Is it just me....

You might be on to something...........

For two adults, one child, late April:

3 nights/4 days at Universal Loews Royal Pacific with 3 day park tickets, universal express unlimited ride access.......$1,185 (includes $50 gift card)

3 nights/4 days at WDW Beach Club Resort with 3 day park tickets, standard fast pass and long lines......$2,168

That's quite a difference.
 
I'm a Disney stockholder (as I'm sure many folks here are) and I got the Annual Meeting notice today with some very interesting info. First of all, Disney has been increasing revenue steadily since 2009. Second, there is a proposal to increase Iger's compensation due to his excellent performance, as well as increasing other executive compensation to account for performance. All this tells me, Disney is quite happy with the increased prices. As a tourist, I obviously don't like it and I'm always wishing for a "good" pin. But, as a stockholder, well, it's hard to argue against it. Now, the parks and resorts component of the Disney Company is a small portion of the whole pie. But, it's still a portion and it contributes. Prices for Disney entrance fees, hotel rates, etc., have increased, at rate that is much higher than inflation. The Company is making a lot more money. Disney prices are very high, but consumers are willing to pay them, so why discount them? Why charge $200 if people are willing to pay $300?
 
I'm a Disney stockholder (as I'm sure many folks here are) and I got the Annual Meeting notice today with some very interesting info. First of all, Disney has been increasing revenue steadily since 2009. Second, there is a proposal to increase Iger's compensation due to his excellent performance, as well as increasing other executive compensation to account for performance. All this tells me, Disney is quite happy with the increased prices. As a tourist, I obviously don't like it and I'm always wishing for a "good" pin. But, as a stockholder, well, it's hard to argue against it. Now, the parks and resorts component of the Disney Company is a small portion of the whole pie. But, it's still a portion and it contributes. Prices for Disney entrance fees, hotel rates, etc., have increased, at rate that is much higher than inflation. The Company is making a lot more money. Disney prices are very high, but consumers are willing to pay them, so why discount them? Why charge $200 if people are willing to pay $300?

You betcha :thumbsup2
 
You might be on to something...........

For two adults, one child, late April:

3 nights/4 days at Universal Loews Royal Pacific with 3 day park tickets, universal express unlimited ride access.......$1,185 (includes $50 gift card)

3 nights/4 days at WDW Beach Club Resort with 3 day park tickets, standard fast pass and long lines......$2,168

That's quite a difference.

You get what you pay for :rotfl2:
 


We have gone to Universal and stayed there for 3 day trips a couple of time. It is an absolute blast, and we got what we payed for. For us, that meant we had a trip every bit as great as a Disney trip. It is really possible to like both places equally, and a bonus that one costs less than the other. My "kids" who are all grown now haven't been interested in the Disney characters meet n' greets, since the lines started forming and autograph books came out. However, they LOVED having their picture taken with the Marvel characters a couple of years ago. These are both wonderful places for a vacation.

And yes, the Disney resorts are charming and we love them too.
 
I suppose that if the discounts are unavailable and I can't afford the hotel again, I could always go back to tent camping. That worked out well for me in 1988...still got the free transportation and extra entertainment.
 
I wasn't meaning to put anyone down but I just can't see comparing Universal (or Gatorland lol) to Disney. NOT even close to the same experience.
y

You are correct. Universal is a much better experience for my family...more thrill rides, FOTL pass for staying onsite, less strollers, and HP. If I had a choice between Disney and Universal I would pick Universal.
 


You get what you pay for :rotfl2:

You also pay for what you get. You seem pretty confident in your sense of value and bang for the buck at WDW, and from your signature it looks like the last time you stayed on site was at WL in 2011. So at what point would even you start to question the cost of a night at WL?

$300 a night? $500 a night? $1500 a night?
 
I find Disney no more expensive then some other vacation spots.

Maybe because I'm in New York and used to "expensive" hotels.
$300 a night for a run down cabin in Lake George, $200 for a hotel in Cortland, NY is common.

So the budgets at $100 and mods at $175 in Disney seem good to me.
Noone sqays people have to stay deluxe.


It's the airfare that I dislike the most.
 
Have done both Universal and Disney, Universal was much much cheaper, Disney was worth far far more !!! Simply the best days of my life, can't wait to head back. My wife and I even talk about heading to Universal again, but its just not as appealing as Disney.

To each their own when it comes to the "value" of something, but quantitatively there is not question that you do get "more" for your dollar at Disney, they only debate can be whether you get enough more to justify the increased price.
 
