Prices just hit my threshold :-(

[sharona]

I really think people here think that they are going to affect anything Disney does. Disney is a huge company that is making more and more money all the time. The few hundred (thousand?) people on this message board would not cause them any significant pain, even if they all stopped going. And we are not going to all stop going so they don't care.

That's a depressing attitude if you really think that individual customers don't matter and just because others are not posting on a message board doesn't mean they won't decide it's not worth the current cost and stay away. Maybe Disney thinks there is an unlimited pool of customers and that there is no competition but that type of corporate attitude is not what got them where they are today and it's not what will sustain them long term. Like many people, I vote with my wallet all the time and I do think I make a difference.

None of the price changes here should have made this unattainable in 24 hours. If these increases were enough to put you over the breaking point, you've been right on the edge of it for a long time.

For many, it's not a case of a price increase making something unaffordable as it is making it less attractive when compared with other options to spend that money.

Aw, yes, the old thinking that those with more money work harder than those with less. And I never thought of making more money, what a great idea! That would certainly help! Thanks!

Literally LOL'd. Thanks for the laugh.

Affording it isn't the question, it just not worth it for lesser value. Hello the half Closed Hollywood Studios!

Exactly, the higher the price the more the lack of options at several parks becomes a sticking point.

Yup this last trip was it for us for a couple years. Just not worth it anymore.

This is where we are. While we have never been annual visitors, we have been every other year at either WDW or DL since my DD was little. We have our first Xmas trip planned this year and after that we will not be going back until all of the newly planned worlds/attractions are finished. Maybe in 4 years for DD's sweet 16 or in 6 for her graduation...

 

[3DisneyFanz]

My goal is to NOT work hard but still make lots of money.

So you want to replace Iger?

 

[dlavender]

And here is what happens when people run out of rational arguments. They start attacking and mocking people instead of trying to defend their position.

And that's the post you respond to? And that's what happens when people don't want to respond to rational arguments, but instead choose to only respond to one that won't require thought.

 

[eliza61]

So, haven't read all the replies, lol seems like a storm brewing... so as a standard disclaimer let me say, these are my views and my views alone.

First, to answer someone from up thread. I am a hardworking, financially successful individual, retiring in my 50's individual. one of the ways I got to be financially secure is by getting the most bang for my buck.

Now while I do not feel like it's my right to have a luxury vacation, it is absolutely my right to GET MY MONEY WORTH when you charge me luxury prices.

I am also a dvc owner.

I too have pretty much reached my tipping point. To put it simply, the product Disney offers is no long worth the price they charge.
I don't give a rats patooie if they have shareholders (of which I am one), if they need XYZ profit margin or any thing else.

What I care about is when I fork over my money, do I get a valuable product in return.

lately that answer has been no.

I am not selling my dvc only because of the price increase, this is just the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

Parks that are antiquated and boring. Seriously? HS anyone
food that is mediocre
dvc properties that have not been maintained well
systems that no longer reflect how we tour
Perks that don't appeal to me (photopass is of no value to me)
ridiculous price increases in the prices of the perks I do use. You increase the price of the TIW card by what 50%.

are just a few of the reasons why we will take our vacationing dollars elsewhere.

Will I never return to wdw? Most likely I will, but for now I cannot justify the cost. maybe once the new lands get up and running, I'll reconsider and I will probably do a spa trip now and again but for now I'll pass. I'm lucky, I've never ever brought into the theory that Disney is the only place on the planet where I can have a good, magical vacation

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I think many people, myself included, came to get information and share experiences with others that enjoy Disney, not for endless complaining.

Is it mandatory to click and reply to every thread?

 

[eliza61]

Ok, so how are you going to solve this "problem". Since Disney is not your company you have a few choices, if you feel it's too expensive you can complain about it online, hoping they will listen and change their mind which is pretty doubtful or you can stop going. When I feel someone is ripping me off I don't give them my money, I guess it's pretty black and white for me. If I get to the point where I don't feel that vacation at Disney is reasonable, I'll just stop going. I tend to speak with my wallet.

uhmm keep reading please.

 

[disneyfan2kids]

I think many people, myself included, came to get information and share experiences with others that enjoy Disney, not for endless complaining.

Oh boy did you come to the wrong place! You do realize you're on the internet, right?

I have 972 posts... I'd say less than 5% of them are complaints. However, I'm also not afraid to call it like I see it for WDW just because I love WDW. If you don't want to see any complaints, you need to frequent a different board.

 

[BSmithington]

Last I will say, and then I am done as well:

From Walt -

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."

STOP IT! The Walt Disney Corporation is a public company. They exist to increase the wealth of their shareholders. That is the sole function of a public company. If Iger wasn't producing record returns he would be out and someone new would be in.

 

[bpadair32]

So, haven't read all the replies, lol seems like a storm brewing... so as a standard disclaimer let me say, these are my views and my views alone.

First, to answer someone from up thread. I am a hardworking, financially successful individual, retiring in my 50's individual one of the ways I got to be financially secure is by getting the most bang for my buck.

