What do you mean I can't add more days?!

[ValpoCory]

So, do you think TDA doesn't understand this? Personally, I think they must; this is micro-econ 101---if you raise prices, demand will fall.

Assuming they do understand it, why did they use this as the mechanism to curtail fraud when other superior mechanisms are readily available?

I disagree that the superior mechanisms are readily available. The elimination of the 6 day passes is free. You curtail fraud while alienating a small percentage of legitimate guests. Legitimate guests, who if they are persistent enough, can extend their tickets by finding the right person. The implementation of biometric tickets, from new turnstiles to training, would be a significant expense. I'd venture in the millions of dollars to handle all the entrances and cast members. You curtail fraud without alienating legitimate guests, but at a significantly larger cost.

 

[KalamityJane]

I think that quote is saying that they want you to want to come back. So by cutting off the 6th day, they are hoping you will plan another vacation to come back. In that case, instead of an extra added day, they would be getting an extra 3-5 days (if this is an out of town person - most won't be coming in for a single day).

 

[ValpoCory]

I think that quote is saying that they want you to want to come back. So by cutting off the 6th day, they are hoping you will plan another vacation to come back. In that case, instead of an extra added day, they would be getting an extra 3-5 days (if this is an out of town person - most won't be coming in for a single day).

Possibly, except reading it again ...

I think what we’ve done here…is just give the guests a reason when they come to Southern California to stay one more day here, whether they’re on ... a five day vacation and they want to stay a sixth,

It really appears the Disnneyland VP is talking about staying one more day on the same vacation.

 

[KalamityJane]

Is it possible that they are not selling 6 day passes right now to curtail crowds while Carsland is new but will be bringing them back?

 

[Brian Noble]

But you misunderstood my hypotheticals. I am all too aware that there is not a 7-day PH or anything like that. I was putting out that as a suggestion to your $51/day floor-price theory. The floor price does not prevent from creating options for people who want to stay longer than five days.

No, I understood it. And, I don't know why DLR isn't willing to do what you are suggesting beyond what I offered as my guess: I suspect the ticket prices are set where they are to maximize profit *on average*. Having a highly-graduated per-day cost probably encourages more "average" guests to stay a little longer. A more flat per-day cost would be more beneficial to the hard-core fans, but the hard core fans are outnumbered by the "average" guests who might decide that two or three days is fine vs. four or five.

Edited to add: and I don't think a blended scheme (highly graduated early, and smoothed late) would work. Guests wouldn't understand why the fifth day costs only $15 more, but the sixth costs $50.

Legitimate guests, who if they are persistent enough, can extend their tickets by finding the right person.

Cory, you seem to be suggesting that TDA is relying on word-of-mouth that people who want to stay for more than five days can extend their tickets to limit the downside risk of the new ticketing structure. Do I understand that correctly?

 

[ValpoCory]

Guests wouldn't understand why the fifth day costs only $15 more, but the sixth costs $50.

Agreed. This thread is about guests not understanding why the fifth day costs $15 more and the sixth day costs $87-$125.

 

[ValpoCory]

Cory, you seem to be suggesting that TDA is relying on word-of-mouth that people who want to stay for more than five days can extend their tickets to limit the downside risk of the new ticketing structure. Do I understand that correctly?

I don't think they are relying on anything. I do think they have access to the number of 6-day passes sold in years past, and I do think they believe a large portion of the 6-day passes were bought with nefarious intentions. I believe they are removing the 6-day pass option and seeing where the chips fall. And they will deal with the legitimate guests on a case-by-case basis. Lower level cast members are likely told to just not sell any upgrades, but leads can help confirm the intentions of the guests and get them what they want. Several reports so far have corroborated that theory.

 

[L&Lfan]

My boyfriend and I will be staying 8 nights at the Grand Californian next May so I hope we have no trouble adding more days to whatever park hoppers we will purchase.

 

[snvanvl]

The problem is it hasn't stopped the scalpers from selling tickets by the day. While the scalpers are not making as much money they are still making money. Looking for coupons for universal on ebay last night I found a seller selling tickets for mutiple parks in the area including disney. It seems like they could easily find the places in the area selling these tickets since they advertise all over the internet.

