When WDW re-opens: Price hike or lots of discounts??

[WinnieAndMinnie17]

I would expect severe discounts just based on the fact how Disney is going to want to pack the parks as much as possible during the summer (Hopefully). This is the only way for them to fill them up in my opinion, as some vacationers will be scared to travel. I don't believe Disney was doing well during the summer months this year anyway based on bookings so these big discounts should help them finish the year strong! Also I don't believe Disney will go back to business as usual, be prepared for possible no stand by lines at first and a possible limiting people into the parks. I have heard that from some pretty credible people in the Disney bubble! Just praying this is gone by June, hope everyone is staying safe!

 

[DantePD]

Neither, at least not right off the bat.

My guess is that once they've sort of stabilized operations, there'll be a short term discount to try and rebuild some momentum, before restoring the pre-COVID pricing

 

[Aurora0427]

Aloha,

Who in their right mind would dare go on board any cruise until we have a good working vaccine?

Seriously. We may never take a cruise after this... Ever

 

[tlmadden73]

Both.

They will discount the MESS out of hotels to get people in the door .. and "magically" the prices of souvenirs and food will be a LOT higher than it was in February.

Some of that may just be the case of having the supply chains disrupted, but also to make up the lost revenue.

I doubt tickets will rise this year .. but next year they could skyrocket again.

If we hit a recession from this and less people come back this year --- maybe we'll see the return of incentives to get people to come --
1) More free dining
2) Gift card incentives for booked trips
3) Return of EMH and reduction of the parties .. especially the Early Morning Magic (since those have a higher demand when the parks were SUPER crowded).

I'm more afraid we'll see cuts ... things not started yet will just be stopped. The Epcot rehaul may be stop (except what has been started). Cuts in live entertainment .. reduced capacity on rides (rides opening later, closing earlier) .. less Meet and Greets .. etc. etc.

 

[tlmadden73]

I guess I expect (depending how long they are closed) .. a "Please don't cancel your summer trip" incentive. Maybe throw guests who don't cancel a $200 gift card or something ..

Maybe they will offer deeper AP and summer discounts to fill the rooms (in which case .. a lot of the "on the fence" summer trips may be rebooked and maintained)

 

[SaintsManiac]

My TA is going to book a room only for me this week for May 2021. I am hoping a discount comes out, and I am pretty sure something will. They always have some kind of promo going on. I am thinking most things will be back to normal by then, except for the Epcot construction.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

They're *already* offering discounts. Many of us who had to cancel Spring Break trips have been offered discounts to reschedule. I'm betting the discounts keep coming. They can't make any money if no one is there.

 

[FrankieWinthrop]

I'm interested to see what will happen. We just started our new passes in late Feb. (didn't renew since we bought new ones last June from SAMs after the hike) and were supposed to go tacked on with a conference this week and a few days with our beach vacation in June. At this point, we'll have APs into next year, so we will be going back when it opens, whenever that is. It'd be nice to see some kind of discounts for those of us APs that are off property. Maybe QS dining or a bigger merchandise discount. They KNOW we'll come back since it's already paid for - bigger discounts might incline us to spend money we wouldn't normally spend.

 

[Deano45m]

They have already sent out free dining for summer trips for anyone that had a cancelled trip due to closers.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I think there will be discounts.

Disney has 2 problems facing them now.

1. Economy is going to take a long time to recover from this.
2. People are going to be afraid to go to areas with lots of people.

The question really is, how much of discounts are we going to see? I guess that really depends on how bad the economy is.

 

[SL6827]

The economy was due for a recession, correction regardless. But with one being ushered in like so with this virus I think it will be way worse than what it could have been.

 

[gharter]

i think it will all come down to how crowded the parks are shortly after reopning. If there is a high demand, there will be no discounts.
If the demand is not real high, we will see lots of discounts to get people back in the parks.

