Have we reached Peak Pricing at WDW?

[manning]

Injoy it while you can, Standard of living is crashing.

 

[Darcy03231]

Disney hit peak pricing for me years ago. Last trip was in 2017. DH and I went for 2 days after a cruise so he could see Pandora.

Every time I've priced out a vacation since then, I've gotten more bang for my buck vacationing in other destinations.

This year we're going to Hawaii. We're spending three days in Oahu and then taking a 7 day inter-island cruise. We looked at going to Disneyland for three days on our way home. Once we added up the costs involved (park tickets, hotel, food, rental car) we found we could spend an additional week on Kauai (condo, car, food, excursions), for about the same cost.

 

[quinncallahan]

Hopefully!

 

[chalee94]

true, i'm just saying its not nearly as empty as reported.....

DVC is almost always booked near 100%. And especially during Fall Frenzy dates.

I bet there have been pullbacks on the cash side, though. And most likely more people moving offsite.

 

[randumb0]

Given that they raised prices today on AP's I'm going to say no

 

[disneysteve]

Given that they raised prices today on AP's I'm going to say no

Not only APs but they also hiked parking 20% from $25 to $30 and raised food prices across the board on pretty much everything on property.

 

[HopperFan]

Given that they raised prices today on AP's I'm going to say no

They still have an hour or so to raise some more!!

LOTS of price increases today but their announcement of PARK HOPPING ANYTIME overshadowed it, no doubt the point of the announcement.

So we have increases in - so far:
- Parking
- Memory Maker
- AP Prices
- All You Can Eat
- Dessert Parties
- Water Park
- Thousands of Food, Snacks & Drinks
- Mini Golf
- Specialty Tours

 

[nw6675]

Hopper beat me to it lol

 

[Bethislucy]

They still have an hour or so to raise some more!!

LOTS of price increases today but their announcement of PARK HOPPING ANYTIME overshadowed it, no doubt the point of the announcement.

So we have increases in - so far:
- Parking
- Memory Maker
- AP Prices
- All You Can Eat
- Dessert Parties
- Water Park
- Thousands of Food, Snacks & Drinks
- Mini Golf
- Specialty Tours

Makes me wonder how long before they stop allowing outside food to be brought in, so that you have to pay the prices of everything.

 

[HopperFan]

Makes me wonder how long before they stop allowing outside food to be brought in, so that you have to pay the prices of everything.

It would seem that would be at risk .......... but I'm going to guess nothing will change there. As someone who likes to pack our lunch some trips, I am aware of others around me eating. I don't think there are enough people doing it overall to really impact sales. If they were to ban I could see driving groups would just go back to their car (except MK) and have a picnic there. They've been doing it so long I don't think it will change, even Universal has backed off their ban and allows some food/snacks.

Where Disney can force less abuse of this allowance is to completely ban hard coolers, ban anything with wheels (including backpacks) and restrict smaller coolers to same as Universal

• Soft-sided insulated bags no larger than 8.5" wide x 6" high x 6" deep

 

[SL6827]

Makes me wonder how long before they stop allowing outside food to be brought in, so that you have to pay the prices of everything.

I've been saying this.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Makes me wonder how long before they stop allowing outside food to be brought in, so that you have to pay the prices of everything.

Too complicated to enforce, especially with all the dietary restrictions these days. Disney F&B sales kick it enough, they aren’t desperate for more business.

 

[Scalemaster34]

I've been saying this.

I've seen folks saying it going back to the RADP days... 25 years ago. And still they haven't done it....

As for PEAK Pricing... we all have to consider how much we will spend on any vacation or experience. But it's clear that overall Disney hasn't hit the peak yet.

 

[Miffy]

Makes me wonder how long before they stop allowing outside food to be brought in, so that you have to pay the prices of everything.

I hope not. There are too many people with special dietary needs that can be accommodated only if they bring their own food.

Also, how would WDW know where the food you were bringing into the park was purchased? You could buy something at the resort QS and bring it with you. You could buy something at one park and bring it with you to another park.

I'd be beyond surprised if Disney changed their policy on this.

 

[disneysteve]

I've seen folks saying it going back to the RADP days... 25 years ago. And still they haven't done it....

Now that’s a blast from the past. I go back even more than 25 years with that one.

 

[disneysteve]

This chart is a couple of years old but it clearly illustrates what has been happening for the past 40 years. And this is just ticket prices. There’s also hotel and food prices and everything else that’s part of a trip.

 

[gottalovepluto]

This chart is a couple of years old but it clearly illustrates what has been happening for the past 40 years. And this is just ticket prices. There’s also hotel and food prices and everything else that’s part of a trip.

View attachment 803058

Nice chart! Covid really kicked that into crazy gear.

 

[disneysteve]

Nice chart! Covid really kicked that into crazy gear.

Not really. That chart ends with the start of the pandemic. That nearly vertical curve was before COVID.

 

[Len418]

For my family, yes, they've reached the breaking point. We were 1-2 trip a year people since the early 2000s. Even had APs for awhile until that got too expensive. We were already making plans for the next Disney trip before our current one was over. That has all changed.

For us, and I stress this is one family's opinion, it is not simply that the price has gone up. It is that the quality of the Disney experience has gone down as the price has gone up. If we still felt that Disney was giving tremendous value and quality experience for the money, we'd still go. But the Disney difference has disappeared and been replaced by a "wring every bit of money out of the customer" attitude. At least that is my opinion.

I am optimistic that Disney will be turn back. Attendance is down but travel as a whole is still incredibly high. We have a home in TN but run a NGO in Jamaica. Nashville airport is setting record travel right now. Columbus Day travel was busier than ever. The same is true for Jamaica. US travelers to the island are at an all-time record pace. So, contrary to what Disney is saying, people are still traveling, they are just choosing to go elsewhere.

 

[john7994]

With DVC and APs locked in for now, we are headed back in a week, with another trip planned at the end of November and again in January for Marathon weekend. Likely we will sample Aulani and/or Paris next year especially as our regular travel companions have moved to central Florida - so looking for things outside the WDW bubble to mix it up.

While acknowledging prices are on the rise again, who knows besides Disney where the so-called peak is going forward. I am not one of those that subscribe to the notion that Disney was accessible as a vacation to everyone - at least in the last several decades (because I certainly couldn’t afford it in my early career) - so I don’t get wrapped up in that discussion.

As a business traveler for most of my adult working life, I also don’t believe prices haven’t risen elsewhere beyond the WDW bubble either over the years. I also don’t believe Disney has to keep it inline with other macro goods/services either - because of their intense capital and expense costs which are also growing. It’s not like they can pixie dust up a workforce for free, secondary costs of that workforce and other cost of goods and services.