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Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

p. 393 - Pixar Place Hotel transformation will be completed on January 30th, 2024!

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Yeah, a lot of AP holders have gotten really entitled and are freaking out about this. If I had a dollar for every time I saw or heard the phrase "what Walt would have wanted" today, well....I'd have enough money to renew my Disneyland pass.

 

Having experienced first hand how insanely crowded the parks have become every single day, I don't blame them for charging more to hopefully improve the guest experience. It is unfortunate that they have to use those methods rather than expand, but that's clearly the position they're in.

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The only beef I have with them is the fact that now the first and second tier AP are both more expensive than the top tier WDW AP, which on its face seems ridiculous, but it's just another example of how living in SoCal is vastly more expensive than Orlando, FL.

 

In addition to the cost of living being higher in SoCal than in Orlando, they also have a much larger population. You have to price it high enough so that you don't have millions of people within 3 hours of the park coming in every weekend.

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I've been a pass holder for over 10 years and next year I'm not renewing and here's why...

 

I get that annual increases happen, however this is the 2nd time in a calendar year they are doing it, and it's not just the usual incremental increases. They are specifically trying to address the problem of overcrowding that they as a company have let go on and on. Now that major construction is happening in the park for Star Wars land, they basically are trying to thin the herd by these new changes. They have even come right out and said that. Revenue from annual passes far exceeds what the park brings in from visitors and out of town guests. Disneyland is a locals park. That's where the difference between Anaheim and Kissimmee come in. I'd bet most of the guests at WDW are not pass holders, but look back at Disneyland's first 24 hour day. Almost 80% of visitors that day were annual pass holders, and Disneyland set record attendance that day. This was the first real sign there were problems. The decision made was to eliminate the so cal passes, and basically force people to buy the Deluxe or higher. So Cal Select is pretty much useless anyway!

 

I honestly don't understand the decision to eliminate Premiums, if anything I for sure thought the next step would either be to eliminate So Cal for good (can still currently renew) or eliminate monthly payments. And here is where they have clearly showed their intentions...

 

I may be wrong but I believe the cost of Premium before the latest increase was $779, and was $699 when the last annual increase went through. So in other words they basically raised the price of Premium $150 over the course of a year and now added 2 weeks of blocked out days during the Christmas holiday. If you want to have that same priviledge it equates to a $270 increase in price over a year!!

 

I understand that Disneyland and Disney is a business, but they are going about this problem completely the wrong way. Why would any loyal Disney pass holders want to pay this much more, in a time when the park is closing down attractions, not opening new ones?

 

As I mentioned before, eliminating the monthly payment option would all but solve the crowd problem, but then Disneyland doesn't have that steady stream of incoming money from pass holders whether they are using their pass or not, and now they are looking at it as "well they are only having to pay another 20-30/month. I'm sure most people will still do that" You tell me how that's not greed, and it's just business...

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In addition to the cost of living being higher in SoCal than in Orlando, they also have a much larger population. You have to price it high enough so that you don't have millions of people within 3 hours of the park coming in every weekend.

 

This is also true, and I addressed that point on my socials yesterday when the news broke, but somehow seemingly none of these millions of people understands this.

 

My social feeds are all cluttered with people who think they're entitled to go every weekend for pennies, and if Disney doesn't price it this way, Disney's a bunch of greedheads who hate families and make it so Cinderella can't go to the ball.

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I understand that Disneyland and Disney is a business, but they are going about this problem completely the wrong way. Why would any loyal Disney pass holders want to pay this much more, in a time when the park is closing down attractions, not opening new ones?

 

Because the majority of those "loyal" pass holders take up space at the park and don't spend money. Disney would be very much OK with less people in the park spending more money vs. a full park of people just hanging out and maybe buying a meal. Disneyland is a tourist destination, not a local hang out.

