Dreamworld Annual Passes - 2024 Price Increase

[themagician]

Not sure when this happened, but it appears the three tiers of Dreamworld annual passes have increased in price. With the Saver Pass $129, Value Pass $139 and the Locals Pass $149.

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/tickets

[STRAWS]

 

51 minutes ago, themagician said:

Not sure when this happened, but it appears the three tiers of Dreamworld annual passes have increased in price. With the Saver Pass $129, Value Pass $139 and the Locals Pass $149.

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/tickets

I don't mind this too much at least it's not gone up like How village made their prices rocket. 

[Tricoart]

Yeah, prices being increased in of itself is fine (though unfortunate, that’s just how capitalism works). Just, so long as you live up to the experience that you advertise, be transparent (within reason) about if/when/why that experience will be impacted, and ideally work continuously towards enhancing said experience, an uptick in cost every now and then is completely justified.

20 minutes ago, STRAWS said:

at least it's not gone up like How village made their prices rocket. 

Which, to this point, is what their issue is. Them marginally increasing prices, solely in concept, would be totally expected. But instead, they’ve coincided their price hikes with cutting down costs in every single way, scaling back/underdelivering on previously advertised experiences, and masking it by lying to customers about new/altered ones (‘guest feedback’, inconsistent opening dates across the board, etc.). And, above all that, publicly bragging about how much more money they’ve been raking in since pre-COVID years due to these measures.

Edited March 9 by Tricoart

[red dragin]

1 hour ago, themagician said:

Not sure when this happened, but it appears the three tiers of Dreamworld annual passes have increased in price. With the Saver Pass $129, Value Pass $139 and the Locals Pass $149

At least they're starting to present a product worth those prices. I feel we got cheap until now, because they knew they couldn't charge full price. 

I'd be happy to fork out $149 once Jungle Rush & Rivertown have opened. 

[wikiverse]

5 hours ago, red dragin said:

I'd be happy to fork out $149 once Jungle Rush & Rivertown have opened. 

I think that is fair.

I visited the park for the first time since 2015 a few weeks ago.  It's definitely improved, but there is still a long way to go.  The park feels a lot smaller without Gold Rush.  I would like to see something substantial take the Thunderbolt plot and have that area integrated back into the park before they cross the $150 mark.  It'd be nice to have an 'out of control' feeling coaster like a wild mouse or Raptor, which is definitely missing from the line up, and Kevil Hill needs to come back as the laser tag - even just for peak periods or for Night Markets.

Also, as controversial as it might be, in my opinion, Forest Flyer and Gold Coaster need to go.  They're really rough and painful rides.  The vest restraints on GC felt like they were going to decapitate me, and KFF just hurt.  Ideally they could be replaced with other similar rides - potentially Vekoma could do a custom SFC to fit the KFF space, and Gold Coaster could be replaced with something like a Chance Hyper GTX.

Committing to killing GC would open up many more possibilities for that end of the park, since the big thrill coaster could go on the Thunderbolt plot and a smaller one - like a Wild Mouse or Raptor in the GC spot.  They also need to get rid of GC's queue building.

For me, that would essentially make the park feel 'complete'.  It would still be missing a solid water ride, but I think we're still a decade away from DW going down that route again.

I will say though, despite Tailspin and SS and DF being down for maintenance, I had a really nice day.  The park does still feel a bit like a construction zone, and the 'flow' of the park layout is a bit messed up, but BY FAR, the biggest difference to any Village park was the staff.  They were genuinely kind and friendly, even at the food outlets they just great to have around. 

The food offerings are also good.  The Fried Chicken was actually a decent sized meal with actual flavour and wasn't too dissimilar to what I would find in any RSL or surf club in both price and quality. If they can maintain that, I think $149 for a year is fair, and hopefully brings in enough money for them to replace some of the older rides.

 

[Baconjack]

6 hours ago, STRAWS said:

i don't mind this too much at least it's not gone up like How village made their prices rocket. 

I’m not a fan of village given my postings but this is illogical.

Prices of day tickets now compared to where they used to be are pretty consistent with inflation so I don’t think it’s price gouging at all.

Also @wikiverse you would have hated Cyclone. Gold Coaster is smoother than its ever been with those restraints

Edited March 9 by Baconjack

[Tricoart]

Yeah, GC’s trains are practically butter smooth now, and the restraints eliminate the horrible headbanging that used to occur. It just highlights Arrow’s janky transitions, which IMO is what makes it unique for the area & worthwhile to keep operational for as long as it can be. KFF, though, having that updated would’ve been nice. But with the very recent retheme, central location to the newly reopened land, and a new Vekoma Family coaster coming later this year anyway (not to mention the new Family Invert opening at MW), them looking at a KFF replacement seems to be a good while away. And, if/when the time comes, I’d hesitate to think it’d be a similar model/layout to KFF, if a coaster at all.

