Originally Posted By bobbelee9 A gal I work with took a youth group to 6 Flags today, have to ask her about the prices tomorrow.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Isn't it just awful when you have to choose between standing in line for Snow White's Scary Adventures or a Krispy Kreme donut?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Fortunately for us, we're witches who have nothing to do with money at all. We can just fly over the ticket booths on our brooms and spend as much time at the parks as we want. But for others, it's a shame that the prices for park admission keep going up so often.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << Universal, last summer, was offering extremely affordable specials, and had record profits. >> Universal's headline may say "record profits," but they still don't generate enough cash flow to spend capital on new attractions without borrowing money. The Universal business model isn't all that solid when you consider the amount of cash required to build new attractions.
Originally Posted By dshyates It depends on what they are building. i don't believe they needed to borrow for the Simpsons, or even the coaster that they are building right now, Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. But The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a different ballgame all together. First they had to level a whole section of an existing park. They are building a town bigger than Main Street including a Castle bigger than Cindy's Shack at the MK (as tall, with a much larger foot-print). Re-themeing 2 existing rides and building the state of the art attraction with a ride system that they have to develop. utilizing the Robocoaster tech combined with the spiderman track system. It is going to be as elaborate as the haunted mansion with several of the largest AAs ever built including a tree that is going to attack the ride vehicle. On top of that they are building a 16 story hotel, but Lowes Hotels may be footing the bill for that. So yeah, they probably needed a loan.
Originally Posted By bayrr326 I guess one of my issues is that thanks to Disney the 1 day ticket in the Orlando market is insane. This is the only area in the country that can somehow get away with this. Everyone else(SW,BGT,Uni) does severly discount there 2 day plus tickets and there annual passes are a way better deal than WDW and you can pay for them monthly instead of having to come up with all your money at once. I have the Busch Platinum Pass which gets me into all Busch parks for 2 years for $389. That is about $50 more than I payed for my renewal on my WDW pass. It is worth it alone for the Florida parks cause I get preferred parking, special seating at SeaWorld shows and it is a bonus for me because I have family in Virginia I usually go to BGW and Water Country every year. I guess one thing that irks me is that while other parks usually have a justification for raising ticket prices(usually a major new ride) it almost seems totally arbitrary with WDW. It is almost like they are pushing it to see how far they can go. In 4 years the one day ticket price has gone up $19. Name another park that has done that. I keep wondering when the breaking point will be. I guess we may see starting this fall with 16000 less seats flying to Orlando and with people cutting back and if they are doing vacations not booking until the last minute.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>In 4 years the one day ticket price has gone up $19. Name another park that has done that.<<< Almost every park in Europe has done this. And therefore they are a key part of the market drivers.
Originally Posted By dshyates Iger was on msnbc yeasterday and he dais they haven't seen a drop in attendence, and ressis for wedding is as strong as it ever was. He also said that the foreign tourist aren't keeping the numbers up. They account for only 20% of the total. While I believe what he is saying is true, I have to wonder how Disney is the only place in the country that HASN'T felt the effects of this downturn in the economy. Especially with their decline in quality. If what he is saying is true, then I can see why they would raise ticket prices. But something in the back of my mind thinks it may be smoke and mirrors.
Originally Posted By Mr X Of course it's smoke and mirrors. The CEO culture of today demands it. Pretty pathetic, honestly. They'll lie until they can't get away with it, and that goes across the boards these days. Extremely unethical but sadly, it's expected AND accepted these days.
Originally Posted By bayrr326 <<Almost every park in Europe has done this. And therefore they are a key part of the market drivers.>> Well, besides in the Orlando market none that I know of has gone up that much in the last 4 years. Cedar Point, which is the most heavily attended seasonal park, actually dropped there price last year. <<Of course it's smoke and mirrors.>> Well, as we have talked about alot on here most people book there WDW vacations 6 months to a year in advance. Disney really isn't going to feel any effects until later this fall into next year. But don't tell me cutting flights and seats to Orlando isn't going to effect them. It will probably hit Universal, SW and other smaller attractions first but don't tell me these entertainment cutbacks aren't because they are cutting costs in anticipation of a slowdown. I have a many people I know who work for them and many employees, esp. in entertainment, are on edge about possibly losing there jobs. The crappy thing is it seems lately at WDW when they cut out entertainment they rarely bring it back. Ever since 9/11 when the slashed so much entertainment at MK it still hasn't returned to the amount it once had. That park is a joke when it comes to entertainment especially after 6 pm even when the park is open late.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>The crappy thing is it seems lately at WDW when they cut out entertainment they rarely bring it back. Ever since 9/11 when the slashed so much entertainment at MK it still hasn't returned to the amount it once had. That park is a joke when it comes to entertainment especially after 6 pm even when the park is open late. <<< this is a part of my key gripe with the MK (along with a downturn in cleaning and maintenance). And yet some of the pollyana's on the WDW boards have a dig at me for raising the issues.
