Will Disney World Offer Huge Discounts After Reopening?
“Will Walt Disney World offer deals when the parks & resorts reopen?” and “will WDW raise prices to make up for lost revenue during the closure?” are two common reader questions right now. While they’re phrased very differently, the idea is the same, and we’ll attempt to answer here based on history and our expectations.
This is going to be an ongoing series, coming in response to feedback and concerns raised in response to our Will Walt Disney World Reopen on April 1, 2020? post. Other topics we’ll tackle along these lines include how crowded the parks will be for the remainder of 2020 and how Disney will modify the guest experience in light of the current (and potentially ongoing) public health crisis.
A few people, presumably new to the blog and not familiar with my “methodical” (a nice way of saying long and rambling) approach, felt the previous post was verbose. Our short and sweet answer is that Walt Disney World will eventually end up offering incredible discounts after reopening. If you want to be notified immediately when these deals are released, sign up here for our FREE Disney newsletter here. What follows is the why and when of that…
For starters, let’s dispense with the question of whether Walt Disney World will raise prices to make up for the lost revenue during the closure? We’ve addressed this countless times in the past, but to reiterate: Disney charges what the market will bear. They don’t hold off on price increases as a nice gesture to guests.
When Disney increases prices, the company does so not at the rate of inflation or because its costs are increasing at a commensurate level, but because they can. When they offer discounts, it’s out of necessity, not corporate benevolence. Walt Disney World is an extremely savvy and sophisticated business—they are going to maximize profits to the greatest degree economically feasible.
It’s not as if Walt Disney World has ever dropped prices when attendance was high and increased prices when attendance was low. To the contrary, Disney charges the highest prices when demand is up (e.g. Christmas and New Year’s) and drops them when attendance is low (e.g. September). Simply put, if Walt Disney World could have freely increased prices without seeing a corresponding lack of demand, the company already would have.
I think this is difficult for some Walt Disney World fans to grasp because our view of the parks is fundamentally different than the vast majority of guests. For many of us, visiting the Disney parks is a near-essential. Sure, we’re keen on deals and cutting costs. However, one way or another, we will find a way to go, even if that means financial belt-tightening in other aspects of life.
This is not how the vast majority of guests view Walt Disney World. While there might be an emotional component to the calculation for that “rite of passage” vacation, most people are not willing to pay any amount that Disney tells them is the cost. They do have a balking point or price ceiling.
If middle class Americans considering a first-time trip–far and away Walt Disney World’s single largest demographic–go to price out a vacation on DisneyWorld.com and the package price is staggering, that’s it–they’re done. They move on to the next-best alternative, whether that’s the local Six Flags or a road trip to see America’s National Parks.
For regular readers, we probably sound like a broken record with regard to Walt Disney World’s pricing. Exactly two years ago, we published Is Walt Disney World Eroding Fan Goodwill?, which is an assessment that could’ve been written two weeks ago. Just last month, here’s what we wrote in response to ticket price increases:
At this point, it would seem that price increases will continue unabated until the next economic downturn. Given the staggering number of “Most Expensive Day Ever” and “#BROKE” shirts (among hundreds of other similar Etsy designs) visible in the parks right now, we do think Walt Disney World has a serious pricing reputation and perception problem.
However, as long as consumer confidence remains high, people will pay the prices…and then spend even more to wear shirts complaining about said prices. The serious issue will come down the road when people are not feeling so hot about their economic circumstances and future.
At that point, it’s a question of whether discounting will be enough to incentivize guests to return, or if irreparable brand damage will have been done during the last decade or so of increases. We don’t have an answer to that—no one does—but it’s definitely something about which we’re curious.
This is all to say that Walt Disney World’s long-held reputation of being expensive has accelerated in recent years, and there’s now the perception even among guests who choose to go that it’s overpriced. Just a few weeks ago, it was something many laughed off by spending even more money on shirts poking fun at that fact.
That now feels like an entirely different era–a time when the economy was booming and consumer confidence was at record highs. Since then, the stock market has plummeted and estimates of unemployment have skyrocketed at a record rate. The former has yet to find its bottom, while the latter will continue to rise until the current situation is under control.
It’s entirely possible that the economic recovery will be swift, with the stock market recouping its losses in short order and many furloughed or laid off employees quickly going back to work. Things could be largely back to normal by Christmas. It’s also entirely possible that things will worsen and theme parks are the last thing on any minds this holiday season. There are also a number of possible scenarios in between the extremes.
