Oct. 12, 2025

Disney Raises Prices—Is the “Happiest Place on Earth” Now for the Wealthiest?

Are higher prices a reset for quality and capacity, or the next step in making Disney a luxury brand?

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Disney

Disney has hiked prices again—day tickets, annual passes, parking, and even Lightning Lane. At Disneyland, parking now costs $40 a day and the top-tier Inspire Key annual pass jumps to $1,899, still with blockout dates and reservation limits. In Florida, annual passes are up as well, though one-day tickets remain steadier. Philip and Scott debate whether these moves are a strategy to manage crowd levels or a sign of the parks leaning further into exclusivity—especially as Disney faces stock pressure and boycotts. Are higher prices a reset for quality and capacity, or the next step in making Disney a luxury brand? AND, should Netflix buy Disney?

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WEBVTT

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Oh my gosh.

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Okay, from our studios this week in Detroit and Tampa.

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This is Green tagt Theme Park and thirty. I'm Philip

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and I'm joined as always by my co host Scott

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Swinston of Scott Swinson creat Development. On Green Tag, we

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look the top news each week and we discuss why

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it matters your theme park professionals. And this week we're

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gonna talk a little bit about comments from last week's

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discussion and then look at Disney prices. And we are

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recording this a little bit early because it is Halloween season. Bill,

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Scott and I are busy. In this case, it's mostly

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my fault. So if there are normally it's mostly my fault,

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so this time it is actually Phillip's fault. So if

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there is a big news item and you're like, why

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didn't they talk about that, obviously that it's probably because

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this is in the we're time traveling.

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Yes, yes, yes, yes.

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We're prognosticating, looking into the future.

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From the past from the that's right, okay, good, all right,

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I had no coffe yet. Okay, So we want to

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just address some comments from last week's show. First, is

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a Scott has a fan.

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I have one.

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Yay, I have a fan no at sale Dust. Thank you,

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thank you so much. Basically, this person commented and said, hey,

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I followed Scott when he did Hellow Scream and I

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always liked his work and just really complimentary, nice words,

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and I would just like to say thank you at

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sale Dust, and I really do appreciate you finding us

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here and reaching out and commenting. So I just want

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to say thank you and tell you how much I

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appreciate it. It's it's, you know, making people happy is

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kind of why I do what I do. And when

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people are still remembering things that I'm very proud of,

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I'm honored and humbled.

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So thank you very much.

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Ah.

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Okay, can probably just save that one for last you know.

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And that's but we but we didn't.

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We'll start on a nice, warm fuzzy. Okay, we'll start

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on a nice warm fuzzy.

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The next comment here, I think it says, unfortunately, most

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guests don't even pay attention to the ride safety signage

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when they enter the queue.

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That's true.

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Well, and keep in.

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Mind, keep in mind this is in comment to This

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is a comment about last week's Showhere, we talked quite

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a bit about the tragedy that happened at at Epic

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Universe on roller coasters STARTUS racers. So that's where these comments.

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Just to give you a frame of reference, that's kind

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of where these comments are coming from. And you're absolutely right,

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Philip and whoever made this comment. Uh, this is one

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of those situations where people are so cavalier, especially in

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the United States. It's less true in other countries, well,

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some other countries, and more true in some other countries

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as well, at least based anecdotally on my experience. But

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the idea is that you're right.

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They don't read.

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It's just like we don't read all the warnings on

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medication that we are taking. It's very rare conditions. Yeah,

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how often do we just click yes, I accept? And

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it could have you could have just given up your

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first born. I mean you have because you never read it.

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You have no idea. I will say though, that the

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it's kind of a weird double edged sword to me

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because that means that you're right, we just don't have

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time to read it. We're just going to write it,

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and we're going to write it whether it tells us,

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you know, we might lose a limb or not.

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We're just going to write it.

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And at the same time, it is nice that the industry.

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Is so powerful and so.

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Really safe that most people don't feel the need to

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dive into all the challenges. They don't, you know, recognize

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that a coaster can hurt you, so therefore they choose

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not to read it. There has to be a point, though,

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where somebody takes some sort of personal responsibility for themselves

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based on what their abilities are.

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As a person.

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You know, for example, if there is anything that is

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remarkably tighteror claustrophobic as a bigger guy, I'm not going

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to do it because I'm not going to be comfortable.

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I might get hurt, and I'm going to take that

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responsibility on myself.

