We Need Some Ticket Deals

[Purseval]

The need to start offering discounts on tickets like 3 days free if you buy 4 or free PH/NE options. Offering discounts only to people who book rooms isn't going to be any incentive at all for people who stay offsite or want to day trip.

 

[Robo]

The need to start offering discounts on tickets like 3 days free if you buy 4 or free PH/NE options. Offering discounts only to people who book rooms isn't going to be any incentive at all for people who stay offsite or want to day trip.

The price difference between a 4-day ticket and a 7-day ticket is $9.00

That's a pretty good deal, in itself.

 

[Purseval]

It's $169 if you throw in park hopping and no expiration

 

[Robo]

It's $169 if you throw in park hopping and no expiration

You can throw it in, if you like.

I'll stick with the $9.

 

[disneymom2one]

The need to start offering discounts on tickets like 3 days free if you buy 4 or free PH/NE options. Offering discounts only to people who book rooms isn't going to be any incentive at all for people who stay offsite or want to day trip.

I think it's a business decision. In general, I think Disney makes more money off people who stay on site. Again, I'm speaking in generalities but people who are staying off site may choose to have that dinner off site. They may choose to buy groceries off site. They may even choose to visit other theme parks.

The "deals" are not meant as a goodwill gesture. They are a calculated business strategy designed to have people in their parks and in their resorts spending money. We're a prime example as we weren't sure we were going to be back for spring break. Then the 7 for 4 deal came out and it was a great deal for us. Disney will have us back again for spring break. People who are staying off site or on day trips simply are not their major target. Also, as Robo pointed out, they do offer a major discount on extra days as it stands.

 

[CleveRocks]

It's $169 if you throw in park hopping and no expiration

Incorrect.

Comparing a 4-day base ticket to a 7-day hopper with no expiration is like the proverbial comparison of apples and oranges. To be intellectually honest, we need to compare like ticket to like ticket.

The difference between a 4 day park hopper and a 7 day park hopper is still only 9 bucks.

The difference between a 4 day ticket (hopper or not) with no expiration and a 7 day ticket (hopper or not) with no expiration is $69.

For most people, paying for no expiration on a 7 day ticket is a sucker deal that should be avoided, anyway.

Seriously, I know what you're trying to get at, but the ticket pricing structure already represents an incredible deal. If I put half my brain to it, I could come up with some sort of marketing slogan (better than the horribly balky, "The more you play, the less you pay per day") that would communicate this idea (just not in these words): "If you pay us $269 for a 4 day park hopper, we'll let you add up to 6 additional days for just $3 per day."

If you step back and think about that, it truly is an incredible deal.

 

[Brian Noble]

Offering discounts only to people who book rooms isn't going to be any incentive at all for people who stay offsite or want to day trip.

This is precisely the point.

At some level, Disney doesn't need more people to come to Central Florida as much as they need to make sure that the people who are coming are going to want to (exclusively) stay in Disney resorts and (exclusively) visit Disney parks.

As mentioned, the new MYW ticket structure is already doing it's job---after the first 3-4 days, subsequent days are effectively free.

 

[Purseval]

People who stay offsite still pay plenty of money to Disney, for tickets, parking, food and merchandise. Plus if you give a ticket deal you get a lot of cash coming in now for a ticket that may or may not ever be used for anything but a visit to a single park or not used at all. I'm sure millions of tickets are sitting unused over the years or have been lost or forgotten. It's like Disney Dollars, you give them real money that they can use for anything and they give you a piece of paper that's worthless anywhere except at a place Disney owns. Sounds like a good deal.

 

[disneyag]

But, you see, you ARE getting a ticket deal since adding subsequent days to a 4 day hopper isn't that expensive. Disney would rather have you as a captive audience on their property (which is why I believe they started DME). That way, you'll consume every meal, snack, and bottled water on Disney property. AND you won't spend any time (or money) at that "other park" down the road. Plus, I'm sure that many people have unused days they never claim. I can't tell you how many water park and more options that we never used.

 

[Purseval]

At some level, Disney doesn't need more people to come to Central Florida as much as they need to make sure that the people who are coming are going to want to (exclusively) stay in Disney resorts and (exclusively) visit Disney parks.

Then why do they let people in on days when the resorts are 100% booked solid (Christmas and Thanksgiving comes to mind)? That would be a nice perk for guests but on those days not only are the resorts full the parking lots are slammed.

 

[Purseval]

But, you see, you ARE getting a ticket deal since adding subsequent days to a 4 day hopper isn't that expensive.

But adding subsequent days, park hopping and no expiration to a 4-day single visit ticket is, at least for the purchaser. It pretty much stays the same for Disney for the reasons you outlined in the rest of your post.

 

[CleveRocks]

But adding subsequent days, park hopping and no expiration to a 4-day single visit ticket is, at least for the purchaser. It pretty much stays the same for Disney for the reasons you outlined in the rest of your post.

