What are reasonable prices for theme parks?

[rappa]

And those prices are raising almost by the minute. And the single day pricing now various based on dates as does multi day park hopper tickets. 

 

As for annual passes, Disneyland has been trying to reduce pass holder numbers for years now by upping the prices without success. They keep paying. And we are talking lower or comparable economic areas to south east Queensland. 

Raise the quality of product AND the price and they will come. 

[Reanimated35]

25 minutes ago, Santa07 said:

Our parks are very expensive for single day tickets compared to international parks

AUD prices from xe.com

Movieworld: $79.99

Movie Park Germany: $39.12

Disneyland Anaheim: $165.50 (peak)

Knotts: $100.10 (Good any day)

SFMM: $110.80 (in park)

SW Orlando: $106.80

Alton Towers: $76.80 (in park)

-----

Annual Pass for Disneyland & DCA: $1400.20 (highest tier pass)

Edited April 30, 2017 by Reanimated35

[rappa]

See they are some damn interesting figures when you take into account the cost of staffing a park in Australia astronomical compared to the United States. 

[Tim Dasco]

Does anyone expect MW ticket prices to increase once this Hyper opens?

[Reanimated35]

3 minutes ago, Tim Dasco said:

Does anyone expect MW ticket prices to increase once this Hyper opens?

Sounds more like some people here would be expecting them to drop. 

[rappa]

I think we're past the era of discounting to keep your market. The next step is to prove yourself as a quality value offering and slowly adjust your prices to match. 

[Tim Dasco]

Ever since 2010 AW have been slowly increasing their prices as they build more and increase the quality of the parks. I would think the GC parks would do the same. Especially MW with this Hyper.

[themagician]

1 hour ago, joz said:

Adult tickets

$70 one day

$120 14 days 3 parks

$130 12 months 3 parks with block out dates

$160 12 months no blackout dates plus 10% off f&b

Out of all the thoughts on pricing so far, I agree with this one the most. More for DW and MW. SW should be $10 less than the others I believe. And then WnW another $10 less. I think the ticket pricing for single day tickets is okay, but when you can pay $10 more for 12 months more, it still doesn't make sense to me. It used to be about $100 for a years pass for an individual park, and now you get 4 parks for that price, and for even more than 12 months 

What I don't like about the parks, is the varying options and not overly much differce between them, and similar pricing, and I'm more talking about VRTP here. What I also don't like about them passes is they don't offer any membership extras, unlike DW, which provides tonnes.

I do like VRTPs system with picking the parks you want, and time you want them. What they should do, is that this idea further, and then provide options to add the night events, if people want benefits. And then list this stuff on the pass itself. As you add more stuff to your pass, the higher the price goes. But I think it will be worth it. Keep the VIP Pass but get rid of everything else. Keep the VIP pass for $99, to allow more families to go, but then provide the other option for holiday makers, and other locals who want more for their passes. I think DW passes are much better, and are really well priced, especially since they discounted them to try and get more people back.

[MickeyD]

Oh God this subject makes my brain hurt. . 

Two cents here. Let's not focus so much on the Gate price being the REAL issue here. I think it's important to keep things relative and when it comes to that, in-Park F&B is off the charts, both in Quality and most importantly, Value for money..

No matter where you go in the Consumer world today, the Customer wants value for their investment. A sandwich at the Bakery or a Burger and Chips for nearly 20 bucks per person is bullshit expensive - and given that doesn't even include a drink, sorry it's simply out of touch from reality. Especially when reality is a short drive across the road.

I have been a loyal Passholder for years and visit the Parks often - I'm also happily prepared to spend between 30-50 dollars on any given visit. Typically I am down a measely $2 coin for a spin on Superman.. Why? Because I (like most regular visitor's) do not see value in the Products available! 

Solution? Listen to your Audience!!! People will spend money on the things they see VALUE in.

 

 

[Tim Dasco]

Do pass holders get discounts at the GC parks? AW gives platinum pass holders 25% discounts and normal pass holders also get a discount on photos, F&B, merch and up to 8 friends at 50% off.

