Bob Iger Returns/Disney CEO Thread (2022)

[saint.piss]

I wasn't sure where to post this so I'm posting it here. Kinda insane how we've gotten to this point with Disney prices...

 

[Skold]

I wasn't sure where to post this so I'm posting it here. Kinda insane how we've gotten to this point with Disney prices...

Len Testa, who owns Touring Plans and is quoted in this WSJ article, has a great blog about the data he used to come to those two sentences he was quoted for. How Much Disney Can America’s Middle Class Afford in 2025?

I'm "boycotting" Disney since Genie/LL was introduced, but it is troubling to see Universal follow these price increases.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Len Testa, who owns Touring Plans and is quoted in this WSJ article, has a great blog about the data he used to come to those two sentences he was quoted for. How Much Disney Can America’s Middle Class Afford in 2025?

I'm "boycotting" Disney since Genie/LL was introduced, but it is troubling to see Universal follow these price increases.

Disney gets all the blame, but Universal is just as bad when it comes to this.

 

[Freak]

Len Testa, who owns Touring Plans and is quoted in this WSJ article, has a great blog about the data he used to come to those two sentences he was quoted for. How Much Disney Can America’s Middle Class Afford in 2025?

I'm "boycotting" Disney since Genie/LL was introduced, but it is troubling to see Universal follow these price increases.

Disney gets all the blame, but Universal is just as bad when it comes to this.

Tbf to Universal, at least they’re able to “justify” the price increase by adding stuff to show for it!

 

[Jake S]

this basically lines up with my thoughts on the article. are disney and universal theme parks expensive? absolutely. are they overpriced? i'm less certain. disney (and universal!) believe they're providing good value for their high admission. i still haven't seen any real sign that customers disagree with that, despite reading the same style of anecdotes for more than a decade.

that said, the middle class, such as it is, is getting priced out of more and more out-of-home activities. we're not going to consumer our way out of that problem. we're going to need to do something about the growing wealth gap if we're actually gonna take any of this stuff seriously.

 

[Mad Dog]

this basically lines up with my thoughts on the article. are disney and universal theme parks expensive? absolutely. are they overpriced? i'm less certain. disney (and universal!) believe they're providing good value for their high admission. i still haven't seen any real sign that customers disagree with that, despite reading the same style of anecdotes for more than a decade.

that said, the middle class, such as it is, is getting priced out of more and more out-of-home activities. we're not going to consumer our way out of that problem. we're going to need to do something about the growing wealth gap if we're actually gonna take any of this stuff seriously.

Yeah, that's the 'real' life point. The wealth structure is top loaded now....Supply side economics didn't work, and we all knew they wouldn't.

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, that's the 'real' life point. The wealth structure is top loaded now....Supply side economics didn't work, and we all knew they wouldn't.

come on now! it’s worked out great for bob iger!

 

[UNIrd]

Eh.. I was just there this weekend. The parks are slammed. Seems like not only can people afford it, enough people can also afford to stand in long lines to give Disney their money all over Epcot's festival booths.

The prices are high, yes, but clearly people are paying it.

 

[saint.piss]

Disney Parks Offers: Everything You Need to Know | The Walt Disney Company

Prepare for your next visit to a Disney resort by learning about the promotional deals and offers available across a variety of ticket, dining, & hotel options.

thewaltdisneycompany.com

 

[Mad Dog]

Disney Parks Offers: Everything You Need to Know | The Walt Disney Company

Prepare for your next visit to a Disney resort by learning about the promotional deals and offers available across a variety of ticket, dining, & hotel options.

thewaltdisneycompany.com

Len Testa (Touring Plans owner), who worked with the Wall Street Journal on their article & statistics, replied, on the WDW Magic Forum thread, to those WDW points. Mostly just typical PR jargon fluff responses to anything critical of the company.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I'm so confused whats going on at Disneyland

Last year was pretty slow until Halloween time, heck its partly why they were limiting guests last months because they were staffing less CM's because they didn't think people would be coming and we got one week of off season...but since then its been pretty full

Not saying it will stay this way but Food and Wine is soon, Luke coming for Star Wars Celebration should make the event at least full of MKs, and then its the 70th which is offering nostalgia with the parades and what not and then we get back into Halloween and the Holidays

So at least DLR should be kinda immune this year from losing too many guests that or everyone is trying to get a trip in now because they lose their job/inflation spikes

But with all the ticket Deals at Disney...I hear people are going because of those here at DLR anyway and honestly while people complain about the new gift shop, I've never seen HM this crowded before in this part of the year...it's getting longer lines then Bayou Adventure and thats a "NEW" ride and has worst capacity and yes its cold...but still pretty amazing to see.

