The upcoming multi-day ticket tiering

I don't really see the point in getting worked up with the speculation. Just wait and see what happens when they release it. Then at that point decide whether or not you'll continue to purchase as you normally would, cut back, or not go. If anything, those who are on packages probably wouldn't know the difference at all.

I don't see it as being "worked up about it" - at least speaking for myself. As you say, it will be what it will be ... I just think it is fun to speculated and find it interesting to see what other people think and ideas they have for how it *could* be done. I guess why I like this forum
 
Maybe you will have to do like you say and if you change and it results in moving from a "low" to a "medium" you would have to pay the difference at that time or something

Can you imagine the backups at the tapstiles as the CMs with iPads now have to do ticket-change transactions before people are let into the park? You can't send everyone out of line to GR when the Mickey head goes blue.
 
Can you imagine the backups at the tapstiles as the CMs with iPads now have to do ticket-change transactions before people are let into the park? You can't send everyone out of line to GR when the Mickey head goes blue.

but wouldn't there be the same issue if people get to the front gates with the "wrong" tickets? I guess just wondering what will happen if someone has a "low" ticket and shows up on a "peak" day
 
People showing up with the wrong ticket creates problems that Disney has for years been working to eliminate. Namely, it's being people into the park quickly so we can start spending money. Tiered tickets and problems with people with the wrong ticket create bottlenecks and then sends people to guest relations with a sour taste and less likely to spend.

As an extreme hypothetical of what Disney *could* do is to charge for highest cost days that span your input visit dates. If it's not a peak/moderate day then either automatically refund the difference OR entice people to put the difference into a Disney account with a 5% bonus (and guests make charges to magic band to account, think of it like a gift card). Benefit of the latter to Disney is keeping spending at Disney. I don't this happening because upfront costs would needlessly scare away many people.

But that sounds hard. I think the easiest thing to do is to lock people into specific dates. People will have two options, either the "discounted" tiered price by locking into a specific day or the "normal" price that will be set at peak but sold like current multiday tickets with the ability to use within 14 days of first use.
 


I don't see it as being "worked up about it" - at least speaking for myself. As you say, it will be what it will be ... I just think it is fun to speculated and find it interesting to see what other people think and ideas they have for how it *could* be done. I guess why I like this forum

Speculation can be fun, especially with announced projects, refurbs, and the like. But these discussions can get off the rails real quickly. I think as guests we get worried about doing the wrong thing or getting the rug pulled out from under us. And that has happened with Disney a lot lately, especially with the parking stuff. I'm not saying this from a place of scolding or what have you, just as a reassurance mostly.
 
I'm guessing as far as how the tickets will work, it will be quite simple:

You buy the passes (any amount of days) based on the level of Value, Regular and Peak. If you buy a 5-day Value pass, you can go during the Value days only. If you purchase a Regular pass, you can go on regular and value days, or buy a 5-day Peak pass (which would allow you to go whenever you want) etc...

This would really benefit Disney since there are a very limited amount of Value days. The longest stretch in a row is 5 days (all mid-week), so, most people are going to be forced to pay for a Regular priced pass. (Ex if you go Sept 8-15, you would have to have a regular pass to cover the 8, 9, 14, 15th). But, they can still come across as "looking out" for the budget-conscious traveler, since they do offer select weeks with 4 or 5 days in a row of Value days.

I think this is what will happen. It will encourage people who don't want to worry about what days they go to just pay the peak price for all days. I bet, just like park hoppers and add-on days, you will be able to upgrade a regular or value ticket. They could sell a peak ticket that only had an expiration date, but no other dates associated with it. Since right now, peak is the most expensive. Also, I think there won't be a differentiation on the park for the ticket price. They don't do that now on multi-day tickets.
 
I think this is what will happen. It will encourage people who don't want to worry about what days they go to just pay the peak price for all days. I bet, just like park hoppers and add-on days, you will be able to upgrade a regular or value ticket. They could sell a peak ticket that only had an expiration date, but no other dates associated with it. Since right now, peak is the most expensive. Also, I think there won't be a differentiation on the park for the ticket price. They don't do that now on multi-day tickets.

