7 ms·

Have Disneyland fans finally reached their limit?

49 points by spking 7y ago

Alex63 7y ago
It's a tricky trade-off. The last couple of times we visited Disneyland, the crowds were so bad that it didn't feel worth it. However, I'm not sure I'm ready to pay $100+ per person per day for less congestion. I think I topped out at $99.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  "Nobody goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded" -Yogi Berra (by the way, he died in 2015 - I was surprised it was so recent)
- notafraudster 7y ago
  This, in addition to the Yogi quote below, is a known problem in game theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Farol_Bar_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Farol_Bar_problem
  - cortesoft 7y ago
    This is EXACTLY the type of problem a market economy is designed to solve - distribution of a scarce resource. You solve it by setting the price of attendance such that the correct number of people choose to go.
    - habitue 7y ago
      Well, in Disney's case, you want to maximize profits, not optimize attendance rates. So you set the price such that it maximizes total returns, and whatever attendance rate that is, is the "correct one"
      - mcphage 7y ago
        > So you set the price such that it maximizes total returns, and whatever attendance rate that is, is the "correct one" I don't think it's that simple—they're not trying to maximize total returns on a single day, but total returns overall. How many people are in the park determines the kind of experience you have, which then determines if you're likely to come back. Plus all sorts of associated halo effects—if you enjoy your time at the park, then after you leave you're more likely to purchase Disney branded merchandise, watch Disney movies, and subscribe to their upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
- cortesoft 7y ago
  That is what I was thinking... is this really a bad thing? Paying a little bit more and being able to go on more rides because it isn't as crowded seems like a fair trade off. "Growing attendance" is not the end goal, for either Disney or park goers. Disney wants to maximize profit, and the article never addresses this; they talk about attendance being down, but what about gate revenue? Since they were raising prices, they could have still made more money on fewer attendees. For park goers, fewer people going is going to be great. Less crowds to fight, fewer lines, easier parking, etc. I am not exactly sure why this is supposed to be seen as a negative.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
ilamont 7y ago
The article neglects to mention the huge drop in international visits to the U.S. in recent years. Quoting a USA Today article from last week: U.S. visits as a portion of total global travel fell to 11.7% last year from a high of 13.7% in 2015, according to the travel group and Oxford Economics. That has resulted in losses to the U.S. economy of 14 million international visitors, $59 billion in traveler spending and 120,000 U.S. jobs. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/09/travel-international-visits-u-s-forecast-keep-falling/1942922001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/09/travel-inter... I know Disneyland and Disneyworld have traditionally been popular destinations for foreign tourists; it's reasonable to assume that if overall international travel is down the number of foreign visitors to the parks is also down, even before factoring in the high prices everyone has to pay to get into the parks.
- stevenjohns 7y ago
  > The article neglects to mention the huge drop in international visits to the U.S. in recent years. Quoting a USA Today article from last week: Part of this might be the ever-stronger US dollar. Five years ago, AUD$1 would buy about USD$0.94. Now it buys USD$0.68, making the trip to the US about a third more expensive.
  - tortarga 7y ago
    US dollar is pretty much steady against the Euro from 2016 levels. The AUD fall is because of our mismanaged economy. The fall in US tourism can better be attributed to Trump trashing America's foreign image.
    - Supermancho 7y ago
      > The fall in US tourism can better be attributed to Trump trashing America's foreign image Can it? Disneyland continues to increase prices. Galaxy's Edge is basically one big store hocking overpriced trinkets. I used to go to Disneyland every week for lunch in high school (I've always lived about 15 minutes from it). Business meetings were casually scheduled and held at the Blue Bayou until the yearly pass pricing doubled at the turn of the millennium. Now, I can't even rationalize going for fun, much less purchasing food in the park. Inflation, price hikes and taxation has steadily priced many things out of affordability, in California.
nerfhammer 7y ago
What do these prices actually look like? the article does not get into specifics about how much it actually costs or how much it used to cost.
- dboreham 7y ago
  $100/person/day is a pretty heavily discounted price. $200 sticker price.
- sys_64738 7y ago
  $149 for peak $129 for regular $104 for value When I went there back in the early 2000s it cost $65.
- robbiet480 7y ago
  Ticket price is based on age, demand, number of days you want to visit and included features (park hopper and MaxPass). The cheapest, adult, lowest demand, 1 day, no features ticket runs $104 right now. The most expensive peak time, single day ticket with park hopper and MaxPass is $214. Annual passes provide extra benefits over tickets and are priced based on what days you wish to be able to go (cheaper passes have more blockout dates or are limited to southern California residents only). AP runs from $599 for Flex (only allowed in certain parks and sometimes must reserve park entrance in advance) to $1399 for the Signature Plus which has 0 blockouts or restrictions. (There is also the Premier passport which costs $2,099 and gets you unrestricted access to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida.)
