I’m a huge SW fan and I can tell you, after this visit I won’t be back for several years- have to wait for the shock waves to pass!
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Very nice thing you did ! I will try to do the same. 
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Yes but every frugal person they shift from Christmas to mid-September means another rich/ill-informed person who can go in Christmas. I mean, looking at the crowds at the parks, whatever they’re doing and whatever their price point, it’s working and still has lots of room to grow.
Disney is becoming a luxury item like Discovery Cove. Maybe it’s sad that not everyone can afford it but a) it’s a business and b) it gives more opportunities for people who care and are willing to spend time and money (like us) to optimize. All the upcharge events, FPP booking rules, ADR booking rules, resort stay bonuses, DVC rentals, etc. all favor us over someone just logging onto the website once and “booking a trip to Disney.”
Yes. This is true. But wouldn’t that rich person have done another time anyhow?
I think Disney is raking in the dough, regardless. I’m just not convinced some of their decisions are working out the way they had hoped.
Still, I think the PRIMARY advantage they are getting now is just the ability to KNOW.
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I think they have more rich/ill-informed/whatever-reason people who want to go in December, Spring Break, and weekends in the summer than they can handle. I mean, they literally have to close the gates Xmas week. That means they’re leaving money on the table. And if people are scared away by the crowds, even if they don’t close the gates, they’re also leaving money on the table. I don’t think the point is necessarily to perfectly evenly distribute the crowds or to grab extra people who were on the fence during the low season. The point is to incentivize some people to go during the low times of year to shift demand so that they can reclaim some of the people being turned away or scared off by the crowds.
You are entirely correct, of course.
sigh
If this is true - and I’m not saying it’s not - then more people are able to afford luxury items. Earnings and attendance were up for the last quarter reported.
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I agree with you. I don’t think Disney is just a luxury for the rich. It is so crowded all the time, it seems to me that Disney is still very affordable for most. Otherwise it would be less crowded. The costs keep going up, yet people still keep coming. Even if they double the prices, I wouldn’t expect to see much change in attendance. We still spend significantly less on a week long Disney trip than we do on a similar length trip to Hawaii. All the daily activities we do in Hawaii (like ziplining, helicopter tours) really add up versus a 7 day ticket to the parks. Plus food in Hawaii, especially Maui makes Disney prices feel like a bargain!
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I wonder also about the different perspective depending on country of origin. For example, 1 US dollar is currently worth 1.33 canadian dollar so for us there is a 33% markup on all prices when we go over there. Maybe people who get paid in ‘‘stronger’’ money like British pounds or Euros see it differently ? Maybe for Americans it’s not as expensive as I perceive it since I have to pay that extra 33% ? I am not sure but I think the average income is similar in Canada and US so that 33% is definitely significant for Canadians…
Even if you just go by a one-day peak ticket to MK at $129 - a back-of-orchestra seat at a weekend showing of a Broadway show is $5 more. Consider hour-for-hour what the cost is for the Broadway show vs the Disney ticket. A Six Flags ticket (at my local Six Flags) is $71. I personally feel like there’s more value in the $129 I’d spend at Disney vs. the $71 I’d spend at SIx Flags. Then when you add multiday discounts, non-peak times, etc., Disney is definately more expensive, but then again, everything is more expensive.
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Maybe? I know that we looked at a work transfer for my DH to Calgary years ago and were shocked by how expensive it was to live there compared to the Western US. So I would think a Disney trip/things bought in American money would seem fairly inexpensive to you. But math is not my strong suit, so I might not be right. 
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I have been helping my son’s ex girlfriend plan a Disney trip for next summer. She is a single mom and she was afraid she could not afford it. We planned a week (no airfare yet): All Star Movies, Dining, 7 day tickets, memory maker
The total was $2700? This is before any discounts. What surprised her was that it is actually cheaper than renting a cottage for a week around here, without food or any activities. I think I can find her a discount before her trip but in the meantime she has booked the trip.
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LOL yeah I guess Calgary is not a good example. Alberta is the richest province (a lot of oil up there, average income is like 30% over canadian average) and Calgary (Alberta’s capital) is one of the most expensive cities in the country…
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You wouldn’t believe what the oil companies pay doctors to do a temporary gig at Fort McMurray. I should spend a few months up there.
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Most Six Flags (all?) will sell you a season pass at that price point. I got mine for $65 this year.
Disney is not quite at the level of Discovery Cove and I think there’s still a very large base of people who want to go “on the cheap” or at least at an affordable level, but the stratification of pricing, EMM, the desert parties, sale of extra FP’s at other parks, etc. are clear move to separate the audience and offer high end experiences for high end consumers.
If they could double the price and halve attendance, they’d be completely silly not to. Of course, if they can double the price and keep attendance, even better for them, and that’s where I see things going. Specifically, I do think there’s a large enough portion of the population that can afford a high end vacation that leaving behind the people who were just barely able to afford it at all is not going to hurt Disney.
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There are also more wealthy people all around the world. When WDW was founded, the market was probably just the US. Now it’s definitely global- think of all the growth in Asia over the past 45 years.
Yep. Right now, you can get the 2019 Season Pass at Six Flags Great America for $75. This includes free parking all season long, free water park, etc. And for not a lot more you can upgrade it to the version that gets you into ALL the Six Flags parks across the nation. And, a SINGLE Six Flags has just about as many rides as all four Disney parks put together.
Of course, no one talks about the “Six Flags Magic” that you experience at Disney. 
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Yeah I know, it’s crazy !!! But don’t go during the winter !!! 
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Ooooh looks like there is at least one thing that is better for us Canadians LOL
Local 6 flags Montreal season pass is 60 CAD$ (so about 45 US$) and for that price it does include all the US 6 flags parks. We use it a lot (6 flags New England and Great Escape are not too far and next summer we’ll try 6 flags New Jersey). Totally worth it but yeah, not even close to Disney magic of course and food quality is abysmal…
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I remember going to Canada’s Wonderland last summer and thinking the price was pretty cheap…then realizing it was in Canadian.
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