Originally Posted By CuriousConstance For some reason these price increases are really feeling icky to me. Didn't bother me as much last year. It seems like it's barely worth it unless you live 20 minutes away and go a gazillion times a year.
Originally Posted By tashajilek I really feel bad for you Constance. I know how much you and your kids love DL, what a shame for them to raise the prices so much. I also noticed restaurants raised their prices too. The meal i used to get at the blue bayou last year was $39.99 now its $43. I can see charging an extra few dollars here and there, but those ticket prices are disqustingly high.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance Aw,thanks Tasha. Don't feel bad for me though. I can't say that increase would keep up from going, just feels like it's already hard enough getting the money together. I guess they are still trying to find that sweet spot, in the middle where people will still pay it but they maximize profit.
Originally Posted By spaceace Food has gone up everywhere when fuel prices have gone up. When the number of people going to the parks drop that's when the prices will stop going up. I agree the prices are starting to take a toll on everyone.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^Real inflation is starting to rear its ugly head. It will be interesting to see how customers react. They are already being stretched thin by higher food, energy, medical and education costs, leaving less disposable income to spend on luxuries. But yes, these are huge price increases. And I'll bet that lodging prices, both on and off property, are rising sharply as well.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Here are the latest Hotel prices in Anaheim from April... <a href="http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2011/06/08/anaheim-hotels-78-full-in-april/79177/" target="_blank">http://ocresort.ocregister.com...l/79177/</a> Note, Anaheim Hotels are not just affected by the Disneyland Resort, but also things like the Anaheim Convention Center, the major Sporting/Music venues such as Angels Stadium, Honda Center, the Grove of Anaheim and other events, such as Cheer/Dance events being held at the Hyatt Convention Center, and other locations.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh If I buy a Premier Pass tomorrow is it good for one year from purchase, or one year from first use? And if the latter, is there a limit on how long I can wait before first using it?
Originally Posted By oc_dean What makes me ill is that not only is it a 6 dollar increase (usually it's $2) ... but it's in the middle of one of the worst economic times in U.S. history. If jobs are aplenty, and wages are up ... then businesses as big as Disney can get away with it. But against people's real salaries ... it just makes one want to take on the out-of-touch executives in Burbank who make these (greedy!) decisions.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>I think Disney might be pricing itself out of the locals market.<< Pardon me Darkbeer (GLAD TO SEE YOU AROUND AGAIN! by the way) ....... But wouldn't the One Day Pass of $80 affect people just coming for a day? Which would be out of towners. Us locals usually go for the AP program. Just read Micechat ... they got a good breakdown of the price jumps: Ticket Ages 10+ Ages 3-9 6-Day Park Hopper $271 $251 6-Day 1-Park Per Day $256 $236 5-Day Park Hopper $266 $246 5-Day 1-Park Per Day $251 $231 4-Day Park Hopper $249 $231 4-Day 1-Park Per Day $234 $216 3-Day Park Hopper $224 $208 3-Day 1-Park Per Day $209 $193 2-Day Park Hopper $173 $161 2-Day 1-Park Per Day $158 $146 1-Day Park Hopper $105 $99 1-Day 1-Park $80 $74 Premium $499 Deluxe $379 Southern California* $269 Southern California Select* $199 And the lower tier APs .. might as well add 99 bucks ... as they don't include parking .. And unless you have someone to drop you off ... where, close to DLR, are you going to park?!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Look at it this way ... if you live in SoCal (or just plan on visiting once in a year) you'd now be crazy not to spend $700 for the Premier Pass. It's almost like they're saying 'we've Walmarted WDW so much will throw it in -- all four parks, two water parks, WWoS, DQ -- for another $200'. Overall, the pricepoints are sickening ... though ... it seems like only five-six years ago I was paying $199 for a DLR PAP. My last AP that I bought in 2007 (Deluxe) was about $229. Those prices are absurd in this economy. I was planning on getting an AP this summer at DLR again, but I think I'll just hit CM pals up for two free walk-ins and call it a year. And O-Town is even worse because their product is getting worse unlike Anaheim's.
Originally Posted By berol I'll spare the particulars, but I was gonna upgrade my park hopper to a socal AP next week and use the AP on one December school day. It's cheaper now to forget the AP and get a ticket for the December day. Not doing that, so I'll just use up my park hopper and call it a year. I'll end up saving $100! Drinks are on me!
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 "I really must be getting old. I can't believe that in just a few years it will be $100 to visit a US Disney park for the day." I just bought two tickets for "Wicked" last night, here in Perth and the total for TWO TICKETS was $402.00"!!!!! That's more than TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS PER TICKET!!!!!! I'd consider even paying $100 for a day at DL to be VERY good value! But anyway, who the hell buys a ONE DAY PASS but ignorant rubes?
