Parking Now $25

[RRB]

Hours cut from AK attractions, hours cut from MK normal schedule in favor of paid events, CMs hours cut reducing ride capacity, probably many others not already mentioned.

Not trying to be argumentative but paid events reducing the park operating hours have been going on for decades. Are there more paid events now than 10 years ago? BTW, Disney After Hours does not require early closure. According the Guets services, MNSSHP and MVMCP are the only ones. Also, what AK attraction hours have been cut? Thanks

 

[snappy]

Hours for several rides at AK were mentioned in another thread. Kali river was one for sure. The times of guests’ FP’s were being changed around. This isn’t just a rumor. It’s actual as they say.

 

[rteetz]

Not trying to be argumentative but paid events reducing the park operating hours have been going on for decades. Are there more paid events now than 10 years ago? BTW, Disney After Hours does not require early closure. According the Guets services, MNSSHP and MVMCP are the only ones. Also, what AK attraction hours have been cut? Thanks

They are reducing hours even without paid events. There is a thread about AK attraction hours being cut on this board.

 

[RRB]

Hours for several rides at AK were mentioned in another thread. Kali river was one for sure. The times of guests’ FP’s were being changed around. This isn’t just a rumor. It’s actual as they say.

Good point. Also, I believe that Disney has increased the number nights of MVMCP and MNSSHP over the years, I'm not which years and how many nights

 

[Doug M]

Not trying to be argumentative but paid events reducing the park operating hours have been going on for decades. Are there more paid events now than 10 years ago? BTW, Disney After Hours does not require early closure. According the Guets services, MNSSHP and MVMCP are the only ones. Also, what AK attraction hours have been cut? Thanks

Good point. Also, I believe that Disney has increased the number nights of MVMCP and MNSSHP over the years, I'm not which years and how many nights

This was what I was referencing regarding loss of normal park hours to paid events. I think they have not only added days per week but stretched the party season several weeks earlier.

 

[Bing Showei]

Good point. Also, I believe that Disney has increased the number nights of MVMCP and MNSSHP over the years, I'm not which years and how many nights

This was what I was referencing regarding loss of normal park hours to paid events. I think they have not only added days per week but stretched the party season several weeks earlier.

Anecdotally, on top of increasing the number of nights, and stretching the seasons, they seem to be overselling the events to the point where the upcharge event crowds are comparable to busy park days.

 

[ChipnDale79]

2008 was discounted from recession.

The rates I provided were rack rate.....

 

[RRB]

Uh Oh, Universal raised its parking fees on the 20th. They also announce the elimination of the Poterverse Event which has been held each year since 2014. More cuts and higher costs.

 

[AgentMama]

I don't begrudge Disney their price increases. They're a business and will do what they think is best for their bottom line and future growth. Does that price some people out? Absolutely. And there will also always be those who probably should be priced out, but will make sacrifices in their family that could probably be better used elsewhere. But that's with many different experiences and tangible things, it's not just Disney. We enjoy going to Disney, but we certainly don't spend as much time there as we used to because for us, the value isn't the same and there are other places and things we want to see that come at a much smaller price tag.

 

[Bing Showei]

While I understand the pain point of pricing for a lot of customers, I think a lot of the feelings of betrayal and disappointment can be attributed to the successful work of marketing. For generations Disney has sold the public on the image of being the "happiest place on earth" or the "most magical place on earth."

You are a guest, not a customer. They are cast members, not employees. It's a Vacation Club, not a timeshare.

While this culture/language makes for great escapism, it feeds the illusion that the Walt Disney World Company is something more than what it is; a profit-driven corporation that will try to get as much of your money as you are willing to part with every moment you are in its bubble. For many, the two concepts seem diametrically opposed, but for those who can recognize a Disney Vacation as a business transaction where you are buying a specific set of goods at a market-determined price, the price increases are nothing personal.

Disney will charm and sweet talk you out of your money, at some point, you'll decide it's not fun anymore and you'll take your money elsewhere. And in this great big world, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

 

[lugnut33]

Just as an example. I just booked a Thanksgiving weekend trip to an ALL INCLUSIVE Cancun resort for just over $6500 for the 6 (3 rooms) of us including airfare. For the fun of it, I just checked WDW for the same dates and came back with a price of $4553 for a single suite (that's all that website was showing as available) that sleeps six and includes park tickets. That price does not include airfare, food, nor drink. Pretty sure if we wanted to do Disney it would have come in well above $10K and I wouldn't have much success getting Fastpasses or dining reservations.

In reality booking Cancun was super easy, I called our travel agent, told her what I wanted and boom it was done.

 

[Q-man]

The rates I provided were rack rate.....

Which were still down from 9/11/2001.

Those years were great for low crowds and free dining.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Which were still down from 9/11/2001.

Those years were great for low crowds and free dining.

Free dining isn't rack rate.......

my comparison from 2008 to 2019 are apples to apples rack room rates. Neither one of them are discounted rates in any way shape or form.

Disney didn't lower their rack rates in the down time, they still increased, they just offered steeper discounts to get people there.

I have no idea what kind, if any discounts are going to be offered in 2019, so the best way to show you the price difference is to show the rack room.

In this comparison it doesnt matter if the economy was in the tank or booming, rack rates isn't how Disney adjusts their pricing to fit those times, the discounts are how they do that.

http://allears.net/walt-disney-world/wdw-planning/2000s-walt-disney-world-tickets/

if you look at the price of a one day ticket in the 2000s, they increased every single year. The 2000s was a rough time with 9/11 and the recession.

 

[JARNJ3]

Wow those are cheap DVC points and cheap APs.

Was only counting hotel costs - not APs. My guests pay for those themselves.

