New survey .. proposal .. Tiered Ticket Prices

[BugsDaddy]

The reasons behind why travel has picked up are far more than people love Disney. What's more things like public opinion can change. The public may only be willing to absorb so much increase for declining service.

Possibly but that depends on a couple of things.

Does the general public who are more likely to visit, consider Disney to be a poor value?

Is the brand so strong that it can withstand some devaluation in the parks without adversely affecting its attendance numbers?

 

[cakebaker]

In 1989 we stood in line for 60 minutes to ride space mountain. I even have a picture somewhere of my sister pointing at the wait time sign to have proof how " horrid" the line was. Lines have always been a part of WDW-but I don't wait an hour for anything anymore.

 

[BugsDaddy]

I think when/if Disney starts to level out and becomes seen as less of a value, you will have Avatar and possibly a Star Wars land and Pixar land on the verge of hitting the parks which will then increase the value again, just in time.

Universal knows this. Universal knows that the 2% market share that they took from Disney with Harry Potter and Diagon Alley is not going to sustain itself when these attractions hit for Disney. In fact, I would bet they are a little unhappy that they only gained 2%. They probably are going to need a bigger head start. Thus the green light for Volcano Bay, King Kong Skull Island and Nintendo. They are going to need a heck of a counter punch in the next 3 years.

 

[Angel Ariel]

And you certainly have the right to want to ride the headliners 7+ times per day. However, Disney gambled that most people don't tour the parks that way and so far they have been right.

In MK riding a headliner 7 times a day, only taking into account the mountains as headliners, could be something like:

Splash - 2 rides
Thunder - 2 rides
Space - 2 rides
SDMT - 1 ride

I really don't understand what is excessive about that kind of touring. I'll grant I could be missing something here, but that doesn't seem like an unusual breakdown of headliner rides for a long MK day. Riding one attraction 7 times in a day with FP - yes, I could understand that being considered unusual, but spreading those 7 rides out over all of the MK mountains doesn't come across as unusual to me.

 

[BugsDaddy]

In MK riding a headliner 7 times a day, only taking into account the mountains as headliners, could be something like:

Splash - 2 rides
Thunder - 2 rides
Space - 2 rides
SDMT - 1 ride

I really don't understand what is excessive about that kind of touring. I'll grant I could be missing something here, but that doesn't seem like an unusual breakdown of headliner rides for a long MK day. Riding one attraction 7 times in a day with FP - yes, I could understand that being considered unusual, but spreading those 7 rides out over all of the MK mountains doesn't come across as unusual to me.

It is more possible in MK than any other park as they have more rides considered to be "headliners". That being said, I cannot imagine a scenario with small children that we would ride those rides multiple times in a day. Once, yes. But, FP+ or FP-, we would be one and done on those rides and exploring the rest of the park. I think this would also apply to infrequent or first time guests as well who want to see everything offered. Or people who don't care for coasters. Or a variety of other scenarios.

I can only speak to personal experience and the experience of some friends with a similar demographic but riding the headliners multiple times in a day has never been a priority.

 

[cakebaker]

In MK riding a headliner 7 times a day, only taking into account the mountains as headliners, could be something like:

Splash - 2 rides
Thunder - 2 rides
Space - 2 rides
SDMT - 1 ride

I really don't understand what is excessive about that kind of touring. I'll grant I could be missing something here, but that doesn't seem like an unusual breakdown of headliner rides for a long MK day. Riding one attraction 7 times in a day with FP - yes, I could understand that being considered unusual, but spreading those 7 rides out over all of the MK mountains doesn't come across as unusual to me.

I may have misunderstood, but I took it to mean he rode a particular headliner 7 times a day. The scenario you present isn't what I consider excessive and is quite doable now- On one of our days that we'll only be in the MK for 1/2 a day we have plans for SDMT, 2 rides on Splash and 2 on BTMRR. Not hard to do at all. Normally we wouldn't re-ride in the same day but my grandson is getting his first rides on the "big boy" rides this trip and we're figuring he'll want to do them more than once.

