WDW Select clientele .... ?

[Lewisc]

Years ago I read Disney determined the average family would be vacationing at Disney once or twice and didn't care how much credit card debt they have to incur.

DIS aren't typical in terms of the number of trips they take to WDW.

DVC is Disney's product for famlies which like to make many trips to WDW.

Current pricing (airfare, meals, tickets, accommodations) is making a WDW vacation more expensive relative to the cost of other vacations.

I think the "select" clientele is anyone who can qualify for a 10K line of credit on a Disney card.

 

[pfalcioni]

Current pricing (airfare, meals, tickets, accommodations) is making a WDW vacation more expensive relative to the cost of other vacations.

Unless people are choosing a local vacation which includes camping and cooking their own food over a Disney vacation, then the increase in costs of airfare, meals, accommodations, and attractions will be relatively equal no matter where people choose to go.

Disney's pricing has increased along with the rest of the vacation/travel industry, they're not ahead of the curve, they're right with it from what I've seen.

 

[SirDuff]

Disney's pricing has increased along with the rest of the vacation/travel industry, they're not ahead of the curve, they're right with it from what I've seen.

Not in my experience.

Compared to other vacations that I've taken multiple times (both in the US and outside), the price of food and the hotel rate have increased more at WDW. For example, the price of my hotel room on a recent trip to NYC was much closer to the price I paid 5 years ago than the price of my room at WDW (Yacht Club) on my last trip (2012) was to the trip before that (2006).

 

[JanaDee]

Disney's pricing has increased along with the rest of the vacation/travel industry, they're not ahead of the curve, they're right with it from what I've seen.

Disney's pricing has far outpaced the rest of the vacation/travel industry.

 

[Gracie09]

Disney's pricing has far outpaced the rest of the vacation/travel industry.

In recent years universal has raised it's prices to match or exceed Disney or has raised it's prices first and Disney matched or exceeded. With a minimum amount of research ( like going to the Disney website) no one has to pay full rack rate for a hotel room onsite.

Pretty much every part of life has gotten more expensive in the last ten years. Health insurance, gas, food, electricity, etc etc. Disney is a company that is obligated to make a profit for it's shareholders. When the cost of doing business rises that cost is passed along to the consumer just like the cost of producing a gallon of milk rises that cost is reflected in the price I pay in the grocery store.

 

[timmac]

I will echo a few others in saying that I don't think Disney is intentionally trying to price anyone out of the market, per se, but yes, they are a business and as such seek to maximize their profits. Things like various seasonal discounts and DVC have done a great job for them in terms of levelling out crowd levels so that even the slowest seasons are no longer dead like they were even 10-12 years ago.

While I will agree that DVC is a product aimed at the repeat visitor market, we shouldn't overlook the fact that it, too, is it's own cash cow. By having people basically pay for 40-50 years of accommodations all at once, Disney brings in a ton of cash very quickly. (Admittedly that slightly oversimplifies it, but it gets the point across.) I'm actually very interested to see how it works out for them longer term, however. Though they haven't hit the limit yet, I suspect they can't keep adding DVC inventory indefinitely, and having it sell.

 

[kiki02]

In recent years universal has raised it's prices to match or exceed Disney or has raised it's prices first and Disney matched or exceeded. With a minimum amount of research ( like going to the Disney website) no one has to pay full rack rate for a hotel room onsite.

Pretty much every part of life has gotten more expensive in the last ten years. Health insurance, gas, food, electricity, etc etc. Disney is a company that is obligated to make a profit for it's shareholders. When the cost of doing business rises that cost is passed along to the consumer just like the cost of producing a gallon of milk rises that cost is reflected in the price I pay in the grocery store.

Crazy how much inflation there is now (no one talks about this now - DC) and wages have not kept up at all.

But if I take three kids to WDW, it costs almost $500 just to spend the day in the park. So, this is not hotel fees/ airlines /food/ car rentals, which you'd pay obviously on any vacation. ....... But if...

we go to the beach instead, or to a city to explore , i'm quite sure the DAY doesn't start with a bill for $500...... ???

 

[timmac]

But if I take three kids to WDW, it costs almost $500 just to spend the day in the park. So, this is not hotel fees/ airlines /food/ car rentals, which you'd pay obviously on any vacation. ....... But if...

we go to the beach instead, or to a city to explore , i'm quite sure the DAY doesn't start with a bill for $500...... ???

As at least one PP has mentioned though, it's relatively rare for those taking a vacation (particularly if they're travelling far) to only do a one day pass. Amortized over longer lengths, the cost per day becomes less than half that.