Anyway at least for DLR people can complain on price but I see full shops, parks, rides, shows and restaurants so f it cost too much the people are either going into debt or just complaining online and going anyway

 

[Mad Dog]

The bottom line, that there may be some legitimate concern at WDW, is that the D23 announced so many significant land/attractions additions for the end of this decade. If Disney was convinced that they weren't in danger of having flat, or lessening, revenue, they would have stayed with the status quo and only scheduled minor, less costly, attractions/lands additions. And I never pay attention to corporate PR announcements to counter legitimate media criticism. They're just PR.....Disneyland and WDW are, of course, not in danger of collapsing like Six Flags. They're both still crowded. But there's degrees of crowded, and a telltale sign is lots of discount offers to get people through the gates. Universal Orlando's been in the same boat this past two years, and they've used an almost constant buy two/get two free ticket enticements to get the attendance.....Once those discounts become rare, then that's when attendance gains are real. Discounts are still plentiful at Disney & Universal.

 

[saint.piss]

It has the same energy as this

 

[UniversalRBLX]

While I don't have the equivalent amount of data that TouringPlans/Len Testa have... a few key data sets below with UOR pricing as well:

Average Ticket Price on a 1-Day, 1-Park in 2025:

• WDW: $168
• UOR: $154

However, note that Universal's parks typically have shorter normal operating hours. In 2024, Universal's parks would average about 10.9 hours a day, while WDW parks were open nearly an additional hour at 11.8 hours. Based on 2024 hours, Universal's parks would cost about $13.64 per hour (avg. 1-Day park admission at $149), while Disney would be slightly cheaper at $13.57 per hour (avg. $160 1-day park admission).

Average Quick Service Entree Price & Google Review/Rating of UOR/WDW/SW Parks:
SeaWorld Orlando has the highest price with Universal Studios Florida being 2nd (Minion Cafe & Leaky Cauldron are pricey options).

• Magic Kingdom $12.75 | 3.9 (surprisingly cheapest QSR, though arguably the worst offerings)
• Epcot $13.20 | 4.0
• Disney's Hollywood Studios $12.88 | 4.0
• Disney's Animal Kingdom $14.00 | 4.2
• Universal Studios Florida $16.25 | 3.6
• Universal Islands of Adventure $13.58 | 3.6
• SeaWorld Orlando $19.58 | 3.4
• Disneyland $15.03 | 4.0
• Disney California Adventure $14.17 | 4.1
• Universal Studios Hollywood $13.18 | 3.3

Average Table Service Entree Price & Google Review/Rating at UOR/WDW parks:
Clearly, Disney is out of their minds when it comes to in-park table service options.

• Magic Kingdom $48.33 | 4.1
• Epcot $61.53 | 4.3
• Disney's Hollywood Studios $38.23 | 4.2
• Disney's Animal Kingdom $44.85 | 4.4
• Universal Studios Florida $26.75 | 4.2
• Universal Islands of Adventure $25.51 | 4.1

While we can go back and forth on who offers the better value, UOR is just behind WDW in ridiculous pricing.

 

[Jerroddragon]

While I don't have the equivalent amount of data that TouringPlans/Len Testa have... a few key data sets below with UOR pricing as well:

Average Ticket Price on a 1-Day, 1-Park in 2025:

• WDW: $168
• UOR: $154

However, note that Universal's parks typically have shorter normal operating hours. In 2024, Universal's parks would average about 10.9 hours a day, while WDW parks were open nearly an additional hour at 11.8 hours. Based on 2024 hours, Universal's parks would cost about $13.64 per hour (avg. 1-Day park admission at $149), while Disney would be slightly cheaper at $13.57 per hour (avg. $160 1-day park admission).

Average Quick Service Entree Price & Google Review/Rating of UOR/WDW/SW Parks:
SeaWorld Orlando has the highest price with Universal Studios Florida being 2nd (Minion Cafe & Leaky Cauldron are pricey options).

• Magic Kingdom $12.75 | 3.9 (surprisingly cheapest QSR, though arguably the worst offerings)
• Epcot $13.20 | 4.0
• Disney's Hollywood Studios $12.88 | 4.0
• Disney's Animal Kingdom $14.00 | 4.2
• Universal Studios Florida $16.25 | 3.6
• Universal Islands of Adventure $13.58 | 3.6
• SeaWorld Orlando $19.58 | 3.4
• Disneyland $15.03 | 4.0
• Disney California Adventure $14.17 | 4.1
• Universal Studios Hollywood $13.18 | 3.3

Average Table Service Entree Price & Google Review/Rating at UOR/WDW parks:
Clearly, Disney is out of their minds when it comes to in-park table service options.