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 "I think Disney might be pricing itself out of the locals market." I am sure there are many people who would say, "GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hopefully by the time I get there next year the parks may be a bit quieter without the usual trashy APers descending on the place after work/school.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 "I feel really bad for families, a family of 4 will have to shell out about $200 extra for nothing" Not for "nothing". Have you been paying attention to the construction going on for the past two years, with MORE to come?!? This has to be paid for somehow! "Disneyland is soon going to be a place for only well off people to afford" Hyperbole. I think what you REALLY mean is "It will be a place bored, overweight, forty five year olds in mouse ears will no longer be able to pop into, after their shift finishes at the local supermarket so they can relive their childhood for three hours every evening, clogging up walkways and queues for E tickets while REAL tourists, some of whom have saved TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS over two or three years and travelled THOUSANDS of kilometres to have a lesser experience in a place they may only have a chance to visit once or twice in their lifetime".
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 "We visit on average once a year, for 4 or 5 days at a time. That's $964 for the four of us for 4-5 days of park time! That's a lot of money. That's just for the dang tickets" So that just means you have to be a little bit smarter about it! If you ARE going once per year then one year you go in early April and buy an AP. Next year you go in late March and use the same pass. You can either see it as you get the next year for free or you simply divide the cost of the pass by two and view it as cheap tickets for both years!
Originally Posted By tashajilek Alot of out of towners with children spend thousands coming to DL. I think spending a few hundred dollars on tickets, higher food prices etc can really hurt. When i was a kid my mom was a sigle mother taking us to DL. A few hundred dollars paid for a few days of meals. Not all the people suffering will be local AP holders. In fact like mentioned it will be less value for single year visitors to purchase tickets than to purchase multi visit aps.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think Bob said a lot of what I was thinking. We need to appreciate costs have been going up. The official inflation rate in the UK is 4.5% but in real terms to a family like mine it is running like 9%. DL has been getting additions the rest of the world would love to have, more than WDW, DLP and TDL combined. With a large clientele that pop in regularly at $5-$10 a pop. Growing up, I was raised by a single mom, and we had disabilities that meant extra medical costs the insurance would never cover (preexisting - ya, I was born with them grrrrrr.). But we would save and go. It was a special occurance, not a second home to folks. And you know what? I think it was better. If the entertainment, maintenance and additions continue to be like they were 10+ years ago, then I welcome this. It means the parks will be worth the time and money, and maybe a little quieter. For the locals that go regularly, there will still be bargains to be had. And compared to a quality cruise, Hawaii, a trip abroad, DL and WDW are still largely great value. For WDW however, for the increase, they better pull their socks up. In DLP, APs are currently about $300 for the Dream (no blackouts, 10% off food, 20% of merchandise, free parking etc.) But I would rather pay Disneyland prices and get Disneyland quality than what France offers up in terms of entertainment (rubber heads, that's it, no dapper dans, little to no live music, no fireworks other than 8 weeks a year and New Years Eve, and evening parade only 4 months a year). For bargains though, I can trump CP or 6 flags. Merlin passes costs us $145 each (they do family deals if you buy three or more and I think Disney should offer that), and give you access to over 44 attractions including 4 world class theme parks, several aquariums, the dungeons, Warwick Castle, the London Eye and the Madame Tussauds Wax Museums as well as 20% off food and merchandise. Overall, the parks are still not bad value. So long as the quality remains. I will not pay those prices for film based attractions (I can experience TSMM at home, 3D and all if I want), or toons. I will pay that money for quality attractions. And for perspective, similar to Bob's comment on tickets, I wanted to take my 4 to see Shrek the Musical in London. I abandoned my idea given it would have cost us $750 for one night.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "If you ARE going once per year then one year you go in early April and buy an AP. Next year you go in late March and use the same pass. You can either see it as you get the next year for free or you simply divide the cost of the pass by two and view it as cheap tickets for both years!" This is probably what we will start to do eventually. It's obviously the best choice. BUT, at this time I don't usually have an extra $1516 laying around to buy deluxe passes for the 4 of us. Second, it's always unknown when we'll be able to get back since it costs a lot of money to go, so my fear is buying a pass and then not being able to use it at least twice. Third, if I get a pass and we want to go down for a quick trip in the summer, I hate that we could be blocked and not be able to go whenever the chance presents itself. And it's REALLY hard to justify spending $2000 a year for premium passes for the 4 of us.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "For some reason these price increases are really feeling icky to me. Didn't bother me as much last year." We're entering Disney's 4th quarter, typically a big revenue period for Parks & Resorts. I'm guessing that bookings and attendance are looking flat and Disney wants to be able to offset that by raising prices. Or they simply want to capitalize on any expected attendance increases. My point is that the timing of the increases is not coincidental. "Food has gone up everywhere when fuel prices have gone up. When the number of people going to the parks drop that's when the prices will stop going up. I agree the prices are starting to take a toll on everyone." Yep. I think the real indicator will be whether or not Disney starts discounting heavily in the fall. They seem to have reigned in on the discounts in the past year, however it's always an option for management.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Here are the latest Hotel prices in Anaheim from April..." Thanks Darkbeer. From that information I'm going to guess that bookings and attendance, at DLR at least, are projected to be up this summer.
