Episode 485 - Buy 4,Get 3 Free

Authored by: SortaGrumpy on Friday, November 07 2008 @ 07:48 AM CST

There is an obvious answer to Scopa's question as to why not extend free dining. Free food is a direct cost expenditure for Disney. They have to buy the food and pay staff to prepare, serve and clean up all those free meals. By giving away rooms that would otherwise sit empty, the only additional cost is cleaning the room. Very little marginal expense. With the pre-existing length of stay ticket discounting structure the additional days are of marginal revenue value to Disney anyway. Disney's goal is to hook you into staying longer than you normally would and maybe bumping up a level. From what I have seen on the boards that is what is happening. In the end people may spend as much or more than they would have had they stuck with a shorter budgeted trip.

The shrinking pool of travelers have the Mouse over a barrel. I predict this is just the beginning. Hold out, there will be better deals to come. Look at today's awful economic numbers. It's not getting better any time soon. Rooms rates can go pretty close to zero as long as they keep you captive on property and in their parks spending money.

The thing that concerns me is that they will no doubt be cutting back on renovations, staffing, and all the little things that make Disney what it is. We have already seen a steady decline by degrees as Mr. Yee calls it. Do you really want to be at a food court with less staffing or staying in a room that has not been cleaned properly? In the end, you get what you pay for.

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Authored by: Kfischler on Friday, November 07 2008 @ 08:17 AM CST

Interesting that only last night on Fox Business Channel, Disney was discussed after releasing their numbers for the quarter. The commentators looked at the Disney business from ESPN to their movies, but focused on the theme parks. It was their opinion that Disney had really pushed the price increase envelope in recent years from theme park tickets to merchandise and dining prices. They felt that the total vacation cost was exceeding an average family's discretionary income and further theorized that Disney's reliance on foreign visitors to make up for shortfalls of American families might be slowing down as the dollar strengthens and foreign economies slow down.

All of this comes as no surprise to those of us who have been faithful customers over the years, but what will it mean to us in the future? Well, maybe it means that we will return to the parks we had in the late 80s and early 90s. Maybe we won't have those $50 beads and other frills, but still have a place we can afford and enjoy.

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Authored by: ctink on Friday, November 07 2008 @ 08:18 AM CST

Before this offer came out, I had priced a stay at Boardwalk Inn From March 15th-19th for 5 poeple in a deluxe concierge room with a 4 day hopper with a price of $5,038.20. The same room, level of service, & amount of people to stay from March 15th-22nd with a 7 day hopper is $5,291.00. It seems to me that the $200.00 gift card is included into the price of the package, but still a phenomenal offer!

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Authored by: ADP on Friday, November 07 2008 @ 08:42 AM CST

Although this is a really good deal I think the ticket portion of the discount is not so good. Basically, you are paying for the ffirst 4 days of your ticket; which is the most expensive part, and giving you 3 more days free. Those 3 free days are only about $15 because of the way park ticket prices are structured.

The sweetest part of this deal is the 3 free nights of free lodging. It appears you will have to pay rack rate for the 4 nights. Basically, they are offering AP discounts to the general public for the first 6 months of 2009. The room savings appears to be around 40%. What really puts this over the top though is the $200 voucher provided if you can travel within the first three months. So, great room deal, not so good ticket deal, and a $200 kicker if you can travel during the first 3 months.

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Authored by: Rayman on Monday, November 10 2008 @ 11:13 PM CST

I suppose it's too much to expect to have something available for DVC Members.

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