When WDW re-opens: Price hike or lots of discounts??

[aristocatz]

When WDW re-opens, do you expect there to be a price hike, to try and make up for their lack of park revenue? Or tons of discounts, because it will be awhile before people start to feel safe coming back?

 

[Disneylover99]

Neither. Right away. I don’t think they’ll know which way to go.

 

[Krandor]

Tickets prices will be the same but I expect a lot of discounts off rack rates though and likely more incentives like free dining will get added. .

 

[UOAP]

There is no way they can sustain a price hike. The economy will be devastated.

 

[runwad]

Lots of discounts since we'll be in a recession.

 

[TwoMisfits]

No dining discounts...dining locations will be cut in half. And costs will be skyrocketing for sanitation and overhead there (with 1/2 the covers taking twice as long with deep cleanings and all disposable).

Whatever discounts they attempt (which would be after they attempt an extremely pricey private tour strategy - mark my words - that's 1st), will be based on "play" - ie - they will give you more days to enjoy limited attractions b/c they may time limit you per day and per attraction...

 

[rpb718]

Neither to start - There are so many AP folks hooked on Disney having serious withdrawal symptoms right now, and so many that are already booked for the rest of this year and into the next that aren't planning to cancel, there would be no problem filling the parks. I would think they'd take a wait-and-see stance at first then react accordingly.

But it also depends on how crowded they would be allowed to be when they do reopen. And I'm not sure they'd be staffed for full capacity at parks and resorts for a while.

And the unknown psychological factor - will everyone want to all of a sudden be anywhere really crowded after having spent a long period avoiding crowds. How are little children going to react to large crowds after having been sequestered at home and told to avoid being anywhere near other people? Even a child who was fine at WDW before might react totally differently after having gone through the stay-at-home crowd avoidance measures we are all a part of now after a couple more months. There will be some long term effects - especially with children.

 

[DebbieB]

People seem to think the parks will be packed this summer if they reopen. I'm not so sure. There are people with financial problems plus people who might be nervous due to fear of illness. There will be room discounts. If the economy rebounds, I see next year being more crowded, especially with the 50th.

 

[Krandor]

People seem to think the parks will be packed this summer if they reopen. I'm not so sure. There are people with financial problems plus people who might be nervous due to fear of illness. There will be room discounts. If the economy rebounds, I see next year being more crowded, especially with the 50th.

Yeah. We are conditioned right now to stay the hell away from people. Yeah just like spring break if disney opened there would be a ton of people who would show up but the general reaction would like the spring breakers "what the hell are those people thinking and why the heck is disney even open" so until Disney can open and not have those comments made they won't.

Bars and restauratns will have to open first. Then and only then can places like disney and sporting events and races and gatherings of thousands of people think to start back. If it isn't safe to go to a bar or restuarant by itself then disney is totally out.

That is why I see Disney springs opening first. Once you can start opening an entertainmet district like that things are looking up. Resorts only likely next and then parks as the tail end when everything else looks good.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Tickets prices will be the same but I expect a lot of discounts off rack rates though and likely more incentives like free dining will get added. .

I doubt they will discount the rooms. I have a reservation I made a few weeks ago incase April got cancelled and it did. My trip is May 21st - 30th YC, CL Standard View. After tax it is $5105.66 with my PH discount. I just tried to add one day and with PH discount it took my total, after tax to $6895.42 If I try to book the same reservation with my PH discount the total before tax is $6006.74 so before tax is much higher than my reservation after tax. They have clearly raised the price over the last few weeks. I'm glad I booked it when I did but it is Disney. They can change it again 5 times in the next month.

 

[mshanson3121]

Discounts. People aren't going to flock to Disney. Sure, the locals and some APs - but Disney can't survive on them. We're going to be in a major recession, if not depression. Disney is going to be at the very bottom of the priority list for most.

As it has been said before - history sets precedent - after 9/11, during the last recession, they offered good discounts.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

This is a unique downturn unlike any other in recent history. Unemployment will reach 30-40% as the service industry is being forced to shut down to stop the spread. Many of those folks will get their jobs back but will not get back their lost wages... not vacationing any time soon. Their stimulus checks will be going to pay the rent/ food on the table/ bills.



People with jobs working from home are not spending. They are making money and many are getting stimulus checks. They will be ready to spend spend spend when this is over.

Healthcare and essential industry workers. Many are working overtime like crazy. Not spending much. Saving lives or putting themselves at risk to keep the economy on life support. Making more money then normal. Will definitely want a vacation when this is over granted that they dont get sick.

The way I see it 1/3 of the country will not be vacationing any time soon while 2/3 will be more likely to vacation. We just dont know how long this will last...1.5 more months or 3 more months. If its on the shorter side, this summer will see our economy booming! Longer side? we will see a gradual long and painful road of recovery. Many businesses wont reopen mass layoffs and a spiraling effect on other industries. The work from home folks start getting laid off, essential careworkers die. That economy drags more people out of work and leads to a depression for 2-3 years.

So either we see some discounts for the summer fall with a quick rebound or massive discounts for years as we revisit the great depression... i would prefer option one. For now stay home! Flatten the Curve! We can all go back to WDW when this is over.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think there will be discounts but not immediately. I don’t think they’ll want to incentivize people to come ASAP since I imagine they open when the threat is lowered but not gone.

Discounts eventually though, especially if this carries on long enough causing lasting financial issues for many families. My guess is tickets remain the same (maybe discounted ones as part of a package
like they did in the past if things are really bad), but there are more AP discounts, better resort discounts, merch deals, that kind of thing.

 

[vinotinto]

If there is a price hike (or no discounts), it’s not to make up for lost revenue, but to limit the number of people. I don’t think they’ll be able to operate the rides and attractions at full capacity once they are able to reopen (whenever that is). They will need to have fewer people doing fewer things. The only way that becomes feasible is if they are getting a higher dollar amount per guest.

 

[jarestel]

Probably both. Disney tends to raise prices but offer discounts when things aren't as busy as they would like. The beauty of the plan is when things pick up, the discounts go away and the price increases not only remain in place, but another increase follows shortly.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't think we'll see anything like 50% room discounts. I do think availability of discounted rooms will be reasonable. I think Disney will close, OK delay re-opening, resorts if bookings don't warrant it. I''l speculate one or more All-Stars, PO (FQ or all) and Yacht Club are resorts which could be closed for a period of time. If necessary buildings could be closed.

 

[Redhead5]

I don't see any discounts because the parks won't be the same as before. I expect limits on the amount of people in each park and on property in general. Also, entry might be limited to resort guests (with only some resorts open.) Demand will easily be greater than supply.

 

[Bete]

No one truly knows what will happen once public places open again. There could be a spike in the virus. There could be closures again. I'm not trying to put doom and gloom into this but we are in unfounded territory.

I really think Disney may be covered by insurance to a degree for closures. After all, they are in a hurricane zone. There may be contingencies covering this type of occurrence.

Depending how long it will take to get back to our normal will definitely dictate what will happen to Disney pricing.

Personally, I will not be doing any vacation until there's a tried and proven vaccine against Covid-19. That will take 12-18 months from what the experts are saying. You could offer me a 50% discount to a Disney trip and I wouldn't go right now.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I really think Disney may be covered by insurance to a degree for closures. After all, they are in a hurricane zone. There may be contingencies covering this type of occurrence.

Disney is self insured.

 

[whiporee]

Nothing at first, but discounts to follow through the summer if the economy weakens. It won't be because of virus issues; it'll be because a lot of folks won't have the money to spend, and those who do might be hesitant to spend it.