It's Time for a Change Again
Disney and other theme park companies keep raising their ticket prices, even when the overall value that the parks offer stays the same or is lowered. The all-in-one, all-you-can-eat, one-size-fits-all unlimited passports mean that people are paying the same price regardless of how many attractions are closed, whether the park is open eight hours or sixteen, whether there are long waits for everything or short waits, whether the person has physical conditions that limit which attractions he or she can ride, or whether they just plain only want to see and do certain kids of things. The same price is being charged for radically different values. It is "all or nothing".

What if you just want the thrill rides? What if you just like the shows? What if you want to come in for a few hours to shop or eat?

One of the problems this has created for park management is clear. In recent years, they've resorted to offering big discounts on those prices, especially to locals, such as "buy one park, get the second park free","buy one day, get a year free", or "friends enter free". Get a discounted ticket at your local grocery store, or by taking a soda pop can. Although the unlimited passport is a bargain when compared to other forms of entertainment, isn't bargain when compared to years past, and now the public waits around for discounts, knowing that another promotion has to be right around the corner.

The problem these passports have brought about for guests is not so obvious, but it is there. As I started out this column demonstrating, people get frustrated when they've paid the full price for a "reduced" park.

Take a deep breath before you read the next paragraph.

Each Disney theme park is a business. Disneyland Park is a business. Walt Disney, the man for which Disneyland Park was a personal dream, has long since moved on to that great theme park in the sky, and he is not around the run the place with all of the drive from his heart, the vision of a dreamer, and persuasion that he mustered. If he was, I'm sure the unlimited passport wouldn't make a difference. But Disney parks (at least in the U.S.A.) are businesses, owned and controlled by a corporation, which is in turn owned largely by institutional investors who simply want a decent return on their investment. Many of them don't care if an attraction is closed, paint is peeling, or current projects and programs break tradition. Heck, many of them don't care if they're investing in companies that produce smut or pollute small countries, so they're sure not going to care about the particulars of theme parks.

"Pay for play" should at least be offered as an alternative again to the unlimited passport. Technology has advanced, so ticket books full of A-E coupons wouldn't necessarily be the way to go, but some form of concretely documenting each attraction's ability to generate revenue individually should be implemented.

Think about it. What immediate financial incentive does park management really have to keep attractions open and running in high capacity? To keep "plussing" them? To keep adding attractions, especially the smaller ones that fill out a park nicely?

Once you pay for that passport, Disney has what they want from you. It is to their advantage that you don't ride anything, but rather spend all of your time and money shopping and eating, since you pay for those activities. Yes, it is to Disney's advantage to get you to go home and tell your friends what a great time for a great value you had, and make return visits, but the revenue generated from that is not as easily or immediately measured as it would be if you were paying for each attraction.

One Imagineer more or less illustrates it this way:

What if the admission price covered food, but you paid for each attraction you wanted to ride? Guests would run to the most "expensive" restaurant in the park as soon as the gate opened and would make reservations. They'd eat too much and get sick of the food. The Foods management would cut back on quality as much as possible so as to maximize profits from the set admission revenue they were getting. Meanwhile, the Attractions people would be looking to add as many attractions as possible to generate more money. They'd keep their existing attractions open as many hours as possible, keep capacity as high as possible, and do any improvements and changes they could to get people to come back to that attraction. They'd want attractions that were elaborate and highly repeatable.

I agree.

The proof is all around you. Closed attractions. Dead space. Attractions that haven't been plussed in decades. Attractions replaced by shops and restaurants. Vending carts everywhere.

Please don't misunderstand. I still think Disneyland Park is great and offers a lot of quality entertainment. It is just that expectations have been created of the years, and there is so much potential that is going untapped. I want to see the business continue to grow, and I also want to see the magic continue to reach even the most demanding fans, and I think there are ways to do both.