New 2018 TIcket Prices

Exactly!
None of these other overpriced things automatically raise their prices every February either.

When DO they raise them?

It seems like I read that tickets, parking and vending prices (at least one or more of those categories) at sporting events go up about yearly...
 
Exactly!
None of these other overpriced things automatically raise their prices every February either.

Broadway shows pretty regularly creep up with each new big show. Most it is hard to find a rear mezzanine seat for under $100. Only a couple of years ago they were in the $50-$75 range.

And don’t get me started on the ticket lotteries. Used to be $20-25. Now other than the impossible-to-win Hamilton you’re usually looking at double that at least.
 


And, BTW, none of us LIKE it.

Bingo! And we can vote with our feet. I love Disney as much as anyone on here, but that doesn’t mean they will always be my vacation of choice. And it doesn’t make me less of a fan to not go multiple times a year if I choose to spend some of my vacation dollars elsewhere.
 
can someone explain to me this narrative of comparing other overpriced things to Disney in order to explain away the ridiculous price increases.....A ticket to a patriots game is $175 and $50 to park and a beer cost $15....Just like Disney, that is outrageous and out of reach of many
I'm glad you asked this question since I've been thinking about it as well. We all seem to agree that entertainment is expensive in general - but I have no idea what the comp is for WDW - or if there even is a comp - when trying to figure out if the price is high, low or just about right (which I'd differentiate from value - since that's more subjective for each person).

I can't say that I think concerts, sporting events or theater are a good comparison. Mostly because the price of those is based in part on constraints that WDW doesn't have - including a limited number of events on limited dates in venues that limit attendance. Unlike WDW - which is typically open at least 12 hours a day for 365 days a year and rarely hits capacity for closures.

A couple of thought experiments to illustrate:

(1) Take the Patriots, or the Hamilton production, or Justin Timberlake - put them in the biggest venue you can find (say the University of Michigan football stadium which seats over 100,000), and have them "put on a show" about 4-5 times a day every day for a year. Are they still getting $200+ a ticket under "WDW conditions"? Not a chance.

(2) Now put WDW on the "concert/show/sports" model - close a park occasionally to hold a limited number of special events on a limited number of days and only for a few hours each that offer unique entertainment and events that have a capped attendance. If WDW did that, you'd expect higher prices under the "concert" model, right? Well - no - because I just described MNSSHP and MVMCP and SW Galactic Nights - and those tickets are a bit less than full day admission.

As typical with my posts - I have no idea what all of that really means, including whether that means WDW tickets are priced much better, worse or comparably with other entertainment. All I do know is that I have APs, the price is high but I still personally find value (at least for now), and the overall cost does cut down my other discretionary entertainment expenses.

TL;DR version: we're comparing $10 apples with $12 oranges. They're not really the same, but they're both fruit and probably both expensive for what we're getting. Whether either are worth it will depend largely on your individual tastes and if you enjoy them.
 
I'm glad you asked this question since I've been thinking about it as well. We all seem to agree that entertainment is expensive in general - but I have no idea what the comp is for WDW - or if there even is a comp - when trying to figure out if the price is high, low or just about right (which I'd differentiate from value - since that's more subjective for each person).

I can't say that I think concerts, sporting events or theater are a good comparison. Mostly because the price of those is based in part on constraints that WDW doesn't have - including a limited number of events on limited dates in venues that limit attendance. Unlike WDW - which is typically open at least 12 hours a day for 365 days a year and rarely hits capacity for closures.

A couple of thought experiments to illustrate:

(1) Take the Patriots, or the Hamilton production, or Justin Timberlake - put them in the biggest venue you can find (say the University of Michigan football stadium which seats over 100,000), and have them "put on a show" about 4-5 times a day every day for a year. Are they still getting $200+ a ticket under "WDW conditions"? Not a chance.

(2) Now put WDW on the "concert/show/sports" model - close a park occasionally to hold a limited number of special events on a limited number of days and only for a few hours each that offer unique entertainment and events that have a capped attendance. If WDW did that, you'd expect higher prices under the "concert" model, right? Well - no - because I just described MNSSHP and MVMCP and SW Galactic Nights - and those tickets are a bit less than full day admission.

As typical with my posts - I have no idea what all of that really means, including whether that means WDW tickets are priced much better, worse or comparably with other entertainment. All I do know is that I have APs, the price is high but I still personally find value (at least for now), and the overall cost does cut down my other discretionary entertainment expenses.

TL;DR version: we're comparing $10 apples with $12 oranges. They're not really the same, but they're both fruit and probably both expensive for what we're getting. Whether either are worth it will depend largely on your individual tastes and if you enjoy them.

I look at minimum wage then vs now. Professional wages. And, prices of hotel rooms around the U.S. (over the last 10 years) and our trip to Italy in 2016. Disney passes have surpassed all.
 


You have (what we'll call) "2017" Tickets.

Since we don't yet KNOW exactly how the new and current upgrade procedure will be handled,
I'll lay out a possibility:

$580.43 10-day Hopper Plus: Current Price
-$553.80 9-day Hopper Plus: 2017 Price
=$26.63 Cost to Upgrade to 10-day (Educated Guess)

All prices include tax.

Check back in a few days to see if I find out if I'm right with that figure.

So is the general thinking that price bridging is a thing of the past, then? I'm watching this with interest because I'd thought that we'd just add an extra park day for our departure morning if there was anything we felt like we missed. It wasn't a bad plan with a $20 per ticket difference but I don't think it would be worth it at $50/ea.
 
1. So is the general thinking that price bridging is a thing of the past, then?
I'm watching this with interest because I'd thought that we'd just add an extra park day for our departure morning if there was anything we felt like we missed.
2. It wasn't a bad plan with a $20 per ticket difference but I don't think it would be worth it at $50/ea.