You also pay for what you get. You seem pretty confident in your sense of value and bang for the buck at WDW, and from your signature it looks like the last time you stayed on site was at WL in 2011. So at what point would even you start to question the cost of a night at WL?

$300 a night? $500 a night? $1500 a night?

That WL stay was for appx 175.00(if I remember correctly) in January with discounts. I loved the hotel and would pay more. There are always discounts however. Now a DVC owner so there are new places to explore.
Never have I felt I wasn't getting my $ worth....that's why I keep going back whenever I can.
 
That WL stay was for appx 175.00(if I remember correctly) in January with discounts. I loved the hotel and would pay more. There are always discounts however. Now a DVC owner so there are new places to explore.
Never have I felt I wasn't getting my $ worth....that's why I keep going back whenever I can.

Right - it's apparent from your comments that you think it's worth it. You've even made a large investment in DVC so from a marketing standpoint you benefit from price increases. Now I can understand why you may not mind them.

Others who don't mind the price increases share the same sentiment, that it's "worth it" without quantifying what that value component is.

So my question was, disregarding your interest in DVC for a moment, at what price would you NOT think it's worth it?
 
Right - it's apparent from your comments that you think it's worth it. You've even made a large investment in DVC so from a marketing standpoint you benefit from price increases. Now I can understand why you may not mind them.

Others who don't mind the price increases share the same sentiment, that it's "worth it" without quantifying what that value component is.

So my question was, disregarding your interest in DVC for a moment, at what price would you NOT think it's worth it?

Give it up, Travis. You can't agrue with this bunch. I completely agree with your points; Disney truly dropped the ball on the expansion. You'd think after hitting the ball into the net and losing out on HP rights, they would have hit the next ball to the moon. But no, they came up with the same old, same old. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney and am a DVC member, but at some point they're going to need to step up their game. Universal is seeing 30% jumps in park attendance. Disney is doing well, but we all know that their deep resort discounts and free dining (thanks for killing fine dining at WDW, BTW) are driving attendance. HP really set the bar -- an expanson project that became an actual vacation destination. Sadly, the new Fantasy Land will never be that.
 
Give it up, Travis. You can't agrue with this bunch. I completely agree with your points; Disney truly dropped the ball on the expansion. You'd think after hitting the ball into the net and losing out on HP rights, they would have hit the next ball to the moon. But no, they came up with the same old, same old. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney and am a DVC member, but at some point they're going to need to step up their game. Universal is seeing 30% jumps in park attendance. Disney is doing well, but we all know that their deep resort discounts and free dining (thanks for killing fine dining at WDW, BTW) are driving attendance. HP really set the bar -- an expanson project that became an actual vacation destination. Sadly, the new Fantasy Land will never be that.

I don't think you can compare Fantasyland to Harry Potter. HP's main ride is one that makes a lot of people motion sick. I can't see Disney sticking a ride that extreme in the middle of what is at heart a Princess area.

I will say when I was there, I thought the new stuff looked lovely. But without the new roller coaster finished there was not much for me to do back there. But I guess not everything needs to be geared towards adults and older children. And I don't think Fantasyland is.

I did love the new store back by the splash area.
 
Give it up, Travis. You can't agrue with this bunch. I completely agree with your points; Disney truly dropped the ball on the expansion. You'd think after hitting the ball into the net and losing out on HP rights, they would have hit the next ball to the moon. But no, they came up with the same old, same old. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney and am a DVC member, but at some point they're going to need to step up their game. Universal is seeing 30% jumps in park attendance. Disney is doing well, but we all know that their deep resort discounts and free dining (thanks for killing fine dining at WDW, BTW) are driving attendance. HP really set the bar -- an expanson project that became an actual vacation destination. Sadly, the new Fantasy Land will never be that.

Fantasyland didn't need to be a destination ...just an addition to WDW which IS a destination in itself. HP was good for Comcast Universal (or whoever owns it this week) and they NEEDED it to be.Geez first addition in what 15 years?It's a nice little park and good place for the runoff from WDW. Easy to jump a big % when you don't have that many people in the 1st place.Disney has had discounts since it opened!! It's called marketing strategy. Here let me explain......

By the way I believe Travis and I were having a conversation not an argument.
 
Also don't forget that "Dragon Challenge" is just a recycled ride that already existed and was just rebranded ...

Disney doesn't need to add something to make it a destination... it already is.
 
LOL! I don't mind - I think the WDW vs. USO debate is a lot like Chevy vs. Ford owners - most pick a side and are very passionate about it.

I haven't been to Universal because my little guy isn't tall enough yet for most of the attractions.