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I'm not going to.

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Make the theme park attraction builders in essence homogenize everything

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or dumb everything down so that everybody and their dog.

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Can ride it.

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Now that doesn't mean I'm not all for accessibility, but

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I think there are reasonable I think it's a reasonable

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a little bit of reasonable wiggle room there. There are

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certain things that I can't ride because of my height,

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at my height and my combined weight, so but at

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the same time, it doesn't matter because nobody reads them anyway,

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So what can we do? I mean, we obviously have

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to design to the best of our ability, based on

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the information that we have, based on best practices, based

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on the laws, based on the regulations, based on based

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on based on and then hope that people make good

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choices on their own.

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Yeah. I don't know what else to say.

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Yeah, well, the this is, this is I don't want

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to say it's a uniquely American problem, but it's definitely

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different in America.

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I think for any international listeners.

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It just it works differently here because so much of

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what we rely to correct behavior is from litigation.

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So it's it's it, you know, well, but but a.

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Lot of the bottom line here in the US, we

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are far more interested in punishment than than we are

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in finding a solution.

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Yes, yeah, that's that's exactly it. Yeah, we're way more

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interested in corrective kind of after the.

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Big corporation, bad big corporation, We're going to make you pay.

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That's that's much more of the attitude than well, how

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could we find a solution to this?

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That's right.

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Like I think inherent in that comment is maybe the opposite,

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where like there are things you could do proactively, you know,

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to to be more proactive about this, but.

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That's just not how America work.

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Yeah, but yeah, the next comment here is from miss

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my Music, and this is a good one. She said,

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she or I think she said the spoilation it's safer. Sure,

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they said, they said the spoilation of evidence. Argument is dumb.

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They could have gone to court and file a TIRO

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to stop the ride from reopening. They didn't, probably because

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they knew they wouldn't get it, probably because it is

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without merit.

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Yeah, yeah, I.

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Mean we didn't.

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I mean we I guess, you know, we didn't want

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to bring that up and when we were because we're

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just kind of summarizing what the arguments are on both sides.

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But I do agree totally with this one hundred percent, Like, well,

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it's one.

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Thing to make it part of the story, and it's

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another thing to make it a comment on the story.

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If we had made it part of the story, it

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would have made us seem a bit more callous, which

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you know, we started the story by saying, this is

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a terrible thing. We're sad that it happened, you know,

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are our hearts go out to the friends and family

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of the person that was lost. But but this is

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a very good point, and that is if they if

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this was truly an issue, they could have stopped it.

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They could have stopped it through the courts.

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Yep, yep, yep, that's true. All right, those are I

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think the ones we wanted to highlight. Just sure, But

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thank you for everyone that did comment, and we always

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love to see the discussion on there, especially the discussion

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there's discussion about maybe a different type of restraint would

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have been helpful, or harnesses and all that. There's just

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great discussion in the comments and we always appreciate that.

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But we shall move on to a story. We're going

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to mention only in passing, just because again we're recording

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this early.

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Could you choose a different term? Yeah, I don't know.

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Could you just use a different phrase. Well, I didn't

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mention it. Briefly, I didn't. I didn't realize it until

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you pointed out. Okay, So I'm sure everyone listening has

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seen the news about the woman who died after writing

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these Land's Haunted Mansion holiday this week, and we're recording

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this on the ninth, and at the point of this recording,

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there's no information about the cause of death. So were

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We assume there's gonna be more news out in the

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next several days, so probably by the time that you

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all are watching this or probably updates have already been

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shared about what the cause was, but there wasn't on

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cause now. But we are just mentioning it because it

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is big news and it is semi related to the

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incident that we just talked about last week and that

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we just read the comments on.

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So yeah, and I think it's important for us to

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mention it just so that you guys who are listening

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don't think, my God, was this not that important to them?

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It is important to us, and you know, we're very

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sorry to hear this. However, at the time of recording, there's.

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Not a whole lot of info.

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So yeah, yeah, Okay, moving on, there we go. Maybe not,

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I don't know, there's no way to say it. Okay,

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We're just gonna talk about the next story, which is.

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They shouldn't say passing on.

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That's good, Okay, the next story I am so going

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to hell. Yep, I'm just gonna comment on that. We're

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gonna stay in Disney though, and discuss how they are

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raising prices at both Disneyland and in Florida, and this

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is the thing that I have seen all over every

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Everyone is talking about this as they always do every

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time the prices go up, which they always do.