 

[Brian Noble]

This thread is about guests not understanding why the fifth day costs $15 more and the sixth day costs $87-$125.

Well, why does the 10th day at WDW cost $10.65, but the 11th cost $94.79-$128.80?

I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on the root cause. And, in some sense, the root cause doesn't matter, because right now, for most guests who aren't doggedly persistent, the limit is five days, regardless of their "legitimacy."

We'll see if it is still possible to get an exception to the five-day limit as we go forward. My sense from anecdotal reports is that it is getting harder to find someone who will do it. I am assuming that by the time I go in February (a new calendar year) it will no longer be possible, but I will be pleasantly surprised if it is.

 

[rramstad]

I should probably explain what I mean by "gate integrity".

There are two important numbers in measuring the economics of a theme park: daily attendance, and per-capita spending. The latter is the amount of money spent by each person in the park, on average, in a day, including admission revenue, food, merchandise, and games. The single biggest component of that is admission revenue. If you allow your per-day admission costs to go too low, you lose "gate integrity", and have to make it up by in-park food/merch/etc. sales. This used to be Six Flags primary strategy: "give away the gate", but make it back in over-inflated in park pricing.

Just as an aside, I think Six Flags still pursues this strategy. I recently went to a Six Flags park, and it seemed as though it was pretty easy to get an adult admission for $40 for one day, and a season pass for $60 (!) by using offers posted online on their web site i.e. not hard to find.

The prices for food and drink inside were ridiculously high, and they were hardcore about making sure no one was bringing in anything to eat or drink, making very close inspections of bags and purses, and I didn't see a single cooler of any size anywhere, people weren't even trying to get them in.

It's certainly a business model, clearly one very different from Disney.

 

[june@imsarc.com]

We were able to add a day to our 4 day hoppers this past July. We stayed at the GC and added the day at the front desk. No problem at all! We were told we just had to do it the last day of our ticket or prior, not after there were no days left

 

[miss.potatohead]

Of course we here are not representative guests, but then they already know they have different types of guests, which is why there are special offers only for SoCal residents with particular ZIP codes of residence. As I've said before, there is no reason they can't reverse that idea and offer specials to people outside the "representative guest" zone. Even today, I believe Aussies can still get 8-day PHs from their Flight Centre (although they used to be able to get 14-day ones) because DLR understood that people coming across an ocean will want to stay longer.

I'm pretty sure that Australian's are still able to purchase 14 day tickets for around $290-$300 (but could be wrong)

 

[ballarinamom]

Just talked to the concierge at the Disneyland Hotel after reading that the GCH. He said they can upgrade any park hopper up to the 6 day. They do not have a 7+ day hopper (which is what they say on the phone too)>He said they can add to anything over 1 day as long as it is no more than 6 days.

 

[interstate70s]

Just talked to the concierge at the Disneyland Hotel after reading that the GCH. He said they can upgrade any park hopper up to the 6 day. They do not have a 7+ day hopper (which is what they say on the phone too)>He said they can add to anything over 1 day as long as it is no more than 6 days.

I wonder if this is why I got a positive response from my email from guest services. I indicated on the form we were staying at the GCH?

 

[ballarinamom]

I wonder if this is why I got a positive response from my email from guest services. I indicated on the form we were staying at the GCH?

I don't think so. I wouldn't imagine GCH gets anymore preferential treatment over DLH.

 

[interstate70s]

I don't think so. I wouldn't imagine GCH gets anymore preferential treatment over DLH.

No, that 's not what I meant. I meant that maybe if you are staying in a resort hotel, they allow you to add a day past 5. The reason I 'm guessing this is because in emails posted on this thread, before and after the one I posted, all responses were no, but mine was yes. Ad as far as I know everyone 's phone call up until yours, has been no. So I'm just looking for the common denominator.(if there is one)

 

[ballarinamom]

I think it is more the number of days. They don't want to go more than a 6 day park hopper.

 

[interstate70s]

I think it is more the number of days. They don't want to go more than a 6 day park hopper.

Ok, I think I get what you 're saying, if you ask to add 1 day to a 5 day ticket. They'll say yes, but if you ask to add 2 days, they'll say you have to buy another ticket?

 

[ballarinamom]

Exactly! Such a drag!