Sorcerer Pass Increase

[atthebeachclub]

I find Disney totally tone deaf. All these price hikes announced this week on the same week epic goes on sale, really dumb move Disney

Epic is going to 100% cut into Disney revenue and draw customers away. All Disney is doing with these price increases is make it easier for families to pick universal over Disney in 2025

I would typically spend a week in sept exclusively at Disney. That’s now cut down to two days while rest of week will be at universal

If epic lives up to expectations and I think it will exceed expectations personally, Disney is going to see a meaningful hit to park revenue

I honestly think they have to do some of this. My family was there during a “not busy” week in January 2024 and the parks were swarmed with people. It really was overly busy. Increasing pass prices will keep some people away, and frankly they need that, to improve the guest experience.

 

[davidhr]

Im sorry guys, it’s my fault. Yesterday I was thinking it was a good time to purchase our APs as I have a good idea of our next year trips, but then decided to wait until I’m back from vacations. The mouse heard me thinking about it.

 

[Sandisw]

I wonder if the pass will stay at 95 points indefinitely, or will inflate over time.
I would think the former.

They are more likely to increase the $99 each year…to start…and maybe todays increase played a role already in what they choose to charge.

It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. I know I’m doing it for next year because I have extra points but it may or may not be every year.

 

[muppets3d]

I find Disney totally tone deaf. All these price hikes announced this week on the same week epic goes on sale, really dumb move Disney

Epic is going to 100% cut into Disney revenue and draw customers away. All Disney is doing with these price increases is make it easier for families to pick universal over Disney in 2025

I would typically spend a week in sept exclusively at Disney. That’s now cut down to two days while rest of week will be at universal

If epic lives up to expectations and I think it will exceed expectations personally, Disney is going to see a meaningful hit to park revenue

At this point all of this "but epic" talk is a self-fulfilling prophecy. And it's really tiring.

 

[tjkraz]

Heck, it wasn't even 10 years ago when DVC gave the awesome $399 deal on the Premier Annual Pass (what is now the Incredipass). How times change...

It was 12 years ago, and that was a one-time special unlike anything we had ever seen before or after. I totally get what you’re saying, but it’s tough to frame that one-time, 3 month special as something anything more than a complete outlier.

I honestly think they have to do some of this. My family was there during a “not busy” week in January 2024 and the parks were swarmed with people. It really was overly busy. Increasing pass prices will keep some people away, and frankly they need that, to improve the guest experience.

I think that’s always the dilemma for Disney. Do they want lower prices, packed theme parks and guests angry about the quality of the experience? Or do they want higher prices, more moderately-attended parks and guests angry about the cost?

I don’t know what the answer is. My family has been doing this long enough to have vague memories of pleasant days with low crowds. But that was definitely the exception. There seem to be more people than ever who are fans of the Disney experience: young, old, families, singles…all demographics. As much as we want to say “the experience stinks because there are too many people in the park”, wouldn’t it be even worse if prices were lower?

 

[New Mouse]

I wonder if the pass will stay at 95 points indefinitely, or will inflate over time.
I would think the former.

I've got a bajillion dollars this will go up over time.

 

[New Mouse]

Who can blame them for the high % increase? They've got a lot of new stuff coming into the parks this year.......

 

[nuhusky123]

At this point all of this "but epic" talk is a self-fulfilling prophecy. And it's really tiring.

Ignoring the impact of epic on Disney attendance is equivalent to blackberry saying iPhones will never replace phones with physical keyboards

Is this the demise of Disney. No. Not even close but Disney increasing prices and expecting attendance to stay high is very much head in sand mentality. Universal will 100% see an increased market share and dumb moves by Disney will see revenue decline and brand loyalty along with it

 

[muppets3d]

Ignoring the impact of epic on Disney attendance is equivalent to blackberry saying iPhones will never replace phones with physical keyboards

Is this the demise of Disney. No. Not even close but Disney increasing prices and expecting attendance to stay high is very much head in sand mentality. Universal will 100% see an increased market share and dumb moves by Disney will see revenue decline and brand loyalty along with it

There’s more than enough demand to fill all these theme parks. If there wasn’t they wouldn’t be built

 

[DCJ]

It wasn't but about a year or so ago Iger said we raised prices too much too fast. Then a month later raised the prices again. Seriously outpacing inflation and willing to suffer bad press / customer dissatisfaction for profit.

