Ticket Prices Increasing June 12th!

[d-r]

Is there a reason to why Disney can't keep Ticket Prices the same?

Somebody's got to pay for "free" dining and "free" bus rides to the airport. By charging more for tickets they can pass some of those costs on to people who don't benefit from those perks and even it out.

 

[purple figment]

I have a question about upgrading - I have three ticket MYW package in September. I called today to upgrade two of them to Annual Passes before the price increase, but they told me that I could only do all three tickets over the phone. If I wanted to upgrade only two, I'd have to wait until I got to the parks, but then it'd be after the price increase. Is that true? (the phone rep got some other info wrong and didn't know about the increase so I'm not sure if what she told me was right) Thanks

Yes, this time the CM is correct. Everyone on your package has to have the same tickets until you check into the resort. It is only afteryou check in that the tickets can be customized for each person.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Somebody's got to pay for "free" dining and "free" bus rides to the airport. By charging more for tickets they can pass some of those costs on to people who don't benefit from those perks and even it out.

i always said free dining is not "free" have i not?

 

[DisMomAmy]

I wasn't quite ready to do it yet, but I shelled out $2200 last night for an AP for myself (through Disney) and three 10 day hopper/WP & more/non-expiring tickets for the rest of my family through Undercover Tourist.

I wasn't expecting to have to buy them until late July but now I have our tickets for our next two family trips, my solo trip in 2012 and enough waterpark visits for several years!!

 

[fla4fun]

Disney banks on people like you holding that line of thinking to keep these increases more palatable. Every year, rain or shine, they do an icrease, usually twice. They do this becasue they are the industry leader, they know they can and people will continue to pay. The mistake is in thinking Disney wants higher numbers, they would prefer fewer people and a higher profit margin on every head that comes through the turnstiles.

At a certain point, the entertainment value can never be recouped based on the cost. There simply arent enough vacation hours available in the day to make it a great value, although many will argue the opposite.

Well, they don't usually raise the prices twice, but I can think of two or three times it's happened.

I think it also has a lot to do with who is paying the increase. If they increase the resort rooms, then only people who stay on site pay the increase, and guests have the option to stay off property when the room rates exceed their comfort level. However, if they raise ticket prices, everyone who goes to Disney has to pay the increase. There are very few ways around it if you want to visit Disney's parks (time share tours will still offer hefty discounts - if you're brave). Even if you go through a discount broker like UT, UT will have to pay higher prices for their wholesale tickets, and will have to pass that along to their customers (once they have depleted their current inventory of course). This leaves Disney free to tweek the packages and room deals to make it look like it's saving you lots of cash if you stay on site, while still getting increased revenue across the board.

They are getting pretty close to the comfort line for me on the AP's. I'm sure one of these days I'll have to drop back to a seasonal instead of the 365 AP. I'm just hoping they don't increase the prices again in August, since mine doesn't expire until November.

 

[LilyWDW]

Is there any way to estimate what UT new rates will be with the increased ticket prices? I'm not going until Oct, and hadn't really decided what kind of tickets I wanted to buy yet! I thought I was going to have more time!

No way to really know. The reason they don't increase their prices is because they usually still have stock left that THEY bought at a lower price. Once that stock is gone and they are selling the tickets they had to buy at their new price, the cost to you will increase.

 

[1153rsmith]

I went to UT last night, thanks to this thread and a Mousesavers email, and got the rest of our 10 hopper wpm no expire tickets for our September trip. I had hoped to wait a couple more months, but saving $40+ per ticket changed my mind.

Now, if September would just get here!

 

[OhioDisneyDad]

Thanks for posting this. It really helped me to decide to go ahead and book our Xmas trip for this year - AT UNIVERSAL!

It's just a much better deal and we get unlimited express passes, early admission and a beautiful hotel and larger room. Plus the quality of the dining options are better. I'd rather pay for a good meal than have to wait and wonder if "free" dining will be extended. For example, I liked Le Cellier but it's NOT worth two credits. Plus, I wasn't impressed by our last Xmas trip to WDW - very limited decorations. The one exception is the Osborne Lights.

We'll probably go back to WDW but it won't be as often and we won't stay on site. Until WDW ups their game the cost vs. value just isn't there - especially with a tween and teen.

 

[disneysplash]

I had planned on buying my tickets at the park when we arrive later this month and was going to pay for them with Disney gift cards. Does anyone know if I can order and pay for them online with the gift cards?

I also have a lot of gift card I wanted to use for annual passes. I called they can only take two over the phone and none online. Guess I will pay the extra $20 per person.

