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I know lots of adults who seem to think that "going to Disney" (without kids of course)is the ultimate vacation. I personally don't buy it. Crowds, overpriced meals - I can think of a dozen more attractive vacation spots in Florida and hundreds outside of Florida.

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Disney World has changed. Before there was the Magic Kningdom Club, my parents used to drive down from DE and get 4 days and three nights, with tickets, a show, a lunch and a dinner for $450. Bringing back the ticket to ride would help then people who do not want to ride the roller coasters they are putting in would not pay for them. Magic Kingdom has deteriated as Tomorrow Land morphed into Fansasty Land.

Reason prices went up was that Walt Disney Enterprises was going broke, and the management decided to raise prices at the Parks until people stopped going. And the prices went up and the people still keep coming.
Being close to Disney World Parks with Florida Resident passes was a big plus for moving to the Villages.

I don't know if they were going broke or not, but what you've described is a normal business practice that any good responsible business person would follow.
Every business in the world wants to keep their prices as high as possible without losing customers.

I have to respectfully disagree. Businesses only have an obligation to make money. If they are not taking care of customers and providing value for costs, customers will stop coming.
Disney is obviously providing value as millions of people go there every year and millions return. Millions of people are obviously willing to pay the prices to enjoy these parks. That is basically the definition of value.

The value of an item or service is whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

We have Florida Season Passes---have since our move here in 2007----we go to Disney World at least 10 times a year---stay two nights at Hawthorne Inn and Suites in Lake Buena Vista--a hotel that we love. Just got back this morning. We went to Hollywood Park on Monday and Magic Kingdom yesterday. Both parks were very crowded----don't think the price increase will affect those that want to have this experience with their families. They also went up on Parking from 14.00 to 15.00. We love Disney---even when crowded---a beautiful place to walk and people watch---since we have passes we aren't too concerned with lines, etc.,-- if there is something we like to do, we wait until our visit when the Park is less crowded.

Some think a business has an obligation to the community that supports it. Disney maybe a bit different ----one third foreign customers which drive up the prices some believe. From pure capitalistic perspective you are correct. ;)

I don't mean to get into a debate on capitalist principles...but, Disney is in the business of entertainment and customer service. A large part of their reputation is built on providing great experiences. If the rep gets tarnished it will hurt the overall brand.

Right now Expedition Everest has a 70 minute wait. Kilimanjaro Safaris is 65 minutes. Soarin' is close to 2 hours. Test Track 95 minutes. Peter Pan's Flight a bit over an hour. Splash Mountain is 85 minutes. Space Mountain 100 minutes.

These wait times will wreck the child's experience. It hurts the brand. Disney isn't BP. It isn't Monsanto. Raise prices and give less wasn't Walt's vision. It's time for them to pony-up if they want to raise prices. Not doing so is exceedingly shortsighted.

Walt's dead, there a new sheriff in town with a new vision.

Disney Experience
 

We took our 2 grandsons to Disney in 2007, and by the end of the day, I said I would never go back. The wait for the "rides" was ridiculous, the food was typical fast food, but super expensive, the two grandsons were in tears when we left because grandpa and I said we weren't waiting 2 hours for such and such a ride . . ..... the crowds were horrendous, etc., etc., etc. But,,,, that is just my opinion. I much prefer Homassasa Springs, Gatorland, Kennedy Space Center, Silver Springs, Florida Aquarium, Tampa Zoo, etc., etc. All of them kid friendly. Disney is Disney, and I suppose everyone wants to go there once. As for me, I will not return.

Does Disney not have the Fast Pass system any longer? My niece would sign us up, and we would get a time frame of 15 minutes to show up and walk right onto the rides. This seemed to work very well for the rides that have a long wait.

My family loved staying at the Wilderness Lodge right on the property on their last visit last year. They were allowed to check in at 10:00am, as soon as they arrived, and could leave the car there until after the fireworks on the day of check-out. They said they had great rooms, great restaurants, super pool, and all this just a ten minute boat ride from Fantasy Island.

Fast passes exist...but, they can "sell out." There is a free app for Iphones that will give you wait times and when fast passes are available (and for what hours).

BTW - to help understand the waits at Disney...this might help explain:

Here is a look at the Disney and Orlando area rankings for 2012.

