Price Increase June 12th

[plutosnana]

Yikes. I can tell those prices are up! Not just tickets! What about FOOD!! who wants a 5.00 hamburger! Or a 2.00 coke! While at Mcdonald's check out the dollar menu! Wow, these vacations are changing not just with prices but with the budget!

[Aurora]

Really? I completely disagree. Disney provides entertainment and competes with every other form of entertainment there is ... skiing, cruising, movies, sports, concerts ... so while maybe it's not a direct comparison in terms of the experience or the audience they're certainly competing for some of the same dollars.

Look, you can mock me if you want but to me $84 for a day in Disney World is a steal. Have you people looked at the prices for tickets to a ballgame or a concert for a high profile entertainer these days? Average price is well north of $100 and that's for like three hours worth of sitting in a seat and listening to about 50% of a music set that you like or watching your team maybe win or maybe lose.

Disney is like 12 or 13 solid hours of guaranteed fun. And listen ... the reason they keep raising their prices is because the demand is there. Trust me. I just got back. The parks are jammed. They're doing what any good business should and raising prices to meet increased demand.

I agree with you about the entertainment value, but in real dollars, the problem is that I don't go to a Disney park for just one day, or take just me. If I'm going to a concert, I don't go every day in one week and bring my whole family, or travel 1,100 miles to get to the concert. And if I want, I can pay WAY cheaper prices for a ballgame or concert and still get to experience it with the people who paid lots more to sit just a little closer.

I get why Disney prices are what they are. And nobody's forcing me to go on a Disney vacation. I just wish there were ways to make the tickets cheaper (like not front-loading the cost of the first few days on the tickets). If I lived in Florida, I would have a lot of nice little options to still experience the park at a bargain (such as "after 4 p.m." passes). Again, I know why they do this; I just wish it were an option for me.

Look, many people I know are better off financially than we are and I consider myself lucky to be able to go on vacation as often as we do. It's just a bite to know you're being slowly priced out of the market for a place you love so much.

[allirae]

Just a little extra info:
The ticket prices have not been raised in the stores yet. I don't know if it was a miss or what, but we were told yesterday that the price increase would be in our system "soon" and to stay tuned for details. The stores carry 3-7 day MYW tickets with the hopper/water parks/no expiration options. Just thought you'd all like to know.

[allirae]

Disney Stores, Disney Store Outlets, and Imagination Park Stores that is.

[allirae]

The ticket prices went up at the stores today.

[princessgirls]

Really? I completely disagree. Disney provides entertainment and competes with every other form of entertainment there is ... skiing, cruising, movies, sports, concerts ... so while maybe it's not a direct comparison in terms of the experience or the audience they're certainly competing for some of the same dollars.

Look, you can mock me if you want but to me $84 for a day in Disney World is a steal. Have you people looked at the prices for tickets to a ballgame or a concert for a high profile entertainer these days? Average price is well north of $100 and that's for like three hours worth of sitting in a seat and listening to about 50% of a music set that you like or watching your team maybe win or maybe lose.

Disney is like 12 or 13 solid hours of guaranteed fun. And listen ... the reason they keep raising their prices is because the demand is there. Trust me. I just got back. The parks are jammed. They're doing what any good business should and raising prices to meet increased demand.

I completely agree...I have to say...I happened to see my husband's ticket stub from a recent Yankee Game lying around...$265. YEP...One game, yes it was club seating with food, but he was ONLY there for a few hours. A concert that lasts 2 hours if you are lucky is $100 a ticket.
A good solid 12-13 hours of fun! My family can close a park. I do get my money's worth!
Julie

[Polynesian Dweller]

I would like to invite all those who trashed Disney for raising it's prices to return to comment on Universal raising it's prices by as much as 14% today. The one day Universal price is now the same as Disney's $85 and the three day went to $159 from $139. So the question is, does this make Universal as greedy as Disney or is Disney the only greedy company?

[UCJen]

I would like to invite all those who trashed Disney for raising it's prices to return to comment on Universal raising it's prices by as much as 14% today. The one day Universal price is now the same as Disney's $85 and the three day went to $159 from $139. So the question is, does this make Universal as greedy as Disney or is Disney the only greedy company?

Ok, Sure!

Honestly, I don't care what Universal charges. They could charge $100/day for all I care. Why? Because I have no interest in going there. I'm not going to show indignation about things in which I have no interest.

I understand these are businesses and not philanthropic organizations and it seems for the time being, these prices are fairly inelastic.

I have already clearly enumerated in this thread why I am seeing diminishing value in a trip to Disney, all of which I feel are highly valid.

I have no problem paying top whack for a premium product, but quality at WDW has been sliding for a long time and I am getting tired of admiring the emperor's new clothes.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I would like to invite all those who trashed Disney for raising it's prices to return to comment on Universal raising it's prices by as much as 14% today. The one day Universal price is now the same as Disney's $85 and the three day went to $159 from $139. So the question is, does this make Universal as greedy as Disney or is Disney the only greedy company?

