What are reasonable prices for theme parks?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 30/04/2017 at 9:33 PM, Slick said:

likewise for tomato sauce (charging for tomato sauce is downright un-Australian anyway). 

Love everything you said @Slick - but i wanted to add to this point - charging for sauce seems trivial, and it is, but we are in a culture where people insist on 'single serve' portions - so they need a tub \ packet of sauce. Buying individually packaged sauces and other condiments is costly.

Disney does (or at least did the last time i was there) have sauce \ condiment stations. Add your own sauces and add as much as you like. I think they did away with the liquid cheese sauces at some places a while back because it was too hot and caused injuries - but pump pack sauce isn't expensive in comparison to the individually packaged versions (although it does require custodial attention, this can be done on normal rounds) it just needs people to get over their germophobia etc etc.

On 01/05/2017 at 1:22 AM, Cactus_Matt said:

I kinda like how some Japanese parks have it where there's a ticket price just for admission, a per ride ticket price, and an unlimited ride pass price. I know sometimes I'll go to a park and only ride a half dozen rides so a per ride price seems reasonable, whereas sometimes I'll binge rides and ride multiple rides 5+ times each. Obviously this kind of system doesn't factor in annual passes but I thought it was worth a mention.

To do this, you also need some ability to check who is entitled to ride \ and\or take tickets at the entrance. this either slows your operations or increases your labour costs. it might be achieveable in foreign markets, but it definitely wouldn't suit the Australian wage point.

[pin142]

Just go to your local show when it comes around if you want to pay to get in then keep paying to do rides and food. I have no interest in going to a permanent park that charges you to enter then charges you again if you want to do anything.

[pushbutton]

2 hours ago, pin142 said:

Just go to your local show when it comes around if you want to pay to get in then keep paying to do rides and food. I have no interest in going to a permanent park that charges you to enter then charges you again if you want to do anything.

I very much doubt I'd go to any of the parks if they charged per ride. That, in my opinion, is not a theme park.

Thankfully I can't see that happening here.

Edited May 2, 2017 by pushbutton

[joz]

This could almost be its own thread but I don't think either Village or Dreamworld have better or worse staff.  The difference to me is 2 things, Dreamworld are treating their staff incredibly well at the moment and have been even since before October and that good  treatment filters through to the guests, .  Village also ask their staff to do good service but doesn't empower them to do so, and instead asks them to enforce customer unfriendly polices like charging for sauce, charging for ride lockers, making people sit in exactly the right place for the parade.  When you have enough unpleasant interactions with the public it will stop  you from wanting to go above and beyond

[Theme Park Girl]

4 hours ago, joz said:

When you have enough unpleasant interactions with the public it will stop  you from wanting to go above and beyond

There's another huge factor at play as well... cost cutting. Seems to be a big thing for VRTP in recent years when it comes to staff wages. Instead of keeping on employees that actually demonstrate enthusiasm to want to keep working there, have years of customer service experience, smile a lot and do a great job, that's unfortunately not what their criteria is for deciding who stays and who goes after school holiday periods. It essentially comes down to the cheapest now, which are typically juniors and school based trainees. 

Was told on good authority that all three parks had their biggest cull yet this year, with only a very small number of contracts extended past Christmas. Thr majority of them were apparently either or both of the above 😑👎

[iwerks]

Adventure World was charging $62 for adult entry this past season with a season pass at approx $165 and platinum pass for $250, which is what I ended up getting. I'm not sure if the platinum pass was really worth it.  It did get you 25% off food and bev and merch, free entry into Fright Nights, 50% off tickets for up to eight people and $50 off a cabana and two free fast passes for different days (as well as a hat and calendar).  There were black out days for the fast passes and cabana and they couldn't be purchased online (like the pass, itself), which made it more difficult to use than it had to be. I'm tempted to get it again, but not 100% sold.

Having said that, yeah, I think the GC parks day entry is about right.  Usually you can find some discounts to not pay full walk up to the door entry price (like the RAC deals), but the season passes should go back to the prices they were ten years ago.  Hopefully, the GC parks would also do a proper platinum level, so that they can raise more revenue and give those people who want to pay more and get the perks, the chance.

