Originally Posted By tashajilek " it keeps out a lot of the riff-raff" I dont know if a lot of riff-faff is roaming the parks.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin (well I knew that, I just wanted her to be able to make the realization for herself.)
Originally Posted By bravebrother >>And personally, I think the higher prices does the park some good. Right or wrong, it keeps out a lot of the riff-raff. All you have to do is attend a lower-priced six flags park to see the difference.<< I havent been there in a very long time, is it pretty bad now??
Originally Posted By Hats and Wands A point of reference: New AP at new rates = visits needed to pass the "break even point" with 1park - 1day ticket at $80 $199 = 3 $269 = 4 $379 = 5 $499 = 7 (just barely past 6) $80 a day seems high, up to $499 a year seems crazy, but when you think of a 4 day weekend (if you live out of town) & add in discounts with the pass - it all seems more affordable. Also, for the locals, doesn't that special birthday with a 0 deserve a nice dinner at Blue Bayou? You wouldn't pay to get in & then pay for dinner, would you? Or you have friends from out of town that want to go & need you to help as a tourguide. Do you want to pay that $80 for the day, or just say - sorry - I can tell you about fasspass, but then you're on your own? OR you just want to be content to sit & watch the world go by while having lunch in some casual restaurant. Do you want to take up space in your local Coco's or would you rather hang out at the rail at River Belle with no one to tell you it's been 90 minutes - are you leaving soon? The few hours or days, here & there add up & behold...before you know it - you've gone way past the number of days to make that pass pay for itself. It's a luxury yes, but that's why most APs are bought. Now granted the "riff-raff" can afford the cheaper passes with the monthly payments being next to nothing. That's the advantage of the PAP, we don't have to deal with them during summer & Christmas break, etc. We only have the vacationers & day guests to deal with. We know we can ride Peter Pan when it's less crazy & don't have to stand in a 90 minute line in July. We can come for dinner & 4th of July fireworks & be happy.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan For locals, sure, it's easy to get in enough days to make the AP a relatively inexpensive luxury item, especially when you factor in the Southern California discount ones. It's too bad they don't have that discounted price available for folks in Northern California as well. It seems odd that out of towners have to pay even more, since they're spending presumably more on hotels and travel overall. Local APers must really spend a lot in the parks over the course of the year on meals and merch (in spite of what you read from online pundits).
Originally Posted By Hats and Wands I know they don't have the cheaper passes available for Northern California people, but they do offer the monthly payments to them as of now. I guess Disney looks at it as a trip down would generally be over a weekend & the cheapest pass is Mon-Thurs & then the next step up - still has lots of weekend days blacked out. Maybe they think that it's not worth offering it to people who would usually be here over the weekend - not so much during the week. (At least from what I read, the NorCalif people like to come down for long weekends, etc.)
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt It seems logical to me that there should be a California residents program that excluded people that live in the immediate LA/OC/SD area. I'm guessing that after the locals, folks from around the state make up the second largest group of visitors to DLR. Then again, maybe that's why they don't do it - because they don't need to.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Blue Bayou is nice and all, but birthdays that end in a "0" or sny other number really are now often spent at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel, where you don't have to pay an $80 cover charge to get in to then pay for dinner.
Originally Posted By WDWdreamin I suppose I'm very lucky, but I'm willing to pay even more than the current admission prices to experience DL. Yeah, I only average one or two days a year in DL, and I don't count transportation because I want to visit my parents nearby. It might scare away my friends and family, and it will sure upset my DH when he learns. I think that there is no doubt that people will still pay this and the park will still be too crowded, so why would they not keep rising the prices? And the Universal and Six Flags and Knott's prices have been above the level that would entice me to go for years.
Originally Posted By gadzuux That's assuming that higher pricing for tickets sold at the gate will lead to smaller crowds. But the majority of the crowds come from APs, not day trippers. And of course they're only paying a fraction of the "going rate".
Originally Posted By GMLSKIS I don't like the price increase but they are no where near my tipping point. I just got 20 days on my AP that cost $186 so my cost for a park hopper was just over $9 a day. What a bargain !!! I also value entertainment as worth to me about $10 an hour so for a 16 hour Disney day I could see even paying $160. I have friends that have paid $200 to see the Rolling Stones in concert for 2 hours and I think they are crazy. As much as we hate it as long as people pay it they can charge it. It's called supply and demand. We hate what Disney charges but lots of people here pay more for their accommodations which to me should be a bigger gripe. I pay $50 to $60 for Motel 6 or Super 8 and get nothing out of it compared to what Disney gives me for my money.
Originally Posted By tashajilek In another thread I just leaned that the Fantasmic viewing was $60! isnt Fantasmic under an hour?
Originally Posted By EmmaJayne I think it's about 25 minutes.. Does that price include food and beverages of some sort?
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle >>Does that price include food and beverages of some sort?<< Yes, a dessert box and unlimited drinks. The experience is a lot less easy to justify than a day at Disneyland, cost-wise, but for me it's still worth doing once a trip - remembering, of course, that I get there once every two years on average. Like the ticket price itself, it's a small cost in terms of the whole trip, and it's always a nice experience.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle Oh, and I'll pay $200 for a good concert It's all about personal taste I guess.
