WOW did cnn just slam WDW for ticket price increace

[blabbermouth]

They keep going up, but our vacations don't seem to be getting very much more expensive.

We're going in early September: Flights (from Seattle), tickets and hotel with free QS dining for a week will be $2000 for the two of us. Any spending we do above that (MORE food, alcoholic beverages, souvenirs) is only if we want to, not a requirement. So for us, while it's not "cheap" it's certainly on par with going to an all inclusive in Mexico.

 

[robinb]

It's 34%, not 50%.

Right you are for the 7-day pass! I calculated a 50% increase earlier for a 10-day no-expiry park hopper so I just quoted that instead of calculating for a 7-day. Thanks for pointing that out .

Just jumping in here to say that there is no way to make a fair comparison between WDW and Great America (or Great Adventure). They are completely different animals in terms of cleanliness, attractions and entertainment, staffing, location, safety, and themeing. In fact, Great America/Adventure is repulsive, in my opinion. I'll spend my dollars at WDW ten times over before going to GA.

Well ... I wasn't the one who brought up Great America in the first place. I was simply commenting on another person's monetary comparison. I agree that Great America and WDW are completely different animals.

 

[Bellamouse]

Right you are for the 7-day pass! I calculated a 50% increase earlier for a 10-day no-expiry park hopper so I just quoted that instead of calculating for a 7-day. Thanks for pointing that out .

Actually, right I am for the 10 day no expiration. The cost of that is $671, not $770 (I know this for certain because I just bought two of them on Monday). 671 is 171 dollars more than the 500 it used to cost. 171 divided by 500 = 34%

 

[glvsav37]

I'm not trying to justify the cost increase, just making a blanket comment on threads like this

Today's media is laughably bad, across the board. No fact checking, no sources, no counterpoints, nothing but an agenda and a need to make advertising money.

For everyone who mentioned that Universal wasn't spoken about, did it occur to anyone that this "story" was less about ticket prices and more about one media company trying to give a competing media company a body shot?

Media companies know that most viewers are sheep and will run to message boards like this (no offense to the OP) and post a "I can't believe" causing a bunch of others to run to CNNs site and watch the video, in turn driving up their hits and then using those numbers to drive web revenue.

Today's media is a joke and should only be watched on mute.

 

[doconeill]

Actually, right I am for the 10 day no expiration. The cost of that is $671, not $770 (I know this for certain because I just bought two of them on Monday). 671 is 171 dollars more than the 500 it used to cost. 171 divided by 500 = 34%

Need to make sure were comparing apples to apples - with or without tax.

I don't see a 10-day coming to $671 with or without tax. 10-day, no expiration, no options is $664+tax, or $707.16.

A 10-day NE with either WPFM or PH is $723+tax, or $770.

 

[robinb]

Need to make sure were comparing apples to apples - with or without tax.

I don't see a 10-day coming to $671 with or without tax. 10-day, no expiration, no options is $664+tax, or $707.16.

A 10-day NE with either WPFM or PH is $723+tax, or $770.

That's what I got from All Ears but maybe that's incorrect.

 

[Bellamouse]

Quantity: Description: Price:
2 * Adult ($ 671.95) Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More (Fun Visits) (10 day) - No Expiration 1343.90


Sub Total: 1343.90
Total Tax: Included
Regular Shipping: Free
Grand Total: $ 1343.90

Bought from Undercover Tourist. Which is exactly where I bought the $500 tickets years ago (I think it might have been 2007 but I wouldn't swear to that).

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

You're right that there are many people who are willing to pay for the perceived quality of the Disney brand. But, I think with park passes going up 50% in only 4 years they are really starting to price the return non AP visitor out of the market. Disney really doesn't mind if the majority of their guests are first time visitors. In fact, I would bet that first time visitors spend more money on their "trip of a lifetime" than many of the repeat DISers (such as yourself) spend on their 3rd or 4th or nth trip. I know *I* spend a lot less money at WDW these days than I did when my DD was younger and everything at Disney was less expensive.

I have an AP this year but normally I don't . I'll keep going! Our trip in May I know I spent way more than last trip but just because I wanted to have fun on my vacation. The time to pinch pennies is when you're home saving for vacation or new car or whatever makes you happy.
No one is being priced out of the resort.
When I get the chance to go to Disney or Hawaii(our 2nd fav destination) I plan , get current pricing and figure out what we can do and what we can't.It's simple.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE IS MORE EXPENSIVE

 

[doconeill]

Quantity: Description: Price:
2 * Adult ($ 671.95) Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More (Fun Visits) (10 day) - No Expiration 1343.90


Sub Total: 1343.90
Total Tax: Included
Regular Shipping: Free
Grand Total: $ 1343.90

Bought from Undercover Tourist. Which is exactly where I bought the $500 tickets years ago (I think it might have been 2007 but I wouldn't swear to that).

OK...that's different - they were from UT. Their prices may not have gone up yet as well, since they buy in bulk and then sell to you. Another apples-to-apples thing...since UT can vary there prices to a degree, it's hard to judge the price increase on any given day. Easier to do it with the gate prices.