Of course you're right that just going on a beach vacation and sitting on the beach all day wouldn't incur that expense at all. But, in that case, I don't feel you're making the right economic comparison, either. One could visit WDW and simply hang out by the pool or lounge on one of the beach areas (no swimming there of course) all day and avoid the ticket expense entirely.

Of course, in either case, I suspect either example might leave a bit to be desired after a few days. Consider a beach vacation that involves renting some boats, taking a fishing excursion, maybe some surfing lessons, doing some activities at the many shore-side venues, and so on, and you've got a much closer comparison, in terms of both activity and likely price as well,
to what a WDW visit is like.

Is WDW "cheap"? Of course not. But the real question is whether or not people find value in what they get for their dollar. Many do, even as prices continue to rise. Your posts on this topic suggest perhaps the same is not true for you, but that's ok too.

 

[eliza61]

Kind of feeling lately that WDW wants only a certain type of visitor. Those with a very high income --- It's getting really really $$$$$ and there aren't many rooms that are discounted or tickets or food options.

? wrong? I hope I am.

Truthfully I think it's the exact opposite.

I'm a luxury traveler. I budget the rest of the year to blow it all on hotel rooms. LOL. It's my vice.

Most of the big spenders I know do not spend big bucks at Disney The product is simply not worth it. No one I know would ever spend the 400-500 bucks on a deluxe room or kick out the money for Disney steak houses. Most of them simply don't think the product is worth it. Now they will book it if they get the normal 30% room discount.

the high income folks I know only stay onsite when they get serious discounts or they rent dvc points. If I don't use my dvc points, 9 times out of 10 I'm off site (and I don't think I'm high income) I have a TIW card so my food is discounted, would I ever pay 2 dining credits for Le Cellier? Never.

So no I don't think they are trying to get high income folks only. they wouldn't survive.

 

[daisy_77]

I don't think Disney is pricing us out. We live in Idaho and we are a one income family. A 10 day trip with a discount is very doable for us. We are not rich but we also don't go every year. Our last WDW trip was October 2013 and our next trip isn't until January 2017.

What kills us is the cost of flying! We save up our SW points to pay for most, if not all, our flights to MCO.

I think Disney charges what it does because people will pay up.

 

[NotUrsula]

the one day ticket price is now close to $100. A family of just four going for just a few days even offsite... $$$$$$.

True enough, but the average film theater ticket price in the US is 12.50; that's normally for about 100 minutes of entertainment. On an average day the Disney parks are open for about 13 hours, so if you are there from open to close, the comparable cost is at least 97.50, and on a day when hours are long you are getting even more value because you can stay for as long as the park is open for the same price.

All of the things that go into making that day at a theme park happen have a cost, from electricity to music to cleaning to paint to staff time to artillery shells. (Yes, artillery shells. The Disney Parks are the second-largest consumer of artillery shells in the world; next to the US Army.) As a shareholder, I'm not interested in breaking even on those; I want to make some profit.

As to which category of guest WDW wants -- why, all of them, of course. A resort with a simultaneous capacity of around 350K guests for 365 days per year isn't going to sink a huge part of its facilities design into meeting the needs of a niche market -- because no one or even two niche markets would fill the place.

What Disney Parks & Entertainment wants is to be America's (and perhaps even the world's) most iconic travel brand. I'm pretty sure that the point is to make Disney travel so iconic that anyone who has never experienced it will feel deprived, and that those who have will form an attachment to the experience that will pull them to return again and again. They very wisely price the park access based on how likely the guest is to do just that -- the more often you go, the cheaper each admission becomes. Local guests are given a deal on admission on the strategy that they will proportionally up their spending on merchandise and food instead, as the more time one spends in a park, the more likely it is that one will spend money inside that park on something other than the admission.

 

[Allison]

Crazy how much inflation there is now (no one talks about this now - DC) and wages have not kept up at all.

But if I take three kids to WDW, it costs almost $500 just to spend the day in the park. So, this is not hotel fees/ airlines /food/ car rentals, which you'd pay obviously on any vacation. ....... But if...

we go to the beach instead, or to a city to explore , i'm quite sure the DAY doesn't start with a bill for $500...... ???

Are you only looking at the pricing for a one-day ticket?

 

[meriface11]

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.

Not true...we are DINKS, have DVC and have been going at least once a year since our honeymoon in 2005. We know lots of other childless couples who love it as much as we do or couples who went a lot before they had kids.

 

[disney212]

Not true...we are DINKS, have DVC and have been going at least once a year since our honeymoon in 2005. We know lots of other childless couples who love it as much as we do or couples who went a lot before they had kids.

Dont forget all of us empty nesters. We own DVC, are in our 40's and go multiple times a year and we are not locals. We fly instead of drive. I have visited 28 countries so I am well traveled but love the magical feel at the parks.