[Slick]

Dreamworld

1 Day Adult Pass - $79
2 Day Adult Pass - $99
Annual Pass (With blackouts) - $179
Annual Pass (365 Days) - $219

Village

1 Day Adult Pass - $79 (Less a bit for Wet 'n' Wild)
2 Day Adult Pass - $99 (Less a bit for Wet 'n' Wild)
4 Day Passport (1x day to each park plus a day of Paradise Country & AOS) - $199
4 Park Annual Pass (With blackouts & slight discount or perk for AOS) - $199
4 Park Annual Pass (365 Days + moderate AOS discount) - $269
4 Park Annual Pass (365 Days, plus cool shit, food, photos, solid AOS discounts, etc. etc.) - $329

Here's my take on it:

• This is relative to global market prices for the size of the parks they are, adding into a consideration that our HR costs are some of the highest in the world. Just like anything I buy these days, i'm generally adding 20% as a base on top of the global cost as an Australia tax.
• The day passes are not cheap, but they're also not expensive. For casual once a year guests or interstate travellers (who make up the bulk of visitors) they're right in the sweet spot of affordability while pushing ahead with a sense of newfound "premium" ideology, which is where the parks need to be going anyway to survive in the future.
• Annual passes are too damn cheap. I remember my first "Max Action Pass" at Dreamworld was $143.50. That was 2003. It's 2017, and most annual park passes are cheaper then that. If that's not an indicator of the state of pricing and how woefully out of touch the price is relative to the product, then I don't know what is. Annual passes are based off roughly 2.5 visits, at which point you break even. Prior to the price crash, the break even point used to be around 3-4 visits, so it's a nice middle ground.
• AOS AOS AOS - @Richard's article should've highlighted just how much of an underrated gem Australian Outback Spectacular is, and marketing should be finding every opportunity they can to cross-sell tickets. I'm not saying give them away, i'm saying do exactly what Dreamworld do with F&B for season pass holders - here's 10%, or $20 off this experience, or get this photo (that costs VRTP nothing) for half price.
• Part of getting this pricing to work is all about not making people feeling screwed elsewhere. For VRTP, that means no more charging $30 for a season pass replacement (especially when Dreamworld charges $5), likewise for tomato sauce (charging for tomato sauce is downright un-Australian anyway). Initiatives like the new Dirty Harry Bar is where it's at, parks need to be finding ways to jazz up F&B offerings with as little money spent as possible all the while justifying premium pricing. I think Movie World & Dreamworld are certainly clueing in to this, given their J&B and Jelly Belly stores, just give me more cool shit to eat and i'm there, baby. (PS: this is why people loved Carnivale, btw).
• Bloody grog, mate - I swear Dreamworld, if you ever take away my premium lagers & ales, i'm going to be one cranky guest. Grog should be everywhere and served appropriately. I don't care if you have to hire more cleaners to handle with the ensuing spillages, you'll be making so much money from alcohol sales it'll be a blip in the radar by comparison. TLDR, go to the Gold Coast every once in a while, take in some of the amazing bars and restaurants, and keep creating premium experiences for guests to splurge on. There's something about having a beer and watching Pat the tigers that's pretty damn awesome.
• Blackout periods will spark locals to choose the days they go more wisely, which means the throughput of the park will be a lot more consistent, which then means thinks like operations can be more consistent, which in turn means that bigger and higher capacity rides can be justifiable purchases down the line (no more Buzzsaws.)
• DO NOT DISCOUNT THE DAMN PRICES - If you want to market the tickets for a promotional period, only ever value add in-park products that cost little to nothing, and value add totally different things throughout the year. Why? Because Timmy will buy his VRTP pass with Fast Foto in January, and then Sally will by her VRTP pass with unlimited food in July. They'll go hang out, and both of them will see the other in-park upsells, and then two things will happen: 1) Their friends will organically market the products to each other during the course of the day and 2) if the products appeal to them, they'll be more inclined to watch out for deals, meaning they'll be a more proactive participant in your overall marketing & advertising strategy in the future. #nothingbeatsthefeeling

[BNErider]

I think there are a few people here on the ball with pricing, but I would really like to see single-day entry broken down into 2 or 3 tiers to encourage locals to come during quiet times, and to charge a premium when more people are visiting during the school holidays/weekends.