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They never know, they never go down, but they do

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continuously raise.

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I think basically, to summarize all of this, it's a

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lot of information. To summarize everything. Prices for literally everything

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are going up, so prices for the annual passes, prices

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for day tickets, prices for parking, and prices for Lightning Lane,

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at least in California, the Lightning LaNese that's gowing up.

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So now the things that I think are most interesting

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that people seem to be for some reason, the stuff

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that the that the guests or the theme park fans

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are most upset about is the parking in California, which

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is going up to forty dollars a day for regular

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cars at Disneyland. And I think, what's I think the

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reason that's hitting with so many people is that not

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all of the annual passes in California cover parking. It's

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only the really high level ones, and those ones are

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also increasing in price. So the key that the top level,

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the Inspired Key, is raising one hundred and fifty dollars,

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and that one doesn't include that one includes parking but

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not not all the other ones do, and so a

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forty dollars charge to drive there, I think is when

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you're trying to encourage people to come multiple days, and

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that's what's that's why that's a pain point for a

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lot of folks. The lightning lane is going up, but

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I think that's less It seems to be less of

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a pain point, especially because in California there's more pass

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holders and they don't tend to use lightning lanes since

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they're locals, so that's not as much of an issue.

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But the other big stink is the the sticker shock

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of the Tier six, which is the high you know,

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the most the most I don't know who they visited

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or the highest price. That's going to be two hundred

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and twenty four, but that's one part per day. So

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if you add the park coroper, that talking almost three

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hundred dollars for a one day ticket in a Tier

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six time, which is the holiday types of seasons. So

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I think that's I think, for some reason, these two

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seem to be the thing I keep hearing over and over.

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It's like it's like the parking, and then it's it's

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this item, and then of course the pass is going up.

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You know, no one's ever, no one's ever happy about

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annual passes going up. But in California at least they didn't.

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They kept the cheapest option the same price. So the

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parking did go up for that option, obviously, as it

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went up for everybody. But the the resident pass, the

237
00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.399
lowest level one that's only weekdays. I think it's like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

238
00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.240
or Monday or Monday through Thursday, those days that did

239
00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:46.480
not raise in price. So you will pay five dollars

240
00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:48.120
more each time you go for parking, but not that

241
00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.120
amount so well, and that kind.

242
00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:55.120
Of makes sense as to why the highest the highest

243
00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:58.320
tier of single day ticket and the parking. You're what

244
00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:00.919
you're basically doing, is you're looking these are these are

245
00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:03.440
the points of discomfort or the most obvious points of

246
00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:05.960
discomfort for the two.

247
00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:06.799
Key groups of people.

248
00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:13.240
It's the locals who have who have passes, and you know,

249
00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:16.000
the passes. They get the passes, so think go multiple

250
00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.519
times and now they're paying five dollars more per time,

251
00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:21.759
assuming that they're driving, and the single day ticket is

252
00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.000
is tourists who are like, oh, let's go to Disney.

253
00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.720
It's what, it's two hundred and what for a single park?

254
00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:28.559
Yeah, exactly.

255
00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:33.200
Now it's interesting because when I'm seeing here, looking at everything,

256
00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.320
I'm obviously way more focused on the California one because

257
00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:39.320
that's my home park, even though I'm in Detroit right now,

258
00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.519
but that's my home home park. It seems like in

259
00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:47.960
Florida they have not I don't see prices for the

260
00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:51.759
day passes going up very much. It's mostly the annual

261
00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.399
passes in Florida as well that have changed.

262
00:12:55.720 --> 00:13:00.759
So there's more hotels here. Yeah, so more hotels, I

263
00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:05.399
mean they want again, Disney has a much larger pass

264
00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:11.360
base in California. That's right, That's right, exactly, It's it's

265
00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:16.000
just it's all interesting. So basically what we're looking at

266
00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.360
is Disney raising the prices for the annual passes on

267
00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:20.879
both coasts, and then one day ticket and parking are

268
00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:24.000
up at California in California, and I think that all

269
00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:26.039
tracks just because of what you just said. I mean,

270
00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.840
we know that California has much more, much more pass base,

271
00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.120
and so for them, it's basically you're trying to get

272
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:35.720
a little bit more out of the pass holder. I

273
00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:37.919
guess because the parking price is a little bit up,

274
00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:39.799
and then the passes are up, so you're getting a

275
00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:41.879
little bit more from them. But then the one day

276
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:46.000
ticket prices are also up, so when you're bringing people

277
00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:49.000
that are visiting for the holidays or whatever, you're going

278
00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.919
to pay more for those tickets and then visitors. So

279
00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:55.799
I think, I'm not sure.

