New ticket system coming to WDW - Begins October 16th

[meremac]

those guests would then benefit from the Flexible Ticket

If we added the Flexible Ticket during our cruise, that would be $200 more for my family of 4. If we go off of current ticket pricing, we'd be looking at about $1500 for a 3-day ticket with the Flexible Ticket option (or $500 a day). That's crazy. We're big Disney people, but we're not THAT big. Unless Disney ends up offering some sort of exception or package for Land/Sea folks, we'll just stay somewhere else and do other things. I'm really not complaining. We go to WDW a lot, and that probably won't change. But everyone has their limits, and I think this is mine.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Is there a calendar yet with the new ticket prices? Or just the video so far?

 

[UGAwins]

Am planning a trip in March. If I buy tickets after 16th we wont be able to go to a park on our last day as planned. We are staying 10 nights and like days off in between parks. Annoying!!!

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

I called the AP help line last night and asked about the Platinum AP's and Dis adding in BlockOut dates. The CM over the phone said that they won't add BlockOut dates after purchasing the AP that lists it has no block outs.

That’s very good news. I’m wondering if it would be worthwhile to ask this same question via email or using the chat function. This way, there would be a written record of the CMs response.

 

[Farro]

So on-site resort stays - did I read whatever tickets we buy are valid for our length of stay, meaning we don't have to use within a certain date range? Or am I misunderstanding?

 

[wfjny]

That's it. I'm done. They finally broke me, this is the last straw. It's time to go to Europe. You win, Disney.

As I have said before, Disney is a company, and they will figure out a way to collect as much money as possible, hopefully without killing their customer base.

Having said that, I too have a budget for our families entertainment. At this point, a huge percentage of that budget goes to the Walt Disney Company (of which I am also a share holder). When I start feeling that there are other options where I can get more "Bang for my buck", I will likely spend my money elsewhere.

Done it before, despite being AP holders for the better part of the past 10 years, we just went thru an 18 month non-Disney stretch, choosing instead to do a "Roller Coaster Tour" last summer with our Cedar Fair Platinum Pass (Which gets you access to ALL Cedar Fair Parks). It was a two week long trip, including about 3,000 miles of driving, hitting 5 different parks.

Off topic a bit, but for anyone that is interested, the Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, including food and drink options, was about $400 per person. That pass gave you entry to any Cedar Fair park, parking, two meals a day, and a drink every 15 minutes. We normally get a gold pass every year with the food and drink options at Carowinds (Cedar Fair Park on the NC/SC boarder) for about $200, so this was a $200 bump per ticket. But, all I had to pay for on the trip was basically gas and hotels (although we did do some non-park type things such as Niagara Falls) and had a few meals outside of the parks.

However, this is exactly my point. Last year I felt the cost of a WDW Annual Pass was not worth the cost based on the number of attractions that were open. This year, with the discount offer to DVC, we bought the vouchers, activated them for our week long trip in July, and will use them for our week long trip next summer in June. What happens in June is anyone's guess, and I guess we will see what the cost will be for the next AP. Or perhaps we will do the Cedar Fair tour again.

 

[StacyStrong]

I was unconcerned about upgrading my hoppers to APs in December, but everyone questioning it now has me paranoid.

 

[wfjny]

I wonder if Disney won’t have some various “Land & Sea” packages for you cruisers...but I know that not everyone who does the pre- and post-cruise visits stay on property.

Also, some people may not be on a Disney Cruise.

Three years ago, my wife and I did a RCL 5 day cruise on a M-F. Since we have AP, it was no big deal to drive to Florida on Friday, spend the weekend at WDW, and then return to WDW the following after the cruise Friday and Saturday, returning home on Sunday.

This plan was then cemented in place as we met up with fiends/family both weekends.

This was easy for us with spending a couple of nights at a Hampton Inn outside the parks. I wonder what the cost would have been to do those two weekend now as a Disney Package. In short, we would just not have done it.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I was unconcerned about upgrading my hoppers to APs in December, but everyone questioning it now has me paranoid.

They are only posted questions without being based on any facts and in most cases, the questions arise from people who haven’t even read the complete thread.

Travel agents and bloggers who have been posting in the thread see no reason to question using tickets to upgrade. Each regular ticket will always have a value and that value can be used towards upgrades.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Is there a calendar yet with the new ticket prices? Or just the video so far?

Everything will appear on October 16th. The Disney Blog Post and video were just to prep everyone for the changes on the 16th...rather than to get blasted for not warning about the upcoming ticket changes.

