WDW Select clientele .... ?

[AquaDame]

That was another thing that was mentioned on the radio. No one flew on vacation.

Thats surprising.. Im an 80's kid and my parents very much flew us to Disneyland on vacation. They were both regular blue collar workers to boot. My friends flew as well...

 

[Lizzybean]

Thats surprising.. Im an 80's kid and my parents very much flew us to Disneyland on vacation. They were both regular blue collar workers to boot. My friends flew as well...

Me too. I'm barely 30 but we flew to Hawaii several times, twice a year to California, Colorado, Florida... We only drove for our annual summer OBX stay. I was raised upper middle class but everyone I knew flew everywhere.

 

[kymom99]

Thats surprising.. Im an 80's kid and my parents very much flew us to Disneyland on vacation. They were both regular blue collar workers to boot. My friends flew as well...

The first time I flew was after college when I had a job. That was in 1990. The only vacation we took was to Georgia to visit a friend of my mom's and a stop in Gatlinburg on the way home. I really don't know of many families who traveled at all except maybe camping. That doesn't mean no one did, but the perception was that Disney was a place almost unattainable. Also, there were no computers so we really didn't even have knowledge of what it was all about. We watched the Wonderful world of Disney on Saturday nights.

 

[DisneyWitch]

I also don't think that Disney is targeting any particular demographic. If it did, they wouldn't offer multiple resort tiers, DDPs, multi-day ticket discounts, or anything else. Everything would be rack rate, all the time. They are, after all, a business. They will charge what the market can bear. Until Disney starts seeing its attendance plummet, they're going to assume that their prices are competitive.

When we first decided to go to WDW, we checked out a lot of other options. Cruises, European trips, US trips, etc., and we found that the cost for dining and lodging were on par with what WDW charges. Heck, it costs more for a bottle of water and a hot dog at our local sports stadium than it does anywhere on WDW property!

I'm not saying that a Disney vacation is cheap by any stretch. And, like many people, I simply can't afford to go every year, let alone multiple times a year. We scrimp & save our pennies to go every 18 months or 2 years (or more). However, as far as vacations go, I do not see WDW being way more expensive than other vacations - considering what you get for your money.

 

[kymom99]

Me too. I'm barely 30 but we flew to Hawaii several times, twice a year to California, Colorado, Florida... We only drove for our annual summer OBX stay. I was raised upper middle class but everyone I knew flew everywhere.

I am 49. I have a niece and nephew who are 30 and 32. They have been all over the place. That is how much things have changed.

 

[JillianMarie]

I guess I don't understand why they wouldn't go after a high spending clientele. Like other people have said, they're a business so of course they're going to try and attract guests who can afford to stay entirely on site at the higher end properties. It doesn't make financial sense that they would do anything differently.

Obviously, they'll take your money at The Contemporary the same way they will at All Star Sports, but OF COURSE they're looking to attract a more affluent consumer. Frankly, I'm shocked that they haven't made more overt marketing into the DINK demo. I mean, every Joe and Jane Smith from Des Moines, IA are going to save for two years to bring little Sam and Sue to Disney World but I'm honestly surprised they aren't courting more affluent, childless couples who might choose to go elsewhere and spend their (potentially) considerable disposable income.

 

[pfalcioni]

Do you know many businesses whose goal is to help the low income spend less money at their establishment? Not just "we have a public statement that we are for the little guy" but businesses that truly want people to come, use their amenities and spend less money?

Not only this, but also the fact that they have an 85% or better occupancy rate in their resorts year-round (from value to deluxe), and their attendance numbers are going up, not down.

If they were pricing a major segment of their clientele out of the market, these numbers would decrease.

Also, who else besides Disney World offers on-site value resorts with exactly the same perks as their moderate and deluxe accommodations?

I'm not saying a Disney vacation isn't more expensive today than it was in 2010, but ALL travel is more expensive now than it was in 2010.

 

[BeckFam08]

We have considered traveling elsewhere for vacation a handful of times but in the end travel back to Disney.

When considering the cost, is it cheap, no! But, when looking at other destinations and considering daily activities for our family the cost to travel elsewhere is often higher! Disney vacation packages include things like our airport transfers, and transportation during the entire trip. If we were to travel elsewhere we would be paying potentially hundreds just for car rentals, parking fees, etc.

 

[Aliceacc]

The summer discount saved us $1000 on our resort. I'm not complaining about a lack of discounts!!!

A Disney World vacation is certainly not cheap; we've been saving for this one for two years.

But sometimes you get what you pay for. In our book, a WDW vacation is worth every cent.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Also, who else besides Disney World offers on-site value resorts with exactly the same perks as their moderate and deluxe accommodations?

That's because those "perks" are laughable. Basically you get Mickey pillow cases, free bus transportation, and a $13 piece of rubber (that's costs about $2 tops for them)

 

[Marionnette]

That's because those "perks" are laughable. Basically you get Mickey pillow cases, free bus transportation, and a $13 piece of rubber (that's costs about $2 tops for them)

You're wrong!

The pillowcases are plain white.


And I agree that the so-called "perks" of staying onsite are pretty pitiful. In addition to the ones that you listed, onsite customers also get to book their ADRs at 180+10, EMH and they can book their FP+ at 60 days out instead of 30 days in advance. Is any of that enough to make a difference? To some people, it does. YMMVM

 

[Gracie09]

You're wrong!

The pillowcases are plain white.


And I agree that the so-called "perks" of staying onsite are pretty pitiful. In addition to the ones that you listed, onsite customers also get to book their ADRs at 180+10, EMH and they can book their FP+ at 60 days out instead of 30 days in advance. Is any of that enough to make a difference? To some people, it does. YMMVM

Don't forget magic express and resort luggage transfer.

