Disney raising Genie+ pricing effective immediately

[Jross34]

An absolute shock to nobody. People will keep buying.

Inching toward the goal of having 20 people in each park who can afford the $25 Million/Day admission. They can sub-lease all but the monorail hotels and start charging admission to Disney Springs.

Love that they keep pushing. Can’t wait for the eventual implosion.

The higher the price, the less people that buy it, the more useful it is.

 

[Jross34]

Imagine the news headlines.

"Disney attacks the middle class saying 'You can't come here anymore'.
Disney increases Genie prices by over 1500% from $15 to $250"

Disney would never survive that bad press.

There is not a requirement to purchase genie so a middle class family can still go there. There are complaints about families having to pay hundreds more for genie over a vacation and they survived the press just fine.

 

[bbeagle]

There is not a requirement to purchase genie so a middle class family can still go there. There are complaints about families having to pay hundreds more for genie over a vacation and they survived the press just fine.

Yes, I get it. But the media, on either side, isn’t fair. They love sensationalist headlines, damn the truth.

 

[Devil13]

The higher the price, the less people that buy it, the more useful it is.

Or maybe it has a the ultimate impact, people who’ve used it don’t bother to show up anymore because the price of it, and everything else, has been going up at an alarming rate and Bobby will get his ideal dollar to person ratio for a brief time on the curve as things come crashing down.

What do I know though. People we lining up to get $300 X-Mas party tickets recently.

 

[Devil13]

There is not a requirement to purchase genie so a middle class family can still go there. There are complaints about families having to pay hundreds more for genie over a vacation and they survived the press just fine.

And to this…as I’ve said before. For my family of 4, I pay for flights down (not Disney’s problem), on property hotels, out of state APs, all their food when down there and they’ve taken away magical express, night magic hours, ability to just walk into a park, ability to hop before 2:00, raised EVERY price on everything, etc. etc. etc. and now they have the “guts” to tell me I need to pay another $88 a day to get on most rides and $80 to get on individual rides!?

Hey Disney: Go F yourself.

You will now get none of that money. I know I’m not alone and the more you push, the more you risk. Go ahead, try to walk that line. Rooting for it to implode.

 

[maverik85]

And to this…as I’ve said before. For my family of 4, I pay for flights down (not Disney’s problem), on property hotels, out of state APs, all their food when down there and they’ve taken away magical express, night magic hours, ability to just walk into a park, ability to hop before 2:00, raised EVERY price on everything, etc. etc. etc. and now they have the “guts” to tell me I need to pay another $88 a day to get on most rides and $80 to get on individual rides!?

Hey Disney: Go F yourself.

You will now get none of that money. I know I’m not alone and the more you push, the more you risk. Go ahead, try to walk that line. Rooting for it to implode.

I agree. Raising prices is one thing and expected over time and with inflation, but the continual raising prices and at such rapid rate, paired with the cutting back of amenities is the biggest issue. If they still offered all the stuff they did before I'm sure they would not be receiving as much negative press. People would still complain about price increases, but the biggest complaints I've seen have been price increases with a lesser experience.

ILL is one of the worst aspects of price hikes to me. The change to a paid fast pass system didn't bother me too much, as every other park has a charge for whatever system they use. The problem to me is the fact that you are only able to get a couple rides out of it, and some of the biggest ones require a hefty additional fee on top. Where as Universal and others, you pay extra for this and get to continually skip the line on all rides. Some regional parks do have tier system where the most popular rides are an additional cost to the standard skip the line, but it's $20-$30 more for that tier and includes multiple rides added as many times as you want. Not that amount for one time on a single ride. Honestly wish they would just go to Universal Express Pass method and charge a larger price with a limited number available per day for skip the line passes. Probably result in overall fewer Lightning Lane individuals allowing standby to move better and allow people that pay for the upgrade to be able to actually utilize their passes and get their money's worth.