We have it in the plans to re-ride them anytime we're in the MK and it's not hard to do at all. If this is the kind of thing the poster was referring to, I'm not sure why he has an issue at all.

 

[Planogirl]

None of us know what the people who visit the parks think about their experiences and none of us know what future visitors will think either. I constantly see this bit that Disney must be doing everything right because attendance is high NOW but that isn't necessarily so.

As for coming attractions, we'll see how good those are when they actually materialize.

 

[Angel Ariel]

It is more possible in MK than any other park as they have more rides considered to be "headliners". That being said, I cannot imagine a scenario with small children that we would ride those rides multiple times in a day. Once, yes. But, FP+ or FP-, we would be one and done on those rides and exploring the rest of the park. I think this would also apply to infrequent or first time guests as well who want to see everything offered. Or people who don't care for coasters. Or a variety of other scenarios.

I can only speak to personal experience and the experience of some friends with a similar demographic but riding the headliners multiple times in a day has never been a priority.

Our only trips to Disney with a child were with DD when she was 8 months old and 15 months old. On the trip at 8 months old, we were with my 6 and 3 y/o nephews. We rode headliners more than once, because the boys wanted to ride headliners more than once. DD was 8 months old, we used FP and RS, and she was just happy to be wherever we were whether we were on a ride or not.

On the 15 month old trip, we were with DH's family who hadn't been to Disney in over 20 years. We rode multiple things more than once, including headliners, again because ofmultigenerational aspect of the trip and meeting the needs of everyone on the trip. DD was again just happy to be wherever we were.

Now I will grant, we have a very chilled out DD. She's pretty happy wherever she is, and she wasn't mobile on either of those two trips. I expect our trip to DLR this year will be a bit different. I'm really hoping she'll finally be walking by then, she's getting close. But I do also expect that DH and I will ride headliners more than once because we enjoy them ourselves. I highly doubt I'm only going to ride the new Thunder Mountain there, or Indy, or Radiator Springs, just once..because the trip is just as much for us and my parents as it is for her. Now don't get me wrong, we will be doing *plenty* for her as well. We're not going to spend all day every day riding headliners, and we'll have 6 days worth of tickets (2 3-day Armed Forces Salute tickets/person for the 3 of us)..we'll have plenty of time to get the multitude of family friendly rides in too

(Note - I don't say this to argue any point. You just said you couldn't imagine a scenario with small children where riding headliners multiple times would happen. I'm just providing examples from our own experience to illustrate it, not discount anyone else's experience.)

 

[BugsDaddy]

None of us know what the people who visit the parks think about their experiences and none of us know what future visitors will think either. I constantly see this bit that Disney must be doing everything right because attendance is high NOW but that isn't necessarily so.

As for coming attractions, we'll see how good those are when they actually materialize.

Disney does not have to do everything right. However, they are doing enough right where people continue to come. Even those who have expressed dissatisfaction with the product continue to use it.

 

[Ambear]

As for coming attractions, we'll see how good those are when they actually materialize.

And even then it wont mean much for whether disney is doing things right or not... I mean, whether an attraction is good or not will be highly personal. Like I didn't like the transformers ride when it came out, but it got a ton of hype and still draws long lines. So really, I can only hope I think the attractions are good and like them lol. However if they're truly bad, disney will do like they did with that horrible DCA ride, superstar limo.

 

[Planogirl]

Disney does not have to do everything right. However, they are doing enough right where people continue to come. Even those who have expressed dissatisfaction with the product continue to use it.

The point is that that kind of devotion isn't ironclad. It can take a very long time for people to become dissatisfied with any major company and I have complete faith that Disney keeps this in mind.

 

[Planogirl]

And even then it wont mean much for whether disney is doing things right or not... I mean, whether an attraction is good or not will be highly personal. Like I didn't like the transformers ride when it came out, but it got a ton of hype and still draws long lines. So really, I can only hope I think the attractions are good and like them lol. However if they're truly bad, disney will do like they did with that horrible DCA ride, superstar limo.

