Disney Very Merriest After Hours Party just announced!

[Prince John Robin Hood]

Was excited about the parade until I saw the price. $249 just seems crazy to me.

 

[Disneylover99]

Was excited about the parade until I saw the price. $249 just seems crazy to me.

Yeah. It would be about $1250 for our family of four once we factor in our exchange rate. We can afford it, but I could never justify that cost or enjoy myself at that price point for just a few hours.

 

[Aprilshack]

I am goin buy a ticket for December 2nd which I picked as my MK day.

Edit: wrong reply!

 

[Drewsdad]

Scheduled for one of the ’cheaper nights’ might go ahead and go.
About another $370. Merry Christmas to us

 

[Kmedders]

Yeah. It would be about $1250 for our family of four once we factor in our exchange rate. We can afford it, but I could never justify that cost or enjoy myself at that price point for just a few hours.

My thoughts exactly. Family of four here and it will be close to $1000 the week we will be there. I could afford it, but I can’t justify it. There are many other ways id prefer to spend that amount of money. Frankly, I’d prefer a $1,000 shopping spree in Disney springs. I was anxiously awaiting the party details because I wanted to go, and was planning on it. But this is a bit too far.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Disney is going to this new pricing theme. The more in demand dates and attractions , will be priced accordingly.
That is why I think FP's/ Genie will charge guest more when those items will be higher in demand.

Just look at posting above. Everyone things this event is too high but people will pay the higher price . Just think want it will be in 5 years. You really can't vote with your wallet because there are hundreds behind you willing to take your spot.

 

[Liquidice]

If it doesn’t make sense for your family why do it?

Actually, I thought about it - and I think we're going to figure out a way to do the after hours event without the kids.

But that said, I think my kids probably would enjoy the other activities other than the rides (like the parade and fireworks), its just the reason for the increased price of an after hours event is supposed to be lower crowds which is translates into shorter lines for rides and we probably won't do many rides.

Still think the price is expensive, no matter what.

 

[New Mouse]

Just look at posting above. Everyone things this event is too high but people will pay the higher price . Just think want it will be in 5 years. You really can't vote with your wallet because there are hundreds behind you willing to take your spot.

Yes but Disney is slowly killing its bread and butter. Catering to.the wealthy is not a recipe for long term success.


If you can get on 10 rides at this event youd pay a whopping $25 plus per ride!

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

We paid about 1/4 of the price for MNSSHP in 2019 versus what this would cost us. Hopefully they come up with something more affordable in 2022.

 

[FinnsMom7]

For 275 I can get 2 full day park tickets, for 330 I can do 1 epcot day and xmas event or for 354 I can do 2 full day hopper tix... I am now rethinking it and considering 2 full park days instead, esp being we want to try getting into trader sams one night.... those prices for the same xmas parade and only 6 hrs seem crazy. I have been to mvvcp 3 years in a row worried this will seem so watered down for a higher price.

 

[flipflopsandpitstops]

Part of the issue is that people have gotten used to Disney's premium party entertainment for a discount price for a little over 10 years now. This is Disney World, not your local amusement park. For most people visiting it's a once or twice in a lifetime trip, if they're lucky. I feel like it's not supposed to be a place where your family visits all the time as if it is your local Six Flags. It's literally one of a kind, you won't see their Christmas parade at any other place on earth. Disney is now choosing to price itself according to that perspective, and you can't really fault them for it. Think about it like musical theatre, yes you can see a Broadway show in your local theater, but if you choose to see the same production in a major city or on Broadway the increased pricing will reflect that. In terms of a family vacation, you can rent a house at the beach for a certain amount of money, but if you go to a resort in the islands instead then the pricing will reflect the premium destination. The pricing of these parties is on par with how much excursions cost per person when staying in the Caribbean or while on a vacation tour in any major city or overseas.

Also, for years now everyone's been saying how awful the parties have been because they're too crowded and how they'd pay more in order to be there with less people. This is exactly what they've just done. The only way for them to give us a better experience by decreasing overall wait times, preventing overcrowding at the parties, and still make the same profit is by raising prices. In order to cut crowds in half or even by two-thirds they literally have to double or triple the price of what it used to cost people. The price point of this years party reflects that approach.

 

[New Mouse]

Part of the issue is that people have gotten used to Disney's premium party entertainment for a discount price for a little over 10 years now. This is Disney World, not your local amusement park. For most people visiting it's a once or twice in a lifetime trip, if they're lucky. I feel like it's not supposed to be a place where your family visits all the time as if it is your local Six Flags. It's literally one of a kind, you won't see their Christmas parade at any other place on earth. Disney is now choosing to price itself according to that perspective, and you can't really fault them for it. Think about it like musical theatre, yes you can see a Broadway show in your local theater, but if you choose to see the same production in a major city or on Broadway the increased pricing will reflect that. In terms of a family vacation, you can rent a house at the beach for a certain amount of money, but if you go to a resort in the islands instead then the pricing will reflect the premium destination. The pricing of these parties is on par with how much excursions cost per person when staying in the Caribbean or while on a vacation tour in any major city or overseas.

