Disney announces new Ticket system for WDW

[shafke]

Many hotels I have booked will give you an average daily price for the time period of the booking. You can the click on details for the price for each day.
I think something similar is what is happening here. They are going to average the price of the ticket over the use period. For example a 5 day ticket has 8 days to be used. You average those 8 days which will likely include peak and regular and maybe value rates to get the base price for the 5 days. Multiply the base by 5 to get the total.
I the biggest price increase is going to be on the single day ticket for the other park as they are brought up to the MK single day price which will also most likely go up.
The next part of the equation is how many peak days will be in the ticket usage period... this is the number that you will need to minimize to get the best price.

 

[firefly_ris]

Many hotels I have booked will give you an average daily price for the time period of the booking. You can the click on details for the price for each day.
I think something similar is what is happening here. They are going to average the price of the ticket over the use period. For example a 5 day ticket has 8 days to be used. You average those 8 days which will likely include peak and regular and maybe value rates to get the base price for the 5 days. Multiply the base by 5 to get the total.
I the biggest price increase is going to be on the single day ticket for the other park as they are brought up to the MK single day price which will also most likely go up.
The next part of the equation is how many peak days will be in the ticket usage period... this is the number that you will need to minimize to get the best price.

Yeah that makes sense -- Disney also already does that with their hotel rates. I noticed it when I made my most recent booking, it said "$194/night" on the website but when you click into the rates, the 2 Saturdays were actually $210 but several of the weekdays were only $180 so after all was said and done totaled up and then divided evenly, it worked out to $194/night. So I guess to apply the same concept to the ticket prices would make sense for them.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah that makes sense -- Disney also already does that with their hotel rates. I noticed it when I made my most recent booking, it said "$194/night" on the website but when you click into the rates, the 2 Saturdays were actually $210 but several of the weekdays were only $180 so after all was said and done totaled up and then divided evenly, it worked out to $194/night. So I guess to apply the same concept to the ticket prices would make sense for them.

how would it work if you are not staying on property though? Would it still be the average over the days you could possible go with your X-day ticket? What if you wind up going only on the cheapest days during that time but get charged more because there was a Peak day in there, but you didn't go that day?

I am sure it will all work out eventually - and in the end we will just have to accept what it is and adapt ... but I am still interested in how all the details will work

 

[shafke]

Here is another question I do not remember being addresses
- Is Park Hopper Plus (ie: Water Parks and More) still going to be available and how will this change affect that?
For example: a 5 day PHP gave you 5 park days and 5 plus options to use over the 14 day usage period. Since a 5 day is now going to be valid for only 8 days you will either need to give up park time or lose a couple of the plus options.

 

[mouseRD]

I purchased 5 day park hopper tickets (have actual tickets) from UT in 2015 for a trip we planned for F&W festival. We ended up having to shorten our trip so we used our last 3 days from our old 10 day no expiration option tickets we had for that trip. I called UT over the weekend and the person I spoke with about these tickets; she said that they only started dating the tickets in 2017 so that we would be able to use these tickets anytime and they do not expire. When I asked her if we had to pay a price differential for the new ticket pricing that starts in mid-October, she said no. Anyone else have interactions with UT and is this information correct?

 

[53Jay]

I purchased 5 day park hopper tickets (have actual tickets) from UT in 2015 for a trip we planned for F&W festival. We ended up having to shorten our trip so we used our last 3 days from our old 10 day no expiration option tickets we had for that trip. I called UT over the weekend and the person I spoke with about these tickets; she said that they only started dating the tickets in 2017 so that we would be able to use these tickets anytime and they do not expire. When I asked her if we had to pay a price differential for the new ticket pricing that starts in mid-October, she said no. Anyone else have interactions with UT and is this information correct?

I believe what they told you was true. I know that I called Disney about tickets we purchased from UT in Aug for a trip end of Oct. We are going to want to add another day to the tickets and I was told we would be grandfathered in at the price we paid.

 

[lugnut33]

Well, we are 8 days away from knowing the new pricing for this. Should be interesting.

 

[tlmadden73]

Well, we are 8 days away from knowing the new pricing for this. Should be interesting.

I'm hoping we get some sort of preview of the prices before then (maybe Friday?). You'd think that travel agents and the such would want to know what those be so they can prep for the first day.

I am sure we are all are itching to know the following:
1) What's the lowest ticket price for the year (and what days are those valid for)
2) What's the highest ticket price for the year (and what days)
3) Will Annual Passes change (will blackout dates change to match the pricing structure?)
4) Will Annual Pass prices go up (especially the Platinum pass which allows you to ignore the new pricing structure).

Personally I want to know #4 .. I am planning on buying an Annual Pass in a month and I don't want to be socked with a 10-20% increase at the last minute (otherwise I'd buy it today).

I've seen this type of ticketing done (at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Atlanta). The price you pay varies, depending on if you go on a weekday or weekend AND it varies depending on when you arrive. (Arrive in the morning and pay full price, a few hours before close and get a discount). So .. it is just confusing what the "real" price is.
It feels like buying a car. The price can vary from person to person.
For this, you pick when you want to go .. see the price and decide if that is worth it for you at that price, knowing you COULD go cheaper if you sacrifice things.

I suspect the new Disney pricing will just be the same way. You look what the tickets will cost when you want to go .. and decide whether to suck it up .. or sacrifice convenience (by going in the middle of the week or in the middle of January) to save a few dollars.