It should go without saying, but there’s so much future history here that remains to be written. Two weeks ago, how many of you would’ve predicted what your lives look like today? It’s safe to say that any forecasting of the future two months or even two more weeks from now is inherently unreliable.
One thing that is safe to assume is that the longer this drags out, the less likely it is that the United States economy quickly bounces back, and the more likely there’s lasting or even irreparable damage. For many small business owners and their employees, things are already at that point. Even if the overall economy recovers quickly, it’s very difficult to envision unemployment numbers going back to where they were at any point in the next 2 years.
Ditto consumer confidence, which is the best indicator of how willing people are to spend big on lavish vacations. Just as with past recessions, this will take a psychological toll–our collective memory of this won’t immediately be vanquished from minds once people can get out of the house and go back to work. At least initially, consumers will be more conservative with spending and cautious about saving.
Once this is over, there will unquestionably be pent-up demand and a strong desire for vacations. In some regards, Walt Disney World will likely benefit from this. That’s especially true as the parks offer a good mix of nostalgia, safety, comfort, and escapism–all things Americans will almost certainly be seeking after all of this.
However, a desire to get out of the house and put this in the rearview mirror does not equate to on-site hotel occupancy (the main consideration for offering deals–and why this is a separate post from our crowd predictions). First, there’s the obvious–desire doesn’t translate to ability or action. If economic circumstances, anxiety, or available credit don’t allow for a trip, it’s not happening.
Second, people can visit the theme parks without staying in Disney-owned hotels. We’ve been asking the question, Is Walt Disney World’s On-Site Advantage Disappearing? for a while now. In good times, many people brush it off–they want to stay on-site to be immersed in the “Disney Bubble.”
It’s as simple as that–cost and value for money considerations don’t even come into play. Going forward, if staying off-site is the difference between going and not going, we suspect that calculus will change for many people.
History is somewhat instructive on both of these points. Post 9-11, Americans were eager to prove that we wouldn’t live in fear, but we were still collectively apprehensive of air travel. Following the Great Recession, there was anxiety about personal finances and savings. At the very least, everyone knew someone who lost their job or home. Although it’s still early, it seems like the aftermath of this is poised to have a mix of the two moods.
Most of my knowledge of deals post-9/11 comes via anecdotes, as my family was still staying at Shades of Green at that point (and thus insulated from the realities of WDW’s actual pricing). However, there are numerous stories online of people paying <$200 per night for Deluxe Resorts, Wilderness Lodge in the low $100s, with Value and Moderate Resorts in the $40-80 per night range.
We vividly remember the deals during and coming out of the Great Recession. It was a great time for Free Dining, along with other more novel discounts. We did several inexpensive stays at Pop Century and Saratoga Springs Resort thanks to deep-discounts and stacking deals. We were also big fans of the “Buy 4, Get 3 Free” deal, which provided 3 free hotel nights and ticket days–plus a $200 gift card–when you booked 4 nights.
Once the current crisis is behind us, we would similarly expect Walt Disney World to get creative with ways to increase hotel occupancy as well as the average length of stay (that 4/3 deal accomplished both). It’s also likely we’ll see a surge in “traditional” deals like Free Dining and room-only discounts (likely ‘sweetened’ versions of both) as well as Disney dumping unsold inventory onto blind-booking sites.
Speaking of the Free Disney Dining Plan Deal–as that is one specific promo about which many of you have asked–we would absolutely expect another wave of that offer to be released for late 2020 travel dates. We previously would’ve anticipated this being released in April 2020, as is normally the case.
However, we now expect the second wave of 2020 Free Dining to be released at least a few weeks after Walt Disney World’s official reopening plans are unveiled. This is both so Disney can space out demand on its phone lines and can gauge what hotel occupancy numbers are looking like for the remainder of the year.
As for timing of other discounts, that largely depends upon internal projections of hotel occupancy and attendance upon reopening. Even though the Great Recession and 9/11 are instructive, this is still fairly unprecedented. My fear here is that people within the company will initially overestimate the strength and resilience of the parks & resorts.
Walt Disney World has enjoyed an era of unprecedented prosperity–a time during which it felt like the business segment’s leaders could do no wrong. Even unpopular decisions were begrudgingly accepted, and Disney reaped incredible financial results. A decade like the last one can give rise to delusions of invincibility, and a lack of appreciation for the fickleness of consumers.
