Many have accused Disney’s theme parks of exploiting devoted patrons in order to increase revenues, despite a decline in visitor numbers, as a result of recent price increases at the parks.
The cost of a trip to a Disney resort has increased significantly since the company’s premier parks in Florida and California reopened in April of last year. These changes include eliminating freebies and raising fees.
The park’s attendance has decreased by 17%, but Disney’s profit margin on each visitor has grown by 17% in the last year, boosting the company’s earnings.
The introduction of the formerly free Genie+ pass, which now costs $15 a day, is one of the most profitable developments. It functions as an app on visitors’ phones and enables them to bypass certain lineups at attractions.
In order to move the infamously expensive souvenirs from the parks, Genie+ also alerts users to discounts on items.
Although guests have already spent around $100 for entrance, the Genie+ pass does not fulfil all of their unpleasant wishes, as they must pay an additional $10 to $17 to get access to some of the parks’ most well-liked activities.
The iconic Star Wars Galaxy Kingdom Area and Guardians of the Galaxy attractions at Disneyland and Disney World are subject to the extra.
Guests will now pay a stunning $35 for parking and Magic Wristbands, which formerly served as hotel keys and park permits and were free of charge. This is just one example of how the firm has started charging for previously free amenities.
Long-loved extras like parking, which now costs $30, are among the other once free privileges that will now set partygoers back a fair cash.
Park hotel rooms, food, and retail are all impacted by the price increases, which have generally been imposed during the last year. All of these prices have increased much over the historical inflation rate of 9%.
With 18 million yearly visitors before the epidemic, Disney World is by far the company’s most popular park. A stay at the resort’s bargain hotel, Pop Century, costs around $168 now, up more than $70 from 2013. That is an increase of more than 77%.
The price of a regular accommodation at the opulent Animal Kingdom Lodge has increased from $486 in 2012 to $790 in 2022, a 63 percent rise in less than ten years.
Many claim that the park’s ticket costs, which are now above $100, have climbed at a pace approximately twice that of inflation over the last decade. They believe that this is because the park is trying to compete with Universal Studios, which launched its Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2016.
The price of Dole Whip, a pineapple-flavored soft-serve dessert available exclusively at Disney properties, has increased from $5.99 to $6.99 at both parks, a 16 percent rise in a year.
The popular Mickey Mouse ears headbands sold at the park will cost $39.99 starting in 2021, an increase of more than a third from their current $29.99 price.
A few of Disney’s former freebies, such as airport shuttles for guests staying at its hotels to its parks, have been eliminated, which has angered some.
The unrest began a few weeks after company executives claimed that recent price increases at Disneyland were offset by a “unfavourable attendance mix,” a claim that many took to mean annual passholders, who typically spend less per visit than regular ticket buyers.
Disney no longer sells virtually all annual passes, but will still let current passholders renew their passes.
The price of annual passes has increased by 14% in a year, from $1,399 to $1,599 per pass. Disney has reportedly been trying to eliminate the passes covertly because it has increased the number of days that passholders are prohibited from using their season tickets.
Since then, guests at Disneyland and Disney World, which the company refers to as “the happiest place on earth,” have started posting images of themselves on social media while wearing T-shirts that read “Unfavorable” in protest.
Meanwhile, since implementing the increases, the company’s parks division has seen its profits soar five-fold to a staggering $2.2 billion. According to CEO Bob Chapek, the hikes are part of a “more aggressive” financial strategy, particularly at California’s Disneyland, to keep up with inflation and offset losses from the pandemic era.
The introduction of Genie+, a smartphone app feature that enables park visitors to skip ride lines, is the biggest change the company has made in the past two years—and by far the most profitable.
In addition to the more than $100 entry fee, the app, which was formerly free, now charges $15 per person per day. This fee enables users to avoid certain queue wait times at attractions.
The benefit is very well-liked since it saves passengers time and the inconvenience of often waiting for hours with their small children in the scorching heat. Almost half of park visitors utilise it, and of those, about 70% said they would use it again.
By providing users with a variety of meal offers, the app also pushes advertisements on them. Those discounts, meanwhile, could be deceiving since they result from offers that include more food than one would typically buy.
Despite all the price increases, however, spending per visitor has also gone up, by almost 17 percent, which is three times the average yearly rise over the previous ten years.
The only aspect of the parks, which are located in Anaheim and Orlando, that did not increase over the last year was the number of visitors, which, according to the company’s announcement this week, significantly decreased by 17 percent for the fiscal year 2021.
However, in accordance with corporate policy, Brass at Disney did not provide the real attendance for its theme parks.
Even though there is a negative correlation between declining attendance and increasing profits, the business is still making the most of what should be a less-than-ideal situation by reducing the number of annual passes because owners typically spend less than their individual day-paying counterparts.
In order to prevent annual pass buyers from taking up standing room that might otherwise be used by higher paying clients, the corporation has eliminated the option for yearly passes for all new consumers.
In an effort to reduce yearly passes since owners often spend less and “take up capacity” by going on expensive vacations, Anaheim and Walt Disney World have stopped selling practically all new annual tickets.
The amount of time hotel guests may enter parks early has been reduced from an hour to half an hour, and only those staying in “deluxe” hotels can now enjoy longer hours.
Because Disney is no longer interested in attempting to conceal its aims, this has led to complaints from visitors who feel that those with the biggest wallets are Disney’s most preferred customers.