Also, for years now everyone's been saying how awful the parties have been because they're too crowded and how they'd pay more in order to be there with less people. This is exactly what they've just done. The only way for them to give us a better experience by decreasing overall wait times, preventing overcrowding at the parties, and still make the same profit is by raising prices. In order to cut crowds in half or even by two-thirds they literally have to double or triple the price of what it used to cost people. The price point of this years party reflects that approach.

Why do they have to make billions in profit? And all of a sudden at that?

Also, their product isnt exactly premium, but they have done a great job making people.believe it is... ie. The Grand Floridian....the best Disney has to offer... is on par with 3.5 to 4* resorts.

 

[Brocktoon]

Yes but Disney is slowly killing its bread and butter. Catering to.the wealthy is not a recipe for long term success.


If you can get on 10 rides at this event youd pay a whopping $25 plus per ride!

And this is why I think you'll see $20-30 (or even more) for the paid FPs on the Genie system. WDW is moving (back?) to the tiered system where everyone pays the basic tier 'fair' price to enter the parks ... then the premium tier pricing kicks in for things like the Starcruiser, after hours events, and faster access to attractions/parades (better viewing) and meet&greets ... these 'extras' beyond park admission all look to be around the same price-point

 

[mom2rtk]

Part of the issue is that people have gotten used to Disney's premium party entertainment for a discount price for a little over 10 years now. This is Disney World, not your local amusement park. For most people visiting it's a once or twice in a lifetime trip, if they're lucky. I feel like it's not supposed to be a place where your family visits all the time as if it is your local Six Flags. It's literally one of a kind, you won't see their Christmas parade at any other place on earth. Disney is now choosing to price itself according to that perspective, and you can't really fault them for it. Think about it like musical theatre, yes you can see a Broadway show in your local theater, but if you choose to see the same production in a major city or on Broadway the increased pricing will reflect that. In terms of a family vacation, you can rent a house at the beach for a certain amount of money, but if you go to a resort in the islands instead then the pricing will reflect the premium destination. The pricing of these parties is on par with how much excursions cost per person when staying in the Caribbean or while on a vacation tour in any major city or overseas.

Also, for years now everyone's been saying how awful the parties have been because they're too crowded and how they'd pay more in order to be there with less people. This is exactly what they've just done. The only way for them to give us a better experience by decreasing overall wait times, preventing overcrowding at the parties, and still make the same profit is by raising prices. In order to cut crowds in half or even by two-thirds they literally have to double or triple the price of what it used to cost people. The price point of this years party reflects that approach.

And part of the issue is that people accept it and make excuses for them.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

We paid about 1/4 of the price for MNSSHP in 2019 versus what this would cost us. Hopefully they come up with something more affordable in 2022.

Their greed is unreal! Unfortunately, unless this is a flop and Disney does not get the sales in tickets it wants these Christmas AH prices will now be set in stone with nowhere to go but up for each consecutive year. Disney does not lower previous years' prices in anything from restaurant meals to park tickets to special events.

 

[New Mouse]

And part of the issue is that people accept it and make excuses for them.

Agreed... the original parties at the capacity they originally sold them at and the price they sold them at were designed to make a profit.

At some point from year x of mnsshp, someone insixe Disney decided the profit just wasnt high enough.

Literally, thats what got us to where we are now. The profit is never enough, which is an endless cycle.

Yes, over the years prices go up due to natural inflation, but this is Disney literally saying we want more profit and dont really care what we need to sacrifice to get it.

Nothing magical about that folks.

 

[flipflopsandpitstops]

Why do they have to make billions in profit? And all of a sudden at that?

Also, their product isnt exactly premium, but they have done a great job making people.believe it is... ie. The Grand Floridian....the best Disney has to offer... is on par with 3.5 to 4* resorts.

Just my opinion, but at the end of the day we may not like it, but Disney is a business and a publicly traded company with people to answer to and part of that includes making a profit. They also have thousands of people to pay in order to bring us entertainment, etc. That doesn't come free or cheap to do, and if people want that then they'll get entertainment and offerings that reflect that discounted price. As for all of a sudden, again just my opinion, but it was probably something they'd been planning on doing anyway because of the 50th and their crowd estimates. When we were there in the fall 2019 a boat captain was telling us about a lot of things going on logistically behind the scenes that they had to update and build in order to "deal" with the prospective increase in crowd capacity. Disney had done multiple studies and determined that a lot of their infrastructure had to be updated to meet the 50th demand. Again, not something cheaply done if you want employees and guests to be safe.