 

[JasonH]

When WDW re-opens, do you expect there to be a price hike, to try and make up for their lack of park revenue? Or tons of discounts, because it will be awhile before people start to feel safe coming back?

My suspicion is discounted hotel stays, elevated merchandise prices ($40+ Mickey ears, higher cost for purchasing pins for trading, etc). That is, assuming they can even get merchandise delivered to the parks from China. Unless anyone else here knows if they actually make their products in the USA?

 

[mshanson3121]

Unless anyone else here knows if they actually make their products in the USA?

Uh negative. I have yet to buy a single Disney product that has been made in the USA. They out source just like everyone else.

On that note, I wonder if we'll start to see a resurgence of domestic production for many more items?

 

[mel&me]

I say neither, I picture Disney starting out with a few but they have their locked crowd that cant wait to go.
Evident just by reading these boards. People already wanting to reschedule or worried that there current reservation will be canceled.
Everyone is hoping for the huge and plentiful discounts.
But in the end I think Disney will be taking a slow approach, And add discounts a little at a time if needed.

 

[jpeterson]

I say neither, I picture Disney starting out with a few but they have their locked crowd that cant wait to go.
Evident just by reading these boards. People already wanting to reschedule or worried that there current reservation will be canceled.
Everyone is hoping for the huge and plentiful discounts.
But in the end I think Disney will be taking a slow approach, And add discounts a little at a time if needed.

I don't think these boards are a very good representation of what things will be like. People on this board tend to be a little more Disney-obsessed than most (myself included). It will really depend on what the "normal" people do when it comes to vacations...

 

[mel&me]

I don't think these boards are a very good representation of what things will be like. People on this board tend to be a little more Disney-obsessed than most (myself included). It will really depend on what the "normal" people do when it comes to vacations...

Good point, people on here are just a bit obsessive.
But
I do still stick with saying the discounts will be minimal.

 

[momdad4kids]

One thing no one here has mentioned. Its not just Disney World and Disney Land that are being affected, its Disney world wide. Disney Parks is the biggest source of revenue for the Disney corp. There's a world recession coming, the cruise industry is done, the economy in North America, Europe and Asia will be years recovering from this shut down. Personal disposable income will be used to pay deferred credit card and mortgages, not vacations. The fear of another outbreak is going to be in many peoples memories for years. The Canadian, British and South American currencies are dropping in value, they make a large portion of Disney visitors to the U.S. parks. Attendance after an initial opening surge is going to be way down.
Disney has been fortunate the last few years to be able to charge a premium price for a popular product. With world economies and personal finances tanking, Disney is going to need every dollar they can get considering the huge investments they've made in the Disney World and Disney Land parks. Disney is going to have to come out with discounts in hope of getting a volume of visitors to maintain revenue. I think your going to see park and hotel discounts very similar to 9-11. On the other hand look for an increase in souvenirs and food, major projects will be left unfinished (remember the POP century/ Art of Animation). The 2021 anniversary is going to look a lot different than many of us were hoping for but without the increase in prices we were dreading.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I don’t know that souvenirs and food can see much of an increase. They have increased both so much in recent years, particularly the food, that I imagine much more (and especially in tough economic times) and you price out the people who can even afford to come to the parks. I think more likely is less locations either by way of seasonal or even long term closures. I think for the most part Disney is going to be doing a lot of cost cutting vs increasing revenue generating activities.

That also leads me to wondering about the future of after hours events and parties. I wanted them to go away, but not like this...

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I say neither, I picture Disney starting out with a few but they have their locked crowd that cant wait to go.
Evident just by reading these boards. People already wanting to reschedule or worried that there current reservation will be canceled.
Everyone is hoping for the huge and plentiful discounts.
But in the end I think Disney will be taking a slow approach, And add discounts a little at a time if needed.

I bet if we looked back on these boards in 2008 or so it would appear that there were tons of people taking Disney trips (multiple even) despite Disney needing to heavily discount.