We would definitely be those people who would pay the highest price during our stay for all days, just so we don't have to worry about choosing days, hopping, all of it.

Hopefully when we go we only hit the second highest level during our stay... :p
 


I think this is what will happen. It will encourage people who don't want to worry about what days they go to just pay the peak price for all days. I bet, just like park hoppers and add-on days, you will be able to upgrade a regular or value ticket. They could sell a peak ticket that only had an expiration date, but no other dates associated with it. Since right now, peak is the most expensive. Also, I think there won't be a differentiation on the park for the ticket price. They don't do that now on multi-day tickets.
Your post made me think of another option - instead of upgrading to "peak" tickets, Disney could make "peak" tickets the default option (which makes sense insofar as peak season is when the majority of people visit - that's why it's peak) - and anyone wanting "regular" or "value" tickets would have to opt out to downgrade. It would put the burden of knowing dates and choosing less flexibility on guests looking to save money. And provides Disney cover if someone has chosen to downgrade and then shows up with the wrong tickets.

There's also a psychology to it - people are generally more accepting of a higher base rate that can be lowered in a few circumstances than a lower base rate that is increased in most circumstances. (A good example of this is credit card transaction charges - which credit card companies fought to avoid the label "fee" and instead sought to make the additional 1-2% for using a credit card part of the "base" price, with buyers who use cash receiving a discount of that amount from some merchants).
 
We would definitely be those people who would pay the highest price during our stay for all days, just so we don't have to worry about choosing days, hopping, all of it.

Hopefully when we go we only hit the second highest level during our stay... :p

We would too, if we didn't already have APs. When we buy tickets, we always buy park hopper, just in case. I hate waiting at Guest Services or anywhere else to deal with ticket stuff. We usually park hop at least once or twice during a trip though. We also go at peak time, so we would probably have to pay it anyway.
 
If they go to tiered multi day tickets, I really think they're just hoping people will give up and let Disney "calculate" for them. Put your dates in the box, and we'll send you a price quote. That chart might just convince them.

The chart convinced me! LOL! Not really, however I am in the legion of guests whose finances are finite, so my trips budget is as well. If I cannot budget a total amount of my trip in advance, minus the incidentals of extra food and beverages, which are included in my "spending" money, I am going to have to make some drastic changes in how I plan. The notion of upcharging at turnstiles because I may have changed planned park days, or standing in a line tha never moves because some poor CM is trying to explain the upcharges to the family in front of me is baffling. It seems to me that Disney constantly complicates what should be a simple rise in price.
 
And also it makes things massively complicated for non-disney ticket sellers.

Not necessarily. There are two types of resellers. One type buys pre-issued tickets in bulk, and they may have more of a challenge deciding what mix of tickets to buy. But some resellers are tied into Disney’s system and issue tickets on demand, so they will just issue whatever the guest wants to buy when they want to buy it like a Disney ticket window would. The challenge for both will be making sure the customer knows what they are buying.
 
I'm guessing as far as how the tickets will work, it will be quite simple:

You buy the passes (any amount of days) based on the level of Value, Regular and Peak. If you buy a 5-day Value pass, you can go during the Value days only. If you purchase a Regular pass, you can go on regular and value days, or buy a 5-day Peak pass (which would allow you to go whenever you want) etc...

This would really benefit Disney since there are a very limited amount of Value days. The longest stretch in a row is 5 days (all mid-week), so, most people are going to be forced to pay for a Regular priced pass. (Ex if you go Sept 8-15, you would have to have a regular pass to cover the 8, 9, 14, 15th). But, they can still come across as "looking out" for the budget-conscious traveler, since they do offer select weeks with 4 or 5 days in a row of Value days.
There were two different options detailed when the surveys came out regarding tired multi-day tickets. The 1st was similar to this system. Each week of the year would be designated bronze, silver, or gold. If your visit covered both bronze and silver weeks, you'd need to purchase the silver pass to cover your visit, and so on.

The 2nd option would include having each day of the year separately priced. You'd select the days of your visit and then would be given a 10% discount on the total price. Then you could add park hopper and/or water park admissions.

