So just why is Disney raising ticket prices so early

[Flyin2MCO]

Seems like a minor bump in prices this year....

Still glad I bought 10 day no-expiration Park Hoppers early last year!!

 

[k5thbeatle]

I agree that merchandise is a little more standardized...
I do have to admit that I was disappointed that they didn't have any 2011 Memorial Day pins. We were there on Memorial Day itself and asked a CM about it. She said they had some that they received in April, but they sold out immediately. Why would people buy a Memorial Day pin in April? They still had plenty of leftover Easter pins and even had some Father's Day and Flag Day pins. We like to collect pins that are specific to the actual dates and events we attend, so we were disappointed that they were sold out long before Memorial Day itself...

This is something that disappoints me too. Another example is the pins for the F&W festival. If you go towards the middle-end of the F&W fest many of the pins are sold out! I can't understand why they can't have enough available for guests who happen to visit later during these events.

 

[WDSearcher]

Nobody is asking you to say you agree, however, you can't even acknowledge something which has been brought up over and over and over by many people. That's my point. You paint this rosy picture on everything whenever someone says something even slightly negative. Where have you said negative things about Disney? I'd love to see it.

Sorry ... been away from the boards. Missed a few days.

I have disagreed with Disney on the closing of certain shows, the fact that they won't pony up money for parade updates, for doing away with Pirate and Princess parties. I don't like the value resorts -- I think they're big box themed Motel 8s, and have said so. I think they pack too many people into the hard-ticket parties and let too many inebriated people stumble their way around Epcot during F&W. I've said all of those things in various topics throughout the DIS. Do I generally find WDW an overwhelmingly positive experience? Yes. Do they do everything right? No. There are all sorts of people right here on this topic who can't find a positive thing to say about WDW. OK ... that's their problem. I'll argue the point with the ones who seem interesting to spar with and let the others talk about how they hate Iger or whatever. If you don't want to talk to me any more, you don't have to.

Uh, you were the one who is disagreeing on these points...

Takes two to tango.

No I don't because that's not the point. You said something about (and I'm paraphrasing here) Disney only changing the things they're selling because those things aren't selling. You may have been talking about something specific, I'm talking generally. If you're trying to say you need numbers to prove people are buying Disney shirts then I really don't know what to say. People ARE buying Disney shirts (as an example), you can see people wearing them.

I'm talking generally too. If you are willing to concede that Disney is a business, then you likely understand the concept that Disney is in it to make the best return possible for its shareholders. Stands to reason, then, that if some product or class of product is not selling up to "plan" that it will be replaced with something that is. You mention t-shirts. As I shop at WDW, I see a wide range of price points, designs, colors ... I see retro shirts, mod / 60s-style shirts, totally up-to-date character shirts, slogan shirts, logo shirts. I see polos, hoodies, sweatshirts, tanks, baby tees, kids shirts ... all in a multitude of designs, quality levels and prices. So I'm sorry if I'm so dense as to not be able to immediately see which specific type or style of t-shirts you miss that diminishes your opinion of Disney as a whole.

There are outlet malls every ten feet in Central Florida, and every one of them sells Disney stuff -- some of it fake, some of it real -- at rock bottom prices. Why, if it is a business, would Disney NOT have an appropriate line of cheap t-shirts to counter what people could buy at the outlets? Offer the cheap t-shirts at MK, you get that business instead of giving it to an outlet that's also selling bargain-price Hello Kitty or Shrek stuff. Keep those people shopping on property.

Maybe you're just ignoring the fact that they have standardized on many products. Again, plenty of people have mentioned it over the last couple of years. They've (essentially) gotten rid of all resort-specific and (in some cases) attraction-specific merchandise. Again, this has been brought up before in other areas. So I guess I'm just crazy again...

