I CANCELLED MY DISNEY TRIP

[MattFrees71]

In November 2020, I moved away from Orlando back to the Panhandle of FL. I went to Disney again at Christmas, once in March, and one more time in May of 2021 before my annual pass expired.

It was so much fun going all the time when I lived there, and I have since sorely missed it- so I have been toying with the idea of getting the FL resident deal or even another annual pass to go down occasionally- but lately many changing things have been dissuading me to do that. I recently came across this video on Youtube and it sums up perfectly many of those reasons.

I'm curious to hear your all's thoughts on this.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

If enough people cancel things will change....but I don't see that happening soon. I do wonder if sales of food etc will go down, as I feel they have really hit line with snack items. Parent will just say no way to these Mickey bars as priced. One beer instead of two...it all adds up.

 

[WondersOfLife]

It really do be like that sometimes my dude.

 

[networkpro]

I've watched it, but for me, it's a demonstration of believing that everything is static and has the same basis as pre-COVID. Everything is not equal.

 

[DfromATX]

I watch his cruise videos. He doesn't usually talk about Disney though and I was surprised when I saw it. The whole thing is disheartening. His video is just one of many that talk about it.

 

[monothingie]

Disney knows that for every one person lost, four more will take their place.

 

[mysto]

Yay!

 

[Patcheslee]

In November 2020, I moved away from Orlando back to the Panhandle of FL. I went to Disney again at Christmas, once in March, and one more time in May of 2021 before my annual pass expired.

It was so much fun going all the time when I lived there, and I have since sorely missed it- so I have been toying with the idea of getting the FL resident deal or even another annual pass to go down occasionally- but lately many changing things have been dissuading me to do that. I recently came across this video on Youtube and it sums up perfectly many of those reasons.

I'm curious to hear your all's thoughts on this.

DH shared this with me a couple hours ago. He says that pretty much sums it up in general. Course he doesn't see the vacation bill either.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Disney knows that for every one person lost, four more will take their place.

I disagree. I know this is a popular sentiment on the internet, but I'm inclined to think this is a myth. At least for the time being.

It appears to me, that WDW is following in the footsteps of other businesses that have had major problems. It appears to me, that instead of appealing to MORE customers, they have decided to raise prices. Like they know they CAN'T find enough new customers, so they instead just try to get as much $ as possible from their existing customers.

WDW's latest commercial is REALLY telling. They used to always advertise a price. Something like, "A family of 4 can enjoy a 5-night WDW vacation for as little as $1000." NOW the commercial has no price, and - get this - when advertising their hotels, the ad actually ends with, "Disney hotels...why would you stay anywhere else?" That is such a tell, IMO. Like they are saying, "DO NOT LOOK AT the price of any offsite hotels. Just book WDW without pricing any other options."

Does anyone else remember the movie Brazil? When Michael Palin says "Trust me," while standing in front of a sign that says, "Who can you trust?" The ad reminded me of that. Omitting the price while saying it is a good deal = admitting the current pricing is terrible. The ad is called, "The Fun Never Stops," and features Dumbo.

Perhaps when the pandemic eases, the situation will improve, but...well right now a large portion of the population wouldn't dream of visiting a densely crowded place like WDW, especially if they have young children. Another portion of the population won't spend money on vacations until they feel their economic stability has recovered.

 

[jloucks]

I disagree. I know this is a popular sentiment on the internet, but I'm inclined to think this is a myth. At least for the time being.

It appears to me, that WDW is following in the footsteps of other businesses that have had major problems. It appears to me, that instead of appealing to MORE customers, they have decided to raise prices. Like they know they CAN'T find enough new customers, so they instead just try to get as much $ as possible from their existing customers.

WDW's latest commercial is REALLY telling. They used to always advertise a price. Something like, "A family of 4 can enjoy a 5-night WDW vacation for as little as $1000." NOW the commercial has no price, and - get this - when advertising their hotels, the ad actually ends with, "Disney hotels...why would you stay anywhere else?" That is such a tell, IMO. Like they are saying, "DO NOT LOOK AT the price of any offsite hotels. Just book WDW without pricing any other options."

Does anyone else remember the movie Brazil? When Michael Palin says "Trust me," while standing in front of a sign that says, "Who can you trust?" The ad reminded me of that. Omitting the price while saying it is a good deal = admitting the current pricing is terrible. The ad is called, "The Fun Never Stops," and features Dumbo.

Perhaps when the pandemic eases, the situation will improve, but...well right now a large portion of the population wouldn't dream of visiting a densely crowded place like WDW, especially if they have young children. Another portion of the population won't spend money on vacations until they feel their economic stability has recovered.