1. No. Price-bridging will continue.
The DIS poster, ILoveMyDVC bought "2017 tickets" from UT, and so paid LESS than the full
Disney price. (But, the Disney price on which DATE is uncertain.)
However, price-bridging will bring the UT tickets' value up to the full Disney price
when the upgrade is being handled.

2. The exact price will be affected by when you bought your original ticket.
 
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can someone explain to me this narrative of comparing other overpriced things to Disney in order to explain away the ridiculous price increases.....A ticket to a patriots game is $175 and $50 to park and a beer cost $15....Just like Disney, that is outrageous and out of reach of many



Personally I am guaranteed fun at Disney on my ticket cost. Season tickets to LSU football games cost me the same as an entire trip to Disney and I promise you that fun and enjoyment are not guaranteed.
 
@Robo So I missed buying my AP last Saturday night. I was in for plenty of time to order, but stitch kept eating the page and then eventually the dwarfs took the page for maintenance. Ugh! Wanted to pay with my gc's at the lower rate of course. Now i have to decide if I should buy 9 day passes,(we want to make FP's for all days at 60 days), for WDW from UT or somewhere that has tickets, to then upgrade when we are there to the AP. I'd have to pay the first $500 or so with cash/cc which I wasn't planning to do. Not sure if it's worth it, and if they will price bridge the tickets I'd buy to current to save whatever I save at UT. Will I have to pay the difference between what I pay tomorrow lets say, at UT, to the current AP price, or the difference between Disney's 9 day and an AP? Been a few years since I bridged and things have changed some. Thanks for any help!
 
@Robo So I missed buying my AP last Saturday night. I was in for plenty of time to order, but stitch kept eating the page and then eventually the dwarfs took the page for maintenance. Ugh! Wanted to pay with my gc's at the lower rate of course. Now i have to decide if I should buy 9 day passes,(we want to make FP's for all days at 60 days), for WDW from UT or somewhere that has tickets, to then upgrade when we are there to the AP. I'd have to pay the first $500 or so with cash/cc which I wasn't planning to do. Not sure if it's worth it, and if they will price bridge the tickets I'd buy to current to save whatever I save at UT.

1. Will I have to pay the difference between what I pay tomorrow lets say, at UT, to the current AP price, or
2. the difference between Disney's 9 day and an AP? Been a few years since I bridged and things have changed some. Thanks for any help!
1. Nope.
2. The exact amount of the upgrade MIGHT depend on when the UT ticket that you buy was minted (the date Disney sold it to UT.) "Old stock" vs "new stock.
I'm not going to gamble with your money, as I can't offer you the exact price.
So, until we can know more about how the current upgrade transactions are actually going to work,
planning to upgrade can be a price gamble.
 
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1. No. Price-bridging will continue.
The DIS poster, ILoveMyDVC bought "2017 tickets" from UT, and so paid LESS than the full
Disney price. (But, the Disney price on which DATE is uncertain.)
However, price-bridging will bring the UT tickets' value up to the full Disney price
when the upgrade is being handled.

2. The exact price will be affected by when you bought your original ticket.

Well, that's clear as mud. :( I hate that Disney is making everything so blasted complicated these days; it used to be so easy to impulse-buy an extra park day, but there's no way I'm budgeting for the uncertainty of maybe-$100, maybe-$250 so I guess we'll just stick to the tickets we have.
 
Well, that's clear as mud. :( I hate that Disney is making everything so blasted complicated these days;

1. it used to be so easy to impulse-buy an extra park day,

2. but there's no way I'm budgeting for the uncertainty of maybe-$100, maybe-$250 so I guess we'll just stick to the tickets we have.

The exact price will be affected by when you bought your original ticket.

2. It still is, if you have a CURRENT ticket (minted after the Feb. 11, 2018 price increase.)
During the better part of any given year, that will be the case for hundreds of thousands of guests.

2. Except for an "uncertain" period of time (right after a new price increase,) we will be able to
pre-compute, to the penny, the cost of "adding a day."
 
The exact price will be affected by when you bought your original ticket.

2. It still is, if you have a CURRENT ticket (minted after the Feb. 11, 2018 price increase.)
During the better part of any given year, that will be the case for hundreds of thousands of guests.

2. Except for an "uncertain" period of time (right after a new price increase,) we will be able to
pre-compute, to the penny, the cost of "adding a day."

Fair enough, but for hundreds of thousands of guests who made their plans an purchased their tickets/packages in the last few months, it isn't. And it isn't as though this is happening at a slow time when not many people will be affected; we're just a few weeks out of spring break peak season. That's frustrating, verging on ridiculous IMO. Why would Disney want to make it this hard for a family to say "We're having a great time, let's add a day to our tickets!" and have a clear answer on what that would cost?
 
Fair enough, but for hundreds of thousands of guests who made their plans an purchased their tickets/packages in the last few months, it isn't. And it isn't as though this is happening at a slow time when not many people will be affected; we're just a few weeks out of spring break peak season. That's frustrating, verging on ridiculous IMO. Why would Disney want to make it this hard for a family to say "We're having a great time, let's add a day to our tickets!" and have a clear answer on what that would cost?
Those who want to add a day will ask and be given a price by the CM. It might be the “right price” or the “wrong price,” but that has happened for years (sorry to say.)
 
Reporting in as promised!

Just upgraded to a Platinum AP from a 6-day MYW with hopper. MYW went at 2017 prices.

She was able to put my Memory Maker price to the AP.
 
Reporting in as promised!

Just upgraded to a Platinum AP from a 6-day MYW with hopper. MYW went at 2017 prices.

She was able to put my Memory Maker price to the AP.

Thanks!
I'll add this to my "what did the CM do" list.
 

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