I have actually been thinking about this a fair amount lately, which kind of relates to the cause of this rant...Disney raising prices. First of all, I do not like the idea of me having to pay more for me to go to Disney, as it has been a part of my life since I was a child. In regards to the hotel %'s reported this week, why wouldn't Disney raise prices for parking. If my hotel %'s are low and I need to fill them, then I need to provide incentive for people to stay in my hotels instead of off property. Granted, it isn't through a discount, but more of a penalty for staying off site, because you don't get free parking. I am sure that Disney has an operating margin that it has to maintain and if they feel they can't lower hotel prices any lower, then they try to indirectly influence people by other means. Ticket prices are another hot topic...keep raising them and they are going to price people out of the market. Yes, this will occur at some point. But only when people start following through with their threats will Disney start listening. Until then, people will complain, but will still go spend money because this is important to them and they are willing to pay more for it, even if they don't want to. Not trying to go all Adam Smith here, perhaps it is my current economic schooling, but it is about finding the equilibrium price. The attendance numbers and reports from members seem to show that Disney is not having trouble getting people in the parks. Perhaps they aren't spending as much, but they are still going. If they lower the tickets anymore, can you imagine how busy they will be. People already say all the old "slow" times of the year are gone. I find it difficult to believe that if the product offered is not worth the price charged, this many people still continue to go every year. The pins that they are offering sound as though they are only good if you stay on site....which if they are having trouble filling their hotels makes since. Too me it seems like these pins are trying to provide incentives because of occupancy reasons, not park attendance reasons. However, one could argue that improving hotel occupancy will indirectly improve park attendance.
Disney is a business and I need to remember that, even though they try to come across as a giving family business. I believe they are, but they are torn between goodwill and shareholders, which they need both to survive.
Anyway, just something that I have been thinking about lately, hopefully it doesn't get me in too much trouble
. Please don't think I am supporting their approach, but simply putting some economic "business" intuition behind some of their actions; whether I agree with them or not
Thanks
Or did I dream that ? Seriously it didn't bother me the first time he ranted about her and called her that but now it is starting to get offensive.
Well said.
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