 

[middlechild]

According to a bus driver, Disney explored an idea of flat entry and fee per ride. The way it would work is say $50 to get through gate. Then each guest would scan a QR code from MDE app at the scan point to join the ride line. At the end of the day, and depending on your willingness to wait in lines, the cost is totalled by the number of QR codes scanned that day. The amount is automatically debited from your account that was linked within MDE. A little of that Disney magic, and the cost is never really seen by the guest. Only limit is how long the line is and your willingness to wait. To save costs, the guest could receive a discount by scheduling a ride time through ILL. This scheduling is grouped by A level rides through E level rides. I thought she said the new system ready by FY2023, but perhaps she meant FY2024.
In FY2025, the debit is done at the time of the scan, and Mickey's ears light up and a greeting played.
In FY2026, ride lengths are shortened even further.
In FY2027, the line simply loops past the scan point, so each guest essentially pays to wait in line and Mickey removed.
In FY2028, Chapek retires as his goal of endless funding that props up his stock options has been optimised to a theoretical maximum.

Everything old is new again, enabled by technology.

 

[Devil13]

According to a bus driver, Disney explored an idea of flat entry and fee per ride. The way it would work is say $50 to get through gate. Then each guest would scan a QR code from MDE app at the scan point to join the ride line. At the end of the day, and depending on your willingness to wait in lines, the cost is totalled by the number of QR codes scanned that day. The amount is automatically debited from your account that was linked within MDE. A little of that Disney magic, and the cost is never really seen by the guest. Only limit is how long the line is and your willingness to wait. To save costs, the guest could receive a discount by scheduling a ride time through ILL. This scheduling is grouped by A level rides through E level rides. I thought she said the new system ready by FY2023, but perhaps she meant FY2024.
In FY2025, the debit is done at the time of the scan, and Mickey's ears light up and a greeting played.
In FY2026, ride lengths are shortened even further.
In FY2027, the line simply loops past the scan point, so each guest essentially pays to wait in line and Mickey removed.
In FY2028, Chapek retires as his goal of endless funding that props up his stock options has been optimised to a theoretical maximum.

Everything old is new again, enabled by technology.

This sounds insane but not insane enough to rule it out. I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point.

 

[rocketriter]

I'll often tell people to compare it against other forms of entertainment they enjoy;;;

Unfortunately, attendance figures have started to create that comparison for us. Headline today: Universal Studios attendance exceeds Disney Parks for the first time.

 

[tjkraz]

Unfortunately, attendance figures have started to create that comparison for us. Headline today: Universal Studios attendance exceeds Disney Parks for the first time.

Important to note that was for 2021 when all operations were still heavily impacted by covid restrictions, social distancing, etc. Disney has been using Park Pass for the last 2 years to limit crowds while Universal....hasn't.

Without doing an attraction-by-attraction count, I assume USF and IOA each have more attractions individually than DHS, Epcot and DAK. If so, they can handle the crowds better. They may continue to outdraw the 3 Disney Parks, although WDW's total attendance still eclipses US.

But who knows what the future will bring. As long as Park Pass remains, Disney is making a deliberate attempt to keep attendance from exceeding levels of their choosing. That could me willingly sacrificing the attendance crown. If Disney's master plan is smaller crowds, shorter waits and higher prices, some customers will embrace it and others will not.

 

[drosenbe0813]

I'm not sure where this view might get more attention, but my feeling regarding price increases is that Walt (not to do a 'what would Walt do") wanted his park for the masses, to give the middle/lower classes a high quality place to play.

At a certain point, the person that will be able to afford to go to WDW.....will just as easily, actually go to Europe, or on a jungle safari. Why go to a pretend aquarium, when you can afford to go on a cruise. At a certain point, the middle/upper middle class who the parks were originally intended for, will simply find other venues (can you say Universal) and then, it might be late for WDW to get them back.

 

[New Mouse]

I'm not sure where this view might get more attention, but my feeling regarding price increases is that Walt (not to do a 'what would Walt do") wanted his park for the masses, to give the middle/lower classes a high quality place to play.

