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

[stewart715]

This is very flawed.... No one is doing all of the activities in one day.. Disney knows this. At most you are going to 3 parks and that is stretching it. I think the difference is when you start looking at passes or week long tickets.

Very fair point.

 

[stewart715]

If offsite guests stopped coming in the parks Disney would belly up.

That's not what I meant. I meant they would rather them stay on site vs off site when they are not at 100% occupancy.

 

[LNMom]

Does Disney have a specific target demographic? I feel like they target everyone!!! Only the top 20% of U.S. Households earn over $130K. Not all will vacation at Disney each year. That segment isn't enough to fill the parks, is it?

Attendance is critical, spending is just as essential. But a loss in any way is still a loss.

 

[Captainkidd76]

This is very flawed.... No one is doing all of the activities in one day.. Disney knows this. At most you are going to 3 parks and that is stretching it. I think the difference is when you start looking at passes or week long tickets.

Just spent 2 weeks in Florida, did both, and without question we got MUCH more value from our Universal AP's than our 10 day Disney base ticket.

 

[scullylam]

You can do 5 nights at the All Star resort with 3 park days (2 pool/Disney springs day) for approx. $1,500. I don't see how it could/should be much cheaper.

Sure IF you have the vacation days and your trip planned well in advance.

The only way to try for cheaper is offsite housing, taking advantage of the discounts Disney offers/other offers, and when exactly you go.

Disney always tries to make a long stay cheap but for the trip I am doing, it is not cheap at all. So when you figure out all the costs of how to get to Disney, where to stay, and plan when you go, the cost can be what you said. This all makes me miss the old days for purchasing tickets. The certain days pricing now lawl. xD

 

[stewart715]

Does Disney have a specific target demographic? I feel like they target everyone!!! Only the top 20% of U.S. Households earn over $130K. Not all will vacation at Disney each year. That segment isn't enough to fill the parks, is it?

Attendance is critical, spending is just as essential. But a loss in any way is still a loss.

It’s true but they have a big “shoulder to shoulder” problem so when they make the decision to out-price people to cut down on overcrowding, they’re going to unfortunately try to remove those who don’t contribute as much to their bottom line.

 

[LSUmiss]

It’s true but they have a big “shoulder to shoulder” problem so when they make the decision to out-price people to cut down on overcrowding, they’re going to unfortunately try to remove those who don’t contribute as much to their bottom line.

What would be the other option for them other than raising prices?

 

[stewart715]

What would be the other option for them other than raising prices?

Capping guests earlier which they won’t do. It’s really a shame they’ve extended EMH to so many chain hotels.

 

[LNMom]

I don't follow Disney all that closely. Has the company stated that they raised prices with the intent of reducing crowds? Or is the higher prices/lower crowds rationale something that has been bandied about by Disney fans?

If park attendance took a financial loss and that loss is due to higher prices causing lower attendance then someone made some serious errors in their projections. It will be interesting if the loss is sustained or not as we move into 2020.

 

[stewart715]

I don't follow Disney all that closely. Has the company stated that they raised prices with the intent of reducing crowds? Or is the higher prices/lower crowds rationale something that has been bandied about by Disney fans?

If park attendance took a financial loss and that loss is due to higher prices causing lower attendance then someone made some serious errors in their projections. It will be interesting if the loss is sustained or not as we move into 2020.

When asked about price increases, PR stated it’s reason was to “improve overall guest experience.” Which means reducing crowds.

If they can make more money off of less people, they’re going to try their darnedest to do so.

 

[LNMom]

When asked about price increases, PR stated it’s reason was to “improve overall guest experience.” Which means reducing crowds.

If they can make more money off of less people, they’re going to try their darnedest to do so.

Or does it mean to provide (pay for) Galaxy's Edge and the Skyliner and all the other projects coming up?

They haven't made more money off less people though, at least not yet. And offering the fall discounts doesn't suggest to me that the fall projections were strong overall (attendance, room occupancy, etc).

