Wow! A real money grab in my opinion

[etherealcaitiff]

To appropriate a quote from one of my favorite movies, "This is a business. This is not a charity. Maybe one day UNICEF will get into the theme park business."

 

[NavyDad]

We did a dessert party for Wishes maybe 2012-ish. It seemed to me that they were relatively new at the time and not very expensive. Maybe around $30-40 a person. The deserts were fantastic and they didn't let a ton of people into the party so the terrace felt open and spacious with plenty of great viewing area.

We planned to do it on our next trip but they had basically double the price in a short amount of time (it was still super popular) and we started to see reviews that they were selling more and more spots, people were crowded out and couldn't see and it was a mad rush to the dessert tables.

We have not gone back. Just seems like a terrible value in general.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Because you are buying a ticket to the halloween party, which only gets you entry to MK at 4ish; If you had a regular park ticket you can get there at opening, which is about 9am.

A regular park ticket on a party day gets you 9 hours. A party ticket gets you 8 hours. Not much of a difference between the two anymore.

 

[happily single]

A regular park ticket on a party day gets you 9 hours. A party ticket gets you 8 hours. Not much of a difference between the two anymore.

Not true. MK is open 9am to 11pm today.

 

[Mle8308]

Not true. MK is open 9am to 11pm today.

We are talking about a party day - either Not So Scary or Very Merry Christmas. Not a normal park day.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

To appropriate a quote from one of my favorite movies, "This is a business. This is not a charity. Maybe one day UNICEF will get into the theme park business."

Be careful with that wish...

UNICEF presents "it's a hungry world." It'll be a fifteen minute boat ride with sad looking kids holding paper boxes at the entry asking for your change. A few rides in, you'll find yourself without any change. Then, you realize you feel guilty going on the attraction without making a donation, so you just wander around, kicking dirt (there's no money for paved roads, let alone a Mainstreet, USA), before ultimately deciding to just go home. Talk about a money grab...

 

[indylaw99]

We go back and forth on whether we do the dessert parties for Halloween and Christmas party nights. Sometimes it is nice to just have a place to kick back and have snacks sitting down for awhile and then not have to fight for a place to see the fireworks. I would agree that the hub gets VERY packed for the fireworks at the holiday parties! I don't know if these parties sell out like they did in the past, but they always seem pretty full.

Also, the dessert parties usually have alcohol included in the prices. 2 drinks at Disney can set you back $30 or more. So desserts plus 2 drinks plus the viewing area isn't terrible for $100 if you were going to pay for drinks and desserts anyway. I think that some of these parties used to cost less when alcohol wasn't included?

I will say that these days I am more likely to spring for the dessert parties when it is just me and my husband as opposed to our family of 4!

 

[fan1080]

Back when the Christmas and Halloween parties started, there was a fairly big thread here about it. A lot of people were not happy about Disney double-dipping into our pockets. A park that was previously open all normal hours, is now closing early so they can charge guests an additional fee for a "Party".

It comes down to business. Disney has shareholders to answer to and is expected to show growth year after year. Profit is king, and Disney started to think out of the box to provide a new revenue stream. Then they took away EMH in the evening and started offering Disney After Hours. Once again, they found another revenue source.

It's a business, and as much as we prefer to have things as they were, there will be changes that are not in alignment with our expectations.

 

[musicguy856]

We are talking about a party day - either Not So Scary or Very Merry Christmas. Not a normal park day.

Except that MK in the past has opened at 8am on party days giving day guests 10 hours.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

My oldest son told me recently that he wishes Disney World was free. I had to break it to him that if it was free, he would no longer want to go there. Why, he asked. Well, the food would be awful, the attractions would be both terrible and closed, and the lines for the attractions would be the worst of the three.

 

[DL1WDW2]

A lot of things are free at Disney and I seem to share the SkyLiner s and the monorails and the boats with many . Not to mention the free parking at Disney Springs with lots of free entertainment.

 

[georgina]

Everyone has their own ideas of value. Some stay at deluxe resorts, some eat multiple table service meals, some buy extras like holiday parties and/or dessert parties. I enjoyed a dessert party at MNSSHP once. I probably won’t do it again, but no one forced me to spend that money. Doesn’t really count as a money grab any more than any other extra one can buy.

