Is Disney finally seeing consumers say they're pricing themselves out of peoples ability to pay?

[DLgal]

Wrong. GF is a 5 star resort.

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"Star" ratings are not regulated in the travel industry and really don't mean much.

AAA Diamond ratings are what matter. None of Disney's Deluxe resorts received 5 diamond status for 2019. The Four Seasons did.

 

[stewart715]

Well, answer me this - Have you ever gone into a hotel and seen a small plaque from AAA stating how many diamonds it has? I bet you have. How many hotels have you been in that have plaques from Google?

If Google gave them out, I'm sure I would see them (they don't). I also see Forbes plaques.

 

[DLgal]

So you're arguing that one institution is right and the other is wrong lol who named it the official rating? AAA?

In reality, when I use the world's most popular search engine to search for the Grand Floridian, it says 5-star hotel

Regardless, you're further proving my point - deluxe does not mean 5-star and that's the biggest myth of Disney deluxe.

Google is not a travel industry institution.

 

[Captainkidd76]

If Google gave them out, I'm sure I would see them (they don't). I also see Forbes plaques.

They don't because they don't mean anything. AAA is what most hotels use to distinguish how many stars (or diamonds) the hotel is.

 

[stewart715]

AAA Diamond ratings are what matter.

Again, to who?

Besides, proving GF was a 5-star was not my point. It not being a 5-star (by your allegiance to AAA), proves my point further about deluxe not meaning it is 5-star.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Google is not a travel industry institution.

Exactly.

 

[stewart715]

They don't because they don't mean anything. AAA is what most hotels use to distinguish how many stars (or diamonds) the hotel is.

I have heard that it is now Forbes. But this is the point. It's subjective. Anyways, not even close to my point.

 

[smiths02]

We might not have been every year folks anyhow, but the prices are keeping us away. We aren't priced out, we just don't feel the need to go back at those prices. We are almost priced out of the kind of trip we would want to take yearly.
In 2015, we finally hit a point in our careers where we could think about taking a nice family vacation every year. We bought APs to Disney World and went 3 times. We then took a smaller family vacation in 2017 so that we could treat the in-laws to a Disney Cruise in 2018.
This year, we jumped ship to Universal. We will do Universal 2019 and 2020. Maybe also a small trip in the summer to Washington, D.C. or even somewhere closer (I won't do Orlando in the summer anymore!) 2021 will be a trip to California (where I am from), and we can hopefully include DLR, but it won't be a stay on property for a week kind of trip. I see us returning to Disney World in the same way, maybe a day or two on our way to a cruise, but it is just too much for a weeklong vacation anymore.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Again, to who?

The entire travel industry. Call any travel agent and ask them who they source for the star ratings.

 

[stewart715]

The entire travel industry. Call any travel agent and ask them who they source for the star ratings.

No thanks, I really don't care lol and travel agents still exist?

 

[Magical2017]

I love Disney and I will be back. It is not so much priced out vs what I perceive as value. That, coupled with the desire to take my kids to other parts of the world, has caused us to plan more non-Disney trips for the future. Disney will be more of a long weekend trip for the next few years.

As far as the Disney resorts being 5 star hotels, I "feel" like I pay for theming and convenience plus great service at more of a 3 or 4 star hotel, even at the deluxe properties. Perhaps the GF is the exception. I feel it is more perception on my part, of course. I don't feel it is comparing apples to apples-a five star hotel in London is simply going to be a different experience than a deluxe Disney resort, regarless of its rating. Others may see it differently.

 

[stewart715]

I love Disney and I will be back. It is not so much priced out vs what I perceive as value. That, coupled with the desire to take my kids to other parts of the world, has caused us to plan more non-Disney trips for the future. Disney will be more of a long weekend trip for the next few years.

As far as the Disney resorts being 5 star hotels, I "feel" like I pay for theming and convenience plus great service at more of a 3 or 4 star hotel, even at the deluxe properties. Perhaps the GF is the exception. I feel it is more perception on my part, of course. I don't feel it is comparing apples to apples-a five star hotel in London is simply going to be a different experience than a deluxe Dishey resort, regarless of its rating. Others may see it differently.

The truth is WDW resort will never be rated a 5 star resort and it has nothing to do with accommodations or grounds. Wait and see that Riviera will not be 5-star. AAA/Forbes will never rate a resort loaded with noise, children and balloons as 5 star/diamond. I've been at the Four Seasons on property - it's ambience is very, very different than resorts on property that are owned/operated by Disney.

