USH Price Increase!

[Jon Fu]

But if you park at N. Hollywood Metro, it doesn't compensate anything. By having added parking, guests will have more incentive to buy more food and merch.

Let's be honest: how many people are willing to do that? As for the parking situation, I'm sure the lack of parking will decrease the number of visits by most annual pass holders.

 

[Goatmilk]

Universal is still going to do the Costco Pass?

yes

 

[Ryan]

Ding, ding, ding. How many of you are planning to renew? If you are, know that your complaints are resting on deaf ears. As long as you renew, you're still supporting Universal's bottom line regardless of whether or not you visit. If anything, the added parking fees might as well compensate for reduced trips.

I would normally agree with this if it wasn't for parking. You never feel like you're getting value without parking packages, not because that's necessarily true or not. You can go to the park and elect not to eat or shop, but with parking that means you have to knowingly pay every trip you make to Universal. Eliminating that by even sinking in the money for a six/seven day parking value eliminates this thought.

I'm sure USH will be just fine for a couple years, but they need to add the parking back soon or slowly that'll tear the locals away from their consciousness. Eventually they'll have the reputation of forcing ppl to pay to park no matter what, that hurts CityWalk and the park.

At least OFFER it. If not 2016, then 2017 absolutely. The park is not going to shut down or go bankrupt, but it sets a terrible precedent in the community and they only have so much space for so long. No matter how you slice it, Universal blocked themselves into this situation which they could've avoided and now they are punishing the consumer in pretty sleazy ways. I think that's crappy, especially when you have the Florida parks who treat their customers so much better.

 

[Park Man]

When I first heard about the $300.00 annual pass, I thought I might do it for the first year Potter is around, til I get my fill, then drop it and wait for the price to return to sanity. Then I saw the block out dates.  They are comparable to the Disney Deluxe block out dates- and so it seems is the price. It’s $599.00 for a Disney Deluxe annual pass – but that’s for 2 parks. Cut it in half and wow, look at that; Universal is charging for USH as if it were a Disney park.

Harry Potter is going to be big, no doubt. A lot of people are going to be willing to shell out big bucks to see it – once. After that, Universal is going to have a tough time convincing people that their little park as a good a value as a Disney Park. If people have to make any kind of choice (Do I get a Disney pass or do I get a Universal pass?), it’s going to be a no-brainer and Universal is going to lose almost every time.

After the initial glow of Wizarding World fades in a year or two, I see a restructuring of the pass prices. No one is going to pay those prices for Universal once Potter is no longer the latest and greatest, especially with Disney opening Star Wars land in a few years.

USH better have something a lot more exciting than Nintendo up its sleeve if they want to keep these prices going.

 

[Red Carpet]

I know many people might not think the $299 pass is worth it. Guess what? There is still the cheap $139 pass. This pass is $190 cheaper than the entry level Disney pass. So while many of you won't get the gold pass, I bet most on this forum will still get some level of pass.

 

[Jon Fu]

I know many people might not think the $299 pass is worth it. Guess what? There is still the cheap $139 pass. This pass is $190 cheaper than the entry level Disney pass.

Eh, you need to compare the per-park price of the Disney pass versus that of Universal. When you do that, Disney's entry level pass is $164, while Universal is $139.

 

[Park Man]

And if you look at the entry level Universal pass, you'll realize you can't go any weekends with it. That kind of rules it out for me. The $199.00 pass also has too many inconvenient block out days to make it a viable option for me. That leaves the $299.00 pass. As I mentioned, they may get the first year of Potter out of me. I have too many friends and family that are going to want to see that place, and I will be up there several times during the first year, I have no doubt. But to keep me after that, they'd have to open something truly spectacular within the next 18 months, and I don't see that happening.

 

[Red Carpet]

Eh, you need to compare the per-park price of the Disney pass versus that of Universal. When you do that, Disney's entry level pass is $164, while Universal is $139.

Disney does not sell an annual pass for just a single park. If someone only has interest in Disneyland, they can't buy a Disneyland pass for $164. They would have spend $329 on a two park pass whether they like California Adventure or not. Some people can't afford a $329 pass no matter what bells and whistles are included, but could afford a $139 pass.

 

[Jon Fu]

Disney does not sell an annual pass for just a single park. If someone only has interest in Disneyland, they can't buy a Disneyland pass for $164. They would have spend $329 on a two park pass whether they like California Adventure or not. Some people can't afford a $329 pass no matter what bells and whistles are included, but could afford a $139 pass.

