Originally Posted by spk7951 (Post 685714)

From 1999 to 2004 my wife & I owned a vacation home very close to Disney that we rented out. Rental homes near Disney can be a better alternative to Disney hotels. We had a few times where potential renters would call and want to rent but complain that Disney prices were high for their family and asked us to lower our rent. Our answer was always the same "Please check with Disney and see if they will lower their prices and then we will".

Originally Posted by gocubsgo (Post 685704)

Since we have lived down here (5 years now) we have been to Disney once. For just the 2 of us to walk through the gates (not to mention parking!), get a Hopper and buy meals, I believe we spent upwards of $400 just for a day!! I'm not talking gourmet food either. Burgers,fries and a couple of drinks came to over $35. I don't know how families can afford to stay in a hotel and do the theme parks for a week with 4 kids. They must have to save up for years.

Originally Posted by DougB (Post 685703)

I agree with you Gary. You get what you pay for and if you want quality you gotta pay for it. However, standing in lines for 2 hours is not my idea of fun or a good value.

Originally Posted by skyguy79 (Post 685668)

I believe that anyone that has taken Economics in college would recognize the comment Dr. Boogie said about supply & demand as one of the laws of economics and how especially in this case the prices are influenced to be as high as they are. I'm thinking that there is a lesser factor that could also affect the price. That put simply is demand satisfaction. If the prices were more economical, would the demand skyrocket way beyond Disney's ability to satisfy that demand? Probably not a provable idea, but it is a thought to ponder!

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 685729)

Are you aware that you can buy a Florida Resident Weekday Season Pass for $211. I does have most of June, all of July and much of August blacked out, but if you go three times, you are way ahead of the game.
Why get a Park Hopper? I can't imagine seeing everything in any one of the parks in one day. Plus the time that you will spend going from one park to another is wasted.
Food prices are absurd but it's no different than a sporting event. We went to a Rays game and a 12 ounce beer is $10.00. If I recall correctly, hot dogs were
$8.00.
We bought the weekend passes and have gone three times so far. We will go about once a month beginning in August. If we go ten times, that will be about $21 for each visit. Add in $14.00 for parking. (and there is a way to get around this if you want to go through the trouble) and about $40.00 for food and it less than $100 for the two of us to go to Disney for a day.
We also plan to go and stay over night at a hotel down there. That will eliminate the parking fee.

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 685736)

I think that the demand has already gotten to the point where they have difficulty satisfying it. As Doug said, a lot of people are very disenchanted with waiting in line for hours for a 90 second ride.
They have got to be thinking about having less people in the park while maintaining there current income.

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 685652)

No matter what the price there will always be families that can't afford to bring their kids there.
Millions of people come from all over the world to experience these parks. The price doesn't seem to be driving anyone away. It's, like everything in business, simple supply and demand. If the price was too high, people would stop coming. As long as the parks fill up, the prices will increase.

The other thing is that there seems to be thousands of discount programs available. It seems that every time share operation gives out Disney tickets. I'm sure they are not paying full price. If you stay in the resorts you get a reduced price. Florida residents have numerous options to pay very low prices to vist the parks. The entrance fees are also bundled into vacation "packages" which I assume that most people visiting from out of state are buying. If you vist more than one park over a few days the price is reduced. I have to wonder how many people actually pay the $95.00 advertised price. It may be a case of marking it up so that they can offer discounts.

I also wonder what the cost is of running and maintaining these parks. They are always beautiful and clean. There seems to be constant expansion going on. Operating costs must be huge. I wouldn't want to see the quality reduced.

What was the cost of the parks when they first opened and what is the cost today adjusted for inflation? Also what are you getting today in terms of technology and experiences that you weren't getting 25 years ago.

People will always complain about prices, but we need to look at all of the factors when it comes to setting a price.

And, Disney made the Orlando area what it is today. The other parks and attractions wouldn't exist today if not for Walt's vision, Orlando would be the sleepy little horse town it was before The Magic Kingdom opened. When people hear the name Orlando, they immediately think Disney World. They are the biggest, and most famous park in the world. They should have the highest prices compared to other parks in the area. If it wasn't for Disney, Universal wouldn't exist. Or it might exist in Los Angeles.

Originally Posted by skyguy79 (Post 685822)

You are absolutely correct, but IMHO there are only two effective solutions that can substantially help fix the problem. Raise prices to reduce demand or expand further to help meet it. Seems to me like they have been using a balanced approach by using both solutions in the past and will probably continue to do the same well into the future.

Originally Posted by Warren Kiefer (Post 685824)

Is it so hard to understand that there is a whole group of people out there that will never be able to afford these theme parks. These folk would like to enjoy the theme parks just as much as anyone. Half of our nation live at or below the poverty line, These folk have nearly no chance of visiting Disney. I also find it strange that the Florida theme parks have price increases always within a few days of each other. The cost for Disney has doubled since 2000.