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In the face of mounting customer dissatisfaction and declining park attendance, Walt Disney World has quietly been discounting the cost of admission and hotel stays over the past several months.
In May, Disney began offering discounted three-day ticket packages that would allow customers to visit Hollywood Studios, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom for $89 per day, though tickets to Magic Kingdom still need to be purchased separately.
The lower ticket prices, which will last through September 24, represent a sharp decrease from the all-time high $254 price tag attached to a daily Park Hopper pass.
At the same time, Disney is also attempting to reduce the total cost of a trip to the Florida resort complex by discounting the cost of its cheapest hotel accommodations. A night at Disney’s All-Star Movies, Music and Sports Resort could cost as little as $100, depending on when guests book their stay. These price drops constitute as much as a 27% discount on normal rates, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
The parks have also introduced new dining packages this summer, which reduce the cost of eating at Disney by 20% to 30%, according to the same Bloomberg report. The dining plan allows families to purchase all-day meal passes for $30 per child and $95 per adult, which can be redeemed for some meals and snacks throughout the parks. Disney World reportedly is also offering more quick meal options, cheaper food for kids and more flexible restaurant policies.
Disney experts cite the increased cost of eating inside parks as one of several factors that have led to a decline in customer satisfaction.
Len Testa — the president of TouringPlans.com, a site that surveys thousands of Disney customers annually — told Bloomberg that customer satisfaction ratings declined from 90% to 60% concurrently with Disney moving from a la carte dining to fixed price meals at many of their most popular restaurants.
Testa praised Disney’s cost-cutting strategies, but cautioned that this trend might not reflect a true commitment to affordability or guest satisfaction.
“Disney has long been willing to sacrifice a certain number of positive ratings for a certain amount of revenue,” he told Bloomberg.