True. Disney used to be pretty consistent with their attractions though. I know that an enormous amount of Star Wars fans will be watching.

As for Transformers, I liked it personally. I particularly like the outdoor characters though.

 

[Ambear]

As for Transformers, I liked it personally. I particularly like the outdoor characters though.

I have to see these in person! Watching them on youtube is completely entertaining, especially the one bad robot... megatron or starscream I don't know which one, but he's funny hah.

 

[TheDisGuy]

And the cash register keeps ringing. People vote with their pocket book and right now, unless you have some different numbers to share, people are voting * overwhelmingly * for the current path. They don't only love the product, they are willing to go into debt, sacrifice other experiences and absorb price increases in order to go there. The fact of the matter is, those that think it all sucks are in such a minority that Disney does not care if you ever visit WDW again. If they did, they would cater to your wishes.

It's the absolutes that bother me. Well, I cannot get a FP for Test Track so now there is NOTHING to do. Really? Cmon. That truly sounds like an argument that a child would make out of disappointment.

Its funny that you would say absolutes bother you, when in the above statement you are using absolutes that you have no way to support them with.

You don't know what disney cares about.

You don't know how people are voting with their pockets, in fact we have seen higher growth in other tourist options. While attendance at WDW is increasing, if attendance at other locations is increasing faster, perhaps that says that people aren't as satisfied with WDW as you seem to think ?

You really have no way of knowing what "people" think, but you like to state it as if it is an absolute: "They don't only love the product, they are willing to go into debt..." You don't know what people are doing, you don't know if they like WDW more than something else. Heck I go into debt for a a lot of things, but just the fact of doing something doesn't mean I like it more than other things.

Its funny that you say Disney would cater to peoples wishes, it sure seems Disney has made changes to FP+ for instance that some of the "Super users" "Abusers" "Exploiters" etc asked for originally, ie: 4th+ FP availability. Does that mean that the original FP+ launch was a failure ? I mean, they changed it like a lot of people (or just a small vocal minority on the Dis) were asking for ... does that mean they care about us ... or not ? So why did Disney make changes ? Why didn't they just stick with the original design ? Maybe they do care ?

 

[Planogirl]

I have to see these in person! Watching them on youtube is completely entertaining, especially the one bad robot... megatron or starscream I don't know which one, but he's funny hah.

Megatron. He's a hoot.

 

[WillAustin]

Disney does not have to do everything right. However, they are doing enough right where people continue to come. Even those who have expressed dissatisfaction with the product continue to use it.

I think it's more to do with brand longevity and loyalty than anything they are doing right anymore. It still is somewhere I know I can spend money and if something goes wrong, they correct it, even if it's not as much fun as previous trips.

I think it's a huge stretch to expect people to stop coming to WDW because it might be less than it was before. People have been feeling overcharged and taken advantage of for years and it hasn't slowed down. The brand loyalty is very deep and I wouldn't expect that to change for a long time, regardless of guest satisfaction. There is enough turnover to cover those that are less than satisfied.

 

[BugsDaddy]

Its funny that you would say absolutes bother you, when in the above statement you are using absolutes that you have no way to support them with.

You don't know what disney cares about.

You don't know how people are voting with their pockets, in fact we have seen higher growth in other tourist options. While attendance at WDW is increasing, if attendance at other locations is increasing faster, perhaps that says that people aren't as satisfied with WDW as you seem to think ?

You really have no way of knowing what "people" think, but you like to state it as if it is an absolute: "They don't only love the product, they are willing to go into debt..." You don't know what people are doing, you don't know if they like WDW more than something else. Heck I go into debt for a a lot of things, but just the fact of doing something doesn't mean I like it more than other things.

Its funny that you say Disney would cater to peoples wishes, it sure seems Disney has made changes to FP+ for instance that some of the "Super users" "Abusers" "Exploiters" etc asked for originally, ie: 4th+ FP availability. Does that mean that the original FP+ launch was a failure ? I mean, they changed it like a lot of people (or just a small vocal minority on the Dis) were asking for ... does that mean they care about us ... or not ? So why did Disney make changes ? Why didn't they just stick with the original design ? Maybe they do care ?

