Ah, yes… the inevitable annual price increases at Disneyland. As the
modern era of stockholder value demands that double digit profits
continue, who can be truly surprised when these come along?
But, wait! There is a bit of a wrinkle this year. Those wily folks in
the offices at Disney have decided to suspend the sales of the Southern
California Annual Pass. Depending upon who spins the tale out here in
the blogosphere on the Net, this can be read as a simple adjustment or
the oncoming rush of doom for this class of Disneyland Annual
Passholder.
How about a few minor niggling details to cloud the view? For
example, once upon a time, there was only one type of annual pass to the
Park. That's right! Only one. Good for admission and
all attractions, excluding the Shooting Galleries in Frontierland and
Adventureland. Including parking and good during all normal dates and
times of Disneyland operation.
During a period when attendance numbers dipped, a bright solution was
seen to be the local populace. Those folks who lived close to
Disneyland, in the Southern California area. One way to attract them was
to offer a lower priced Annual Pass which allowed admission to the Park
during off-peak periods. During the busy summer months, those Southern
California AP's were blacked out – meaning you couldn't use that AP for
admission then. As the pass system matured, many Saturdays were added to
that black out calendar. Still, a good value with Sunday's available.
As many of the folks who came from out of town used Sunday's as a travel
day, even during peak time of year, guest numbers in the park were not
crushing.
Funny thing, Disneyland has suspended sales of this class of Annual
Passes once before, in 2001. And when the numbers fell off, they resumed
sales. It may be in the small print but on the Disneyland web pages,
you can find this text: "Pass types are limited in quantity, and may not
be available."
In other words, Annual Passes are not unlimited in number. And a
minor point? Disney is not eliminating these passes. Folks who currently
have them or even those who had passes expire in the last 90 days can
still renew their passes. Disney is just not selling any new ones, right
now.
I know I have said this before,
but the truth is that while the number of guests with Annual Passes is
good, this is not the most desirable guest demographic. That honor lies
with the mythical first time family of four, spending more per capita
than the AP's. To be sure there are some AP's, such as the Premium, who
may spend more than the rest of the AP world on their visits. But the
problem are those AP's who don't spend, who may just visit Disneyland to
hang out. Socialize with others, just even to take in being at the
Park. Those folks who camp out for fireworks, Fantasmic! or World of
Color.
Overcrowding at Disneyland seems to have become an issue. You could
expect it during those summer/holiday peak periods. But when the gates
to the Park have to be shut because capacity has been reached? Those
unusual occurrences have become more in number. When even parking lots
are closed and there is simply no where to park all those autos. Those
times are happening far too often. And that creates a conundrum for the
folks at TDA.
Yes, stock holder value is being served. Profits are good. But the
quality of the guest experience? Not what is should be. When lines for
food/beverages are too long – even at an outdoor vending location –
people tend to become discouraged and will not wait. And when the lines
for a restroom rival some attraction waits? Not "good show" by any
means.
So, what to do? Suspending the sales of the Southern California
Annual Passes is a good start. FastPass+ ? Still to early to tell if
that experiment will ever come to Anaheim. The return of ticket books?
Less likely than the return of the People Mover.
Disneyland is just too popular. As long as people continue to pay the
prices for all of the experience, don't look for price cutting. If
things continue so well, could the suspension of the Southern California
Select AP be next? Perhaps.
Lest anyone think otherwise, there are people inside the management
of Disneyland who do have a clue or three. They understand that the draw
of the place is magic to guests. And they do want to know what guests
think about their visits to the Park. As odd as it may seem, the
suspension of sales of new Southern California AP's is a positive step
in the improvement of the overall guest experience. That concept, a
positive guest experience, still drives the best publicity/promotional
effort that Disney can hope for – the good word of mouth. If I have a
good time during my Disneyland visit, odds are pretty good (especially
in today's world of social media) that I will share it with family and
friends. Who will likely come to visit the Park and have their own
positive guest experience.
Somehow, it seems to work. Because in the words of Mister Willy Wonka, "they're certainly not showing any sign that they are slowing!"
This article originally appeared on The Blue Parrot. For more Roger Colton goodness, just fly on over to the Blue Parrot and check out some of Roger's previous blog posts.