280
00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:00.039
I mean, we talk about this every time there, and

281
00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:01.679
I think it's where we're always having the same argument.

282
00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:06.000
I to me, this this looks like again that they

283
00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.000
are just trying to temper demand that the parks are

284
00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:12.279
still full enough in California where they don't need to

285
00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:16.240
really where they're they're just trying I mean again when

286
00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:18.840
basically this is impacting every every group, whether it's a

287
00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:21.240
visitor group or it's the local group. And that that

288
00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:24.720
I mean, the only answer is they're trying to temper

289
00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:28.360
demand a little bit with that. Now that of course,

290
00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:30.919
whenever you say that, then you hear I hear so

291
00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:34.919
many people that say that we that attendance in the

292
00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:38.799
parks is down, and I guess to that point, there

293
00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.320
is there is an offer that they have for locals,

294
00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.240
that is for this next few months where you can

295
00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:46.919
get a three day pass for two hundred and forty

296
00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:51.279
nine dollars, But that's only on sale December third, and

297
00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:54.240
it's only valid starting from from January to May. So

298
00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:58.720
that seems more like a gimme to make people not

299
00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:03.120
as upset, you know, then it does other items, but

300
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:03.360
but I.

301
00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:06.919
Don't know, Well, it could be.

302
00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.360
It could be any who knows, quite honestly, but it

303
00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:11.879
could be. Let's just throw some ideas out there.

304
00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:12.279
You know.

305
00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:15.759
You say that it is to temper demand, which would

306
00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:19.799
have been my first guess too. But if attendance is down,

307
00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:22.600
then maybe it's to make up for the lack of

308
00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.960
ticket sales, so they have to make sure that the

309
00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:32.159
gate per cap remains constant as opposed to fluctuating down.

310
00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.879
Or I mean, this is going to sound crazy, but

311
00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:37.000
it may be something as simple as they have to do

312
00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.080
everything they can to make up for all the Disney

313
00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.679
Plus subscriptions that they lost during the Jimmy Kimmel incident.

314
00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:45.960
So yep, that's a possibility too. All of these may

315
00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:48.639
be crazy. I admit that none of them. I'm not

316
00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:50.840
reporting any of these as fact. I do not know,

317
00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.559
but there's a lot of things that could come into

318
00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:55.080
play here.

319
00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:58.600
It is just interesting because I think the optics right

320
00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:00.679
now don't look great, right, the optics of just having

321
00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:03.840
the Jimmy Kimmel nonsense and then all of the you know,

322
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.080
toxic boycotts for that, and then you jump right into well,

323
00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:09.720
now we're going to make it more expensive, and especially

324
00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:14.879
targeting the most rabid fans on both coasts and then

325
00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:17.360
on on California, you're just kind of targeting everybody. So

326
00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:21.440
it does make it seem a lot more like that

327
00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:23.759
walled garden idea, you know that that we talk about

328
00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.960
a lot where it's it's kind of becoming I mean,

329
00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.360
it's it's even and do.

330
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.279
You still have to do reservations in California.

331
00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:35.480
Yeah, so we step through reservations and then also that

332
00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:39.440
top pass that you that which is now going to

333
00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:45.600
be ninety nine, so basically nineteen hundred dollars, and that's

334
00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.639
a twelve month pass. That's a twelve month pass. It's

335
00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.639
a magic key for nineteen hundred dollars. It does include parking,

336
00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:55.080
but it still has blackout dates and you have to make.

337
00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:57.919
Reservations blackout dates, and you still have to make reservations.

338
00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:00.759
And you can only hold six at a time for

339
00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:07.319
a year, right, and so yeah, and so again I

340
00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.160
don't know. I mean, I guess you know, again I hear.