Edited March 9 by Tricoart

[Park Addict 93]

Worth noting the full Locals Annual Pass price has been $149 since November 2022.

Of course there has been various promotions for it between $99-$129. Currently it’s pay full price but receive a $50 F/B voucher: 

From memory the Saver/Value pass increased $10 prior to the 23/24 summer holiday period.

The park is well worth $149 for a year at present even without Rivertown imho. The operations and standard of the park is massively above VRTP.

[WalleyWorld]

13 hours ago, wikiverse said:

but BY FAR, the biggest difference to any Village park was the staff.  They were genuinely kind and friendly, even at the food outlets they just great to have around. 

This! I'm glad others are noticing. I think we forget how important staff interactions, behaviours, work ethic and operations are to the overall themepark experience. Whilst impressive rides and attractions are essential, the quality of staff can profoundly alter your overall perception of a themepark. It's the main reason why I leave Dreamworld/WWW feeling happier and more fulfilled than after a day at any VRTP property these days.

Edited March 9 by WalleyWorld

[wikiverse]

14 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Also @wikiverse you would have hated Cyclone. Gold Coaster is smoother than its ever been with those restraints

I rode it as Cyclone and Hot Wheels.  It was always a rough ride and nothing has changed with that, but the new restraints add constant pressure and weight to your shoulders and collar bone and just rub the entire time and smash into your neck on the janky turns - especially if you're over 6ft.

These restraints took it from a rough ride that I was willing to go on, to one that I have no interest in riding again.  It's effectively SBNO for me.

The ride was built in 1994.  It's a 30 year old, second hand coaster.  Thunderbolt only lasted 21 years, and Gold Coaster has been at DW for 23 years.

I personally think it's time to replace it. Removing that coaster and it's station would open up room for a much better ride that everyone could enjoy, and would allow for a cleaner transition between DW and WWW.  Removing ToT opened up the land for Rivertown, and removing GC would do the same at the front end of the park, and I've got faith in the current management to do a great job of it and bring some magic back to the park.

[themagician]

2 minutes ago, wikiverse said:

These restraints took it from a rough ride that I was willing to go on, to one that I have no interest in riding again.  It's effectively SBNO for me.

I’m also over 6ft and don’t find it so unbelievably rough that I don’t ride it anymore. As Gold Coaster, it’s definitely the smoothest it’s ever been, but it’s also definitely not the smoothest coaster in the country (I see the moto coaster as an SBNO because for me that ride is unbearably uncomfortable).

 

5 minutes ago, wikiverse said:

I personally think it's time to replace it. Removing that coaster and it's station would open up room for a much better ride that everyone could enjoy, and would allow for a cleaner transition between DW and WWW. 

I won’t deny it does take up a lot more room, especially the overly sized queue to get to the ride. However, I love the interaction the coaster has with WWW and if this coaster were to ever close, I can’t see a new coaster replacing it. Not saying it can’t be don with a custom layout, but with the Exhibition Centre, slide tower and WWW pathways, there are a lot of obstacles. 

8 minutes ago, wikiverse said:

Removing ToT opened up the land for Rivertown

Removing the tunnel definitely freed up some land, but they’ve still kept that massive queue and station building 

[Tricoart]

51 minutes ago, themagician said:

I’m also over 6ft and don’t find it so unbelievably rough that I don’t ride it anymore. As Gold Coaster, it’s definitely the smoothest it’s ever been, but it’s also definitely not the smoothest coaster in the country (I see the moto coaster as an SBNO because for me that ride is unbearably uncomfortable).

Also >6ft, the coaster I’d be least likely to ride at DW has to be KFF. I find Motocoaster dull at best (with not unbearable discomfort), but KFF’s OTSR’s have to squish my shoulders down quite a bit to be able to reach minimum (which, not quite a fault of it, I’m just too big to be riding it). And yeah, GC isn’t the most perfect use of the land it stands on, but WhiteWater World’s built around it to the point that it still fits pretty well. And even if it didn’t fit the land decently, it’s one of the last Queensland coasters that has a story/‘soul’ behind it. It definitely shouldn’t go ‘til it absolutely needs to, and that shouldn’t be any time soon.

