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

[stewart715]

^^ I agree, regardless of your income, if someplace you go on vacation is no longer the VALUE it used to be (or is overpriced compared to other vacation destinations), you tend to find other places to vacation. That is true regard of your income level. That was the original discussion on this thread.

Right, that is absolutely true regardless of your income level. But, if you don't have the money to spend, it's different than making the decision to not spend. One is a can't. The other is a won't. And the fact is, there will always be people who will.

Until they reach that breaking point where that stops, they will keep increasing prices.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We've been priced out of APs due to not only AP price, but the insane resort rates. Cannot justify multiple trips in a calendar year anymore. We'll be going every other year from now on.

 

[stewart715]

We've been priced out of APs due to not only AP price, but the insane resort rates. Cannot justify multiple trips in a calendar year anymore. We'll be going every other year from now on.

Still multiple trips? Or once per year every other year? Multiple every year to once every other is a big jump! That really stinks, things aren't what they used to be.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Still multiple trips? Or once per year every other year? Multiple every year to once every other is a big jump! That really stinks, things aren't what they used to be.

We've only had passes for a couple of years, so it's not something we really got used to. We've had a great time these past couple of years, but we are ready to go elsewhere.

We plan on Thanksgiving every other year. I will not get APs again unless there are some awesome 50th anniversary perks associated with them.

 

[Farro]

To me, the park ticket price is what has ballooned. We’ve paid $175-215/night for a moderate for the last few years. Meanwhile, In 2017, we paid for APs for less than $800/pp. Since then, they’ve had price increases of $50, $70, $125! APs for about $3100/family of four vs $4800 now. Yikes!

Yes. I so agree. A family of four is going to see the bigger increase in tickets. And I still find values, moderates and even a few deluxe resorts on a good discount reasonably priced.

We buy hoppers. Our trip next May - one 9 day ticket with park hopper option is $607.34. That works out to about $68 a day.
I think that's a great price for being able to go to 4 parks in a day if I want.

 

[Jennasis]

We are skipping next year at Disney. Universal will get our vacation $$, and we need to let our DVC points build back up. In the meantime, it allows the dust to settle and for us to figure out how often we will go to WDW.

 

[Disneylover99]

We buy hoppers. Our trip next May - one 9 day ticket with park hopper option is $607.34. That works out to about $68 a day.
I think that's a great price for being able to go to 4 parks in a day if I want.

It depends on how you look at it I guess.

Annual passes went up by $1000 overnight for my family of four a few months back, while I could have stayed at an AllStar resort for just a bit more then I payed on my first stay nine years ago. So for us, it’s the ticket prices that hurt more.

 

[dizneefan13]

Yeah you can always stay off property or at a value, but not much you can do about ticket prices.

 

[Captainkidd76]

We buy hoppers. Our trip next May - one 9 day ticket with park hopper option is $607.34. That works out to about $68 a day.
I think that's a great price for being able to go to 4 parks in a day if I want.

And that is exactly what Disney wants you to think.

 

[maxiesmom]

And that is exactly what Disney wants you to think.

I agree with them. However it is an easy place to save money if you don't find the hoppers worthwhile.

 

[dizneefan13]

And that is exactly what Disney wants you to think.

Explain please. Isn't $68 per day at least a little savings?

 

[karen4546]

And that is exactly what Disney wants you to think.

I just did a "safari" at a wildlife park over the weekend. It was $22 for adults and $16 for ages 2-12. We did get to pet and feed the giraffes, and I believe I got my money's worth watching my grandchildren interact with the giraffes, but I am one that believes that Disney is worth the cost. I never thought about a Disney trip until 2012 and since then have gone 2 or occasionally 3 times a year. I don't believe we could have afforded the trips when our kids were younger unless we drove but truthfully Branson was okay for us at the time.

The costs have risen substantially since my first trip in 2012 but we will continue to enjoy Disney with our grandchildren. We rented points the last few years to stay at AKV Jambo house or used our annual pass discount to stay there but now we are owners of DVC direct at AKV and the only downside is that we need at couple hundred more points.

Money wise, Disney is worth every penny. If you stay offsite, onsite or just visit during the day being a local. Disney World is not just your typical amusement park. It is so much more - at least to me and my family- the memories we are making are priceless and if they price us out so that we have to cut back to once every year or once every two years - well at least we will still get to go.

We may do an occasional trip to Branson, the beach, cruise, but Disney World is the place we enjoy to vacation every year.