341
00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:14.279
I get so many feedback from listeners and for people

342
00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.839
who text me the Private League or whatever, and they

343
00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.680
always say, you know, the attendance is down at Universal

344
00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:24.079
and it's down at Disney, and everyone's panicking. I'm like, well, like, again,

345
00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.400
the parks are not releasing these numbers right yet or

346
00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.839
right now. We don't have them yet, and it's always

347
00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:33.079
a rolling quarter, right, so it takes a while for

348
00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:37.000
us to see them ahead of time. But I would

349
00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.000
say that this type of raising prices seems to me

350
00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:44.279
like they don't think they have an attendance problem, or

351
00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:47.680
maybe they're okay with the dip, like Scott said, they're

352
00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:50.880
okay with the dip in attendance because if you have

353
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.400
a dip, that means you can relax some of your

354
00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:56.680
staffing and if you get more per person, then maybe

355
00:17:56.680 --> 00:17:59.279
it's a better equilibrium for them going forward into twenty

356
00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:02.559
twenty six. Because also, as we've talked about on the

357
00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.519
show in the past, twenty twenty six is not shaping

358
00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.839
up to be a great year because there's nothing happening.

359
00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:10.519
Nothing new really is opening at any of these parks

360
00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:14.319
in the US. So maybe it's maybe they're just trying

361
00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.440
to tamp and demand so they can adjust staffing because

362
00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:20.400
they know that it's going to be a somewhat slower year.

363
00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:22.079
I don't know, this is who knows.

364
00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:24.960
Yeah, there's a million different reasons that these could happen.

365
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:26.720
But again, that's what this show is all about to

366
00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:28.599
get us talking about what could those reasons be and

367
00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:31.640
how do they apply to our attraction or our.

368
00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:32.720
Little corner of the industry.

369
00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:37.200
So ask those questions with whoever you're working with and see,

370
00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.400
you know, how they would have handled the situation or what,

371
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.839
more accurately, what a price increase like this would have

372
00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:46.039
meant to your attraction? You know, does it mean that

373
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:51.160
you are trying to curb curb attendance? Does it mean

374
00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:53.359
you are trying to make up for a loss of attendance?

375
00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:55.880
Is it simply a money grab because you've lost something

376
00:18:55.880 --> 00:19:00.119
else in another area of the company. I mean to

377
00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:02.960
be any of these things. I think the bottom line

378
00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:06.519
is we are if I'm going to if I'm going

379
00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:10.960
to just share a radical out there opinion. I think

380
00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:12.799
this is just another nail in the coffin of the

381
00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:15.599
giant theme park. I think it's going to get to

382
00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.279
a point where it will only be for the elite rich.

383
00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.160
And once it becomes only for the elite rich, then

384
00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.799
it won't become it won't be palatable really for anybody,

385
00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:27.440
because even the elite rich like to do the things

386
00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:29.960
that are cool and new and funky, and those are

387
00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:34.119
usually discovered by anyone but the elite rich and then

388
00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:37.920
co opted by the elite rich. So I think that

389
00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:40.880
this is a dangerous as a slippery slope that we're

390
00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:45.079
on right now, and we will see, we will see

391
00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:45.799
where it ends up.

392
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:47.480
I don't know for sure, yep.

393
00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:51.559
I yeah, I definitely can see that argument, like I said,

394
00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:55.680
and especially it being so close to home for me.

395
00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:57.960
I just you know, it's I always think about when

396
00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.960
we're making these calculations with friends. Know if it basically

397
00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.160
it does become exactly what you're talking about, because I

398
00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.319
have my friends that I know have passes, and you're

399
00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:08.519
kind of all relying on the whole group having the

400
00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:13.640
pass because you just can't afford even when my family's visiting.

401
00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:15.960
You know, it's so much money, or if you're trying

402
00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:17.440
to take a partner with you, it doesn't have a

403
00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.759
a path. It's oh my god, a ticket like it's

404
00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:21.559
it's it's so.

405
00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:24.680
It's crazy to even get a reservation.

406
00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:29.000
That's right, Yeah, it's crazy. It's becoming crazy. And so

407
00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.640
you're I think you're right on the right about that.

408
00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:36.440
And also it is pulling ahead significantly. You know, from

409
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:38.359
the other theme parks in the region. It's so much

410
00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.319
more expensive to go to Disneyland is to go to

411
00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:40.960
the competition.

412
00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:44.480
So uh well, and throughout history, throughout the history, at

413
00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.240
least my my history in the in the industry, Disney

414
00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:51.039
has always led the prime price hike lead. They've always

415
00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:53.319
taken the lead on that, and the moment they do it,

416
00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.920
then within usually within.

417
00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:01.000
Six months of the latest parks follow suit.