 

[DLgal]

The truth is WDW resort will never be rated a 5 star resort and it has nothing to do with accommodations or grounds. Wait and see that Riviera will not be 5-star. AAA/Forbes will never rate a resort loaded with noise, children and balloons as 5 star/diamond. I've been at the Four Seasons on property - it's ambience is very, very different than resorts on property that are owned/operated by Disney.

The rating has nothing to do with the ambiance. It is about the amenities in the rooms, the quality of the furnishings and soft goods, and the services offered to guests, like full laundry service, car hire, full service spas, fine dining, etc. There are several 5 diamond hotels that cater to families on the list.

 

[Figvention]

Disney wants LESS PEOPLE IN THE PARKS, raising prices is how they do it while MAKING MORE MONEY... hear me out!

All businesses that have multiple revenue streams evaluate something called "mix". They hone in on their product lines/customers to try and find which of their products and services is the most profitable and sell more of those and less of the others. Disney doesn't make any real profit off your ticket price, they make it off the hotels, food, and souvenirs that you purchase. Economically the parks exist to support the rest of the customer service industry around them.

Disney doesn't want the family who has to save up box tops and nickles to come to every couple of years and stays offsite. The family that has to pack sandwiches and snacks to bring in the park hurts them fiscally. Disney is marketing to the 150k plus yearly income family that buys the deluxe dining plan and oodles of trinkets. The lower income family just clogs up stand by lines and increases wait times at restaurants, thereby diminishing the experience of the cash cow customers.

Disney knows who moves the needles for them, they are activity working to push the lower or middle income families away. They can only continue to increase attendance for so long. The family that is paying 1k a night for a sweet room at the Poly is only going to take the wait time increasing so much before they take their REALLY LARGE BANKROLL THAT DISNEY WANTS somewhere else.

 

[stewart715]

Disney wants LESS PEOPLE IN THE PARKS, raising prices is how they do it while MAKING MORE MONEY... hear me out!

All businesses that have multiple revenue streams evaluate something called "mix". They hone in on their product lines/customers to try and find which of their products and services is the most profitable and sell more of those and less of the others. Disney doesn't make any real profit off your ticket price, they make it off the hotels, food, and souvenirs that you purchase. Economically the parks exist to support the rest of the customer service industry around them.

Disney doesn't want the family who has to save up box tops and nickles to come to every couple of years and stays offsite. The family that has to pack sandwiches and snacks to bring in the park hurts them fiscally. Disney is marketing to the 150k plus yearly income family that buys the deluxe dining plan and oodles of trinkets. The lower income family just clogs up stand by lines and increases wait times at restaurants, thereby diminishing the experience of the cash cow customers.

Disney knows who moves the needles for them, they are activity working to push the lower or middle income families away. They can only continue to increase attendance for so long. The family that is paying 1k a night for a sweet room at the Poly is only going to take the wait time increasing so much before they take their REALLY LARGE BANKROLL THAT DISNEY WANTS somewhere else.

Yup. They want to fill those rooms with upper middle class/upper class people. More likely to not look at price and sign on the line. Buy whatever they want. Buy up the after hours events. Join DVC on a whim. All while keeping crowds down which even betters the overall experience. The price hikes are not complete.

 

[Anthony1971]

I don't understand why people go back and forth about Disney and Universal they are both way different... why not enjoy both. We go to both and separate trips... but universal is every 2-4 years
For me personally the universal Hotel itself is nicer but they are also not owned by universal they are owned by lowes... INSIDE those lowes hotels you will find good food good amenities nice rooms and good service.... Outside those hotels there is no comparison to the grounds Disney hotels offer and extra's like boat rentals, specialty cruises free hotel activities -- simply anything under the sun you would like to do you can at Disney not so at universal... of course for a large fee.... Food hands down Disney wins universal food inside the park is very limited and the same thing everywhere TS or CS.. Outside the theme parks and the Hotels there are some great options but again to try to compare to Disney for what they have outside the parks will never happen... HOWEVER what does it matter no one can possibly exhaust either over even a two week stay....Attractions I would love a side by side comparison of each ones counterpart they are just different..... Neither place is a bargain and if you can afford one you can afford the other it is that simple.... To us as children get older we will likely reverse and go to universal more if we had no children I could see more appeal to universal for a more relaxing vacation -- you can do this at Disney as well but Disney is huge and that is the appeal as well as non-appeal when you want to go some where with little planning.... Back to the thread honestly BOTH Disney and Universal are pricing a lot of people out and at some point both will hit a wall and have to change pricing...truthfully there is little value at either compared to what you pay but also a ton of value being just what they are..... Comparing it to something else is a good as comparing going to the Grand Canyon to staying in a hotel that has 50 foot round ditch in the back... Ya want to go to see Mickey, Harry Potter or the Grand Canyon you pay what it costs.... Fine with any theme park or hole in the ground there are tons of alternative.

