Increased ticket prices coming soon?

[mshanson3121]

Interesting article just released yesterday. So... do they officially "know" something, because they write as though this is a definite, not just something they're considering.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/surge-pricing-holding-up-semi-annual-increase.909822/

 

[HollywoodTowerHotel]

We are Disney bound in July - that's confirmed. Hotel, check. Airfare, check.

I was going to wait for my next billing cycle to charge my tickets to have more time to pay them off, but I do not want to take any chances with all these rumors swirling around. I made my ticket purchase today!

 

[Eoghann]

So how would that work? You pay an entrance fee, and then have to pay per ride? Or buy a pass that gives you x-amount of rides/attractions etc?

I could totally see them doing it. They could charge a nice "low" (ha) entrance fee which would make people feel like they're getting a deal, and market it as "Only pay for the rides you want!"

As far as the how is concerned, well you would have to scan your magic band to get on a ride. Not enough credits... No ride. Or alternatively, you've ridden this ride already today? Sorry can't ride again.

It's a system that makes for a horrible customer experience and there's a reason why all the major parks moved away from it.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I am in agreement with a few others. If they implement this system, I will go back and use my already bought 2016 1 day "ride everything" MK pass (doubt they can restrict my ride access except to limit the new rides, which MK is not getting for awhile) maybe in 2018, so it's a little less packed with everyone hitting the new AK and HS and never visit the park again. Too many other great Orlando places and too many other great places in the world to waste on this kinda nonsense...

 

[mab2012]

The thing is you are mostly looking at it from either Disney's business viewpoint of how they will implement it OR someone who has actually gone to WDW before or in recent enough years OR someone who loves to plan and has actually researched what going to WDW entails OR someone who is concerned about cost who has the flexibility to shift their vacation to minimize excess costs. Of course nobody has to like it and there is absolutely no way to please all the masses.

I've spent a total of 2 days (4 years ago) in Disney parks, so I'm not exactly a power user. I don't really love to plan, but I do research the heck out of almost everything I do, and I am most certainly looking at it from Disney's business point of view, because the whole intent was to consider how they could implement this.

I think your point is that Disney vacations have become excessively complicated, requiring guests who wish to economize or extract maximum value from their vacations to be extremely familiar with the whole process and make detailed plans months in advance. You're absolutely right. And yes, tiered ticket pricing is inherently more complicated than a single price strategy, no matter how they implement it. Some people will probably be confused, and Disney will have to deal with a minority of guests that show up at the gate with a Bronze ticket on a Gold day. Their answer will be to offer them an upgrade. The guest will almost certainly pay, because they've come all this way to go to Disney, and the idea of telling 5-year-old Sally that we're not going to Disney today after all is probably not very appealing. I'm certain they're hoping that most people will just buy the Gold ticket to avoid confusion in the first place - and many will probably do exactly that.

Disney is clearly not concerned about adding some more details into the planning process. The people who care will figure it out and work with it, just like they do now with Fast Passes and ADRs and crowd calendars and all the rest. The people who don't care will call Disney and book whatever package Disney tells them to book. Then they'll show up with Gold passes at 11 am on a Bronze day, with no Fast Passes booked, and wait in line for 2 hours for a single ride. My point was simply that anyone who is hoping that Disney will delay this or give it up entirely because it's logistically too difficult to implement is likely to be disappointed. It's just not. Please don't shoot the messenger!

Do they? Historically they haven't had to and I know I have bought park tickets months before getting plane tickets for example so there was definitely some uncertainty about exact dates. Now doing the DVC thing it is a bit different of course...

But there's not really any good reason to buy tickets significantly in advance, except to lock in prices. I'd guess that most people who think far enough ahead to do this are also familiar enough with the product to understand what they are buying, and its limitations. Again, they probably won't like it, but that doesn't make it confusing.

But the bigger confusion would be the specific dates you plan to be in the parks. Last trip we had a 5 day pass, but we were on property for 10 days and we were able to visit the parks on any 5 of those days without worrying about other factors (though I did because I'm a planner). Now everyone will have to plan around which days are gold, silver or bronze.