I understand that, but I think it's only fair to compare per-park price when Disneyland Resort is a true...uhm...resort.

 

[Park Man]

Disney does not sell an annual pass for just a single park. If someone only has interest in Disneyland, they can't buy a Disneyland pass for $164. They would have spend $329 on a two park pass whether they like California Adventure or not. Some people can't afford a $329 pass no matter what bells and whistles are included, but could afford a $139 pass.

I could afford the $139.00 pass, but do I want it? No, it's valueless to me.

As for parking… Well, there’s more to that story.

How many people were around a few years back when Disney introduced the snow on Main Street after the Holiday Fireworks show? Now Disney didn’t have near as many annual pass holders back then as they have today, and they still had a big problem. Every night, a flood of annual pass holders would hit the park in the hours leading up to fireworks and then they’d leave right after. This was a real stress on Disney operations as you might guess. There were problems with parking and the trams, and the streets and shops and would get simply overrun with people. The place became pretty unmanageable during the hours around fireworks.

The same thing happened a few years later when they introduced the Halloween fireworks. Now Disney had a lot more annual pass holders and the problem was even worse. The next year the Halloween fireworks became a feature exclusive to their special ticketed Halloween event. Solved that problem.

World of Color dodged the bullet because you need a Fast Pass to see that show, so casual drop-ins wouldn’t work.

Now let’s go to just about a year ago. Disney is about to introduce a new night time parade and a new fireworks show, and Disney has about a million annual pass holders. What are they going to do? They need to discourage casual visits that last only a few hours. They can just imagine a million annual pass holders flooding in every night after work to watch the parade and fireworks, and then leaving. It would be chaos in the streets of Anaheim, never mind the park. How do you prevent this from happening? Take away free parking. People are going to think twice about casually dropping in on Disneyland if it’s going to cost them $18.00 a pop. Chaos seems to have been averted, so I guess it worked.

Universal is going to have a similar problem with casual visits, hordes of people who want to drop by Hogsmeade for the evening to have dinner at the Three Broomsticks and catch a ride on Forbidden Journey. Universals infrastructure would have no easier time dealing with this effect than Disney’s. So, they adopted Disney’s solution, no free parking.

 

[Ryan]

...um Disney still offers a pass with free parking.

Also keep in mind you never got free parking after 5PM, so that was never going to be a worry anyways.

 

[Ryan]

And something that should've been there already (the hotel) is basically DOA. So, y'know, Universal is still short on trying to be a resort without that park-specific hotel. Surprised they haven't outright bought the Hilton.

All of this is giving me a headache. It feels like Comcast is taking full measure while USH only wants to take half.

 

[Red Carpet]

I don't like that parking is not included. It probably hurts CityWalk's business.

Having black outs on all passes might be a necessary evil. The park would reach capacity too often if they offered a no black out pass. Keep in mind that no matter how much a pass cost, it is discounted admission. On a capacity day Universal does not want to turn away at the gate someone who was going to pay full priced admission because someone with discounted admission showed up.

 

[William]

In an unsurprising turn of events, they are, indeed, trying to list the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as an annual pass benefit. The asterisks next to it note that the land isn't restricted to pass members, but this is still fairly misleading:

I really don't have much to say on this topic because I honestly do think I'll end up renewing, but I will say that this temporary "solution" will come back to bite them soon if they don't figure out a better plan come late-2016/early-2017. USH is trying to become a world-class tourist destination all too quick, and it just looks like they don't know what to do with themselves.

 

[Wesker69]

Yep. I had to point out that "passholder benefit" the other day because its so ridiculous. As I said, it is as bad as the way they market KONG 360 & F&F Supercharged as separate rides despite being attractions on the Studio Tour... USH is trying to make it seem like they have more to offer. Them trying to make Potter seem like an AP benefit is pretty much the same.

As you said, USH needs to figure out a better plan.... and if we look at Orlando, you'll see that they've got multiple things opening next year, 2017, and beyond... USH needs to seriously take this approach, but I know that is slightly challenging due to the building codes here in California. BUT still...

 

[Ryan]

I crack up everytime I see NEW RIDE in the biggest font with F&F ads, which have even spread to Vegas. Which is weird since Universal never advertises here... then again, the market they're trying to attract has something to do with that I'm sure.

