Opinion: Disney price hikes about more than profit

Several years ago, when this whole MyMagic+ crap rolled out, I was a big part of the "have to plan every second of your WDW vacation" camp.

However, now that I have a good 1/2 dozen WDW trips under my belt since the "new era" of WDW vacations, I can say that for the most part, I have been able to enjoy a decent amount of last minute flexibility/changes in my plans.

My experience has been that other then the handful of "headliner" FP+ attractions, and restaurants, I have been able to change my plans on the fly, at least for the most part to my satisfaction.

During my last trip a few weeks ago, I was even able to grab a California Grill dinner reservation a few hours out; by luck of course. But if you have a little bit of flexibility, I have found that a good amount of last minute shuffling in plans can be accommodated.

^ Our first day worked at perfectly at the Hollywood Studios. Our Fastpasses got us on attractions that had long lines all day, and the the evening extra magic hours felt like ERT. The Tower of Terror is our favorite ride in Disney and we rode that 4 times and the Rock N Rollercoaster 2 times during those 2 hours.

The Coronado Springs Resort is a nice resort to stay at. Got a good location right next to a smaller pool and the main pool is about a 5-10 minute walk away.

Hanging n' Banging said:

My experience has been that other then the handful of "headliner" FP+ attractions, and restaurants, I have been able to change my plans on the fly, at least for the most part to my satisfaction.

Yes, this. This is how we roll consistently, to the point that it's not an anecdote, it's very much a trend. Simon and I got FP's Saturday for his "holy trinity," Seven Dwarfs, Thunder Mountain and Barnstormer, by logging on the night before. 7D is a little harder to get most times of the year, but otherwise, this is how it typically goes. That there are books, web sites and people who get paid to facilitate something so simple is absurd to me. A half-hour of research should tell you everything you need to know.

Here's another sky-is-falling-income-gap-percenters opinion... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-disney-price-hike-scott-m...olumn.html

Hanging n' Banging said:

During my last trip a few weeks ago, I was even able to grab a California Grill dinner reservation a few hours out; by luck of course.

ProTip: you can get the full menu at the bar without needing a reservation. My daughter and I went up this past August for some sushi on our last night in town. You can't always get up---depends on how busy they are---but I've been successful more often than not.

If I strike out there, I'll usually just duck down to the Wave. Much better food than is typical for a "mid-range" table service place at WDW, and always plenty of bar seating.

Jeff said:

A half-hour of research should tell you everything you need to know.

It will, to you and to me, but there are people out there who need a lot of hand-holding. Even at the theater, I often talk to a (usually) older person who's on the Blue Man website (or what they think is the Blue Man website because they Googled Blue Man and ended up on a ticket scalper site because they clicked on the first link that turned up); I repress the urge to tell them to call back when they've found a ten year old to man the keyboard, so that someone involved actually understands the Internet...

Jeff said:

Here's another sky-is-falling-income-gap-percenters opinion... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-disney-price-hike-scott-m...olumn.html

I've never read an article that sounds so much like someone cherry picking ideas from a CoasterBuzz thread and publishing it as a 'piece' on something.

With that said, I think it's spot on. In a nutshell:

"It's expensive to visit WDW. A lot of people won't be able to. So what?"

Absolutely. Coasters (and amusement parks in general) are, by definition, available to people who have sufficient disposable income to afford such trips. An extended trip to an amusement park or parks is out of reach for 40-50% of the population.

WDW isn't pricing itself to appeal to the mass market. It's pricing itself to appeal to people with money to spend.