1. Magic Kingdom 17,536,000 +2.3% change
2. Disneyland 15,963,000 -1.1% change
3. Tokyo Disneyland 14,847,000 +8.5% change
4. Tokyo Disney Sea 12,656,000 +8.5% change
5. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris 11,200,000 +1.9%
6. Epcot 11,063,000 +2.2%
7. Disney's Animal Kingdom 9,998,999 +2.2%
8. Disney's Hollywood Studios 9,912,000 +2.2%
9. Universal Studios Japan 9,700,000 +14.1%
10. Islands of Adventure 7,981,000 +4%
11. Disney California Adventure 7,775,000 +22.6%
14. Hong Kong Disneyland 6,700,000 +13.6%
15. Universal Studios Orlando 6,195,000 +2.5%
19. Sea World Florida 5,358,000 +3.0%
20. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris 4,800,000 1.9%
23. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 4,348,000 +1.5%

Just kind of wondering, where were the grandson's parents on this day of "family happiness"?

It this was the summer and it was just the grandkids, you, and Gramps - you should have known about the ridiculously long lines at the popular rides and the very expensive prices for fast food. At knowing about the long lines and expensive prices, as the adults in the group, you could have said that you are going to Homassasa Springs - and no one would have complained. If one of the grandkids did start whining about going to Disney World - just tell them it is closed for park maintenance that week.

If your son/daughter was also there, you and Gramps could have opted to sit on one of the many shaded park benches whilst (I like that word) the others stood in line for all the Disney stuff.

I happen to believe that a trip to a Disney park is one of the best values around. When you consider the price of a pro sporting event, a theatre ticket, or even a movie and compare the entertainment cost per hour of those to a trip to a Disney park, Disney is a better value in my opinion.

Entertainment value ??
 

My last trip to Disney wasn't nearly as entertaining as you describe. Of the 10 hours we were there, we stood in line for more than 6 hours waiting for those 5 minute rides. I figure each of those four rides cost me somewhere around $60.00.

So....you didn't enjoy it because it was too crowded...but you want Disney to significantly lower the ticket price to make it more crowded?:doh:

The Fast Pass system is great, but it took me one visit to understand how it works. Once I understood it, I found that you are only allowed to sign up for one Fast Pass per hour.
It takes a few visits and some planning but the way to work the system to go get a Fast Pass as soon as you enter the park. While you are waiting for your time, vist some attractions that don't have Fast Pass. When your hour is up immediately get another Fast Pass and vist more attractions. The thing is that it may take a lot of walking around to do this and I'm sure that as we vist more and more we will figure it all out.

I agree with this 100%. Bu this is very different than saying that they have an obligation to provide a good experience or clean park or anything. What you are saying here is basically the same as what I said. They will do all these things because it is good for business.
We'll have to wait and see if the way that they are currently running things is going to hurt their business or not. I say that people will keep coming and will keep returning.
As you showed in another post, they are up 2.2% this year. Lests see if they go up next year. If business stops expanding, I'm sure you'll see changes.

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Did you ever hear of having a limit on attendees ??? Every theatre, concert, ball games and other venues have a limit on how many persons can attend. What I was saying is, my belief that when a person enters one of the theme parks they expect to be awed, amused and entertained, don't those glossy pamplets and commercials say that will be exactly what you should expect ??? Do you really think that a family of four as they enter the gates having spent over $400 have the mind set and expect, "lets's go walk around for hours, stand in long lines for six hours , ride on rides for maybe 20 minutes and spend $100 for lunch and have a great time"????

Your uniformed response
 

We had the grandsons staying with us for 2 weeks during the summer -- the parents live in 2 different states - they're divorced. Duh. And why would we "sit on the park benches" after paying the admission price -- Think this over again -- I simply said I did not enjoy it and would not return. I have been to all of the other venues I mentioned, and they were great.

It is really very simple. If you feel the price is too high don't go. Complaining about something you have no control over is a waste of time. Personally I think the place is fun safe and worth the money.

Disney does shut down the main gate when attendance reaches a certain number. This happened the past few years during the Christmas vacation periods.

Universal and Legoland also closed their gates during those same periods. The larger parks were able to reopen after people started leaving, but Legoland, which closes earlier, just remained closed for the day.

We go to Disney every year..without kid's. ..I spent x my money anyway I want..and its at Disney food and wine festival