Walt Disney World has no new rides on the horizon till 2027. On the identical time, Common is opening a model new theme park, Epic Universe, proper down the road. On high of that, pent-up demand continues to exhaust itself and there are indicators of a client spending slowdown.
However wait, there’s extra! We’re solely a pair weeks faraway from Walt Disney World is Fearful About Its Excessive Costs, which revealed that firm has inside issues about Disney alienating its core viewers. There are rising fears inside Disney about how worth will increase and unpopular choices are angering followers and shedding visitor goodwill.
That’s a really actual and related consideration as a result of at a crossroads like this, Walt Disney World would usually attempt to squeeze extra spending out of present friends with worth will increase. Or they’d create new income streams out of skinny air by inventing upcharges, new product choices, and even pricing schemes. However proper now, they’re a bit between a rock and a tough place. Wanting to seek out methods to develop income throughout what’s in any other case a interval of stagnation, but additionally needing to deal with probably regarding visitor metrics.
The excellent news is that it is attainable to string the needle.
About half of our Checklist of “Huge Little” Issues Walt Disney World Must Convey Again are upcharges or would in any other case generate income and never simply incur prices for the corporate (even issues just like the Cinderella Citadel Dream Lights qualify). Judging by the refrain of feedback, many Walt Disney World followers agree. They’re uninterested in paying extra–however they’re additionally prepared to spend additional in sure circumstances, counterintuitive because it might sound.
As we’ve talked about repeatedly, it’s not simply worth will increase. It’s these coupled with corresponding cuts, nickel and diming, and different methods the visitor expertise has been diminished. Value isn’t the one, or maybe even main, concern. It’s the worth proposition, which has taken hits in each instructions–persons are paying extra…and getting much less. That’s the true concern, not less than for a lot of followers.
One of many methods the worth proposition and visitor expertise have been diminished is by way of diminished selection. For some followers, it’s the lacking breakfast at Be Our Visitor Restaurant. For others, it’s the particular seminars throughout EPCOT’s festivals, lacking dessert events, and so forth. Sure, these are issues that make Walt Disney World much more costly. However additionally they added worth to the expertise, and that’s the crucial element.
One other level we’ve made not too long ago is that Walt Disney World must do extra to draw younger households.
Disney Grownup DINKs are an ideal demographic for Walt Disney World; it makes full sense that the corporate would do extra to cater to this rising portion of the inhabitants, particularly given their comparative buying energy. For this reason we’re seeing so many new lounges, a give attention to merchandise manufacturers, and partially explains the latest roster of latest rides.
On the identical time, younger households are traditionally Walt Disney World’s bread and butter. Mother and father take their youngsters to Disney, these youngsters kind emotional bonds, develop up visiting, and take their very own youngsters to Disney. Rinse and repeat. Numerous multi-generational ‘Disney Households’ exist as a result of this dynamic, together with each of us–and doubtless lots of you!
Pricing out households with young children is the surest strategy to break the cycle, leading to future generations that haven’t any emotional connection to Walt Disney World . There are vastly destructive long-term ramifications to shedding a give attention to households, however fortunately, it looks like there’s concern about this internally.
The underside line is that Walt Disney World must make a concerted effort to draw extra households. They’ve already executed this to a slight extent by decreasing the worth of the Disney Eating Plan for teenagers (whereas elevating it considerably for adults), together with varied different particular provides.
On the intersection of this all, there’s one thing we’d like to see occur when 2026 Walt Disney World trip packages are launched (which needs to be pretty quickly): carry again the Disney Eating Plan Plus (DDP+).
For individuals who are unfamiliar with it, which might be most of you because it was so shortlived, the Disney Eating Plan Plus was launched in late February 2020–5 years in the past this week. It was accessible for just a few weeks earlier than the closure, and has not returned since. The DDP+ provided the next:
- two meals at your alternative of desk service or counter service eating places (per night time)
- two snacks (per night time)
- a refillable drink mug (per keep)
The Disney Eating Plan Plus was shortly recognized by planners as being greatest for these planning on reserving a lot of character meals. Sure, you can use it for different functions, however a personality breakfast and character dinner every day have been, for sure, the optimum use case from a sensible perspective.
Once we say “recognized by planners” we’re actually speaking about ourselves. Our Disney Eating Plan Plus Evaluation was laser-focused on character eating; we have been already planning a sequence of character eating ‘itineraries’ for strategizing the very best breakfasts and dinners earlier than the closure. We had used the DDP+ as soon as to nice success, saving a ton of cash within the course of–a rarity even then with the DDP–and knew it will be vastly advantageous for extra character eating experiences.
That was all lengthy earlier than Megatron. I understood the worth of the Disney Eating Plan Plus for households on paper. As somebody who can use a calculator, it was straightforward to see how the DDP+ was an much more improbable possibility for households than it was for us. However admittedly, it was nonetheless an abstraction.
Quick-forward 5 years, and I discover myself reevaluating so most of the issues I believed I knew about Walt Disney World from a recent perspective. And as we race to do as a lot character eating as attainable within the subsequent year-plus earlier than Megatron turns three, I’m now extra keenly conscious of prices for teenagers ages 3 and up. (I’ve already talked about elsewhere, however I can already inform the age brackets for teenagers goes to drive me loopy.)
The notion of paying over $40 (in all probability over $50 by the point she’s 3 given the tempo of worth will increase and inflation) for our daughter to eat roughly $3 price of meals is unappetizing. We’re confronted with a dilemma: do these character meals now whereas she’s nonetheless a bit on the younger aspect (however we will respect her reactions) or wait till she’s a bit older, however should pay the kid’s price.