From my outsider’s perspective, the current closure would be an ideal opportunity for Walt Disney World to hit reset on a lot of things. We’ve previously remarked that Disney takes the Kohl’s approach to pricing–never lowering “tag” prices, just offering aggressive and sometimes illusory discounts for their psychological appeal.
Now would be a good time for that to be rethought. Use the closure as a sort of soft reboot, eliminating fees that have not been well-received (the hotel parking fee is top of mind there) and correcting other prices for the current and future market. My fear is that Walt Disney World’s recent memories of success will result in a slower pivot, with aggressive discounting taking more time to roll out.
During both recent economic downturns, Walt Disney World also made operational changes–some of which we could see play out here. Post 9/11, some venues were mothballed and costs were cut to the greatest extent possible. It was almost as if the Y2K party was over. Following the Great Recession the approach was very different, with Disney leaning in to the idea of a party. The parks had some of their longest hours ever, “What Will You Celebrate?” was the promotional campaign, and the “Summer Nightastic!” event debuted.
What path Walt Disney World takes here on the road to recovery remains to be seen. If I had to guess based upon corporate attitudes and recent strategies, I’d bet on a period of austerity measures followed by a massive party. That might not seem like a bold prediction given likely attendance patterns and Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary on the horizon, though. We’ll tackle those two topics in follow-up posts, so stay tuned!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you think Walt Disney World’s prices will rise or fall once the parks & resorts reopen? Are you anticipating colossal savings on hotels, tickets, or dining? Will you be ready to pounce on deals–or will you wait for a full economic bounceback? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I am a Disney fan that hasn’t been going the past few years. Disney has become less awesome as the crowds and pricing have become out of control.
I think this is an interesting conversation – I mean everyone here is a fan who probably wants prices to drop, and crowds to disappear so we can have the wonderful vacation we did in years past.
However, Disney won’t let go of their profits easily.
My personal opinion is that when quarantine is over there will be a temporary surge of vacationers who have already paid and don’t want to cancel and/or forfeit the already paid for trip.
However, even if the economy recovers and the unemployment rate drops, it will still take time for many people to recover financially. They may go back to work, but paying down the debt incurred over the few months of no work, back-rent or mortgage, bills and taxes, plus replenishing savings will likely affect vacations for many. For the well-to-do, the plummeting stock will also take recovery time. I also expect that overseas travel will suffer as well for a both FL and CA parks are packed with foreign visitors, and let’s not forget the scar this will leave on people who are now afraid to hug their close friends and relatives let alone be squished up next to germ-infested strangers in line for space mountain.
I think that crowded places will just feel less safe for a while, along with air travel.
Disney will cut the cost, but only when numbers are low enough that they have to. Hopefully they will start taking a careful look at all of the up charges they have added on as well, and start eliminating some of those as well.
The whole CA fastpass ticket up-sell is like that – fast passes – great! Then, they came up with a scheme where you pay extra per ticket per day, and you can get fast passes on your iPhone. Now you have to be inside the park within minutes after opening to get passes to some rides, and every person in your party needs to be checked in as well. In order to get through security you need to be in line an hour or more before the gates open. When you stay until closing the night before and get up at 6:00 am with kids just to get a fastpass that you paid too much money for and that is unavailable 3 minutes after the park opens …. this makes less than an awesome vacation. I know so many people who come back disenchanted and swearing that they will never go back – Disney has lost the magic that makes first time guests avid fans. (We live in CA so most people I know go to DL rather than DW. I think the FP works differently at DW. I’ve only been to DW once, years ago.)
Hey Tom,
We bought non-transferable tickets from OTC over a month ago (before all this started) to preempt the expected price rises. Our trip is in the second week of August.
Do you know if we are just SOL if the park is still closed then?
It’s quite the body blow to jump through hoops to make the vacation as affordable as it can be just to now have to face the prospect of loosing $1300+.
Thanks for all your hard work!
There’s some bonkers revised numbers coming from the crowd calendars. Seeing that right now those numbers can’t be based on much of anything logical, I’ll really be looking forward to your predictions once there’s information to base things on. (Especially since we rebooked for the week of 11/29!)
Crowd calendar numbers for specific dates are incredibly premature and are in no way reliable in the least. There are too many variables that are up in the air right now.
We’ll have some thoughts on crowds in the near future, but it’ll be more ‘philosophical’ and in no way definitive.