• Magic Kingdom $48.33 | 4.1
• Epcot $61.53 | 4.3
• Disney's Hollywood Studios $38.23 | 4.2
• Disney's Animal Kingdom $44.85 | 4.4
• Universal Studios Florida $26.75 | 4.2
• Universal Islands of Adventure $25.51 | 4.1

While we can go back and forth on who offers the better value, UOR is just behind WDW in ridiculous pricing.

This is cool but I do question the USH price per hour Vs Disneyland

For today as example it's 124 for USH and 142 for Disneyland...Disneyland is open 16 hours while USH is open 8 hours.

Even at 154 which is the highest price I saw on USH vs Disneyland 206 Ticket, it would depend on the hours but besides the 1st of the year most days USH is closed a few hours more then Disneyland

 

[UniversalRBLX]

This is cool but I do question the USH price per hour Vs Disneyland

For today as example it's 124 for USH and 142 for Disneyland...Disneyland is open 16 hours while USH is open 8 hours.

Even at 154 which is the highest price I saw on USH vs Disneyland 206 Ticket, it would depend on the hours but besides the 1st of the year most days USH is closed a few hours more then Disneyland

Depending on who you ask in this forum, some have argued that using "price per hour" is an insignificant factor when it comes to comparing the parks. I disagree with that, but to each their own. But yes,

However, I bring this data up solely because Universal doesn't get the attention Disney typically doe it does when it comes to this issue. Universal certainly deserves praise for their investment into the parks.

Avg. Daily Operating Hours for SoCal parks:
DL - 15.4 (15.1 in 2019)
DCA - 13.6
USH - 10.6 (10.0 in USH)

 

[Jake S]

Depending on who you ask in this forum, some have argued that using "price per hour" is an insignificant factor when it comes to comparing the parks. I disagree with that, but to each their own. But yes,

I just don't think it's the way consumers make decisions or compare these experiences. If operating hours were wildly different, maybe I would feel differently. But my understanding is that consumers look at the price, try to evaluate how much fun they'll have and then make a decision. That's also how they'll evaluate their experience at the end of the day — or they might think of it in terms of how much stuff they did.

At this point, I think of Universal and Disney as competing luxury car brands. Both are very expensive and offer similar products. Deciding whether or not you're more of a BMW Guy or a Mercedes Guy has more to do with you than it does to the product (typically).

 

[Mad Dog]

How many guests spend the entire day in the parks...opening to close? Price per hour is a nearly meaningless stat. Even price per day is a shaky stat. For most of the past two years Universal has had that two days pay two days free offering. And most WDW tourists that stay for more than a weekend, buy the daily ticket discount depending how many day tickets they purchase. Bottom line, it's not all that cut and dry comparison. Yes, parks are expensive, but most guests never pay those quoted prices. ... I've never paid for a full one day ticket price at WDW or Universal. Usually I'm paying around $65 to $70 a day at the WDW parks. And way less at Universal with an AP.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Like I mentioned in another discussion forum, I agree that a price per hour calc shouldn't be the sole metric for comparing the parks or the value one gets from a park. But I don't think we should ignore it from a broader perspective when taking into account how the parks price themselves.

Another interesting metric, the average Google Review rating of attractions (rides) at the major parks also tells an interesting story about USH & USF:

• Magic Kingdom 4.5
• Epcot 4.5
• Disney's Hollywood Studios 4.6
• Disney's Animal Kingdom 4.6 (not enough attractions, but what's there is top notch in quality)
• Universal Studios Florida 4.1 (the strength of Mummy's 4.8 & Gringotts/Transformers 4.6 is not enough to outweigh the horrible performance of Minion Blast 2.5 stars & Supercharged at 2.0)
• Universal Islands of Adventure 4.5
• SeaWorld Orlando 4.5
• Busch Gardens Tampa 4.6
• Disneyland 4.5
• Disney California Adventure 4.4
• Universal Studios Hollywood 4.3

Two 2 rides in Florida are Guardians of the Galaxy & VelociCoaster at 4.9.

*I'm well aware that Google review is not the best nor sole indicator of an attraction's success, but it's the easiest public data attainable & generally decent view into guest thoughts on attractions.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

The ride google ratings are a fun little exercise.

Tiana at 4.7
Hagrids at 4.7
TRON at 4.6
Rat at 4.6
Spidey at 4.7
Jurassic World at USH at 4.7

And for the lowlights….
Mario Kart 3.6
WEB Slingers 3.0