Not sure $149 Disney After Hrs event is doing well... (ETA: reviews in 1st post)

[mom2rtk]

Sure but if you do the back of the napkin math real quick... if they run this event 50 times a year it's like .065% increase in profit (1000 PAID attendees per night and 25% margin)


I really think it's more of a testing grounds to see what they can get away with because up to this point they had not hit the ceiling.

I actually agree. I think more than anything this was a "how far can we go" test.

I'm encouraged that they are being told they went too far.

 

[kittyab]

Nobody needs to attend DAH. Any cost considered obscene by the potential purchaser is a bad choice for that individual.

Disagree. I don't believe seasonal party prices will increase dramatically, or even that DAH is any kind of test for those.

If all the ticket price included were ice cream and soda, I might agree. Twenty-five attractions and several characters, with free cooling refreshments, are worth the price to several posters here, and at least a few hundred travelers in or arriving in Orlando over the six week limited run.

It's completely conceivable that the poster you quoted is aware the cost is per person, just like any other park or event ticket.

You can disagree all you want, but it is still an obscene amount of money. Which my family refuses to pay.

 

[mom2rtk]

You can disagree all you want, but it is still an obscene amount of money. Which my family refuses to pay.

Apparently a bunch of others refuse to pay it too.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

Has Disney ever cancelled something after it was announced and sold? I know they've dropped things after the announced scheduled dates but I honestly can't recall a time where they've cancelled something and issued refunds based on lack of interest.

Yes there was an event within the premium food and wine a few years ago where a perk was an after hours party that was then cancelled on some days. I do not know though what happened to people who had bought it.

 

[Slapshot1188]

I would be in favor of it if I thought it meant they would upgrade a park expansion instead of cutting back, as seems to be the standard these days.

Since they just made a bunch of cuts in a time of record profit and attendance, I'm afraid I don't have faith that more profits directly correlates to more spending in the parks.

As margins are higher now then they have ever been during Iger's tenure that you be a safe bet!

 

[Kimberly9701]

I would be in favor of it if I thought it meant they would upgrade a park expansion instead of cutting back, as seems to be the standard these days.

Since they just made a bunch of cuts in a time of record profit and attendance, I'm afraid I don't have faith that more profits directly correlates to more spending in the parks.

And that is directly related to my question earlier!
I didn't notice anything different in September than I had any previous trips.
Has something happened since then? Am I to expect something worse in December of this year?

You can disagree all you want, but it is still an obscene amount of money. Which my family refuses to pay.

From your photo it looks like you stay at GF. To some people- who choose Pop etc, a GF stay is an obscene amount of money.
But you probably see the value in it. Which is why you'll spend 5x more on your resort than someone at Pop would.

Value is seen on an individual basis.
A lot of people staying at a "value" resort can afford to stay at a Deluxe..they just don't see the value in doing so. And Disney has no problem filling Deluxe rooms, so someone not choosing to stay there is not hurting that resort at all.

There is no blanket "obscene" amount.

 

[mom2rtk]

And that is directly related to my question earlier!
I didn't notice anything different in September than I had any previous trips.
Has something happened since then? Am I to expect something worse in December of this year?

The cuts I'm talking about are fairly recent:

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/02/break...ncial-strangle-hold-on-domestic-disney-parks/

 

[Kimberly9701]

The cuts I'm talking about are fairly recent:

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/02/break...ncial-strangle-hold-on-domestic-disney-parks/

It's oddly blocked on my computer here apparently lol. I'll have to read it later at home.

 

[Slapshot1188]

It's oddly blocked on my computer here apparently lol. I'll have to read it later at home.

Here you go (amazing after record margin and $3,000,000,000 profit...):


Shanghai Disneyland is behind schedule and over budget, so Disney Parks will be looking to shave some money off their operational budget by cutting labor hours at both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.

According to inside sources, the Disneyland Resort saw a 20% cut in labor costs from non-profit locations starting at the beginning of the month, this includes positions such as attractions, guest relations, custodial, entertainment, and more. Walt Disney World will see similar cuts starting this week, such as the cut of front desk curbside greeters at all resorts. All front desk and concierge cast members will also only be offered only up to 32 hours a week once the cuts are in effect. Other departments will have similar restrictions, but we could not confirm a complete list.

