Ticket Price Increase at Disney World

[snayberry]

The FL resident Discover ticket is still the same price, good deal.

 

[jtsalien]

Every time I visit the parks it makes me want to cancel my passes. It's such a miserable experience regardless of the price, then you throw that into the mix and it really makes it hard.

Genuinely curious, why do you think it's such a miserable experience?

 

[s8film40]

Genuinely curious, why do you think it's such a miserable experience?

Well it's probably important to note my perspective has changed since having a kid. Having a 3 year old with you inherently makes things more complex all on it's own. That being said all the other parks are just so much easier and more pleasant to visit. Part of this is the crowds at Disney, which ironically is good reason for these increases part of it is also how poorly Disney manages these crowds and then also the MM+ system is a pain. We avoid going to Disney as much as possible for these reasons, but there are a few things my son likes so we don't want to just cancel it outright, but at this point it almost doesn't seem worth it.

I'll give you my two recent visits as examples. With it being the "slow season" we decided to plan a couple of short trips. the first one was AK. We got FP's for Flight of Passage neither me or my wife had a chance to check it out yet so we decided to go. We got FP's for Dinosaur also since our son likes it. We needed to kill some time befor the FP so we go to It's Tough to Be a Bug. It's only a 5 minute wait but they cram us into the waiting area were it was super stuffy and hot we waited for what seemed like 10-15 minutes. That's only a minor complaint and I seemed to remember that from the last time so annoying but no big deal. We ride Dinosaur and once again need to kill some time to wait for the other FP's so go to the dig site. Of course this was super crowded and ended up being more work than it was worth. We then go to Avatar land. Meanwhile they have some sort of mini parade right in the main path. I guess I never really thought about it but they don't have a dedicated child swap (maybe that's just a Universal thing?) in any case the person at the FP entrance tells us only one of us can go at a time while the other waits there. So our Flight of Passage experience ends up taking us two hours for the two of us to ride while the other tries to keep our 3 year old entertained with nothing really else to do in that area.

A few days ago we went to DHS to meet up with some friends. We got a Midway mania FP to do before meeting up. Upon arriving they only have one tram running so it takes us about 15 minutes to get to the front of the park. Then as usual there's long lines for security who are meticulously searching through everyones bags. At Universal we just breeze right through having our bag scanned and walking through the metal detectors, SeaWorld and Legoland aren't as crowded and it's not really an issue. Disney seems to have the worst security setup by far. Again the park is packed with huge crowds all trying to get to the same handful of available attractions. Apparently even with the FP it's about a 30 minute wait for midway Mania had I known I would've just skipped it. Every time we walk through the hub of the park we apparently managed to catch the hourly stormtrooper march.

I know this all sounds overly grumpy. We really don't look for the bad in things though. I'm only pointing out all the little things that add up to make us not want to go that often. If it were a one time only vacation we would handle all of this just fine. When you're looking for a relaxing family outing for a few hours Disney is not the best choice. And forget about MK, it takes an hour just to get in or out of that park.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

I can see where @s8film40 is coming from. My dad and I just got Disney APs again after taking a break for nearly three years, and while we're enjoying it, there is some adjustment needed after being accustomed to just Universal for so long. As you mentioned, MK is a pain in the ass to visit because of the monorail/ferry. If you arrive in the early afternoon and leave around 5-6, you're dealing with at least 20 minutes of waiting and travelling both ways to the TTC. It's also hard to find something to eat when going on a Saturday night; Disney Springs may or may not have traffic, and even if it doesn't, finding a table somewhere is enough of a challenge. The lack of dining for spur of the moment trips is my main gripe with Disney; with Universal, somewhere in Citywalk is bound to have availability even towards park closing. On the other hand, I love Fastpass+ and get addicted to refreshing it Last week, I was able to get FPs for FOP, Dinosaur, TSM, Star Tours, and RNRC day-of, and the DHS rides were in the last 2 and a half hours the park was open. I literally just looked on my phone to see what was available while I was in AK and got TSM 20 minutes out. If the dining situation was better inside the parks, most of my issues would be solved.

 

[s8film40]

On the other hand, I love Fastpass+ and get addicted to refreshing it Last week, I was able to get FPs for FOP, Dinosaur, TSM, Star Tours, and RNRC day-of, and the DHS rides were in the last 2 and a half hours the park was open. I literally just looked on my phone to see what was available while I was in AK and got TSM 20 minutes out.

My main issue with FP is it seems like we’re either rushing to not miss one or waiting around for one. Like you we’re usually able to keep refreshing and get what we want. I just wish there was a little more flexibility with it and/or more things to do in between.

 

[jtsalien]

Well it's probably important to note my perspective has changed since having a kid. Having a 3 year old with you inherently makes things more complex all on it's own. That being said all the other parks are just so much easier and more pleasant to visit. Part of this is the crowds at Disney, which ironically is good reason for these increases part of it is also how poorly Disney manages these crowds and then also the MM+ system is a pain. We avoid going to Disney as much as possible for these reasons, but there are a few things my son likes so we don't want to just cancel it outright, but at this point it almost doesn't seem worth it.

