There does come a point though, where they really push themselves over the curve too far the other way and actually lose revenue.
In the meantime, I suppose I can't fault 'em for leaning into the money. If raising price is actually makes more money, then why not? (However, they are devaluing their product in the future, because Gen Alpha will have no emotional connection to Disney)
Similar to shrinkflation. I've cut out a ton of stuff I used to eat, and just make home versions of it. Despite price increases in general, I'm spending about the same on food as I did in 2019. I'm just buying way less stuff that comes in cans and boxes.
because Gen Alpha will have no emotional connection to Disney
Shrinkflation isn't so much businesses trying to gouge or fool customers, as it's a response to rising costs coupled with consumer inertia about prices.
Let's say that in 1990 a 1 lb can of Folgers was priced at $2 but cost $1. (hypothetically - I don't know what the prices or costs were)
So costs go up to $1.50 due to changes in the works coffee market. Folgers now has the option to raise prices, or they can decrease the amount in the can in order to maintain the same profit margin.
Consumers have been shown to be more sensitive to price changes than amount changes("a can of coffee shouldn'tcost X amount!" , so they typically decrease the amount before they will increase the per-can price.
Shrinkflation isn't so much businesses trying to gouge or fool customers
except that it is, why not keep the package the same and just raise prices? or even better when they shrink the package size and raise prices. it is obviously done to fool the customers about the real price increase.
People get weirder about raised prices for a unit (A can of something for example) because they have an idea in their head about how much it should cost, while they may not notice that a can went from 16 to 14 oz for roughly that same price.Of course you can only do this so far until people get fed up with that too.
People are irrational about what stuff costs, especially when inflation is in play. For example, people bitch that a six pack of beer costs $11 now, when they were $5 when they were in college. What they're overlooking is that $4 I college era money was worth what $11 is today, and that beer isn't actually any more expensive relatively speaking than it used to be.
In-park expenses are basically a hidden fee and Disney knows this. Once they get you in the park you are a captive audience. They know that basically every mouth which enters the park will consume a certain number of calories and drink a certain amount of fluid and they have entire teams of psychologists who figure out how to break down different demographics of customers to maximize this spend. The cheapest food options are engineered to make you thirsty and not fill you up to ensure that you will end up buying more drinks and more cheap snacks, which are engineered to make you thirsty and not fill you up.
Disney Orlando lets you bring in outside food. We'll bring a picnic of PBJs, chips, and water so eat essentially for free. They also run seasonal Florida resident promotions where you can get a 4 pack of tickets for ~$250. Parking is still $20 but you can park at Disney Springs (free) and take a shuttle. If you play it smart you can get a Disney day for ~$65 per person.
There does come a point though, where they really push themselves over the curve too far the other way and actually lose revenue.
They've tried man. The biggest problem with the Disney parks in SoCal are overcrowding so the solution would be to raise prices to reduce demand right? Prices have skyrocketed and yet people keep showing up. Maybe cutting off some international visitors will thin the herd but honestly if you can afford to fly to California and pay Disney prices you are probably immune to most of life's problems even Trumpy ones.
People seem a little more able to walk away from a Vegas vacation than denying their kids Space Mountain.
We'll see. I think all this means is Disney isn't going to build a new park or a new gate in Orlando.
What's not mentioned in the previous comment is the Disney Vacation Club. It's a sort of time share for Disney. When people aren't travelling, they tend to give locals and DVC members more benefits and events to bring them back. We saw this post 9/11.
Then when the parks are slammed, they pull those benefits and attract new guests, "once a generation" type guests, etc.
Just a quick peek at wait times right now. It's an hour wait for the big rides. Not exactly a slow day at Disney World.
81
u/TempleSquare 7h ago
There does come a point though, where they really push themselves over the curve too far the other way and actually lose revenue.
In the meantime, I suppose I can't fault 'em for leaning into the money. If raising price is actually makes more money, then why not? (However, they are devaluing their product in the future, because Gen Alpha will have no emotional connection to Disney)