@wikiverse When was the last time you rode it with the original trains? And could it maybe be the case that you’re remembering it much better than it was because it was a decent bit ago, and you handled rougher rides better then than now?

Edited March 10 by Tricoart

[wikiverse]

@Tricoart The last time was 2015.  I always remember it being rough, but i never walked off of it with actual red marks and bruises - like someone had tried to karate chop my head off - as is the case with the new restraints.  It's not a fun ride, and it's never been a good layout.  It's just 3 banked turns, a sidewinder and a vertical loop.

Again, it's just my opinion, and I understand that people have nostalgia reasons for wanting to keep it, but DW can do better.  I genuinely believe that the current management would do better. The land it's on could be used to expand WWW or the Exhibition Centre, even the Exhibition Centre building could be used to house a ride - or part of one like Superman Escape.

That whole area of the park is just dead ends and a hodge-podge of bad choices from bad management over the years. The Exhibition Centre and GC just feel plonked down without any real thought.

To be honest, to re-imagine that whole end of the park would take the commitment to just remove an old, bad ride, and then re-work the entire area from (and including) the Wipeout plot and Exhibition Centre around to Kevil Hill. That's an enormous amount of space that could fit at least 2 roller coasters, a water slide tower, a dark/indoor ride and 1 or 2 decent flats.

I'd much rather have that happen with Rivertown level theming than holding onto a sub-par Arrow coaster that just hurts to ride.  Most importantly, I'd personally be happy to pay up to $250 for an annual pass if that were to happen.

[Biggianthead]

I don’t get the dislike for KFF.  I’m 182 cms and have never had a problem with any restraint issues with this ride.

I’ve ridden it over the last 10~ish years as my kids have progressed through the ride/coaster experience and I’ve found it an awesome way to expose them to a larger ride before they graduate to “adult” rides.  

The kids (and myself tbh) have always loved the first part of the ride when we hang over the crowd below.  

[Tricoart]

1 hour ago, Biggianthead said:

I don’t get the dislike for KFF.  I’m 182 cms and have never had a problem with any restraint issues with this ride.

I’ve ridden it over the last 10~ish years as my kids have progressed through the ride/coaster experience and I’ve found it an awesome way to expose them to a larger ride before they graduate to “adult” rides.  

The kids (and myself tbh) have always loved the first part of the ride when we hang over the crowd below.  

It’s great for what it is, and its roughness is greatly exaggerated (which I don’t quite understand, as other coasters here commonly get their roughness drastically underestimated, in my experience). My only issue personal issue is how hard it is to get the restraints down, but that’s entirely due to my own tall torso. I don’t think any coaster at Dreamworld, in its current state, is ‘bad’. Closest would be Moto just ‘cause it’s bland & useless. 

[Park Addict 93]

Dreamworld have increased Annual Passes by $10 with the full pass price now $159 (currently includes $50 F/B voucher however). 

Renewals are currently $99.

[ShakeShack]

20 minutes ago, Park Addict 93 said:

Dreamworld have increased Annual Passes by $10 with the full pass price now $159 (currently includes $50 F/B voucher however). 

Renewals are currently $99.

It feels like such a scummy thing listing the AfterPay pricing front and centre.

[Brad2912]

1 hour ago, ShakeShack said:

It feels like such a scummy thing listing the AfterPay pricing front and centre.

Why is it scummy? It’s offering a payment plan option, which for many is a legitimate way to fund what would be considered a luxury purchase in current high cost of living times. 

[Narra]

58 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Why is it scummy? It’s offering a payment plan option, which for many is a legitimate way to fund what would be considered a luxury purchase in current high cost of living times. 

Having the option isn't scummy, but when you put the full price in much less visible text below it's a bit scummy imo. Feels like they are trying to hide it in a way to make people feel like they are getting a deal

[Brad2912]

37 minutes ago, Narra said:

Having the option isn't scummy, but when you put the full price in much less visible text below it's a bit scummy imo. Feels like they are trying to hide it in a way to make people feel like they are getting a deal

That’s a real bizarre take. The full price is written directly under it. It’s not like it’s an asterisks and down the bottom of the page. 
no different to a phone company advertising a plan to $50 p/mth rather than $1800 for the 3 year contract (which you will need to look for asterisks for…) 

it does not in anyway invoke that a discount is applied. 

[Narra]

2 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

That’s a real bizarre take. The full price is written directly under it. It’s not like it’s an asterisks and down the bottom of the page. 
no different to a phone company advertising a plan to $50 p/mth rather than $1800 for the 3 year contract (which you will need to look for asterisks for…) 

it does not in anyway invoke that a discount is applied. 

