Increased ticket prices coming soon?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Spirited news
Ticket increases likely coming Sunday. Ticket boards will soon get screens instead so they can change the ticket prices from day to day.

An example
That $100 a day EPCOT admission is the baseline It just may cost you $160 to get in on NYE and $118 on a Saturday during food and wine.

Thank you very much for giving the heads up!

Just wondering based on your experience do you think Undercover Tourist will have tickets for a few days (or even just a day) at the old prices or do you think they will immediately adopt the new pricing?

I ask this because when Universal raised their prices I convinced (thank goodness) my family to go ahead and purchase Universal tickets for our 2017 trip. I was able to get them at the old price and saved us some $$ since the 5th person opted out of going and I was able to get a 2-day get a 3rd free option but that still set us back $800 and WDW tickets are going to be much more than that (buying four 5-day with hoppers). I was holding out on the WDW tickets really because of all the rumors on the various ways Disney was going to do pricing and not knowing how we could plan for the changes.

 

[doconeill]

Thank you very much for giving the heads up!

Just wondering based on your experience do you think Undercover Tourist will have tickets for a few days (or even just a day) at the old prices or do you think they will immediately adopt the new pricing?

I ask this because when Universal raised their prices I convinced (thank goodness) my family to go ahead and purchase Universal tickets for our 2017 trip. I was able to get them at the old price and saved us some $$ since the 5th person opted out of going and I was able to get a 2-day get a 3rd free option but that still set us back $800 and WDW tickets are going to be much more than that (buying four 5-day with hoppers). I was holding out on the WDW tickets really because of all the rumors on the various ways Disney was going to do pricing and not knowing how we could plan for the changes.

UT buys the tickets from WDW in advance, so they usually have stock to be sold at the old prices while they last. Some of the more popular ones, like 5-, 6- and 7-day tend to sell out quicker. No way to tell for how long.

 

[rteetz]

Thank you very much for giving the heads up!

Just wondering based on your experience do you think Undercover Tourist will have tickets for a few days (or even just a day) at the old prices or do you think they will immediately adopt the new pricing?

I ask this because when Universal raised their prices I convinced (thank goodness) my family to go ahead and purchase Universal tickets for our 2017 trip. I was able to get them at the old price and saved us some $$ since the 5th person opted out of going and I was able to get a 2-day get a 3rd free option but that still set us back $800 and WDW tickets are going to be much more than that (buying four 5-day with hoppers). I was holding out on the WDW tickets really because of all the rumors on the various ways Disney was going to do pricing and not knowing how we could plan for the changes.

Usually yes Undercover tourist does have some left but they might go fast depending on what happens.

 

[Planogirl]

To my knowledge that's been at least the situation for a while (at least since 2011) although reducing it own that low I hadn't really seen.

I started looking out at the reviews on travel sites (I like to do this to get an idea of what things to look out for when vacationing in general) and one big complaint with Universal is that people don't understand how their Express Pass is even priced. It's priced based on demand but that demand is predicted well in advance and isn't accurate.

I've seen people upset because they checked the price online weeks before they went but when they got to the parks it was much more than they thought and this was due to larger than expected crowds. They then basically said it was "bait and switch". Some did go to Guest Services where they offered either a partial refund (if they bought it at the parks) or they lowered the price (though not as low as what was shown online) of the Express Pass. It's kinda hard though because a lot of the advice is "wait til you get to the parks to see what the crowd is like" and from what I've heard the attendants (though not all) can be very pushy salespeople at the ticket counter when it comes to upselling the Express Pass ontop of admission ticket.

I've also seen people buy just the express pass online thinking that was the price for admission...now those people I can't help because it's clear as day what you are buying when you are online-at least to me.

I think that Universal would be wise to just set the price for Express for each date and leave it at that. I can't imagine dealing with endless price fluctuations and the inevitable upset people. I'm just glad that they at least have Express available but not knowing the cost ahead of time is annoying.

I wonder if it won't be even more annoying to have something similar happen with regular passes. Isn't it likely that some people check the price of a pass before heading to a park and then they line up assuming that the pass will actually cost what they saw as the price? It might not be such a big deal if they check on the same day but what if it has been a week or a month or whatever?