Entertainment cuts are coming as well, such as the removal of the 2nd Fantasmic! show on evenings until Easter week and only one nightly performance of the Main Street Electrical Parade through the entire month (a month which is typically quite busy thanks to Spring Break and Easter). Other entertainment cuts have been rumored, such as various characters meet and greet experiences being permanently removed, but none are confirmed at this time.

This isn’t the first shakeup Disney has made since the Shanghai project financially got out of hand. Just a few weeks ago there was amassive shakeup at Walt Disney Imagineering in an attempt to prevent such projects from falling apart again. However, these new changes affect cast members on the much lower end of the pay scale, many of which count on the longer hours in these seasons to make a decent living. Many have voiced concerns over the cuts and that they may have to look for work elsewhere in order to pay their bills.

Disney has made no public statement on the cuts as of yet.

 

[Keyser]

I'm still seeing this as overpriced for the average traveler, but I can at least see the reasoning behind people purchasing it. And, some of my initial reaction was thinking that this was just for 3 hours after the park closed - I did not realize that this did not require a separate admission to MK, and that you got in several hours early (early enough to enjoy the fireworks/MSEP).

People purchase tickets to concerts and events all the time are in this price range. For example, Cirque du Soliel at Disney has tickets in the ~$100 range. I know lots of people regularly pay more than $150/ticket for tickets to our college football team's games. I haven't been to NYC in several years, but I bet Broadway shows average more than $100 now (and I know the good seats at big shows are way over $150). Each of these is just a few hours of entertainment, but people regularly decide "that's worth it".

The point is, if you told me: "I have an event where you'll get to watch a parade and fireworks, ride some rides (with crowds), then have walk-on rides for 3 hours, plus have free drinks and ice cream.", and then told me that experience on its own would cost $150/person, that doesn't feel out of line with what people pay regularly for these other events.

As someone coming for a multi-day visit with multi-day tickets, the idea of spending that much for just a few extra hours in the park, even with low crowds, it does not seem worth it (I did the E-ride nights way back when, and that really did seem worth it!). But, if you treat it as a totally stand-alone event (maybe for a person there for a convention, say, or someone else doing a one-time event), it's not completely out of line.

That's not to say that they are not degrading the experience of everyone else by offering this (e.g. by not extending hours like they usually have). But, I can certainly see the rationale in someone being willing to pay it.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's oddly blocked on my computer here apparently lol. I'll have to read it later at home.

I know, I hate when work interferes with my DIS!

Try this:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/budget-cuts-at-walt-disney-world.3484299/

 

[Slapshot1188]

That's not to say that they are not degrading the experience of everyone else by offering this (e.g. by not extending hours like they usually have). But, I can certainly see the rationale in someone being willing to pay it.

Agreed. I can see it attracting certain people... I just hate the concept that they are cutting general hours vs prior years when attendance is at all time highs in order to make time for things like this. When crowds go up (and you raise prices significantly) you should increase general hours not decrease them...

 

[Kimberly9701]

Here you go (amazing after record margin and $3,000,000,000 profit...):


Shanghai Disneyland is behind schedule and over budget, so Disney Parks will be looking to shave some money off their operational budget by cutting labor hours at both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.

According to inside sources, the Disneyland Resort saw a 20% cut in labor costs from non-profit locations starting at the beginning of the month, this includes positions such as attractions, guest relations, custodial, entertainment, and more. Walt Disney World will see similar cuts starting this week, such as the cut of front desk curbside greeters at all resorts. All front desk and concierge cast members will also only be offered only up to 32 hours a week once the cuts are in effect. Other departments will have similar restrictions, but we could not confirm a complete list.

Entertainment cuts are coming as well, such as the removal of the 2nd Fantasmic! show on evenings until Easter week and only one nightly performance of the Main Street Electrical Parade through the entire month (a month which is typically quite busy thanks to Spring Break and Easter). Other entertainment cuts have been rumored, such as various characters meet and greet experiences being permanently removed, but none are confirmed at this time.

This isn’t the first shakeup Disney has made since the Shanghai project financially got out of hand. Just a few weeks ago there was amassive shakeup at Walt Disney Imagineering in an attempt to prevent such projects from falling apart again. However, these new changes affect cast members on the much lower end of the pay scale, many of which count on the longer hours in these seasons to make a decent living. Many have voiced concerns over the cuts and that they may have to look for work elsewhere in order to pay their bills.

Disney has made no public statement on the cuts as of yet.

I know, I hate when work interferes with my DIS!