Now while I do not feel like it's my right to have a luxury vacation, it is absolutely my right to GET MY MONEY WORTH when you charge me luxury prices.

I am also a dvc owner.

I too have pretty much reached my tipping point. To put it simply, the product Disney offers is no long worth the price they charge.
I don't give a rats patooie if they have shareholders (of which I am one), if they need XYZ profit margin or any thing else.

What I care about is when I fork over my money, do I get a valuable product in return.

lately that answer has been no.

I am not selling my dvc only because of the price increase, this is just the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

Parks that are antiquated and boring. Seriously? HS anyone
food that is mediocre
dvc properties that have not been maintained well
systems that no longer reflect how we tour
Perks that don't appeal to me (photopass is of no value to me)

are just a few of the reasons why we will take our vacationing dollars elsewhere.

Will I never return to wdw? Most likely I will, but for now I cannot justify the cost. maybe once the new lands get up and running, I'll reconsider and I will probably do a spa trip now and again but for now I'll pass. I'm lucky, I've never ever brought into the theory that Disney is the only place on the planet where I can have a good, magical vacation

And this is what people should be doing. Not worth it to you? Stop going. I sincerely thank you for not going in the direction of many on this thread, that have had me replying so vigorously, who seem to think that because it is not for them, Disney is wrong. For some, like yourself, its not worth it. For others like me, it is. Either way, its not wrong.

 

[dlavender]

I think many people, myself included, came to get information and share experiences with others that enjoy Disney, not for endless complaining.

And yet here you are, complaining about the complaining.

 

[5kidsmommy]

uhmm keep reading please.

uhmmm I'm not a psychic how the heck was I supposed to know you would continue your response in another post, if you're going to be snooty about responses before you explained what you were going to do to solve your issue perhaps you should finish your post before quoting me. Thanks and have a nice day.

And I only replied like this because of your condescending "hmm, keep reading" how the hell was I supposed to keep reading when your second post wasn't there yet?

 

[Redcon1]

What? What? Those are some rude thoughts going on here. "Oh, I make enough money, so I can afford it and don't mind." Or, "you should get a good job and better yourself, then you can afford a trip." I have a great job, you should get a great job, that's what it's all about? Not to go there "because you can't afford it, but I can so the parks will be less crowded?", that's about as classist statement as I have ever heard. Go on vacation and live it up - classist statement

Disney built value hotels - think they didn't want families who didn't want to spend that much? They offered free dining - think they weren't aiming for the family crowd? Now, a typical family doesn't earn that much. In fact, there are a lot of working poor in the good ole'USA than ever. And they deserve a vacation. And not to go all "what would Walt do", but his theme parks were designed for the whole family. He wanted an affordable family vacation. And now Disney/Iger has effectivly priced out the typical Disney family. Business be darned, Iger and his prices have done that. That's just it. IDC if "prices needed to be raised because it business - it's not good practices, how's that? It's not family practices. It has prices out a lot of customers. Sure, they will come - money saved like good little Disney folk, but - gah - it's just not right, business or not. Not right.

Exactly. God forbid some of these people would have to mix with us hoi-polloi on their vacations.

 

[eliza61]

I think many people, myself included, came to get information and share experiences with others that enjoy Disney, not for endless complaining.

Getting information also means getting the negative information. When I go on vacation, I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

[Redcon1]

Last I will say, and then I am done as well:

From Walt -

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."

And Walt would plow many of his profits into new projects, not into a vault where'd he dive into his riches like Scrooge McIger.

 

[hopemax]

Classist? Calling folks classist around here regarding Disney price hikes? To quote Phineas and Ferb: "Why yes. Yes I am." Cause that's how the tone is reading.

Disney belongs to everyone, not just the wealthy middle/rich. I'm not saying that it isn't pricey or inexpensive. I'm saying that the cost should stay in a realist and affordable range, relative to the average American family budget. These costs are in clown-town land. The price tiering is in clown-town. Disney isn't a privilege, it's...it's...not a luxury...it's a theme park that ought to be affordable for everyone. And now it's not.

What the "Disney is a business" crowd fails to understand, is that the perception of WDW as the American Mecca is because of all the regular, middle class households perceiving it as such. Once all those people are priced out, and they stop talking about WDW positively, the perception shifts, and once something else is perceived as the American Mecca, what happens to WDW? As gets pointed out, the true 1% recognize that WDW isn't luxury, just overpriced for what you get. They aren't going to be breaking down the doors.

A swift change has already happened to Disney with Feature Animation. Even CEO, Bob Iger admits that Disney lost its way and so they HAD to go out and buy Pixar because they were incapable of producing movies that would capture imagination like they once did, and at which Pixar now excelled. And how fast did that collapse happen? Little Mermaid - Lion King came out 1989-1994, and Disney bought Pixar in 2006. 12 years from top of the world, to having to buy out the competitor.

There is no guarantee that when people stop coming, there will be another to take the place. The changes at WDW between pricing and FP+ are major, and when you make changes that big, past success is no predictor for future behavior.

 

[JaxDad]

Exactly. God forbid some of these people would have to mix with us hoi-polloi on their vacations.