 

[kiki02]

The summer discount saved us $1000 on our resort. I'm not complaining about a lack of discounts!!!

A Disney World vacation is certainly not cheap; we've been saving for this one for two years.

But sometimes you get what you pay for. In our book, a WDW vacation is worth every cent.

What summer discount? Summer is HIGH HIGH SEASON.

 

[dpswift]

I agree that it keeps getting more and more expensive. However there are discounts to be had if you book far enough out. After watching the Christmas parade in 2012 we decided to add a weekend stop at WDW over our Presidents week vacation. Eventhough it was only a month and a half away, discounts were available. We could have stayed at POR for less than we spent at AoA LM.

Disney is very fair with their policy of allowing food to be brought in and giving guests free water. Many parks charge more for less food and expect you to pay for tap water.

When I was growing up in the 70s we never went on Vacation and most of my friends were the same way.

By the 90s when my kids started school their friends were better traveled than me.

 

[Aliceacc]

What summer discount? Summer is HIGH HIGH SEASON.

This one, taken from mousesavers:

"Summer Vacation Package Offer

With this offer, get up to 35% off the room rack rates at select Disney resorts for stays 6/15/14 – 8/28/14. Pricing and savings will vary by resort type and date. As with all Disney promotional discounts, some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. Length of stay requirements may apply.

Offer details:
•Value Resorts: get up to 15% off, except:
◦Art of Animation Family Suites: get up to 10% off
•Moderate Resorts: get up to 20% off
•Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: get up to 30% off, except:
◦Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah View & Club Level, Beach Club Resort, Contemporary Resort: up to 20% off
◦Animal Kingdom Villas, Beach Club Villas, Villas at Wilderness Lodge: up to 20% off


•Get an additional 5% off when you stay 6 or more nights!
•Get a discount on tickets when adding at least 6-day Magic Your Way tickets to your package:
◦On 6-day Magic Your Way tickets, save $8.52/ticket
◦On 7-day or longer Magic Your Way tickets, save $10.65/ticket (the equivalent of getting a FREE day)



*Offer excludes Villas at Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower, Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation Resort, All-Star Movies, Port Orleans French Quarter, campsites and 3-bedroom villas. Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room. Additional per adult charges apply if more than two adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. Advance reservations required. No group rates or other discounts apply.

Book by 6/6/14."

Since we're staying Deluxe for 7 nights, we saved 35%.

That makes our room at the Yacht Club cheaper than the one we would have gotten in upstate NY's Lake George. ($287.30 per night as opposed to $360 per night.)

My brother in law and sister in law and their families are staying Moderate and each saved $500.

And "Value Season" (or in some resorts, "Value Season II") starts in WDW by the beginning of August. You can save some serious money simply by looking at when Value Season begins.

In the 4 trips I will have taken in the past decade, we have NEVER paid rack rate for the room. The WORST we've ever done is 30% off.
(In 2008 we got a PIN for 40% off, in 2009 they offered the 4/3 deal after the economy tanked that ended up being almost 43% off, in 2012 it was 30% and this year it's 35% off. As teachers, we only go over the summer, during Value Season when the even rack rate is lower.)

And as to Disney being limited to "high income clientele"-- as I said, we're both teachers. In Catholic Schools. So I would call us a lot of things, but "high income" is definitely NOT on the list.

The trick is that you've got to do your homework and be aware of the options.

 

[Allison]

What summer discount? Summer is HIGH HIGH SEASON.

The one available on Disney's website for summer.

Disney has continuously offered resort discounts. I'm not sure why you would say there are not that many rooms discounted.

 

[JanaDee]

I guess I don't understand why they wouldn't go after a high spending clientele. Like other people have said, they're a business so of course they're going to try and attract guests who can afford to stay entirely on site at the higher end properties. It doesn't make financial sense that they would do anything differently.

Obviously, they'll take your money at The Contemporary the same way they will at All Star Sports, but OF COURSE they're looking to attract a more affluent consumer. Frankly, I'm shocked that they haven't made more overt marketing into the DINK demo. I mean, every Joe and Jane Smith from Des Moines, IA are going to save for two years to bring little Sam and Sue to Disney World but I'm honestly surprised they aren't courting more affluent, childless couples who might choose to go elsewhere and spend their (potentially) considerable disposable income.

WDW is the last place most DINKS want to vacation. If we didn't have kids, we would never have spent any vacation time or money at WDW.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

WDW is the last place most DINKS want to vacation. If we didn't have kids, we would never have spent any vacation time or money at WDW.

Definitely true!

We went to Disney when my daughter was 5. Now she's 11 and we bought 10-day non-expiring tickets with water parks. We're going next month and using 5 park days. Probably another 2 years out we will do a Universal trip and have a couple Disney water park days. Then finally when she's in her late teens (maybe right before college), we will go to Disney again.

That will probably be the last time we go to Disney until when/if we have grandchildren. If i'd not a "child vacation" there's too many other good places too go as a couple.

 

[christineann]

If you compare the price of a ticket which entitles you to a full day at WDW to the price of a ticket to a concert or a professional or college football game (none of which is a full day event), WDW is a pretty good deal. Do I think it's expensive? Yes, but it's relatively not compared to what folks are willing to pay for other entertainment.

 

[joedplumber]

We just did 5 nights at WBC in Disney and only spent $1,500 for the trip. $500 for the 2 bedroom suite and $1,000 for 2 adult and 2 children park passes. I have to say that is pretty cheap for the amount of entertainment we all got.