 

[Park Man]

...um Disney still offers a pass with free parking.

Also keep in mind you never got free parking after 5PM, so that was never going to be a worry anyways.

 Disney eliminated enough free parking to keep the casual visits under control. And, for better or worse, Disney is capitalistic enough that if you're willing to shell out enough cash, you can have that no block out day pass with free parking.

As for Universal's top tier pass, I don't think we've seen it yet. They'll probably roll out a pass that includes parking and has no block out days in about a year's time, after the initial Potter rush has come and gone.

 

^^^  Exactly!!! 

As Brover and I both stated above, Disney DOES still offer 2 annual passes that include free parking.     Another thing I want to point out, is that the masses aren't complaining about the fact we don't have free parking across the board with the new passes at Universal, we're complaining because free parking is something that should be included in a top-tier pass and ours is lacking it. Inside Universal was quick to point out on Twitter that this is a first in the theme park community, for a top-tier pass to include blackout days and lack free parking. 

In quick response to what Park Man had to say...

You make a good point about what too much free parking can cause. However, I'm not sure how Disney's pass benefits have been the past few years when these problems you mention arose. With their current pass system, free parking is only available to those with the 2 highest tier passes. So nowadays, I'm not sure whether the number of people who have free access to parking at Disneyland is in the millions or not. Plus, when it comes down to it, there shouldn't be ANY operational problems at these parks even with casual attendees who come for just a couple hours. We can't forget that we're talking about 2 of the biggest media conglomerates in the world with Comcast and Disney, they've got the funds to keep their parks staffed and ready for large crowds that events like firework shows can bring in.    From a business standpoint, I doubt they're THAT concerned with the park being overrun during firework hours. If people are showing up even just for a couple hours, odds are they're going to buy a soda, a snack, or generate revenue in some way, shape, or form. 

 The current pass with Universal that I have, included free parking and NO blackout dates, it was the top-tier pass available and cost me $140. Now, the top-tier pass costs $300 and doesn't offer me what I have, yet its double the price.  I'm proud of what's happening inside the park right now at Universal, the Evolution Plan is underway and it's a beautiful thing. I know USH is aware that their park is going to be overrun this upcoming spring and summer when Wizarding World opens, but to completely turn away from your loyal, local fans... the annual pass members and discourage them from coming... it's not right. In my personal situation, if Universal is wanting me to renew my pass and be a top-tier member once again, they're basically saying "Hey, thanks for being an annual pass member and we hope you enjoyed your experiences at USH over this past year! For this next year, we'd love for you to renew your pass and keep up the traditions you've started! This time you'll be paying more than double what you did last time, and you can't come during Summer weekends, and you can't park for free anymore... but trust us it's worth it! You'll be able to see Wizarding World in its 3rd incarnation since opening in Orlando half a decade ago!"

Come on Universal... you're so much better than this. Don't forget your loyal fans. Present something of pure value to those who wish to pay for it and attend the park we know and love often.

Ok, now we're getting into per capita spending, and that's an entirely different topic. Suffice it to say that the ideal theme park guest is a tourist who stays at a local hotel, preferably one owned by the theme park, spends his entire day at the park, eating at least 3 meals there, and leaves with a couple of bags of merchandise. This is the customer all the parks are after because they get the most revenue out of him for the amount of resources they have to expend. He is the golden goose.

The locals are fillers. They use up just as many resources as the tourist, but they don't spend nearly as much money while in the park. I certainly notice that I tend to be less careful about the amount of money I spend  while I'm on vacation vs when I'm visiting a local park. The parks need the locals for when the tourists don't come.

So what Universal is really telling you is, "Thank you for supporting us during a time when we couldn't get the big tourist dollars. But now that Wizarding World is opening, the tourists will be coming and we don't need you any more. Run along and find something else to do."

Disney did pretty much the same thing after they straightened out California Adventure. They sent annual pass prices into the stratosphere. But the funny thing is, locals kept coming. They keep raising prices and still, we keep coming. 

Universal has no doubt seen this and figures they can do whatever they want to the locals and they'll keep coming. Don't like what they're doing? Stop going. It's the only weapon you have.

These big conglomerates have no loyalty except to the almighty dollar, and not to the dollar you might spend next year if they keep you happy, to the dollar you're going to spend today.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Disneyland. 