Yes. No doubt Disney's response to this would be "just buy the Gold pass, then you don't need to worry about it"!

Great for Disney, not a plus for guests and definitely more work and complexity.

I think you'd be hard put to find anyone who would argue that Disney is doing this for the sake of their guests. Well, except maybe Disney's own PR department, and even they are probably struggling to come up with a convincing story.

 

[DebbieB]

Latest rumor I've heard. Going back to a concept of the ticket books where you pay for attractions.

When I was growing up, my local park was Kennywood. You bought tickets & each ride was certain number of tickets based on popularity. You also had the option of buying an "all access" wristband.

I could see them doing this with one day tickets. If you are only going to ride a few rides, go with the per ride ticket plan. For example, if you are only there in the evening. Or if you just want to go in and walk around.

 

[nkosiek]

Why are people even contemplating the possibility of going back to tickets? We should all be standing up and saying, "Hell no!" LoL is so right in that most Disney people are so in love that they won't stand up to their abuser. If they implement it, I'm pretty damn sure my wife and I will be selling our DVC and using that money towards other vacations.

 

[soniam]

This would definitely tick me off, especially since you know they won't decrease the current ticket price. This would really penalize people who like to ride repeat rides or start at RD/AM EMH and stay all day. We would probably consider not riding some rides to not have to pay the extra fee. I guess we would then go back to the hotel and swim and possibly spend less money. We might even have time to go eat off property. I think it could also shorten our trips or increase our days at Universal. No siree, I don't like this one bit (the horse from Ren & Stimpy).

I guess the only good thing about this is that DHS, AK, and Epcot, at least for a bit, would theoretically be cheaper than MK, since I don't know if they have that many attractions to warrant the surcharge. I guess we would probably pay it at MK though. One of our March MK days has 25 attractions, not including parades or fireworks. 9 or 10 as the minimum is a bit crazy there. How would World Showcase work? Would they charge for people to see parades, street shows, and fireworks? I guess they can't really charge for those. It could encourage them to build more attractions to get more money. Right now, they have very little incentive to build more attractions. How would this work for APs? I seriously think Disney is considering this, but I also think they are considering many other options. Whether they implement it or not remains to be seen

 

[Eoghann]

This would definitely tick me off, especially since you know they won't decrease the current ticket price. This would really penalize people who like to ride repeat rides or start at RD/AM EMH and stay all day. We would probably consider not riding some rides to not have to pay the extra fee. I guess we would then go back to the hotel and swim and possibly spend less money. We might even have time to go eat off property. I think it could also shorten our trips or increase our days at Universal. No siree, I don't like this one bit (the horse from Ren & Stimpy).

I guess the only good thing about this is that DHS, AK, and Epcot, at least for a bit, would theoretically be cheaper than MK, since I don't know if they have that many attractions to warrant the surcharge. I guess we would probably pay it at MK though. One of our March MK days has 25 attractions, not including parades or fireworks. 9 or 10 as the minimum is a bit crazy there. How would World Showcase work? Would they charge for people to see parades, street shows, and fireworks? I guess they can't really charge for those. It could encourage them to build more attractions to get more money. Right now, they have very little incentive to build more attractions. How would this work for APs? I seriously think Disney is considering this, but I also think they are considering many other options. Whether they implement it or not remains to be seen

How would it work with APs? Well you could include a set number of rides per day as part of the AP.

If they were to do something like this I think the dual goal would be to decrease wait times and bank a bit of extra revenue. So most likely you'd still have a park entrance fee and it would come with X number of rides, but:Only one shot on Space Mountain unless you pay for "Extra Magic!"

It is a lot harder to see how you make this work in say Animal Kingdom though. I mean how many premium rides do they even have there?

 

[Lirael]

I don't think they'd go as far as making a price per rides. Disney would be shooting themselves in the foot, specially considering they already have competition (Universal Parks) as it is

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've spent a total of 2 days (4 years ago) in Disney parks, so I'm not exactly a power user. I don't really love to plan, but I do research the heck out of almost everything I do, and I am most certainly looking at it from Disney's business point of view, because the whole intent was to consider how they could implement this.