I think one interesting thing that hasn't been mentioned is the seniors' price.  Both AW and USS charge about $30-$35 for senior entry and I've noticed a few more older people enjoying themselves at AW during work days.  It seems like this could be a cheap and fun way to spend retirement.          

Another thing that bugs me about the GC parks is processing of entry for day or season passes.  Why's it such a mess?

[Redboost]

For those who have a VRTP Membership, are the differences in perks actually worth it? Lets consider that at its lowest price, I can get a VIP season pass for $69 vs annual cost of membership at about $120 - does the $50 difference make it worth it? I'm aware that membership gets added discounts and other perks and there's the monthly option to pay, but I'm only an annual visitor, twice at most if work sends me up north for the week or there's extra money in the bank. Just thinking that paying by the month with added perks might be an option for the family rather than just dumping a lump sum when renewals come up. Thoughts?

13 hours ago, iwerks said:

Another thing that bugs me about the GC parks is processing of entry for day or season passes.  Why's it such a mess?

I like DW's idea - you present your printout at the gates and scan for entry. If you have a season pass, you can go to their membership hut near Pandamonium between 11 and 3pm and get your photo and passes done then. Gets you into the park faster and gives you time to do your passes later when its less busy rather than wasting 30 mins (MW I'm looking at you) or so lining up waiting to get your passes processed. Or you can just do it once and then renew your passes annually and just keep using your pass the following season.

[Theme Park Girl]

Right, well I've had a Premier membership since day one, so hopefully I can answer that... unfortunately there's no in-park food & bev or merch discounts with memberships, you just recieve a monthly email which offers discounts on their upcharge experiences (dolphin swims, AOS, shark Bay encounters etc) instead. 

Otherwise the other benefits have involved 'first in' opportunities for new rides and attractions -  the polar bear cubs viewing is the latest one that has been offered. Sometimes they offer early entry into the parks on set days during peak periods. And they do occasionally offer stuff like kids workshops and a one-off entry to additional animal shows at Sea World prior to the park opening.  

That's pretty much the benefits in a nutshell that I can think of off the top of my head. 

ETA: the above is across all membership levels I believe. Obviously the next two tiered ones have extra features at an extra cost per month (Premier = 1x entry to every special event night season, Elite =all of the above + unlimited entry to WNW Sydney) but yeah, that's typically what you're looking at for the price and pay per month ☺️👍

Edited May 3, 2017 by Theme Park Girl

[pushbutton]

I do get a 20% discount on AOS tickets. However it's always cheaper than that to get them through Groupon, and at the moment you can buy tickets at Movie World or Sea World for $69 anyway, which is the same price Groupon usually offer. Yep. I'm a very experienced AOS guest. Love it (although in my opinion the current show is a bit disjointed and missing some important elements from the previous show). Still love it though.

I also get 1 free entry to each of the theme park night events.

For those reasons I intend to keep my membership at this stage. I also like that I have a plastic card and not a paper one. It's just more durable!

[iwerks]

I really disliked those horribly flimsy plastic things VRTP used to have - they're like a crap library card from the 80s.  At least, AW has some kick ass cards - especially the premium one.  One thing I've noticed that some places are starting to do is recycle the old card, so that we don't waste so much plastic.  If the card's durable enough, I can't see why not.   

[Theme Park Girl]

Speaking of membership cards, I recall it being said not long ago that Dreamworld were replacing their original ones because the first design included the TRR on the back? 

We visit the park once a week at least, yet still haven't been prompted to have them changed to the second release cards with the altered design. Heaven knows I've been expecting it... athough I do like that I still have a first release membership card since its supposedly being made obsolete now (probably for all the wrong reasons though, I confess!) 😳

 

[themagician]

@Theme Park Girl this is the new design. It's very nice to actually have a plastic card, unlike VRTP laminted paper

[pin142]

Ironically the only laminated pass I have is for Dreamworld. Village and Six Flags Memberships are both hard plastic cards.