 

[Upatnoon]

Many guests come to Disney just for the party, it isn't part of a larger trip. They may be eager to spend extra for these enhanced experiences.

Some people just want to do things and don't have to worry about money. They value a bit of space and a slightly more special experience.

Remember, you can have a great time without doing any of the add-ons Disney offers.

 

[gottalovepluto]

My oldest son told me recently that he wishes Disney World was free. I had to break it to him that if it was free, he would no longer want to go there. Why, he asked. Well, the food would be awful, the attractions would be both terrible and closed, and the lines for the attractions would be the worst of the three.

Just dropping reality bombs all over that poor kids world

 

[nw6675]

My oldest son told me recently that he wishes Disney World was free. I had to break it to him that if it was free, he would no longer want to go there. Why, he asked. Well, the food would be awful, the attractions would be both terrible and closed, and the lines for the attractions would be the worst of the three.

And that's different than now?

couldn't resist being the first

 

[Lesverts]

I absolutely love walking into the Christmas party every year and seeing the massive line of angry guests at City Hall asking why they have to leave the park at 6pm. The moose out front shoulda told ya.

I haven't seen that. Just people getting real uppity at CMs doing the clearing walks and bracelet checks.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I absolutely love walking into the Christmas party every year and seeing the massive line of angry guests at City Hall asking why they have to leave the park at 6pm. The moose out front shoulda told ya.

 

[supernova]

My oldest son told me recently that he wishes Disney World was free. I had to break it to him that if it was free, he would no longer want to go there. Why, he asked. Well, the food would be awful, the attractions would be both terrible and closed, and the lines for the attractions would be the worst of the three.

Which suggests that there's good food at Disney? Well, at least we know that isn't true about the Magic Kingdom, anyway.

 

[nw6675]

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You jest....but I remember many moons ago way before the internet and google, my parents took my sis and me on a 3 hour drive to Carowinds on a Friday. It was closed.

Oh the trauma drama.

 

[kathy884]

lol -- I don't think of the special dessert party during the party as as much of a money grab as I think of the parties in general as a money grab (getting two sets of admissions for one park). And that has worked so well for WDW at least in the past, so more parties, after hours events, etc. have been added. As a stockholder great, as a visitor not all that thrilled, so I can choose to go or not.

These days, though, I realize the opportunity if you don't care about fireworks and shorter hours is low crowds during the day for the MK on a party day -- a rare opportunity. Unfortunately though most in my family want to see night time fireworks and have longer MK hours, and this means we hit the MK on a non-party day which during party season means an extra busy day and higher crowds. We usually only hit one for two Disney parks on a vacation, don't buy park hoppers, and aren't into the parties (oversold when we have been and too crowded), and we conclude that the busy non-party day is our best choice for an MK day. (I try to avoid party season for this very reason - just don't like any of the choices that time of year.).

Last time I was in Florida too, I had always wanted to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour so headed over for one day before flying home when I was in Tampa visiting a cousin who is in assisted living there to do the five hour tour. That meant a one day admission for $168 to the MK and then another $114 for the tour. It was a nice tour and all and I realize those with multiday tickets, season passes, etc. have that lower base prices. But for $282 in hind site it really wasn't worth it to me (felt really overpriced)-- I liked the experience but didn't love it and didn't think it was worth the money. Of course I knew the cost before I went and had decided to try it.

I think I am done with WDW -- maybe forever or maybe just for a while (have definitely enjoyed it, but put me in the category been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt). I also don't like not getting to do rope drop that is only available to onsite visitors, but I am not willing to pay onsite prices at WDW. I agree that those paying the onsite prices should get perks. But I want the perks too, but I don't want to pay for them, so that kind of puts me in the don't go category - my best choice for right now.

I say that but what is it about Disney that keeps me coming back - doing two and 1/2 daysat Disneyland Paris after a few days in Paris in September. I couldn't be that close to a Disney park that I hadn't been to before and not go, so added a few days to my European trip to fit this in. It looks like end of September is actually a slow time for the parks over there too and I'm going with DS who is a HUGE Disney fan. Getting to Europe in the first place is pricey, but once there off season Disneyland Paris didn't seem all that expensive even staying onsite compared to WDW. I'm really off season though, so that seems to be a really big part of that.