 

[DLgal]

Is it really fair to pat yourself on the back because "park guest spending is up 10%" when you literally raised the prices of EVERYTHING by at least that much? In fact, I bet if you looked at the price increases on food and drink and merch compared to the previous year, it's likely on average higher than just 10%, which may actually mean that per capita spending is DOWN overall. This is just a way for Disney to spin the numbers into something they were trying to achieve.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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.

I think you're getting bogged down by things.

Google is awesome but with respects to the way people view star ratings on hotels---it's really AAA rating they are mainly going off of. It's not that Google isn't helpful but there are differences in how they rate.

Google:
Google assigns hotel class ratings on a 1-5 star scale and allows people to filter their hotel search based on type (“any” or “vacation rental”) and class. Google gathers data for these ratings from a variety of sources, including third-party partners, direct research, feedback from hoteliers, and machine learning inference that examines and evaluates hotel attributes, such as price, location, room size, and amenities. A two-star hotel may have modest rooms and economy pricing, while a four-star hotel might feature upscale decor, a dedicated concierge, 24-hour room service, and luxury amenities such as bathrobes and minibars.

AAA:
Hotels and restaurants that meet AAA’s Approval Requirements for their category during an unannounced on-site inspection receive the AAA Inspected & Approved designation. Every AAA Inspected & Approved establishment is acceptable for the type of experience it provides; AAA does not approve substandard properties.

For hotels and restaurants designated as AAA Inspected & Approved, inspectors assign a rating of One to Five Diamonds based on the extensiveness of services, facilities and amenities typical of each rating level, indicating the type of experience to expect.

AAA Diamond ratings for hotels represent a combination of the overall quality, range of facilities, and level of services offered by the property. The descriptive ratings are assigned exclusively to properties that meet and uphold AAA’s rigorous Approval standards.

	Budget-oriented, offering basic comfort and hospitality.
	Affordable, with modestly enhanced facilities, decor and amenities.
	Distinguished, multifaceted with enhanced physical attributes, amenities and guest comforts.
	Refined, stylish with upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail.
	Ultimate luxury, sophistication and comfort with extraordinary physical attributes, meticulous personalized service, extensive amenities and impeccable standards of excellence.

Now yes in the end star ratings don't end up meaning much but in all honesty AAA is doing a lot more and has stricter guidelines--I mean they do an on-site inspection!--than Google. Overtime Google may if they want to decide to invest more into the travel industry but as of yet they are not quite there it would appear.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don’t personally know anyone who makes below 150k (other than the young ppl in my family)

Dang, I need to go hang with you more often I'm slummin' it here appearantly with all the lessers I'm hanging with

 

[sethschroeder]

I can't help but think there is way more in their back pocket we don't know about yet that will truly create a Universal District from the OCCC to the Turnpike.

They need to own IP and Universal only has rights to Harry Potter and a select group of Marvel characters which puts money in to Disney's pockets. Even the Simpsons contract ends in 2028 if I read correctly which means its on the way out at this point.

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

AAA is realistically the primary group to rate hotels. Disney Deluxe in my mind was never a 5 Diamond though personally. 5 Diamond is something out of this world.

I guess that hasn’t been my experience. Where are you getting your 6 out of 10 figures? I think you’re making a lot of assumptions. I don’t personally know anyone who makes below 150k (other than the young ppl in my family) & no one spends like you say. I think that’s a misconception. My resentment comes from that fact that you’re saying that ppl who make more money are more likely to spend their money like idiots on something that has no value.

Sorry but I have to call you a liar. At $150,000 you are talking about the top 6% of the US. If its true then wow as those are some well paid secretaries and security guards. Also spending your money like an idiot has nothing to do with it. It means their entertainment/vacation budget is just larger.

On this past Tuesday or Wednesday Disney reported earnings. Revenue was DOWN at all parks worldwide so it would seem YES!