This reminded me of the scene in Caddyshack when Noonan goes to the yacht club party in sailing attire, and Spalding Smails says in a very snotty tone "Ahoy polloi!"

 

[bpadair32]

Getting information also means getting the negative information. When I go on vacation, I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.

Right, but that is not the point we were talking about. I was pointing out that there are other reasons to come to these boards other than to complain.

What the "Disney is a business" crowd fails to understand, is that the perception of WDW as the American Mecca is because of all the regular, middle class households perceiving it as such. Once all those people are priced out, and they stop talking about WDW positively, the perception shifts, and once something else is perceived as the American Mecca, what happens to WDW? As gets pointed out, the true 1% recognize that WDW isn't luxury, just overpriced for what you get. They aren't going to be breaking down the doors.

A swift change has already happened to Disney with Feature Animation. Even CEO, Bob Iger admits that Disney lost its way and so they HAD to go out and buy Pixar because they were incapable of producing movies that would capture imagination like they once did, and at which Pixar now excelled. And how fast did that collapse happen? Little Mermaid - Lion King came out 1989-1994, and Disney bought Pixar in 2006. 12 years from top of the world, to having to buy out the competitor.

There is no guarantee that when people stop coming, there will be another to take the place. The changes at WDW between pricing and FP+ are major, and when you make changes that big, past success is no predictor for future behavior.

Prices have been going up for quite a while, and FP+ has been in place for a while, and their numbers are higher than ever. So while you are correct past success doesn't mean future results, the results already seem pretty clear.

 

[eliza61]

uhmmm I'm not a psychic how the heck was I supposed to know you would continue your response in another post, if you're going to be snooty about responses before you explained what you were going to do to solve your issue perhaps you should finish your post before quoting me. Thanks and have a nice day.

And I only replied like this because of your condescending "hmm, keep reading" how the hell was I supposed to keep reading when your second post wasn't there yet?

wow did you take a big leap. ok, I'm going to step away from the keyboard now. hummm (not condescending just inserted as a pause). I replied to you because I wanted you to keep reading.

nothing more.

how you turned that into "snooty and condescending" I'm not getting but have a magical day

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

If they think they can do better overall by aiming for bigger wallets instead of enabling smaller ones, this trend will continue. It's not evil, or wrong, or mean, it's just smart business.

Adam

I don't know.....I just can't think that some of the things that Disney has been doing as of late is "smart business".

I don't work for a theme park, but I *am* a consumer.....and "smart business" to me is to offer an appealing product at a price that people find value in the purchase. While I understand that many people will still find value in Disney even after this most recent change, this thread is a good indicator that other folks definitely do not. Value can be lost with noticeable ticket price increases, black-out dates, parking fee hikes, limitations on rides and experiences (FP+, I'm looking at you), inflexibility (not being able to get ADR's for the most popular places unless you have a 6-month planning lead time), and the list goes on.

Disney can most definitely charge whatever they wish. They can raise prices of tickets, dining, resorts, and whatever as high as they want to. Some people will continue to pay it. Some people will continue to be satisfied.

Unfortunately for Disney, life is such that happy people who find value in their purchases tend to tell a few select people just how satisfied and happy they are. Unhappy people who feel they didn't get the value out of their purchase tend to tell everyone who will listen about their dissatisfaction. In my corporate world, its much easier for a business to retain happy, satisfied, repeat clientele than to earn the trust and business of new customers. Keeping people coming back and building loyalty is generally what we call "smart business". And while greed can give some favourable short-term results, the long term view can be quite different.

 

[bpadair32]

I don't know.....I just can't think that some of the things that Disney has been doing as of late is "smart business".

I don't work for a theme park, but I *am* a consumer.....and "smart business" to me is to offer an appealing product at a price that people find value in the purchase. While I understand that many people will still find value in Disney even after this most recent change, this thread is a good indicator that other folks definitely do not. Value can be lost with noticeable ticket price increases, black-out dates, parking fee hikes, limitations on rides and experiences (FP+, I'm looking at you), inflexibility (not being able to get ADR's for the most popular places unless you have a 6-month planning lead time), and the list goes on.

Disney can most definitely charge whatever they wish. They can raise prices of tickets, dining, resorts, and whatever as high as they want to. Some people will continue to pay it. Some people will continue to be satisfied.

Unfortunately for Disney, life is such that happy people who find value in their purchases tend to tell a few select people just how satisfied and happy they are. Unhappy people who feel they didn't get the value out of their purchase tend to tell everyone who will listen about their dissatisfaction. In my corporate world, its much easier for a business to retain happy, satisfied, repeat clientele than to earn the trust and business of new customers. Keeping people coming back and building loyalty is generally what we call "smart business". And while greed can give some favourable short-term results, the long term view can be quite different.

The issue with this argument is, how many people outside of the internet message board echo chamber no longer find value in it. If you spend a lot of time on the internet, you will find that there are many, many opinions that seem to have an overwhelming majority on forums just such as this one, on any number of topics. But most of the times, if you get off of the message boards, you will find that the actual majority opinion is quite different.