Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/06/winner-take-all.html
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kind of sickening given that if Disney charged NOTHING to get into their parks…they’d still make a killer profit from everything else.
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Not really.
The parks are by far one of their biggest profit areas.
Putting multiple billion dollars into park development to open multiple new parks and areas within the parks over the last few years isn’t cheap, and Star Wars Land is by far the biggest single addition they’ve ever done… and the parks still sell out on a regular basis. So this isn’t really surprising in the least.
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While there are many things that I don’t think should be rationed by how much money one has (necessities and some luxuries), Disneyland seems like the almost the archetype of things that are legitimately rationed by money.
Admittedly, Disneyland was probably already beyond my budget and just moving more so, but even locally, having things that I used to be able to afford get put out of my price range because they have gained international success doesn’t seem particularly unjust or greedy.
There are many things I consider that I have a right to by virtue of being born in Canada - Access to entertainment complexes is not really one of them.
But perhaps I’ve misinterpreted the slant of the article.
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From a pure profit-driven business perspective it’s hard to make the argument that they should reduce their ticket prices if they’re operating the parks at or near capacity as it is.
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Soooo only the rich should get access to entertainment? Why?
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Basically you pay way too much money and spend way too much time waiting in line. I’ll pass on this.
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but that was not my point was it?
Is it surprising no…Is it disappointing…yes.
Your point is that they’d make a ‘killer profit’ even if they charged nothing to get into the parks, but the reality is that their company doesn’t work that way. The theme park division is a massive operation and without its income they wouldn’t really be a profitable company just from their films or broadcast divisions.
They often have to turn away guests from the parks even with the admissions as high as they already are, and overcrowding is one of their biggest problems. So no, I don’t think making the parks free would be a great idea. Doing away with super-cheap admissions for locals was one step; annual passholder price hikes is another. It’s a tricky balance but as long as people are still willing to pay a premium to visit, they’ll charge it.
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Ugh! Disneyland passes have always been expensive. This just salts the wound. I don’t know if this is just demographics but the park is crowded, too many people for my taste, most times I visited in recent years. It’ll be mobbed after the new section opens.
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a firm push away from the idea of Disneyland as a “locals park” for casual visits and into the kind of place that most local families could only visit on very special occasions.
It never struck me as a casual visit place in the same way Magic Mountain or Knotts Berry Farm was. Disneyland was a full-on commitment, which is one of the reasons it’s uniquely special. I remember going once or maybe twice a year on average when I was a kid, sometimes with family and sometimes on a school-related or birthday party trip.
This change does suck for local Disneyphile families like yours, Cory, but it sounds like casual visitors are taking a hit on price, too. I’ve been meaning to go back for years whenever I’m in L.A., but now I’ll wait for the Star Wars area to be open for at least 6 months before attempting an off-peak visit. It’ll still be a splurge but as those things go it’s one of the better ones.
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Not so much a trip to Disneyland, as a pilgrimage or Hajj.
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My point still holds true. If Disney made nothing on the parks. They’d still be making a huge profit off everything else.
Do not lecture me on how corporate profit structures work. I was not arguing that whatsoever.
Don’t add details into MY POINT that I did not include. If you want to say “yeah generally speaking. But you now it’s mroe complicated that that” then sure I’m on board and would agree.
But I wasn’t arguing the detailed nuances of corporate profit structures and how Disney makes money off each of its individual parts.
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Disneyland’s “problem” is that s/t like 70% of their visitors are annual pass holders. They have to staff for that, even for the majority of days when pass holders don’t go there and spend more money buying food or merchandise. Non-pass holders may be more profitable for Disney and making room for them may be one of the reasons why they keep raising the pass holder prices so much.
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Um
I think you’re taking an odd amout of offense at being reminded that their park operations are so massively expensive that if they didn’t charge for them then they wouldn’t make any profit from the rest of the company, but okay.
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Save your money or spend it on something real for your kids.
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Just to head this off before it gets ugly, I think quori might be talking about concessions, upgrades, merchandise, et al. Not side hustles like Disney’s studio production arm. Am I right, @anon61833566 ?
Edit: Although the parks used to be the side hustle back in the day…
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Well. I was speaking very broadly. Disney as a whole. And while I know that’s not how corporate structures work, I wish they looked at the parks as something they did not need to make profits on.
And if I did think about it as the parks only then the same thing applies…they could let everyone in for free and still make a ton of money just off all the other stuff as you mention.
Regardless. I am not offended by @nungesser disagreeing with me or by wanting to look at the specifics as opposed to a very broad and general view I took of being disappointed by this. I am not however inclined to let anyone tell me what MY point is or isn’t. Nope. Not a fucking chance that goes without a counter from me.
Peripheral question, why is Cory so interested in Disney?
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Although Corporate America has pretty much come to their senses (well, in this regard if not others), what was also kind of sickening was that Disney used to seek out corporate sponsorships for their attractions. Instead of funding public museum exhibits or PBS shows, companies used to pay millions to help build things that made Disney money.
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