I think your point is that Disney vacations have become excessively complicated, requiring guests who wish to economize or extract maximum value from their vacations to be extremely familiar with the whole process and make detailed plans months in advance. You're absolutely right. And yes, tiered ticket pricing is inherently more complicated than a single price strategy, no matter how they implement it. Some people will probably be confused, and Disney will have to deal with a minority of guests that show up at the gate with a Bronze ticket on a Gold day. Their answer will be to offer them an upgrade. The guest will almost certainly pay, because they've come all this way to go to Disney, and the idea of telling 5-year-old Sally that we're not going to Disney today after all is probably not very appealing. I'm certain they're hoping that most people will just buy the Gold ticket to avoid confusion in the first place - and many will probably do exactly that.

Disney is clearly not concerned about adding some more details into the planning process. The people who care will figure it out and work with it, just like they do now with Fast Passes and ADRs and crowd calendars and all the rest. The people who don't care will call Disney and book whatever package Disney tells them to book. Then they'll show up with Gold passes at 11 am on a Bronze day, with no Fast Passes booked, and wait in line for 2 hours for a single ride. My point was simply that anyone who is hoping that Disney will delay this or give it up entirely because it's logistically too difficult to implement is likely to be disappointed. It's just not. Please don't shoot the messenger!

Well no offense but the explains your comment "it's not logistically difficult, or even particularly confusing." But no I wouldn't shoot the messenger .

Obviously it could be confusing to understand otherwise you wouldn't have people contemplating ALL the various ways a tiered structure would impact x,y,z because of the majority of the people they've experienced x,y,z multiple times first hand and are trying to wrap their head around how it would impact them in conjunction with how to actually implement such a different structure than they have now. So yes from a business stand-point cut and dry here how but the intent wasn't just to say HOW could Disney implement this but also from people's perspective how it actually impacts how they do/get/use x,y,z.

Yes Disney has become overly complicated for the average guest and they have with all their things you need to do in order to have the best experience have targeted ONE group which is the planners. Disney says if you plan then you'll have a great time (more than likely) but if you didn't plan well that blame is on you while still saying you have the flexibility you want for your magical trip.

You are right in that Disney, if the tiered occurrs, will market the highest priced option while explaining away that it gives you the most flexibility.

I don't think anyone is really under the impression that Disney won't be doing something very soon that could potentially have very negative consequences to it. But in the last few weeks I've heard the following chatter: increased ticket prices likely, no wait I mean tiered prices likely, no wait I mean some sort of harkon to the good ole days with a variation of pay-per-attraction, no wait I mean heck I don't know what they'll be doing but it will be SOMETHING quite large. I don't say this in any bad way at all because really it can be very difficult to pinpoint what a company might do and since all of the above has been or currently is on the table makes it that much harder to figure out what they'll be doing.

 

[jade1]

How would it work with APs? Well you could include a set number of rides per day as part of the AP.

If they were to do something like this I think the dual goal would be to decrease wait times and bank a bit of extra revenue. So most likely you'd still have a park entrance fee and it would come with X number of rides, but:Only one shot on Space Mountain unless you pay for "Extra Magic!"

It is a lot harder to see how you make this work in say Animal Kingdom though. I mean how many premium rides do they even have there?

Agreed. I saw that "9 Experience" or "12 experience" huh? Haven't done 9 experiences in any park for...maybe never actually.

But how at EPCOT/DHS/AK? I thought possibly 3 was a great improvement, plus maybe 3 or 4 SB things.

Wait and see on this end.

.@OTownguy79 @21royalstreet "Would you like the 9 Experience Magical 1 Day Pass or the 12 Experience Deluxe Dreams 1 Day Pass?"

Edit: I guess AK could

Banshee
Pandora Boat
FOTLK
Safari
Kali
TTBAB
EE
Nemo
Dino
ROL from SB Back

I guess DHS can now, and maybe 2 more each at S Wars and TS Lands.

TSM
RNR
TOT
ST
B&B
VOTLM
GMR
Indy
Fantasmic
Star Wars Fireworks SB Back

I guess if the "12" means a second ride on TSM, RNR and TOT-some might upgrade to that.