 

The reality is the pricing increase gets the pass to a point where it accurately reflects its value: if you visit regularly, you are still getting a great value given the ticket and parking prices. If you don't? You don't NEED no blackouts anyways.

 

As I mentioned before, eliminating the monthly payment option would all but solve the crowd problem, but then Disneyland doesn't have that steady stream of incoming money from pass holders whether they are using their pass or not, and now they are looking at it as "well they are only having to pay another 20-30/month. I'm sure most people will still do that" You tell me how that's not greed, and it's just business...

 

I'll tell you why it is business: whether someone pays for a pass all at once or does the monthly payment option, from an accounting point of view it's all noted the same. Even though Disney may collect all the money at once, the revenue that they can count as revenue on their balance sheet is spread evenly throughout the year....

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They have even come right out and said that. Revenue from annual passes far exceeds what the park brings in from visitors and out of town guests. Disneyland is a locals park.

 

I highly doubt this, please provide a documented source.

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I've been a pass holder for over 10 years and next year I'm not renewing and here's why...

 

::blah blah Californian jibber-jabber::

 

Two things -

 

1 - Good, you're one less person in my way when I visit from Vegas.

2 - Knott's is only $80-ish for the year. It's plenty of fun.

 

Now shush. I've got to drive ~4 hours to get to a decent park. You don't.

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I find it funny how people who pay for the Premium pass say they aren't going to renew, instead of just dropping down to the Deluxe pass, as if its all or nothing. If having 50 less days to go (during peak times when I wouldn't even want to go anyway because of the crowds!) during a year is such a travesty, good riddance, you're probably not fun to hang out with anyways! That's what the park wants anyways, to ease the crowds. Seriously, it's not the end of the world to save a couple hundred dollars to spend somewhere else...

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I understand that Disneyland and Disney is a business, but they are going about this problem completely the wrong way. Why would any loyal Disney pass holders want to pay this much more, in a time when the park is closing down attractions, not opening new ones?

 

Because the majority of those "loyal" pass holders take up space at the park and don't spend money. Disney would be very much OK with less people in the park spending more money vs. a full park of people just hanging out and maybe buying a meal. Disneyland is a tourist destination, not a local hang out.

 

The reality is the pricing increase gets the pass to a point where it accurately reflects its value: if you visit regularly, you are still getting a great value given the ticket and parking prices. If you don't? You don't NEED no blackouts anyways.

 

As I mentioned before, eliminating the monthly payment option would all but solve the crowd problem, but then Disneyland doesn't have that steady stream of incoming money from pass holders whether they are using their pass or not, and now they are looking at it as "well they are only having to pay another 20-30/month. I'm sure most people will still do that" You tell me how that's not greed, and it's just business...

 

I'll tell you why it is business: whether someone pays for a pass all at once or does the monthly payment option, from an accounting point of view it's all noted the same. Even though Disney may collect all the money at once, the revenue that they can count as revenue on their balance sheet is spread evenly throughout the year....

 

I completely agree most pass holders do nothing but take up space at the park, I don't argue that at all, but yes Disneyland is a locals park. What other theme parks do you know of that are LEAST crowded on Saturdays. I don't have any reports to back that up, but I know for the last couple summers when I've been on Saturdays during the busiest summer months (June,July) Saturday is by far the least busiest day of the week. Why? Because the only people that can go are regular ticket holders or Premium pass holders. Pick any other day, especially Fridays/Sundays when Deluxe and So Cals are valid and the park is a nightmare. So yeah it is a locals hangout.

 

If from an accounting standpoint it makes no difference whether payments are spread out or paid in full since the price is the same, then why not just get rid of monthly payments? They have them so people will continue buying passes in droves, which doesn't solve the problem. They do it so people that otherwise would be priced out of owning an annual pass can afford it, which still brings in more $$ rather then realizing they have a problem and just cutting out the monthly option. So now it's lets just charge more money so we can keep bringing in the same amount of money with an acceptable loss with current pass holders who decide not to renew. From a business standpoint, it's a genius plan. But it's still not right

 

To yours and many others points, yes, I agree the cost of even the highest pass does make it "worth" it if you go at least once a month, but that's fine, if you all just want to look at it that way. In the past I've never gotten worked up over the price increases but this time, they have gone too far. Again the last $150 increase in Premiums came in 2012 when Cars Land opened. I get that, but to raise prices this much in a time when we aren't gaining any attractions but actually losing them, doesn't seem justified.