I would think either system would be very confusing.

I'm glad I invested in purchasing several passes before the non-expiration option was nixed.
 
There were two different options detailed when the surveys came out regarding tired multi-day tickets. The 1st was similar to this system. Each week of the year would be designated bronze, silver, or gold. If your visit covered both bronze and silver weeks, you'd need to purchase the silver pass to cover your visit, and so on.

The 2nd option would include having each day of the year separately priced. You'd select the days of your visit and then would be given a 10% discount on the total price. Then you could add park hopper and/or water park admissions.

I would think either system would be very confusing.

I'm glad I invested in purchasing several passes before the non-expiration option was nixed.

To me, a takeaway is that in general we are finding this confusing - so unless Disney has some really clever simple plan we haven’t thought of, how is this going to appear to the average guest when general sentiment is already that a trip to WDW is complicated?
 
Is there anyone here who might have inside info on how often guests show up with the wrong one day ticket now? Not everyone who buys a one day ticket does so on the day they intend to use it. Has that been a problem at all? Just curious.
 
For me, it's pretty simple to come up with a plan B, because we're planning to go in a time considered low crowd, or value. Yes, we'll arrive on Sunday and leave Saturday, which would be regular days, BUT, if Disney thinks I'm paying regular ticket prices for 7 days, when only 2 half days will actually be spent in the park, they're sadly mistaken. :) As long as it's possible, I'll just buy 5 day tickets for M-F, and spend the Sunday we arrive at our resort (and/or checking out other resorts) and the Saturday before we leave in Disney Springs or vice-versa. And if I was planning on being in WDW on a full weekend day, I can opt to leave WDW property entirely for one day. And I think that's the last thing they want folks to do, so, hopefully they'll be thinking of those type of reactions before they implement whatever the new pricing may be.

I'm perfectly fine with simply paying ahead of time for my tickets and paying less for the value days and more for the regular, but I expect those tickets to be loaded into my magic band in such a way that it merely comes up that we have paid already. End of story. It would be crazy to make any of the changes affect the actual physical entering of the parks. You want that to go as smoothly as possible.

I'm just not going to choose to pay regular fees for value days if I can work around it. Orlando has a lot to offer. If WDW wants to give me a reason to leave on certain days, then that's up to them. ;)
 
For me, it's pretty simple to come up with a plan B, because we're planning to go in a time considered low crowd, or value. Yes, we'll arrive on Sunday and leave Saturday, which would be regular days, BUT, if Disney thinks I'm paying regular ticket prices for 7 days, when only 2 half days will actually be spent in the park, they're sadly mistaken. :) As long as it's possible, I'll just buy 5 day tickets for M-F, and spend the Sunday we arrive at our resort (and/or checking out other resorts) and the Saturday before we leave in Disney Springs or vice-versa. And if I was planning on being in WDW on a full weekend day, I can opt to leave WDW property entirely for one day. And I think that's the last thing they want folks to do, so, hopefully they'll be thinking of those type of reactions before they implement whatever the new pricing may be.

I'm perfectly fine with simply paying ahead of time for my tickets and paying less for the value days and more for the regular, but I expect those tickets to be loaded into my magic band in such a way that it merely comes up that we have paid already. End of story. It would be crazy to make any of the changes affect the actual physical entering of the parks. You want that to go as smoothly as possible.

I'm just not going to choose to pay regular fees for value days if I can work around it. Orlando has a lot to offer. If WDW wants to give me a reason to leave on certain days, then that's up to them. ;)

I'm with you DisLiss. I don't want to pay more for each day just to add a day or whatever. This is a bit ridiculous.

I think someone else mentioned this earlier, and I'm wondering if they're not right, if Disney may not switch the format with which they determine the tiers. So right now, it's a daily format, with weekends and other select days/weeks being regular, select days and weekends being peak, and then there are a few value M-F weeks throughout the year.

