A Canadian Deal ? An international Down turn ?

DoingDisney

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 29, 2015
Hey there, folks, so ... anyone who has been following WDW for the last few years has noticed they have done a great job of filling the parks with international visitors while the US economy was recovering. Well, the economy has not only recovered, but is doing quite well Unemployment is the lowest in a decade, consumer confidence is high, there is more disposable income in the system than there has been in a decade, etc BUT, the value of the US dollar is also high compared to other currencies, the CAD, the British pound, the Real, etc. International travelers are in a pinch. Disney is current marketing the same old deals (the same thats offered to US folks) to many of these people. They were, inthe past few years offered better deals while their domestic currencies were worth more compared to the US. SO not only are they being offered a worse deal (20% off the room instead of 30%, 30% off instead of free dining, etc) but their domestic currency isn't worth nearly as much either.

Just wondering what people think the impact of this will be on WDW ... will they offer more attractive deals to international visitors ? How much of their visitor base was composed of international folks.

A great illustration of this is their current ad on facebook to Canadians, the response in comments is .... HIGHLY negative. From what I am seeing about 90% saying they aren't returning unless a better deal is offered.

https://www.facebook.com/WaltDisneyWorld/posts/10153932709843274

Thoughts ? Rumours ? Any info ???
 
I really don't think that Disney will offer special deals for people from different countries. They didn't do it in the past so why should they do it now? In the past when the dollar was weak it was cheap for people from other countries to travel to WDW and they came in droves but Disney didn't offer special discounts to Americans so that they would come at that time when the dollar was weak and the US economy was down. Just the opposite is happening now and Disney is offering discounts to keep the place a full it just so happens that because of the world economy the discounts are more attractive to Americans than it is to those from other countries. Disney doesn't really care where the people filling the tills are from they just want them full. They offer discounts based on the US dollar which is what you pay for your trip with.
 
I really don't think that Disney will offer special deals for people from different countries. They didn't do it in the past so why should they do it now? In the past when the dollar was weak it was cheap for people from other countries to travel to WDW and they came in droves but Disney didn't offer special discounts to Americans so that they would come at that time when the dollar was weak and the US economy was down. Just the opposite is happening now and Disney is offering discounts to keep the place a full it just so happens that because of the world economy the discounts are more attractive to Americans than it is to those from other countries. Disney doesn't really care where the people filling the tills are from they just want them full. They offer discounts based on the US dollar which is what you pay for your trip with.

They actually DID to it in the past, and still do it today. UK folks for instance get Free Dining just about all year, they also get 14 and 21 day tickets, and serious discounts. Last time the Canadian dollar was so low they offered Canadian Dollar at par "discount". Currently they still tailor deals to people from Canada, the UK, the EU, and South America, different deals for different regions. Basically the premise of what you wrote is completely incorrect.
 
I'm Canadian, and although I would love it if Disney offered a great deal to us to counteract our low dollar, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

As long as Disney is keeping hotel/villa rooms booked, and the parks, restaurantsand gift shops full, they don't really care who is there. Case in point, the recent laughsble DVC ticket "deal" ... any savvy shopper could find as good a deal or better elsewhere. DVC members (and I'm one) are some of WDW's most loyal customers ... if the Mouse sees no need to show us any love, it stands to reason that less Disney-centric demographic groups would also get none.

Disney is not hurting (as evidenced by fewer and less attractive general public discounts); only if it gets to the point that they are will the too-good-to-pass-up deals return.
 


I'm Canadian, and although I would love it if Disney offered a great deal to us to counteract our low dollar, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

As long as Disney is keeping hotel/villa rooms booked, and the parks, restaurantsand gift shops full, they don't really care who is there. Case in point, the recent laughsble DVC ticket "deal" ... any savvy shopper could find as good a deal or better elsewhere. DVC members (and I'm one) are some of WDW's most loyal customers ... if the Mouse sees no need to show us any love, it stands to reason that less Disney-centric demographic groups would also get none.

Disney is not hurting (as evidenced by fewer and less attractive general public discounts); only if it gets to the point that they are will the too-good-to-pass-up deals return.