 

[dizneefan13]

Universal....meh. Haven't been since we checked out Potter awhile back.
Maybe when the new gate opens, we'll give it another look.
We save money staying off property at Disney. We actually like escaping the bubble after a long day in the parks. So much more bang for your buck.

 

[Searc]

I'm not going to read all of this but there is virtually no takeaway possible from a single quarter's reporting. A lot happened this quarter between Galaxy's Edge hype and AP blackouts. The numbers are going to be weird. I imagine the next two quarters will more than make up for it. So, I guess I'm saying no, I don't think Disney is pricing themselves out. I still say there are affordable ways to do Disney if you work hard enough and are patient.

That being said, most people don't visit WDW every year like we do. They are every 3 years, every once in the while...at most every other year. So, I do believe in the notion that those types of visitors are postponing their visit until after SWGE opens. Because if they don't, they won't get to see it for many years.

So, I expect the next 2-3 quarters to balance out those numbers if not add additional growth. Disney will keep raising these prices until it breaks and again one quarter proves nothing (especially under the circumstances).

PS: Remember, paid attendance was up, hotel reservations were up, park consumer goods were up..it was unpaid attendance that was down which is almost certainly due to a combination of AP blackouts and SWGE 'crowd' avoidance.

FL residents have been blacked out in the summer for quite a while. That portion isn't a new thing.

 

[LSUmiss]

I would really love to try a deluxe resort, but I just can’t stomach the price. I don’t see the value in $200+ more per night for indoor hallways and walk ability. We’ve considered a split stay next trip, but I don’t know that it’s worth it.

Two years ago, we become (midwestern) AP holders and it was about $800/pp. Now it’s around $1000! I wish we had the ability to fly down more often, but flights are also out of control. I would think the price balloon would have to pop at some point.

We have stayed deluxe the last 5 or so years,
but we are staying moderate the next trip. The prices are ridiculous & last trip at Poly was terrible. It was noisy, crowded & transportation was terrible. I used to justify the extra money b/c those things were better at the deluxe resorts but not anymore.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I don't understand why people go back and forth about Disney and Universal they are both way different... why not enjoy both. We go to both and separate trips... but universal is every 2-4 years
For me personally the universal Hotel itself is nicer but they are also not owned by universal they are owned by lowes... INSIDE those lowes hotels you will find good food good amenities nice rooms and good service.... Outside those hotels there is no comparison to the grounds Disney hotels offer and extra's like boat rentals, specialty cruises free hotel activities -- simply anything under the sun you would like to do you can at Disney not so at universal... of course for a large fee.... Food hands down Disney wins universal food inside the park is very limited and the same thing everywhere TS or CS.. Outside the theme parks and the Hotels there are some great options but again to try to compare to Disney for what they have outside the parks will never happen... HOWEVER what does it matter no one can possibly exhaust either over even a two week stay....Attractions I would love a side by side comparison of each ones counterpart they are just different..... Neither place is a bargain and if you can afford one you can afford the other it is that simple.... To us as children get older we will likely reverse and go to universal more if we had no children I could see more appeal to universal for a more relaxing vacation -- you can do this at Disney as well but Disney is huge and that is the appeal as well as non-appeal when you want to go some where with little planning.... Back to the thread honestly BOTH Disney and Universal are pricing a lot of people out and at some point both will hit a wall and have to change pricing...truthfully there is little value at either compared to what you pay but also a ton of value being just what they are..... Comparing it to something else is a good as comparing going to the Grand Canyon to staying in a hotel that has 50 foot round ditch in the back... Ya want to go to see Mickey, Harry Potter or the Grand Canyon you pay what it costs.... Fine with any theme park or hole in the ground there are tons of alternative.

I agree. I love both. I've been to both more times than I can count. I love them both for different things. The Magic Kingdom is the best theme park in Florida, IMO. However, both of Universal's parks are better than the other 3 Disney parks. What Disney has done to Epcot is heartbreaking to me. Resorts, Disney wins for theme, but Universal wins for service. Disney wins for table service food while Universal wins for table service. Universal wins for perks, ease, thrills and nighttime activities. I think Universal, staying on property, is as immersive as staying inside of Disney.