I've said it before, I will say it again, Disney seems to have made the choice to attempt to control demand with price. Demand has been outstripping supply for a while now. They cannot really increase supply, so they have limited choices on what to do. Increasing price makes more economic sense than just capping attendance and keeping ticket prices stagnant.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I've said it before, I will say it again, Disney seems to have made the choice to attempt to control demand with price. Demand has been outstripping supply for a while now. They cannot really increase supply, so they have limited choices on what to do. Increasing price makes more economic sense than just capping attendance and keeping ticket prices stagnant.

I like your post, except I think WDW could increase supply without too much strain. New rides don't all have to be in the realm of Rise. Look at the popularity of Slinky and Aliens. They could also - potentially- add (or have added) a daytime show to the Epcot lagoon. People also - at least pre-pandemic- go crazy for character greets at WDW.

One area that's consistently empty mid-day is the resorts. I should think WDW could come up with a way to further spread crowds by luring people to the hotels in the middle of the day. Even something simple like a 'free' lunch deal could work.

 

[Diamond Dot]

At 8 minutes in he is spot on, Walt's vision has long disappeared.
I think UK visitors won't be so keen to go, they'll head over to DLRP, although DLRP isn't exactly cheap it is closer and you only need a couple of days there, all the resorts are within walking distance of the parks and so the buses are never crammed.
I'm no expert, but, the Star Wars hotel will end up being a financial disaster, the people who go there will see it as a one off experience and the rest of us don't want to pay the money, only if Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford themselves came to sign autographs would I want to do it.
I've said this in another post, but, the core demograph of families with children will not be able to afford to go, especially those who save for a couple of years, they will think they've got enough to book and bingo! They need to save a bit more.
The only thing that will get the message to Chapek and co is if the vloggers did what this guy did because they are the ones with any real influence, that's why they get the freebies and invites, for all the free publicity. If these people sat at home and called out Disney the way this guy did and stopped going then maybe the message would get through, but, you've got more chance of The Mets winning the Super Bowl (yes I know The Mets play baseball) than any vlogger doing that, so then we should stop watching the vloggers having fun while we can't afford it, unsubscribe from their channels. Isn't watching these videos of them prancing around chowing down on expensive food and buying expensive merch from what they get from their monetized channels a wee bit gut churning while families are having to explain their kids that the planned trip isn't going to happen becayse disney raised their prices again.

I'll be honest, if I didn't have the extras that VH and WDTC gave me for my two trips I booked for this year then I would not be going. That $704 of freebies really offsets the costs especially as the same dates are now more without that $704 to sweeten it a bit. I was planning a trip for my 60th birthday next year, but, I could end up going to Tokyo instead.

 

[Goofyernmost]

At 8 minutes in he is spot on, Walt's vision has long disappeared.
I think UK visitors won't be so keen to go, they'll head over to DLRP, although DLRP isn't exactly cheap it is closer and you only need a couple of days there, all the resorts are within walking distance of the parks and so the buses are never crammed.
I'm no expert, but, the Star Wars hotel will end up being a financial disaster, the people who go there will see it as a one off experience and the rest of us don't want to pay the money, only if Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford themselves came to sign autographs would I want to do it.
I've said this in another post, but, the core demograph of families with children will not be able to afford to go, especially those who save for a couple of years, they will think they've got enough to book and bingo! They need to save a bit more.
The only thing that will get the message to Chapek and co is if the vloggers did what this guy did because they are the ones with any real influence, that's why they get the freebies and invites, for all the free publicity. If these people sat at home and called out Disney the way this guy did and stopped going then maybe the message would get through, but, you've got more chance of The Mets winning the Super Bowl (yes I know The Mets play baseball) than any vlogger doing that, so then we should stop watching the vloggers having fun while we can't afford it, unsubscribe from their channels. Isn't watching these videos of them prancing around chowing down on expensive food and buying expensive merch from what they get from their monetized channels a wee bit gut churning while families are having to explain their kids that the planned trip isn't going to happen becayse disney raised their prices again.

I'll be honest, if I didn't have the extras that VH and WDTC gave me for my two trips I booked for this year then I would not be going. That $704 of freebies really offsets the costs especially as the same dates are now more without that $704 to sweeten it a bit. I was planning a trip for my 60th birthday next year, but, I could end up going to Tokyo instead.

No, the hotel targets the die hard Star Wars fanatics which is a large group but not so much WDW fans. They think of the rest of WDW to be kiddie parks. Not the mature folks that represent SW.

 

[Diamond Dot]

No, the hotel targets the die hard Star Wars fanatics which is a large group but not so much WDW fans. They think of the rest of WDW to be kiddie parks. Not the mature folks that represent SW.