Oh yea I totally agree, but thats exactly my point. So much of the last few years have been based on filling up the parks with international travelers ... but the USD is rising against all other currencies. Do people think they are going to have to up the ante to lure people in, or can they rely on their domestic base at this point ?
 
I'm Canadian, and although I would love it if Disney offered a great deal to us to counteract our low dollar, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

As long as Disney is keeping hotel/villa rooms booked, and the parks, restaurantsand gift shops full, they don't really care who is there. Case in point, the recent laughsble DVC ticket "deal" ... any savvy shopper could find as good a deal or better elsewhere. DVC members (and I'm one) are some of WDW's most loyal customers ... if the Mouse sees no need to show us any love, it stands to reason that less Disney-centric demographic groups would also get none.

Disney is not hurting (as evidenced by fewer and less attractive general public discounts); only if it gets to the point that they are will the too-good-to-pass-up deals return.

Exactly. The last time our dollar was so low and they were offering those deals, Disney wasn't as busy as it is today. There's been huge growth there in the last several years, and now I think they could really care less about enticing us. I mean, that deal they offered earlier in the year with "partner" hotels was a JOKE.

All that said - yeah, we'll still go back, planning on next summer. We'll just be factoring the discount into the cost of our trip. I mean, even with the discount in the dollar, for us on the east coast (NB), it's still significantly cheaper to go to Disney, than it is to say, take a trip to AB. And it's really not much more than we would pay to drive to Ontario for a week and do stuff up there.
 
Do people think they are going to have to up the ante to lure people in, or can they rely on their domestic base at this point ?

Obviously the answer is no, for the short term at least, Disney doesn't need to go out of their way to lure international visitors. The rumour that they are going to implement tiered pricing on tickets also backs the reasoning that WDW has a solid consumer base under present conditions. It may be a blow to the ego, but with the current economic situation, they really don't need us to fill their coffers.
 


Forgive my ignorance on this subject but I was just wondering do they do any special deals for people from the United States at DisneyLand Paris or any other international Disney Parks destination?
 
Forgive my ignorance on this subject but I was just wondering do they do any special deals for people from the United States at DisneyLand Paris or any other international Disney Parks destination?
Just the opposite, at least for DLP. There are some attractive packages offered to the UK and Germany that cannot be booked via the US site. I've never seen discounts for the US market.
 
Just the opposite, at least for DLP. There are some attractive packages offered to the UK and Germany that cannot be booked via the US site. I've never seen discounts for the US market.
I believe that's because they don't target the US. Stateside we have DL and WDW to choose from traveling abroad isn't as appealing in that aspect.
 
Last year when free fining came out, we got it earlier because we were Canadian. I would love to see atleast that again this year.
 
I think some people are also overlooking some of the larger goals WDW surely has. Its not just about who is filling up their parks NOW, I would think a company like this does't just think about this year (though they have certainly made some short sited decisions in the past). WDW is about developing their customer base. They want to continue to keep people on the hook, they want their people to continue their annual trips, etc. They don't want to have an entire market dry up, and then a few years down the road, no one is recommending to their friends to go to WDW based on their awesome trip, or people have found other venues to make their annual trips to etc.

Even if they don't need them/us in the parks right now, I very much wouldn't be surprised to see them offer a deal just to keep us on the hook.
 
I think some people are also overlooking some of the larger goals WDW surely has. Its not just about who is filling up their parks NOW, I would think a company like this does't just think about this year (though they have certainly made some short sited decisions in the past). WDW is about developing their customer base. They want to continue to keep people on the hook, they want their people to continue their annual trips, etc. They don't want to have an entire market dry up, and then a few years down the road, no one is recommending to their friends to go to WDW based on their awesome trip, or people have found other venues to make their annual trips to etc.

Even if they don't need them/us in the parks right now, I very much wouldn't be surprised to see them offer a deal just to keep us on the hook.

You speak to the Eisner strategy.

And you are 100% correct there. I lived it/saw it. It was ALL about the repeat customer. DVC was all about the revenue of the loyal fan - not "making money" financing hotels up front as is often falsely stated in the wilderness known as the dis...

