AP Price Increase June 18th, 2019

I knew there would be an increase with all the things opening. We had planned to upgrade to AP at our summer vacation--but this increase is huge and we have decided against it (we are a family of 5--ouch). I suppose it will keep the crowds somewhat down--as this now prices out a lot of families with kids.
 
More Disney Greed

Florida residents:

  • Epcot After 4: $309, increased from $289
  • Weekday Select: $349, increased from $319
  • Silver: $519, increased from $479
  • Gold: $699, increased from $609
  • Platinum: $899, increased from $748
  • Platinum Plus: $999, increased from $849
The price hike marks the third rate increase for Disney World’s annual passes since early 2018, Fox 13 reports. Prices were last raised in October 2018.
 
They add passholder perks at world for the summer to boost attendance then jack up the price of AP's by 20-25% (AP prices have nearly doubled over last 5 years.) Its shortsighted, people aren't dumb. If people can't afford an AP, they aren't going to make multiple trips in the same or even adjacent years. They will say, geez lets do something else. We certainly have spent much more at Disney as Passholders, but that was a calculated financial decision on our part, one we likely can longer justify.
They have more than doubled in five years.
In April 2014 we paid $484 each for a DVC discounted Premium annual pass.
In Dec 2017 we paid $559 each for a DVC discounted platinum plus pass that we activated Aug 2018. That same pass according to the dis is now $999 for dvc members?? Our pass is still active until mid August and we are going next month to get our two trips in for this pass. Our next dvc trip after this summer may end up being a resort only stay.
 


I just bought our AP's when we were at the parks a couple weeks ago! I'm usually the person on the outside looking in! Glad I will have a full year at the lower cost...

So this is total speculation on my part, and I admit I am a bear of very little brain, but it seems to me that Disney can go one of two ways with their pricing philosophy - a low-price/margin, high volume approach which keeps ticket prices low and promotes higher attendance that will at the same time increase expenses in the park, increase the wear and tear on attractions, and inevitably lead to folks complaining in various forms of social media that crowds in the parks are insane, lines are too long, and that their personal experience was not "magical". We have all seen the pics of Main Street at DL and WDW when the crowds are so insane that people are crammed in shoulder to shoulder. (Ugh!) It also forces Disney to hire more cast members to maintain the parks and to allow for their operation day-to-day.

Or, on the other hand, they can opt for a higher price/higher margin model that will reduce traffic in the parks, reduce their overhead and expenses, and ultimately improve the guest experience by offering shorter wait times in restaurants and on attractions. And on top of that, guests who are willing to pay more for a ticket also invariably spend more in the parks on food and merchandise.

Granted this is a spectrum - I know they fall somewhere between these 2 poles, but I'd be willing to wager a Dole Whip that this is a calculated effort to push toward the lower attendance but higher margin per guest model. It isn't greed, or a cash grab, or a thoughtless act by Disney. (I get kind of annoyed when people suggest that this is not a well-thought through move by Disney. It was. There is a plan here.) And if they want fewer AP holders, and this is how they'll do it.
 
This will not effect anyone at all or stop anyone from paying for an AP. People will still pay the price. Really it's just the cost of 2 after hours events.
 


A Big Thank You! To the Folks on These Boards about Sams Club Selling at the Old Price. We had one AP left to buy for our daughter that we are banking for one day in the future when the kids are at the perfect ages for a year of Disney. That tip saved us over $200 even after joining Sams club for a year. :worship:

Anyone on the fence, the price is still at the old rate on Sams Club as of 6/20 at 6:45 AM.
 
Good to know it's still the same rate at Sam's as of this morning. My mother in law has a Sam's membership so my wife is going to go with her today and see about picking some up. We definitely will be using it for the 50th anniversary.
 
So this is total speculation on my part, and I admit I am a bear of very little brain, but it seems to me that Disney can go one of two ways with their pricing philosophy - a low-price/margin, high volume approach which keeps ticket prices low and promotes higher attendance that will at the same time increase expenses in the park, increase the wear and tear on attractions, and inevitably lead to folks complaining in various forms of social media that crowds in the parks are insane, lines are too long, and that their personal experience was not "magical". We have all seen the pics of Main Street at DL and WDW when the crowds are so insane that people are crammed in shoulder to shoulder. (Ugh!) It also forces Disney to hire more cast members to maintain the parks and to allow for their operation day-to-day.

Or, on the other hand, they can opt for a higher price/higher margin model that will reduce traffic in the parks, reduce their overhead and expenses, and ultimately improve the guest experience by offering shorter wait times in restaurants and on attractions. And on top of that, guests who are willing to pay more for a ticket also invariably spend more in the parks on food and merchandise.

Granted this is a spectrum - I know they fall somewhere between these 2 poles, but I'd be willing to wager a Dole Whip that this is a calculated effort to push toward the lower attendance but higher margin per guest model. It isn't greed, or a cash grab, or a thoughtless act by Disney. (I get kind of annoyed when people suggest that this is not a well-thought through move by Disney. It was. There is a plan here.) And if they want fewer AP holders, and this is how they'll do it.

