Raise the ticket prices.

[Greenfield1984]

As discussed on the latest show,

One of the strategies to reduce the crowds is an extreme raising of the prices.

Im probably in the minority here but id rather pay more for the trip if it means less crowds.

To offset the price id just visit every 2 or 3 years instead of every year.

Id just rather a quality experience.

 

[Fishingdve]

I thought that the discussion about ticket prices was very interesting. The "what if" Disney raised the price to $250 per day. That would be way out of my budget but I'm sure there are plenty of well off folks that would be willing to pay that without hesitation. So what about this theory. What if Disney designated certain parks on certain days as premier ticket days. So for example if you want to visit the MK on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Saturday you have to shell out $250 while the other parks on those days are regular ticket prices. Then on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Friday, and Saturday MK is regular price while a different park is designated as premier ticket days. Those willing to pay much more would get a park that would be potentially much less busy. I would guess they could probably still fill the park with those willing. Now this would make planning for a Disney trip even more complicated and probably make the non-premier parks even busier. But would Disney care? Could they make more money if they did this? If the answer was yes I wouldn't put it past them to try it. What do others think?I

Dave

 

[DisneyKingpin]

It’s extremely important to realize and understand how Disney makes its profits. And it does so by more than the mere price of a ticket.

If Disney doubles the price of a ticket and thereby cuts the crowd in half, it may seem like a wash. But in reality, the amount of food and merchandise sold is cut in half creating a net loss in profits.

Furthermore, if the ticket price forces the less fortunate to never be able to afford to visit, it would also dampen the overall buzz for anything related to Disney. As we all know, we get “hooked” by the magic of Disney and then we go back home and buy Disney toys for our kids, buy Disney decorations for our homes, and buy movie tickets go see Disney movies, etc. If finances prevents you from experiencing something, then you’ll never get the fever in the first place. So huge buckets of Disney fans would be lost out of ignorance to the brand.

Essentially, Disney would have to triple or quadruple the price of a ticket to compensate for the lost food and merchandise revenue. So you’re looking at a ticket price of $350 a day or more, potentially.

Disney is much too smart to do something like this. The object is to get MORE people hooked on the magic and on the brand. This is Marketing 101.

 

[Greenfield1984]

It’s extremely important to realize and understand how Disney makes its profits. And it does so by more than the mere price of a ticket.

If Disney doubles the price of a ticket and thereby cuts the crowd in half, it may seem like a wash. But in reality, the amount of food and merchandise sold is cut in half creating a net loss in profits.

Furthermore, if the ticket price forces the less fortunate to never be able to afford to visit, it would also dampen the overall buzz for anything related to Disney. As we all know, we get “hooked” by the magic of Disney and then we go back home and buy Disney toys for our kids, buy Disney decorations for our homes, and buy movie tickets go see Disney movies, etc. If finances prevents you from experiencing something, then you’ll never get the fever in the first place. So huge buckets of Disney fans would be lost out of ignorance to the brand.

Essentially, Disney would have to triple or quadruple the price of a ticket to compensate for the lost food and merchandise revenue. So you’re looking at a ticket price of $350 a day or more, potentially.

Disney is much too smart to do something like this. The object is to get MORE people hooked on the magic and on the brand. This is Marketing 101.

Yep. Very good points. No way they want to turn people away.

K new plan.
5th gate.
Meh
Lets make a 6th also for good measure.

 

[gmboy95]

i remember what it was like to barely be able to afford our Disney trips....If things were the way they are now, we would never have been able to afford it....Sure it thins the crowds, but I never want to be the person that doesn't remember what it was like back in the day, and i want those same people to be able to experience what my family experienced

 

[DLgal]

It’s extremely important to realize and understand how Disney makes its profits. And it does so by more than the mere price of a ticket.

If Disney doubles the price of a ticket and thereby cuts the crowd in half, it may seem like a wash. But in reality, the amount of food and merchandise sold is cut in half creating a net loss in profits.

Furthermore, if the ticket price forces the less fortunate to never be able to afford to visit, it would also dampen the overall buzz for anything related to Disney. As we all know, we get “hooked” by the magic of Disney and then we go back home and buy Disney toys for our kids, buy Disney decorations for our homes, and buy movie tickets go see Disney movies, etc. If finances prevents you from experiencing something, then you’ll never get the fever in the first place. So huge buckets of Disney fans would be lost out of ignorance to the brand.