  - ilamont 7y ago
    For a vacationing family of 4 coming to the park for three full days and staying in a Disney resort for 4 nights in the spring or summer, what might be the expected cost range including everything (except for flights and the rental car)?
    - robbiet480 7y ago
      It really depends on what hotel you are staying at, whether on or off property. On property you could pay anywhere from $3000 to $5000 would be my guess off the top of my head. Paradise Pier is lowest price, Grand Californian is highest. Really depends on when exactly you are going too. I've seen prices like $1200/night at Grand Californian during Christmas time. Disneyland's website has an excellent tool to calculate full price (even including flights). I'd recommend checking that out or calling them for a more personal touch. You can book everything online (tickets, hotels, transport from the airport to the resort, dining and more).
ravenstine 7y ago
I grew up on Disneyland. At one point, my family was going nearly every weekend because my father worked for a subsidiary of Disney, so we got in for free. Even for years after he left the company, we bought annual passes and went rather frequently. Everyone I knew had annual passes. It's probably been 5 years since I last went. Over time, annual passes became less worth it. Prices kept going up and more dates kept getting blocked out. Even ordinary tickets got pricey. Eventually, the park got so crowded that it really wasn't fun to go. Then they added premiums to a bunch of things like Fast Passes. I just kind of said screw it and chose not to go back. I'm sure that I'll go back for some reason, but I won't make an effort to. This is coming from someone who LOVED Disneyland and wanted to build theme park rides as a dream job. It ended up feeling like they were doing everything they could to squeeze pennies, which I know theme parks are designed to do, but it used to seem like Disneyland at least partly cared about whether or not you were enjoying yourself. Cast members, at one time, were pretty damned friendly, though they're still much better than most other theme parks. When I last went, you could tell that they secretly hated their jobs. I don't want to pity lowly employees when I'm there to have fun. At least Six Flags doesn't seriously attempt to make their employees act cheery(I was once an employee there BTW). Above all, I really don't want to give Disney money. Sure, they became an Evil MegaCorp a long time ago, and have long ago slithered their tentacles through the news and entertainment industry, but they control so much now and pretty much have no regard for artistry or the cultural significance of their films and characters. Star Wars just took the cake. Why would I pay Disney for a bizarro facsimile something I enjoyed as a child where the characters I loved are losers only to be replaced by modern ripoffs? Maybe they could have attracted a new generation, which doesn't appear to be working out much for them, but as someone who grew up with the original Star Wars, what they've done only repels me from anything to do with them. I'm not even a Star Wars fan... and I don't think one has to be to respond that way to Disney. I'm not angry at Disney. It's just that, looking at my own behavior, it's no surprise to me why attendance to their park would be in decline.
- mdorazio 7y ago
  > Prices kept going up and more dates kept getting blocked out. > Eventually, the park got so crowded that it really wasn't fun to go. If prices were going up and attendance was still rising, Disney had two options: 1) keep raising prices to the point where attendance rates dropped to a manageable level, or 2) keep prices fixed and put stricter caps on attendance for specific dates. Being the cutthroat megacorp that it is, Disney picked option #1 because it's more profitable. If attendance drops enough, prices will go back down again.
cylinder 7y ago
Or more like, the USD is extremely overvalued right now. In addition, the US makes travel to the US extremely risky and difficult, even for visa waiver eligible applicants. Many people are starting to not bother.
tempsy 7y ago
I’d be curious how it compares to Universal Studios Hollywood. Personal observation is that Universal Studios has gotten better, faster (with recent addition of Harry Potter area) and is more fun/interesting for the older crowd. If you had to choose one or the other because both are expensive then Universal Studios seems like a better option unless you have very young kids.
- polalavik 7y ago
  Haha not a chance. For the price Universal Studios is incredibly small, less well kept, and there’s only really 1-2 interesting rides. The whole park takes like 10 minutes to walk end to end. You can walk around Disney land all day and still not hit it all.
  - tempsy 7y ago
    “Not a chance” what? Looking at 2018 data Disneyland grew attendance 2% vs Universal Studios at 12%, and the source says almost all attributed to Harry Potter. Both parks can be done in a day each...both are small relative to Orlando counterparts. http://www.ocregister.com/disneyland-still-worlds-no-2-theme-park-but-universal-studios-hollywoods-attendance-surges http://www.ocregister.com/disneyland-still-worlds-no-2-theme...
    - ap3 7y ago
      You can do Disneyland in a day if it’s not too crowded Universal Studios’ AP is a lot cheaper but the park needs to add a lot more rides to match Disneyland
  - drdeadringer 7y ago
    > You can walk around Disney land all day and still not hit it all. Up Front: I'm not sure if this is a fair comparison and I know that. As someone who honestly appreciates artwork yet can be in-and-out of a given top-rate museum in under 2 hours, I hope the quoted comment is so.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
yding 7y ago
Surprise! The laws of economics still apply to you, even if you're a company with a great brand like Disney and Apple.
tempsy 7y ago
