Ticket prices to be based on time of year?

[Keacc]

I spoke to a well known ticket vendor, and they said that WDW is thinking of changing all ticket prices to be based on dates. So, if you will be going at a popular time of year, you will be paying more to stand in longer lines with more people. You would be locked into a certain range of dates. This would be even worse than their making tickets expire by a certain date. Who is driving the WDW bus and why are they diving it over their customers?

 

[jknezek]

I spoke to a well known ticket vendor, and they said that WDW is thinking of changing all ticket prices to be based on dates. So, if you will be going at a popular time of year, you will be paying more to stand in longer lines with more people. You would be locked into a certain range of dates. This would be even worse than their making tickets expire by a certain date. Who is driving the WDW bus and why are they diving it over their customers?

Dynamic pricing has been bandied about for a while. The expectation is it will be implemented this year. This is new to Disney, but not new to entertainment in general. We've seen sporting events and concerts go to dynamic pricing models as well. It's simple supply and demand. If demand is high and supply is low, Disney tickets are worth more. Disney, as a company, is going to try and capitalize on that. It may also smooth demand. For example, if you generally go in the summer but tickets are more expensive in the summer, you may then try and go at some point with lower costs. This will smooth out demand for Disney and allow them to smooth out their own staffing and stocking costs by not having high and low times. You tend to be overstaffed in low times and understaffed in high times, so anything to smooth out those peaks and valleys can help you with expenses.

Regardless, they are, as you put it, driving the bus over their customers because the customers continue to pay, in droves, to be driven over. The whole point of this is that at certain times of the year, people stack themselves so high on the road the bus is having trouble getting over the top. So Disney would like to find a happy medium where there are just enough people stacked in the road at all times to make driving the bus a smooth experience, and they are perfectly happy to get the people being driven over to pay more to have that experience.

 

[tlmadden73]

"It's an industry standard" will be there line.

I wouldn't be surprised to see TIME based pricing to help control crowds.

I am getting tickets to Lego Discovery Zone in Atlanta, and while you can stay the whole day, you have to sign up for a specific entry time. Want to arrive at 10:00 am (if slots still available and you pay one price .. want to arrive at 1:00 PM, and you pay a cheaper price).

I could see them doing the same thing at WDW, though it probably would be a nightmare of PR and just disrupting normal vacation planning.

 

[ArwenMarie]

There was an article on the WSJ about this yesterday. I would post the link but it's behind a paywall.

One thing that was mentioned that I hadn't heard before was that tickets will cost less the earlier you buy them.

"Under the changes being considered in recent months, a ticket to Disneyland for Christmas Day, for example, may cost less if purchased on July 1 than on Dec. 24, this person said. Such a system would encourage visitors to commit to a day to visit the park farther in advance than they currently do, this person added, which allows parks to plan better."

 

[mom2rtk]

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

I think we have already started to see the consequences of this policy with the variable one-day pricing model. People are more heavily favoring months like January and September instead of June-August. Remember all of the griping this past January when wait times were really high because Disney understaffed and lowered the thru-put on attractions. I don't think it was malicious intent on Disney's part they were just caught off-guard by the crowds. Interesting fact, Disney dramatically ramped up thru-put and staffing on all attractions in February resulting in the opposite problem: less time for ride maintenance and more breakdowns.

I think you can base "demand for disney" based on when they offer discounts. Look at the last few summers, they have really been offering some steep discounts to get people on property. Contrast that with Spring Break, granted it has always been busy but based on reports it is starting to overtake summer as the "high season" People don't want to pay top dollar to vacation in the heat of summer.

The way Disney has their system set up now already has a lot of people planning far in advance to buy their tickets. Prices go up every year, ADR's can be made 180 days + out, 60+ for FP etc. Do I miss some spontaneity? sure. Disney's intent is to smooth out attendance so that no family has to deal with pressing crowds, but what i suspect will happen is instead they will create attendance spikes of informed guests based on value vs Peak days. The average consumer of WDW is dong their HW when they spend thousands on a Disney Vacation.

Its gonna take another economic downturn for the WDW money express to slow down and even then SWGE may be recession proof for a few years.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

There was an article on the WSJ about this yesterday. I would post the link but it's behind a paywall.

One thing that was mentioned that I hadn't heard before was that tickets will cost less the earlier you buy them.

"Under the changes being considered in recent months, a ticket to Disneyland for Christmas Day, for example, may cost less if purchased on July 1 than on Dec. 24, this person said. Such a system would encourage visitors to commit to a day to visit the park farther in advance than they currently do, this person added, which allows parks to plan better."

Almost seems like the model for Disney Cruise Line (and others) - where the day tickets are available is (generally) the cheapest they will ever be and as the ship fills up (or in the case, the allotment for tickets left for that day goes down) the prices go up.

If that does happen, just imagine how crazy it will be the day the next years tickets go on sale trying to call to get tickets, etc.

I still want to see what they do for the pricing of the different parks. Right now, a one day at MK is more expensive than at the other 3 parks - but with Galaxy's Edge coming, will they make DHS more expensive?

 

[hertamaniac]

Its gonna take another economic downturn for the WDW money express to slow down and even then SWGE may be recession proof for a few years.

I definitely agree with this. It will occur, but not sure what event(s) will trigger this. In the meantime, I can foresee the model of harvest as much money as you can, while the economic wave of prosperity is not on the bottom.

What I think we might see is more dark/inside attractions to counter the oppressive summer heat; use these attractions to help drive attendance on the non-peak calendars.