Essentially, Disney would have to triple or quadruple the price of a ticket to compensate for the lost food and merchandise revenue. So you’re looking at a ticket price of $350 a day or more, potentially.

Disney is much too smart to do something like this. The object is to get MORE people hooked on the magic and on the brand. This is Marketing 101.

For the sake of argument, if they raise the ticket price by $125/day PER PERSON, how are they losing money on food and other sales? People still have to eat. And I seriously doubt that people paying the current $125 for a day pass are already spending $125 per PERSON in a day of dining. There is no way. So a family of 4 would need to be currently spending more than $500/day on dining and merch in order for your point to be valid. That is highly unlikely.

If Disney actually cared about the crowd situation, they could solve it by simply eliminating multi day tickets and annual passes.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

The other way to solve the crowd issue is to STOP investing in other parks and build another gate in Orlando.

 

[ToffPrincess]

As discussed on the latest show,

One of the strategies to reduce the crowds is an extreme raising of the prices.

Im probably in the minority here but id rather pay more for the trip if it means less crowds.

To offset the price id just visit every 2 or 3 years instead of every year.

Id just rather a quality experience.

I agree with you. However I also feel that there would still be an issue with crowding as an anual pass for people who go more frequently almost always pays off. So some holidays and weekends could potentially still be VERY busy as every free APH could just turn up that day and it would still be over busy.

I think they need to do some sort of combo of price hike and crowd control. If they hit a certain number before 12 stop allowing entry till people leave. Enforce one out one in. Possibly another park could divert some of the heavy traffic from MK and Epcot.

Personally I miss the days without fastpasses and long waits. I miss the days of being able to dine spontaniously! As for people defending the need to have so many guests, I dont agree. The Disney profit margin is huge.. when is enough enough? Have you seen the paychecks the big bosses make? Google the chairman of the Walt Disney Company salary. 32million. Greed pure and simple from every angle.

 

[disneysteve]

For the sake of argument, if they raise the ticket price by $125/day PER PERSON, how are they losing money on food and other sales?

Because the idea is for that higher ticket price to be accompanied by lower admission so that the park is less crowded. So instead of admitting 20,000 people at $100/day, they only admit 10,000 at $200/day. So they'd take in the same amount on ticket sales but only half as much on food and merchandise spending.

 

[OneinThree]

Thin the crowds by 25%, making the current experience a decent one. Make up for admissions and other spending with the needed adjustments in ticket prices. I'd rather that, visit less, but enjoy it more.

 

[DisneyKingpin]

Because the idea is for that higher ticket price to be accompanied by lower admission so that the park is less crowded. So instead of admitting 20,000 people at $100/day, they only admit 10,000 at $200/day. So they'd take in the same amount on ticket sales but only half as much on food and merchandise spending.

Exactly right! And that’s only the tip of the iceberg!

If two people are in the parks at $125 each - that’s potentially two people occupying two $250 hotel rooms later that night. That’s a total of $750 for Disney. Add another $100 each for the day in food and merchandise and we’re up to a total of $950 for the day.

One person at $250 for a ticket, $100 for food and merchandise, and $250 for a hotel room comes out to $600.

That’s a net loss of $350 for Disney.

Granted, not everyone that goes to the parks stays at a resort on property so the numbers are just estimates.

But my point is that there’s a ripple effect through Disney’s entire financial ecosystem for every guest that’s NOT in the parks. Every missing guest is a lost opportunity to get a parking fee, a lost opportunity to sell a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique package, a lost opportunity to sell a ride in the Minnie mobile, a lost opportunity to sell a hot dog. It goes on and on. Ticket prices are just one slice of the pie chart.

I promise you Disney’s goal is to get MORE people into the parks, not LESS.

 

[disneysteve]

I promise you Disney’s goal is to get MORE people into the parks, not LESS.