Not going to defend Universal as I started a thread calling it monkey see, monkey do... However, if you buy your Universal tickets online, you now get a $20.00 discount instead of $10.00, which means that three day $159 ticket is still $139.00. Oh, and they did NOT raise prices on annual passes.... Something Disney would NEVER EVER consider doing...

So, while Universal is being greedy, they aren't being AS GREEDY as Disney is...

[DizneyRox]

It's been a number of years since I've been to Universal, so I'm a little off on what to expect. However, I maintain that IOA is THE best themed park in Central Florida. Hulk is one of the best coasters, SpiderMan I think still takes the cake on best ride. And from what I can remember, they are constantly upgrading, building.

Disney on the other hand seems to be constantly taking away. Although, the Fantasyland Expansion is nice, it's a few years late and can be thought of as reactionary to Harry Potter Land.

$85 a ticket anywhere though is a tough sell for me.

You can compare it all you want to other entertainment options, but a lot of those don't impact me either. I'm not interested in paying $100+ for a ball game, I'm not interested in 90+ for skiing. Heck, I won't even pay $12.50 for a movie, I just don't think it's worth it.

There will be a point where a choice will be made on what to do with my entertainment dollar, and I don't mind walking away. I'm pretty spiteful that way. Disney is quickly approaching that threshold. Universal might be there as well, but I need to see for myself, which might come sooner than later. I think our next trip to Central Florida will be a Universal/Sea World type trip.

And to clarify, it's NOT about greed, it's about value. As mentioned, I don't mind spending money, in fact I enjoy it, that's why I make it. But you need to earn it, I don't enjoy being turned upside down and shaken until the last nickel hits the ground and spins to a stop.

[Ian]

For the purposes of my response I was focused solely on comparing Disney to others competing in their space.

If you want to talk about today's Disney competing against the Disney of 20 years ago, that's a different topic entirely IMO.

[Scar]

To quote Gordon Gekko... "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good".

Honestly, the fact that Disney raised is prices a couple of bucks won't affect (or is it effect ) my decision to go one bit. There are way too many other factors to weigh than to worry about three dollars a day.

Now that being said, it's probably not the best PR move in this economy.

And put me in the “couldn’t care less about Universal” camp. It could be free and I might still not go.

[BrerGnat]

I think all one needs to do is spend a day at ANY other "theme" park to realize that Disney is STILL a fabulous value for the money.

I live in Southern California, and am surrounded by theme/amusement parks: Six Flags, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Disneyland, Legoland, Sea World, etc. I've visited all of these over the years, and although I've been able to experience MOST of them either free or significantly discounted (through military promotions), when you look at the "real world" price of these other places, and you see what you get, Disneyland comes out looking downright CHEAP in comparison.

As an example, a one day ticket into Legoland (including the new water park and aquarium) is $89! Parking is $12. Don't even get me started on the food...a counter service lunch of mediocre burgers will put you back in the neighborhood of $60 for a family of 4. And, they do NOT let you bring in any food to the park! Now, Legoland is nice. I actually like it a lot, and my kids love it, but they just do NOT have their act together in the areas of crowd control/management, customer service, and cleanliness compared to Disney. Spending a day there makes you realize that the Disney company really does know what they are doing, and it's hard to feel like they are "lacking" in any way after spending a day at a competing park. I use Legoland as the most direct competitor to Disney because, of ALL the amusement/theme parks out there, I think Legoland is probably #2 after Disney. My experiences at Universal, Sea World, and Knott's were just so disappointing and the experience is not even remotely close to that of visiting a Disney theme park. It's not a fair comparison, although, money wise, it's pretty close.

I guess my point is, yeah, Disney is expensive, but so is EVERYWHERE ELSE that provides entertainment for dollars. Disney will continue to get my money, because the other places haven't impressed me enough to return to them over and over again.

[Dulcee]

Now, Legoland is nice. I actually like it a lot, and my kids love it, but they just do NOT have their act together in the areas of crowd control/management, customer service, and cleanliness compared to Disney. Spending a day there makes you realize that the Disney company really does know what they are doing, and it's hard to feel like they are "lacking" in any way after spending a day at a competing park.

We find this same problem with Six Flags and Busch Gardens. Cleanliness is a big enough issue that my parents actually won't go to these parks anymore because of how low of a standard they seem to keep.

[DizneyRox]

If you want to talk about today's Disney competing against the Disney of 20 years ago, that's a different topic entirely IMO.

See, I don't think it is a different topic... That IS my comparison. I get that prices go up, each year I get more money, etc. There's a significant difference in what I was making in the early days at Disney than now. There's probably 2-3 times more discretionary income now than there was in 1999. But I went like 5 times between 1999 and 2000, it was an outstanding value back then.

