Disney on Friday announced a whole range of new ticket prices that take effect Sunday. The price changes also affect the discount packages that still can push the per-day cost below $23 for adults who want to commit to as much as a 10-day run at Disney's four theme parks.
But almost all the prices are going up. And for the second year in a row, Disney is raising its prices in August rather than in December or January, when theme parks historically announced price increases.
It doesn't affect us that much, since we buy annual passes AND we get the DVC renewal discounts (although I would imagine that they would raise that as well). Still, what would be the rational reason for doing such a thing especially when the theme parks are doing very well?
[scratching head]
Zz.
1 comment:
There are two main reasons Disney raises ticket prices. First is perceived value. Perversely, Disney believes that just raising the price of daily admission makes a Disney vacation a more treasured experience. If they don't keep their prices ahead of similar entertainment (Other theme parks like SeaWorld and Universal, but also concert and sports tickets, movie tickets, etc), then they're afraid the public will see Disney as less of a value and stop coming.
The second reason is capacity. These last few years, and especially last year, the theme parks, while never at "close the gates" capacity, were busier than ever on average. They haven't increased the capacity of the parks by adding new attractions, shows, or parades. If the supply side is unchanged, then something on the demand side must change. Usually that's the price. The other option would be to sell dated tickets. I don't see that idea going over very well with the locals.
At some point this game will end. Disney will raise ticket price above the general perceived value of a day's entertainment. Fewer people will buy tickets. Hopefully Disney will realize this early on before they price themselves out of the market. For now, remember that if you buy a 9-12 day ticket with the non-expiring option you're still saving quite a bit over the price of tickets as long as 10 years ago.
Of course the other option is... they invest some of those profits you mentioned and actually increase capacity (new attractions, a fifth gate, etc...). Sure they won't be able to raise prices as often, but they'll get more bodies through the gates and into beds and will make it up in volume, as they say.
-John
www.thedisneyblog.com
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