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I've been a pass holder for over 10 years and next year I'm not renewing and here's why...

 

::blah blah Californian jibber-jabber::

 

Two things -

 

1 - Good, you're one less person in my way when I visit from Vegas.

2 - Knott's is only $80-ish for the year. It's plenty of fun.

 

Now shush. I've got to drive ~4 hours to get to a decent park. You don't.

 

 

Are you a pass holder? If not then you should "shush" as this doesn't really concern you does it? The minute you are shelling out over $700/year to go to Disneyland you can kindly contribute to the conversation

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I find it funny how people who pay for the Premium pass say they aren't going to renew, instead of just dropping down to the Deluxe pass, as if its all or nothing. If having 50 less days to go (during peak times when I wouldn't even want to go anyway because of the crowds!) during a year is such a travesty, good riddance, you're probably not fun to hang out with anyways! That's what the park wants anyways, to ease the crowds. Seriously, it's not the end of the world to save a couple hundred dollars to spend somewhere else...

 

You miss the point. Yes I'm well aware there are lower tier passes available that I could downgrade to. The problem is the crowds are so unbearable on the days the lower tier passes are able to be used, that I wouldn't want to go to the park those days. Those of you on here that aren't frequent visitors don't understand that. Again, those days are the real problem for the park, not the Saturdays that Premium passes are good for.

 

I do get that Christmas season is insane so the decision to create the Signature Plus pass and have it come at a $200 surcharge for those 2 weeks makes somewhat of sense, but to eliminate the Premium, replace it with a fancier sounding Signature pass of which the only new benefit being free photopass (which doesn't really cost the park anything to begin with, and quite frankly unless you had a family with kids, and let's be honest, how many of Premium pass holders do you think have premiums for their kids as well, doesn't really add much value) and add blackout dates for more money....yeah makes total sense.

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I've been a pass holder for over 10 years and next year I'm not renewing and here's why...

 

::blah blah Californian jibber-jabber::

 

Two things -

 

1 - Good, you're one less person in my way when I visit from Vegas.

2 - Knott's is only $80-ish for the year. It's plenty of fun.

 

Now shush. I've got to drive ~4 hours to get to a decent park. You don't.

 

 

Are you a pass holder? If not then you should "shush" as this doesn't really concern you does it? The minute you are shelling out over $700/year to go to Disneyland you can kindly contribute to the conversation

 

I'll throw my Premium AP hat in the ring. It's still a bargain no matter which way you slice it. The typical knee jerk reaction from AP holders like yourself is to bitch and cry with made up facts. Here are some facts to put things in perspective: A 1 day park hopper is $155, that brings a year's worth of admissions to both parks to $56,575. The Signature Passport Plus is $1049 for 365 days of admission and comes with parking, 15% off dining, 20% off merch, photopass, various pass holder events and discounts on hotel stays if you choose to use them. IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THEM. I racked up 71 visits on my last AP before I renewed last week. That's $11,005 worth of daily admissions. Is it worth it? Looks like it to me. Also, DISNEY DOESN'T OWE YOU ANYTHING. They don't have to offer anything further than a daily price of admission, but they do.

 

Here is one of the best examples I've come across the interwebz. Sorry, not sorry if the common sense hurts ya.