In 2001 we dropped over $30K on a Disney Wedding, because frankly it was a good value! We would have gotten nothing even remotely close to what we got at Disney for what we spent. 10 years later, we're spending our anniversary on a cruise.

Soon it'll be one year since I set foot in a park, and I don't have any plans on my calendar (with DVC I can and usually do plan 11 months out).

Why is that?

[seanyred]

See, I don't think it is a different topic... That IS my comparison. I get that prices go up, each year I get more money, etc. There's a significant difference in what I was making in the early days at Disney than now. There's probably 2-3 times more discretionary income now than there was in 1999. But I went like 5 times between 1999 and 2000, it was an outstanding value back then.

In 2001 we dropped over $30K on a Disney Wedding, because frankly it was a good value! We would have gotten nothing even remotely close to what we got at Disney for what we spent. 10 years later, we're spending our anniversary on a cruise.

Soon it'll be one year since I set foot in a park, and I don't have any plans on my calendar (with DVC I can and usually do plan 11 months out).

Why is that?

Because you have decided that your money is better spent elsewhere? While some of us still feel that even though its expensive the value is still there. I don't think either answer is "right" I just think it comes down to personal choice.

Also when comparing US vs WDW just looking at the parking doesn't WDW have more overhead than US? Think about US is just a huge parking garage like in any other major city, with very few staff and no transportation to the main gate (not that its needed because it is a short walk). Were WDW has numerous cast members and transportation in the parking lot alone. Not to mention all the other "free" transportation on the property (buses, boats, monorails and trams) So considering their prices are about the same I think WDW is still reasonable.

On a side note you also stated that you think IOA is the best themed park in the area? I respect your opinion but I don't get it. I've been there once (pre harry potter) and have never had an interest to go again (except now that harry potter is open). Its just not a very good amusement park. It has some really cool rides but the place as whole is not better than a Six Flags.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Because you have decided that your money is better spent elsewhere? While some of us still feel that even though its expensive the value is still there. I don't think either answer is "right" I just think it comes down to personal choice.

Also when comparing US vs WDW just looking at the parking doesn't WDW have more overhead than US? Think about US is just a huge parking garage like in any other major city, with very few staff and no transportation to the main gate (not that its needed because it is a short walk). Were WDW has numerous cast members and transportation in the parking lot alone. Not to mention all the other "free" transportation on the property (buses, boats, monorails and trams) So considering their prices are about the same I think WDW is still reasonable.

On a side note you also stated that you think IOA is the best themed park in the area? I respect your opinion but I don't get it. I've been there once (pre harry potter) and have never had an interest to go again (except now that harry potter is open). Its just not a very good amusement park. It has some really cool rides but the place as whole is not better than a Six Flags.

IOA has been voted best theme park by several theme park industry insiders. And the place is A LOT better than Six Flags. Where Six Flags has little to no themes, IOA is full of immersive lands and themes. Marvel Superhero Island is more themed than any area in any Six Flags park.

[seanyred]

IOA has been voted best theme park by several theme park industry insiders. And the place is A LOT better than Six Flags. Where Six Flags has little to no themes, IOA is full of immersive lands and themes. Marvel Superhero Island is more themed than any area in any Six Flags park.

I'm wondering if they were voted best themed park before 2004. Which was the last time I stepped foot at IOA. Back in 2004 I was not very impressed with theme's but I was impressed with the rides. However, I do plan on going again to visit Harry Potter so I'll keep an open mind and see if its better than how I remember it.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I'm wondering if they were voted best themed park before 2004. Which was the last time I stepped foot at IOA. Back in 2004 I was not very impressed with theme's but I was impressed with the rides. However, I do plan on going again to visit Harry Potter so I'll keep an open mind and see if its better than how I remember it.

Theme Park Insider rates IOA as the best theme back in 2003 and 2002... Can't find prior to 2002 though... So, IOA has had this distinction since 2002 at least...

It is a matter of taste... Some people love it, some hate it... Some love both Universal and Disney... Disney fanboys refuse to like Universal, thinking Disney cannot do any wrong... We all know THAT is a big myth... But calling IOA or Universal Six Flags is not an opinion, it is WRONG..

[seanyred]

Theme Park Insider rates IOA as the best theme back in 2003 and 2002... Can't find prior to 2002 though... So, IOA has had this distinction since 2002 at least...

It is a matter of taste... Some people love it, some hate it... Some love both Universal and Disney... Disney fanboys refuse to like Universal, thinking Disney cannot do any wrong... We all know THAT is a big myth... But calling IOA or Universal Six Flags is not an opinion, it is WRONG..

nope it's an opinion. So I take exception to being told I'm wrong when stating my opinion. Besides my opinion wasn't based on just theme, it was the all around experience. IOA has a lot of bells and whistles but it's missing heart.

back to the original subject I just feel that even though expensive the value for a WDW vacation is worth it, even though I'm not a fan of price increases.