Let's be real, Disney isn't building all of these new things wanting to lower attendance, it's about squeezing more out of the people they know will come

I've argued before, and will again, that it makes no sense at all to assume that Disney actively intends to decrease attendance. What they want is to maximize profit. They want to be at the top of the price/volume curve. Keep prices too low, and they're leaving money on the table. Raise them too high, and they risk driving away enough people that those who do buy no longer make up the difference. Any decrease in attendance is a secondary effect, not a primary goal. Price increases will continue until overall profitability starts to drop. Which will likely happen just as soon as the next recession hits.

So yes, they're doing it deliberately, and yes, they have a plan. It's also greedy, as shareholders tend to be, and whether or not it's a GOOD plan (from a business perspective) remains to be seen. No doubt the argument is that they might as well make as much money as they can now, and if they overshoot, or the economy changes, they'll deal with that when it happens. The real question is whether they risk doing long term damage to their business by driving away loyal customers. In truth, the risk of that is probably low. No doubt most of those who are "priced out" would be still be happy to flock back if discounts were offered or their own personal finances improved.

This will not effect anyone at all or stop anyone from paying for an AP. People will still pay the price. Really it's just the cost of 2 after hours events.

Of course it will. Maybe not so much this single increase, but the accumulated effect of the past few years will certainly affect some families, and some will alter their plans. People do not have unlimited budgets, and even those who can "afford" the increases generally did not get to that place in their finances by spending indiscriminately.
 
I've been out of the country with no access to internet. Can someone tell me if there was a warning on this board prior to the price increase?
 
We were at Disney last week when this was announced. Heard a few people complaining about it.

We've already decided, for several reasons, not to renew ours. If we were on the fence, the increase of over $900 for our family of four would have made that decision extremely easy.

Sorry to say, but the value for my family is now gone.
 
I've argued before, and will again, that it makes no sense at all to assume that Disney actively intends to decrease attendance.

I wouldn't say "decrease the crowds" is the right phase, but perhaps "control the crowds" would be better, because I do firmly believe that is exactly what is the reasoning for price hikes. It is not solely based on greed, which I do agree is part of the equation as well, because they could easily turn guests away once they sell a certain amount of tickets, however, they do not want to do that. Which I can theorize many reasons why and I'm sure Disney itself has it's own reasons which we'll never be able to confirm.

These two things I've heard from CMs more than once (them doing it to control crowds and not wanting to close / not wanting to turn guests away). So, whether it's their real reason, it's what they tell CMs. Of course, it could not be the full truth, but just wanted to put it out there this is not just a lot of people's theory, but something CMs been told themselves.

However, it definitely gives them motivation to take advantage of the situation and an added bonus in the end there is no denying that. As I'm sure if they truly cared, they could think of something else other than hiking up the prices at the exceeded rate that they are doing it in.
 
The next time we need to buy annual passes will be June 2020 and by that time we will be FL residents. We will continue with Platinum so we do not have any blackout dates - we will be living 15 minutes away. The parking, memory maker, and discounts are excellent perks. And I enjoy the ability to purchase TiW (I drink a lot of wine and now that we will live there I’m sure we will take advantage of the valet benefit)

I never am a fan of price increases but I continue to be a Disney Fan! I hope Disney knows what it’s doing.
 
Our family trip just went up a thousand bucks. Buying AP for 11. I was expecting something more in the $20-30, not 90.
Well you have help pay for the skybuckets which hold what 8 people at a time (very cost effective transportation, money well spent) LOL. I just wonder where it will end? The parking thing is just another way to make more money too. If you stay in the park your daily rate goes up a minimum of 15.oo per day depending in which hotel you stay. Eventually, the price will rise so much that the moderate income tourists will not be able to afford to go and that is kind of sad in my opinion, it is far cry from Walt's original idea. I always felt that WDW or DL were places that brought families together and I know the bottom line is that this is a business but somewhere I always hoped that they would have a little piece of caring for those who patronize the business would enter into the mix. There are price increases and then again there is abuse and I think that these increases especially as relate to the new parking charges at hotels are boarding on abuse. I understand that the philosophy is to keep as many people on site as possible and if you do not have a car then they pretty much own you but please do not make it so obvious that the "guests" just equal dollar signs.
 
Well you have help pay for the skybuckets which hold what 8 people at a time (very cost effective transportation, money well spent) LOL. I just wonder where it will end? The parking thing is just another way to make more money too. If you stay in the park your daily rate goes up a minimum of 15.oo per day depending in which hotel you stay. Eventually, the price will rise so much that the moderate income tourists will not be able to afford to go and that is kind of sad in my opinion, it is far cry from Walt's original idea. I always felt that WDW or DL were places that brought families together and I know the bottom line is that this is a business but somewhere I always hoped that they would have a little piece of caring for those who patronize the business would enter into the mix. There are price increases and then again there is abuse and I think that these increases especially as relate to the new parking charges at hotels are boarding on abuse. I understand that the philosophy is to keep as many people on site as possible and if you do not have a car then they pretty much own you but please do not make it so obvious that the "guests" just equal dollar signs.
The Skyliner is significantly more efficient than the buses, fyi. Full busload every couple minutes. And pretty darn cool. So yes, I would say that 100% is money well spent.
 

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