I'd also like to see annual passes split into various tiers (blackout dates on the cheapest, varying level of discounts as you go up the tiers), and for them to not be changed every time they need to sell more passes in a hurry! Just keep 2/3 consistent levels and keep it at that - and if you want to throw in a 'bonus' - do so, but keep the tiers where they were.

[Cactus_Matt]

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.

[pushbutton]

3 hours ago, 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.

I'd absolutely hate that and hope it never happens!

[Santa07]

12 hours ago, Reanimated35 said:

AUD prices from xe.com

Movieworld: $79.99

Movie Park Germany: $39.12

Disneyland Anaheim: $165.50 (peak)

Knotts: $100.10 (Good any day)

SFMM: $110.80 (in park)

SW Orlando: $106.80

Alton Towers: $76.80 (in park)

-----

Annual Pass for Disneyland & DCA: $1400.20 (highest tier pass)

Yes, but all the ones that you've listed are arguably better quality than our parks (apart from Movie Park, which is a lot cheaper in the first place, and it's definitely getting a lot better very fast).

[LORD_Noodle]

I am more than happy paying what the prices are now for a yearly pass as I am in nsw....and for the price of food and beverage in the parks itself they are getting more than enough money through that I reckon to cover their loses....for long distance visitors they save their money and spend it like crazy up there so prices as they stand are very reasonable 👍

[MickeyD]

41 minutes ago, Santa07 said:

Yes, but all the ones that you've listed are arguably better quality than our parks (apart from Movie Park, which is a lot cheaper in the first place, and it's definitely getting a lot better very fast).

I hope everyone here is aware that Movie Park was originally opened as Warner Bros. Movie World Germany. It was built as a true sister Park of the original. 

Some of my fellow Ops colleagues at the time from MW had the pleasure of travelling over to Germany months before and assisted with opening the Park. It had a significantly higher budget with more rides and higher capacity (Batman had 8 simulators instead of 6 here). It was built in the image of our original Park and I guess much like ours, the Locals just didn't take to it as well as hoped. 

When the time came it was no doubt a huge job to strip the WB's indices from the Park and rebrand all of the existing rides at the time. With the addition of many Thrill ride and other experiences over the years, Movie Park Germany has become worldwide recognised and on many Enthusiasts lists when visiting Europe. I still haven't visited but from what I do know, it absolutely deserves high ranking on the World stage. As does the original. e/r

Back on topic, I think it is up to the Departmental heads to focus more on their target demographic, ie Passholders. SW does OK with the Animal Experiences however in-Park dining across the Parks continues to be a massive missed opportunity. Surely squeezing an extra 20 bucks out of every Punter is better than none? Despite this, Per Cap Spend is a key KPI of any Theme Park and over-inflating prices inside the Gate seems to be the norm. They really need to identify and Market toward their Target demographic by offering VALUE in the Products available to the People prepared to pqy for them. 

[rac2703]

9 minutes ago, MickeyD said:

They really need to identify and Market toward their Target demographic by offering VALUE in the Products available to the People prepared to pqy for them. 

What constitutes good value though? unfortunately most Australian consumers have a very skewed/unfair view on the term value. Does $1per litre milk being sold below cost price really represent good value? I think we have fast become a society that expects the world but aren't willing to pay dollar for it.

[Santa07]

I think here's what needs to be fixed for our parks to be charging premium prices.

Movie World has quality, but not the quantity needed to be charging premium prices. Add a few new rides and they can start charging higher prices (and they're well on-track for that).