 

[Ryan]

The point is, though, that Disney still offers the parking. It's there for those who seek and want that ultimate value without resorting to public transportation. (which in LA is, quite frankly, a joke)

Parking passes are actually the key to making locals shell out money, not the cause. The real issue was people electing to go in one-by-one, creating a parking nightmare. That's why the parking option was eliminated from everything but only the highest of passes. But it exists, still, since those are the people who can seek value. Psychologically it creates the idea in your mind that you're going to the park for free at a certain point, making you more WILLING to pay for food, souvenirs, etc. I mean, it's not as if you're pouring your pockets else otherwise. Take that away, and the thought disappears from most visitors' heads, especially if they're the ones who are scraping by a little more, but have enough to buy that pass. (which is the youth and family market they're appealing to) That's why having parking passes for the top tier is so essential business-wise in so many ways. 

Overall, it's a bad long-term idea. If they add a new pass with parking once they have Potter under control (realistically by the end of next year before I'd roll my eyes), I would actually shrug it off. Because then Universal, at least, would be making a much more wise, and consumer-friendly business decision. With these passes, currently, doing the math it seems absolutely unfair value-wise to the consumer unless they use public transportation or just happen to live in a tent off Lankershim Blvd. So I just can't support it. And I don't care if Universal is terrified of Potter tourists. They had five years, they had time, they had Comcast. If this is what it has to resort to, then clearly they didn't do their jobs right.

 

[smoaT]

Let's be honest: how many people are willing to do that? As for the parking situation, I'm sure the lack of parking will decrease the number of visits by most annual pass holders.

Me too. The fact that you had parking made the decision of casually going to Universal a no-brainer. I even went alone once because the mood strike me. It was a delightful visit. But the park needs locals in off season to survive. Again this is a waaay different market than Orlando. UO gets a lot of turism because it's close to the most visited theme park in the world, so it's not such a stretch to make a bit of time to visit Potter. Not in CA. I do think there will be a decrease on AP holders visits, considering also that there will be Black out dates.

I would normally agree with this if it wasn't for parking. You never feel like you're getting value without parking packages, not because that's necessarily true or not. You can go to the park and elect not to eat or shop, but with parking that means you have to knowingly pay every trip you make to Universal. Eliminating that by even sinking in the money for a six/seven day parking value eliminates this thought.

I'm sure USH will be just fine for a couple years, but they need to add the parking back soon or slowly that'll tear the locals away from their consciousness. Eventually they'll have the reputation of forcing ppl to pay to park no matter what, that hurts CityWalk and the park.

At least OFFER it. If not 2016, then 2017 absolutely. The park is not going to shut down or go bankrupt, but it sets a terrible precedent in the community and they only have so much space for so long. No matter how you slice it, Universal blocked themselves into this situation which they could've avoided and now they are punishing the consumer in pretty sleazy ways. I think that's crappy, especially when you have the Florida parks who treat their customers so much better.

I agree. The ones getting the shorter end of the stick are the tenants of Citywalk though. Parking will eventually go up and I guess 20 dlls will be the price. Paying 20 dlls parking to go and buy something, to dine or to go to AMC? No way. Shoppers to Citywalk will decrease. Something's gotta give. Either the tenants pressure Uni, the attendance numbers, the revenue or the passholders will. The awful situation will only last 2016 I hope. 

I know many people might not think the $299 pass is worth it. Guess what? There is still the cheap $139 pass. This pass is $190 cheaper than the entry level Disney pass. So while many of you won't get the gold pass, I bet most on this forum will still get some level of pass.

No chance in hell. The lower tier pass has so many black out dates that i just don't see the value in buying the pass. No weekends? Impossible for me. Sorry, no pass for this guy

When I first heard about the $300.00 annual pass, I thought I might do it for the first year Potter is around, til I get my fill, then drop it and wait for the price to return to sanity. Then I saw the block out dates.  They are comparable to the Disney Deluxe block out dates- and so it seems is the price. It’s $599.00 for a Disney Deluxe annual pass – but that’s for 2 parks. Cut it in half and wow, look at that; Universal is charging for USH as if it were a Disney park.