If Disney was smart, they would offer some kind of fabulous discount or pass for Florida residents- & NURSESâ€âš•ï¸â€âš•ï¸ ,DR,pharmacy, ALL frontline non compendated OVERWORKED, AT RISK workers.-retail -grocery, 911, gas,bank,⛽(No one is giving us two weeks off paid -to stay home like mall& disney employees! Or, an increase in salary ,a bonus ,or even a free lunch for that matter! please don’t misunderstand, I think these companies are fabulous for doing that for their employees . ) although only 3 hours from Disney, we have not gone in many years. We were DVC Members back in the day! Although we don’t need air fare to get there ,we need gas, hotel, food ,Time off work,& everything else that Non Floridians need to visit. Many people won’t be flying ,but Floridians will be driving!! !Not to mention almost every school in South Florida generally has a field trip at the end of the year -to either Disney ,Universal, Epcot etc. We lost both of ours this past week, including the almost $200 for each one-day trip that we laid out. -It would be amazingif they somehow ,some way, could (for lack of a better word )’reward’ all of us that have been working through this pandemic every day on the front line- with a discount, bogo..etc.. I worked 18 hours in the ICU on Sunday. Being locked in the house with the kids is miserable. to drive to the beach for an hour to relax& clear my mind of the despair and sickness that I see @ work would be great. Beach is closed.How wonderful would it be to tell my kids, after it’s all said & done, we will be able to afford Disney for 2 or 3 days & make-up for your lost field trips, proms, recitals, varsity games, etc. I work every weekend so it’s hard to coordinate things during the school year w/ the kids; PLUS South Floridians generally don’t go to Disney in the summer -it’s just hot hot hot. And let us bring a few guests .no one says they have to be from Florida .And remember, not everyone has SMALL children! Kids are free doesn’t help everyone!
Nobody knows…but given the insane crowds this year prior to the pandemic I’m thinking a quick recovery when things finally get normal which I think is far off. I’m hoping Tom is right and discounts will be plentiful but I’m skeptical. Many Americans have a lot of dough and stashed away and not worried because there will be a rebound eventually just a matter of where you are in the life cycle.
“For many of us, visiting the Disney parks is a near-essential. Sure, we’re keen on deals and cutting costs. However, one way or another, we will find a way to go, even if that means financial belt-tightening in other aspects of life.”
This pretty much describes my wife’s and my problem .
Went on a Disney Cruise and never looked back at WDW. Been on 9 consecutive cruises now.
I was a fan of cruises about 20 years ago when I was younger. Then realized that packing in so many people into one small island/ship may not be the best way to stay well amongst the norovirus outbreaks. However a few months up until this new outbreak of COVID 10 I was thinking about a Disney Cruise bc I have heard nothing but glowing reviews. Now I’m back to my initial thinking esp after seeing Americans holed up in ships quarantined.
All this fine speculation of discounts and pricing
Question Is…..How is Disney going to reopen before a Vaccine is developed, mass manufactured, and Administered to the General Public ?
After 911 everything dropped all prices rooms crowds. This time anyone can get this virus, yes I think things will drop in prices. Definitely they will.
Canceled a weekend trip for May 1st, but will keep our two-day plan in July. The crowd prediction was moderate, but I am betting it will be at SWAMPED level for all of those who had to cancel this Spring. Disney is such a nostalgic thing and so many families grew up going yearly or even more often that it won’t be hard to find those who have the money to still go. When I was little living up North, we went every year to see family in Orlando and go to Disney. (1970’s) We were very rare, Most families went once or twice and then did other vacations. Now, I know 12-year-olds who can easily top my 40 visits because going for school holidays here in the South is an expected thing.
Disney is honest about focusing on the wealthy who can afford private tours, party tickets, a Deluxe resort, and those with plenty of discretionary income. I LOVE Disney and go as often as I can to the parks or a cruise on my tiny income by saving up. But I am under no illusion that I am their target market.
“If middle class Americans considering a first-time trip—far and away Walt Disney World’s single largest demographic”
I thought WDW’s largest demographic was bloggers!
My trip to Orlando is canceled but do plan on going to Orlando once safe to do so. I was planning to go to Walt Disney world, but can’t fathom or afford spending almost $1000 Canadian for 2 people for a 4 day pass or even $300-$400 Canadian for 2 for a one day pass. So there for I will not be going to Disney. If they did in fact lower their already over inflated prices I would consider. There is so much to do in Orlando that doesn’t cost nearly as much.
