Ticket Price Hike

[lisalila]

The USA also has a much higher population than Australia, it also get's more visitors from oversea's than what we do so you can't compare our parks to international parks, especially the Disney parks in the States.

[Richard]

Interesting thoughts. Disneyland gets about ten times the attendance of Dreamworld (almost exactly). They therefore have to cater for ten times the amount of guests. They have far more than ten times the amount of staff, spend hundreds of millions on new attractions, far more on maintenance and ongoing costs. In fact, at the end of the day, Disney's entire Parks & Resorts division reports an operating margin of around 15%. That is, in very simple terms, for every dollar they get from a guest, $0.85 of it goes into running the parks. Dreamworld meanwhile has a margin of close to 40%. For every dollar, only $0.63 goes back into the park. This "higher revenue" argument really doesn't hold much weight, considering that dollar-for-dollar, Dreamworld is more profitable than Disney. I don't understand how anyone can feel that a $185 Dreamworld annual pass is good value compared with a $165 (AUD) Disneyland/Disney's California Adventure pass. For that matter, you could have both Sea World and Movie World annual passes for about $25 less than the cost of Dreamworld's with their promotions.

[myk]

I'm glad someone is seeing eye to eye on me with this. The price of Dreamworld is disgusting. It has risen and risen over the last 5 years... with the additions of Nick Central, Wiggles World and the Claw all contributing to Dreamworld becoming a definite favourite among themeparkers. Dreamworld has taken advantage of this and now they are basically throwing away their customers because of their price.

[dreamworld_rulz]

Sorry Richard but i have to disagree with you. DL is what "3 times" bigger than DW? So they have the potential to have more people thru the gates. Anyway were getting off topic here.

[Gazza]

Hi All, Im back for tonight, I had English this morning and it went pretty well so I felt like taking a break after basically studying all week. Anyway, I totally agree with Richo on this one. Were sort of seeing a mirror with SFMM here, charging more than Disney for an inferior product. The point he's making is that its blatant profiteering, as he has said DWs operating margins are quite high, it has nothing to do with the number of visitors or whatever you are saying. Its just bad value considering they have closed off an entire area of the park, and have only replaced it so far with a teacup ride (That wouldnt have cost more than 50k) and this december attraction that seems to be nothing special. I think DW has become a bit too comfortable in recent years with continued popularity and have basically thought people would just absorb whatever price rise they chucked out, but as you can see WVTP is on the attack and I think they are in for a nasty suprise if they stick with their current stratergies. See, this is what happens when you have a theme park run by a bank versus one that is run by an entertainment company.

*shrugs* well since I'm just a theme park visitor and not a theme park obsesser the thought crossed my mind but if you say so.

What? Just because you were wrong Edited October 28, 2006 by Gazza

[lisalila]

Interesting thoughts. Disneyland gets about ten times the attendance of Dreamworld (almost exactly). They therefore have to cater for ten times the amount of guests. They have far more than ten times the amount of staff, spend hundreds of millions on new attractions, far more on maintenance and ongoing costs. In fact, at the end of the day, Disney's entire Parks & Resorts division reports an operating margin of around 15%. That is, in very simple terms, for every dollar they get from a guest, $0.85 of it goes into running the parks. Dreamworld meanwhile has a margin of close to 40%. For every dollar, only $0.63 goes back into the park. This "higher revenue" argument really doesn't hold much weight, considering that dollar-for-dollar, Dreamworld is more profitable than Disney. I don't understand how anyone can feel that a $185 Dreamworld annual pass is good value compared with a $165 (AUD) Disneyland/Disney's California Adventure pass. For that matter, you could have both Sea World and Movie World annual passes for about $25 less than the cost of Dreamworld's with their promotions.

How can Dreamworld be more (revenue wise) if Disney is bigger / more popular? (I'm curious because I always thought Disney made alot more money than Dreamworld). $185 is expensive in comparison to wvtp but perhaps DW are thinking about the 2007 attraction list..maybe they are putting something in for 2007? It's a shame they closed Blue Lagoon and it doesn't look like there will be anything spectacular in its place but I guess they closed it because they have WWW right next door and WWW is bigger, better and will be much more funner.