Try this:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/budget-cuts-at-walt-disney-world.3484299/

Was there 2 Fantasmic showings before that time last year? And was attendance full for both?
When we were there in September there was only 1. I know during the summer is usually 2 though.
I've only been to WDW once during the summertime in the past 15 years..I avoid it at all costs! If it wasn't for taking my niece and nephew in 2008 I would have still avoided it. My friends and I always went during F&W..majority of time spent in Epcot and MK was evenings only..we would have jumped on the $149 in a heartbeat during those times for sure.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

1) I'm not sure about that. Even at 1000 sold, that's $150,000 in extra, unexpected revenue a night. If they get to 3000, or 10,000, that's a lot of added revenue for a reasonably small cost.

But how much profit are they making? How much does it cost to keep the park open for 3 hours with 27 attractions including character meets open? Or are you assuming that they would have opened the park until 1 or 2 am for the general public if they weren't having these events?

But if you have a one day pass you are already spending $110. I don't consider $40 an obscene amount to get 3 hours in a nearly empty park. Also, you get ice cream and beverages and while its not super exciting, with WDW prices its pretty easy to blow through $40 worth of that stuff in 3 hours.

If we were going to buy one day tickets, we would stay at the park for as long as we can. So I would rather be in parks for 12 or 13 hours than 6, even if 3 were low crowds.

I would be in favor of it if I thought it meant they would upgrade a park expansion instead of cutting back, as seems to be the standard these days.

Since they just made a bunch of cuts in a time of record profit and attendance, I'm afraid I don't have faith that more profits directly correlates to more spending in the parks.

Considering the new images coming out of Toy Story Land look scaled down, I believe you.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/16/disney-worlds-149-experiment-is-a-flop-for-now.aspx

 

[kittyab]

And that is directly related to my question earlier!
I didn't notice anything different in September than I had any previous trips.
Has something happened since then? Am I to expect something worse in December of this year?

From your photo it looks like you stay at GF. To some people- who choose Pop etc, a GF stay is an obscene amount of money.
But you probably see the value in it. Which is why you'll spend 5x more on your resort than someone at Pop would.

Value is seen on an individual basis.
A lot of people staying at a "value" resort can afford to stay at a Deluxe..they just don't see the value in doing so. And Disney has no problem filling Deluxe rooms, so someone not choosing to stay there is not hurting that resort at all.

There is no blanket "obscene" amount.

We are DVC owners, otherwise we would not stay there. This thread is about a over price party not accommodations. That could be a separate topic to itself.

 

[Slapshot1188]

Was there 2 Fantasmic showings before that time last year? And was attendance full for both?
When we were there in September there was only 1. I know during the summer is usually 2 though.
I've only been to WDW once during the summertime in the past 15 years..I avoid it at all costs! If it wasn't for taking my niece and nephew in 2008 I would have still avoided it. My friends and I always went during F&W..majority of time spent in Epcot and MK was evenings only..we would have jumped on the $149 in a heartbeat during those times for sure.

Spring Break and Easter are some of the busiest times of year...
So yeah, they cut hours and attractions (shows etc..) during level 9 and 10 crowd days.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

So was I supposed to notice an impact of the cuts on our trip last weekend? We didn't.

Or are we "supposed" to see them in mid-Aug? By our W&D trip in Nov?

 

[Kimberly9701]

We are DVC owners, otherwise we would not stay there. This thread is about a over price party not accommodations. That could be a separate topic to itself.

It is not off topic at all. It is directly related to claiming something as "too much money" or "obscene" or however you wish to classify it.

A sale is in essence - A transfer of emotions.

So because of this everyone's perceived value and willingness to pay depends on that individual's emotions.

#ontopic

 

[kittyab]

It is not off topic at all. It is directly related to claiming something as "too much money" or "obscene" or however you wish to classify it.

A sale is in essence - A transfer of emotions.

So because of this everyone's perceived value and willingness to pay depends on that individual's emotions.

#ontopic

We became DVC owners so we could afford coming to Disney more often. Regardless where my accommodations are, I have every right to say $149 for extra hours party is obscene.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

We became DVC owners so we could afford coming to Disney more often. Regardless where my accommodations are, I have every right to say $149 for extra hours party is obscene.

And someone else can think that staying at GF is obscene price-wise -- DVC points or not.

We just stayed in a 3BR theme park view at BLT for the Dark Side race weekend with our DVC points. CRAZY, right?!?

It's all subjective.