[themagician]

My old pass for DW was laminated, until they upgraded me when I expired in Feb (but because of the additional 6 months I got this one). I think it gives a much better impression, and they are way more better quality. I know the laminating is cost cutting, but surely it can't cost that much more to print them on plastic.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

It does.

Hard cards require special machinery to print. The 'laminated' cards are a specialised sheet of paper that can be run through a standard laser printer.

[JaggedJanine]

6 hours ago, Theme Park Girl said:

Right, well I've had a Premier membership since day one, so hopefully I can answer that... unfortunately there's no in-park food & bev or merch discounts with memberships, you just recieve a monthly email which offers discounts on their upcharge experiences (dolphin swims, AOS, shark Bay encounters etc) instead.

I worked in selling all 3 memberships right from when they were introduced and you 100% do get in-park discounts. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by JaggedJanine
Fixing Grammar

[Brad2912]

Not to be argumentative, but from looking at your table of benefits, there is no discounts on merch, or F&B with the exception of one burger meal. 

Isnt that what TPG said? 

[Reanimated35]

4 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Not to be argumentative, but from looking at your table of benefits, there is no discounts on merch, or F&B with the exception of one burger meal. 

Isnt that what TPG said? 

Are photos and burgers not merch or food anymore?

[Brad2912]

I personally don't classify photos as merch. Merch is things you buy from the stores. Photos are an extension or add on to a ride imo. 

Id also say with a decent amount of confidence that photographics would be a different line to merch on VTP's P&L.

yes, a burger is food, but it's one option in the park amongst many others. I'd generalise to say you don't get a discount on food as well given it's only available on one option. DW gives pass holders discount to food, everywhere. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Brad2912

[joz]

Those are pretty rubbish discounts though.  At Dreamworld the 10% discount applies to what I want it to apply it to, not one product at one outlet.  Ditto with the one retail product.  I wouldn't call it a discount on F&B personally, even though TECHNICALLY it is.

[MickeyD]

2 hours ago, JaggedJanine said:

I worked in selling all 3 memberships right from when they were introduced and you 100% do get in-park discounts. 

As a Premium Passholder at VTP I have never received  (or been offered) any special Park discounts/ incentives off retail or dining. Chances are, I have paid full price for an item and actually been entitled to a better deal due to my higher tier membership, yet never offered it.

Nice to know my Custom is valued..

 

[Tim Dasco]

10% is pretty sad, AW give pass holders 25% off food and Bev, merch, photos and then 25% off 4 tickets for friends or 50% of 8 tickets for premium pass along with their own entrance and car park. Plus early entry through summer.

[Reanimated35]

Is this really all because we've come to demand too much from our parks though? 

I mean we're paying bugger all for annual passes as it is, and on top of these stupidly cheap prices we then want in park discounts and yet still want to "enable the parks to be profitable as well as to invest in good levels of maintenance, staffing, new attractions etc."

Do you want cheap food or cheap passes? 

You really shouldn't be expecting both. I'm all for upping the pass price and dropping the food price. 

[Tim Dasco]

My original point is a pass SHOULD be at least over $150 I would say for 3 parks at least $200 is cheap. But for VRTP to at least offer an extra premium pass that has a lot of extra benefits. Of course costing more than a basic pass if it had extras. But even having a spectate entrance for pass holders does make it quicker for them to scan their card and walk in.  

I think it's such a bad thing for DW to offer 35 day pass for $35 is in profitable for the park. Yet people want them to build a massive ride to combat the hyper. Coaster's cost more than $35. Plus I think with VRTP building this hyper they should increase pass prices even if it's $5 each.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Tim Dasco

[Theme Park Girl]

6 hours ago, Reanimated35 said:

Do you want cheap food or cheap passes? 

You really shouldn't be expecting both. 

Dreamworld have been managing to do both just fine for at least a couple of years now.... I think it's a great way of demonstrating that you genuinely appreciate your loyal guests.