 

[Bellamouse]

OK...that's different - they were from UT. Their prices may not have gone up yet as well, since they buy in bulk and then sell to you. Another apples-to-apples thing...since UT can vary there prices to a degree, it's hard to judge the price increase on any given day. Easier to do it with the gate prices.

Not really, because I'm comparing them to the same UT tickets bought years ago. So the differential should be the same. The tickets are only discounted a certain percentage and no more, so I got the same discount years ago that I am getting now, so the difference in spread should be approximately the same percentage. Whether we compare full price or discounted tickets. It only wouldn't work if I compared full price tickets to discounted tickets (which is what PP did) do you come up with that big percentage increase.

And UT doesn't vary their prices day to day. Each year they set the price based on the markup of the new ticket prices that they buy, and that's the price until the next increase.

 

[doconeill]

Not really, because I'm comparing them to the same UT tickets bought years ago. So the differential should be the same. The tickets are only discounted a certain percentage and no more, so I got the same discount years ago that I am getting now, so the difference in spread should be approximately the same percentage. Whether we compare full price or discounted tickets. It only wouldn't work if I compared full price tickets to discounted tickets (which is what PP did) do you come up with that big percentage increase.

And UT doesn't vary their prices day to day. Each year they set the price based on the markup of the new ticket prices that they buy, and that's the price until the next increase.

I don't believe UT has a fixed discount on the ticket prices they present to the customer. They can vary day to day...one week it could be a "Buy 4 days, get the 5th day free" (really, a 5-day at the 4-day price), and the next week it could be something different.

You know how much more YOUR price went up, but it might be slightly different for others.

I may have missed it back in an older post, but I didn't know you were talking about a discounted ticket. We can't make sure we aren't comparing a discounted ticket to a non-discounted ticket if we don't know one was discounted.

 

[Bellamouse]

I think that was the 2009 pricing (according to Mousesavers). That same pass is now $770. That's a 54% increase in only 4 years.

This is the quote where the original price came from Mousesavers. I believe they quote UT prices since that's who they are partnered with. Also, you are incorrect that they change prices daily or even weekly. I have been buying from them for years and have checked the website over many months before deciding to buy and also price for other people and the prices stay the same for a very long time. But I'm done arguing with people who are determined to believe what they want to believe rather than what the facts actually bear out.

I just know my new passes will make my price per day a little over $33.00. And those will last several years for us at least which protects us at least for awhile from future increases. Still quite reasonable in my opinion.

 

[doconeill]

This is the quote where the original price came from Mousesavers. I believe they quote UT prices since that's who they are partnered with. Also, you are incorrect that they change prices daily or even weekly. I have been buying from them for years and have checked the website over many months before deciding to buy and also price for other people and the prices stay the same for a very long time. But I'm done arguing with people who are determined to believe what they want to believe rather than what the facts actually bear out.

I just know my new passes will make my price per day a little over $33.00. And those will last several years for us at least which protects us at least for awhile from future increases. Still quite reasonable in my opinion.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm just saying in my experience UT ticket prices do vary to a certain degree, outside of price increases. I've seen the "+1 day free" bounce around different tickets, typically between the 3-6 day tickets. Right now, it's on the 4-day PH, 3-day WPFM, and 3-day PH/WPFM.

 

[AliceandAriel]

Actually, right I am for the 10 day no expiration. The cost of that is $671, not $770 (I know this for certain because I just bought two of them on Monday). 671 is 171 dollars more than the 500 it used to cost. 171 divided by 500 = 34%

Assuming this is the MouseSavers code, you know without it (which not everyone still knows about, even some DISers on here) that price is $673.95. And that is for the 10 day no expiration.

 

[robinb]

This is the quote where the original price came from Mousesavers.

Whoops! I understand the the problem now. I said Mousesavers but I meant All Ears .

Let's not try to compare discounted tickets because we really can't be sure how much UT receives as a discount from Disney from year to year and how much of that discount they pass onto their customers. In addition, everything that I read says that UT still has last year's tickets so I am almost certain that the 10-day non-expiry park hopper you purchased on Monday was not the new price 6/2013 price but the old 6/2012 price. You got a real bargain and I might grab one for myself while I can!

Firedancer said that he purchased a 10-day non-expiry park hopper ticket in 2010 for $499.01. I assumed that he purchased it under the 2009 pricing so I calculated the increase over 4 years.

Here is a link to All Ear's Ticket price history:
http://allears.net/tix/tixpix00.htm

The 2009 price increase as in August and a 10-day park hopper was $295 + $209 for the non-expiration = $504

4 years later in 2013 the price was increased in June:
http://allears.net/pl/ticketchart.htm#MYW4
10-day non-expiry park hopper = $770

$504 + percent increase on 2009 pricing = $770
$504 + 504x = 770
504x = 770-504
x = 266/504
x = 52.77%

The increase in ticket prices from when the prices were raised in 2009 to when the prices were raised in 2013 is $266 which is a 53% increase. Sorry, my DD just finished 8th grade algebra and algebra can be tricky. It is true that 2009 pricing is 34% LESS than 2013 but that 2013 pricing is 53% MORE than 2009 pricing at the same time.