Harry Potter is going to be big, no doubt. A lot of people are going to be willing to shell out big bucks to see it – once. After that, Universal is going to have a tough time convincing people that their little park as a good a value as a Disney Park. If people have to make any kind of choice (Do I get a Disney pass or do I get a Universal pass?), it’s going to be a no-brainer and Universal is going to lose almost every time.

After the initial glow of Wizarding World fades in a year or two, I see a restructuring of the pass prices. No one is going to pay those prices for Universal once Potter is no longer the latest and greatest, especially with Disney opening Star Wars land in a few years.

USH better have something a lot more exciting than Nintendo up its sleeve if they want to keep these prices going.

Excellent analisis. And you are right. They will see it once, and once they see that they could only ride 4 good rides they will be disappointed. After one year the novelty will wear off. And lets be real. Potter has been open on the east coast for so long that is no longer novel. Most Potter fans have traveled to see it already. And deciding whether to go to Orlando or to CA considering that Orlando has Diagon Alley will make it hard to steal some turism from Orlando. The first months the park will be packed, but after that it will be back to normal, or something like it. And yes, Hogsmeade will be no competition to Star Wars land.

 Disney eliminated enough free parking to keep the casual visits under control. And, for better or worse, Disney is capitalistic enough that if you're willing to shell out enough cash, you can have that no block out day pass with free parking.

As for Universal's top tier pass, I don't think we've seen it yet. They'll probably roll out a pass that includes parking and has no block out days in about a year's time, after the initial Potter rush has come and gone.

 

Ok, now we're getting into per capita spending, and that's an entirely different topic. Suffice it to say that the ideal theme park guest is a tourist who stays at a local hotel, preferably one owned by the theme park, spends his entire day at the park, eating at least 3 meals there, and leaves with a couple of bags of merchandise. This is the customer all the parks are after because they get the most revenue out of him for the amount of resources they have to expend. He is the golden goose.

The locals are fillers. They use up just as many resources as the tourist, but they don't spend nearly as much money while in the park. I certainly notice that I tend to be less careful about the amount of money I spend  while I'm on vacation vs when I'm visiting a local park. The parks need the locals for when the tourists don't come.

So what Universal is really telling you is, "Thank you for supporting us during a time when we couldn't get the big tourist dollars. But now that Wizarding World is opening, the tourists will be coming and we don't need you any more. Run along and find something else to do."

Disney did pretty much the same thing after they straightened out California Adventure. They sent annual pass prices into the stratosphere. But the funny thing is, locals kept coming. They keep raising prices and still, we keep coming. 

Universal has no doubt seen this and figures they can do whatever they want to the locals and they'll keep coming. Don't like what they're doing? Stop going. It's the only weapon you have.

These big conglomerates have no loyalty except to the almighty dollar, and not to the dollar you might spend next year if they keep you happy, to the dollar you're going to spend today.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Disneyland. 

But Universal is not Disneyland. Kids make a last dying wish of going to Disneyland, not Universal. They have a special Make-A-Wish office in the park. Universal is just not worth it. Locals kept going to Disneyland because it's a great value. Even if the park is crowded you can cram 4 E-Ticket attractions and fireworks and a parade at least. Universal has a total different market. Also kids drag their parents to Disneyland and some make the effort to at least take their kids once. Plus it is not a resort. Only tourist from other parts of the world would even think on staying on property at Universal because they wouldn't know better. If you are a tourist from the US if you travel to CA is not just to visit Universal, that would be an afterthought, so any way you look at it, Universal will lose. It will be only one visit for me this year to Uni I guess. Uni has a different market and they ought to know. it's like six flags raising their annual passes 100 dlls, they will scare away their market.

Have we even considered the possibility that Potter is not as huge as we are predicting? I mean, it will be crowded in the opening months, but after labor day, what if the park goes back to normal? would we call that a failure to Universal and could Universal realize then the huge mistake they made and get reasonable passes back? How huge do we think it will get? I do predict some days were the gates will have to be closed due to reaching capacity, but we are getting a clone of a 5 year old attraction... now I am not so sure if after the summer the park will always be crowded. But there is the "Fantastic Beast..." movie coming out, so... I am not sure what will happen. I guess that if the movie is not huge we will get our answer, franchise exhaustion. There are so many things up in the air.

The pass system is just a lazy way of dealing with Potter crowds that will hurt them in the long-run.

Amen to that

This is clearly wishful thinking, but do any of you think it is at all possible that Universal might come out with a more expensive "Platinum" pass that has parking?

