On the heels of AP and TiW increases...

[Marionnette]

...Disney has increased parking prices to $20/day. Offsite guests will need to factor in that extra $3/day into their budgets. Hmmmm, one less Mickey Bar each day should cover it.

Discussion on theme parks board here:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/20-dollars-for-parking-now-come-on-now.3453032/

 

[Praying Colonel]

Only $3/day, yes. But in terms of % it's a 17.6% increase.

The AP cost went up 14.5%.

Tables in Wonderland went up a whopping 50%.

How's your frog?

 

[Marionnette]

Only $3/day, yes. But in terms of % it's a 17.6% increase.

The AP cost went up 14.5%.

Tables in Wonderland went up a whopping 50%.

How's your frog?

The TiW increase was a shocker, but I guess that it proves what a rare value it was. Luckily, I bought mine last week. Same with the AP. I got some pixie dust when the CM at the ticket window allowed me to use my expired DVC voucher from 2014 (never redeemed due to my husband's health problems). I didn't even have to pay the difference between the cost of the voucher and the gate price of a PAP on that day. I'm feeling like I managed to dodge a huge bullet.

 

[Praying Colonel]

^Yes, we were planning on getting APs/TiW before our January cruise/WDW stay. But my employer decided to send me to Orlando in August for training, so we got them early. Turns out to be especially fortunate because it saved us $240.

 

[NJtoATL]

I just saw this

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disney-parks-consider-off-peak-030600215.html

 

[Marionnette]

I just saw this

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disney-parks-consider-off-peak-030600215.html

That idea was bandied about in some surveys that surfaced on the internet this past summer. At the time, I said that it was not a matter of IF Disney would do tiered pricing. It was only a matter of WHEN. "Gold-level" pricing for FL residents and DVC is just the tip of the iceberg. Just wait, charging more for weekend admission and high-attendance seasons is not too far from becoming a reality. They just had to get rid of that pesky "no-expiry" option on MYW tickets first.

 

[DVC California]

... I got some pixie dust when the CM at the ticket window allowed me to use my expired DVC voucher from 2014 (never redeemed due to my husband's health problems). I didn't even have to pay the difference between the cost of the voucher and the gate price of a PAP on that day. I'm feeling like I managed to dodge a huge bullet.

Uh-oh...Are you talking about the PAP with DVC discount? I didn't realize they expire. I bought a couple for trip that didn't happen and just stored them in the safe.

 

[Marionnette]

Uh-oh...Are you talking about the PAP with DVC discount? I didn't realize they expire. I bought a couple for trip that didn't happen and just stored them in the safe.

Yes. It was the one that they offered back in early 2014. They needed to be exchanged for an actual PAP by Dec 31, 2014. The CM "extended the deadline" for my voucher and then redeemed it for the actual PAP. I was prepared to pay the difference between what I had paid for the voucher and what a PAP cost at the time that I visited Disney (about $176), but ended up paying nothing more for it.

 

[dcfromva]

I just saw this

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disney-parks-consider-off-peak-030600215.html

Interesting article. Why do they charge more? Because there is plenty of demand (they have to close off admittance to some of the parks during the holidays). Still, I don't think this will do anything to improve the guest experience. So, basically it will cost more to go during crowded times.

 

[kristenrice]

We typically eat 3-4 TS meals on our 5-day trips and, as a family of 4, those meals would run us about $300 total. When we knew we'd get in two trips in a 12-month period, I would buy the TIW card because I knew we'd spend at least $500 over the two trips to make it worthwhile. There's no way I will for over $150 for it because we won't even come close to the $750 break even point. We don't drink regularly so we will stick to the 10% DVC discounts for as long as they are around and patronize the restaurants that accept it.

 

[kristenrice]

Interesting article. Why do they charge more? Because there is plenty of demand (they have to close off admittance to some of the parks during the holidays). Still, I don't think this will do anything to improve the guest experience. So, basically it will cost more to go during crowded times.

In addition, if your trip spans multiple "tiers", you must purchase the highest level that you will see during your trip. There was a discussion on WDWToday that mentioned that the proposed "seasons" were really limited on the "low" side. The kicker was that there was only 4 or 5 full-week spans during the entire calendar year that fell in the "low" season. Most of the weekends were one tier up from the weekdays, meaning you'd have to buy a higher-level ticket if you want to go on the weekends.

I think that the park prices have hit my breaking point. We have one more family trip planned for next fall, and after that, I think we will start to take non-park trips and just enjoy everything that our resort has to offer.

 

[disfanforlife]

I have some MYW tickets 5 and 7 days that I bought for 2 trips before price increases that I never used because we ended up buying APs instead. I wonder what will happen with them down the road when I do use them after a tiered system is in place. I bet I am not the only one who was extra tickets saved either.