 

[doconeill]

$504 + percent increase on 2009 pricing = $770
$504 + 504x = 770
504x = 770-504
x = 266/504
x = 52.77%

The increase in ticket prices from when the prices were raised in 2009 to when the prices were raised in 2013 is $266 which is a 53% increase. Sorry, my DD just finished 8th grade algebra and algebra can be tricky. It is true that 2009 pricing is 34% LESS than 2013 but that 2013 pricing is 53% MORE than 2009 pricing at the same time.

No need for algebra, really

Formula for determining price increase:

(new price - old price)/old price

So, (770-504)/504 = 266/504 = 0.527777..., or 52.78%

 

[FireDancer]

Bought from Undercover Tourist. Which is exactly where I bought the $500 tickets years ago (I think it might have been 2007 but I wouldn't swear to that).

The 10-day parkhopper with no expiration that I bought in 2010 was from UT so that is the price I quoted. I know it was still 2009 prices because I bought it after I heard speculation that the price increase would be announced soon. I didn't need it until marathon weekend 2011 but didn't want to risk payin more.

It was $499.01 total.

 

[summerw]

This is why I see Disney as still being a "value" even at higher prices. Most of our entertainment costs as much or way more than time at Disney.

My family does the annual pass route - we make at least 2 trips on each set of APs - (Late June the first year and early June the next year). It is normal for us to get at least 16-20 days of use. That means each day at WDW costs us about $30-$40 per person. We average about 10 hrs per day in the parks, so we are paying about $3-$4 per hour for our entertainment.

For comparison:

Going to see a movie - between $7-$9 per person for about 2 hrs = $3.50-$4.50 per hour
Going to a baseball game - between $25-$100 per person (current prices for White Sox on a Saturday in June) for about 3 hrs = $8-$33 per hour
Going to a Musical downtown - between $35-$150 per person for about 2 hrs = $17-$75 per hour
Going to a local Carnival - usually costs around $30-$40 with just my DS going on rides and DH & I standing around waiting for about 2 hrs = $15-$20 per hour
Going to a pop/rock concert - $60-$150 (obviously this varies a LOT) for about 2 hrs = $25-$75 per hour

Sure there are cheaper forms of entertainment. There are also cheaper vacations than going WDW. I would certainly not complain if Disney were cheaper, but I don't feel like it is a terrible value.

Exactly! Last year's increase at Disneyland KILLED me. My Southern California Select pass went from $199 to $269. I wasn't mad at Disney though. Obviously the $199 was super cheap. I'm sure they sold more of those than any other and realized it could stand the big increase. Disney loves their math and it's not random how some categories of tickets go up more than others. I don't think calculating one category's increase is an accurate assessment. Also, unfortunately, these prices won't seem as bad to international guests. The strength of the dollar is not Disney's fault either.

I doubt anyone here thinks Disney is inexpensive. I prioritize keeping my DLR pass though as I always feel I get the value out of it, unlike when I leave a movie, especially a bad one. At least I always feel I got what I paid for at Disney.

 

[Jennygt]

I'm not trying to justify the cost increase, just making a blanket comment on threads like this

Today's media is laughably bad, across the board. No fact checking, no sources, no counterpoints, nothing but an agenda and a need to make advertising money.

For everyone who mentioned that Universal wasn't spoken about, did it occur to anyone that this "story" was less about ticket prices and more about one media company trying to give a competing media company a body shot?

Media companies know that most viewers are sheep and will run to message boards like this (no offense to the OP) and post a "I can't believe" causing a bunch of others to run to CNNs site and watch the video, in turn driving up their hits and then using those numbers to drive web revenue.

Today's media is a joke and should only be watched on mute.

no offense taken. I was always aware that the media was a little tougher on wdw, this coverage was just proof of that. If they had talked about all orlando theme parks going up I would not have blinked an eye at the coverage. I am not sure why I am even surprised. With that said,my other issue is that someone who does not have the knowlege that we all have about vacation options at wdw might just say "no" to their family based on this 95 dollar a day story on CNN, yes it was the truth but, oh you guys here all know what I mean!

 

[nugov2]

I agree the ticket prices are crazy, but like pp said so are baseball tickets and any other entertainment event. Going to a baseball game for our family costs hundreds of dollars and I'm not much of a fan. That said, I am excited about our upcoming WDW vacation, but most likely won't go again for years(7-10). Why? Not our thing. Disney the way we travel is easily $5,000 for one week and I can travel to lots of places with that budget or skip a vacation year and double our budget. I want my kids to experience the country and overseas and now that my youngest is going on 3 it is becoming more of an option. I want the kids to experience other cultures and for us that won't be achieved by hitting Disney every year. Not slamming those who want to go every year in any way, but it just isn't a yearly destination for us. If we lived in Florida I would go every year, like we do six flags, but since we live out of state I would rather take our vacation fund and see other places.