And it was a very low price point on the points - as I purchased them in 2004 - significantly less than what they go for today.

So - by using it every year (knowing that WDW was our main vacation destination) - we saved a significant amount of $$$ in the long run.

It doesn't work like that for everyone, I know.....

 

[JARNJ3]

Also - I joke about it - but I deliberately purchase Disney stock on a monthly plan. I figure - if they are going to keep increasing costs - then I am going to benefit from it somehow. I put $100 a month in - every once in a while, I sell some shares when I need the $$$.

https://stockplans.broadridge.com/Plan/Summary?planId=104

 

[Doug M]

Was only counting hotel costs - not APs. My guests pay for those themselves.

And it was a very low price point on the points - as I purchased them in 2004 - significantly less than what they go for today.

So - by using it every year (knowing that WDW was our main vacation destination) - we saved a significant amount of $$$ in the long run.

It doesn't work like that for everyone, I know.....

So you pay nothing for park tickets? I guess I missed the part where you included them. You said your guests paid for the APs, so you never went yourself?

ETA: Going back to your OP it looks like 2100 a year is the cost of the original 25k divided by 12 years of membership. I guess you forgot to add the monthly dues, food, transportation, or ticket costs to your cost to vacation 8 people a year. Not to even mention the added costs of extra purchased points. Sorry I am a numbers guy and like complete numbers to compare.

 

[prink022]

While I guess this seems weird, everything around me has spiked as well. Disney's is just triple overwhelming when you pair it with the fact that they raised food prices, ticket prices, parking, and recently added resort parking. Definitely overwhelming and happening all at once. This is why I'm glad we joined DVC when we did!

 

[Ambehnke]

I just looked through all 10 pages of the "cutbacks" thread (most of which discusses cost increases, not cuts). Here is everything listed that I could find -

- Permanently closing Rafiki's Planet Watch (later found to be incorrect)
- Cutting actors from ROL
- some Citizens of Hollywood being cut
- Jack Sparrow Pirate Tutorial being cut
- Some other character M&Gs (based on other posts in the same thread, these are changed out, not eliminated)
- Mickey's Backyard BBQ is cut (later confirmed to be relocated due to new hotel construction)
- Reduced extra Magic Hours

There may others that weren't listed but is this really what people are upset about? 4 cuts in all the theme parks combined? This is not a cutback issue, it is a cost increase issue. Like many others have said, each person has to decide if a WDW vacation is right for them. Disney has determined that it needs to improve the product and in order to do that, they have raised prices to pay for those improvements.

Granted these are mostly temporary, but they also aren’t adding entertainment to make up for it while they are down: WDW railroad and Tomorrowland speedway both down for Tron construction, Peter Pan down for a refurbishment, Planet Watch train (my kids consider that a ride at AK especially since this will be the first year my daughter is 40 inches), also they still haven’t given us a replacement for MSEP which my family is still a little salty about. Storm troopers were reduced. There was talk about Jedi training closing but I think that was misinformation maybe and it was just Disneyland? Pizzarizzo closing (not a big loss IMO but I’d rather see it reimagined than closed). Almost all of this has come out in the last month or so along with the things you mentioned on top of all the price increases. Can’t help but feel you are paying more for less when you follow this stuff. I agree that I will pay more for an improved product. I have yet to see the improved product though, actually quite the opposite, and I am already paying the prices. Once Tron, SWGE, MMRR, Skyliner, Guardians, Ray, another country or two, etc are open I may feel differently. Also, this hasn’t stopped me from going YET. But I have reconsidered and we will be spacing our trips longer until the bulk of the aforementioned open because we don’t like paying more for less and would rather take our kids abroad for that price (or cheaper).

 

[JARNJ3]

So you pay nothing for park tickets? I guess I missed the part where you included them. You said your guests paid for the APs, so you never went yourself?

ETA: Going back to your OP it looks like 2100 a year is the cost of the original 25k divided by 12 years of membership. I guess you forgot to add the monthly dues, food, transportation, or ticket costs to your cost to vacation 8 people a year. Not to even mention the added costs of extra purchased points. Sorry I am a numbers guy and like complete numbers to compare.

Yeah I don't include the dues - probably should - but they are invisible to me because they come out of direct deposit - so I take it for granted as another bill (I'm not a numbers guy lol). I never count food in with hotel - never had a dining plan - just pay as we go - we'd pay for food on any other vacation or even home. The guests tend to pick up our grocery costs. The cost of the extra points - allows us to get bigger villas.

Wasn't an exact compare - I just know it worked for us - since it "allowed" us to go to WDW every year since I purchased it. I would never have been able to pay for 8 to vacation in one villa every year based on rack rates or discounts. Then again - I'm good with guesstimates & approximates.

 

[Doug M]

Yeah I don't include the dues - probably should - but they are invisible to me because they come out of direct deposit - so I take it for granted as another bill (I'm not a numbers guy lol). I never count food in with hotel - never had a dining plan - just pay as we go - we'd pay for food on any other vacation or even home. The guests tend to pick up our grocery costs. The cost of the extra points - allows us to get bigger villas.

Wasn't an exact compare - I just know it worked for us - since it "allowed" us to go to WDW every year since I purchased it. I would never have been able to pay for 8 to vacation in one villa every year based on rack rates or discounts. Then again - I'm good with guesstimates & approximates.

Oh you definitely save money getting in DVC early compared to someone trying to pay now for what you are getting. You just are paying quite a bit more than 2100 a year to vacation to WDW. You should include park tickets for all 8 if you actually go to the parks if you are going to claim you pay X for 8 annually regardless of who is paying for it. I agree with you for groceries as you would do that at home, but if you eat out more than at home that is added, so is travel there. Congrats though on getting in early, that is quite valuable now.