Ticket price increase coming at Walt Disney World!

[rteetz]

I'm starting to think Disney could jack prices 50% across the board, and the crowds would still come.

Definitely but attendance would drop hard.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Definitely but attendance would drop hard.

It would drop but drop hard, I'm not so sure. I think people may just cut back on some extras. Deluxe hotels would get crushed but mods and values would be booked at capacity. And local non Disney hotels would likely see record low # of vacancies.

 

[dlavender]

I'm starting to think Disney could jack prices 50% across the board, and the crowds would still come.

Last year I would have said you are crazy.

This year I think you might be right. I remember the uproar that existed on these boards at the last hike. Numerous "Disney has finally hit my threshold" type posts. This year we have two threads with minimal chatter. This means another 15% next year...

 

[rteetz]

It would drop but drop hard, I'm not so sure. I think people may just cut back on some extras. Deluxe hotels would get crushed but mods and values would be booked at capacity. And local non Disney hotels would likely see record low # of vacancies.

Are you sure about that? Mods cost around $225-$250 right now. No way is the majority of people paying for that at a 50% increase. Even values would see a hit. It's hard to justify Value prices during peak times right now. Increase that by 50% and no way.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Last year I would have said you are crazy.

This year I think you might be right. I remember the uproar that existed on these boards at the last hike. Numerous "Disney has finally hit my threshold" type posts. This year we have two threads with minimal chatter. This means another 15% next year...

I don't believe most of the posts claiming their threshold has been hit. Just temporary venting.

 

[rteetz]

Last year I would have said you are crazy.

This year I think you might be right. I remember the uproar that existed on these boards at the last hike. Numerous "Disney has finally hit my threshold" type posts. This year we have two threads with minimal chatter. This means another 15% next year...

If attendance continues to decline I'm not so sure. The big thing to watch this year is in park spending. If attendance keeps decreasing will spending start to decrease at some point?

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Are you sure about that? Deluxe coast around $225-$250 right now. No way is the majority of people paying for that at a 50% increase. Even values would see a hit. It's hard to justify Value prices during peak times right now. Increase that by 50% and no way.

I think you meant mods cost 225-250

 

[rteetz]

I don't believe most of the posts claiming their threshold has been hit. Just temporary venting.

Yes and no. Disney ideally wants higher guest spending and higher attendance. They had that in 2015 and parts of 2016. Now they keep increasing and are seeing a decline in attendance but still higher spending because of increased costs. That threshold in my opinion was that point in 2015-16.

 

[rteetz]

I think you meant mods cost 225-250

Yes you are correct.

 

[mab2012]

I have a hunch people really don't care about the overall increase or decrease, but they do care greatly about what happened to the price of the ticket they would need themselves on their next trip.

Well, I can only speak for myself. But my next trip, and the one after that, and possibly one in between are already paid for. I purchased three Gold APs in January, and should actually save money on the fourth as a result of the recent increase, thanks to price bridging. After that we will likely take a lengthy break from Disney, more because we have other places to go than due to ticket costs. But if we really wanted to save on whatever trip we might eventually take after the APs expire, we could still purchase Canadian Resident tickets, which were not impacted by the increase (or the new expiry dates).

So the ticket I need for my next trip actually decreased slightly, and there is no impact on any other ticket I might buy for the foreseeable future. And yet I still think the overall increase, and the cumulative impact of increases over several years, is beyond absurd. If I had to pay current full price for a single annual trip, I don't think I could justify it.

 

[mab2012]

I know Silver AP's also went up.
So, Platinum, Gold, and Silvers all went up.
I'm not sure about Weekday, Epcot, or Waterpark AP's.

MG

I think, but cannot be sure, that Waterpark APs went up too. I seem to recall that they were $99 the last time I looked. $125 now. But there might have been an increase in between.

 

[mab2012]

There is just a limit & Disney management doesn't seem to understand that.

Oh, I think they understand it very well; they haven't found the limit yet, and they know it.

I agree but I think it's coming to the point where Disney is starting to care whether they lose your business or not. They don't want attendance to decrease and if attendance is decreasing that means people aren't willing to take your spot like before.

I disagree with this. They want your business, but only if you're willing to spend at least as much as the next guy in line. And they're not the least bit bothered by decreasing attendance... yet.

Many years ago, way back in my grade 11 economics class, I learned about price/profit maximization. It's a pretty simple concept. As a business, you want to price your products so as to make the most money possible on the smallest number of units. Below that point, you might sell more units, but your costs are higher and you're leaving money on the table. Above that point, you make a nice big profit on each unit, but not enough to make up for the lost volume. Again, simple concept, but usually not so simple for businesses to accurately identify that point (and of course there are many factors other than price that can influence sales).