Bottom line is impossible IMO, at least until more attractions are built.
.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

When I was growing up, my local park was Kennywood. You bought tickets & each ride was certain number of tickets based on popularity. You also had the option of buying an "all access" wristband.

I could see them doing this with one day tickets. If you are only going to ride a few rides, go with the per ride ticket plan. For example, if you are only there in the evening. Or if you just want to go in and walk around.

I don't see them going 75 years in the past to use "per ride" ticket systems.

But I can say that the T-Bolt was well worth the 6 tickets

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Why are people even contemplating the possibility of going back to tickets? We should all be standing up and saying, "Hell no!" LoL is so right in that most Disney people are so in love that they won't stand up to their abuser. If they implement it, I'm pretty damn sure my wife and I will be selling our DVC and using that money towards other vacations.

The acceptance of abusive pricing policies...at least on places like the DISboards...lately...has gotten to new alltime highs.

I'm not saying anyone should not be entitled to love what they love - far from it - but at some point self interest has to not be so blind.

(And no...I'm not using the term "abusive" in a flippant way...I just can't come up with a better term. I don't accept "free market", "capitalism", or "long live the Gipper" as appropriate descriptions of what's been going down)

 

[mab2012]

Obviously it could be confusing to understand otherwise you wouldn't have people contemplating ALL the various ways a tiered structure would impact x,y,z because of the majority of the people they've experienced x,y,z multiple times first hand and are trying to wrap their head around how it would impact them in conjunction with how to actually implement such a different structure than they have now. So yes from a business stand-point cut and dry here how but the intent wasn't just to say HOW could Disney implement this but also from people's perspective how it actually impacts how they do/get/use x,y,z.

There's the disconnect. I was trying to address the multiple posts I've seen (not necessarily in this thread) along the lines of "I don't even understand how Disney could make this work; it will be far too complicated". Maybe I was imagining it, but some of those seemed to have a hopeful undertone (ie. "maybe if it's too complicated they won't do it"). But it's not complicated to implement, or at least it doesn't have to be, and I don't think it's conceptually too difficult for the average traveller to understand. Figuring out how it will impact an individual or family's specific circumstances, or how it might change their previous travel habits, is another matter entirely. And probably futile until we understand exactly what they are actually planning. Which, as you've pointed out, is far from certain!

Whatever they are planning, you can add me to the list of those who hope it is not a pay-per-attraction plan. That would probably be enough to ensure that my family never comes back.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Whatever they are planning, you can add me to the list of those who hopes it is not a pay-per-attraction plan. That would probably be enough to ensure that my family never comes back.

Right there with you on that for sure!

 

[Budshark]

Whatever they are planning, you can add me to the list of those who hope it is not a pay-per-attraction plan. That would probably be enough to ensure that my family never comes back.

Right there with you on that for sure!

I think that is a leap though. I don't think anyone can say you absolutely will never go back if they implement a pay-pre attraction plan. Without knowing anything about it, you can't make a definitive statement like that.

Its fun to speculate and guess and rumor monger. Its a bit of a leap to declare you'll never do something before you know anything about it, especially something you are a big enough fan of to join a message board for.

Its always funny to watch this play out. A rumor, followed by people painting it into the biggest mess ever, then the crowd jumps in declaring they will abandon ship, followed by facts, then analysis, and then all the people who abandoned ship posting about their last trip to the World and how it wasn't that bad.

 

[mab2012]

I think that is a leap though. I don't think anyone can say you absolutely will never go back if they implement a pay-pre attraction plan. Without knowing anything about it, you can't make a definitive statement like that.

FWIW, my statement wasn't definitive at all. I said "probably", not "absolutely".

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Do you think this will result in the possibility of buying more fast pasess in the future?

If so and if they priced them at a somewhat affordable point, that might not go over so sour with some people. Even though right now the only park that I would like the use of extra fast passes would be is the MK.

 

[rteetz]

Do you think this will result in the possibility of buying more fast pasess in the future?

If so and if they priced them at a somewhat affordable point, that might not go over so sour with some people. Even though right now the only park that I would like the use of extra fast passes would be is the MK.

I don't think so. I think the ticket book type thing is more likely.