But what I am really interested in is the answer to the question I've already asked.......

For those who don't mind the current price increases because they continue to see value in return for dollars spent, at what point do you think that value equation turns in the other direction for you.

I mean, if someone can tell me that $500 a night at CR is "worth it", doesn't logic follow that they could also tell me at what price it isn't?
 
LOL! I don't mind - I think the WDW vs. USO debate is a lot like Chevy vs. Ford owners - most pick a side and are very passionate about it.

I haven't been to Universal because my little guy isn't tall enough yet for most of the attractions.

But what I am really interested in is the answer to the question I've already asked.......

For those who don't mind the current price increases because they continue to see value in return for dollars spent, at what point do you think that value equation turns in the other direction for you.

I mean, if someone can tell me that $500 a night at CR is "worth it", doesn't logic follow that they could also tell me at what price it isn't?

Hey Travis, I totally see what you are saying, and wonder the same thing.

BTW, I am sure your little guy will LOVE USO, we did, just couldn't do more than 3 or 4 days there, which is why we prefer disney.

As for how much is too much ?

We can -afford- to go to a deluxe, but just don't think they are worth it. In fact, whenever I see anyone posting about going Deluxe or Club level I think they are insane, want to point out how many children they could feed or how much of a difference they could make in the world with the money they would save if they stayed at a Moderate instead. (of course, I guess thats true for a trip to disney in general... which I am guilty of) But really, I can't understand people who pay for deluxes, but they don't seem to have an issue with it.

For Me, Maybe $300/night (for room and tickets) would begin to be a problem. But thats just me.

Then again, if it were 350/night or no Disney .... might still bite it.

Will find out soon enough, looking at a Christmas 2014 Trip, so likely rack rate, peak season, will be interesting to see the prices when they come out.
 
LOL! I don't mind - I think the WDW vs. USO debate is a lot like Chevy vs. Ford owners - most pick a side and are very passionate about it.

I haven't been to Universal because my little guy isn't tall enough yet for most of the attractions.

But what I am really interested in is the answer to the question I've already asked.......

For those who don't mind the current price increases because they continue to see value in return for dollars spent, at what point do you think that value equation turns in the other direction for you.

I mean, if someone can tell me that $500 a night at CR is "worth it", doesn't logic follow that they could also tell me at what price it isn't?

Sorry didn't mean to take so long to reply. I really was having a hard time thinking of an honest answer.Some things are relative to what you are used to and your paycheck. I know if the WL in 2011 was 300.00 I wouldn't have stayed there because I couldn't afford it. Probably would have gone back down to a moderate.For my 10th wedding anniversary I paid a lot to stay in the Poly.If Disney can fill the rooms at these prices I can't and never will hold it against them. I guess bottom line is I do have a limit I just don't know where it is. BUT I'll stay on WDW grounds no matter what....AllStars if necessary:sad: As you can see in my ticker off site many times until I found out the "magic" of staying on property.
 
Wilderness/Shaden:

Thanks for making those very good points. For some groups, the cap is what they can afford and the experience is so worth it for them that they will make sacrifices in order to do it. (Boy, I wish some of those people were MY customers!)

For others, it's what they feel is reasonable. I can afford a Mercedes, but I drive a Kia. I love WDW as much as anybody, even more now that I've got a seven year old that takes me along with him :)

But I have a hard time paying more than $200 a night at CSR. For me, anything over $325 for a CR Tower MK view is unreasonable, and unfortunately those days are probably long gone and I'll never do it again.

It's that upward price pressure that is not "forcing" but "causing" more and more people to start considering staying offsite. And as that causation works it's way up the ranks from those who do so because they can't afford it to those who do so even though they can, I can't help but believe that it will have a negative impact on WDW.

They have to fill those resorts. It's not an option. Maybe the only way they can do it right now is by offering up to 30% off rack rates that were recently increased by 20%. The bean counters at corporate Disney will be happy, because hey - that's really only a 10% discount. But pricing in itself is both a science and an art, and what Disney is doing has me very, very curious to watch, learn, and observe the outcome.

I kinda/sorta do this for a living, which is why I'm so interested in what each person's "cutoff" point is when they are finally forced to decide whether it's still worth it or not - even if they can afford it.

Wilderness, my signature line is telling in a manner similar to yours - except in reverse. The last four years, I've been "downgrading" myself from CR, to CSR, to BLT - and while BLT isn't a physical downgrade, it's a cost downgrade because I rented points. Basically, each year I've found a way to spend less on lodging while still staying on site.

Does Disney win when more and more people follow that strategy?
 

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