Exactly. I said that in a Facebook reply to Phil's article. Here's what I posted:

Great article Phil. However, I think you are trying to solve a problem that Disney isn't the least bit interested in solving. Disney World has gotten more and more crowded BECAUSE of things Disney has done to make that happen. They've added new attractions to draw people in, like Pandora, the soon-to-open Toy Story land, and the upcoming Star Wars land. They are building new hotels to increase capacity. They took what once was a quiet little shopping village and turned it into the huge complex that is now Disney Springs. They've lengthened long-running festivals like Food and Wine and Flower and Garden. They've added the Festival of the Arts. They've added numerous hard ticket events and extended the run of things like the Halloween and Christmas parties. They want it crowded. They want to pack in as many paying customers as they possibly can, guest experience be damned. As much as we all complain about it, as long as they're raking in record profits, it's not going to change.

 

[DisneyKingpin]

As for people defending the need to have so many guests, I dont agree. The Disney profit margin is huge.. when is enough enough? Have you seen the paychecks the big bosses make? Google the chairman of the Walt Disney Company salary. 32million. Greed pure and simple from every angle.

Let’s not forget that Disney is a public company. Shareholders want year-over-year growth in profits. I don’t disagree that greed is a deadly sin. But I don’t know too many people who would turn down a raise, either - no matter their current salary. It’s sort of the American way. So why would we expect Disney to not want a raise?

I don’t like crowds. I wish they’d open the park just for me and my family only. And I wish they’d let me in for free. But that’s not what business is all about and I understand and accept it. Ultimately, supply and demand will determine both ticket prices and crowd control.

 

[OKW Lover]

Because the idea is for that higher ticket price to be accompanied by lower admission so that the park is less crowded. So instead of admitting 20,000 people at $100/day, they only admit 10,000 at $200/day. So they'd take in the same amount on ticket sales but only half as much on food and merchandise spending.

How about they increase the food and merchandise prices by the same percentage that the admission price changes?

 

[disneysteve]

How about they increase the food and merchandise prices by the same percentage that the admission price changes?

Don’t give them any ideas!

 

[GAN]

I promise you Disney’s goal is to get MORE people into the parks, not LESS.

I don’t necessarily agree. They’ve done plenty trying to get people out of the parks. I think they’re goal is to maximize the guest experience -in theory, that should help get more people in the parks but there has to be a balance. Maximizing guest experience has always been the ultimate goal and I don’t see that changing...although, it could be hard to tell with some decisions.

 

[disneysteve]

They’ve done plenty trying to get people out of the parks.

What do you think they've done to get people out of the parks? All I see is them doing more and more to draw people in.

I think they’re goal is to maximize the guest experience

I think the guest experience has been steadily eroding for quite some time. What do you see as maximizing the experience?

 

[GAN]

What do you think they've done to get people out of the parks? All I see is them doing more and more to draw people in.


I think the guest experience has been steadily eroding for quite some time. What do you see as maximizing the experience?

A) Disney Springs, Water Park enhancements, etc.

B) Maximizing guest experience is a key component to Disney’s Service Compass ...while it may not always seem obvious, it is something they spend countless hours trying to achieve. Sometimes we take for granted great service, while poor service is always unforgettable! I’ll be the first to complain about poor service, but then again, I’ve never had a trip where I didn’t experience some form of excellent service -so someone is focusing on it.

 

[KC Mouse]

We decided to go to Disneyland this year and stay off property. I hate the summer crowds at WDW but to raise prices in an attempt to thin out the herd is just insulting. What about a third US park. Disney is owns more land in Missouri than any other cooperation. Or so I have been told. I desperately wish they would build a Disney Midwest with all the amazing options of WDW.

 

[disneysteve]

A) Disney Springs, Water Park enhancements, etc.

B) Maximizing guest experience is a key component to Disney’s Service Compass ...while it may not always seem obvious, it is something they spend countless hours trying to achieve. Sometimes we take for granted great service, while poor service is always unforgettable! I’ll be the first to complain about poor service, but then again, I’ve never had a trip where I didn’t experience some form of excellent service -so someone is focusing on it.

I guess I don't those things reduce crowds. I think they increase them. They entice more people to come to Disney World and spend more time there.

As for guest experience, just because there are examples of excellent service doesn't mean that the overall level of service hasn't declined. Things started going downhill when Disney cut the training for new cast members from a few days to a few hours. They aren't indoctrinated the way they used to be. Plus there's the growth of the college program which brings in a bunch of young people who are treated like crap and mostly have no real commitment to the job. Sure, some of them "get it" and are excellent, and often go on to become CMs after their college experience, but I don't think that's the norm.