I'll give you my two recent visits as examples. With it being the "slow season" we decided to plan a couple of short trips. the first one was AK. We got FP's for Flight of Passage neither me or my wife had a chance to check it out yet so we decided to go. We got FP's for Dinosaur also since our son likes it. We needed to kill some time befor the FP so we go to It's Tough to Be a Bug. It's only a 5 minute wait but they cram us into the waiting area were it was super stuffy and hot we waited for what seemed like 10-15 minutes. That's only a minor complaint and I seemed to remember that from the last time so annoying but no big deal. We ride Dinosaur and once again need to kill some time to wait for the other FP's so go to the dig site. Of course this was super crowded and ended up being more work than it was worth. We then go to Avatar land. Meanwhile they have some sort of mini parade right in the main path. I guess I never really thought about it but they don't have a dedicated child swap (maybe that's just a Universal thing?) in any case the person at the FP entrance tells us only one of us can go at a time while the other waits there. So our Flight of Passage experience ends up taking us two hours for the two of us to ride while the other tries to keep our 3 year old entertained with nothing really else to do in that area.

A few days ago we went to DHS to meet up with some friends. We got a Midway mania FP to do before meeting up. Upon arriving they only have one tram running so it takes us about 15 minutes to get to the front of the park. Then as usual there's long lines for security who are meticulously searching through everyones bags. At Universal we just breeze right through having our bag scanned and walking through the metal detectors, SeaWorld and Legoland aren't as crowded and it's not really an issue. Disney seems to have the worst security setup by far. Again the park is packed with huge crowds all trying to get to the same handful of available attractions. Apparently even with the FP it's about a 30 minute wait for midway Mania had I known I would've just skipped it. Every time we walk through the hub of the park we apparently managed to catch the hourly stormtrooper march.

I know this all sounds overly grumpy. We really don't look for the bad in things though. I'm only pointing out all the little things that add up to make us not want to go that often. If it were a one time only vacation we would handle all of this just fine. When you're looking for a relaxing family outing for a few hours Disney is not the best choice. And forget about MK, it takes an hour just to get in or out of that park.

All of those are pretty valid concerns. And mostly thoughts I've had at one point or another. I just have never crossed the bridge to miserable. But add a kid or a stroller and I see that

But to be honest, it's getting that way to me at Universal too. I've never been at this time of year before so I don't have a good bar. But it seems like all these events are killing the off-season in geneal for Orlando. Saturday I was around Universal. I didn't think it would be too bad because it was a just the remaining skeletons of the Beach Boys. But nope. Jammed. Basically I did Horror Makeup and then stumped low enough for Shrek and then left.

It seems like we desperately need the South Gate at Universal and more capacity at Disney. Because Orlando just keeps getting busier and busier.

 

[shiekra38]

My main issue with FP is it seems like we’re either rushing to not miss one or waiting around for one. Like you we’re usually able to keep refreshing and get what we want. I just wish there was a little more flexibility with it and/or more things to do in between.

All of those are pretty valid concerns. And mostly thoughts I've had at one point or another. I just have never crossed the bridge to miserable. But add a kid or a stroller and I see that

But to be honest, it's getting that way to me at Universal too. I've never been at this time of year before so I don't have a good bar. But it seems like all these events are killing the off-season in geneal for Orlando. Saturday I was around Universal. I didn't think it would be too bad because it was a just the remaining skeletons of the Beach Boys. But nope. Jammed. Basically I did Horror Makeup and then stumped low enough for Shrek and then left.

It seems like we desperately need the South Gate at Universal and more capacity at Disney. Because Orlando just keeps getting busier and busier.

There are still two attractions that are not online yet, which should be people eaters...Add Nintendo and you'll spread out the crowds

I noticed this weekend when Transformers broke down, that it artificially inflated Mummy's queue for a bit, then it went back down later..

It seems the ticket prices aren't affecting people too much

 

[Mad Dog]

All of those are pretty valid concerns. And mostly thoughts I've had at one point or another. I just have never crossed the bridge to miserable. But add a kid or a stroller and I see that

But to be honest, it's getting that way to me at Universal too. I've never been at this time of year before so I don't have a good bar. But it seems like all these events are killing the off-season in geneal for Orlando. Saturday I was around Universal. I didn't think it would be too bad because it was a just the remaining skeletons of the Beach Boys. But nope. Jammed. Basically I did Horror Makeup and then stumped low enough for Shrek and then left.

It seems like we desperately need the South Gate at Universal and more capacity at Disney. Because Orlando just keeps getting busier and busier.