Will be interesting to see how low birth rates will impact theme park attendance going forward. I feel like young adults are already struggling with student debt and difficulty affording a home. Throw in a kid or two and makes me wonder how an average family could afford a 3 or 4 night vacation to Disneyland with flights and hotel and tickets for everyone. That’s at least $4k for 4 nights.
- pmorici 7y ago
  I feel like going to Disney is something that the average middle class family might do once in a life time. At least that is how it was in my family growing up in the 80's and 90's we went to Disney World once and every other vacation was some variation on camping at a state park or going to the local Six Flags amusement park for the day. When you look at it that way 4k doesn't seem as outrageous.
  - cortesoft 7y ago
    Probably depends on where you are. As a California native, Disneyland trips were much more frequent.
- tjr225 7y ago
  Imagine you have 80k in student debt between your partner and yourself. This isn't even a crazy number. Imagine how much of an impact 4K has on that.
  - tempsy 7y ago
    5% is not trivial? Not exactly sure if you think it is or isn’t by your phrasing.
    - tjr225 7y ago
      I'm in agreement with you.
- drdeadringer 7y ago
jdswain 7y ago
Theres some simple economics in this. If visitor numbers are down 3%, and say prices are up 5% then total profit is also up, variable costs are down, and parks are less crowded so everyone has a better time.
oceanghost 7y ago
TBH, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on this. I lived two miles from Disneyland for a decade (Old Towne Orange). I proposed to my wife there (now ex-wife). We named our daughter after the "Emma" from "Once Upon a Time." We had an annual pass for about a decade, and my life and free time centered around Disneyland. For years I went to DL/DCA several times a week. But, gradually, it became a horrid thing. Disneyland, when I arrived in the early 2000s was a place where I could forget the stresses of the daily world. I worked so close to it (Cypress and Santa Ana), that I would sometimes take an extended lunch and ride one or two rides and then go back to work. Psychologically, Disneyland was a place that allowed me to let go and enjoy myself. Then, they started offering financing on their Annual Passes. I used to have to layout 1k for my families passes. But now, you could get them on an installment basis. The parks were always crowded, and even when they weren't, the powers that be understaffed the park such that ride times were long. I had a friend who could barely afford food but had a $400 AP. She would often crash in our living room to go to the park. What was once my refuge from reality became this horrid thing where we were waiting 60 mins for a 90-second ride. The last two years the (ex)wife and I had passes, we just, would stand in line, look at each other, and think, "Why are we here? We could be at home, not standing in the sun, not paying $7 for a bottle of water." We weren't enjoying ourselves, and it cost us about 1k/yr for the passes and parking, plus incidental expenses in the park. The company I used to work for was located a couple of miles from Dl, and when we had guests from other countries, I would take them to Disneyland. It was an amazing thing for the folks because I could give them a world-class tour of the park (being a regular), and we would all have a great time. But gradually, that became impossible. I remember the exact day I gave up on Disneyland. We drove over there, and they were doing some construction, and detour, after the detour, we ended up at some nearly abandoned mall, which is only a little bit from my house, then we had to board a bus which drove us to the transportation hub. It took 75 mins to get into the park, and the whole time, I was literally one exit from my home. It took 75 mins for us to get to the front gate back to our car. Never again. While my failures as a husband are my own fault, and my marriage was probably doomed from the beginning... In a real way, my marriage was based on Disneyland. It was something my wife and I bonded over and looked forward to and, was special to us. When we stopped going, the magic in our relationship died. Someday I'll go back, but not today, and not anytime soon. I live 100 miles from Disneyland now. If it were enjoyable again, I'd move back to Orange County. But it's not. Disneyland is a broken dream, and their tilt towards Star Wars is a joke that is not funny. Disney must constantly reinvent itself, and the last decade has been a mistake. I interviewed for Disney Research a year ago and, was amazed by the brilliant folks working there. Ultimately, Disney will prevail just because of the amazing folks who work there. I don't know if I'm just an old fart wishing for his more formative years, or if things are really different. Anyways, I love you Disneyland. I hope we can both get our act together. But you've broken my heart and I'm weary.
Aloha 7y ago
I'm a former Disneyland CM, I strongly suspect lower attendance is a desired goal. If my memory is correct, Disneyland can accommodate around 60,000 (aka a 60k day) without having to shut the gates to prevent further entry - and the park feels.. well packed - Disney over time has made AP's less viable for frequent visits to reduce overcrowding, raising ticket prices accomplishes the same thing, a 45k day with everyone paying an average of 60 bucks a head, is just as profitable as a 60k day with and average of everyone paying 45 a head. The difference is the 45k day is a whole lot more pleasant for everyone, and puts far less strain on park infrastructure, on a 50+ day, an attraction going out of service puts a tremendous load on other things nearby (vending, merch, and foods), on a 45k- day, the load is much much less. for reference, a 50k day by the way, was not abnormal when I worked there in the early 00's. - and a 55k day was seen weekly or more during summertime.
ap3 7y ago
Went last week, very disappointed by the new Star Wars attraction, essentially a glorified video game - I’ll be skipping Star Wars land next time