As of their most recent quarterly report, WDW is seeing increased overall profit on decreased park attendance. Fewer guests are attending, but those who do attend are spending more. In other words, they have not yet found the top of that price/profit curve. And that is the only number they care about. They will continue to increase prices until they see a drop in overall profit, not attendance. And then they'll stop increasing, at least until profit comes back up. They might even cut prices, or offer discounts. And all of those people who said "Disney has lost me, I'm never coming back" will say "hey look, Disney's offering a great deal, we should go". Or 90% of them will, anyway. Never mind that they're still paying more than they might have 5 years ago, when they swore they were done. Because people have short memories, and they love a "deal". So it's really a no-lose game for Disney. They make more money now, and if they finally find the tipping point in that curve, they'll just reverse course, and people will forget.

I'm not at all arguing in favour of the price increases, just trying to shed light on why price increases in the face of decreasing attendance might still make sense. Like I said a couple of posts ago, I think the current pricing is absurd, and they probably really have found the tipping point for my family, at least on full price, single trip tickets. But until that overall profit number drops, my individual choice doesn't matter.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, I can only speak for myself. But my next trip, and the one after that, and possibly one in between are already paid for. I purchased three Gold APs in January, and should actually save money on the fourth as a result of the recent increase, thanks to price bridging. After that we will likely take a lengthy break from Disney, more because we have other places to go than due to ticket costs. But if we really wanted to save on whatever trip we might eventually take after the APs expire, we could still purchase Canadian Resident tickets, which were not impacted by the increase (or the new expiry dates).

So the ticket I need for my next trip actually decreased slightly, and there is no impact on any other ticket I might buy for the foreseeable future. And yet I still think the overall increase, and the cumulative impact of increases over several years, is beyond absurd. If I had to pay current full price for a single annual trip, I don't think I could justify it.

Not everyone can afford to buy several trips ahead. For some buying for just the next trip is already a stretch (especially if they are buying for a full family). And of course I'm sure you know not everyone lives in Canada and is eligible for that offer.

Oh, I think they understand it very well; they haven't found the limit yet, and they know it.



I disagree with this. They want your business, but only if you're willing to spend at least as much as the next guy in line. And they're not the least bit bothered by decreasing attendance... yet.

And you know that..... how? I guarantee Disney wants per guest spending up AND attendance up. I'd lay serious money on it.

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

Oh, I think they understand it very well; they haven't found the limit yet, and they know it.

They want your business, but only if you're willing to spend at least as much as the next guy in line. And they're not the least bit bothered by decreasing attendance... yet.

They will continue to increase prices until they see a drop in overall profit, not attendance. And then they'll stop increasing, at least until profit comes back up.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Here is the correct answer. It sucks, but it is absolutely what is going on.

 

[OldsDr]

19% increase on 10 day!?

That's pretty harsh.

Everyone who didn't book the Riverboat Ice Cream Social for $70 is to blame for this. It's really our fault.

have to do something to make APs look like a good deal again.

 

[mab2012]

Not everyone can afford to buy several trips ahead. For some buying for just the next trip is already a stretch (especially if they are buying for a full family). And of course I'm sure you know not everyone lives in Canada and is eligible for that offer.

You missed my point completely. The poster I was responding to was suggesting that nobody really cared about the increases, except insofar as it impacted their next trip. I was making the point that it does not impact my next trip at all, or any trip I'll be taking in the foreseeable future, but I still think the pricing is absurd.

ETA: I guess the poster I was responding to was you. Still managed to miss my point. Maybe I missed yours too.

And you know that..... how? I guarantee Disney wants per guest spending up AND attendance up. I'd lay serious money on it.

They raised prices. Significantly. That's not the action of a company that is worried about sales volume.

 

[mom2rtk]

They raised prices. Significantly. That's not the action of a company that is worried about sales volume.

Unless it's the action of a company that doesn't think those prices will impact sales volume.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I don't believe most of the posts claiming their threshold has been hit. Just temporary venting.

I think the declining attendance disapproves that though. There are people that have stopped going.

 

[dlavender]

have to do something to make APs look like a good deal again.

I guess. They definitely shortened the gap between AP and 10 day pricing.

It's interesting how they tiered the increase. From 2 day to 10 day the increases were:
Total % Per Day
$-3.22 -1.5% $-1.61
$20.24 6.55% $6.75
$47.92 13.84% $11.98
$53.25 14.71% $10.65
$58.57 15.49% $9.76
$63.9 16.22% $9.13
$63.9 15.79% $7.99
$63.9 15.38% $7.10
$63.9 15.00% $6.39

So they must have found that the 7 day ticket was the pinnacle. That was the most popular. After that, it falls off, percentage wise.

They must have found that consumers from day 2-3 would be dissuaded if the increase was too high, but from 4-7, game on. Those people are booking packages, and are probably more resilient to this type of increase. They can "hide" that 14-16% increase in package costs. Not so much on the 2-3 day crowd.

After staring it down more, it still seems so steep.

ETA Per Day Increase

 

[MommaBerd]

Seeing those numbers, it *is* pretty staggering! I guarantee nowhere else has raised prices that much...maybe the NFL?