No matter where you decide to vacation-make good memories and enjoy your family. We are not guaranteed tomorrow.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I agree that Disney prices are getting insane from when we started going in 2010 and we will definitely be going less. BUT on the other side of that, we just did a short trip (3.5 nights) to Ocean City, MD and the expense of that was pretty ridiculous being that it's not even that great IMO. $400 per night hotel for a VERY outdated room with a tiny bathroom, terrible service at the hotel restaurants, and basically paying to just be near a beach. $11.99 for a basic garden salad (no meat). $60 for breakfasts for a family of 4 (2 kids). Very close to what we would spend at Disney on dining realistically.

My Disney package at rack rate for next year (will hopefully rebook with a discount if one is offered), is only $1500 more and it's one and a half more days than we spent in OC! A lot of vacation spots are quite expensive and I guess you just pay for what experience you like best. I prefer the Disney experience.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It depends on how you look at it I guess.

Annual passes went up by $1000 overnight for my family of four a few months back, while I could have stayed at an AllStar resort for just a bit more then I payed on my first stay nine years ago. So for us, it’s the ticket prices that hurt more.

I also think it can depend on how often you go.

We only go about every 6 years, I do expect ticket pricing to go up but there's no doubt that from someone that goes infrequently ticket pricing is one of the main things we pay attention to. And I also think in the last several years in particular the pricing increases have been more frequent. That can make someone feel the pain more.

 

[stewart715]

In fairness, they do that because it’s proven that longer stays yield higher spending rates. But yes, park wise, it is a good deal.

 

[Disneylover99]

I also think it can depend on how often you go.

And when you go.

With the new date based ticket prices, it will cost us almost $600 more over Christmas then our August trips if we compare 10 day tickets.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We buy hoppers. Our trip next May - one 9 day ticket with park hopper option is $607.34. That works out to about $68 a day.
I think that's a great price for being able to go to 4 parks in a day if I want.

That's quite a chunk of change for us in terms of an investment for 1 person's worth of a ticket but yes per day it works out nicely.

The more days you go the lower per day and I have zero issues with that. The most days you can buy a ticket for is 10days. At 9 days you're right up there. I'm not sure too too many people are buying 9 days worth.

To compare the cheapest you can get in May 2020 for 9 days park hopper is $602.10 for age 10+, the cheapest you can get for 5 days park hopper is $553.49 for age 10+. We go typically 5 days but if you break that down at 9 days you're at $66.90 and at 5 days you're at $110.70---that is a big difference per day. The figures I used above like I said is the cheapest days in May 2020 buying direct from Disney's website. I also couldn't replicate your $607.34 amount for age 10+ for May 2020 it's possible you purchased before a price increase occurred.

And while I could continue to add on more days to boost the per dollar/per day 'value' I'd be spending more money when I don't truly need to. It's a fact of life but my perception may be way different than yours because of that.

 

[blbrodger1]

I agree that Disney prices are getting insane from when we started going in 2010 and we will definitely be going less. BUT on the other side of that, we just did a short trip (3.5 nights) to Ocean City, MD and the expense of that was pretty ridiculous being that it's not even that great IMO. $400 per night hotel for a VERY outdated room with a tiny bathroom, terrible service at the hotel restaurants, and basically paying to just be near a beach. $11.99 for a basic garden salad (no meat). $60 for breakfasts for a family of 4 (2 kids). Very close to what we would spend at Disney on dining realistically.

My Disney package at rack rate for next year (will hopefully rebook with a discount if one is offered), is only $1500 more and it's one and a half more days than we spent in OC! A lot of vacation spots are quite expensive and I guess you just pay for what experience you like best. I prefer the Disney experience.

Funny that you mention this! I'm from Maryland and a few years ago, I was so frustrated with the lack of ability of semi-decent, non-sketchy hotels and the prices that some were asking (like the Hilton $$$$$) that we did a quick trip to Disney instead of Ocean City.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

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[ML_LovesDisney]

Funny that you mention this! I'm from Maryland and a few years ago, I was so frustrated with the lack of ability of semi-decent, non-sketchy hotels and the prices that some were asking (like the Hilton $$$$$) that we did a quick trip to Disney instead of Ocean City.

Ha! I'm glad someone can relate. I know so many people that tell me beach vacations are cheaper and they can't believe how expensive Disney is and that I keep going. Beach vacations have never been the cheaper option for us, whether its paying over-the-top hotel rates for a subpar, old and gross hotel, or a beach house rental in the summer. Granted, for some it is cheaper to drive somewhere than fly, but we use a SW credit card and pretty much always fly for free with our points so that doesn't factor in for us.