49 points by spking 7y ago

It's a tricky trade-off. The last couple of times we visited Disneyland, the crowds were so bad that it didn't feel worth it. However, I'm not sure I'm ready to pay $100+ per person per day for less congestion. I think I topped out at $99.

perl4ever 7y ago
"Nobody goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded" -Yogi Berra (by the way, he died in 2015 - I was surprised it was so recent)
notafraudster 7y ago
This, in addition to the Yogi quote below, is a known problem in game theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Farol_Bar_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Farol_Bar_problem
- cortesoft 7y ago
  This is EXACTLY the type of problem a market economy is designed to solve - distribution of a scarce resource. You solve it by setting the price of attendance such that the correct number of people choose to go.
  - habitue 7y ago
    Well, in Disney's case, you want to maximize profits, not optimize attendance rates. So you set the price such that it maximizes total returns, and whatever attendance rate that is, is the "correct one"
    - mcphage 7y ago
      > So you set the price such that it maximizes total returns, and whatever attendance rate that is, is the "correct one" I don't think it's that simple—they're not trying to maximize total returns on a single day, but total returns overall. How many people are in the park determines the kind of experience you have, which then determines if you're likely to come back. Plus all sorts of associated halo effects—if you enjoy your time at the park, then after you leave you're more likely to purchase Disney branded merchandise, watch Disney movies, and subscribe to their upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
cortesoft 7y ago
That is what I was thinking... is this really a bad thing? Paying a little bit more and being able to go on more rides because it isn't as crowded seems like a fair trade off. "Growing attendance" is not the end goal, for either Disney or park goers. Disney wants to maximize profit, and the article never addresses this; they talk about attendance being down, but what about gate revenue? Since they were raising prices, they could have still made more money on fewer attendees. For park goers, fewer people going is going to be great. Less crowds to fight, fewer lines, easier parking, etc. I am not exactly sure why this is supposed to be seen as a negative.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

ilamont 7y ago

The article neglects to mention the huge drop in international visits to the U.S. in recent years. Quoting a USA Today article from last week: U.S. visits as a portion of total global travel fell to 11.7% last year from a high of 13.7% in 2015, according to the travel group and Oxford Economics. That has resulted in losses to the U.S. economy of 14 million international visitors, $59 billion in traveler spending and 120,000 U.S. jobs. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/09/travel-international-visits-u-s-forecast-keep-falling/1942922001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/09/travel-inter... I know Disneyland and Disneyworld have traditionally been popular destinations for foreign tourists; it's reasonable to assume that if overall international travel is down the number of foreign visitors to the parks is also down, even before factoring in the high prices everyone has to pay to get into the parks.