 

[doconeill]

Another question for Cheshire Figment

We've paid for our trip scheduled in July. Based on board recs I was planning to wait to add park hoppers later. If I add after June 12th, will I pay just the new rate of $55 per or will that change my base MYW ticket as well & I'll have to pay the difference between my package MYW ticket & the new June 12th MYW ticket as well as the park hopper fee.

Just want to make sure I'd only be in for the $55 park hopper increase per ticket & not a $55 + $17 for adult 6-day ticket difference and $21 for child 6-day ticket.

Hope my question makes sense! Just want to make sure adding park hopper doesn't push my MYW base tickets into June 12th prices as well.

THANKS!!!

As far as I know, if you change your package, you would likely be subject to the new rates (unless you did it today).

If you wait until after checkin, and use the ticket at least once, you'd only have to pay the then current park hopper price ($55+tax), and not the difference in old and new ticket prices.

I have a question about upgrading - I have three ticket MYW package in September. I called today to upgrade two of them to Annual Passes before the price increase, but they told me that I could only do all three tickets over the phone. If I wanted to upgrade only two, I'd have to wait until I got to the parks, but then it'd be after the price increase. Is that true? (the phone rep got some other info wrong and didn't know about the increase so I'm not sure if what she told me was right) Thanks

In a package, all tickets must remain the same. Once you check in and receive the tickets, you can then upgrade each ticket as you wish. It would be post-increase, but if you use the ticket at least once, then you only have to pay the then-current difference between the ticket you have and the ticket you want (i.e. $55+tax for PH or WPFM, $8+tax/day for additional days, etc.), and not the difference of the original ticket price and the new ticket.

 

[doconeill]

I also have a lot of gift card I wanted to use for annual passes. I called they can only take two over the phone and none online. Guess I will pay the extra $20 per person.

Yes, in certain situations there is a limit to the number of payment methods per transaction. This is actually quite common in retail.

 

[Trying to Plan]

So I have skimmed the thread but don't see what is on my mind...maybe cause we don't know the answers.....Anyway, here's my question.

If they raise the price now, will they do so again on tickets in Aug or just possibly raise the room rates?

We are back from our first trip and decided on Day 5 we were booking again for 2012. Planning to write a short trip report soon!!

 

[doconeill]

So I have skimmed the thread but don't see what is on my mind...maybe cause we don't know the answers.....Anyway, here's my question.

If they raise the price now, will they do so again on tickets in Aug or just possibly raise the room rates?

We are back from our first trip and decided on Day 5 we were booking again for 2012. Planning to write a short trip report soon!!

There is no way to know. The people who make the decisions do not consult with the DISboards first. (Lord knows they should...)

It would be very unlikely to have two increases so close together.

But people seem to forget that there was no rule that said increases had to be in August. That's when they've happened for the last 5 or so years, yes...but before that it was pretty much any time...

 

[perpetualplanner]

We are leaving the 19th for WDW and were planning on upgrading 5 day hoppers to DVC AP's. Is there any way to do this before the increase in price? We have 4 5day hoppers to upgrade. Is there any way to buy a portion of them now and then use all of the tickets toward an upgrade? The price is only going up $20 a ticket but that's still money I'd rather spend elsewhere.

TIA

 

[CindyCan]

So with APs going up $20.00 is it still smart to get tickets through UT and then use them once and bridge them to an AP?

We are going in November for our first time as DVC members. We have 2 adults and 2 adult kids. I was going to get 4 six day park hoppers through UT and then upgrade them at the parks for DVC APs. Should I just go ahead and get DVC APs now before the price goes up or get the MYW park hoppers thgouth UT? Which would be the better deal now?

I don't think anyone answered this, and I have the same question. If I plan on buying tickets from UT, and then upgrading them to APs after we enter the park the first day in August, is it beneficial to buy them from UT now?

In other words, will Disney treat the passes as current (August) gate price when upgrading them?

I'm trying to figure out which tickets to get to maximize my savings! With 5 "adults" the savings really do make a difference.

 

[NancyIL]

I don't think anyone answered this, and I have the same question. If I plan on buying tickets from UT, and then upgrading them to APs after we enter the park the first day in August, is it beneficial to buy them from UT now?

In other words, will Disney treat the passes as current (August) gate price when upgrading them?

I'm trying to figure out which tickets to get to maximize my savings! With 5 "adults" the savings really do make a difference.

Buy the tickets now, then use them once before you upgrade them. You will get the higher gate price (as of tomorrow) credited towards the cost of the APs.

*Last night I bought one 10-day expiring park hopper from UT @ $318.95. If I use it before upgrading it to an AP, the gate price of the ticket will be $368.49 as of tomorrow.