 

[SaintsManiac]

They are only posted questions without being based on any facts and in most cases, the questions arise from people who haven’t even read the complete thread.

Travel agents and bloggers who have been posting in the thread see no reason to question using tickets to upgrade. Each regular ticket will always have a value and that value can be used towards upgrades.

I've read the entire thread. The situation is very confusing already. My upgrading thoughts are just thoughts. Obviously we will all know more after 10/16.

 

[StacyStrong]

They are only posted questions without being based on any facts and in most cases, the questions arise from people who haven’t even read the complete thread.

Travel agents and bloggers who have been posting in the thread see no reason to question using tickets to upgrade. Each regular ticket will always have a value and that value can be used towards upgrades.

All very true! Thank you!

 

[SWBCMusic]

Has there been any confirmation as to whether the pricing model is dynamic or static? If static, when will the prices for a specific time frame be published? If dynamic, would this encourage delayed purchasing of tickets to take advantage of lowered pricing due to lack of demand; or would it be best to purchase early to lock in a specific rate?

This system has been compared to airline pricing, but if the pricing is truly static (does not change for a particular day once set) it is not really similar to the airline system. My fear is that the pricing will be dynamic (like that of the airlines); this would add the greatest confusion and frustration.

I can imagine a scenario in which tickets were purchased for a specific date range, then that pricing shifts (if dynamic). That would not be ideal.

 

[FCDub]

That's it. I'm done. They finally broke me, this is the last straw. It's time to go to Europe. You win, Disney.

You'll have a great time. Big old world out there!

 

[hiroMYhero]

Has there been any confirmation as to whether the pricing model is dynamic or static? If static, when will the prices for a specific time frame be published? If dynamic, would this encourage delayed purchasing of tickets to take advantage of lowered pricing due to lack of demand; or would it be best to purchase early to lock in a specific rate?

This system has been compared to airline pricing, but if the pricing is truly static (does not change for a particular day once set) it is not really similar to the airline system. My fear is that the pricing will be dynamic (like that of the airlines); this would add the greatest confusion and frustration.

I can imagine a scenario in which tickets were purchased for a specific date range, then that pricing shifts (if dynamic). That would not be ideal.

It’s static. Please see Post#2 where quotes from WDWNT are highlighted.

Also, if you are mousesavers readers, the site has a lengthy description on the new Ticket Structuring.

 

[SWBCMusic]

It’s static. Please see Post#2 where quotes from WDWNT are highlighted.

Also, if you are mousesavers readers, the site has a lengthy description on the new Ticket Structuring,

Thank you, I'd skimmed and not read post #2.

Then, as a seasonal pricing structure, this change is not nearly as potentially difficult as I'd imagined.

 

[E.Jane]

ugh...I hate how each trip just seems to get more and more complicated! So were are Canadians travelling in February. There is currently a Canadian special that would save us about $100 each. We've been holding off purchasing the tickets because I wanted to wait and see if a package deal becomes available. I'm thinking we should just buy the tickets now and hope for a room-only discount.

 

[wfjny]

When Disney initially changed their pricing structure I guess about 10 years ago, it was all part of the approach to keep people on property the entire time. The fact was that there was more than a few people that may spend a day at MK, but then would choose to go to Universal instead of MGM for their "Movie Themed" park.

Of course, AK was just a zoo anyway, why go there when you can go to one close to home.

Things like the Magical Express would get you to the property, and effectively trapped on property. Yes, you could rent a car, but why would you need to…

The pricing model of the “Your Way” tickets basically made anything after the third or fourth day just $2 more per day. That hade several effects. One of course was why take a day out of your trip to pay full price at another amusement park. The second was back in the day, many people would schedule a “down day” without going to the parks. They would take the commando approach on days that they had paid for, to maximize their value.

But if an extra day is just $2, well now we can go to the parks the evening we arrive, or the morning of our departure day, hey it is just $2.

Fast forward 10 or so years, and now look. Adding an extra day is not bad, but still costs more. Adding a 4th day is $80 more. Adding a 5th day is $15 more, then $10 a day after that. Still reasonable, but a long way to get there…

If their model reverts to a model that does not discount per day for longer stays, I do wonder if they will start seeing a drop in business. I guess only time will tell…

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

What happens for people who have existing tickets? We've had two-day park hopper tickets that Disney comped us from a few years ago sitting in a dummy account on MDE.

 

[hiroMYhero]

What happens for people who have existing tickets? We've had two-day park hopper tickets that Disney comped us from a few years ago sitting in a dummy account on MDE.

They can just sit there until you use them.

The new ticket structuring has nothing to do with valid tickets that are in your possession.