Magic Kingdom single-day ticket price now $105, first to cross the $100 barrier

Lord Gonchar said:

5 Smarter Things To Buy Than A Disney Trip

Slideshow article? Buh-leted!! *Bzzzz

Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.

You can get a quickie on backpage for less than that! :)

sirloindude said:

Honestly, though, I wonder if there's a bit of demand control in place. The Magic Kingdom especially always feels crowded. Anecdotal, of course, but it seems like I can't find the quiet times. :)

No, you're generally right. There are a few weeks here and there that it's not "busy," and you can find those when they close relatively early and Wishes is at 8. That's your golden window of opportunity. That said, it has to get pretty crowded before it's just generally not fun. As long as you're booking your three FP's for the day (early) and then getting more at the kiosks in the afternoon, you'll enjoy yourself.

Universal Orlando has changed up its pricing. One day, one park will set you back $102, making USF and IOA more expensive than three of the four Disney parks. (Of course, anyone who goes to Orlando and visits one park for one day is doing it wrong.)

Oh, I sooooo did it.

Once when we were at Universal for some days I felt the intense need to do a couple of things at Disney, different parks, and all I had was one day. So I may be the only person in history foolish enough to buy a one day park hopper, but I did just that.

Space Mountain was getting ready to close for it's lengthy rehab into the unknown so I wanted that one last time and Toy Story Mania was new so I wanted that. I got to MK very early in the morning and the park wasn't busy so I went straight to Space Mountain and rode so many times I lost count and I was sure it was burned into my memory. After a quick walking tour I got on the bus and went to Studios to find that park VERY busy with 1 million or so high school cheerleaders and TSM was sold out for the day. Damn. So I rode Tower of Terror several times, then couldn't find much else to do so back on the bus to the transportation center then the car.

Stupid.

Well, I'd draw a distinction between someone with an agenda (Space Mountain/TSM) and someone who, out of deliberate ignorance, spends more money than they need to.

You had specific things you wanted to do, that were worth the cost to you. (I'll rarely stray off the dollar menu at fast food restaurants, but am perfectly happy to drop upwards of $100 on a new fountain pen.)

Here's a guy who thinks that WDW is actually an exceptional deal (I happen to agree):

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-disney-is-a-bargain-even-at-10...2015-02-26

^Have to take into account our decades-long discussion of price vs. value...some see a high price and assume it's a bad value (leaving out of the discussion those who are "priced out of the game" since they aren't posting here and weren't going to Disney at $95/day either).

The comments following that story are unsettling. I'm amazed at the number of people that don't understand the basics of business and economics. I can't imagine how some of them even manage to sanely handle their personal finances.

I like this one...

The best deal is Cedar Point,with the most,fastest and highest coasters,excellent park,plus the Kalahari Water Park and Hotel,right next door,,Disney can't hold a candle to Cedar Point,easy travel time from...

In response to Jeff's post:

Apples are much better than oranges.

I don't know if this is comparable, but one of my other hobbies is board gaming and you see this really weird thing where people expect the components in the box the reflect the price. Like, if you pay $50 for a game you expect to see twice as many little pieces of cardboard than a $25 game. Things like art design, replayability, and <gasp> actual game quality are secondary. One of my favorite games of all time (Yomi, if anyone cares) costs $100 for 10 decks of nice but not super nice poker cards. However, I've played that game more than all of my other games combined. I obviously find the value there, but most people even if they acknowledge it's an incredible game will say, "$100 for 10 decks of poker cards. No way!"

Somehow I feel like your average "pooh-pooh"er looks at the price of Six Flags, the price of Disney and says, "Six Flags has more rides and costs half as much" without any consideration for things like design, staff, cleanliness, immersiveness, etc.

I like cards against humanity.

I like Ticket To Ride.

ApolloAndy said:

Somehow I feel like your average "pooh-pooh"er looks at the price of Six Flags, the price of Disney and says, "Six Flags has more rides and costs half as much" without any consideration for things like design, staff, cleanliness, immersiveness, etc.

But why can't it be the case that the supposed "pooh-pooh"er simply finds more value at Six Flags and isn't wrong for doing so but just different? I understand the tendency to be defensive when someone doesn't like something that you do. But ultimately if you like something, who cares that there are other people who don't like it? Does the fact that other people don't like it lessen your enjoyment of it? And if you don't like something, who cares that other people do? Do you find yourself thinking you should like it because others do?

I see defensive responses a lot. But two places where it seems more common is anytime someone says something negative about Disney parks/resorts or Apple products.

And to be clear, references above to "you" are not directed at Andy but to people in general.

I'm not sure that there are a lot of consumers cost-comparing Disney to Six Flags -- or to Cedar Fair, or to Busch Gardens or what have you.

Some folks like to shop at Macy's, some like to shop at Nieman-Marcus.

In either case, they're both fine options, but they're offering rather different experiences. Customers will choose according to their own best interests.

I doubt there are huge numbers of people doing that cost comparison either. But the context of this discussion since Jeff posted the link to the market watch article has been those folks. One explanation given for why someone could find more value at Six Flags is they aren't considering design, staff, cleanliness, etc. at Disney. My point is that another explanation is they aren't ignoring any of that but just find more value at Six Flags. And I don't think they are wrong for doing so. Nor are the folks who find more value at Disney. Just different.

They aren't wrong... except when they use their perception as the basis for predicting that Disney has gone too far.

A point which I didn't think was being contested (at least not here).