Morrigoon
03-29-2004, 11:38 AM
This is for long-time/repeat APs:
Let's take an arbitrary time, say, 1999. What did you pay for your pass, and how much would you say you spent per year at Disneyland on top of the cost of your pass? Are you now spending more or less money at the resort?
Personally:
In 1999, the premium AP was less than $200 (disclaimer, I was a CM at the time, but I WOULD have owned a premium AP). Prices for food and drink were significantly lower than they are now- I'd say a burger, fries, and a coke after tax ran around $6-ish. Pins were $4-$6 and beanies were $6.
I went to the park probably 3 Sundays a month, and at least 3 other partial days. On Sunday, I would buy lunch at places like Pizza Port, Plaza Inn, or Big Thunder BBQ. My typical lunch bill was $9-$12 total. I would also eat dinner, and average $11-$14. I would typically purchase 1 item per week, sometimes more (eg: buying 5 pins at once, etc).
So, average Sunday expenditure, taking the bottom of each price range, had me spending $20 on food, plus probably an average of $6 in merchandise or snacky stuff.
Since I was in the park frequently, I would probably purchase another meal, usually dinner, so we'll tack on another $11 in spending each of the 3 weeks out of the month I was likely to be in the park. So now we're at $47 per week's attendance.
12 months in the year, that's 36 weeks at $47/week. That year I probably spent around $1692 in regular expenditures (not counting high-ticket items).
:eek:
Today, the AP is $279 (note: mine renews in January so let's say mine is $225). Granted, DCA exists, but when DCA first opened, I bought the DL-only pass for $199 - I do not count DCA for purposes of pass value because if offered, I would still own a 1-park AP. A burger, fries, and a coke at Whitewater Snacks now runs just under $10. I do not know what it costs at Plaza Inn anymore since I stopped eating there 2 years ago when the typical meal was starting to run $13. I'm guessing around $16 for an entree and a drink, does anyone know (go by the chicken prices since that's what I'd be getting)? I haven't purchased a beanie or a pin in over a year, they now cost an average of $10.50. A soda, with tax, is hovering dangerously close to the $3 mark.
Food prices have gotten so ridiculously out of proportion with quality and value (not to mention portion size, which has dropped!), that I avoid eating at the park if possible, and probably have ONE $10 meal per visited week.
I still go 2-3 Sundays per month, plus other days. Probably still visit at least 6 times a month. (come to think of it, I'm probably understating my frequency of visits both then and now). I go 3 months between merchandise purchases, and I don't typically spend more than $25 on whatever it is.
So, same 36 weeks of visitation, averaging $10/week in food, total $360, plus the no more than $75 per year in merchandise, has me spending $435 per year at the park (not counting AP price).
:|
.... And now they've raised the AP price 20% (please note, inflation is hovering somewhere between 1-2%, I'm not sure the exact number, but it's LOW). Is this supposed to encourage me to spend more in the parks? Given the trend, do they honestly expect that charging me more is going to make more money off me?
I'm seriously beginning to wonder if they employ any microeconomists at all in this place. You know, there are people who can actually create reasonable price elasticity models....
Or, Eisner can just blame poor performance on 9-11 for the third year running (that excuse got old after the 1st year).
Let's take an arbitrary time, say, 1999. What did you pay for your pass, and how much would you say you spent per year at Disneyland on top of the cost of your pass? Are you now spending more or less money at the resort?
Personally:
In 1999, the premium AP was less than $200 (disclaimer, I was a CM at the time, but I WOULD have owned a premium AP). Prices for food and drink were significantly lower than they are now- I'd say a burger, fries, and a coke after tax ran around $6-ish. Pins were $4-$6 and beanies were $6.
I went to the park probably 3 Sundays a month, and at least 3 other partial days. On Sunday, I would buy lunch at places like Pizza Port, Plaza Inn, or Big Thunder BBQ. My typical lunch bill was $9-$12 total. I would also eat dinner, and average $11-$14. I would typically purchase 1 item per week, sometimes more (eg: buying 5 pins at once, etc).
So, average Sunday expenditure, taking the bottom of each price range, had me spending $20 on food, plus probably an average of $6 in merchandise or snacky stuff.
Since I was in the park frequently, I would probably purchase another meal, usually dinner, so we'll tack on another $11 in spending each of the 3 weeks out of the month I was likely to be in the park. So now we're at $47 per week's attendance.
12 months in the year, that's 36 weeks at $47/week. That year I probably spent around $1692 in regular expenditures (not counting high-ticket items).
:eek:
Today, the AP is $279 (note: mine renews in January so let's say mine is $225). Granted, DCA exists, but when DCA first opened, I bought the DL-only pass for $199 - I do not count DCA for purposes of pass value because if offered, I would still own a 1-park AP. A burger, fries, and a coke at Whitewater Snacks now runs just under $10. I do not know what it costs at Plaza Inn anymore since I stopped eating there 2 years ago when the typical meal was starting to run $13. I'm guessing around $16 for an entree and a drink, does anyone know (go by the chicken prices since that's what I'd be getting)? I haven't purchased a beanie or a pin in over a year, they now cost an average of $10.50. A soda, with tax, is hovering dangerously close to the $3 mark.
Food prices have gotten so ridiculously out of proportion with quality and value (not to mention portion size, which has dropped!), that I avoid eating at the park if possible, and probably have ONE $10 meal per visited week.
I still go 2-3 Sundays per month, plus other days. Probably still visit at least 6 times a month. (come to think of it, I'm probably understating my frequency of visits both then and now). I go 3 months between merchandise purchases, and I don't typically spend more than $25 on whatever it is.
So, same 36 weeks of visitation, averaging $10/week in food, total $360, plus the no more than $75 per year in merchandise, has me spending $435 per year at the park (not counting AP price).
:|
.... And now they've raised the AP price 20% (please note, inflation is hovering somewhere between 1-2%, I'm not sure the exact number, but it's LOW). Is this supposed to encourage me to spend more in the parks? Given the trend, do they honestly expect that charging me more is going to make more money off me?
I'm seriously beginning to wonder if they employ any microeconomists at all in this place. You know, there are people who can actually create reasonable price elasticity models....
Or, Eisner can just blame poor performance on 9-11 for the third year running (that excuse got old after the 1st year).