See ... this is the thing. I don't see what you see, and so therefore I must automatically think you're crazy. I don't. I'm trying to understand what it is that you're not seeing, and you haven't really been all that forthcoming with specific examples. You used to see ... I don't know ... hats? T-shirts? Snowglobes? Toys? with different resort or attraction logos on them, but don't any more. And you're disappointed in that. OK. I was never interested in those types of products, so I don't notice that they're gone. But I don't think you're crazy, and I never said that. I'm just asking you what it is you miss because clearly you're not seeing what you're looking for.

When I shop, I see the stuff I want to buy. I'm a happy shopper. That's not saying Disney is perfect -- that's saying that I find what I want. For the record, I find plenty of what I like to buy at Universal too. I've even bought souvenirs at Six Flags, Dollywood and SeaWorld. So perhaps my tastes are more easily met than yours; perhaps the number, variety and cost of the souvenirs in the shops are less a gauge of how much I'm getting for my vacation dollar than it is for you. I'm posing a different POV, that's all. Just as you're trying to get me to admit that I'm wrong, I'm trying to get you to say, "Hey ... I get where you're coming from, I just don't agree with you." But you keep defaulting back to me thinking everything is perfect. There's no compromise with you. If I don't see it, then I'm wrong. Period. If I'm happy with what I see in the shops, then I'm wrong. Period.

It's not a matter of whether you've noticed it happening. My point is you (and some others) act like those of us who acknowledge (or notice) these things are crazy for saying these things are going on. You defend every one of the things people talk about like this. I don't care if you haven't noticed, or don't care about, these things but it doesn't mean these things are not happening. When you ask for specifics--and people give them to you--you change the argument (what are the numbers, etc.).

You weren't giving me specfics, though. Aside from a vague mention of "t-shirts, toys, etc" you hadn't mentioned one specific item that you used to see and don't any more. You did here, finally, when you talked about resort-specific and ride-specific merchandise. And yes, now that you mention it, I have noticed that there is less of that. In my simple little brain, I took that to mean that either people were not interested in those items and they were replaced with items people were interested in, or that it was just part of normal merchandise attrition. I could be totally wrong.

Never said you mentioned they are perfect. However, I will say I've never seen you post anything negative about Disney and I've certainly never seen you agree with ANYONE who has said something negative about Disney no matter how trivial that would be. You might acknowledge something but then make an excuse for Disney doing it (ticket increases as one example). So, while you may not say they're perfect, you certainly act as if they are.

Sorry. I'm stating my opinions. I like trying to counter arguments. I enjoy the spot of devil's advocate. I also think that a lot of people look at Disney in a vacuum and not up against the world as a whole. And they believe that Disney should somehow not be affected by trends, economic conditions, or other real world circumstances that affect everyone else. For no other reason than "because they're Disney." To me, it's THOSE people who think Disney is perfect. They're holding up an ideal that no company can match.

I have no problem disagreeing about them but which changes would you say have been for the worst? I'm curious now.

• Sounds Dangerous, Narnia and Stitch rides.
• Cutting Fantasmic! to fewer nights.
• Choosing to not do hard closes on party nights.
• Cutting half the atmo entertainment from Epcot and not bringing it back.
• Turning Akershus into a princess venue and taking out the original smorgasboard.
• Closing Wonders of Life.
• Pretty much anything they've done to the Imagination pavilion.

Is that enough, or do you need more?

Also, search for posts made by you. In most of the posts, you are telling someone who is complaining about something (no matter how minor--like Duffy's foot) why Disney is not wrong for doing what they're complaining about. I'm not judging, I'm just saying...

If you go back and read those posts, you will seldom -- if ever -- find anyplace where I say, "No, I'm sorry, you're wrong." In most cases, I'm presenting an alternate side of the story -- a reason why that change might have been made that the OP isn't thinking about because the knee-jerk reaction is to be upset or angry or whatever about something. People come on here all the time and say, "This is stupid -- Disney is an idiot" without thinking, "I wonder what the reason behind this could possibly be". I'm presenting an alternate explanation. Many times, people say, "Oh ... I hadn't thought of that." Sometimes they call me an idiot.