Interesting...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

UT buys the tickets from WDW in advance, so they usually have stock to be sold at the old prices while they last. Some of the more popular ones, like 5-, 6- and 7-day tend to sell out quicker. No way to tell for how long.

That's good background information thank you. When I last checked..I think a week ago..they did have a promo for 4th day get 5th free but of course the promo comes and goes. I'm glad you mentioned that those more popular options sell out faster just something I can press upon my family lol.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Usually yes Undercover tourist does have some left but they might go fast depending on what happens.

Thank you very much!

 

[jade1]

To my knowledge that's been at least the situation for a while (at least since 2011) although reducing it own that low I hadn't really seen.

I started looking out at the reviews on travel sites (I like to do this to get an idea of what things to look out for when vacationing in general) and one big complaint with Universal is that people don't understand how their Express Pass is even priced. It's priced based on demand but that demand is predicted well in advance and isn't accurate.

I've seen people upset because they checked the price online weeks before they went but when they got to the parks it was much more than they thought and this was due to larger than expected crowds. They then basically said it was "bait and switch". Some did go to Guest Services where they offered either a partial refund (if they bought it at the parks) or they lowered the price (though not as low as what was shown online) of the Express Pass. It's kinda hard though because a lot of the advice is "wait til you get to the parks to see what the crowd is like" and from what I've heard the attendants (though not all) can be very pushy salespeople at the ticket counter when it comes to upselling the Express Pass ontop of admission ticket.

I've also seen people buy just the express pass online thinking that was the price for admission...now those people I can't help because it's clear as day what you are buying when you are online-at least to me.

Yep, its SOP over there.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think that Universal would be wise to just set the price for Express for each date and leave it at that. I can't imagine dealing with endless price fluctuations and the inevitable upset people. I'm just glad that they at least have Express available but not knowing the cost ahead of time is annoying.

I wonder if it won't be even more annoying to have something similar happen with regular passes. Isn't it likely that some people check the price of a pass before heading to a park and then they line up assuming that the pass will actually cost what they saw as the price? It might not be such a big deal if they check on the same day but what if it has been a week or a month or whatever?

Interesting...

I completely agree. My thoughts are it's a circle: put a price tag on Express Pass, raise or don't raise depending on crowds but if you raise it based on crowds that just means those with EPs will probably have to wait longer in line because more people have bought them because there are more people in the park causing the Standyby line to be longer so you need the EP to get through enough attractions in a more timely manner..I'm really hoping that made sense.

I def.would be upset if the price wasn't as advertised if I went to buy my tickets at the park much less Express Passes being different. I can deal with waiting in lines to avoid paying a high premium to get Express Passes but paying more than I thought I would just to get me into the park would really set me off.

That's why this whole change at a whim digital pricing board with Disney could get dicey depending on how it's implemented and practiced.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

I dislike the idea of tiered pricing. Its going to price out families who literally can only go at peak seasons. Children are only off from school at certain times of the year, and those are the only days a lot of families can go on vacation with them. Now those will be the highest tickets to get. Its sad really. I understand they want to line their pockets even more, but when the happiest place on earth becomes the most stressful trip to plan, than there is a big problem.

I hope they keep things reasonable because Disney is an experience to escape reality, and I truly believe EVERY family in the world should be able to experience it. Price gauging during busy times always annoys me. Be happy that so many people want to come to your park. Reward us, don't make it harder for us.

Universal has the fast pass that usually costs like 45 dollars during slower times. During peak times it goes up to 110. Walt Disney would not allow this to happen IMO.

 

[skier_pete]

I dislike the idea of tiered pricing. Its going to price out families who literally can only go at peak seasons. Children are only off from school at certain times of the year, and those are the only days a lot of families can go on vacation with them. Now those will be the highest tickets to get. Its sad really. I understand they want to line their pockets even more, but when the happiest place on earth becomes the most stressful trip to plan, than there is a big problem..

I continue to point out that Disney is already charging more at that time of year for both hotels (which everyone does) and food. And they don't just raise the price of the buffets. We were at POP century a few years ago before the start of chritsmas season. Our last day was the Saturday before Christmas, and ALL the prices in the food court were raised from the day before. NOT a coincidence. This is just a more obvious way of screwing those that go at the busy times of year, but really it's probably a minor ad-on compared to all those other expenses.