At a certain point, the person that will be able to afford to go to WDW.....will just as easily, actually go to Europe, or on a jungle safari. Why go to a pretend aquarium, when you can afford to go on a cruise. At a certain point, the middle/upper middle class who the parks were originally intended for, will simply find other venues (can you say Universal) and then, it might be late for WDW to get them back.

It's already to the points where MUCH more exotic and real vacations are more achievable than a week at wdw.

 

[Moliphino]

It's already to the points where MUCH more exotic and real vacations are more achievable than a week at wdw.

Yup. All of my recent Europe trips have been less expensive than Disney World. The only part more expensive is the flight.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I was super skeptical of Genie+ initially but after actually using it, my opinion changed. I do think there is a line for most people though in terms of what they're willing to pay - and that's the point of raising prices. I'm still okay with it for the most part because I understand it's supply and demand, and at this point the cost is not (yet) prohibitive for my family. Genie+ is useless if everyone buys it, and no one is going to spend money for a service that doesn't do what's promised. So they'll bump the price up little by little until they hit the sweet spot where the profit is where they need it to be and it functions the way they say it will. It's a business, and I don't begrudge that.

I'm not going to go on the warpath and say I'll never go back, because I know that's not true. I love Disney, I'm on this board because I love Disney. I will continue to visit Disney parks unless my budget doesn't allow it. I'm never going to hit the point where I say "never again." It's my happy place. BUT, when budget truly becomes an issue, it may mean I go less - maybe MUCH less - often. It may mean I choose other destinations more often. Because there is a lot of the world to see, and my practical side can't justify one week at WDW to the exclusion of never going anywhere else in my life.

 

[bbeagle]

Yup. All of my recent Europe trips have been less expensive than Disney World. The only part more expensive is the flight.

You take a 10 year old to Paris and they'll be bored to death. He will be begging to go home and play with his friends. It will be a waste of money.

Take that same 10 year old to Disney and he will have the best time and memories of his life. And he'll also be able to see the Eiffel Tower and eat French Pastries. He'll learn just as much about France, and be excited to be there and talk about it later.

A 22 year old might want to be in Paris more. The Louvre, the architecture, the culture... all will be recognized and enjoyed much more.

 

[Moliphino]

You take a 10 year old to Paris and they'll be bored to death. He will be begging to go home and play with his friends. It will be a waste of money.

Take that same 10 year old to Disney and he will have the best time and memories of his life. And he'll also be able to see the Eiffel Tower and eat French Pastries. He'll learn just as much about France, and be excited to be there and talk about it later.

A 22 year old might want to be in Paris more. The Louvre, the architecture, the culture... all will be recognized and enjoyed much more.

Depends on the kid. My (then) 7 year old nephew didn't really enjoy WDW all that much.
I don't have kids, so that has no bearing on my own vacations.

 

[Jrb1979]

You take a 10 year old to Paris and they'll be bored to death. He will be begging to go home and play with his friends. It will be a waste of money.

Take that same 10 year old to Disney and he will have the best time and memories of his life. And he'll also be able to see the Eiffel Tower and eat French Pastries. He'll learn just as much about France, and be excited to be there and talk about it later.

A 22 year old might want to be in Paris more. The Louvre, the architecture, the culture... all will be recognized and enjoyed much more.

You can also take that same 10 year old to any amusement park and they would get the same enjoyment and for less price

 

[New Mouse]

You take a 10 year old to Paris and they'll be bored to death. He will be begging to go home and play with his friends. It will be a waste of money.

Take that same 10 year old to Disney and he will have the best time and memories of his life. And he'll also be able to see the Eiffel Tower and eat French Pastries. He'll learn just as much about France, and be excited to be there and talk about it later.

A 22 year old might want to be in Paris more. The Louvre, the architecture, the culture... all will be recognized and enjoyed much more.

You take a 10 year old to Paris and then just go to Disney there for less $ and an improved MK.

 

[closetmickey]

Just cancelled our January booking. Enough is enough.

 

[bbeagle]

You take a 10 year old to Paris and then just go to Disney there for less $ and an improved MK.

I can't handle Paris Disneyland. Smoking is allowed everywhere, and it's horrible.