Are you saying that people don't go into debt to go to Disney? Are you saying that people have not sacrificed going to other vacation locations in order to go to Disney? Are you saying that people have not willingly accepted price increases and still go to Disney?

I don't need "sources" to point out the obvious. Yes, these things are happening. This is not an opinion. This is fact. Show me any facts that dispute that claim. I want to hear your argument for the opposite point, that people are dissatisfied with the product to the extent that they are no longer going to Disney. Please.

How do you know that adding a 4th FP was a result of feedback from the discontented? Perhaps, just perhaps, when a new program with the scope of FP+ is rolled out, you do so in phases. You don't try to eat the elephant in one bite. Perhaps, the 4th FP addition was always part of the plan. Maybe there are still pieces of the plan that have not been rolled out yet. Maybe Disney did not consult with the masses for every part of every plan which they roll out. Maybe they have already gathered a lot of information on the desires of their guests and use that information on occasion to make decisions.

 

[BugsDaddy]

I think it's more to do with brand longevity and loyalty than anything they are doing right anymore. It still is somewhere I know I can spend money and if something goes wrong, they correct it, even if it's not as much fun as previous trips.

I think it's a huge stretch to expect people to stop coming to WDW because it might be less than it was before. People have been feeling overcharged and taken advantage of for years and it hasn't slowed down. The brand loyalty is very deep and I wouldn't expect that to change for a long time, regardless of guest satisfaction. There is enough turnover to cover those that are less than satisfied.

I don't agree that the majority of people in general feel taken advantage of when they go to Disney but don't disagree with your other points.

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

How do you know that adding a 4th FP was a result of feedback from the discontented? Perhaps, just perhaps, when a new program with the scope of FP+ is rolled out, you do so in phases. You don't try to eat the elephant in one bite. Perhaps, the 4th FP addition was always part of the plan. Maybe there are still pieces of the plan that have not been rolled out yet. Maybe Disney did not consult with the masses for every part of every plan which they roll out. Maybe they have already gathered a lot of information on the desires of their guests and use that information on occasion to make decisions.

I think that Disney, like many companies, does rely on guest feedback for a lot of what they decide or what direction they choose to take. I remember reading about Disney adding the option of the 4th FP based on guest feedback, so I searched and found this blog post from about a year ago pertaining to just this topic:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/04/mymagic-adding-even-more-magic-to-fastpass/

From the post:

As we’ve said from the beginning, MyMagic+ will continue to evolve over time with the aim of continuing to improve our guests’ experience with us and in response to feedback from our guests. Today’s news is another chapter of that story and we look forward to sharing more with you as we continue to roll out and refine MyMagic+. Continue checking the Disney Parks Blog for more details.


So, bringing it back to the topic of this thread, hopefully Disney will listen once again to the feedback they receive from this survey when they move ahead with any new pricing structure.

 

[Barnabe]

I think that Disney, like many companies, does rely on guest feedback for a lot of what they decide or what direction they choose to take. I remember reading about Disney adding the option of the 4th FP based on guest feedback, so I searched and found this blog post from about a year ago pertaining to just this topic:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/04/mymagic-adding-even-more-magic-to-fastpass/

From the post:

As we’ve said from the beginning, MyMagic+ will continue to evolve over time with the aim of continuing to improve our guests’ experience with us and in response to feedback from our guests. Today’s news is another chapter of that story and we look forward to sharing more with you as we continue to roll out and refine MyMagic+. Continue checking the Disney Parks Blog for more details.


So, bringing it back to the topic of this thread, hopefully Disney will listen once again to the feedback they receive from this survey when they move ahead with any new pricing structure.

I hope you're right. But the 4th FP+ cost Disney nothing. They don't have the capacity to allow guests to book it ahead of time so they just told people to use the kiosks

The tiered tickets and the price increases, on the other hand, is increased revenue. I really don't think guest feedback will will prevent Disney from increasing prices by at least 25%.