What? Just because you were wrong

Uh no, I was just stating that it never crossed my mind because I don't know that much about theme parks because I only visit them and nothing more. Like I said if Adam says so because he obviously knows more about theme parks than what I do. Should get the full story before you assume stuff Gazza

[jcgoldcoast]

What richard was saying is Disney earns less per dollar than Dreamworld does. Overall Disney would of course earn more money, beacuse they have much more dollars (and guests) coming in than Dreamworld has.

[Richard]

Pre-emptive price rises are not a justification for future additions. Would you pay to stay at a 3-star hotel that charges 5-star rates, simply because next year they're going to be upgrading the facilities to bring it up to 5-star standards? I don't think anyone here has an issue with the parks increasing prices. The issue is more to do with the price bracket Dreamworld have decided to go with for their annual pass; charging far more than seems justifiable by the park's overall quality.

[pin142]

For $185 I would expect unlimited entry to both DW and WWW with no crap about not being able to use the pass during school holidays. Raising prices just because it is "that time of year" again I think is not a justifiable excuse. Even if another attraction was to be put in I still do not think that the raise of the entrance price is justified, by putting in the new attractions you are getting more visitors which would mean more money. With the prices that things are these days you would think that lowering the price of the entrance fee to attract more visitors would in the long term make more money for the park due to increased patronage. I know if it was only $45-$50 I would go to DW and MW I would go more often in the year. It might be a risk to take but it could end up being a good thing in the end, even if it was only for 1 or 2 years as a trial.

[myk]

I think he was complaining about not being able to go on School Holidays, not it being capped. For the price, you should be able to go on School Holidays, otherwise it should be cheaper. I think that is what he meant to say.

[matty_o_911]

Dreamworld is changing its options ... $185 for full year pass with entry to Whitewater World after 3pm during off-peak periods or alternatively the Max Action Saver for $145 for access to Dreamworld during off-peak periods. Still quite expensive as far as I'm concerned. From Max Action newsletter:

We're Raising the Bar on Annual Passes We’re raising the bar and taking theme park annual passes to a whole new level! As a valued Max Action Pass holder, you’ll soon have access to WhiteWater World, from 3.30pm during off-peak periods (entry excludes public holidays and Queensland school holidays). From December 1st, a Max Action Pass will cost $185 for adults and $125 for pensioners and children (4 – 13 years). We’re also introducing a brand new annual pass option to maximise the thrills and minimise the price. Max Action Saver gives you access to Dreamworld during off-peak periods (entry excludes public holidays and the Queensland school holiday periods). From December 1st, a Max Action Saver will cost $145 for adults and just $95 for pensioners and children (4 - 13 years). Renew within 4 weeks of your exipiry date and receive a 10% discount on Dreamworld annual passes. Present your current member card when renewing, or call 5556 1111 to renew over the phone.

[Richard]

Well done Dreamworld! Having the Dreamworld annual pass priced at $185 was ridiculous and would ultimately lead to price increases at WVTP. I agree it is still quite expensive but at least they've taken a step in the right direction. I'd like to see it extended to all-day access during off-peak periods depending on crowds. In terms of operating costs, it'd surely be cheaper to have them at WhiteWater World rather than at Dreamworld. Obviously it'll be a trial-and-error kind of situation because this is the first time an Australian park has had a partner park directly next door, and it's one with pretty tight capacity restraints. I hope with time we see them become more flexible with the options, especially as the park inevitably expands and becomes better equipped to handle larger crowds.

[jcgoldcoast]

I was doing some market research for VTP on Tuesday and it looks like they may be offering 2 & 3 park annual passes. I think if VTP does go ahead with these multi-park passes it can only be a good thing..........

[stardust]

Adults can get in at only $42, if you go to MacDonalds and Buy a soda you get a adults at kids prices voucer.