418
00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:05.519
But they wait to see how Disney fares, and they figure, well,

419
00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:07.839
if Disney can make good, they're not really at risk

420
00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:08.720
because they're Disney.

421
00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:10.279
You know. That's the way it's always been.

422
00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:12.279
I don't think it's gonna be the case much longer,

423
00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:13.400
but that's the way.

424
00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:13.880
It's always been.

425
00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:19.000
So we'll see, Yes, there was a.

426
00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:23.640
We were not scheduled to talk about this, but I'm

427
00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:25.440
just gonna put this out there as a just a

428
00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:29.400
totally random thing. So I was listening to I listened

429
00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.880
to several economic podcasts and I read a bunch of

430
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:33.200
I just read a bunch of random suff and whatever.

431
00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:33.880
And there's this like.

432
00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:37.400
Theory and that's been rolling around in the business circles,

433
00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:42.160
in the economic circles about how Netflix should buy Disney.

434
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:47.240
Interesting and stuff like this makes me think that basically,

435
00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:48.920
if it's like you say, another nail in the coffin

436
00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:51.039
and they're kind of like, you know, there, it's becoming

437
00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.160
more difficult for that, it actually potentially could make them

438
00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:57.359
more viable as a as a purchasing you know, but

439
00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.119
especially someone like Netflix, who right now now Netflix has

440
00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:04.839
a fifty times earnings, which is absolutely bonkers. And it's

441
00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:09.039
just it's interesting because again you just think about, there's

442
00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:11.880
something new at the parks, and Disney's IP recently has

443
00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:13.680
not been doing great, and then.

444
00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.720
You look at it as a Disney stockholder. Disney Stock's

445
00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:16.359
not doing great.

446
00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:18.920
So yeah, so all these indicators you're like, eh, and

447
00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:20.960
then you look at Netflix and you're like, Netflix, right now,

448
00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:24.759
is that fifty times earnings? Which I think is overvalued,

449
00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:28.079
just especially because of AI and because of all the competitors.

450
00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:30.880
But you know, what they do have is the strong

451
00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:34.240
ips like Wednesday, they have the one piece stuff.

452
00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:36.319
Now they're licensing that, they have K.

453
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:39.119
Pop Dema Hunters, which is everywhere and going insane, and

454
00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:41.240
they're experimenting with the Netflix houses. So I don't know,

455
00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:45.240
could could be, could be time, you know for this acquisition.

456
00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.079
And also how crazy is it that we're in a

457
00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:52.640
position where we're like Netflix is now like so big,

458
00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:54.599
and they're so to me. Netflix is still a new

459
00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:58.160
company right in my brain. They're just like Facebook is

460
00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:00.400
new in my brain, even though it's even though the

461
00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:03.759
but these new, relatively new companies have shaped so much

462
00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.440
of our lives now where you know, Disney, that's a

463
00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:12.279
much older company, is just worth less than half of Netflix.

464
00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:16.240
So yep, even.

465
00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:18.000
With Disney, plus they could bundle it all together. Can

466
00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:22.480
you imagine just bundling everything together Cable again? Yeah, and

467
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:24.799
then tap Hop Demon Hunter is the ride?

468
00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:29.359
Oh yeah, well, I mean there is. You know that

469
00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:32.960
it's just sort of chomping at the bit for so

470
00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:36.599
many of the ips that they hold. Yep, you know,

471
00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.440
great British Baking show, the ride. I mean, god knows,

472
00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.240
it could be anything. Yeah, it could be incredible.

473
00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:41.480
Yeah.

474
00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:45.039
But anyway, last data point two is just which in

475
00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:47.599
the economic circle is just to your to Scott's point

476
00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:51.640
about the elite thing, the top ten. We have some

477
00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:54.640
numbers that came out this last month that I talked

478
00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:57.240
about in a different show, but basically it's relevant here

479
00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:00.920
because the top ten percent of earners are driving fifty

480
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:03.039
percent of the economy in the US, and so that

481
00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:05.839
kind of so I mean, if again, if Disney is

482
00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:07.799
just like Star Cruiser, I feel like we're back to

483
00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:10.400
Star Cruise and we're back to what we talked about

484
00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:13.400
with the Horror Unleashed And they're almost three thousand dollars

485
00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:16.720
VIP package. If you're if that is the game where

486
00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:19.920
you're targeting the top ten percent that have the money,

487
00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:22.519
than great. But then the question is is it sustainable?