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Are you a pass holder? If not then you should "shush" as this doesn't really concern you does it? The minute you are shelling out over $700/year to go to Disneyland you can kindly contribute to the conversation

 

Since by your standards I'm qualified, I'll ask you to shush. In fact, I'll encourage you to STOP. This is EXACTLY the kind of whiny entitled attitude that gives Californians like me a bad name. Disney doesn't owe you a darn thing besides letting you through the turnstiles for 12 months. If you don't want to pay what Disney's asking you to pay in return for the product they deliver, don't go. Real simple.

 

And with that attitude, nobody will miss you.

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An upper deck ticket for a Clippers game is usually around $60-70, and a lower deck seat is usually around, get this, $200-300!! For one 3 hour basketball game. And parking is between $15-25. I have no idea how expensive season tickets are but without knowing I still feel confident saying it's way more than I can afford or be willing to pay. But it doesn't matter because they will probably sell out anyway.

 

You can't beat the ole supply and demand curve. Disney is probably under priced as well I was watching an interview with Bob Iger and he said they are not priced to elasticity.

Edited by the_man
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Are you a pass holder? If not then you should "shush" as this doesn't really concern you does it? The minute you are shelling out over $700/year to go to Disneyland you can kindly contribute to the conversation

 

Since by your standards I'm qualified, I'll ask you to shush. In fact, I'll encourage you to STOP. This is EXACTLY the kind of whiny entitled attitude that gives Californians like me a bad name. Disney doesn't owe you a darn thing besides letting you through the turnstiles for 12 months. If you don't want to pay what Disney's asking you to pay in return for the product they deliver, don't go. Real simple.

 

And with that attitude, nobody will miss you.

 

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Clearly none of you get my point.

 

I don't expect anything from Disneyland. I'm not one of those idiots all over social media calling for a boycott of Disneyland or one of those "Walt would be rolling in his grave" people. I'm glad you all just feel comfortable handing over your hard earned money to Disney, without a second thought.

 

Shame on me for actually looking into it a little futher, and comparing what has happened in the past. Clearly I have no idea what I'm talking about though, so there is no sense in fighting with any of you anymore. Though to be perfectly honest, I actually know a couple of you personally, but all you see is some whiny CA Pass-hole...

 

so be it

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Clearly none of you get my point.

 

I get it. A lot of people believe that obtaining entry to Disney theme parks is a meritocracy, and as such, you earned it and they're now threatening to take it away from you. Aside from the obvious fact that it establishes an entitled attitude, digging deeper, it also suggests that for those most upset (and likely also affected) by the price increases are upset at the idea that they are like all the "bad element"/"unruly guest"/other code words who they once could take solace in having a retreat away from.

 

Sorry charlie: If you can't afford the increase or don't want to pay it, you might have to play with everyone in a different pool. If you can't find anything to be happy about in that other pool, then maybe you need to look in the mirror about who and what you are.

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Sorry charlie: If you can't afford the increase or don't want to pay it, you might have to play with everyone in a different pool. If you can't find anything to be happy about in that other pool, then maybe you need to look in the mirror about who and what you are.

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If from an accounting standpoint it makes no difference whether payments are spread out or paid in full since the price is the same, then why not just get rid of monthly payments? They have them so people will continue buying passes in droves, which doesn't solve the problem. They do it so people that otherwise would be priced out of owning an annual pass can afford it, which still brings in more $$ rather then realizing they have a problem and just cutting out the monthly option. So now it's lets just charge more money so we can keep bringing in the same amount of money with an acceptable loss with current pass holders who decide not to renew. From a business standpoint, it's a genius plan. But it's still not right

 

Let me get this straight: you are complaining Disney is wrong for making YOUR pass more expensive and it's just pure corporate greed because YOU could afford to pay all at once at the old price and now either can't afford that anymore or don't want to pay more because you feel entitled, but it's also completely unacceptable they'd create the monthly payment plan so an annual pass is actually affordable to more people?

 

I'm also going to assume that Disney employs a bunch of really smart people who have crunched all the data and probably realized that people on the monthly payment plans actually spend MORE money in the park than those who feel like they are entitled to everything because they paid all at once....

