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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. Ev
by 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.
- epylar 7y ago3) build more parks?
- delinka 7y agoYou have to fund that somehow so ... prices go up! Real estate isn't infinite, but Disney World in Florida is expanding now more than ever. If they ever have to build a new set of parks elsewhere, real estate prices are going to be ridiculous, and you have to buy it somehow so ... prices go up! I don't see how increasing supply brings prices down at Disney - they'll hike the price now to fund it, then they'll hike prices again to control attendance. Buy Disney stock.
- jjulius 7y ago>You have to fund that somehow so ... prices go up! Real estate isn't infinite, but Disney World in Florida is expanding now more than ever. If they ever have to build a new set of parks elsewhere, real estate prices are going to be ridiculous, and you have to buy it somehow so ... prices go up! Why raise prices on consumers when you can fund a new park with the $12.6 billion in profit they earned in 2018? Edit: I'm not the most fiscally-savvy person, so it would be cool if someone explained why I might be wrong rather than just hitting the downvote button and walking away.
- Aloha 7y agoAnaheim is landlocked, it would cost them several billion dollars just to buy more land in Anaheim alone, the odds of more park in Anaheim are basically zero.
- spking 7y agoIIRC, Walt Disney practically begged friends and associates to buy up the land surrounding Disneyland, and always lamented the cheap motels and establishments that quickly proliferated outside the park. But he maxed out, mortgaged and bet pretty much every penny of the studio (and personally) to get the park built at all. There was simply no money left to buy up any more orange groves.
- dag11 7y agoReminds me of the old saying: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."