Orlando Sentinel: Disney seeking more profits out of long-term visitors

[mcd2745]

I have been saying this for a while now.

It's all about value. When the value for a specific guest errodes, he/she will begin to look elsewhere. Sometimes it's just wasting time on the internet. Sometimes you find a 12 night cruise (and all expenses) for less than your 8 night castmember stay the year before.

In our case, our little Disney group of 8 will be filling Royal Caribbean's pockets (and 4 suites for 12 nights in the Caribbean) this December instead of Disneyworld.

Disney says....that's OK.....we will still get plenty of new-bees. So much for returning the loyalty of loyal guests.

I'm sure they prefer the newbies, as they are more likely to pay rack rates and probably buy more souveneirs/merchandise.

Next month will be our last trip to WDW for a while. With my DS turning 10 next year, the price would jump for us anyway, add in the price increases and I agree, the value just won't be there. We are doing a 5-night Disney Cruise next year, but instead of spending the days before/after the cruise at WDW...we are planning to spend them at Universal & Seaworld (and possibly Legoland). After that, it could be many years before the next Disney vacation of any kind. Cruises could very well become our norm.