Premium means different things to different people. To you Disney isn't a premium destination, but to thousands of people it is. Also, the ease at which you can stay at one of the monorail resorts and not have to spend hours in lines waiting for park busses is a premium offering so the price of staying there reflects that. It partly comes down to what you think your time is worth and how much vacation time you get. No, the hotels may not be on par with staying at the Waldorf, Four Seasons, etc, in a major city, but the convenience and time savings....that's what makes it premium. Same way I think the Boardwalk, Beach, and Yacht Club are premium because you can easily walk to two parks from them. It's not necessarily that the hotels themselves are premium. With all of the bad storms consistently shutting down the skyliner leaving hundreds/thousands of guests vying for buses at those two parks at the same time...those Epcot resorts are absolutely worth my time and that makes them premium to me.

 

[Disneytrippin']

I can fully understand the sticker shock of this event but, there are a lot of positives. Those who attend will get Holiday fireworks AND a full parade for the "first time in forever". Not only that but, capacity will be limited. Guests will have run of the park and can get more done than at previous Christmas parties. I believe paying more for a limited capacity and finally seeing a full parade AND fireworks is totally worth it.

 

[JoJoGirl]

You are right ... Price can't last forever... Pricing is going to be more each year.

Maybe, and no doubt that‘s what Disney hopes will happen. They will try hard to make it happen. However, pre-pandemic there was no way they could have charged those prices.

The closest comparison would be the old Villains After Hours event at MK. Three hours, reduced crowds, special overlays, cavalcades, and some extra atmosphere. Here is the pricing:



Villains AH ran once a week. During its complete run from June 2019 to the shutdown in March 2020, it sold out twice. Once on opening night, once the second week in August, but never again. Of course, part of that time it was competing with the beloved and much cheaper MNSSHP and MVMCP. But in general, people were not exactly breaking down the doors to pay those prices even for reduced crowds. Regular after hours events were priced a bit lower, and still didn’t sell out consistently.

Disney is absolutely capitalizing right now on the post-lockdown travel boom, and that will carry well past Christmas season and Very Merriest After Hours. However, it will not last forever.

At normal pre-pandemic demand and pricing, appetite wasn’t there to fill event capacity. Disney had already found their upper price point. It will be interesting to see what happens a year or two from now, when demand returns to more normal levels, or is (hopefully not) reduced by an economic slowdown. Maybe more discounts, maybe the return of regular parties, who knows. Just have to wait and see.

 

[New Mouse]

Just my opinion, but at the end of the day we may not like it, but Disney is a business and a publicly traded company with people to answer to and part of that includes making a profit. They also have thousands of people to pay in order to bring us entertainment, etc. That doesn't come free or cheap to do, and if people want that then they'll get entertainment and offerings that reflect that discounted price. As for all of a sudden, again just my opinion, but it was probably something they'd been planning on doing anyway because of the 50th and their crowd estimates. When we were there in the fall 2019 a boat captain was telling us about a lot of things going on logistically behind the scenes that they had to update and build in order to "deal" with the prospective increase in crowd capacity. Disney had done multiple studies and determined that a lot of their infrastructure had to be updated to meet the 50th demand. Again, not something cheaply done if you want employees and guests to be safe.

Premium means different things to different people. To you Disney isn't a premium destination, but to thousands of people it is. Also, the ease at which you can stay at one of the monorail resorts and not have to spend hours in lines waiting for park busses is a premium offering so the price of staying there reflects that. It partly comes down to what you think your time is worth and how much vacation time you get. No, the hotels may not be on par with staying at the Waldorf, Four Seasons, etc, in a major city, but the convenience and time savings....that's what makes it premium. Same way I think the Boardwalk, Beach, and Yacht Club are premium because you can easily walk to two parks from them. It's not necessarily that the hotels themselves are premium. With all of the bad storms consistently shutting down the skyliner leaving hundreds/thousands of guests vying for buses at those two parks at the same time...those Epcot resorts are absolutely worth my time and that makes them premium to me.

Disney has been a publicly traded company since 1957. This level of a push for profit has happened within the last 5 to 10 years.

Nothing infrastructure wise (which is also just isnt true) would justify the level of price increases comparable to maintaining profit levels as they had for decades.

Premium is not exactly a subjective term. When restaurants buy top of the line products, that makes them more premium than a mcdonalds. When hotels clean your room top to bottom every day with touches like turndown service, that makes them more premium than a howard johnson. What you are referring to is value.