Disney to launch new vacation planning site to help guests with date-based tickets and pricing

Sep 24, 2018 in "MyMagic+"

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Posted: Monday September 24, 2018 12:08pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Beginning October 16 2018, Walt Disney World will launch a new vacation planning site to help guests purchase date-based tickets.

Disney's date-based ticket-pricing is making the ticket purchasing process more complex than it was, and the company is keen to try and make things as easy as possible for guests. This appears to be especially true when date-based pricing comes to multi-day tickets.

With the new site, when guests are ready to purchase tickets online, they may use an interactive online calendar, which displays different prices based on the dates guests choose to visit and states tickets will need to be used during a specific time period. The calendar also allows guests to quickly see the lowest-priced days within a month. For example, prices may be lower during off-peak travel periods.

According to Disney, the new online vacation-planning destination will also feature park offering overviews, travel tips from Disney Parks Moms Panelists and customized suggestions based on each guest’s personal preferences – helping guests make more informed decisions.

In recent times Disney has been moving towards date-based ticket pricing depending on dates of visit. This has so far only applied to single day tickets, but this will soon expand to multi-day tickets.

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RustySporkOct 19, 2018

I can see it working for them if they adjust the (daily) price upwards as tickets sell (for that day) in blocks of 5,000 10,000 etc. Anyone that had already purchased (for that date) is "locked in" at the price they've already paid.

SteveAZeeOct 19, 2018

That would be 'boil us like Kermit'... don't forget the IP mandate. :)

SteveAZeeOct 19, 2018

Oh, definitely. I wouldn't think they'd be quite as bad as the airlines, but I could see them changing the pricing without warning the day before announcing the opening of SW:GE. They could also massage prices a little on a quarterly or monthly basis, and again do it without warning.

RustySporkOct 19, 2018

Seems to me the premise of this change is to prepare themselves to do exactly that. They don't have any obligation to warn before boiling us like frogs.

MisterPenguinOct 19, 2018

Well you see here how some people are overwhelmed by the complexity of the whole process, the last thing WDW needs (for now) are constantly fluctuating prices. But, it could happen, even if unwise at this stage of introducing surge pricing.

SteveAZeeOct 19, 2018

Ah, so more of a headache for guests (and travel agents... assuming such animals still exist) rather than a programming/site/accounting problem. It sure sounds like they added the caveat about 'changing tickets could cost you more if the price go up and if the price goes down you won't get getting a refund' to cover some of that. I'm thinking it's more like airline tickets... whose prices are in flux on a daily basis, or so it seems.

MisterPenguinOct 19, 2018

You would have people showing up with tickets in hand that were purchased at different price points, and if they had to move their date and pay the difference, they'd have different prices to pay, and if one of them changed their dates at a different time than the other, then even another change in cost. Then you'd have people spouting off "the cheapest time to go is mid-January when costs start at $104 per day," and they'd be wrong if prices fluctuated freely and people relying on that information would be confused and angry. Unlike a Broadway ticket which is locked to one seat for one and only one particular performance, and thus, the selling price can fluctuate and lock that price down; Disney tickets, however, can be moved to different days, and if that cost keeps moving, it'd be... messy.

SteveAZeeOct 19, 2018

I'm not sure I understand why it would be a headache.

SteveAZeeOct 19, 2018

In a quick chat with UndercoverTourist, it sounded like they have no plans/capabilities to provide date-based discounted tickets for WDW, so I'm wondering if Disney is also limiting or removing their 'competition' in this process.

MisterPenguinOct 19, 2018

Considering the headache it would be on their end, I'm sure that the prices will be adjusted (higher) once a year as typical. Plus they need to datamine how surge pricing affected this years' attendance to compensate for next year.

LensmanOct 19, 2018

They could raise prices continuously, week by week. They could boil us like frogs.

RustySporkOct 19, 2018

Seems to me the premise of this change is to prepare themselves to do exactly that. They don't have any obligation to warn before updating their price schedules.

SteveAZeeOct 19, 2018

Does anyone know if Disney could/would just arbitrarily change all of the pricing on date-based tickets without warning? It seems like they certainly could... just wondering what would stop them. Currently, it seems like the pricing is spread pretty evenly throughout the very (many have observed that the cost difference would do little to change most people's plans), but if Disney starts seeing or anticipating spikes (like when they announce the opening date for SW:GE), the pricing could change radically and do so without warning.