Enter the Disney Eating Plan Plus.
With earlier worth factors of $94.61 per grownup and $35 per little one when it was final accessible, the Disney Eating Plan Plus definitely is just not low cost. And if it have been to return in 2026, it will in all probability price over $120 per night time for adults, and across the identical worth for teenagers (different tiers of the DDP for teenagers are roughly unchanged from early 2020).
That’s some huge cash, and the reintroduction of the Disney Eating Plan+ clearly is just not one of many issues Walt Disney World must do to fight perceptions that Walt Disney World is pricing out the center class. However it might be one of many issues that Disney does to enhance the worth proposition, visitor expertise, and different metrics.
As for why the Disney Eating Plan Plus hasn’t returned already, that possible got here all the way down to staffing shortages and pent-up demand.
When the return of the Disney Eating Plan was introduced, demand for character eating experiences had remained surprisingly sturdy. We theorized that this was lagging pent-up demand for these meals, as so lots of these meals have been lacking or modified lengthy after the parks reopened.
Mainly, that character eating was slower to return in common kind, so Walt Disney World regulars who had beforehand postponed character meals in 2021-2023 till they have been again to regular have been nonetheless getting their repair at these meals. Since youngsters develop up shortly, households have been nonetheless making up for misplaced time and doing character eating experiences.
That lagging pent-up demand has now been exhausted. Though there nonetheless could also be some Advance Eating Reservation issue for bigger occasion sizes and round peak season, even character meals like Artist Level, Cinderella’s Royal Desk, Topolino’s Terrace, Chef Mickey’s, and 1900 Park Fare have all develop into a lot simpler to e book. I might go so far as to say ADRs are largely simpler than they have been in 2019, and demand has definitely plummeted since 2022.
The underside line is that Walt Disney World might kill a number of birds with one stone by bringing again the Disney Eating Plan Plus.
Absent the Deluxe Disney Eating Plan returning (additionally a good suggestion!), the DDP+ would develop into the highest tier of the Disney Eating Plan. Loads of households would improve to it, undoubtedly rising the important thing per visitor spending metric within the course of. In so doing, it will be a type of methods to juice income for the following couple of years whereas natural development is prone to stagnate.
It might additionally enhance bookings at character eating places, which have seen a large drop-off in reputation during the last year-plus. Lastly, it will be bringing again a ‘little factor’ that will make a sure subset of friends very joyful, with out negatively impacting the visitor expertise for others. It might be a real value-add, versus enjoying video games with pricing.
All of this roughly describes us. As soon as Megatron turns 3, we’ll develop into way more choosy about which character eating experiences we e book given the dramatically diminished worth proposition. And that’s with just one little one and the excuse of needing to do “analysis for the weblog.” I can not think about how mother and father with a number of youngsters and no such excuses handle. (The notion of dropping ~$150 for 3 youngsters to eat a mixed 4.5 Mickey waffles, 2.75 sausage hyperlinks, and eight grapes makes me cringe!)
Within the absence of one thing just like the Disney Eating Plan Plus, we’ll in all probability do just one character eating expertise per journey as soon as Megatron turns three. With it, we’d possible do not less than one per day. If we don’t do these character meals, it’s not like we’re going to pay out of pocket for fancy sit-down eating places–we’ll in all probability commerce all the way down to counter service, since we’re shortly studying that’s simpler. The Disney Eating Plan Plus would allow us to justify many extra character eating experiences than we in any other case would, considerably rising our spending and satisfaction within the course of.
That’s proper, we’d spend more cash at Walt Disney World whereas being happier about it within the course of. This was the driving motivation behind so many choices and upcharges within the “previous days” (2019 and earlier), and Walt Disney World actually must get again to the fundamentals with this kind of pondering.
Walt Disney World is sort of assuredly going to try to create new income streams, and even when the Disney Eating Plan Plus isn’t one of many methods it does this, we should always wish to see it happen in substantive methods which are helpful versus detrimental. That is exactly why we’ve beloved the Halloween and Christmas character meals that Disneyland has executed during the last couple of years. We did a few meals that we in any other case wouldn’t have particularly due to the seasonal costumes (and we might’ve executed all of them, however for enormous worth will increase final October).
Clearly, restoring the Disney Eating Plan Plus is just not going to be the important thing to altering the narrative about Walt Disney World pricing and the visitor expertise. There’s a variety of work to be executed, and it’s going to take particular provides, coverage adjustments, perks, and extra. Nonetheless, that is the precise kind of ‘everybody wins’ answer to income development that Disney needs to be in search of, as a substitute of attempting to squeeze extra spending out of friends who’ve already hit their partitions. If this justification is unpersuasive for the management at Disney, they need to take into account the truth that it has a “plus” within the title, and that’s like catnip for the corporate.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about accommodations on our Walt Disney World Inns Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every little thing it is advisable know!
Your Ideas
Do you assume Walt Disney World ought to carry again the Disney Eating Plan Plus in 2026? Disenchanted that the highest two tiers of the DDP are nonetheless lacking? Would Walt Disney World bringing again extra of the little issues–even ones which are upcharges–make you extra prone to e book a visit? Or would you be upset if extra expensive paid choices return, viewing it as one other signal Walt Disney World is just not catering to the center class? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation that the problem is as a lot (or extra) concerning the worth proposition as it’s about worth will increase? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