 

[lugnut33]

Just my opinion on Annual Passes (take it or leave it, it's just my opinion), I think you'll see a 6-10% price increase next week (which will be less than per day ticket price increase). I think they need to get a sizable increase now and then get another one some time next year before anything Star Wars in DHS opens. Overall I'd expect a 13-17% increase over the next year.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Yeah, I'm really wondering what, if anything, will happen to annual passes on October 16.

 

[tlmadden73]

Just my opinion on Annual Passes (take it or leave it, it's just my opinion), I think you'll see a 6-10% price increase next week (which will be less than per day ticket price increase). I think they need to get a sizable increase now and then get another one some time next year before anything Star Wars in DHS opens. Overall I'd expect a 13-17% increase over the next year.

It seems it would make sense to do that unless they hope the new ticket option pushes people to the higher cost APs.
I guess I just hope they announce that BEFORE the price goes into effect so I can buy ahead of time.

If they don't announce prices anytime before the 16th, I guess I will buy my AP the night of the 15th just to be safe. My plan, initially was to wait to arrive onsite in November to trade in old tickets to help minimize the gut punch that is ~$900 a pass. .

Honestly, I may just be better off doing that anyway with all these price increases. Saving and then using an old 5-day ticket (purchased in Feb 2017 that has no expiration date) even as soon as 2020 or 2021 will probably be 25%+ cheaper than buying fresh, new tickets anyway.

I can look at it as an investment.. I spent $350 for a 5 day ticket in 2017 .. that is already worth around $400 not even a year and a half later. That is a 14% return on my investment .. heh

Unfortunately you can't really shelter yourself from the hotel and food increases. (which makes me wonder why they even bother with this crazy new ticket scheme .. just keep raising ticket prices as normal and keep upping the food/hotel/souvenir prices).

 

[sachilles]

I may have missed it, if so I apologize.

Will the pricing be static? By that I mean if you book tickets for a June 5-12 stay in January, will the ticket price be the same if you book the same tickets waiting until May to buy them.

OR

Will they adopt an airline mentality, and vary the price based upon capacity, and tickets already bought? So that as you get closer to your vacation, the ticket price could fluctuate up or down based upon how many folks have bought tickets for those dates already?

 

[Westy239]

Have AP's expiring in Dec. We have a trip planned for Spring Break in April and was just going to purchase new AP then. With the new ticket prices we want to buy them now. Am I right in thinking that will work, to just activate them on the first day of our trip? Since we always go the week before Easter we would be able to use them again next year, since Easter will be earlier.

 

[Buckeye Jones]

Our AP’s are up Nov.29th, and I think US’s new offer just swayed me to not renew our Disney AP’s. I can get 18 months now for the price of 12. Looks like we will be spending a lot more time and money at US.

 

[manning]

Our AP’s are up Nov.29th, and I think US’s new offer just swayed me to not renew our Disney AP’s. I can get 18 months now for the price of 12. Looks like we will be spending a lot more time and money at US.

That's one way of reducing crowding, Push them over to the competition

 

[DavidHobart]

I may have missed it, if so I apologize.

Will the pricing be static? By that I mean if you book tickets for a June 5-12 stay in January, will the ticket price be the same if you book the same tickets waiting until May to buy them.

OR

Will they adopt an airline mentality, and vary the price based upon capacity, and tickets already bought? So that as you get closer to your vacation, the ticket price could fluctuate up or down based upon how many folks have bought tickets for those dates already?

At launch prices will be static. I would not be surprised to see them become dynamic a few years out.

 

[dlavender]

Unfortunately you can't really shelter yourself from the hotel and food increases. (which makes me wonder why they even bother with this crazy new ticket scheme .. just keep raising ticket prices as normal and keep upping the food/hotel/souvenir prices).

I guess they look at it as, "why not do both"......

 

[dlavender]

Just my opinion on Annual Passes (take it or leave it, it's just my opinion), I think you'll see a 6-10% price increase next week (which will be less than per day ticket price increase). I think they need to get a sizable increase now and then get another one some time next year before anything Star Wars in DHS opens. Overall I'd expect a 13-17% increase over the next year.

I'd wager that you are right, but I think it'll be closer to 10% on the AP's..But perhaps just on the lower tiers, and the platinum might just see the 6 that you mention.

 

[shafke]

I'm hoping we get some sort of preview of the prices before then (maybe Friday?). You'd think that travel agents and the such would want to know what those be so they can prep for the first day.

I am sure we are all are itching to know the following:
1) What's the lowest ticket price for the year (and what days are those valid for)
2) What's the highest ticket price for the year (and what days)
3) Will Annual Passes change (will blackout dates change to match the pricing structure?)
4) Will Annual Pass prices go up (especially the Platinum pass which allows you to ignore the new pricing structure).

For 1 and 2... I would say the ticket prices are going to be based on the current single day calendar. Once the calendar is published for a given month I don't think there will be a change.

 

[KatyWDW]

We purchased 9 day PH passes but are now wanting to convert them to annual passes since we just booked another trip in May 2019. Our trip begins 10/21/2018 and I was planning on upgrading our tickets once we arrived. I’m worried about the possible increases to the AP. Is there anyway to change our tickets ahead of time to avoid any increases? I don’t think I can change the tickets online.