Dreamworld has quantity, but not quality in parts. They need to add new rides that will give them that quality. Something that'll rival MW's hypercoaster. Do that and they can start safely charging much higher prices for tickets since (with WWW included) they have a lot more than its competitors - just not the same quality at the moment.

Sea World has quality for what they do have, but close to no quantity in terms of rides. Needs urgent fixing.

WnW is pretty good for a water park, but you can only charge so much for a water park.

[themagician]

41 minutes ago, MickeyD said:

I hope everyone here is aware that Movie Park was originally opened as Warner Bros. Movie World Germany. It was built as a true sister Park of the original. 

Best part about this park is they have the Bermuda Triangle - Alien Encounter

[pushbutton]

4 minutes ago, themagician said:

Best part about this park is they have the Bermuda Triangle - Alien Encounter

I agree and I'd love to go on it!

[themagician]

@pushbutton It isn't quite to the same standard as SWs, but it still exists. And it does feature some of the key elements of what made SWs one great, and great to see that despite there not being any fire, they didn't put in stupid and pointless LED strip lighting instead

 

[MickeyD]

30 minutes ago, rac2703 said:

What constitutes good value though? unfortunately most Australian consumers have a very skewed/unfair view on the term value. Does $1per litre milk being sold below cost price really represent good value? I think we have fast become a society that expects the world but aren't willing to pay dollar for it.

It's a pretty sad thought that we have become so price affected that we have lost respect for what we Value. I think it's more about how businesses respond to a change of demand in Society. Consider this scenario;

A Customer chooses to go shopping for some new Clothes at a local Westfield. Before they even walk in the door, they first have to get themselves ready, drive to the Centre, find a Parking space and spend a sizeable amount of time searching stores before finding what they want. By the time the Customer has made their purchase they have committed a good amount of effort in obtaining the Product. The question is how much Value did the Customer receive in return for the Effort put in? Given they could have stayed at home and bought it all on line, probably for less, the entire Shopping experience would have to be of greater Value than the alternative, to be viable. 

In the case of our Parks, additional Purchases can represent Value and not just by price either!!! Quality, Quantity, Variety, Uniqueness and of course Service among other factors. The amount of focus put on each of these should vary depending on the target demographic except for Service which should always be consistent and ideally exceptional.

 

[pushbutton]

2 hours ago, MickeyD said:

It's a pretty sad thought that we have become so price affected that we have lost respect for what we Value. I think it's more about how businesses respond to a change of demand in Society. Consider this scenario;

A Customer chooses to go shopping for some new Clothes at a local Westfield. Before they even walk in the door, they first have to get themselves ready, drive to the Centre, find a Parking space and spend a sizeable amount of time searching stores before finding what they want. By the time the Customer has made their purchase they have committed a good amount of effort in obtaining the Product. The question is how much Value did the Customer receive in return for the Effort put in? Given they could have stayed at home and bought it all on line, probably for less, the entire Shopping experience would have to be of greater Value than the alternative, to be viable. 

In the case of our Parks, additional Purchases can represent Value and not just by price either!!! Quality, Quantity, Variety, Uniqueness and of course Service among other factors. The amount of focus put on each of these should vary depending on the target demographic except for Service which should always be consistent and ideally exceptional.

 

I couldn't agree more. The last time I was at Movie World the attendant at the turnstile didn't even have the common decency to make eye contact or say anything to me. She just scanned my card while talking to another employee.

Thankfully it's usually better than that. Good manners are the absolute minimum I expect in any customer service situation.

3 hours ago, themagician said:

@pushbutton It isn't quite to the same standard as SWs, but it still exists. And it does feature some of the key elements of what made SWs one great, and great to see that despite there not being any fire, they didn't put in stupid and pointless LED strip lighting instead

 

This is a recreation I made of the Sea World ride on Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by pushbutton

[themagician]

8 minutes ago, pushbutton said:

This is a recreation I made of the Sea World ride on Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.

 

No it isn't, it's a Maccas advert