I'm a die hard Star Wars fan from the very beginning, I wouldn't describe myself as a fanatic that has to have every piece of merch as soon as it's released, although I did plan my 2019 trip to be able to do both coast's GE in the same trip, not enough of one to pay those $$$ for a 2 night hotel stay. I could transform my whole house into a Star Wars themed place for that kind of money. There will be Star Wars fanatics who will pay for it, but, I can guarantee you the guests will be mainly celebs getting a free stay in exchange for lots of publicity photos for social media, Warwick Davies will be one of the first to do this, then the vloggers who will get it hugely discounted in exchange for a positive review on their platforms, you will get wealthier people doing it because they can. As for the Star Wars fanatics, you may get a couple doing it, but, most will wait until it is cheaper because even they know this is exhorbitant.

 

[csmat99]

This person hit it out of the park. Especially his last line. Disney just didn't get it. They have put themselves in a corner that they won't be able to get themselves out of when things change and they will. I thought I would never say this but I really do wish they would sell off the parks.

 

[MissingDisney]

At 8 minutes in he is spot on, Walt's vision has long disappeared.
I think UK visitors won't be so keen to go, they'll head over to DLRP, although DLRP isn't exactly cheap it is closer and you only need a couple of days there, all the resorts are within walking distance of the parks and so the buses are never crammed.
I'm no expert, but, the Star Wars hotel will end up being a financial disaster, the people who go there will see it as a one off experience and the rest of us don't want to pay the money, only if Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford themselves came to sign autographs would I want to do it.
I've said this in another post, but, the core demograph of families with children will not be able to afford to go, especially those who save for a couple of years, they will think they've got enough to book and bingo! They need to save a bit more.
The only thing that will get the message to Chapek and co is if the vloggers did what this guy did because they are the ones with any real influence, that's why they get the freebies and invites, for all the free publicity. If these people sat at home and called out Disney the way this guy did and stopped going then maybe the message would get through, but, you've got more chance of The Mets winning the Super Bowl (yes I know The Mets play baseball) than any vlogger doing that, so then we should stop watching the vloggers having fun while we can't afford it, unsubscribe from their channels. Isn't watching these videos of them prancing around chowing down on expensive food and buying expensive merch from what they get from their monetized channels a wee bit gut churning while families are having to explain their kids that the planned trip isn't going to happen becayse disney raised their prices again.

I'll be honest, if I didn't have the extras that VH and WDTC gave me for my two trips I booked for this year then I would not be going. That $704 of freebies really offsets the costs especially as the same dates are now more without that $704 to sweeten it a bit. I was planning a trip for my 60th birthday next year, but, I could end up going to Tokyo instead.

Wait…you have 2 trips from across the pond booked for this year and $700 makes the difference to you?

 

[Diamond Dot]

Wait…you have 2 trips from across the pond booked for this year and $700 makes the difference to you?

$1400, $700 for each trip.

 

[Sbk1234]

Right now Disney is not able to operate at full capacity. It will be interesting to see if the higher prices will make any noticable difference when they are able to literally fill up each park to max capacity to pre-Covid numbers. Will there still be enough people willing to fill up the park to those same numbers as before the pandemic? I don't know. Maybe it won't make any difference.

 

[monothingie]

It appears to me, that WDW is following in the footsteps of other businesses that have had major problems. It appears to me, that instead of appealing to MORE customers, they have decided to raise prices. Like they know they CAN'T find enough new customers, so they instead just try to get as much $ as possible from their existing customers.

This is factually wrong. TWDC has made it quite clear that their only interest is in high margin guests. They are not looking to broaden there customer base, in fact to the contrary they are using price to narrow their guests to only the most profitable under the guise of controlling capacity. (LOL). There’s a reason why the value resorts were/are the last to open. There’s a reason why the upcharge parties deliver less and cost so much much more, How about those APs, pricing out the least profitable guests…. Yes Disney may throw a bone every now and then to some groups, but is 25% off a $1000 rack rate room that’s no better than the local Marriott really showing that they want to broaden their customer base?

 

[AdventureHasAName]

I've said it before, I will say it again, Disney seems to have made the choice to attempt to control demand with price. Demand has been outstripping supply for a while now. They cannot really increase supply, so they have limited choices on what to do. Increasing price makes more economic sense than just capping attendance and keeping ticket prices stagnant.

I'd like to respectfully disagree with something you said here. Disney absolutely can increase supply. They can build more parks. They can build more attractions inside the parks (without replacing old ones). They can keep parks open longer and they can increase staffing inside the parks. They choose not to.

Instead, they have focused on building hotels (allowing for increased demand on the parks), they have shortened hours, and when they build a new attraction, they commonly replace and remove an old one. Their maintenance on older attractions has also completely fell off.