I'm wondering if to make it easier they might just switch to a weekly vs. daily approach: so week 1 of January (S to S) is regular, the next 3 weeks are value etc... But then, even as I'm typing it, it doesn't really seem like that would make it any easier, because unless people are traveling S to S, they're still going to end up with overlapping periods.

This makes my mind travel a bit of a detour and wonder, could we ever see a time frame when Disney only allows people to book packages etc... for 1 week stays, S to S? I've seen it done at other resorts etc...

Regardless, it's just another way that Disney is increasing the meticulous amount of planning, many feel it already requires. There will be no more just choosing to go whenever suits you (at least not for those on a tight budget).
 
I think someone else mentioned this earlier, and I'm wondering if they're not right, if Disney may not switch the format with which they determine the tiers. So right now, it's a daily format, with weekends and other select days/weeks being regular, select days and weekends being peak, and then there are a few value M-F weeks throughout the year.

I'm wondering if to make it easier they might just switch to a weekly vs. daily approach: so week 1 of January (S to S) is regular, the next 3 weeks are value etc... But then, even as I'm typing it, it doesn't really seem like that would make it any easier, because unless people are traveling S to S, they're still going to end up with overlapping periods.

This makes my mind travel a bit of a detour and wonder, could we ever see a time frame when Disney only allows people to book packages etc... for 1 week stays, S to S? I've seen it done at other resorts etc...

Regardless, it's just another way that Disney is increasing the meticulous amount of planning, many feel it already requires. There will be no more just choosing to go whenever suits you (at least not for those on a tight budget).


at the end of the day Disney will develop a structure that will result in them getting the maximum revenue. I know we are stressing over this but I suspect the average guests won't even notice if they get charged the higher amount between a few days - and those that are very budget conscious will structure their vacation to only hit the value days or whatever
 
I think someone else mentioned this earlier, and I'm wondering if they're not right, if Disney may not switch the format with which they determine the tiers. So right now, it's a daily format, with weekends and other select days/weeks being regular, select days and weekends being peak, and then there are a few value M-F weeks throughout the year.

I'm wondering if to make it easier they might just switch to a weekly vs. daily approach: so week 1 of January (S to S) is regular, the next 3 weeks are value etc... But then, even as I'm typing it, it doesn't really seem like that would make it any easier, because unless people are traveling S to S, they're still going to end up with overlapping periods.

This makes my mind travel a bit of a detour and wonder, could we ever see a time frame when Disney only allows people to book packages etc... for 1 week stays, S to S? I've seen it done at other resorts etc...

Regardless, it's just another way that Disney is increasing the meticulous amount of planning, many feel it already requires. There will be no more just choosing to go whenever suits you (at least not for those on a tight budget).

If Disney tried to restrict how people buy packages by only Saturday to Saturday (just using your example), a lot of people would just quit buying packages. We go from Wednesdays to the next Friday (10 days).

Next trip we aren't doing the dining plan, so unless there's some kind of deal with tickets/fast passes down the way, we will most likely book room only this time and buy tickets separately. :)
 
If Disney tried to restrict how people buy packages by only Saturday to Saturday (just using your example), a lot of people would just quit buying packages. We go from Wednesdays to the next Friday (10 days).

Next trip we aren't doing the dining plan, so unless there's some kind of deal with tickets/fast passes down the way, we will most likely book room only this time and buy tickets separately. :)

Plus not everyone who goes to Disney goes for a full week. I worked a job where I only had one week of vacation so I would book over a couple of holiday weekends to stretch out the time. Some people don't get vacation time at all, and just want to go over their "weekend" which may fall midweek, late week, on the actual weekend, or some combination. I think they would be sending a lot of business to the competition if they went to a strictly week long model.

FWIW, I have a similar pattern to yours, except I add an extra day on each end - I check in on Tuesday night and out the second Saturday after for 11 nights/12 days. I can't take two full weeks of vacation time, so I can't make the trip longer, and my "weekend" is Wednesday - Friday, so when I take a week off from work, my vacation days are Saturday - Tuesday with the "weekends" added on either end. I have a Fla Res AP though, and pay to NOT have blackout days, which I guess is the equivalent of paying peak for all the days on a Multi Day ticket . . .
 

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