Except part of the explanation is the 1 in 5 year group are pushing back their trips for Star Wars. Some are calling for numbers to be up the next 3 quarters to overshadow the slower quarter.

Does Disney have a specific target demographic? I feel like they target everyone!!! Only the top 20% of U.S. Households earn over $130K. Not all will vacation at Disney each year. That segment isn't enough to fill the parks, is it?

Attendance is critical, spending is just as essential. But a loss in any way is still a loss.

Except here is the thing, that family that is coming in at $60k/yr will take their once in a lifetime Disney trip and Disney extracts everything in one swoop as they splurge on things they never would if they went every year or two.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

but that's not big of enough difference to justify going to Universal with little kids.

Whoa maybe to you but def. to others. As a whole Universal doesn't draw in traveling parties with younger kids in droves like Disney does. That doesn't mean some don't justify it.

My parents took me when I was just a few years old and this was before IOA opened up, they also took me to Universal Hollywood when I was also a few years old.

We'll take our kids (whenever they come along) to Universal too because we find it worth it, we enjoy Universal too.

In general there are limiting factors period to bringing young kids with you to an amusement or theme park.

 

[DLgal]

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

The blackouts in California were the contributing factor that Iger was talking about.

 

[stewart715]

The blackouts in California were the contributing factor that Iger was talking about.

And they completely backfired.

 

[sethschroeder]

Whoa maybe to you but def. to others. As a whole Universal doesn't draw in traveling parties with younger kids in droves like Disney does. That doesn't mean some don't justify it.

My parents took me when I was just a few years old and this was before IOA opened up, they also took me to Universal Hollywood when I was also a few years old.

We'll take our kids (whenever they come along) to Universal too because we find it worth it, we enjoy Universal too.

In general there are limiting factors period to bringing young kids with you to an amusement or theme park.

Well that was my opinion to start. I will take a wild guess and say there is 10x the number of things for small kids at Disney than Universal.

Just as an example I went to Wiki to look at the list of attraction height restrictions they list 41 attractions (rides/shows) and 21 have height restrictions (no including the ones that just an adult has to ride with a child). Now add in things like Fear Factor, Jeopardy, and Blues Brothers and you are left with you have roughly 15 attractions for kids. Okay my 10x is a little high more like 5x likely at Disney.

When you are talking about a 7 day vacation how can I justify over half the attractions my kids are not able to ride. The whole day for the kid is going to be a very generic child swap area that looks like drunk holding area in some instances hahaha. Universal is a fun time but not until my kids are much older or hopefully Epic will include a TON more kids minded rides/areas.

I want Universal to at least be competitive for little kids but its night and day right now a short weekend stay vs a week long vacation worth of experiences from my view. I would gladly save money if it was an option I even looked at it before scheduling Disney this fall.

 

[LSUmiss]

They need to own IP and Universal only has rights to Harry Potter and a select group of Marvel characters which puts money in to Disney's pockets. Even the Simpsons contract ends in 2028 if I read correctly which means its on the way out at this point.



AAA is realistically the primary group to rate hotels. Disney Deluxe in my mind was never a 5 Diamond though personally. 5 Diamond is something out of this world.



Sorry but I have to call you a liar. At $150,000 you are talking about the top 6% of the US. If its true then wow as those are some well paid secretaries and security guards. Also spending your money like an idiot has nothing to do with it. It means their entertainment/vacation budget is just larger.



Except part of the explanation is the 1 in 5 year group are pushing back their trips for Star Wars. Some are calling for numbers to be up the next 3 quarters to overshadow the slower quarter.



Except here is the thing, that family that is coming in at $60k/yr will take their once in a lifetime Disney trip and Disney extracts everything in one swoop as they splurge on things they never would if they went every year or two.

I’m confused by your response to my post. Do you think it’s inconceivable that no one in my circle is a security guard or a secretary?? I clarified that I meant households. But, yes, most everyone I know personally is a dr, nurse, engineer, attorney or some other well paid professional.