 

[rteetz]

Universal has the fast pass that usually costs like 45 dollars during slower times. During peak times it goes up to 110. Walt Disney would not allow this to happen IMO.

They used ticket books under Walt....

 

[Planogirl]

I dislike the idea of tiered pricing. Its going to price out families who literally can only go at peak seasons. Children are only off from school at certain times of the year, and those are the only days a lot of families can go on vacation with them. Now those will be the highest tickets to get. Its sad really. I understand they want to line their pockets even more, but when the happiest place on earth becomes the most stressful trip to plan, than there is a big problem.

I hope they keep things reasonable because Disney is an experience to escape reality, and I truly believe EVERY family in the world should be able to experience it. Price gauging during busy times always annoys me. Be happy that so many people want to come to your park. Reward us, don't make it harder for us.

Universal has the fast pass that usually costs like 45 dollars during slower times. During peak times it goes up to 110. Walt Disney would not allow this to happen IMO.

You don't need the Express pass...usually. You need admission tickets so I see this as different depending on how far they go.

 

[Planogirl]

I continue to point out that Disney is already charging more at that time of year for both hotels (which everyone does) and food. And they don't just raise the price of the buffets. We were at POP century a few years ago before the start of chritsmas season. Our last day was the Saturday before Christmas, and ALL the prices in the food court were raised from the day before. NOT a coincidence. This is just a more obvious way of screwing those that go at the busy times of year, but really it's probably a minor ad-on compared to all those other expenses.

You can stay offsite and eat offsite to avoid a lot of that. You can't do anything about the cost of admission tickets though.

 

[Budshark]

You can stay offsite and eat offsite to avoid a lot of that. You can't do anything about the cost of admission tickets though.

While it is cheaper to stay and eat off site the tourism industry as a whole has these price fluctuations.

 

[crazy4wdw]

UT buys the tickets from WDW in advance, so they usually have stock to be sold at the old prices while they last. Some of the more popular ones, like 5-, 6- and 7-day tend to sell out quicker. No way to tell for how long.

I just wonder if this next ticket price increase will be the end of the ticket discounters like Undercover Tourist. They are only option left for purchasing discount tickets to WDW.

 

[doconeill]

I just wonder if this next ticket price increase will be the end of the ticket discounters like Undercover Tourist. They are only option left for purchasing discount tickets to WDW.

I'm not expecting it will, but it certainly would make it more difficult for them to help the customers navigate the changes.

 

[MommaBerd]

Interestingly, have you noticed they (UT) have branched out into offering deals on Disney resorts?

 

[rteetz]

The rumors are really picking up about the increase happening this Sunday.

 

[skier_pete]

Are there

An example
That $100 a day EPCOT admission is the baseline It just may cost you $160 to get in on NYE and $118 on a Saturday during food and wine.

I keep thinking to myself when I see stuff like this - "Does fluctuations in the individual single-day prices really affect a lot of people?" I mean, I would presume that the vast, vast majority are buying multi-day tickets or are passholders. (Most vacationers are probably getting at least a 3-4 day ticket.) Now - since they eliminated the non-expiring tickets, there may be some folks that come and buy a one-day pass, but that HAS to be a small, small, minority - certainly less than 5 %, right? I mean, who is going to spend $118 + $200 on food for a single day of food and wine festival? Seems crazy to me.

 

[doconeill]

Are there


I keep thinking to myself when I see stuff like this - "Does fluctuations in the individual single-day prices really affect a lot of people?" I mean, I would presume that the vast, vast majority are buying multi-day tickets or are passholders. (Most vacationers are probably getting at least a 3-4 day ticket.) Now - since they eliminated the non-expiring tickets, there may be some folks that come and buy a one-day pass, but that HAS to be a small, small, minority - certainly less than 5 %, right? I mean, who is going to spend $118 + $200 on food for a single day of food and wine festival? Seems crazy to me.

I think that is true. The only people that would be really caught wondering are those who's stays cover more than one tier. That would depend on how WDW ultimately defines the tiers. The current "Gold AP" blockout dates are pretty contiguous, so the edge cases would be small. But some of the "proposed" structures that went out with the surveys were very complicated, like weekends always being one step up from the weekdays, etc.