 

[nunzia]

I've said it before and I will say it again..I think Disney is a huge BARGAIN.If a park opens at 8:00 am and closes 12:00 midnight that is 16 hours I've paid for with my ticket. If I get an average 4 day PH at WDW that comes out to 88.50 a day or $5.53 an hour. At DLR the same type ticket is $71.85 a day or $4.49 an hour. For that you get unlimited rides, attractions, parades, shows, fireworks and characters. You get lovely well maintained surroundings, you get staff who are paid fair and have decent benefits. You are allowed to bring in food and drink so you dont really have to spend another dime if you so choose. Free ice water is available, so you don't need to buy their overpriced bottles. You are able to find food values if you look around..you do not need a souvenier..really, you don't. You can have all the photos you want for free taken by a PP photographer on your own camera.
I can do cheaper (in fact I have to go to an AI in Mexico again this year since DH likes to go with his family and I will be bored by day 3.)
So, just my opinion...Disney trips are a bargain.

 

[MillauFr]

I've said it before and I will say it again..I think Disney is a huge BARGAIN.

I agree. I priced a week of skiing at Whistler vs. spending a week at Disneyland. Even having to pay for flights to Orange County vs. driving to Whistler, Disneyland was much cheaper.

 

[eliza61]

I agree. I priced a week of skiing at Whistler vs. spending a week at Disneyland. Even having to pay for flights to Orange County vs. driving to Whistler, Disneyland was much cheaper.

I must be great at finding deals then. I took my family to Paris in May of 2012. Hotel cheaper and much nicer and it was a deluxe, Food, again cheaper and better. Museum pass and admission to three shows, Way cheaper than the 1100 bucks I spend on Disney park hoppers. With airfare from JFK to Paris, our trip was only 700 bucks more. And this was with all of us as adults. Like I said, maybe I'm a discount Demon but I get way better prices at tons of other places. People talk about beach vacations, I live near the Jersey shore, I regularly go to ocean city, I've never spent 380/ night for a condo. Heck, we rented a two bedroom condo v right on the beach for about 300 a night. I'm investigating Spain next year and unfortunately the big item is airfare but everything else, entertainment, food, hotel is coming in as a better value.

Travel itself in my opinion is very expensive so for me it's about where.I can get the best value for my dollar

 

[girli565]

No, most people don't want a disney vacation at least once. It may seem hard to believe, but not everyone is interested in vacationing at WDW.

I disagree with this statement. I know plenty of people (DINKs and those with children) who vacation in WDW several times a year and prefer it over many other locations. We were DINKs for 6 years (3 dating and living together and 3 married) and we would save our money throughout the year just to take a week long WDW vacay in the summer. I'm a teacher so summer is our only option. We'd stay onsite with the dining plan.

And we still took small trips, like long weekends, to WDW to use our annual passes. We have DINKs friends who also LOVE Disney like we do and choose to vacation there over other places.

Now, are there other vacations that could be more economical, like cruising? Yes, especially for us who live in a huge cruise departure port (Miami). We can take a 7-day cruise for under $1200 (even gotten one as cheap as $789 including taxes and fees) for 2 people. But given the choice we'd probably still choose Disney.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I've said it before and I will say it again..I think Disney is a huge BARGAIN.If a park opens at 8:00 am and closes 12:00 midnight that is 16 hours I've paid for with my ticket. If I get an average 4 day PH at WDW that comes out to 88.50 a day or $5.53 an hour. At DLR the same type ticket is $71.85 a day or $4.49 an hour. For that you get unlimited rides, attractions, parades, shows, fireworks and characters. You get lovely well maintained surroundings, you get staff who are paid fair and have decent benefits. You are allowed to bring in food and drink so you dont really have to spend another dime if you so choose. Free ice water is available, so you don't need to buy their overpriced bottles. You are able to find food values if you look around..you do not need a souvenier..really, you don't. You can have all the photos you want for free taken by a PP photographer on your own camera.
I can do cheaper (in fact I have to go to an AI in Mexico again this year since DH likes to go with his family and I will be bored by day 3.)
So, just my opinion...Disney trips are a bargain.

In comparison, though, consider this:

Ticket prices: I paid $259 for one day's admission to Discovery Cove. In addition to our DC day, this price also includes 14 days admission to SeaWorld and Aquatica. For an additional $22, I could add 14 days admission to Busch Gardens. And for kicks, let's add on the $40 ultimate parking pass which includes parking for the duration of your park tickets to SW, BG & AQ.

