increased the price, so I got other tickets that only cost $600..so they lost $600 in tickets, spending in the parks since I only could go to the parks 4 days instead of unlimited ones and spending on food in the parks And at their resorts(I bring my car And can go off premise to eat and buy grocery and since I had time from the parks that's exactly what I did.

The thing is that people are willing to spend money at DISNEY without even thinking about it....wishes dessert party...yes it was a deal at $25, but $70 a person.....how much dessert can you eat to get $70 worth of food....times that by a family of 5 or 6 and $420 for dessert for 1 night.....really?? .... People just blindly buy the DDP
Fantastic dinner package, premium seats for FROZEN ever after, villains after dark party, the very merry Christmas party....but of course the snow on Main Street and the free cookies and hot chocolate make the $79 ticket price worth it when they are already paying dearly for their regular ticket.

I read about a guy who spent over $1000 to feed his family on thanksgiving at the "special holiday feast" at the contemporary.....he got dried turkey and ham...... But who would pay that.....I'd got to frontierland and get myself a turkey leg if I absolutely had to eat turkey on the 3rd Thursday in November. The food and wine festival....where you spend $50 on dinner and are still hungry.....and that doen't even include drinks.... Not to mention, spending the whole day in a line to get
3 bites of food and now you have the pleasure of doing it in the spring too.

As long as people pay...they will charge!

I spent 8 nights this year at Disney....two separate trips... and spent about $2200 total...including my tickets $600, DVC dues $1200 for GF 1 bedroom for 2 nights, POLY studio for 3 and BW 2 bedroom for 3 nights and food for a family of 3 to 4 ( $400) ....I cooked in my room and ate off premises or counter service.

 

[KingRichard]

People are often under the impression that they are waiting on themselves during a buffet, but there is a difference between getting your own food, and taking care of your table. Someone still has to be sure your have beverages, and that your table is clean. During a typacal meal the server will take your order and hen depending on how the establishment us, either will bring the beverages, or will have then delivered, Then someone, many times a runner will bring appetizer, bread and salad. Your server will clear and make room for entrees. Runners bring entrees,and the table s cleared again. Dessert and coffee follow. This is if you order full meals. During a buffet, your table mates are up and down multiple times, and your table needs to be cleared. Often. Folks will take advantage of the many items to try, some they eat but a lot is tried and set aside, and you go back for more. You come back and the dirty dishes are gone.

The next buffet you go to, just pay attention to the servers adn how they care for the table. IF your server left the piles of dirty dishes you would notice. I used to crawl home afte our Brunch that we offered on Sunday's.

So how much do you tip when you must wait 40 minutes after your reservation to be seated even though there is lots of empty tables, because servers can't be found?

Then it takes 20 minutes for your drinks to arrive?

Clearing plates, maybe once?

Refills, good luck!

Now you try and get your bill, 20 minutes!

10 minutes for them to collect bill!

10-20 minutes to return with bill! I can put up with the rest, but not this one! Family want to leave!

This has happened way more times then I can count!

The ones that only take 5 minutes or so to perform these very basic skills will get 25% out of me. Even if the food was just ok. They didn't cook it!