After having been an annual pass holder and Star Wars runner for the past five years, this was to be my last Star Wars Run and last year as a frequent visitor. I was excited to visit at Christmas time with family to see the free Osborne Lights show, and visit a few times a year like I did growing up on the West Coast with Disneyland. Over time, they began charging for “special events” like Christmas and Halloween parties, and the parks have become unbearably crowded all year long. This diminished the value of my annual pass with the additional cash grabs, lower quality in food and constant crowds. Perhaps as you say this is a time for Disney to reset, but I don’t see that happening. They’ll continue to cram everyone in and charge more every year for the parks and hotels.
This will be our last year as annual passholders too. We paid top dollar for our tickets and even with Disney being silent on an anticipated opening date, they won’t do the decent thing and PAUSE AP’s monthly payments. Luckily for us, our passes are set to expire in July so we only have a few more monthly payments to make, but I still think it’s unethical to not show some compassion towards your fans during this hard time and just PAUSE our payments.
Disney World is a poorly run behemoth with 30+ year old rides that break down and aren’t that fun anymore. Their food can be described as subpar catering food at ridiculously high prices. They build dozens of hotels to house thousands and thousands of people, yet don’t build enough new attractions to keep them busy. And don’t get me started on the boring, ugly, overpriced Galaxy’s Edge land.
Goodbye Disney World. I really enjoyed you in the 1990s. Pity you had to sell your soul.
I really hope they do NOT offer discounts. It was extremely overcrowded before! In fact, I hope they raise prices say 25% across the board. Tickets, food, souvenirs, everything! Higher prices are the only thing that will control the crowds at Disney World.
People… don’t do it. Take a deep breath, relax for a moment, and don’t feed the troll.
I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see. This article was very well written.
Personally, I’m super disappointed with Disney. We had booked our dream, once in a lifetime trip to Disney World, have been Disneyland pass holders for 20+ years.
Our trip was canceled, by Disney, due to the current situation, understandable. However, not refunding the thousands we spent in park tickets just adds insult to injury.
I expected more from Disney. But again, like your article clearly states, they’re a business with no connection to anything other than the dollar.
Wow. What an incredibly snobby thing to say.
As Florida Annual Passholders, we have been on the mydisneyexperience website every morning for the last six months or so with little or no success as far as Fast Passes go. Even now with the COVID 19 virus; there are no decent future date FP s to be had prior to 2:30 p.m. in any of the parks. Coupling that with the projected crowd levels for WDW for the rest of 2020, our AP benefits are almost non existent. I doubt very much that Disney will offer any major discounts if and until they see how strong pent up demand is. My guess is WDW will not re-open until May or June. My daughter is telling me about her kids school year being over till September 2020. Home schooling the kids and working from home are not as easy as you think. A lot of families are going to feel they desperately need a Disney vacation for themselves and the kids. Do you think MVT will get better deals than those offered directly from Disney if big discounts are really added. Or will we have to open our Ovaltine jars and get out our secret decoder rings to guess at Priceline Express deals? Will the South American tour groups still be coming? I don’y hear or see much about COVID 19 in South America. Too many questions I know. But we do have a lot of free (non park) time on our hands.
“A lot of families are going to feel they desperately need a Disney vacation for themselves and the kids.”
Are you serious? Our economy is in a nosedive and people are losing money left and right – layoffs, health insurance bills skyrocketing, people scrambling to feed families, pay their mortgages, and taking care of themselves and others…and you think they are still going to shell out for a trip to Disney (that I guarantee will still be wildly overpriced)??
I would if I could. I doubt I will be able to afford to take a trip to Disney World for quite a while (I live one hour away, stay at a value resort on-property, and usually go for 3 or 4 nights. I have an annual pass, weekdays only, no summer). After all is said and done I will not be able to afford to renew our annual passes when they expire (original date of expiration June 9 but extended by X days due to current park closing). I’m going to keep watching Disney+, read my favorite blog posts ; ), and keep hoping that somehow we can get there one day in the not too distant future. I’m optimistic but realistic.
But travel insurance doesn’t cover a pandemic (I’m surprised by this) and a lower cost doesn’t help a renter if they have to cancel their trip. Sadly there are many reasons for last minute cancellations including deaths, illnesses, etc. Of course they are unlikely and if you are a risk taker then win win. I just prefer to deal with Disney reservations not a third party reseller. Disney has always been very fair to my family allowing cancellations outside the rules.