Since I have subscriptions to Touring Plans primarily for the interesting info they publish, but don't really need their touring info since I know park tendencies so well, I religiously follow their daily crowd levels to get my money's worth. Anyway, kind of substantiating what you are saying, it seems both WDW & Universal have had pretty strong attendance these past six months (I realize the stand by lines are only an indicator of attendance, not actual figures, but nonetheless they are strong indicators). If it was just Disney exceeding expectations it would be one thing (since they are always cutting attraction staff and loading), but the fact that Universal is daily exceeding the projections indicates increased attendance in both systems. And with Universal building so many more hotels, like the Disney business model, they've (Universal) buttressed themselves from low attendance periods for the most part. And now with both Disney and Universal constantly building attractions, it creates additional tourism. With both park systems benefiting from one another's buildup, they feed off of each others success. Universal has become such a strong theme park contender, it behooves a long WDW vacationeer to do a couple of days at Universal. And the reverse is probably true. These tourists vacationing at Universal that are attracted by Universal's thrill attractions & Harry Potter, are wont to take a few day trips to visit WDW. Or they split hotel visits between the two. Bottom line is that there's probably a good upward trend for those big tourist dollars to visit Orlando for Disney & Universal. I'm guessing that by 2020, both Universal parks will hit 12 million plus attendance. That will require more capacity and a new south park by 2022 will help to alleviate the future attendance crunch at Universal.When I first was doing long vacations at Universal starting in 2011, I was able to get good hotel rooms (and there were only 2400 rooms back then) a week before I left for vacation. Since 2014, even with so many more new hotel rooms, I now have to reserve 6 to 12 months ahead to get a good room during off season yet. Things have changed drastically, ...As for Disney they need added capacity bad. And, as much as I am positive about their planned expansions, they'll probably actually compound the capacity issues at WDW by attracting added tourism, rather than alleviate those problems. WDW really needs to be even more expansionist than their already lofty expansion plans are. Can you imagine 25 million at MK for their anniversary year? Yes it could happen, and if it does, lines will be out of sight. DHS, when GESWL opens, will be crazy. That park will not have the capacity to handle their crowds.

 

[Chris]

Did anyone not expect this with the most expensive theme park land due to open in nearly a year away?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Disney has a capacity problem and instead of creating people eaters they increase prices. Sure the prices do help to spread crowds thru out the year, but it does not lower attendance at all, people will still come.

Disney NEEDS large capacity attractions, especially for MK.

 

[Chris]

Disney NEEDS large capacity attractions, especially for MK.

LOL. Try Universal Studios Hollywood...capacity issues galore!

 

[UNIrd]

LOL. Try Universal Studios Hollywood...capacity issues galore!

And that's with the addition of FJ, one of the highest capacity E-tickets in recent memory.

 

[UNIrd]

I'll give you my two recent visits as examples. With it being the "slow season" we decided to plan a couple of short trips. the first one was AK. We got FP's for Flight of Passage neither me or my wife had a chance to check it out yet so we decided to go. We got FP's for Dinosaur also since our son likes it. We needed to kill some time befor the FP so we go to It's Tough to Be a Bug. It's only a 5 minute wait but they cram us into the waiting area were it was super stuffy and hot we waited for what seemed like 10-15 minutes. That's only a minor complaint and I seemed to remember that from the last time so annoying but no big deal. We ride Dinosaur and once again need to kill some time to wait for the other FP's so go to the dig site. Of course this was super crowded and ended up being more work than it was worth. We then go to Avatar land. Meanwhile they have some sort of mini parade right in the main path. I guess I never really thought about it but they don't have a dedicated child swap (maybe that's just a Universal thing?) in any case the person at the FP entrance tells us only one of us can go at a time while the other waits there. So our Flight of Passage experience ends up taking us two hours for the two of us to ride while the other tries to keep our 3 year old entertained with nothing really else to do in that area.

It's hard enough to keep adults entertained in there waiting for FPs to become active.

 

[Nick]

Parking has gone up as well. $22 to park like a peasant (Up from $20) and $45 to park like slightly less of a peasant (Up from $40).

2018 Parking Prices at Walt Disney World Increased - Blog Mickey

 

[Scott W.]

Parking has gone up as well. $22 to park like a peasant (Up from $20) and $45 to park like slightly less of a peasant (Up from $40).

2018 Parking Prices at Walt Disney World Increased - Blog Mickey

The parking increase bothers me more than the ticket increase.

 

[Nick]

The parking increase bothers me more than the ticket increase.

$45 for "Preferred" parking (which at MK, is fairly worthless), is a slap in the face.

 

[randompixel]

Christ, that's more than 24 hours in central London.

 

[jtsalien]

$45 for "Preferred" parking (which at MK, is fairly worthless), is a slap in the face.

I sincerely hope nobody is paying for that outright. And it's only people upgrading from free parking.

 

[Nick]

I sincerely hope nobody is paying for that outright. And it's only people upgrading from free parking.

From personal experience of walking through the lot reserved for Premium, it's almost never full unless it's peak season, but it does have a fair amount of cars in it usually.

The fact that they just increased the price by $5 sort of tells me that they feel like they can get away with it.

 

[UNIrd]

Could you imagine having a $20 bill and still needing to fish around for another $2 just to park your car in the hot Florida sun? I'll clutch my annual pass tighter tonight.