 

[dm1996]

I’m thinking they are going to go to this pricing structure just in time for SWGE to open. Let’s say HS tickets start at $125 next summer? I bet with dynamic pricing, they top out at $200 once SW opens up. It’s free money for Disney and they can start the ticket increase at whatever point they want because they know the die hards will pay it. Just like paid resort parking which will include resort fees by the time the 50th anniversary gets here.

 

[gharter]

They already do this with extra ticket items like MNSSHP and MVMCP. The tickets are much cheaper earlier in the season and get more expensive as you get closer the the holiday itself.
I wouldn't be surprised to see them put this in place. I can see how this would work when you bundle a ticket into a resort package. Not sure how it works when you just purchase a multi day ticket only, month ahead of your visit.

 

[baler31]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/disney-tests-pricing-power-theme-142500349.html

This article discusses ticket prices and claims insiders have data that Disney could charge much more than it currently does and still not drive a significant number of guests away.

 

[baler31]

I had not heard about the upcharge event for last rides that the article mentions as well. I know many people like to be the last to ride a closing attraction and would be curious how this event did.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

They pretty much already do this...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/disney-tests-pricing-power-theme-142500349.html

This article discusses ticket prices and claims insiders have data that Disney could charge much more than it currently does and still not drive a significant number of guests away.

Oh no doubt - when you see what a lot of pro sports charge or a Broadway show - I think you still get a lot of value for the ticket prices

I think the hotels are overprices but the park tickets really aren't outlandish

 

[ArwenMarie]

Oh no doubt - when you see what a lot of pro sports charge or a Broadway show - I think you still get a lot of value for the ticket prices

I think the hotels are overprices but the park tickets really aren't outlandish

I just spent $1700 for six days of non-hopper tickets for a family of 4 for our trip this summer. That's pretty outlandish to me!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I just spent $1700 for six days of non-hopper tickets for a family of 4 for our trip this summer. That's pretty outlandish to me!

Really? That works out to ~$71 per person per day. A single day at 6 Flags Great Adventure (gate price) is $74

The average Broadway show ticket price passed $100 this year

The average non-premium ticket price to a NY Knicks game is $123 - and the Knicks stink!

Not trying to say they are cheap but for all you can do in a day at a WDW park it think the park tickets are reasonable compared to other forms of entertainment

 

[ArwenMarie]

Really? That works out to ~$71 per person per day. A single day at 6 Flags Great Adventure (gate price) is $74

The average Broadway show ticket price passed $100 this year

The average non-premium ticket price to a NY Knicks game is $123 - and the Knicks stink!

Not trying to say they are cheap but for all you can do in a day at a WDW park it think the park tickets are reasonable compared to other forms of entertainment

$71 dollars pp per day, so $280 for my little family to walk through the gates. Not cheap. Or at minimum, very motivating to make sure we get the most value out of that

You can get an summer pass at Six Flags for $80

I don't know where I stand on the comparison to Broadway prices. You're getting a live stage show plus a live orchestra for that, along with amazing sets and all that goes into that. That's a tough one to compare

 

[rteetz]

The average non-premium ticket price to a NY Knicks game is $123 - and the Knicks stink!

Well it is NY... An average ticket to a Milwaukee Bucks game is $60, $27 for Milwaukee Brewers, and $100 for Green Bay packers.

 

[jknezek]

I think when you compare the average price of a WDW ticket over 5 days or so to the average cost of any other entertainment, on a dollar per hour basis it is relatively inexpensive. The difference is, even when you go to NYC to see a show, you go and see a show, have dinner, and generally leave. You don't see 5 days of shows, or at least most people don't. The reason WDW is so expensive is because you go for multiple days. And most people need to eat out those days at least one or two times a day. WDW at an average cost of $75 per person per day to get through the gate is a bargain for one day's entertainment. Even adding $75-$100 per person per day to eat, for one day, a family of 4 would spend $700. That's a lot of money, but it's a full day. That's about what you would get for 3 or 4 hours with a Broadway show and dinner or an NFL game and a good meal with a family of 4. And honestly, you got at least twice as much time in the park as you get at either of those, maybe 3x if you are a RD to EMH type person.

However, when you kick that up to $3500 for 5 days, now it's real money. And of course that doesn't add in 5 days of accomodations, which you don't need for a one night event, or possibly travel costs, which you might or might not need for either option. And, of course, you can't get a 1 day ticket for $75, but we'll ignore that.

Anyway, WDW is pretty good value for money if you are trying to be constantly entertained for 60 hours over 5 days. Not too many other places can even do that, let alone would charge less than $10 per hour per person to try plus food. Maybe a cruise is the closest thing?

Regardless though, value for money, and cheap, aren't the same things. Not by a long shot...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

$71 dollars pp per day, so $280 for my little family to walk through the gates. Not cheap. Or at minimum, very motivating to make sure we get the most value out of that

You can get an summer pass at Six Flags for $80

I don't know where I stand on the comparison to Broadway prices. You're getting a live stage show plus a live orchestra for that, along with amazing sets and all that goes into that. That's a tough one to compare

Right but that is still $400 for your family to get in the door of a broadway play (and that is average for all the shows, the best ones are more that that). And that is what, 3 hours of entertainment vs a full day

And while not broadway some of the shows at WDW are pretty great and you also get rides, and fireworks, and characters, and streetmosphere, etc

In no way am I saying it is cheap or anything but I think you can get pretty good value out a park ticket vs other relatively high end entertainment options