 

[DawnM]

I don't think we will do Disney next year. The YES tickets are not really a deal anymore, and group rates aren't that great either. The regular price for the 5 of us for a 7 day hopper is over $2,000. That is just tickets. We have always done $2,000 max for a 10-12 day stay, including gas and dog sitting. I guess those days are long over.

Disney, see ya in 2017, maybe.

 

[AquaDame]

In addition, if your trip spans multiple "tiers", you must purchase the highest level that you will see during your trip. There was a discussion on WDWToday that mentioned that the proposed "seasons" were really limited on the "low" side. The kicker was that there was only 4 or 5 full-week spans during the entire calendar year that fell in the "low" season. Most of the weekends were one tier up from the weekdays, meaning you'd have to buy a higher-level ticket if you want to go on the weekends.

I think that the park prices have hit my breaking point. We have one more family trip planned for next fall, and after that, I think we will start to take non-park trips and just enjoy everything that our resort has to offer.

Too complicated for us I think. If/when we want to go again I'll sit down and price a couple different weeks - if the numbers aren't where I want I'll just back away slowly rather than spend time trying to make a square peg fit a round hole if its gone up too much in the meantime.

ADRs are complicated, now with FP+ rides are complicated and now they are even making tickets complicated. I need *something* to be easy...

 

[SUSIEQ]

I have some MYW tickets 5 and 7 days that I bought for 2 trips before price increases that I never used because we ended up buying APs instead. I wonder what will happen with them down the road when I do use them after a tiered system is in place. I bet I am not the only one who was extra tickets saved either.

Same here. Since Disney won't let you upgrade pre-MYW tickets, I'm wondering if they will let you upgrade MYW tickets if there is change to a tiered system.

 

[BCV2003]

Wow, I just purchased Tables in Wonderland last week for $100. It would not have been worth it at $150.

 

[Marionnette]

Same here. Since Disney won't let you upgrade pre-MYW tickets, I'm wondering if they will let you upgrade MYW tickets if there is change to a tiered system.

My guess would be NO. However, they will still honor those MYW tickets for the terms under which they were sold. You should still be able to enter any of the 4 existing theme parks with the tickets, hop if you have the hopping option and they will still expire 14 days following the first day of use unless you have one of the coveted no-expiry tickets.

On top of that, I would also expect that the MYW ticket would still be good for ANY day of the year, including peak times, since the ticket has no black out dates listed in its terms of use.

 

[cjnix29]

this tiered pricing thing is ridiculous....so that people can "afford" it better in the off season? Does anyone really think that they are going to make going in September any LESS than the current gate price?! Nope, they will just raise the prices on the high demand days!

 

[Marionnette]

this tiered pricing thing is ridiculous....so that people can "afford" it better in the off season? Does anyone really think that they are going to make going in September any LESS than the current gate price?! Nope, they will just raise the prices on the high demand days!

I wouldn't doubt that they might make it less expensive for the first year or so. That's what they did with MYW. They touted how affordable tickets became when you were able to do them "your way" by electing not to include no-expiry with your ticket. Then, within a couple of years, the cost of no-expiry soared and the base price of tickets went way up.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Too complicated for us I think. If/when we want to go again I'll sit down and price a couple different weeks - if the numbers aren't where I want I'll just back away slowly rather than spend time trying to make a square peg fit a round hole if its gone up too much in the meantime.

ADRs are complicated, now with FP+ rides are complicated and now they are even making tickets complicated. I need *something* to be easy...

This is how I feel and pretty much the reason why we cancelled plans to go to Disney this past May and are planning to go next year instead. For various reasons it just felt like it was all a bit too much to wrap my mind around at the time. I really feel for those folks that are planning their first WDW trip or "once in a lifetime" trip and aren't "in the know" with all that is needed to plan what would be viewed as an "accomplished" Disney World trip. The various changes that have occurred since our family's first trip in 2011 coupled with the steady price increases and slim discounts has been a lot for us to keep up with; and as much as we love Disney entertainment in terms of the brand, it is getting harder and harder to justify the cost of a Disney World vacation. Our upcoming trip will probably be our last for awhile. Our youngest DD will be 2 and still "free" in 2016, and 2016 will be the last year that we will only have two kids at "adult" pricing , so if there is a year for us to get our last Disney World 'fix' for awhile it was meant to be 2016. We will probably return before our 13 year old twins graduate from high school and the baby will be around 5 or 6 years old at that point which is a great age for a Disney World trip. We also want to check some other vacation destinations off our "to do list" before our twins graduate from high school as well.