Why did WDW change tix?

[sunny04]

Just curious - I was reading in Disney Magazine today, and it was telling what was new. They listed the MYW tickets as being a new thing introduced at WDW...but didn't mention the other places. Any ideas why only Disney World went to this new system? I assumed it was all Disney parks in general...

 

[LegoMom3]

This is just my best guess, but it would seem to have something to do with trying to get people to stay longer (and thus, spend more money!). If you look at the breakdown of the new tickets, the price for one day gets significantly less the longer you stay - for example, if you buy a 7-day Magic Your Way pass, the price per day is something like only $23!...if you purchase only a 3-day pass, the price per day is still up around $40-$50.

This would make sense at WDW because they now have SO much to see and do that it's actually hard to even taste it all in a short stay. I don't know much about the international parks, but Disneyland in CA just isn't as big so a big long stay doesn't make much sense.

 

[snappy]

Also, you are less likely to visit Universal Studios or other attractions if you buy the longer stay Disney ticket, and do not purchase the non-expiring option.

 

[sunny04]

Okay....well I knew the benefits of the tickets (ie. the more days you stay etc.) I was just trying to figure out why the other parks didn't have these benefits as well.....LegoMom hit it on the nose I think that the other parks don't have as much to offer for long trips. If I had really used my brain I guess I coulda figured that out....thanks for the answer.

 

[LegoMom3]

snappy has a VERY good point, too! Disney wants ALL of your vacation time and $$! Of course, in my very humble opinion, that's the only place to go!

 

[snappy]

Disney is where I am going.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

I would NEVER cheat on Disney and go to Universal anyway, so this is a GREAT deal for us!!! I also promised not to EVER go there last last time we ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe!! We also wouldn't stay at the "Red Roof Inn" across the lagoon from WL!! (My DD's get a KICK out of that . . . so do I!) Sorry . . . off track!!

 

[tjkraz]

One of the primary deficiencies in the old ticketing system was that it wasn't 100% versatile. If you wanted 2 park hopping days, you couldn't get it. If you wanted a 7-day pass but didn't need park hopping priviledges, you couldn't get it.

To solve some of these problems (most notably the short duration tickets) people turned to eBay and other illegal resellers. You could easily find a couple hundred Disney ticket auctions at any given time on eBay alone, not to mention the local vendors who delt in such things.

So, Disney did two things:

1. You can get just about any ticketing combination that you want under MYW. The pricing is slanted toward longer (more expensive) passes, but if you want a 2-day hopper you CAN now get it.

2. Personal identification of all passes. Each guest now must use the biometric scanners / readers to provide proof of ownership of the pass.

Both of these steps effectively put the secondary ticket market out of business. No more reselling of old passes because YOU are the only one that can use YOUR pass. And, with the new flexibility, there really shouldn't be a reason for selling partially used passes.

The guest benefits, too. Again, you can buy as few or as many days as you want. You can also drop features that you do not need from a pass. Don't want to park hop? Don't pay for park hopping priviledges. Going to use your entire pass within 14 days? Don't pay for the non-expiration option.

Even better, for passes more than 5 or 6 days in length, you can buy all of the same features as an old Park Hopper Plus, and you'll pay LESS under the new ticket structure. If you buy the 10-day pass and either use it for one long trip or multiple shorter ones, you'll save a LOT of money over what you would have paid for the PHPs.

 

[snappy]

Thanks tjkraz, great analysis.
MYW tickets are a win win deal for Disney and guests.
I like them. We ended up with annual passes again this year because we have two trips planned but will use the 10 days expiring hopper in the future if we can manage an extended trip in the summer. It will save us money and allow a relaxing vacation for us.

 

[sunny04]

One little thing I want to add to the win-win comment. Most people seem to go on one long trip to Disney, so this is a win-win situation. DH and I go maybe twice a year for 4 days at a time. For us, the new ticketing system is WAY more expensive. We already have APs, so will most likely just renew...but for 8 days, the AP is a bit expensive too. We get the worth out of them by using the discounts, and usually adding another short trip in. But just a side note that for those that enjoy the short trips, MYW is not win-win.

 

[DEff]

One little thing I want to add to the win-win comment. Most people seem to go on one long trip to Disney, so this is a win-win situation. DH and I go maybe twice a year for 4 days at a time. For us, the new ticketing system is WAY more expensive. We already have APs, so will most likely just renew...but for 8 days, the AP is a bit expensive too. We get the worth out of them by using the discounts, and usually adding another short trip in. But just a side note that for those that enjoy the short trips, MYW is not win-win.

I guess the key there is to pony up the bucks up front and get a longer ticket w/no expiry and split it between 2 (or more) trips, to keep the cost down. Yeah, they get your $$ now instead of later, but this also provides protection against price increases.

While we are going for 7 days this time, we're not going to spend every day in the parks (a hush falls across the crowd... yet, I carry on) so we'll have to take a short trip sometime in the near future. I'm dying to try a September trip, and since it will be a shorter one, it shouldn't total my older daughter's school schedule. (She'll be in middle school by then.)

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I was really intersted in the 10 day pass, but since like snappy is I am also going on two trips this year and decided on an AP.

 

[RescueRanger]

One little thing I want to add to the win-win comment. Most people seem to go on one long trip to Disney, so this is a win-win situation. DH and I go maybe twice a year for 4 days at a time. For us, the new ticketing system is WAY more expensive. We already have APs, so will most likely just renew...but for 8 days, the AP is a bit expensive too. We get the worth out of them by using the discounts, and usually adding another short trip in. But just a side note that for those that enjoy the short trips, MYW is not win-win.

Why don't you by a 10 day MYW pass and add the non-expiration to it. These would cost you about $350 with the park hopper option and the non-expire option. If you took 2 trips, that would only be about $175 per trip. That doesn't sound too bad to me.

 

[sunny04]

We considered that....but the 10 day being 350 is not much different from the AP renewal price. With the AP we get great discounts, and can add in another trip if we choose to, with no extra ticket cost. So...I think we've decided to stick to the AP. I was just throwing out a thought about the MYW tickets being harder on those who frequent with short trips...no major problems for us, but it would discourage us from doing one short trip.

 

[eeyore0062]

The new ticketing system gives guests the most flexibility.

Used to be you couldn't get a one, two or three day hopper... now, you can.

Used to be you couldn't get a 6 or 7 day hopper without having to pay for the plusses, now you can.

Used to be that you couldn't get plusses on anything less than a 5 day ticket, now you can.

Used to be you couldn't get tickets for more than 7 days, now you can!

These tickets are much more user friendly, and the more days you purchase, the more you will save!