Adding no expiration for most people is a very bad deal for the people, but very good for Disney (many times, people don't do the math and realize that 2 separate tickets would be better than a non-expiring ticket).

Adding additional days costs $3 a day. Adding the park hopper is a flat $50 fee no matter the length of the ticket. I still don't see your point.

 

[Brian Noble]

You might think it would make sense to offer discounts to the offsite crowd. Clearly, the Powers That Be at Disney disagree with you, and pretty much always have.

 

[CleveRocks]

Here's everyone's point, Purseval ...

I'm staying at a Disney resort for 7 nights in February. My package includes 7 nights at the resort and an 8-day park hopper ticket for 2 adults and 2 children. For just the resort and tickets, I am paying them 3,448 of my hard-earned American dollars.

I am taking advantage of the FREE Disney's Magical Express. Because I am saying at one of their resort hotels and because I won't have easy access to the outside world, my body and the bodies of each of my family members will be snug inside the Walt Disney World cocoon for 8 days. We will be on their property the entire time except for the airport, and the rides to and from the airport in a Disney-contracted bus.

Every soda, every bottle of water, every chicken tender, every t-shirt, every ice cream cone, every meal, every bottle of sunscreen to replace the bottle I left on the kitchen table at home ... ALL of it, seriously ALL OF IT will be bought from Disney. I'm assuming between meals, snacks and souvenirs I'll be paying them another $150 a day, so call it another $1,200, at least.

So I am paying Disney $4,688.

If I was staying off-site, I'd still be paying Disney $1,122 for the park tickets. And maybe I'd spend 75% of my meal and snack and souvenir and sundry money within Disney World ... that's about $900 (I bet it would be A LOT LESS than that, but I'm trying to prove a point, so I'm being generous). I'll be a sport and add in parking for 8 days ... if memory serves, it's up to $12 a day, so $96 for parking. So if I do the same trip off-site, I'm paying Disney $1,122 + $900 + $96 = $2,118.

So you tell me, Purseval ... who is more valuable in Disney's corporate eyes? The Me who is paying them $4,688, or the Me who is paying them $2,118. If I stay off-site, they will get less than half the money from me, compared to if I stayed in their resort.

They are more interested in attracting me to stay on-site because they will make MUCH more money from me that way. Now do you get it???

 

[CleveRocks]

The need to start offering discounts on tickets like 3 days free if you buy 4

I just looked at this from a fresh perspective ...

Imagine the outcry if Disney said "Pay me $228 and we'll give you $9 in tickets for free." People would be angry that Disney is crowing about giving away a 4% bonus. They'd call Disney cheap. People would say, "Oooooohhh ... big spender! I give you $228 and you give me 9 bucks back???!!! Spare me ... do you really think that'll pull me into your parks? Puhleeze!"

I bet it would go something like that.

 

[snykymom]

And one other thing - Disney does offer ticket deals, by allowing discount resellers to sell good, valid tickets. Disney doesn't have to sell tickets to, for example, Undercover Tourist, which then sells them to you for less than Disney does. Disney doesn't have to sell tickets to AAA, which then discounts them for their members.

But Disney has these relationships, and so people who want a deal only on tickets can get one. It's not a big one, but neither is "Buy 4 get 3 free".

 

[Purseval]

So you tell me, Purseval ... who is more valuable in Disney's corporate eyes? The Me who is paying them $4,688, or the Me who is paying them $2,118. If I stay off-site, they will get less than half the money from me, compared to if I stayed in their resort.

But if you were so valuable then WDW would be a SOS-only resort. The amount of space they devote to parking shows otherwise, they need offsite visitors as well. Now do you get it?

 

[CleveRocks]

I never said day guests have no value to Disney, only that resort guests are MORE valuable strictly from a monetary perspective, and thus are more of a "target" for marketing. The money they spent building the resorts and the money they spend maintaining and staffing the resorts is a whole lot more than what they spent to build the huge lots and maintain and staff them. If the lots are filled to capacity and the resorts are fairly empty, we can just start making reservations at the Holiday Inn next to our nearest local Six Flags.

I just don't have the strength ... can someone take it from here???

 

[Robo]

I just don't have the strength ... can someone take it from here???

Doesn't matter.

The single biggest indicator that Disney's strategy to draw more guests is not based on discounting tickets is that on Aug. 3 of this year,
(even though the economy was already in a mess, and Disney was making cuts in performances, performers, and events to lower their operating costs) they RAISED ticket prices to the highest level of any theme park operator in the country.

 

[Purseval]

The single biggest indicator that Disney's strategy to draw more guests is not based on discounting tickets is that on Aug. 3 of this year,
(even though the economy was already in a mess, and Disney was making cuts in performances, performers, and events to lower their operating costs) they RAISED ticket prices to the highest level of any theme park operator in the country.

All indications are that the economy is a LOT worse now than when they did that, and things aren't looking any better in the months ahead. Time will tell how well that strategy pans out. I'm in no hurry, my next trip isn't until late Jan. - early Feb. anyway.