488
00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:24.119
Who knows?

489
00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:24.480
You know?

490
00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:25.400
Is that enough you know?

491
00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:27.519
Or do they do they want to go to Scott's point,

492
00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.319
do they want to go to the theme parks?

493
00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:31.200
When when it's just that I don't know.

494
00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:34.839
And anecdotally, more and more of the new projects that

495
00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:38.119
I'm being contacted to excuse me to it bids in

496
00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:43.839
on or you know, to attempt to sign sign contracts

497
00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:47.039
with more and more of them are what I will

498
00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:52.599
call smaller attractions with very deep pockets. So basically, what's

499
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.359
happening from from my perspective, and I'm looking forward and

500
00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:59.200
I'm guessing, I will be honest, I'm guessing, but it.

501
00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:00.119
Appears as though.

502
00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:04.240
We are we are gonna enter into what i'll, for

503
00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:08.759
lack of a better description, the the fec on steroids concept.

504
00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:14.839
So with things like the Netflix Netflix, the Netflix House,

505
00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:29.400
at Las nine, the Theses, other world haunted houses and FECs.

506
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.200
I mean, there's even FECs out there that are looking

507
00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:35.000
to up their game. They are in prime locations and

508
00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:36.960
they're looking to find ways to start playing in the

509
00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:40.160
theme detraction industry as opposed to just buying some games

510
00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:45.480
and some you know, trampolines with neon lights and and

511
00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:49.720
open their doors and then you go to places like

512
00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:53.920
you go to places like Saudi or or even u Ae,

513
00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:57.119
and they're in every mall there is, you know, and

514
00:25:57.160 --> 00:26:01.319
there's multiples in every mall. So it is continuing to

515
00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:04.599
at least from my perspective, it appears to be skewing

516
00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:09.839
smaller because it's affordable, it's repeatable, it's stuff that gives

517
00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:13.920
people something to do rather than just look at there's

518
00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:16.359
a lot there's a lot of elements that are kind of,

519
00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:22.119
you know, perfect storming themselves into into leading people away

520
00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:23.160
from the giant parks.

521
00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:24.400
That's interesting.

522
00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.519
Exactly what you said is reminding me to something else

523
00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:30.039
I've heard a lot recently, which is people saying that

524
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.039
you have much more, it's much easier to make money

525
00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:37.799
or or I guess the future is going to be

526
00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:41.759
in making stuff for a smaller screen. So like the

527
00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:44.079
smaller the smaller the screen you're making something for, the

528
00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:45.519
more likely you're going to be able to make a

529
00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:48.680
living off of it. So as in like again, like

530
00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:51.720
the movies are becoming the more like elite thing that

531
00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:55.480
like who even has the money the budget for movies

532
00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:57.160
anymore or any of that even to go to movies

533
00:26:57.240 --> 00:27:00.400
or any of those that whole thing, And then versus

534
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.480
you know, if you're just doing like us a podcast,

535
00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:05.119
or you're doing something that's intended for a small screen,

536
00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:07.359
your TikTok's or whatever, it's a much more sustainable and

537
00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.319
much more money in that. So interesting, it feels also

538
00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:14.039
like there's several parallel forces here happening.

539
00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:17.359
Yeah, I think it's I think, and I think what's

540
00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:20.319
going to happen, unfortunately is the people that have if it,

541
00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:22.880
let's assume, just for a hot second, let's assume that

542
00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:27.240
it is. It is the intent of the parks to

543
00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:34.119
start catering to a higher and higher income audience. It's

544
00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:37.240
going to get to a point where instead of wanting

545
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:42.319
to go to instead of wanting to go to Italy

546
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:46.440
in Epcot, it's going to be more cost effective and

547
00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:47.680
more interesting to go to Italy.

548
00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:51.839
That's right. So I always think that's always the danger.

549
00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:53.559
But that's just me. But you know, I don't know.

550
00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.640
I think so too. I think so too.

551
00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.680
Which is I think why we've seen over the last

552
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:02.759
few years, especially here in Florida with Epcot, you've seen

553
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:07.119
more and more integration of the Disney held ips. You know, yes,

554
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:09.119
you can go to you can go to Norway, but

555
00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.599
you can't ride the Frozen ride there, you know.

