$38.99 in 2007?

[BCV23]

Yes...
but occupancy was also going up at that time. Occupancy has gone up steadily since traveling picked up again following the down times after 9/11.

That is true.

But there were great AP rates pre 9/11 as well. AP rates represented significant savings for many years but no longer.

 

[Palendat]

I don't think that AP specials are less because of "abuse". I think Disney is looking for ways to increase revenue (dining plan) and give great service (ME) instead of giving discounts (which gives them less revenue). Guests who stay on site exculsively for extended stays are actually paying less for their vacations (MYW tickets, no car rental necessary, DDP) while those on short stays, or also going to Universal, etc., are paying more per night.

 

[BCV23]

ME and MYW are certainly designed for that reason.

But AP rates had been great for many years through many promotions. For most of those years, only those of us with APs for our whole families were using them or even knew about them.

We made enough trips per year to justify the cost of our APs and the discounts were a bonus. I knew a couple who would plan last minute weekend trips and pop down from Illinois with their APs. I think WDW made quite a bit of money on families like ours. We have APs precisely because we do spend our money at WDW not Universal.

Good AP rates and promotions like ME and MYW are not mutually exclusive. And again, the deep AP discounts were gone before ME and MYW.

 

[bicker]

Hehe... that would be kinda neat if it only went up $1. That's what I guess in a thread last week where this came up.

The size of the increase has nothing to do with whether or not they're making money or how much. Prices are always reflective of what the market is willing to pay, and specifically set based on what will raise the most revenue, which requires factoring in both costs but also the impact prices have on whether customers will buy or not. If too many people abuse the plan, then they'll just apply more annoying enforcement measures, balancing the impact of those measures against how many honest customers that would chase away, or they'll add-in a costly systems change, again figuring on whether or not the violations warrant such expenditures.

 

[jjohnson]

I guess I lost that bet then.

I still think the price for the 3-9 will go up $2 or $3. The price as it is now, is less than the buffet price at CM.