Friday, March 04, 2016

Amusement Park Changes Its Pricing Strategy

See Disneyland 'demand pricing' will cost you $5 less on slow days and $20 more when it's busy.  I'm skeptical about Disney saying this not being about maximizing profits. Everything firms do is about profits, especially if they see demand being different on different days. When demand increases, price goes up. Excerpts:
"Walt Disney Co. is adopting a new pricing policy at Disneyland and other U.S. theme parks that would reduce ticket costs on low-demand days and boost entrance fees for more popular times.

Starting Sunday, anyone willing to drop in on a typically slow day — maybe a Wednesday in September — will pay a few dollars less than previously. But for most days of the year, expect to spend more for a daily ticket.

Disney is portraying the move to peak pricing as a crowd-management technique rather than a push to maximize profits.

Airlines and hotels do it during spring break and other high-demand times; Uber and Lyft also charge more when the need for ride-hailing services surges, such as New Year's Eve.

"The demand for our theme parks continues to grow, particularly during peak periods," Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. "In addition to expanding our parks, we are adopting seasonal pricing on our one-day ticket to help better spread visitation throughout the year."

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have been charging $99 for a one-day ticket. Under the new policy, each day on the calendar will be designated a "value" day, a "regular" day or a "peak" day. The new price will be $95 for a value day, $105 for a regular day and $119 for a peak day."

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