556
00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:15.240
But then then to your point, though, I mean, to

557
00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:18.079
exactly your point about the FEC expansion, right, the Netflix

558
00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:19.759
Haus is a great example. I mean, they're doing the

559
00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:21.960
k pop DMA Hunter thing there and they have a

560
00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:24.440
Wednesday exhibit and a one piece exhibit. If you care

561
00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.559
about those ips more than you care about Frozen, then

562
00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:29.200
you're going to go there. You're go to Disney, that's right,

563
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:30.640
and it's going to be cheaper and you have to

564
00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:32.119
pay to walk in. You only have to pay to

565
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:32.839
do the activity.

566
00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:34.720
Right, there's not like a car card do You don't

567
00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:35.519
even have to pay the park.

568
00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:37.839
Yeah, it's all my god, Yeah, that's crazy.

569
00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:38.880
It's take king a pressure mall.

570
00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:40.839
So you know you park in the in the mall

571
00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:41.880
parking lot.

572
00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:44.400
Done easy again.

573
00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:49.440
If here's the takeaway from from my perspective, there are

574
00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:51.799
parks are adding more and more and more and more

575
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.400
and more hurdles you have to jump through before you

576
00:28:53.400 --> 00:28:57.279
can even get in. Yep, take a moment to refresh

577
00:28:57.400 --> 00:29:00.559
and look at how your organization runs and see what

578
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.200
you can see how you can reduce the friction for

579
00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:06.200
the guest to actually put set foot into your parks.

580
00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:09.640
It may mean that you change your ticketing system. It

581
00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:13.640
may mean that you know, instead of offering fifteen different levels,

582
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:16.839
you offer one or two and then once they get

583
00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:19.640
inside you can upcharge from there. There are disadvantages to

584
00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:23.880
that as well. But I think the big players, many

585
00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:25.839
of the big players, are making it more and more

586
00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:28.200
difficult to actually get into the park. And I'll give

587
00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:30.599
you a perfect example, and this is something that they

588
00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:32.759
do for safety, and I get it, but I don't

589
00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:36.799
want to go to Horrnites in Florida because getting in

590
00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:39.680
takes longer than pretty much any of the cues for

591
00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:46.039
any of the haunts. It's a it's a one level

592
00:29:46.079 --> 00:29:49.920
after another level after another level, and it's it's difficult,

593
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:53.559
it's uncomfortable, it feels disorganized. I know it's not, but

594
00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:58.359
it feels disorganized and for some people it even feels invasive.

595
00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.119
So my first impression of the event.

596
00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:04.480
Is not a good one. And what do we remember

597
00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:05.680
first and last impressions?

598
00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:09.720
So anyway, my takeaway from today would be evaluate what

599
00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:11.680
your what your entry is, and what are all the

600
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:15.200
points of friction for your guests. But we can't talk

601
00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:17.839
about entry points anymore because it's time for our exit

602
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:21.759
strategy because we're over time already. So we talked about

603
00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:25.319
a lot and again we love starting with your comments,

604
00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:28.519
so please continue to comment. Also, please, if you are

605
00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.839
enjoying what you're seeing, please subscribe.

606
00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:34.400
Subscribers, yes, please, do need those subscribers.

607
00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:38.160
We need those subscribers, please just please just click on subscribe.

608
00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:41.920
And other than that, we hope you guys get some takeaway.

609
00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.079
We hope you guys find value, and we will see

610
00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:46.839
all of you, each and every one of you plus

611
00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:47.920
some next week
Scott Swenson, ICAE Profile Photo
Scott Swenson, ICAE

For over 30 years, Scott Swenson has been bringing stories to life as a writer, director, producer, and performer. His work in theme parks, consumer events, live theatre, and television has given him a broad spectrum of experiences. In 2014, after 21 years with SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Scott formed Scott Swenson Creative Development. Since then he has been providing impactful experiences for clients around the world. Whether he is installing shows on cruise ships or creating seasonal festivals for theme parks, writing educational presentations for zoos and museums or training the next generation of attractions professionals, Scott is always finding new ways to tell stories that engage, educate and entertain.

Philip Hernandez, ICAE Profile Photo
Philip Hernandez, ICAE

CEO of Gantom, Publisher of Haunted Attraction Network

Philip is a journalist reporting on the Haunted House Industry, Horror events, Theme Parks, and Halloween. He is also the CEO of Gantom Lighting and Founder / Publisher of the Haunted Attraction Network, the haunted attraction industry's most prominent news media source. He is based in Los Angeles.