 

[Trying to Plan]

There is no way to know. The people who make the decisions do not consult with the DISboards first. (Lord knows they should...)

It would be very unlikely to have two increases so close together.

But people seem to forget that there was no rule that said increases had to be in August. That's when they've happened for the last 5 or so years, yes...but before that it was pretty much any time...

This is what I figured...No way to know. I, personally, think they would be MAD to do increases on tickets so close but, they can do pretty much anything.

And you are right, the DIS should be consulted ....who knows, I am sure "THEY" monitor on here to look at the general feel of people who are talking about their business.....Definately wouldn't be the first business I have heard of doing Web monitoring....

Thanks.

 

[disneysplash]

Yes, in certain situations there is a limit to the number of payment methods per transaction. This is actually quite common in retail.

Is the number of gift cards limited at the ticket window also?

 

[CindyCan]

Buy the tickets now, then use them once before you upgrade them. You will get the higher gate price (as of tomorrow) credited towards the cost of the APs.

*Last night I bought one 10-day expiring park hopper from UT @ $318.95. If I use it before upgrading it to an AP, the gate price of the ticket will be $368.49 as of tomorrow.

That's fantastic - thank you!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Another question for Cheshire Figment

We've paid for our trip scheduled in July. Based on board recs I was planning to wait to add park hoppers later. If I add after June 12th, will I pay just the new rate of $55 per or will that change my base MYW ticket as well & I'll have to pay the difference between my package MYW ticket & the new June 12th MYW ticket as well as the park hopper fee.

Just want to make sure I'd only be in for the $55 park hopper increase per ticket & not a $55 + $17 for adult 6-day ticket difference and $21 for child 6-day ticket.

Hope my question makes sense! Just want to make sure adding park hopper doesn't push my MYW base tickets into June 12th prices as well.

THANKS!!!

Once you have the tickets in hand and go through a Park turnstile, the ticket value will be reset to the Current Gate Price. So the value of your six-day base ticket will jump from $242 to $259, and therefore you will only have to pay $55 (plus tax) per ticket upgraded.

I have a question about upgrading - I have three ticket MYW package in September. I called today to upgrade two of them to Annual Passes before the price increase, but they told me that I could only do all three tickets over the phone. If I wanted to upgrade only two, I'd have to wait until I got to the parks, but then it'd be after the price increase. Is that true? (the phone rep got some other info wrong and didn't know about the increase so I'm not sure if what she told me was right) Thanks

All people on a package must have the same tickets until the package is redeemed and the tickets actually issued at check-in. Once the tickets are issued and physically in-hand they can then be separately upgraded.

So I have skimmed the thread but don't see what is on my mind...maybe cause we don't know the answers.....Anyway, here's my question.

If they raise the price now, will they do so again on tickets in Aug or just possibly raise the room rates?

We are back from our first trip and decided on Day 5 we were booking again for 2012. Planning to write a short trip report soon!!

Who Knows What EVIL Lurks In The Heart Of Disney Marketing?!

When Disney feels ready to implement their next promotion they will do so. If other recent promotions have been any indication, for about the first month nobody will really understand it and the Marketing people will not have thought out all the ramifications.

We are leaving the 19th for WDW and were planning on upgrading 5 day hoppers to DVC AP's. Is there any way to do this before the increase in price? We have 4 5day hoppers to upgrade. Is there any way to buy a portion of them now and then use all of the tickets toward an upgrade? The price is only going up $20 a ticket but that's still money I'd rather spend elsewhere.

TIA

By definition an upgrade is taking one ticket and adding cash (or similar) and ending up with one ticket with more entitlements. You cannot combine two tickets to get one ticket with more features.*

An upgrade is adding days or options to a MYW ticket, or converting it to some level of annual pass, or taking some level of annual pass and converting it to a higher level of annual pass.

* The only exception to this rule is at the water parks (or DQ) where you can combine a one day water park (or DQ) ticket with a base or hopping MYW ticket and a payment to end up with a MYW ticket with the WPF&M option. Your payment will be the difference in price between the one day water park (or DQ) ticket and the cost of the WPF&M option plus tax on the difference.

I don't think anyone answered this, and I have the same question. If I plan on buying tickets from UT, and then upgrading them to APs after we enter the park the first day in August, is it beneficial to buy them from UT now?

In other words, will Disney treat the passes as current (August) gate price when upgrading them?

I'm trying to figure out which tickets to get to maximize my savings! With 5 "adults" the savings really do make a difference.

Yes. See my first answer in this post.