Strollers are Outsourced by Disney?

[WaltD4Me]

I read this on another thread on the Theme Parks board. The poster is a long time DIS member and lives in Orlando and is often in the parks.

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I heard a little bit about what has happened. It turns out that the strollers at WDW are actually owned and rented by an outside vendor. They decided to raise the prices. Of course, that doesn't excuse Disney. Ultimately, it is all under Disney's control and they will be the ones to pay the price if people get fed up enough. Disney is out sourcing more and more though.
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I can't believe this could be true could it? I'm sure if Disney could have passed the buck and blamed it on someone else they would have. Instead of saying "We haven't raised the price of stroller rentals in 3 years."

 

[doconeill]

I would think that in the outsourcing contract there would be limitations on how price increases can occur, by home much, etc.

Disney would still have had to agree to the increase.

I really don't think any sort of operational costs can justify the prices that are being charged now. Even being fairly liberal about how much each of the strollers cost the strollers would have paid for themselves in less than a month. Repair/replacement should be a very small fraction of the total number of strollers. Operational costs would include that (again, a replacement would pay for itself in less than a month, repairs should always be less than that), general maintenance (cleaning), and payroll (rental attendants, post-close collectors).

I don't know how many strollers are regularly rented at each park, but if I guess maybe 500, which seems reasonable, even at $10 thats $5000 a DAY.

I've got to believe that the strollers are a major profit center at the old price. I think there are other reasons for this increase.

 

[firemanx]

If this is true it could be Disney's way of forcing them out. Jack up the price for rental space. They need to charge more for strollers to offset the cost. People start using there own strollers. The rental company has to withdrawl form the parks. WDW takes back over the strollers, and makes more money then they did from the rent. This could be one scenerio, but i thaught i overheard someone say that they use College Program employees to work the stroller/ecv counter.

 

[EltonJohn]

1. Who is his source?
2. Many have mentioned the Disney reason ("We haven't raised . . ."), but can anyone provide a source for that statement?

TIA

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

Here ya go!

From MousePlanet:

Stroller, ECV prices take a giant leap upward​

Rental prices for strollers and Electronic Convenience Vehicles (ECVs) jumped yesterday. Single strollers are up 50 percent from $10 per day to $15 per day, while double strollers are up a whopping 72 percent, from $18 to $31. ECVs are up from $35 to $45, though the deposit is up from $5 to $20. "Length-of-stay" stroller rentals are also up similarly, with singles increasing from $8 to $13 per day and doubles up from $16 to $27. These price hikes seem steep (and they are!), but bear in mind that there has been no increase in these fees for three years.

"As you know, from time to time we make adjustments to our pricing structures. As of Sunday, April 6th, we [have increased] the cost of the stroller rentals and the Electronic Convenience Vehicles (ECV), which haven't had a price increase in three years," Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez told MousePlanet. "We provide this rental service as a convenience to our guests, but they are certainly welcome to bring their own personal stroller or ECV when visiting the Disney Theme Parks and Downtown Disney area."

MousePlanet readers are not thrilled with the increase. "I have rented a car cheaper than $31/day. We are bringing our own stroller," wrote reader Kevin Sommer. MousePad member Bobcat wrote, "That type of increase is pretty outrageous!"

 

[dizneedoll]

There has been no mention if Disneyland is also going to follow suit and increase thier prices as well. I know the single stroller is currently $10/dy and I believe the double was also the same as WDW's had been at $18. Has anyone heard anything about DL and price increases?? They'd do well to just leave it alone!!

 

[EltonJohn]

I went to DL last month. All I can say is that I really hope DL follows suit-that park is way too congested, and mid-March wasn't even crowded!

 

[drakethib]

Truth be known, the old price of $18.00 per day was a rip off.

 

[JB2K]

I read this on another thread on the Theme Parks board. The poster is a long time DIS member and lives in Orlando and is often in the parks.

=====================================================
I heard a little bit about what has happened. It turns out that the strollers at WDW are actually owned and rented by an outside vendor. They decided to raise the prices. Of course, that doesn't excuse Disney. Ultimately, it is all under Disney's control and they will be the ones to pay the price if people get fed up enough. Disney is out sourcing more and more though.
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That said, what is Nestlé Nutrition's role in all this?

If anyone has ever paid close attention to the stroller rentals/baby care centers on WDW, Nestlé Good Start (their U.S. brand of baby formula) is the sponsor.

 

[loonytoony]

Here ya go!

zoraya.suarez@ disney.com

 

[disney-super-mom]

There has been no mention if Disneyland is also going to follow suit and increase thier prices as well. I know the single stroller is currently $10/dy and I believe the double was also the same as WDW's had been at $18. Has anyone heard anything about DL and price increases?? They'd do well to just leave it alone!!

Disneyland doesn't rent double strollers.