But the Iger operation has not matched up.

They seem to be more into swinging for the fences...massive increases In base costs - and I'll reiterate they did it during the housing crash which is ballsy beyond belief - across the board. Trying to sell it as "luxury" with hotel development and a mansion park...something that just doesn't hold. An expansion of the timeshare program beyond what was ever expected and doubling the buy in...recent huge jacks to tickets at both anaheim and LBV...

That is not about recurring business...it's about trying to make it more of a country club...it's a different mentality altogether in its application.

Bob Iger has GAMBLED in Orlando...and now he's trying to squirm out of it a little. They've never been this vulnerable to recession...not even close.

Wait till the spigot gets turned off...we'll see.

And Disney cannot afford it at this time...not with ESPN going down and much money going to two weak destinations overseas.
 
I live in eastern Canada where we see a ton of snow and freezing temperatures. Last year dropped over 12 feet on us and lasted until May so of course we are aching to see the sun by the time March rolls around. At least 2 dozen of my small circle of friends head to Disney/Universal for a week or so but this year only one family went. They stayed off site, visited each park just once with no water parks and brought in food. They couldn't justify the expense of really vacationing when the dollar is worth 65 cents. Even the families who use travel miles to book their flights and accommodations found the prices had risen up to 50%. (A flight can be as low as $400 each, this month is $900).

This coming fall I am visiting solo as my son and husband are done with theme parks. I don't want to waste money dragging along 2 people who really would rather be home. The only thing that would make me change my mind is if I had a great deal on hotel, food or ticket prices.
 
Ok, that's what I was thinking thanks!

Everyone is correct that Disneyland Paris does not offer deals to USA
But
If you look on UK sites and other international sites ( do a google search)
There are some site that offer deals to Uk residents and others to anyone that buys on their site.
Last fall we went to Paris and picked up one day tricked. For 59 bucks. We just had to pick up the tickets at Disneyland Paris.
They just asked for recept /recept code but no proof of where we lived.
 
Disney will do what they always do, offer discounts when they have to and not before. Most likely they would be in the form of reduced resort pricing or free dining. The stuff that encourages people to stay longer.

One of the reasons the UK gets offered deals is because people in the UK are far more likely to be able to stay for a 3 week trip because of the vacation days they get. And a three week stay is worth a fortune to Disney which easily justifies throwing in a free dining package.
 
I think they had a 30% deal on hotel rates for Canadians last year. I'm really hoping they'll offer us something this year... for a $7000 trip it will cost me about $10,000. Which is crazy. But we don't go to Disney often... this will be twice in 6 years. Who knows if we will be back? Canadian Dollar at Par??? I remember that... and I'll say, that would probably be the biggest savings for us... more so than free dining or anything else.
 
I think they had a 30% deal on hotel rates for Canadians last year. I'm really hoping they'll offer us something this year... for a $7000 trip it will cost me about $10,000. Which is crazy. But we don't go to Disney often... this will be twice in 6 years. Who knows if we will be back? Canadian Dollar at Par??? I remember that... and I'll say, that would probably be the biggest savings for us... more so than free dining or anything else.

Free dining would be good because I could justify the cost of staying on site and have less worries. It's safe, less parking/gas fees and less chance of a car accident in a rental.
 
Disney will do what they always do, offer discounts when they have to and not before. Most likely they would be in the form of reduced resort pricing or free dining. The stuff that encourages people to stay longer.

One of the reasons the UK gets offered deals is because people in the UK are far more likely to be able to stay for a 3 week trip because of the vacation days they get. And a three week stay is worth a fortune to Disney which easily justifies throwing in a free dining package.
You know I hadn't really thought about the differences in vacation time as far as how long someone outside the U.S. would stay. I had just seen that the average trip to WDW was 2-3 weeks for non-U.S. travellers. The most we can afford to go to WDW is 9-10 days total which includes 2 days of travel (so about 8 park days split between WDW and UO). That's 5 days of vacation total (and then you add in the weekends). Any more than that is a real problem. Though in all honesty being away for 9-10 days is still pretty darn good.

Thanks for bringing that up :yay:
 
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