stevenjohns 7y ago
> The article neglects to mention the huge drop in international visits to the U.S. in recent years. Quoting a USA Today article from last week: Part of this might be the ever-stronger US dollar. Five years ago, AUD$1 would buy about USD$0.94. Now it buys USD$0.68, making the trip to the US about a third more expensive.
- tortarga 7y ago
  US dollar is pretty much steady against the Euro from 2016 levels. The AUD fall is because of our mismanaged economy. The fall in US tourism can better be attributed to Trump trashing America's foreign image.
  - Supermancho 7y ago
    > The fall in US tourism can better be attributed to Trump trashing America's foreign image Can it? Disneyland continues to increase prices. Galaxy's Edge is basically one big store hocking overpriced trinkets. I used to go to Disneyland every week for lunch in high school (I've always lived about 15 minutes from it). Business meetings were casually scheduled and held at the Blue Bayou until the yearly pass pricing doubled at the turn of the millennium. Now, I can't even rationalize going for fun, much less purchasing food in the park. Inflation, price hikes and taxation has steadily priced many things out of affordability, in California.

nerfhammer 7y ago

What do these prices actually look like? the article does not get into specifics about how much it actually costs or how much it used to cost.

dboreham 7y ago
$100/person/day is a pretty heavily discounted price. $200 sticker price.
sys_64738 7y ago
$149 for peak $129 for regular $104 for value When I went there back in the early 2000s it cost $65.
robbiet480 7y ago
Ticket price is based on age, demand, number of days you want to visit and included features (park hopper and MaxPass). The cheapest, adult, lowest demand, 1 day, no features ticket runs $104 right now. The most expensive peak time, single day ticket with park hopper and MaxPass is $214. Annual passes provide extra benefits over tickets and are priced based on what days you wish to be able to go (cheaper passes have more blockout dates or are limited to southern California residents only). AP runs from $599 for Flex (only allowed in certain parks and sometimes must reserve park entrance in advance) to $1399 for the Signature Plus which has 0 blockouts or restrictions. (There is also the Premier passport which costs $2,099 and gets you unrestricted access to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida.)
- ilamont 7y ago
  For a vacationing family of 4 coming to the park for three full days and staying in a Disney resort for 4 nights in the spring or summer, what might be the expected cost range including everything (except for flights and the rental car)?
  - robbiet480 7y ago
    It really depends on what hotel you are staying at, whether on or off property. On property you could pay anywhere from $3000 to $5000 would be my guess off the top of my head. Paradise Pier is lowest price, Grand Californian is highest. Really depends on when exactly you are going too. I've seen prices like $1200/night at Grand Californian during Christmas time. Disneyland's website has an excellent tool to calculate full price (even including flights). I'd recommend checking that out or calling them for a more personal touch. You can book everything online (tickets, hotels, transport from the airport to the resort, dining and more).