 

[Sandisw]

Ignoring the impact of epic on Disney attendance is equivalent to blackberry saying iPhones will never replace phones with physical keyboards

Is this the demise of Disney. No. Not even close but Disney increasing prices and expecting attendance to stay high is very much head in sand mentality. Universal will 100% see an increased market share and dumb moves by Disney will see revenue decline and brand loyalty along with it

I can tell you that not all clients are thrilled right now with being limited to only one day of entry to Epic next year as part of their stay.

I have several who are putting it off now until that changes so I am not sure that Disney will see the decrease that some thought they would right.

No question people are excited but plenty of guests are either still choosing Disney or choosing neither because both are expensive.

 

[nuhusky123]

I can tell you that not all clients are thrilled right now with being limited to only of entry to Epic next read as part of their stay.

I have several who are putting it off now until that changes so I am not sure that Disney will see the decrease that some thought they would right.

No question people are excited but plenty of guests are either still choosing Disney or choosing neither because both are expensive.

My only point is Disney has major competition that last week they didn’t. And the same week epic goes on sale Disney increases prices. It’s just daft, makes me question if Disney executives are even paying attention

I’ve been in far too many corp meetings where the big wigs have dismissed the competition only to find themselves dead wrong months or years later.

 

[Sandisw]

My only point is Disney has major competition that last week they didn’t. And the same week epic goes on sale Disney increases prices. It’s just daft, makes me question if Disney executives are even paying attention

I’ve been in far too many corp meetings where the big wigs have dismissed the competition only to find themselves dead wrong months or years later.

I think the way Unviersal choose to roll this out may have contributed to why Disney felt they could sneak this in now vs waiting as it’s not what people were expecting to happen.

 

[Cfabar1]

We upgraded to Sorcerer this year from the Pirate Pass... It fit our schedule better...

So much of which pass you buy depends on your scheduling needs - especially if you are going multiple times a year. For us, we needed several dates that were not otherwise available.

The sad thing is - the math still works quite well in terms of saving dollars, so I suspect the passes will continue to be a good deal.

Remember it wasn't too long ago that you couldn't even buy these passes - I suspect Disney is comfortable selling them at these prices, and still perceives them to be a good value.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I honestly think they have to do some of this. My family was there during a “not busy” week in January 2024 and the parks were swarmed with people. It really was overly busy. Increasing pass prices will keep some people away, and frankly they need that, to improve the guest experience.

But as someone mentioned on another thread, Disney is not running rides at fool capacity. They've also cut down on in-park entertainment. Increasing both would help a lot with crowds. Disney's increasing prices yet still claim that they can't find enough people to work. I think it's so odd that Universal and everywhere else I go in Orlando can find employees, but Disney can't. The truth is there too cheap to pay to run the rides at full capacity for more hours during the day.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I can tell you that not all clients are thrilled right now with being limited to only one day of entry to Epic next year as part of their stay.

I have several who are putting it off now until that changes so I am not sure that Disney will see the decrease that some thought they would right.

No question people are excited but plenty of guests are either still choosing Disney or choosing neither because both are expensive.

Can't AP holders purchase up to 6 single day tickets for Epic? I interpreted this as if you had a family of 4 (all with APs), each person in the family could buy 6 tickets for his or herself.

 

[atthebeachclub]

But as someone mentioned on another thread, Disney is not running rides at fool capacity. They've also cut down on in-park entertainment. Increasing both would help a lot with crowds. Disney's increasing prices yet still claim that they can't find enough people to work. I think it's so odd that Universal and everywhere else I go in Orlando can find employees, but Disney can't. The truth is there too cheap to pay to run the rides at full capacity for more hours during the day.

Epcot in the afternoon and evening was insane, just wall to wall people walking around. There are not enough rides or entertainment available even running rides at full capacity to take those people and make the park more navigable.

 

[The Jackal]

Epic will have low limits, till they can figure out how to make everything run smoothly. I believe Universal did a similar thing when they opened up Islands of Adventure. Just give them some time to figure out traffic and ride operations. On Paper Tiana’s Bayou Adventure should be able to run all day long. In reality it breaks down every day. Universal might have a ride or two with issues that need fixing.

 

[bdrex28]

Epcot in the afternoon and evening was insane, just wall to wall people walking around. There are not enough rides or entertainment available even running rides at full capacity to take those people and make the park more navigable.

What dates were you there in January?

 

[atthebeachclub]

What dates were you there in January?

Last week. To be fair, it also included a few days of February, too. But the whole time was busy.