So Much Less for So Much More

Published: January 1, 2021

Prices have been the biggest complaint about a Disney World vacation in recent memory.  We have all seen the complaints when yearly (sometimes twice a year) Disney will raise prices on Park Tickets, Hotels, Food, etc.  But in most of those cases, Disney was still providing a full entertainment package for the prices.  There was always a new ride that was going to open or there was going to be a new shopping district to be built.  We truly understand that these construction projects cost money to complete and we tend to forget that Disney is a publicly traded company that must show profits to shareholders.

But what is happening now is addition by subtraction for Disney’s financial books.

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Several months ago, Disney announced that they were no longer going to issue complimentary MagicBands to those that are booking rooms in one of the Disney World Resorts.  It has been commonplace since MagicBands were introduced, Disney would send you a FREE MagicBand for each member of your party that was staying “On Property”.  You even had your choice of color.  But in this announcement, each member of your party will now have to spend a minimum of $10 on a basic MagicBand which is another expense that you will need to keep in mind.  Disney is pushing visitors to use there phones in place of Magic Bands to unlock the door for your room at the resort, gain entry into the parks and to make purchases in the parks.  Using the MyDisney App saves Disney money for each visitor that they do not have to send a complimentary Magic Band to, and it is a minimum $10 revenue for each MagicBand that is purchased.

 

 

Luggage Tags

Starting January 1, 2021, Disney will also not be sending complimentary luggage tags with the welcome kit you receive in the mail when you book a stay at a Disney World Resort Hotel.  Although this does not seem like a big deal, the luggage tags were souvenir from your trip, before your trip.  It was one of the perks for staying at a Disney World Resort.  Disney is reporting that you may pick up the luggage tags at the main desk of the resort in which you are staying.  But realistically home many visitors are going to forego the amount of time that it will take to walk over to the main desk (Disney is pushing Online Checkin so that you do not even have to go to the main desk) and not pick up the luggage tags at all?

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Park Hopping

Also starting on January 1, 2021, Disney has brought back “Park Hopping”, sort of.  Starting on January 1, you may visit a second park after 2PM if you had purchased the Park Hopper option with your tickets.  You will need to make a reservation for your first park and enter the park on the day of your reservation.  Then, after 2PM, you may enter a second park, only if that park is not a capacity.  I have yet to see if you would have the option of entering a third or fourth park if time permitted.  With the reduced operating hours of the parks right now, it is doubtful that you would actually be able to visit two parks in a single day.  This is a reduction of the value that we had before the pandemic where you could visit as many parks that you wished in a single day, but now it is realistically only two parks in a day for the same $60 per ticket per days fee.

Is This Fair to Visitors

These are three examples of where Disney World is offering less and still charging the same rate, if not more.  Remember, Disney World is still not offering perks such as Extra Magic Hours, Fast Passes and more as I outlined in this article several months ago. Yet the fee for Park Entrance has remained the same.

I understand that a company needs to make a profit in order to stay in business and that the Covid-19 Pandemic has been disastrous for everyone, there comes a point when you feel as though you are just being ripped off.  Although, by looking at the Park Attendance during this year’s holiday season, I think that I may be in the minority on this one.