It depends on the travel insurance you get. There are many that allow you to cancel without reason. That’s what I get when I book a DVC villa through an owner since it’s nonrefundable. And then I get the luxury of a Deluxe villa (studio) for the same price as a moderate.
Though this may sound counter intuitive — I kind of think that we won’t see discounts very fast, but not because things are doing well:
I suspect that a condition of re-opening will be a dramatic capacity reduction. Extra spacing in restaurants. Rides may really limit standby lines. Limited indoor assembly.
In other words, there may be big reasons why Disney (or the law) would want greatly reduced attendance.
Not hard to imagine — Magic Kingdom capacity is about 100,000? And average crowd is 50,000? Not hard to imagine that capacity gets limited to 20,000 in the park at a time, until the virus is really eradicated. DHS has been doing 30,000 per day? Imagine their capacity gets limited to 10,000, just to create enough space to spread people out.
Basically, attendance kept low enough that there are no big standby lines, no full theaters. And all the while, including extra time for sanitizing everything between guests.
So imagine an indoor ride like Soarin — A requirement to sanitize the ride after each “flight.” While also keeping attendance low enough so the queue never has more than a couple hundred people who are spaced out.
When the parks re-open there will be somewhat of a rush of people, just excited to get back to the park. Disney may not want to incentivize those crowds to get any bigger.
Comes down to this — we are not going back to normal overnight. When things go open, it will be a long transitional period until we get to normal. There will be a whole lot of restrictions in place, not just extra handwashing stations. Not going back immediately to a point where Disney would even want full capacity utilized.
Even with “only” 20,000 people in MK, those people will congregate in concentrated places. If people stand 2m apart to watch a parade, someone will walk into that gap for a good view. The indoor lines for popular attractions will stand too close together, especially since the barriers creating the queues often double back on themselves. Children are no good at social distancing and personal space – it’s just not in their thoughts. Florida tried leaving it up to common sense to keep a sensible distance on their beaches, and the spring break visitors crowded on. Sure, halving the number of visitors would make the parks less crowded, but it wouldn’t prevent transmission, even if all visitors were thoughtful and respected each other.
Everything you say is correct — but will also change out of necessity. It may mean cancelling parades. It may mean no indoor lines — Fast pass only, and only letting people stream into the building slowly, so there there is no backup of people.
It may be a very low number of people….. But using Villains After Dark and DAH as examples — I believe they sell up to 6,000 tickets? So at 6,000 people into Magic Kingdom at a time, you can keep nearly everything as walk-on. No need for people to group into lines.
Is it perfect? No. Families will still group together, obviously. And there will often be less than 6 feet between people. But overall, density could be kept fairly low.
If anyone thinks WDW will open April 1, they need a head exam.
People are sick and dying, and there are worries about future”Discounts”.
Those things are not mutually exclusive though. I spent all last week sick with Covid scared I might die. When I recovered this weekend, one of the first things I did was put down a deposit on a summer vacation at WDW with our family–and hoping for discounts is one aspect of that. When times are tough, you have to have something to look forward to.
L.A. well said! We couldn’t agree more!!! Glad to hear you are OK.
Thank you
The idea of a “reset” is so interesting.
I wrote the CEO outlining my frustration with the resort parking charges. Told him this was the last straw in out pricing the average American family and what a shame that was.
I told him I did not think Walt ever intended that.
Thanks for your articles- keep them coming.
I am a lifelong Disney fan. I grew up in Orlando and spent many happy days at the Magic Kingdom. I consider an annual trip to be almost a necessity, but even I have considered balking at all of the annual and oftentimes biannual price increases as well as the extra fees and paid events. I would love for Disney to “reset” and possibly do away with some of their recent money grabs.
My concern is we will see more discounting, but also more cutbacks, leading to a question mark over the value proposition overall. The signature restaurants are the places I’d be most fearful of economies being made, followed by general maintenance.
The bigger issue is that I just don’t see any US or EU Disney park reopening anytime soon. Maybe that’s a perception thing – we are at the start of a long road and the end isn’t in sight, even though it must surely come – but in the U.K. at least, it’s suggested that social distancing may be required intermittently for approximately one year, and I don’t see Disney as being compatible with that policy.