ravenstine 7y ago

I grew up on Disneyland. At one point, my family was going nearly every weekend because my father worked for a subsidiary of Disney, so we got in for free. Even for years after he left the company, we bought annual passes and went rather frequently. Everyone I knew had annual passes. It's probably been 5 years since I last went. Over time, annual passes became less worth it. Prices kept going up and more dates kept getting blocked out. Even ordinary tickets got pricey. Eventually, the park got so crowded that it really wasn't fun to go. Then they added premiums to a bunch of things like Fast Passes. I just kind of said screw it and chose not to go back. I'm sure that I'll go back for some reason, but I won't make an effort to. This is coming from someone who LOVED Disneyland and wanted to build theme park rides as a dream job. It ended up feeling like they were doing everything they could to squeeze pennies, which I know theme parks are designed to do, but it used to seem like Disneyland at least partly cared about whether or not you were enjoying yourself. Cast members, at one time, were pretty damned friendly, though they're still much better than most other theme parks. When I last went, you could tell that they secretly hated their jobs. I don't want to pity lowly employees when I'm there to have fun. At least Six Flags doesn't seriously attempt to make their employees act cheery(I was once an employee there BTW). Above all, I really don't want to give Disney money. Sure, they became an Evil MegaCorp a long time ago, and have long ago slithered their tentacles through the news and entertainment industry, but they control so much now and pretty much have no regard for artistry or the cultural significance of their films and characters. Star Wars just took the cake. Why would I pay Disney for a bizarro facsimile something I enjoyed as a child where the characters I loved are losers only to be replaced by modern ripoffs? Maybe they could have attracted a new generation, which doesn't appear to be working out much for them, but as someone who grew up with the original Star Wars, what they've done only repels me from anything to do with them. I'm not even a Star Wars fan... and I don't think one has to be to respond that way to Disney. I'm not angry at Disney. It's just that, looking at my own behavior, it's no surprise to me why attendance to their park would be in decline.

mdorazio 7y ago
> Prices kept going up and more dates kept getting blocked out. > Eventually, the park got so crowded that it really wasn't fun to go. If prices were going up and attendance was still rising, Disney had two options: 1) keep raising prices to the point where attendance rates dropped to a manageable level, or 2) keep prices fixed and put stricter caps on attendance for specific dates. Being the cutthroat megacorp that it is, Disney picked option #1 because it's more profitable. If attendance drops enough, prices will go back down again.

cylinder 7y ago

Or more like, the USD is extremely overvalued right now. In addition, the US makes travel to the US extremely risky and difficult, even for visa waiver eligible applicants. Many people are starting to not bother.

tempsy 7y ago

I’d be curious how it compares to Universal Studios Hollywood. Personal observation is that Universal Studios has gotten better, faster (with recent addition of Harry Potter area) and is more fun/interesting for the older crowd. If you had to choose one or the other because both are expensive then Universal Studios seems like a better option unless you have very young kids.

polalavik 7y ago
Haha not a chance. For the price Universal Studios is incredibly small, less well kept, and there’s only really 1-2 interesting rides. The whole park takes like 10 minutes to walk end to end. You can walk around Disney land all day and still not hit it all.
- tempsy 7y ago
  “Not a chance” what? Looking at 2018 data Disneyland grew attendance 2% vs Universal Studios at 12%, and the source says almost all attributed to Harry Potter. Both parks can be done in a day each...both are small relative to Orlando counterparts. http://www.ocregister.com/disneyland-still-worlds-no-2-theme-park-but-universal-studios-hollywoods-attendance-surges http://www.ocregister.com/disneyland-still-worlds-no-2-theme...
  - ap3 7y ago
    You can do Disneyland in a day if it’s not too crowded Universal Studios’ AP is a lot cheaper but the park needs to add a lot more rides to match Disneyland
- drdeadringer 7y ago
  > You can walk around Disney land all day and still not hit it all. Up Front: I'm not sure if this is a fair comparison and I know that. As someone who honestly appreciates artwork yet can be in-and-out of a given top-rate museum in under 2 hours, I hope the quoted comment is so.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

yding 7y ago

Surprise! The laws of economics still apply to you, even if you're a company with a great brand like Disney and Apple.

tempsy 7y ago

Will be interesting to see how low birth rates will impact theme park attendance going forward. I feel like young adults are already struggling with student debt and difficulty affording a home. Throw in a kid or two and makes me wonder how an average family could afford a 3 or 4 night vacation to Disneyland with flights and hotel and tickets for everyone. That’s at least $4k for 4 nights.

pmorici 7y ago
I feel like going to Disney is something that the average middle class family might do once in a life time. At least that is how it was in my family growing up in the 80's and 90's we went to Disney World once and every other vacation was some variation on camping at a state park or going to the local Six Flags amusement park for the day. When you look at it that way 4k doesn't seem as outrageous.
- cortesoft 7y ago
  Probably depends on where you are. As a California native, Disneyland trips were much more frequent.
tjr225 7y ago
Imagine you have 80k in student debt between your partner and yourself. This isn't even a crazy number. Imagine how much of an impact 4K has on that.
- tempsy 7y ago
  5% is not trivial? Not exactly sure if you think it is or isn’t by your phrasing.
  - tjr225 7y ago
    I'm in agreement with you.
drdeadringer 7y ago

jdswain 7y ago

Theres some simple economics in this. If visitor numbers are down 3%, and say prices are up 5% then total profit is also up, variable costs are down, and parks are less crowded so everyone has a better time.