I feel there is a difference between something that is inherently a monthly service. You pay for data and usage of the network per month.

Like I said, I have no issue with AfterPay being an option nor do I have an issue with them advertising the AfterPay price, but you cant deny its a tactic to make people feel like they aren't paying as much. Studies have shown people are far more likely to make purchases they normally wouldn't where a BNPL option is presented, so advertising that as the main way to pay feels slightly scummy IN MY OPINION  

Source: https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2024/02/how-and-why-do-consumers-use-buy-now-pay-later/#:~:text=For individuals near their credit,a balance and accruing interest.

[Park Addict 93]

Yeah in my opinion it’s not scummy, i personally would prefer if the full price was large and afterpay in the small print but I understand why they chose to do it this way.

[Michelangelo]

11 hours ago, Park Addict 93 said:

Renewals are currently $99.

Credit where credit’s due. DW have held steady on that $99 price point for some years. It’s been that long I can’t even remember when my renewal was anything less.

Given the offering has continued to improve, they need to be commended on that one. 👏

 

11 hours ago, ShakeShack said:

It feels like such a scummy thing listing the AfterPay pricing front and centre.

IMO I don’t think it’s a scummy thing to do. The full price is immediately below.

If DW had monthly memberships like VRTP used to do, I’m sure you’d expect them to display the per month price larger than the total over 12 months without thinking it’s scummy… so what’s the diff? 

8 hours ago, Narra said:

its a tactic to make people feel like they aren't paying as much

Pretty sure this is marketing 101… Make the prices look as small as possible, make the discounts look as big as possible.

Ever noticed how ALL companies will advertise prices as “from”? Buy these products from only $1!

Then, Black Friday deals up to 99% off store-wide!

Is it scummy that VRTP add all this extra “value” to their passes?

INCLUDES $245 IN BONUS VALUE

When you dig a little deeper, it’s $245 worth of discounts/vouchers and you have to spend an extra $400+ to actually unlock this value

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 14/12/2024 at 10:18 AM, Brad2912 said:

Why is it scummy? It’s offering a payment plan option, which for many is a legitimate way to fund what would be considered a luxury purchase in current high cost of living times. 

So the ACCC has advice on the prominence of pricing and this is where it gets tricky. The ACCC says that part prices (the example is a 2 year contract paid monthly) can be advertised with the monthly fee, "...as long as it advertises just as prominently the total cost of the contract..."

Mobile phone companies have done this for years where the monthly cost is in a much larger font than the total cost over two years. Both prices just have to stand out.

I'm sure we've all seen phone plan pricing so here's just one quick example where the monthly cost is the bigger number, but the minimum total cost is displayed directly below it:

Quote

Prominence of prices - If a business also displays a price for just one part of a product or service, the total price must be at least as prominent as the partial price. A prominent single total price is one that is clear and stands out so that it is easily noticed by a consumer.

Example - A business can advertise the cost of a 2-year contract as a per month fee, as long as it advertises just as prominently the total cost of the contract over the 2 years.

Example - A business can display the price of its services without including the cost of the mandatory booking fee it also charges, but only if it also displays the prices inclusive of the mandatory booking fee. The prices inclusive of the booking fee must be displayed just as prominently as the display of the prices without the booking fee included.

 

I agree that the pricing should probably reflect the total cost as the bigger number, and this is actually how many businesses that use afterpay show their pricing.
Most places that use buy-now-pay-later options only show the afterpay detail in smaller print after the full price:

 

However as can be seen from the phone plan pricing, it's fairly common for the 'installment' pricing to be the bigger number. I used to sell phone plans many years ago and the total cost thing has been around for at least 20 years, unchallenged by the ACCC, so presumably it's within their guidelines, which would seem to indicate the dreamworld pricing is technically allowable. I guess opinion on whether it's best practice is going to come down to your personal view of things and what your personal experience is with these facilities.

[wikiverse]

1. This is the most reasonable price increase in theme park history.  even with DW lacking some major rides after so many closures, it's still excellent value for a whole year - especially with a $50 food voucher.
    
2. The actual purchase page where you select your tickets (after immediately clicking through from the tickets page shown above) does not mention afterpay pricing at all and ONLY has the full prices shown.  DW aren't hiding anything, the total price is shown in full, and you can only see the afterpay prices at this point if you select afterpay at the checkout.

Personally, I think it's great that DW are keeping the price rises to a minimum while investing $50M+ into the park. It shows that you can operate a profitable and sustainable theme park business without having to compromise on safety, maintenance or guest experience (like the previous DW management/current Village Management).