Maybe. It depends on how huge Potter turns out to be... I am not certain now that the park will be always full from now on. I was 2 years ago.

Not me, my family, and 8 of my friends.

This took me from PREMIUM STAR PASS FOR LIFE! to looking at knotts and Disney for VALUE AND PARKING.

I think I will just go once a year to universal till they get their act together after my pass expires....

I refuse to support a company that does not value me.

Knotts is great value. And yes, even I am thinking on getting Disneyland's pass. 

 

[Park Man]

But Universal is not Disneyland. Kids make a last dying wish of going to Disneyland, not Universal. They have a special Make-A-Wish office in the park. Universal is just not worth it. Locals kept going to Disneyland because it's a great value. Even if the park is crowded you can cram 4 E-Ticket attractions and fireworks and a parade at least. Universal has a total different market. Also kids drag their parents to Disneyland and some make the effort to at least take their kids once. Plus it is not a resort. Only tourist from other parts of the world would even think on staying on property at Universal because they wouldn't know better. If you are a tourist from the US if you travel to CA is not just to visit Universal, that would be an afterthought, so any way you look at it, Universal will lose. It will be only one visit for me this year to Uni I guess. Uni has a different market and they ought to know. it's like six flags raising their annual passes 100 dlls, they will scare away their market.

Have we even considered the possibility that Potter is not as huge as we are predicting? I mean, it will be crowded in the opening months, but after labor day, what if the park goes back to normal? would we call that a failure to Universal and could Universal realize then the huge mistake they made and get reasonable passes back? How huge do we think it will get? I do predict some days were the gates will have to be closed due to reaching capacity, but we are getting a clone of a 5 year old attraction... now I am not so sure if after the summer the park will always be crowded. But there is the "Fantastic Beast..." movie coming out, so... I am not sure what will happen. I guess that if the movie is not huge we will get our answer, franchise exhaustion. There are so many things up in the air.

I couldn't agree with you more; Universal is not Disney. But it appears as though Universal believes Potter will make them Disney. And to be fair, I could see some poor deathly ill kid wanting visit Hogsmead as their dying wish. But Disney definitely has a lot more gravitas than Universal, and if there's a choice to be made, Universal will lose almost every time.

The point is, though, that Disney still offers the parking. It's there for those who seek and want that ultimate value without resorting to public transportation. (which in LA is, quite frankly, a joke)

Parking passes are actually the key to making locals shell out money, not the cause. The real issue was people electing to go in one-by-one, creating a parking nightmare. That's why the parking option was eliminated from everything but only the highest of passes. But it exists, still, since those are the people who can seek value. Psychologically it creates the idea in your mind that you're going to the park for free at a certain point, making you more WILLING to pay for food, souvenirs, etc. I mean, it's not as if you're pouring your pockets else otherwise. Take that away, and the thought disappears from most visitors' heads, especially if they're the ones who are scraping by a little more, but have enough to buy that pass. (which is the youth and family market they're appealing to) That's why having parking passes for the top tier is so essential business-wise in so many ways. 

Overall, it's a bad long-term idea. If they add a new pass with parking once they have Potter under control (realistically by the end of next year before I'd roll my eyes), I would actually shrug it off. Because then Universal, at least, would be making a much more wise, and consumer-friendly business decision. With these passes, currently, doing the math it seems absolutely unfair value-wise to the consumer unless they use public transportation or just happen to live in a tent off Lankershim Blvd. So I just can't support it. And I don't care if Universal is terrified of Potter tourists. They had five years, they had time, they had Comcast. If this is what it has to resort to, then clearly they didn't do their jobs right.

The problem is is that the big theme park operators like Universal and Disney are not after the people who are just scraping by, who have to scrimp and save for that theme park visit. They want the people who will shell out $400.00 a night to stay at a theme hotel and who have plenty of money to throw around on food and merchandise and who have no compunction about doing so. These are the most profitable guests, and being a profit oriented organization, these are the people they most want.

They have no problem with the fiscally challenged visiting, but they are not aggressively pursuing that demographic.

Now you may think as I once did, that there aren't enough of these big spenders out there to keep these parks afloat. But then Disney raised their prices into the stratosphere, and kept their parks more packed than ever. So, I guess I was wrong; there are a lot of people out there who have a lot of money to burn. That's the market Disney and Universal are after.