That's 15 days admission and parking to 4 parks. That breaks down to $21.40 per day for admission. A 10-day Disney base ticket is $354. Parking will be an additional $170 for those same 10 days if you stay offsite and drive to the parks. That's $52.40 per day based on the same comparison vs. the SeaWorld parks.

Accommodations: Stay at one of the SW onsite hotels, and they give you free daily Quick Queue at SeaWorld for every registered guest. Some of those official hotels also include a free buffet breakfast. And many will run you under $100 per night with no resort fees.....less than a Disney value, with more inclusions (ie breakfast). Get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom gorgeous villa at Hilton Grand Vacations SeaWorld for often well under $200 a night, when similar Disney digs will cost $700.

Discovery Cove also includes breakfast, lunch, snacks, beverages (including alcohol) - all unlimited - that I'm not even factoring in to the numbers.

Food: Disney's quick service dining plan is $41.99 per adult, per day. And its restrictive....there are a maximum number of entitlements per day, and you cannot purchase it if you are staying offsite. SeaWorld, in comparison, is $34.99 and its unlimited (breakfast right through to 30 minutes before park closing). Its open to ALL park guests and can be purchased on the day of your visit. And your "side" does not have to be a pre-packed dessert....it can be a side salad, fries, a pickle, a fruit cup, pudding, cookies, chocolate or carrot cake, a muffin, etc. Unlimited cold water bottles during the hot months.

Aquatica's all-day dining is only $18 per adult. Now, the buffet doesn't knock my socks off, but having experienced the dining options at TL and BB, Aquatica is no worse quality of food for way better monetary value. And again, its unlimited all day.

When you compare Disney with other park options in Orlando, I just can't see how an onsite Disney vacation can be considered a bargain.

 

[nunzia]

In comparison, though, consider this:

Ticket prices: I paid $259 for one day's admission to Discovery Cove. In addition to our DC day, this price also includes 14 days admission to SeaWorld and Aquatica. For an additional $22, I could add 14 days admission to Busch Gardens. And for kicks, let's add on the $40 ultimate parking pass which includes parking for the duration of your park tickets to SW, BG & AQ.

That's 15 days admission and parking to 4 parks. That breaks down to $21.40 per day for admission. A 10-day Disney base ticket is $354. Parking will be an additional $170 for those same 10 days if you stay offsite and drive to the parks. That's $52.40 per day based on the same comparison vs. the SeaWorld parks.

Accommodations: Stay at one of the SW onsite hotels, and they give you free daily Quick Queue at SeaWorld for every registered guest. Some of those official hotels also include a free buffet breakfast. And many will run you under $100 per night with no resort fees.....less than a Disney value, with more inclusions (ie breakfast). Get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom gorgeous villa at Hilton Grand Vacations SeaWorld for often well under $200 a night, when similar Disney digs will cost $700.

Discovery Cove also includes breakfast, lunch, snacks, beverages (including alcohol) - all unlimited - that I'm not even factoring in to the numbers.

Food: Disney's quick service dining plan is $41.99 per adult, per day. And its restrictive....there are a maximum number of entitlements per day, and you cannot purchase it if you are staying offsite. SeaWorld, in comparison, is $34.99 and its unlimited (breakfast right through to 30 minutes before park closing). Its open to ALL park guests and can be purchased on the day of your visit. And your "side" does not have to be a pre-packed dessert....it can be a side salad, fries, a pickle, a fruit cup, pudding, cookies, chocolate or carrot cake, a muffin, etc. Unlimited cold water bottles during the hot months.

Aquatica's all-day dining is only $18 per adult. Now, the buffet doesn't knock my socks off, but having experienced the dining options at TL and BB, Aquatica is no worse quality of food for way better monetary value. And again, its unlimited all day.

When you compare Disney with other park options in Orlando, I just can't see how an onsite Disney vacation can be considered a bargain.

That is all true. And Sea World products are very nice..but..I have no interest in 14 days at Sea World or Aquatica or Busch..I'd like to do a day at DC..once...I like Sea World quite a lot and go to the one close to me in San Diego. But I do not consider their offerings equal. If they were considered equal to Disney in draw, they would charge Disney prices as a sound business decision. Apples to Oranges in experiences IMO. I guess Universal is the closest comparison, but still, Disney is a bargain to me for what they offer..which is Disney. I'd be happy (except the stockholder side of me) if more people found other places more appealing and stayed away from Disney in favor of other vacations, then the crowds would be less. Like I said earlier, I'm going an AI in Mexico at a top resort with all food and drinks included, a beautiful beach, the ocean, entertainment etc., for $3,700 for a week. And I will be bored by day 3. I can spend a week at Disney and not be bored. And..for a super bargain..I go to DLR very cheaply as I have an AP and DVC, eat light and need no souvenirs.