oceanghost 7y ago

TBH, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on this. I lived two miles from Disneyland for a decade (Old Towne Orange). I proposed to my wife there (now ex-wife). We named our daughter after the "Emma" from "Once Upon a Time." We had an annual pass for about a decade, and my life and free time centered around Disneyland. For years I went to DL/DCA several times a week. But, gradually, it became a horrid thing. Disneyland, when I arrived in the early 2000s was a place where I could forget the stresses of the daily world. I worked so close to it (Cypress and Santa Ana), that I would sometimes take an extended lunch and ride one or two rides and then go back to work. Psychologically, Disneyland was a place that allowed me to let go and enjoy myself. Then, they started offering financing on their Annual Passes. I used to have to layout 1k for my families passes. But now, you could get them on an installment basis. The parks were always crowded, and even when they weren't, the powers that be understaffed the park such that ride times were long. I had a friend who could barely afford food but had a $400 AP. She would often crash in our living room to go to the park. What was once my refuge from reality became this horrid thing where we were waiting 60 mins for a 90-second ride. The last two years the (ex)wife and I had passes, we just, would stand in line, look at each other, and think, "Why are we here? We could be at home, not standing in the sun, not paying $7 for a bottle of water." We weren't enjoying ourselves, and it cost us about 1k/yr for the passes and parking, plus incidental expenses in the park. The company I used to work for was located a couple of miles from Dl, and when we had guests from other countries, I would take them to Disneyland. It was an amazing thing for the folks because I could give them a world-class tour of the park (being a regular), and we would all have a great time. But gradually, that became impossible. I remember the exact day I gave up on Disneyland. We drove over there, and they were doing some construction, and detour, after the detour, we ended up at some nearly abandoned mall, which is only a little bit from my house, then we had to board a bus which drove us to the transportation hub. It took 75 mins to get into the park, and the whole time, I was literally one exit from my home. It took 75 mins for us to get to the front gate back to our car. Never again. While my failures as a husband are my own fault, and my marriage was probably doomed from the beginning... In a real way, my marriage was based on Disneyland. It was something my wife and I bonded over and looked forward to and, was special to us. When we stopped going, the magic in our relationship died. Someday I'll go back, but not today, and not anytime soon. I live 100 miles from Disneyland now. If it were enjoyable again, I'd move back to Orange County. But it's not. Disneyland is a broken dream, and their tilt towards Star Wars is a joke that is not funny. Disney must constantly reinvent itself, and the last decade has been a mistake. I interviewed for Disney Research a year ago and, was amazed by the brilliant folks working there. Ultimately, Disney will prevail just because of the amazing folks who work there. I don't know if I'm just an old fart wishing for his more formative years, or if things are really different. Anyways, I love you Disneyland. I hope we can both get our act together. But you've broken my heart and I'm weary.

Aloha 7y ago

I'm a former Disneyland CM, I strongly suspect lower attendance is a desired goal. If my memory is correct, Disneyland can accommodate around 60,000 (aka a 60k day) without having to shut the gates to prevent further entry - and the park feels.. well packed - Disney over time has made AP's less viable for frequent visits to reduce overcrowding, raising ticket prices accomplishes the same thing, a 45k day with everyone paying an average of 60 bucks a head, is just as profitable as a 60k day with and average of everyone paying 45 a head. The difference is the 45k day is a whole lot more pleasant for everyone, and puts far less strain on park infrastructure, on a 50+ day, an attraction going out of service puts a tremendous load on other things nearby (vending, merch, and foods), on a 45k- day, the load is much much less. for reference, a 50k day by the way, was not abnormal when I worked there in the early 00's. - and a 55k day was seen weekly or more during summertime.

ap3 7y ago

Went last week, very disappointed by the new Star Wars attraction, essentially a glorified video game - I’ll be skipping Star Wars land next time