Originally Posted By vbdad55 My concern of the business model for the last few years is not price increases. As you guys say, there are many things you will pony up if you are travelling and paying these costs. It's the cuts in quality, service, hours and entertainment --------------------- see I view this as a no win argument. I absolutely agree with you that the cuts in things like live entertainment bother me to no end...I absolutely want the top quality on everything they do ....HOWEVER, where does the tipping point come on how much it would take in price increases to do that- and when does the attendance drop off so much it all becomes unsustainable ? I don't know that and neither does anyone here. It's all a crap shoot.As a stockholder I can tell you they are not making record profits like some companies who are still off shoring and cutting quality. Stock is worth less than 9 years ago. A business model that puts in all etickets and holds the line on prices wile the cost of everything else in the world increases is one of bankruptcy. Like you I would also pay a lot more if it all meant nothing but quality- but alas I do not believe there are enough of you and me and a few others here to keep the good ship WDW afloat. It sucks in many ways...
Originally Posted By MPierce >> my property taxes went up double digit % for the 4th year in a row in a market where homes are depreciting ( and I'm in my home for 20 years) - where do I complain ? << Chicago is not a really fair comparison VBDAD. My taxes actually went down for 2010. My electric rates or lower this summer (Reliant Energy) than last. Food prices have remained stable at the grocery store, with some prices being less. There are discounts, and bargains all over the place. If anybody down here has jumped the prices like Disney has I'm not aware of it.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I understand the sentiment that Disney is just doing what everyone else is doing. But I think there is a danger in that. The question at the end of the day for the average tourist (not those of us on LP Boards) is value and return visits that Disney relys on. At some point the average guest will feel that were nickled and dimed to the point that Disney will be a less frequent destination for them. Someone earlier posted about Six Flags. I have to say that my last experience at Six Flags was such that I havent returned in several years. From the parking, to the tickets to the long lines (not helped by their FP system), to the almost inedible expensive food has ensured that our family will not return. Quite honestly, if it werent for the fact that I get into Disney for free, the Disney parks would not be on our radar to visit at all. Even at free my wife usually says...whats there to see, we have done it all many times. I understand what Disney is doing. But a $2.00 increase in parking is really pushing the limit I think.
Originally Posted By MPierce ^^^ I know 2 people who will not be making their usual WDW trip because of the constant nickle, and diming.
Originally Posted By disney pete wish i had seen this before we left we rolled up at DHS on our first day with $12 in hand only for the guy in the booth to say it's $14 now sir.
Originally Posted By standor Disney will out price themself and make it impossible for the average person to go there.
Originally Posted By Labuda Firstly, yeah, Disney charging $14 for parking doens't shock me at all in light of the fact that I paid $20 to park at Fiesta Texas recently. I'm just glad I stay onsite at WDW so if I do have a car, I don't have to worry about that on top of the money I'm already shelling out. "You have to pay for their version of Fastpass (Flashpass or Q-Bot), you can't have any personal items with you on the ride platforms, thus instituting high-priced, one-time lockers at the entrance of most rides. And to top it off, Six Flags adopted cheerleader-like Scream Leaders" at their parks. So, we can all thank Six Flags for such crazy charges that we see at other theme parks. Nothing like gouging your guests even before they enter the park!" And yeah, regarding Flash-Pass - you may have to pay for it, true, BUT $97 bought me and a friend the right to basically walk directly to the nexdt coaster and ride is, as our wait time was ALWAYS up before we got where we were headed. If Disney let me do the same thing, yeah, I'd pay it. Don't let the suits hear that.
Originally Posted By Labuda "I just bought tickets to a Blackhawks/Red Wings hockey game - 1 game. Now these are NOT rinkside seats by any means, good seats though - yes ( $80 seat leaves you 40 rows back) $480 + $48 in ticket fees for 4 seats. Parking will be $25 and beers are $8. It will be a $750 night for 3 hours of entertainment." Oh, wow, Dave. Since the Red Wings are playing in Dallas on 19 Dec, a friend and I got tickets so we can road trip it up there. Our tickets are two rows behind the Red Wings and we paid $92.88 each including fees. Oh, and parking was included, though I'll likely not tell Kevint hat and instead drop $20 to park in their "platinum" garage instead of a mile away. Anyhow, wow... I guess the Blackhawks have better fans than Dallas!
Originally Posted By sjhym33 The difference of course is that the teams are paying their players millions and Disney is paying $7.35 to $7.75 for attractions hosts. However, if Disney wants to increase pay to a cool million a year they can charge as much for parking as they want
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I think Six Flags parking fees are ridiculous. Still doesnt make me feel any better about Disney. On the other hand their park tickets for the closest park to me (in Atlanta) is $44.99 but if I buy online I can get it for $29.99 but if I buy an 2010 Season pass I can get it for $49.00 and get the rest of this year free.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <And to top it off, Six Flags adopted cheerleader-like Scream Leaders" at their parks.> what, pray tell, is a Scream Leader?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "The difference of course is that the teams are paying their players millions and Disney is paying $7.35 to $7.75 for attractions hosts." That may be true, but how much to you think the people selling concessions and souvenirs at the games make? I would bet that it's pretty similar to what Disney pays, and I would assume that the employees don't have a parking situation that's as easy as Disney's. Yes, there are other factors, but I'd say the pricing for the two are fairly comparable. I was in Chicago last weekend, and parking in most garages downtown would cost you $25-40 for an afternoon. Makes parking at WDW look like a steal in comparison...
Originally Posted By Labuda "I was in Chicago last weekend, and parking in most garages downtown would cost you $25-40 for an afternoon." OMG! Wow, here in Austin, I tend to pay $8 for parking downtown if I'm down there on the weekend - but that's only if the free lots are all full and the street parking is taken. During the day, in fact, I've parked for free in some of the garages downtown here. Yay Austin!
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I would say that most people selling concessions do not work for the teams but either the city or whoever has purchased the concession rights and they are part time workers who only work on game nights. Unlike the Disney CM who is either fulltime or part time which requires 2 full days of availability a week. Here in Orlando many of the concession stands at the Arena are manned by organizations who run it as a fundraising opportunity. Our kids high school required us to work the stands as volunteers for some of the teams they played on.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 As for Six Flags. My last 2 visits to a Six Flags park were in two different places in the country. Each were terrible experience from the surely employees, bathrooms that were disgusting, trashcans overflowing, expensive food that was inedible, to the inability for the employees to reach anything close to capacity of a ride that pushed waiting times upward of 2 hours, that we will never return to any Six Flags Park. I think Disney is working towards pricing themselves out of reach for many people. Add to that the lack of ongoing new experiences and Disney could find itself with long term attendance problems. I believe that if Disney wasn't deeply discounting rooms and adding things like free dining you would see substantially lower attendance this past year.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I paid $14 at Universal Studios Florida this past weekend. Wasn't thrilled but I was short on alternatives.
Originally Posted By Mr X You couldn't park at one of the hotels with the convenient "I'm meeting a friend for lunch and later on I'm checking in" lie?
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Well, in a former life I "might" have done that but with my young kids in the car I decided to use better judgment. I will say that I am generally impressed with the way they get people in and out of the garages. And, the moving sidewalks to get over to City Walk make it bearable.
Originally Posted By Mr X Ah, former lives were fun weren't they? (my favorites were the Poly and the Boardwalk, before they cracked down on long term parking...in fairness I always did go to the lounges and get some food or a coke or something before heading into the parks )
