Walt Disney (DIS) often talks about the so-called Disney magic at its theme parks. It's a concept that stems from how its "cast members" (employees) interact with guests. Think of everything from a worker replacing a dropped ice cream cone or a favorite stuffed animal left on a ride to employees welcoming people with a warm smile (back when they weren't wearing masks.
That magic, however, does not extend to pricing. The company has regularly raised prices at its theme parks in all sorts of ways. Recently that has included everything from raising the prices on multi-day tickets at Disney World to offering either higher prices or smaller portions of food to hungry theme park visitors.
Most egregiously, however, the company got rid of its free FastPass+ program which used to allow guests to book three "cut-the-line" passes before they visited a Disney theme park. That was changed to a new system called Disney Genie+ and Lighting Lanes. And, as you might imagine, that new service costs money.
Now, Walt Disney has tweaked the Genie+ program in a way that makes things worse for visitors to its Florida theme parks.
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Disney Makes a Genie+ Change
In addition to making Disney theme park visitors pay for something that was once free, Disney also has a variety of rules for how and when visitors can buy the new Genie+. A recent change, however, seems to discourage people from planning ahead for a single-day visit.
"It has now been announced that those guests purchasing a one-day ticket to Walt Disney World will no longer be able to pre-book the $15 Genie+ service prior to their visit through the My Disney Experience App. They will only be able to purchase it on the day of their visit meaning that this service may not be available to them.," Theme Park Tourist reported.
It's possible Disney is making this change to discourage visitors from planning single-day visits on crowded days. Taking away the ability to pre-plan having Genie+ or even knowing if you can buy it may lead to people choosing to not come to a Disney park on a day they expect it to be crowded.
That's actually behavior Disney may want to encourage because it has been hitting capacity on its busier days. The company has always structured its pricing and policies to benefit customers making longer visits.
"We introduced Disney Genie+ to give guests more choice and flexibility throughout their day," A Disney spokesperson told TheStreet. "We are seeing high demand for this service as many guests are purchasing Disney Genie+."
Disney has not changed the price range for a 1-day ticket in nearly three years keeping it at a range of $109-$159.
Disney Can Get Blood from a Stone
Normally, when a company takes away a perk that has been free and charges for it, it faces at least some level of customer backlash. That has generally not happened to Disney, at least at its theme parks, where visitors seem willing to pay nearly any price.
CEO Bob Chapek made it clear that the loss of FastPass+ has not hurt Disney's theme park business in the company's first-quarter earnings call.
"In the quarter, more than a third of domestic park guests purchased either Genie+, Lightning Lane, or both," he said. "That number rose to more than 50% during the holiday period. While demand was strong throughout the quarter at both domestic sites, our reservation system enabled us to strategically manage attendance. In fact, their stellar performance was achieved at lower attendance levels than 2019."
It seems unlikely that the latest change will be a tipping point for Disney's theme park business. It may lead to some customers staying home, but losing single-day visitors on busy days may actually help Disney. There seems to be a near-endless demand for Disney's theme parks and that should only increase as the impact of the pandemic fades.
"The change aligns with guests' behavior as many guests were already purchasing directly through the app. Whether you purchase same-day or in advance, all Genie+ attractions are booked on the same day of visit regardless.," the Disney spokesperson shared.
There may be a pricing point where Disney turns off its audience, but the company does not seem to have approached it just yet.
That may at least partly be because rival Universal Studios has a product that allows people to cut to the front of the line, Express Pass, which generally costs much more than Disney's version. The two products, it should be noted, are not identical, but the Universal Studios Express, which is priced on a variable basis based on how crowded the company's parks are, often costs as much, or more than admission.