 

Are you a pass holder? If not then you should "shush" as this doesn't really concern you does it? The minute you are shelling out over $700/year to go to Disneyland you can kindly contribute to the conversation

 

You do realize that there are millions of people each year who spend more than $700 in a single day on Disney property, right?

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You do realize that there are millions of people each year who spend more than $700 in a single day on Disney property, right?

Self-entitled obnoxious people don't realize anything other than what THEY feel they are entitled to!

Edited by robbalvey
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It's kind of interesting what's going on at WDW and DL, every year they raise prices and every year attendance keeps increasing. I can't really think of an example where a well established brand has done that and sustained it over a long period of time. Maybe the iPhone but that's still a relativley new product in the market.

 

Has DL ever been rumored to intorduce the tierd pricing for daily admission like was mentioned for Oraldno a few years ago? I rememebr eharing that WDW may start charging more for days in the busy season and less for days when it is historically slower, which sounds like a great option to me.

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Has DL ever been rumored to introduce the tiered pricing for daily admission like was mentioned for Orlando a few years ago? I remember hearing that WDW may start charging more for days in the busy season and less for days when it is historically slower, which sounds like a great option to me.

I don't know why the parks haven't introduced dynamic pricing based on peak or non-peak seasons. Almost every other business does it. Just look at hotels or airline tickets. IMO, parks SHOULD be doing this, too!

Edited by robbalvey
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I'll throw my Premium AP hat in the ring. It's still a bargain no matter which way you slice it. The typical knee jerk reaction from AP holders like yourself is to bitch and cry with made up facts. Here are some facts to put things in perspective: A 1 day park hopper is $155, that brings a year's worth of admissions to both parks to $56,575. The Signature Passport Plus is $1049 for 365 days of admission and comes with parking, 15% off dining, 20% off merch, photopass, various pass holder events and discounts on hotel stays if you choose to use them. IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THEM. I racked up 71 visits on my last AP before I renewed last week. That's $11,005 worth of daily admissions. Is it worth it? Looks like it to me. Also, DISNEY DOESN'T OWE YOU ANYTHING. They don't have to offer anything further than a daily price of admission, but they do.

Quoting this because it's 100% factually correct. No opinions here at all, Just the facts, ma'am.

 

People who want to complain about the price hike, please, I beg you, DON'T GO TO THE PARKS! The last thing I want standing in line next to me at any Disney park is someone who is going to be bitchy and complain about stuff. And we all have had that person behind them in line. IMO, if the parks can weed out some of these people, that's s WIN for the park and a WIN for the guests.

 

I'm all for the higher prices just to get rid of some of these people.

 

EDIT: Quoting this too because it's spot on...

 

Sorry charlie: If you can't afford the increase or don't want to pay it, you might have to play with everyone in a different pool. If you can't find anything to be happy about in that other pool, then maybe you need to look in the mirror about who and what you are.

 

100% agree! It would seem to me the basis of the complaints are due to not being able to afford the *most expensive* pass, but perhaps the lesson here is to make better or different life choices so you can afford stuff you want? No one is forcing anyone to get the most expensive pass and I refuse to believe that people cannot work around the block out dates for the least expensive pass.

 

What frustrates me is that, in most cases, the monthly payment for either a Disneyland or WDW pass is probably less than someone would spend on a nice dinner somewhere. Let's put this into perspective here... An average dinner at a place like Outback Steakhouse will run you about $45 for an app, entree, dessert, and a beer. That's about the same amount as one month of going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World.

 

Can someone please explain to me how a month of theme parks is NOT a better deal than one meal?

 

You can't.

 

And this is what I mean when i say "make better or different choices."

 

Clearly none of you get my point.

No, we all get it. We also get that you're a self-entitled stereotypical obnoxious Southern Californian. I moved out of the state to get away from people like you.

Edited by robbalvey
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